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61. Corruption and Averting AIDS Deaths

Author:
Willa Friedman
Publication Date:
02-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
This paper looks at the impact of corruption on the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs in preventing AIDS deaths and the potential channels that generate this relationship. This is based on a unique panel dataset of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which combines information on all imported antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) from the World Health Organization's Global Price Reporting Mechanism with measures of corruption and estimates of the HIV prevalence and the number of AIDS deaths in each year and in each country. Countries with higher levels of corruption experience a significantly smaller drop in AIDS deaths as a result of the same quantity of ARVs imported. This is robust to different measures of corruption and to a measure of overall death rates as well as HIV-specific death rates as the outcome. A case-study analysis of the Kenyan experience illustrates one potential mechanism for the observed effect, demonstrating that disproportionately more clinics begin distributing ARVs in areas that are predominantly represented by the new leader's ethnic group.
Topic:
World Trade Organization
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

62. The “Chief” and the New Baraza: Harnessing Social Media for Community Policing in Kenya

Author:
Duncan Mainye Omanga
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
The exponential growth of social media use in Africa is not in doubt. The rapid rise in the use of mobile telephony, coupled with the spread of Internet-enabled gadgets, has made social media the latest catalyst of a grand transformation in Africa’s social and political complexion. This essay reveals how a local chief in Kenya has taken to using the microblogging website Twitter to radically transform the historical meeting place known as the baraza into a site of peacebuilding and community policing. In this study, the main aim is to show how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used every day in Lanet Umoja and how they punctu- ate ordinary life to build, in a subtle yet effective way, a more cohesive soci- ety at a very local level. Without exaggerating the impact and place of ICTs in building peace in Africa, I intend to show how a local actor, using local social structures and infrastructures, has attempted, with varying degrees of suc- cess, to create predictable patterns—or routine forms—of consumption and use of ICTs that, in a sense, reproduce a communication “fabric” for fighting crime, responding to emergencies, and creating a virtual vigilante. His use of an ICT also acts as an experimental form of spiritual healing. As several other scholars have argued, caution is needed in making broad claims regarding the impact of ICTs in Africa and whether they are simply refashioning existing communication structures (Nyabuga 2008; Asiedu 2012; Berger 2012; Mudhai et al 2011). In pursuing this study, I had, therefore, to take note of three broad aspects of my research. One was the main actor (the chief), the second was his medium (Twitter; mobile telephony), and the third was his audience (residents of Lanet Umoja). Using Manuel Castells’s idea of the network and John Postill’s of concept actors or agents in a “networked community,” I attempt to show how these three components interact to reproduce the aforementioned “fabric.”
Topic:
Internet, Social Media, Police, and Community
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

63. More Inclusive Decision-making Processes in Foreign Land Leasing: Policy Insights from Kenya

Author:
DAVID JAKINDA OTIENO
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Foreign land leases could help developing countries to acquire foreign direct investments (FDIs), including technical expertise and income necessary for economic transformation. A lack of local stakeholder consultation and involvement in the design of land leases leads to the rejection or disruption of such leases by local communities and wastes investors' resources due to disruptions. Local public stakeholders in Kenya are willing to accept and participate in leases, provided they include certain provisions: that leases do not exceed 15 years; are renewable subject to mutual negotiations; offer formal employment to landowners' household members; and provide adequate monetary compensation for the leased land. Effective and transparent management of land leases requires the formation of management committees comprising local stakeholders such as youth, women and land experts. To enhance lease transparency, regular consultative meetings should be held, negotiation records must be shared with local community members and landowners should receive direct payment, rather than being paid through intermediaries.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Development, Economics, Poverty, and Food
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

64. Voix africaines au Forum social mondial de Nairobi. Les chemins transnationaux des militantismes africains

Author:
Marie-Emmanuelle Pommerolle and Johanna Siméant
Publication Date:
04-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
19 janvier 2007, dans le confortable hôtel Six-eighty , au centre de Nairobi. C'est la soirée du CRID, le Centre de recherche et d'informations pour le développement, un collectif de cinquante-quatre associations de solidarité internationale qui constitue la principale structure de coordination des organisations françaises au Forum social mondial (FSM). Alors que la soirée se poursuit et que chacun présente son organisation et « ses partenaires », tout à coup, un groupe de jeunes Kenyans, aidés par le groupe des No Vox , brandit des pancartes. Une jeune femme kenyane prend la parole au nom du People's Parliament , une organisation dont elle explique qu'elle n'a pas été suffisamment associée au FSM et au travail du comité local d'organisation. Wangui Mbatia évoque le prix de la participation au FSM (500 shillings kenyans, soit, explique-t-elle, une semaine de nourriture pour une famille pauvre). La jeune juriste, comme on l'apprendra par la suite, incarnera tout au long du forum la contestation d'une partie des militants kenyans à l'égard d'un forum souvent dénoncé comme « une conférence internationale de plus ». Pendant tout le forum également se posera la question de la représentativité du People's Parliament : des rumeurs et insinuations circulent sur sa responsable, qui a étudié aux Etats-Unis, et que l'on retrouvera quelques mois plus tard aux protestations contre le G8 de Rostock. Mais la question est plus générale : qui a le droit de parler au nom des pauvres du Kenya et de l'Afrique lors des grands événements militants internationaux ?
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, and Nairobi

65. How Should Donors Respond to Resource Windfalls in Poor Countries?

Author:
Alan Gelb, Anton Dobronogov, and Fernando Brant Saldanha
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Natural resources are being discovered in more countries, both rich and poor. Many of the new and aspiring resource exporters are low-income countries that are still receiving substantial levels of foreign aid. Resource discoveries open up enormous opportunities, but also expose producing countries to huge trade and fiscal shocks from volatile commodity markets if their exports are highly concentrated. A large literature on the "resource curse" shows that these are damaging unless countries manage to cushion the effects through countercyclical policy. It also shows that the countries least likely to do so successfully are those with weaker institutions, and these are most likely to remain as clients of the aid system. This paper considers the question of how donors should respond to their clients' potential windfalls. It discusses several ways in which the focus and nature of foreign aid programs will need to change, including the level of financial assistance. The paper develops some ideas on how a donor like the International Development Association might structure its program of financial transfers to mitigate volatility. The paper outlines ways in which the International Development Association could use hedging instruments to vary disbursements while still working within a framework of country allocations that are not contingent on oil prices. Simulations suggest that the International Development Association could be structured to provide a larger degree of insurance if it is calibrated to hedge against large declines in resource prices. These suggestions are intended to complement other mechanisms, including self-insurance using Sovereign Wealth Funds (where possible) and the facilities of the International Monetary Fund.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Natural Resources, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana

66. Why Mpeketoni matters: al-Shabaab and violence in Kenya

Author:
David M. Anderson
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
The massacre at Mpeketoni in June 2014 signalled a new departure for al-Shabaab in its violent attacks on the Kenyan state. Justifying the attack as retaliation for the extrajudicial killings of Muslim leaders and the general oppression of Muslims, and as an act of war, al-Shabaab dem-onstrated a keen awareness of the sensitive political position of Kenya's Muslim population. Having been founded in a nationalist context in Somalia, al-Shabaab appears now to be rein-venting itself in the context of Kenya's troubled domestic politics. Claims that the Mpeketoni violence was based on local politics only underline the success of al-Shabaab's “reinvention”. The Kenyan state has done little to win support amongst its own Muslim population for its cur-rent invasion of southern Somalia. Its efforts to contain al-Hijra, an al-Shabaab franchise now operating in Kenya, has involved heavy-handed policing, most recently in Operation Usalama Watch, and has seen the killing and “disappearance” of more than 20 Muslim leaders. Kenya's government now needs to rebuild trust with Muslim communities in its north-eastern border areas, and elsewhere, and to seek a consensus against radicalisation. This should involve a reconsideration of policing methods, the creation of opportunities for political dialogue with Muslim leaders, and a more sensitive, culturally appropriate and equitable approach to Muslim communities in general.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Somalia

67. Child Care in Crisis

Author:
Sabrina Natasha Premji
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
NAIROBI, Kenya —In the winding alleyways of Mlolongo, one of Kenya's densest slums, heavy rainfalls from the previous night carpet the road with mud and animal waste, making both nearly impossible to avoid. Visitors approach and remove their shoes at the door to Mama Agnes' home, a mud shack, then step into a room where the air is pungent with the smell of urine and feces. In the darkness, one misstep and a visitor stumbles upon an infant, who seems unshaken by the accidental nudge. A few steps further lie two dozen more infants, none older than 18 months —some sitting on a broken couch, many lying on the concrete ground. Though all awake, their perfect little bodies remain still, only their bellies ri sing with each breath. In an eight-foot square space, there are at least 25 babies, and the only sound —silence.
Political Geography:
Kenya and Nairobi

68. After Westgate: opportunities and challenges in the war against Al-Shabaab

Author:
Paul D. Williams
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
On 21 September 2013, fighters from the Harakat Al-Shabaab Mujahideen (Movement of the Warrior Youth) attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 67 people and wounding over 200 others. According to Kenya's parliamentary inquiry into the attack, it was conducted by four gunmen (three Somali nationals and a Norwegian citizen of Somali origin), all of whom died in the subsequent four-day siege. The inquiry, by the Joint Committee on Administration and National Security and Defence and Foreign Relations, listed Westgate as the 28th terrorist attack in the country since Kenyan forces intervened in Somalia in October 2011. It concluded that a confluence of factors had left Kenya particularly vulnerable to such attacks: its porous border with Somalia; endemic corruption and poor levels of preparedness among its security officials; youth radicalization (with over 500 Kenyan youths recruited into Al-Shabaab), the proliferation of small arms and light weapons; and the influx of more than 600,000 Somali refugees into Kenya. Overall, the inquiry lamented that despite relevant general information about an impending terror attack on such a target, there had been a 'nationwide systemic failure' on the part of numerous government departments, confusion among government agencies in responding to the attack, and disgraceful looting of premises within the mall by some Kenyan soldiers and police.
Political Geography:
Kenya, Norway, Somalia, and Nairobi

69. Creating Spaces for Effective CVE Approaches

Author:
Georgia Holmer
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Countering violent extremism efforts strive to prevent at-risk individuals from being recruited into or joining extremist groups. Identifying who is at risk and who poses a threat, however, is a complicated inquiry. In Kenya, as in many other places experiencing violent extremism, the young, the undecided, the coerced and others might—if properly guided—move away from rather than toward violence. Many at risk of becoming involved in violent extremist groups are too quickly categorized as an enemy and given no opportunity to move in a different direction. Empathy is critical both to learning why individuals are vulnerable to engaging in violent extremism and to creating the space and willingness in a community to help those at risk.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Kenya and Somalia

70. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis

Author:
Prem Mahadevan
Publication Date:
08-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
The 2013 hostage sieges in Kenya and Algeria indicate that African jihadist groups are cooperating with one another even as their leaderships wage internal power struggles. Recent events in Iraq are likely to accentuate this trend, by prompting younger commanders to carry out glory-seeking operations in defiance of their chain of command.
Topic:
Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Kenya, Canada, and Algeria