The New EITI Standard and the role of civil society
The recent global conference of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), convened in Sydney from 23-24 May 2013, provided an opportunity for the EITI board to adopt and launch the EITI Standard, a new set of membership criteria and reporting standards aimed at strengthening the contribution of the EITI to improved governance of extractive industries.
Biofuels in Zambia: panacea or problem?
Biofuels have been heralded as a solution to the world’s dependence on hydrocarbons and are promoted under international carbon trading schemes as a mitigation tool for climate change – impelling first world governments to incorporate biofuels into energy mandates for transport industries. Due to the amount of land needed to grow biofuel crops such as jatropha, sugarcane and oil palm, the biofuels market has given rise to a rush to buy up the world’s farmland.
Japan & the TICAD Process
The Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) will be held from 1–3 June 2013 in Yokohama, Japan. Although in co-sponsorship with many international organisations, the conference, first held in 1993, is the main Japanese platform for Africa’s development.
Which Way Forward for Zimbabwe?
This year’s elections in Zimbabwe may well prove to be a watershed for the Southern African country but as the elections move ever closer, the outcome appears less and less certain.
South Africa should leverage the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI)
Increasingly assertive in continental politics and highly visible in a number of key global regulatory frameworks for the extractive sector, observers continue to wonder why South Africa (SA) remains conspicuously absent from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Canadian Governor General David Johnston speaks at SAIIA
On 21 May 2013 SAIIA and the University of the Witwatersrand co-hosted a visit by the Canadian Governor General, His Excellency, The Right Honourable, David Johnston for a keynote address and discussion. The event was held to discuss the importance of Canada-South Africa Relations on the occasion of His Excellency’s State Visit to South Africa. Indeed, the bonds between South Africa and Canada run deep and bilateral cooperation dates as far back as the 1920’s.
Aligning NPOA with Other Frameworks for National Development: A Formula to Revitalise Forwardlooking, Broad-based and Participatory Development in Africa?
The loss of momentum of one of the most ingenious African-initiated and African-led mechanisms for monitoring governance reforms and deficiencies, and nurturing African solutions to African problems, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), is most worrying.
The significance of Africa Hall to the APRM +10 Anniversary Celebrations
Built in 1961 by the Ethiopian government, Africa Hall continues to stand today as a monument of African unity. A stained glass window in the lobby created by Ethiopia’s most well-known artist Afewerk Tekle depicts Africans of yesterday, today and tomorrow in their struggle for freedom and progress.
African unity after 50 years: building solid foundations for the future
One of the highlights of the upcoming 21st Summit of the African Union (AU) is the 50th anniversary of the founding in 1963 of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 2013.
Applying the Strategic Relational Approach to African States: A Case of Mauritius and Trade Policymaking
The perspective of African states in crisis, together with the examination of African states as neopatrimonial, has been inadequate in providing a useful lens for examining trade policymaking in Africa.