Political Geography: Africa / Topic: Local

Author:: Florence Dafe, Dennis Essers, and Ulrich Volz
Publication Date:: 01-2017
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London
Abstract:: This paper analyses the development of local currency sovereign bond markets (LCBMs), a potentially important but often overlooked source of longer-term public finance, in Sub- Saharan Africa (SSA). We construct a novel dataset comprising 28 SSA countries for the period 2000-2014 to identify the main correlates of LCBM capitalization, of local currency bond (LCB) tenors and of LCB issue yields. Our econometric analysis is complemented by case studies of Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, where we further investigate the drivers of LCBM development and place LCBMs in a broader public debt context. We find that LCBMs have become important sources of financing in SSA but that new vulnerabilities emerge from the costs of domestic borrowing, short bond tenors and the composition of the investor base.
Topic:: Debt, Finance, Local, and Bonds
Political Geography:: Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

Author:: Aurore Mathieu
Publication Date:: 04-2017
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Internally displaced people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are struggling to find long-term solutions to improve their resilience to shocks in a region that has been beset by armed conflict for more than 20 years. In 2016 Oxfam partners undertook a survey among host communities and displaced people in Masisi and Lubero, North Kivu, to gain a picture of the formal and informal mechanisms developed by displaced people to integrate into host communities. It revealed that although the majority of displaced people wish to return eventually to their place of origin, the least vulnerable displaced people are those who manage to integrate into their host communities. This paper reports the views of displaced people and host communities. It aims to influence the debate underway on solutions to displacement in the province of North Kivu and provides concrete suggestions for ways to strengthen those mechanisms; in particular by redefining the interventions of humanitarian and development actors and authorities to consider the needs of host communities
Topic:: Displacement, Local, Humanitarian Crisis, and Internal Displacement
Political Geography:: Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo

Author:: Mirjam Fusenig
Publication Date:: 07-2016
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:: Fairtrade’s engagement in South Africa is unique as it emerged from an initiative of local producers seeking the certification in 2003. Since then, the number of Fairtrade wine farms has steadily increased. The inclusion of hired labour plantations has resulted in a vivid discussion amongst scholars. However, research on the perspectives of management on hired labour plantations about Fairtrade remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the motivation behind South African wine producers’ pursuit of a Fairtrade certification. Having constructed a conceptual framework incorporating isomorphic drivers and legitimation strategies, the study draws on theoretical concepts mainly used to assess companies’ motivation for social and environmental reporting. The overarching finding of this study supports scholars who claim that Fairtrade rests on the same market forces as conventional trade. The tide in South Africa’s wine industry has turned; initiated by local producers, but gradually being taken over by international retailers. It remains questionable whether such enforced standards can lead to a sustainable change within the industry.
Topic:: Agriculture, Local, Trade, and Farming
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

Author:: Angelo Gilles
Publication Date:: 12-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:: Guangzhou has become a key destination for sub-Saharan African traders. These traders have established multilocal forms of business organisation and, in so doing, have developed diverse prac- tices to overcome geographical, political and cultural boundaries. This paper focuses on these practices, looking at the ways in which the movements, relations and interactions within these organisational formations are produced, transformed and lived. A close ethnograph- ic examination was made of the livelihoods of 33 African traders from 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Through the concept of trans- locality, the organisational formations of these Africans are conceptu- alised as links between different places on a larger geographical scale; these links then meet on a local scale in the specific place of Guang- zhou. Following a relational understanding of spatial constructions in social science, these links are conceptualised as one of the main drivers for the social construction and transformation of the city as a trans- local trading place.
Topic:: Regional Cooperation, Culture, Urban, and Local
Political Geography:: Africa, China, and Asia

Author:: Gape Kaboyakgosi
Publication Date:: 09-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
Abstract:: This policy brief discusses the need to make Botswana’s budget process more transparent. Transparent or open budgets both facilitate and support timely, relevant public access to budget information, enhancing citizen participation in the budgetary process. Transparent budgets also strengthen the role and independence of oversight institutions such as Parliament and Supreme Audit Institution (SAI)-or the Office of the Auditor General. The objective of this brief is to advocate for the opening up of Botswana’s budgetary process, hence the paper concludes by making recommendations on how to enhance budget transparency in Botswana.
Topic:: Economics, Governance, Budget, Local, and State Funding
Political Geography:: Africa and Botswana

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