22nd June 2023 - The Elephant's Weekly Digest
Welcome to this week’s letter from the Editor’s Desk. In this week’s newsletter, we trace Ugali politics, the finance bill, Congo peacekeeping, and blackouts in South Africa. These are some key themes that grace the pages of this recent week’s publication.?
UGALI POLITICS. In Cultivation, Commodification and Culture: Maize and Ugali in Kenya Christine Gatwiri explains how we all think of ugali as part and parcel of our food culture. But its origins in the urban diet are to be found in the colonial wage labour system. Yet, Ugali’s dominance in the diet starts with the colonial wage labour system and evolves with the changing native versus settler agriculture and the commodification of farm produce. Ugali also has affordable and accessible pairings. These can be as simple as vegetables, as diverse as milk or other beverages and as complex as meat or legumes. This is an ideal situation for one with limited resources such as the worker or the urban dweller. Read more.
CONGO PEACEKEEPING. In Does The EAC Regional Force Still Justify Its Presence in DRC? Sylvanus Wekesa reminds us that this June marks six months since the East African Community Heads of State Summit agreed to send an East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo to help quell the fighting sparked by the re-emergence of the M23 rebel group. The operations of the EACRF are bogged down by a poor interpretation of its mandate and the unrealistic expectations of the host country. Read more.
FINANCE BILL. Economist Abraham Rugo explores the fact that more than 90 per cent of Kenyans have rejected the Finance Bill 2023, which includes the government’s taxation plan for the financial year starting in July, a new survey has shown. Yet, the controversial Bill has sailed through the Second Reading stage with 176 Members of Parliament supporting it against 81 who opposed it. His passion focuses on homegrown solutions to society’s problems and works to localise and personalize policy matters that are otherwise complicated. Read more.
POWER CUTS. Further south in Johannesburg, A Power Crisis traces the path of Andre De Ruyter, the former CEO of Eskom, who has presented himself as a simple hero trying to save South Africa’s struggling power utility against corrupt forces. But this racially charged narrative is ultimately self-serving. Notoriously, Eskom is in what seems to be a state of “permacrisis.” Out-of-date technology, ineffectual maintenance, endemic corruption, and criminal inefficiency have combined to the point that waves of so-called load-shedding cripple the country. Read more.
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Is there a tip or story you would like us to cover? Please?reach out?and let us know!
Vol. 01, Issue No. 11, 22 June 2023
Latest Articles
We all think of ugali as part and parcel of our food culture. But its origins in the urban diet are to be found in the colonial wage labour system.
By?Christine Gatwiri
Andre De Ruyter, the former CEO of Eskom, has presented himself as a simple hero trying to save South Africa’s struggling power utility against corrupt forces. But this racially charged narrative is ultimately self-serving.
By?Mehita Iqani and Nicky Falkof
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The operations of the EACRF are bogged down by a poor interpretation of its mandate and the unrealistic expectations of the host country.?
By?Sylvanus Wekesa
The middle classes of Africa are often idealized as spearheads of democratization and opponents of corrupt regimes. But what does the research actually say?
By?Antje Daniel, Henning Melber and Florian Stoll
Latest Podcast
The Kenya Finance Bill 2023 is an unfair and regressive legislation favouring the wealthy and corporations at the expense of the working-class and poor majority. The Elephant in conversation with Diana Gichengo, National Coordinator at The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA).
By?The Elephant
Latest Video
More than 90 per cent of Kenyans have rejected the Finance Bill 2023, which includes the government’s taxation plan for the financial year starting in July, a new survey has shown. Yet, the controversial Bill has sailed through the Second Reading stage with 176 Members of Parliament supporting it against 81 who opposed it. The Elephant speaks to Abraham Rugo, PhD, the International Budget Partnership's Country Manager. He holds Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Public Management from the University of Potsdam, Germany. He has a passion for homegrown solutions to society's problems and works to localize and personalize policy matters that are otherwise complicated.
Latest Documents