Global Voices Online

Stories

August 31st, 2006

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ato G may not be corrupt. But he lives in a society ruined by corruption. He may be honest and hardworking. Yet the law will always make an enemy of people like him. ET Wonqette powerfully plays on words, satirising Ethiopia, which he says, “is ruinously, unrelentingly peaceful. Better days are coming because there are so many others doing their ‘16 days'.”

Sub-Saharan Africa

You Missed This draws attention to the threat of censorship, where those who are unhappy with what bloggers are doing may choose to ruin their site by hacking into it. “One blogger reveals that he has already been targeted before and somebody even hacked into his site,” he reveals.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Unlike many countries, Nigeria is richly endowed with human and natural resources. But it’s lagging behind, in terms of development. Many emerging rich countries, Nkem Ifejika argues, are taking advantage of the little they have to transform their economies. Some even rely solely on human resources, where expert experiences gained from other societies are brought and put into use at home. “Nigeria has the cumulative knowledge of the world at its disposal, it has to use it,” he submits.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tale of corruption and official high-handedness is re-echoed by Ethio-Zagol, who seems rather pleased that Bereket Simon, “one of the most detested EPRDF politicians” in Ethiopia, is defraying the cost, via divine punishment, having been rushed to hospital in Israel. Even in a close shave with death their kleptomaniac fingers remain busy doing business as usual, “On the morning of the same day, Bereket's aides were spotted taking hard currency from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.”

Sub-Saharan Africa

Joel Basson’s experience with banks in South Africa had made him lose confidence in them. He felt they were only out to rip people off. Soon the opportunity to prove him wrong came and right at his doorstep, his own bank forced him to a rethink. He now thinks differently. “So, to every student out there that is paying bank charges in excess of R13.50, visit your nearest FNB branch and change banks,” he preached.

Sub-Saharan Africa

For anyone that passed through the boarding school system, Nkem Ifejika’s story, bizarre as it sounds, is not in any way strange. What may, however, seem strange is that anyone could be convicted for violating immigration rules and sentenced to gardening. Yet life at Nkem’s school might have been much worse, with bullies always on the rampage. “Imagine being given a matchbox and being asked to cut grass to the exact dimensions of the box, and not with a razor blade, but with our huge machetes,” He wonders.