Stories about Development from June, 2011
Nigeria: President Fooled the People Again
Japheth J Omojuwa says that Nigeria's president is fooling the people again: “Those of you getting fooled by phony rankings placing Nigeria as the fourth fastest growing economy in the world (or ninth as some other agencies reported), should not be fooled. There is a paradigmatic difference between growth and...
Nigeria: The Morgue called Lagos/Ibadan Expressway
Nwachukwu wants to know when Lagos/Ibadan Expressway will be fixed: “Late last year, in November, a friend was strangled by the noose called Lagos/Ibadan Expressway. Last month I skipped a premature embrace with my ancestors. With the trailer gone amok, I would have ended up under it’s belly. The month...
China: Local government budget, land seizure and social unrest
C. Custer from China Geeks explains the relation between local governments’ budget, forced demolition and social unrest in China. To pay back the 1.6 trillion debt, the blogger anticipates a new wave of social unrest approaching.
Japan: Real Voices, Real Japan
An Enligh-language website called Real Voices, Real Japan documents “the business environment and recovery in post-quake Japan.” Its purpose is to “keep foreign business communities up to date on the Japanese recovery and enables decision-making based on accurate, locally-sourced information.”
Bangladesh: Exploring The Architecture Of Mud Houses
Jennifer Grosso, an architect student, explored a village near the famous Sundarban mangrove forest to learn about the Bangladeshi mud built homestead. Here is what she found out.
Guinea: “Democracy, Backwards”
Guinean novelist Tierno Monénembo, who won the French literary award Prix Renaudot in 2008, examines the early record of the new President of Guinea, Prof. Alpha Conde, writing [fr] in an opinion piece on Slate Afrique: “Beaten up and imprisoned at a whim. Nominated and dismissed at a whim. All...
Armenia: Animal Activists Demand End to Stray Dog Killings
In the last few days animal activists are making unprecedented use of social media in the South Caucasus by demanding that the inhumane killing of stray dogs end by flooding the Yerevan mayor's Facebook page with requests and appeals.
Angola: The City Evolves and the “Icons” Vanish
“Some people claim that the city should evolve, others say that Luanda should not keep the traces of colonialism”, writes Menina de Angola, while regretting the demolition of “one more icon” of the capital city, the building Cuca.
El Salvador: Food Security, a Historical and Ongoing Struggle
Voices From El Salvador has posted a two part post on “El Salvador's ongoing struggle with food security.” Part 1 provides a historical background, as well a review of current challenges; Part 2 looks at how climate change is affecting food security.
Senegal: Power Shortages in Dakar Lead to More Riots
Website politicosn.com has provided real time coverage [fr] of the protests against power shortages in Dakar, Senegal, on June 28, 2011: “Ongoing demonstrations have flared up in Senegal capital, public buildings have been stormed by youth protesting against power shortages. This situation has forced authorities to call upon the army, security...
Puerto Rico: Fortuño Campaign vs. Al Jazeera Documentary
Technology and news blog Qiibo [es] launches an interesting debate [es] by comparing a video of governor Luis Fortuño's 2012 campaign and Al Jazeera's Fault Lines documentary “Puerto Rico: The Fiscal Experiment.”
Sri Lanka: China Investing In Land
Indi.ca is concerned that Chinese investors are being allowed to reclaim and own 500 acres of Sri Lankan land from sea paying $700 million to the Sri Lankan government.
Haiti: BBBC Benefits in Question
An interesting post on Bill Clinton's housing initiative, Building Back Better Communities (BBBC), which “seeks to construct housing projects across the nation of Haiti”, but upon closer examination, “seems as though the initiative won't live up to its name and in fact will build worse communities than even before the...
Egypt: Commemorating the Struggle Against Systematic Torture
As the world marked the International Day against Torture that falls on June 26, eyes were on Egypt where the struggle against citizen abuse has been particularly significant.
Guatemala: What can you eat with one dollar?
In Central American Politics, Mike posts a video where Francisco Fion of the World Food Program explains that about half of the population of Guatemala lives in poverty with 7 quetzales a day –about 1 US dollar. How much food can you buy with 7 quetzales? Watch the video to...
Argentina: Buenos Aires ‘Cartoneros’
Simon Kofoed, In his blog argen-times, writes about ‘cartoneros': “The tens of thousands of cartoneros, perhaps best translated as cardboard people, make their living by extracting recyclable materials from the city’s rubbish.”
Azerbaijan: A military show of strength or rhetoric for domestic consumption?
Etiraz comments on this weekend's annual Army day in Azerbaijan, questioning its country's massive expenditure on military hardware. With a defense budget at least equal to, or reportedly greater than, Armenia's entire state expenditure, the Azerbaijani blog says that the conflict with its neighbor over the disputed territory is more about retaining...
China: The politics of hydroelectricity
Sinologistical Violoncellist has a guest post by Kristiana Henderson of Pacific Lutheran University which addresses the politics of hydroelectricity projects in Tibet by looking into the history of conflicts between indigenous Sami community with the Norwegian government since 1850s.
Tanzania: Tanzania 2011 Scorecard
Dar Es Salaam signwriters at Kigamboni Market have put together the concise overview of Tanzania in 2011. See their work here.
Africa: Thoughts of Africa 2.0
Tolu's thoughts on Africa 2.0: “The point is this: in the emerging Africa it is harder for the government to carry on as though the people didn’t exist, or as though they existed to be deceived, because the citizens are losing the fear that once held them down. And then...
Peru: Residents of Puno Resume Protests
Once again the inhabitants of the Puno region have taken to the streets in protests, this time against the contamination caused by the mining of minerals. Six people died as a result of the protests on the day when Peru celebrates the Day of the Peasant.