African nations have huddled together in face of climate and Covid storms. They must make that unity pay off for their citizens

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So opens Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Set in London and Paris during the late 1700s and the lead-up to the French Revolution, the novel was a warning about what happens when wealth funnels upwards while the masses stagnate. Nowhere do the best and worst of times collide with more geopolitical force than in Africa.

African writers swept the board for literature awards from the Nobel to the Booker, while seven out of eight children in the continent’s sub-Saharan region are unable to read by the age of 10. This year the continent was home to the slowest internet speeds on the planet, as African judges granted the world’s first patent given to a robot inventor. About 50 million Africans are expected to fall into extreme poverty in 2021, when the continent’s richest billionaires have seen their wealth increase by a fifth.

Continue reading…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

No Gluten, Dairy or Refined Sugar? In These Recipes, You Don’t Miss Them

IT’S BEEN A BUSY year for Portland, Ore., chef Gregory Gourdet. For…

The Depp defamation suit should outrage and appall you | Jill Filipovic

But no one should be applauding this verdict – not even people…

Why are women so marginalised by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? | Courtney Love

Barely 8% of its inductees are female. The canon-making doesn’t just reek…