The nominations are in, and now it is time to meet the African musicians nominated for the 2021 Accountability Music Awards, which recognizes African artists and musicians speaking up about corruption in their music. The awards received over 200 nominations from Africans across the continent and we have put together a shortlist of this year’s nominees, created by ONE, Accountability labs, and Trace Africa. Meet the nominees WinkyD Wallace Chirumiko is a Zimbabwean reggae-dancehall artist, also known as...
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Beware the bottlenecks: The massive disruption to global supply chains could hamper the world’s economic recovery, and potentially require a redesign of the world’s shipping infrastructure. Nearly 13% of the world’s cargo ship capacity is tied up in delays, creating a domino effect of bottlenecks. “The supply chain is overwhelmed and inundated. It’s not sustainable at this point,” said the head of the US’s Port of Savannah, which, like many ports around the world, is overwhelmed by a glut of...
Every day, almost 20 million people in South Africa go to bed hungry. And every month, 30 million people don’t have enough money, leaving them vulnerable to food insecurity.
In Cape Town, community gardens and nonprofits are fighting this food insecurity by rescuing food waste, encouraging people to grow their own gardens at home, and fostering the next generation of agricultural entrepreneurs.
On this World Food Day, here’s a closer look at their work.
Bo-Kaap Helpers Garden: Building garden communities during COVID-19
Between...
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Pandora’s box, open: This week, the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ) launched the “Pandora Papers,” its latest leaked investigation into the murky world of “offshore” finance. The data leak includes the names of more than 330 politicians in 91 countries, including 35 current and former world leaders, who seemingly participate in and benefit from a global system that enables illicit practices like corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. Such activities undermine government revenues and trust in government at...
To see a brighter future, young activists know that they can’t wait until tomorrow to start changing the world. Action has to happen now. In South Africa specifically, seven young girls are doing just that. Through education, climate action, and action against gender-based violence, these girls prove no one is too young to start changing the world.
On this International Day of the Girl, here’s a closer look at their activism.
On empowering girls through education
The afternoon sun shines brightly on...
Corruption hinders progress to change the world for the better. In Africa specifically, it is a major barrier to economic growth and development, and for decades, it has been the main driver of many Africans’ distrust in public institutions. It is such a barrier that when citizens of African countries speak up against it, there is usually a high chance of retaliation or negative consequences. In 2019, Zimbabwean artist Platinum Prince was abducted by armed men following the release...
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African Marshall Plan: President Emmanuel Macron agreed to share 20% of France’s IMF-allocated emergency funds, Special Drawing Rights. This is a good move. But it risks setting a low bar for the remaining G7 countries — which will receive $282.8 billion SDRs even though they don’t need them. (In fact, some G7 countries may have economic rebounds so promising that the US will see its fastest growth rate since 1894.) Last week, African leaders continued calls for rich...
In July, Kenyans were dismayed to learn that a cash transfer programme intended to help low-income people deal with COVID-19’s economic impact did not actually benefit those recepients, due to corruption and other irregularities. A study by Human Rights Watch found that officials in charge of disbursing the funds frequently ignored eligibility criteria for beneficiaries, and in some cases, directed the funds to relatives or friends.
Moreover, not all those who were enrolled in the programme received the cash. Many...
COVID-19 has shown the fault lines in healthcare systems around the world, particularly in fragile states where access to public health services has been disrupted or is extremely limited. In Somalia – which has experienced decades of conflict and political instability since the collapse of the state in 1991 – the lack of a robust health system has impacted the country’s ability to deal with the pandemic.
Amnesty International found that only one hospital in the entire country – the...
Désiré Assogbavi is the ONE’s Francophone Africa Director. This blog is a summary of a paper he presented at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa during a conference on “Good governance, participatory democracy, and social justice: Civil society as an agent of change and innovation in Africa.”
An integrated, peaceful, and economically developed Africa needs the full involvement of all segments of our society. It cannot be left in the hands of the only politicians holding office.
That’s why both institutionally...