Author: NLM Correspondent

By NLM Writer There is an unending debate on the merits and demerits of rotating the presidency amongst different tribes, as one way of addressing feelings of political discontent in Kenya. On the other hand, the advocates of “meritocracy” argue that to do so is to defeat the very meaning of a constitutional democracy. The neutrals maintain that we must do a bit of both – make sure no single community hogs the presidency and the power that comes with it, and restructure our politics to reflect Kenya’s diversity. The question is, how do we do it best? Kenya’s political…

A good political system is one that allows people to compete equally, not give them handouts BY SHADRACK MUYESU It is true that we are a multilayered, highly differentiated society. And it is certainly true, that our differences compel us to pursue solutions that are different from those applied in the more streamlined West. Personally, I am pro at a rotational system which, in my view, will accommodate our differences. But I also understand that the differences are so deep and the interests so diverse that it will always be impossible to make everyone happy. What president Uhuru proposes in…

Matthew Bryden is also responsible for Eritrea’s 13-year embargo and wreaking havoc in the internal affairs of Somalia. By Fuad Abdirahman Diplomatic relations between Kenya and Somalia date back many years. Kenya is home to hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees, and Somalia has been a market destination for Kenyan goods. Recently, these relations have been ailing and now seem headed for obliteration. Between December and January, there occurred a dangerous military build-up along the two countries’ common border thanks to a coordinated campaign that misled Kenyan policymakers and infuriated the administration in Mogadishu. This sophisticated misinformation crusade is driven…

By Edwin Musonye A neglected truism in some countries is that business is all about standards, and that good business is all about good standards. Whereas there are many unstandardized matters, let’s focus on the need to put value on skills.  This has nothing to do with what the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) does. National Pay Standardization here means creating pay brackets for all workforce regardless of whether they work in the public or the private sector. Divergent voices claim that we are in a free market and the forces of demand and supply must remain the only determinants…

BY Caroline Odman and Kevin Govender The term “Industry 4.0” has been used for years to describe the need for societies to adapt their work and productivity to the “4th Industrial Revolution”, in which new technologies bridge the virtual, physical and biological domains. These terms have become so dominant that governments have adopted them into their policies and planning. Against this backdrop it is important to ask whether – and how – the world of science is effectively adapting to an ever more connected and data intensive world. Is there…

BY Kasirim Nwuke COVID-19 has made it extremely difficult to mobilize the resources needed for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the time left to their target date of 2030. Indeed, as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) reported in July 2020, the current rate of progress on the SDGs in Africa is insufficient to meet the targets. Several other recent reports echo UNECA’s view. Given these difficulties and the new challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, African countries should consider reducing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the current set of 17 to a…

By Tawanda Karombo Former US president Donald Trump’s last minute controversial removal of sanctions against an Israeli businessman named in corruption scandals in DR Congo’s mining industry and the jailing of another international commodity broker for bribery in a Guinea iron ore scandal this month shows just how vulnerable Africa’s lucrative resources sector has long been to international operators. For too long Africa’s mineral wealth has failed to uplift the majority of ordinary citizens out of poverty. Resource-rich countries including Zimbabwe (gold, platinum, diamonds) , Sierra Leone (diamonds), DRC (copper, cobalt, gold, diamonds), Guinea (iron ore, bauxite) and others are…

By Nic Cheeseman and Rebecca Gordon The coronavirus pandemic has gone hand-in-hand with considerable democratic backsliding. According to a new study, democratic freedoms were undermined in 83 countries from March to September 2020. This should concern all of us. Oversight and accountability during the COVID-19 pandemic are essential for both the public and democratic health of a nation. We set out to explore the role that legislatures played in responding to COVID-19. In particular, we looked at how they scrutinised governments’ actions. Legislatures are central to modern democratic politics. But they are often bypassed during moments of crisis as presidents…

Tools for eliminating bottlenecks By Benedict Okey Oramah Africa was on the cusp of a revolutionary economic transformation before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the ensuing crisis just underlined the urgency of that process. Right now, countries across Africa are overcoming years of colonial division through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is, in many ways, a treaty that will transform Africa from a fractured, commodity-dependent group of economies into a vibrant, integrated market of over 1.2 billion people. Trading under the agreement, delayed by the pandemic, commenced on January 1, 2021. The African Export-Import Bank has…

By Patrick Quirck Strengthening democracy abroad is a priority for the Biden administration, evident in its commitment to hold a “summit of democracies” to galvanize support for fighting corruption, combating authoritarianism, and advancing human rights. The president has also elevated the issue within his National Security Council staff by creating a high-level coordinator for democracy and human rights. As it crafts its broader democracy agenda, the administration will identify priorities, metrics to assess progress, and guiding principles that inform how it will use available tools to accomplish objectives. One such guiding principle should be bolstering the “resilience” of democratic systems…