Random charts - COVID19

Source: Report into a nosocomial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) at Netcare St. Augustine’s Hospital (30-pg PDF)

Random charts - poverty

Source: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle (176-page World Bank PDF)

Random charts - Boko Haram

Source: Threat Tactics Report: Boko Haram (31-pg PDF)

Vulture down

 Photo credit: Radio Sai

Earlier blog entries had looked at the unfortunate demise of vultures in Asia (specifically the Indian subcontinent), e.g. blog entry here. 

Having decimated the vultures there, apparently it's now the turn of Africa, see: "Almost half the vultures in Africa are on the brink of extinction because they scavenge on meat poisoned by farmers, a report by BirdLife International has warned..."

Random chart - Sub-Saharan Africa

Source: Health Care, Education Are Top Priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa

Random chart - Africa

Source: The True Size of Africa

Foolishness

Last week saw the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit 2014 in Washington , D.C. "... President Obama welcomed leaders from across the African continent to the nation’s capital for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first such event of its kind. The Summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government, built on the President’s trip to Africa in the summer of 2013 and aimed to strengthen ties between the United States and one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest-growing regions..." 

Well, after six years in office, President Obama finally turns his attention to Africa... The continent had been energized and expected big things when President Obama, son of a Kenyan economist,  was elected and sworn into office, only to find themselves relegated to the back-burner.  Perhaps better late than never!

However, despite the pomposity and high-minded talk about gender equality, global health, investing in the future, shared ideals, etc. the administration apparently couldn't help itself, with various members seeming to let it slip that this was as much about competition with China and China's involvement in Africa as about the future of the continent....

First up, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who opined: "Typically, the nature of China's engagement is it brings in thousands of Chinese workers and uses Chinese to build roads, build buildings, rather than giving jobs and opportunity and capacity building for Africans which is a real distinction between the American approach and the Chinese approach. The American approach is not to bring in a bunch of foreigners to take jobs from Africa, but it's actually to build African capacity." 

NPR fact checked this with Howard French, the author of  a book on Chinese investment in Africa ("China's Second Continent") - transcript, audio. Unfortunately this turned out to be not quite on the mark, with the U.S. apparently using many of the same Chinese companies for its construction in Africa:

"... The fact is that the United States builds very little in China. So there's no way of making a very meaningful, direct comparison between the American way of doing business and civil engineering or construction and the way that China does business in this sector. However, one can say that until recently when Congress changed the law to change the eligibility to bar Chinese companies, the United States was spending lots of money to pay for Chinese companies to do contract work on its behalf in Africa...  You know, the United States just a few years ago spent $230 million to pay a Chinese company called Sinohydro to build an irrigation and waterworks system for an American project. The United States spent $71 million for the expansion of the Bamako airport, giving those funds to the same Chinese contractor, Sinohydro. And the problem was that American companies, as I was told by U.S. diplomats, couldn't be interested in this kind of contract work..."

Next up, President Obama : From Obama suggests US is better partner than China to African leaders: "... President Obama took a swipe at China in a speech to a summit of African leaders in Washington on Tuesday, claiming that the US is interested in the continent for more than just its minerals and oil. “We don’t look to Africa simply for its natural resources. We recognise Africa for its greatest resource which is its people and its talents and its potential,” he told the largest gathering of African leaders ever held in Washington. “We don’t simply want to extract minerals from the ground for our growth. We want to build partnerships that create jobs and opportunity for all our peoples, that unleash the next era of African growth,” Although the president did not mention China by name, the comments were clearly aimed at Beijing as his administration uses the summit to promote the US as a better partner in its efforts to catch up with the rapidly expanding Sino-Africa trade..."

Quite apart from the gratuitous swipe at China, what exactly does U.S. trade with Africa consist of? Well from the Office of the United States Trade Representative mostly imports of raw materials and exports of more value-added, 'finished' products (as would be pretty typical of trade with a less-developed country).

Exports: "U.S. goods exports to sub-Saharan Africa in 2013 were $24 billion, up 6.9% ($1.5 billion) from 2012, and up 250% from 2003. U.S. goods exports to sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 1.5% of total U.S. goods exports in 2013. Roughly 30% of U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa went to South Africa in 2013. The top U.S. export markets in sub-Saharan Africa for 2013 were: South Africa ($7.3 billion), Nigeria ($6.5 billion), Angola ($1.5 billion), Ghana ($1.1 billion), and Togo ($956 million).
The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2013 were: Machinery ($4.9 billion), Vehicles ($3.6 billion), Mineral Fuel (oil) ($3.5 billion), Aircraft ($1.3 billion), and Cereals (wheat and rice) ($1.3 billion)."

Imports: "U.S. goods imports from sub-Saharan Africa totaled $39.3 billion in 2013, a 20.8% decrease ($10.3 billion) from 2012, but up 53% from 2003. U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 1.7% of total goods imports in 2013. Approximately 30% of U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa were from Nigeria and 22% from Angola. The top U.S. import suppliers from sub-Saharan Africa for 2013 were: Nigeria ($11.7 billion), Angola ($8.7 billion), South Africa ($8.5 billion), Chad ($2.5 billion), and Congo ($1.2 billion). The five largest import categories in 2013 were: Mineral Fuel (crude) ($26.3 billion), Precious Stones (platinum and diamonds) ($3.2 billion), Vehicles ($2.3 billion), Cocoa ($1.0 billion), and Ores, Slag, Ash (titanium, chromium, and uranium) ($968 million)..."

Good grief! Is this silliness really necessary?  To this blogger it seems rather juvenile and amateurish...

Other links:

The US-Africa Heads of States and governments jamboree
The big shift — and opportunity — in America’s ties to Africa
American and Chinese trade with Africa: Rhetoric vs. reality
Building Democracy, Economy, and Security Through Partnership

 

Gabriel - update

Picture credit

 
The June 30th 2008 blog entry 'Gabriel' noted the re-election of Robert Gabriel Mugabe, while commenting on the appropriateness of his middle name... Alas, he continues to preside over the destruction of his nation:

"... After blowing about £3 million on his daughter’s wedding earlier this month, Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe says he wants a pay rise.." (link).

"...  Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe, has warned that in future “no white person will be allowed to own land”..." (link)

It looks like he will stick around in power until he dies. Unfortunately that may still be a while:

"...I am made to feel youthful and as energetic as a boy of nine," a smiling Mr Mugabe told thousands of supporters at the party, held a few days after his birthday due to the Singapore trip..." (link).

"...Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, was given a one-ton, gold and diamond-studded stone "Royal throne" by his staff as a birthday present, state media reported. The chair, which is covered with leopard and crocodile skins, lion furs and two huge claws, was presented to Mr Mugabe at a party hosted by staff in the Office of the President and Cabinet at State House on Saturday, the day after his birthday. The chair is known as a Simbahwe in the local Shona language. It was carved from a solid block of stone and took three artists almost two years to create..." (link)

Random charts - modern slavery

Click to expand:

Source: The Global Slavery Index 2013 (136-page PDF)

Random maps - north africa

Source: Neo-Imperialism and the Arrogance of Ignorance 

Source: Lemondediplo

Random chart - North & West Africa

Source: The Guardian

Random charts - U.S. and MENA

Source: U.S. Trade and Investment in the Middle East and North Africa: Overview and Issues for Congress (41-pg CRS PDF)

Random chart

Source: The Lord’s Resistance Army: The U.S. Response (23-pg CRS PDF)

Random charts

Source: Africa Water (United Nations Environment Programme)

Playing chicken with Mugabe

Earlier blog entries have referenced the disastrous situation in Zimbabwe, mostly the responsibility of Robert Mugabe (e.g. the June 30th, 2008 "Gabriel' entry). Recently the band Freshlyground came out with a satirical music video, Chicken to Change, that features Mugabe...

Per the group's spokesperson: "The video is not an attack on Mugabe at all. It is a tongue-in-cheek challenge for him to reflect on things and become the hero he used to be, to consider his actions and surprise us. We are not afraid of his reaction. Why should we be in a democratic world?"

Good luck with that! It could be risky "playing chicken" with Mugabe!

Chicken to change? Robert Mugabe mocked in pop video

Misc update

The February 2nd, 2009 blog entry 'King of Kings' noted that Muammar Gaddafi (fresh from a meeting during which 200 plus African kings and traditional tribal rulers had named him "king of kings") had assumed the chair of the African Union... which he pledged to turn into a "United Staters of Africa." Well his one-year term is up and he has been replaced by the president of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika.

However, apparently not before he tried (and failed) to get his term extended!

Gaddafi thwarted over African Union presidency

Another update...

Photo credit: spiegel.de

The October 20th, 2008 blog entry, ' The earth in all its splendor,' highlighted a couple of articles that talked about geologic changes in the Afar region of the Horn of Africa that possibly presaged the eventual formation of a new ocean... Subsequent scientific study seems to confirm this theory, see African Desert Rift Confirmed As New Ocean In The Making.

Follow the link to an amazing (17-picture) slide show by Scientific American ...

King of kings

In August 2008 Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi held a meeting in Benghazi, where he invited over 200 African kings and traditional rulers. At that meeting they gave him the title of 'King of Kings.'

This week he showed up at the meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, accompanied by royalty (including His Highness Iguru G. Solomon of the Bunyoro kingdom, Queen Best Kamugisha, Mother of the Toro kingdom and King Tossoh Gbaguidi of Benin). and clutching a four foot gold staff... and was promptly elected chairman of the African Union. This was hailed by his royal entourage: "On behalf of the traditional kings, on behalf of all the sultans, on behalf of all the princes, on behalf of all the customary rulers, I want to say thank you to the King of Kings who we have now crowned," declared King Tossoh Gbaguidi of Benin. Gaddafi pledge to create a "United States of Africa."

Gaddafi: Africa's 'king of kings'
Gaddafi stages another first as meeting opens in Addis
Gaddafi vows to push Africa unity
Africa: Libyan President Elected As New AU Chairman