China’s Trade in Africa Carries a Price Tag
Posted by Grant Brewer
The New York Times carries an interesting article on the affect of low cost Chinese imports on local manufacturing in Africa; and the conclusion is that factories in Africa have suffered. On so many levels Africa suffers at the hands of globalisation. In some senses, it is a penalty for not having sorted itself out earlier in the last century. The only upside is the investments that China is making in Africa, although these seems to be largely related to commodities. Trying to fix some of the issues in Africa is double hard today because of the open-ness of the global economy. As the article points out, it makes establishing a healthy, diverse economy difficult.
(Via The New York Times - New Power in Africa.)
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south africa (4) | china (4) | globalisation (3) | imperialism (1) | trade (1) | africa (1)
Brazil unveils strategy on crime
Posted by Grant Brewer
So Brazil has announced a strategy to reduce crime -- and what is South Africa doing? Nothing it seems -- believing that the current approach is doing just fine. It is worth understanding what exactly the Brazilian strategy is. Time to go and dig out an English summary of the plan.
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south africa (4) | brazil (2) | crime (1)
1000 days before 2010 World Cup
Posted by Grant Brewer
With a successful rugby World Cup campaign behind us, I caught sight of [this article][] on [Accelerate Cape Town][] highlighting that there are 1,000 days to go before the FIFA World Cup 2010 kicks off in South Africa -- that leaves very little time for preparations, although it seems from what I hear and read that things are on track.
The article's author, Linton Rensburg has a few interesting comments.
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south africa (4) | world cup (3) | 2010 (2) | economics (1)
SA Blook, Chapter 3 — What the world thinks of South Africa
Posted by Grant Brewer
Understanding South Africa is a challenge. It is a country full of paradoxes and extremes. As the setting of one of the most remarkable political transformations in modern history, it is also home to widespread poverty and mind–numbing violent crime. We remain trapped by past beliefs in our strengths — such as the idea that South Africa is a rich country because of its mineral wealth, or that our extraordinary political transition owes us opportunities in a global economy — and we're struggling to define what exactly we contribute to and how we relate to the world around us. How do all these things come together to forge a nation that can define its own meaning for the twenty first century, and in doing so create an emerging land of opportunity.
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china (4) | south africa (4) | world cup (3) | globalisation (3) | brazil (2) | 2010 (2) | mtn (2) | india (1) | tutu (1) | global perspectives (1)