Blind to the matatus
The future of Kenya's matatus (commuter buses) and their inherent place in the capital Nairobi's culture and society, is all but absent in the government's neoliberal vision for urban planning.
neoliberalism
Pan-African aspirations by neoliberal means
As the African Union embarks on its most ambitious project—creating the largest free-trade area in the world—we have some questions.
Gutting the public sector serves no one
Structural Adjustment Programs, implemented by the World Bank and IMF in developing countries, leave the administrative state especially unequipped to deal with climate change.
Sarkodie and the politics for ‘freedom-making’
Hiplife artist Sarkodie has proposed that what Ghana needs is a dictatorship. This is not inconsistent with his politics, rooted in promoting male success and a patriarchal vision of liberation.
Ethiopia’s capitalist turn
In a break with previous administrations, Ethiopia's new Prime Minister has declared that he favors free market capitalism as his preferred economic model.
South Africa’s Third Way revival
Economies are broken everywhere, but while the rest of the world considers the radical, South Africa resigns itself to the rational.
How to manage post-colonial African economies
For one, take economic management out of the control of neoliberal technocrats.
The Zambian farmers who are suing a mining company in a British court
In January 2019, a group of Zambian farmers brought their fight for justice to the UK Supreme Court, in a case with far-reaching implications for multinational companies.
The ‘New’ Neoliberal Uganda
Challenging the success narrative that masks the disruptive social impact of neoliberal transformation under General Yoweri Museveni in Uganda.
What’s new? Making money off poor school children again
The latest trick is to transfer tax-payer funded aid aimed at Africa and the Middle East into the pockets of corporations and individuals.
When Melania Trump went to Africa
Pith helmets and jodhpurs aside, Melania Trump went to four African countries to promote her "Be Best" education initiative. What's that about?
Anti-black excellence
In Ghana, political leaders, religious leaders and leading rappers all have one thing in common: internalized anti-blackness.
Obama, Mandela and the limits of liberalism
American liberals’ continued refusal to engage seriously with the global collapse of the postwar liberal order.
Kwame Nkrumah’s development state
Nkrumah's government was driven by large scale state development projects. They have a mixed legacy. Can Ghanaians “redeem” the fruits of his development visions?
Brexit, diamonds and everyday corruption
The rise of populism across the US and Western Europe has been well documented, but it is not only an American or European issue. The case of Lesotho.
The Rise Neoliberalism in Ghana
To address high unemployment in Ghana, “labor experts” foolishly present volunteerism as the way out of poverty and joblessness.
Neoliberalism’s children
There is very little self-made about Nigeria's young, rich and glamorous like oil magnate Paddy Adenuga and DJ Cuppy.
A cure for the Dutch disease
The Netherlands needs a politics that is about race and class and gender and sexuality – not just about class in a reductionist sense.
The market decides if we are free
Ghanaian political-economic actors are limited in their ability to change conditions because of massive debt and the influence of investors and loan-makers.
Is it too late now to say sorry?
The IMF is now acknowledges its neoliberal agenda over the last couple of decades was a mistake. Should we take them at their word.