Towards an AIDS-free generation

The 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) started on a sombre note in Melbourne, Australia. Delegates congregated on the evening of 20 July for the conference opening to the painful news of the death of a number of delegates who were on board the Malaysian Airlines plane ML17, writes Alinah Segobye. Among them was the renowned HIV/AIDS champion who was to be remembered, cited and celebrated during the conference, Joep Lange.

Issues confronting public and private sectors in Africa

A new engagement is critical if the basic tenets of a developmental state and developmental society are to be understood by all the key players. In particular, citizens must liberate themselves from being mere consumers and passive players in the political economy of development

What Possible Futures for Africa Post-Covid-19?

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Fictions, factors and futures: reflections on Africa's 'impressive growth'

The vision of 'Africa's Impressive Growth' has been espoused to great excitement and acclaim in recent years, a reigniting of the euphoria of the independence era of African nations in the 1950s and 1960s. Geci Karuri-Sebina, Alioune Sall, Rasigan Maharajh and Alinah Segobye test the credibility of the claim and reflect it against six key developmental dimensions: political, economic, social, technological, learning, and ecological. They suggest that Africa needs a more grounded perspective on her future prospects, one that could be bright depending on improved education and leadership.

Whither the African middle class in an "Africa rising"?

"Africa rising" is an emerging grand narrative that, whilst occupying the millennial imagination, continues to be the subject of growing media and academic debate. In the "Africa rising" narrative, the African middle class is often brought into the discussion as a growing phenomenon that contributes to, drives and deserves a prosperous Africa. In 2013 alone, the media devoted a significant amount of discussion and praise to the African middle class. This is often accompanied by accounts of their spending capacity and/or appetite for goods, which are indicative of a new and growing market for luxury goods. Some observers, however, have warned against such triumphalist assessments and have pointed to the need for a more grounded and transformational approach to the future prospects of Africa.