by Natalia Ribeiro | Mar 18, 2011 | News
Problem solving: Doctor Donald Kaberuka discusses possible solutions for Africa’s challenges Photo: Courtesy of Caution Hlongwane
African Development Bank president Dr Donald Kaberuka made a brief presentation on Challenges and Opportunities facing Africa at the FNB Building, West Campus, on March 14.
In his opening, deputy vice-chancellor, Prof Yunus Ballim said: “We certainly have a shared sense of history with much of sub-Saharan Africa. Also, we share similar problems and solutions to those problems.”
Kaberuka outlined four key challenges faced by sub-Saharan Africa. These were government defiance and the implications for business confidence, managing natural resources and managing external shocks. He found it unacceptable for so much wealth in food and minerals to be exported, while over half the population lived below the poverty line in many countries. He said this was happening because economic resources were not being managed well.
As a solution, Kaberuka recommended a free movement of natural resources within the African continent as well as government investing in greater infrastructure.
He expressed his wish for governments to provide more support to farmers by providing agricultural subsidies, saying it would work best on a temporary basis.
He said it was important to find solutions to Africa’s challenges, as opposed to finding individuals to put the blame on, and that we should work and develop together and stop “wasting opportunities”.
by Natalia Ribeiro | Mar 15, 2011 | News
“We certainly have a shared sense of history with much of Sub-Saharan Africa. We certainly also have a shared sense of problems and solutions to those problems,” said Professor Yunus Ballim, deputy vice-chancellor, when introducing Doctor Donald Kaberuka.
Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank Group, addressed over 50 people in the FNB building auditorium, West Campus on March 14. It was a brief presentation on a pertinent topic: Challenges and Opportunities facing Africa.
Problem solving: Doctor Donald Kaberuka discusses possible solutions for Africa’s challenges. Photo courtesy of Caution Hlongwane
In his address, Kaberuka outlined four key challenges faced by Sub-Saharan Africa. These were government defiance, managing natural resources, managing external shocks, as well as the implications for business confidence as a result of government defiance.
He found it to be unacceptable for so much wealth in the form of food and minerals to be exported, while over half the population lived below the poverty line in many countries. He stressed that this was happening because economic resources were not being managed well, which results in a lack of business confidence.
As a solution, Kaberuka suggested a free movement of natural resources within the African continent as well as government investing in projects that will contribute to building greater infrastructure.
Kaberuka expressed his wish for government in African states to provide more support to farmers, adding that it would work best on a temporary basis.
He pointed out that it was important to find solutions to Africa’s challenges, as opposed to finding people to put the blame on, and that as African countries we should work and develop together and stop “wasting opportunities”.
Kaberuka is a Rwandan economist and has served as president of the African Development Bank since 1995. He was also Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning from 1997 to 2005 and is credited with helping restructure and stabilize the country’s economy after the civil war in 1994.
The African Development Bank Group’s mission is to promote sustainable economic development and social progress in the continent and help reduce poverty. To this end, the Bank seeks to mobilize resources to assist African countries, individually and jointly.
by Natalia Ribeiro | Mar 11, 2011 | News
Witsie BBMing. Photo: Natália Ribeiro
BLACKBERRY addicts are all over campus. Witsies are “BBMing their fingers off”. They never switch off their phones, feel anxious when they can’t answer new messages coming through, check their BlackBerrys before bed and immediately upon waking up and use BBM as a way to avoid face-to-face confrontation.
“BlackBerry has taken over the world,” says Ngwa Murombedzi, a 2nd year BA law student. And Wits is definitely not a BlackBerry-free zone. Dielon van der Merwe, 1st year BA psychology, checks his phone every couple of minutes when he is out of class. His mom thinks this can be distracting from his studies.
Most students interviewed around campus while using their phones say they are not suffering from BlackBerry addiction and their phones don’t get in the way of their studies.
by Natalia Ribeiro | Mar 4, 2011 | News
A multiracial Witsie couple walks hand in hand on campus. Photo: Yumna Mohamed
WITS activists held a picket outside the Urban Brew Studios, a media production company, in Johannesburg last Sunday against the proponent of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
About 30 members of Activate, an activist group representing gay rights on campus, gathered outside the studios between 11 and 2pm to protest against the presence of David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan parliament.
Bahati, who introduced Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in October 2009, was invited to participate in a panel organised by the BBC to discuss whether homosexuality is “un-African”. Festus Mogae, Botswana’s former president, and Eusebius McKaiser, a South African political analyst and associate at the Wits Centre for Ethics (WiCE), also took part in the debate.
The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP), Activate’s partner, called upon organisations in the Gauteng province to join the picket in memory of David Kisule Kato, the Ugandan gay rights activist who was murdered in January.
Activate’s goal was to get David Bahati’s attention and they were successful, said chairperson Denise Neo. The picketers were chanting a lesbian solidarity song in Zulu called Gubi and holding placards that accused Bahati of being reactionary. “Away with Homophobia in Africa, Away!” the posters stated.
As previously planned by the activists, a lesbian couple kissed during the debate to send a clear message to Bahati. Neo said she was disappointed in the behaviour of some members of the audience, who screamed and shouted, making the process of the debate difficult.
She also said the gay community at Wits was a large one, “as common as weaves”. During O-week, Activate signed up more than 100 new members, 30% of whom were straight.
According to Gabriel Khan, Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) archivist, Wits is perceived to be an accepting space and violence is seldom a problem on campus. He said there have been some small incidents, for example posters of events that promoted gays rights being ripped off walls.
At their next event, Activate members will join the Wits Palestine Solidarity Committee for Protest 101, during Israeli Apartheid Week, at the Wits Library Lawns on Tuesday.
