Africa Analysis

Risk analysis studies on Africa conducted by a number of international organisations have addressed a number of complex and interlocking socioeconomic and political issues, largely painting a bleak picture of the continent. These reports have been used by the Western countries as benchmarks for the flow of donor funds, often with disastrous consequences. The failure of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) introduced by the Bretton Woods institutions in the 1970s and 1980s serve as a good example. Taking cognisance of these interpretations, the case studies in this volume have employed appropriate methodological, conceptual and theoretical approaches with the objective of reaching balanced assessments on the underlying principles of risk and threat in Africa. The authors take a more holistic view, clearly defining the concept of risk and its corollaries and going beyond the somewhat limited view of those organisations which apply largely Eurocentric values to their assessments.

This book offers a new alternative to understanding the relationship between China and Africa. Here, the author not only explores the changing nature of Ethiopia’s internal politics as a result of Chinese investment and commercial links, but also compellingly questions the existing state-centric macro or strategic investigation of China-Africa relations. By thoroughly reviewing and deploying the ‘second image reversed’ approach and the relational concept of state power analytical approaches, Ziso challenges the Western-centric Weberian conceptualization of state. This volume presents an eclectic approach to interpret the state transformation in Ethiopia in light of Chinese capital, arguing for a “state in society” framework which does not treat the state as a unitary black box. This analysis challenges the conventional binary staple which is often framed on whether China is the new imperialist power plundering Africa’s resources or is Africa’s historically all-weather friend. This volume offers an original contribution to knowledge on China’s relations with Ethiopia in particular, and with Africa in general.

As South Africa looks to progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), including the establishment of the National Health Insurance (NHI), the cross-programmatic efficiency analysis sought to examine and address underlying efficiency issues in the current system and support ongoing reform efforts. It also provided information to policymakers about possible ways to better coordinate and integrate components of the TB, HIV/AIDS, and MNCH health programmes so as to meet population health needs in an efficient manner. This policy brief, which outlines the identified inefficiencies, their implications, and policy options, is written based on that analysis performed in 2016, with recognition that changes in the health system may have taken place since the study was conducted.

First Published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

South Africa has a long history of regulation of wildlife conservation that dates as far back as 1656 when Jan van Riebeek, a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town, gave instructions to regulate hunting in the Cape. From that time, South Africa has had several wildlife and biodiversity conservation policies and laws. After the fall of apartheid, the new framework policies and laws on environment and wildlife conservation were enacted to further strengthen wildlife conservation in the country. South Africa is also a party to various international agreements that commit the country to its conservation efforts at an international level. This rapid, independent assessment of the law and policy governing wildlife crimes in South Africa reviews the Constitution and the national framework laws, focusing on those laws and policies that impose criminal liability for wildlife offences. The assessment then turns to the provinces. Provincial governments have a fairly large degree of legislative and executive jurisdiction over conservations and wildlife management issues, including enforcing compliance of criminal wildlife laws. The review sets out the offences and penalties that exist across the myriad of relevant environmental legislation and policy and looks at the power and mandate of the various enforcement bodies.

This report presents a description of the patterns of change in rural women's reproductive behaviour in South Africa over a period of 17 years extending from 1987-9 to 2004. The analyses were informed by the Programme of Action that was set out at the 1994 International Cairo Conference on Population and Development. The Programme of Action has a 20-year implementation time period, and the year 2004 was halfway through the 20 years. The year 2004 is also 30 years since the introduction of South Africa's National Family Planning Programme in 1975, which advanced the health rationale for fertility regulation. It is also twenty years after the introduction of the Population Development Programme in 1985, which emphasized the demographic rationale for fertility regulation. It is finally the seventh year after the introduction of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1997, which legalized pregnancy terminations under prescribed conditions, with emphasis on women's rights to choice. Five of South Africa's nine provinces, which have more than 50 per cent of their populations living in tribal areas, were included in the analyses.