Dreams and constraints of an African publisher: Walter Bgoya, Tanzania Publishing House and Mkuki na Nyota, 1972–2020

This article explores the history of two Tanzanian publishing houses and the remarkable life and career of Walter Bgoya, former general manager of Tanzania Publishing House (1972–90) and managing director of Mkuki na Nyota, which he founded in 1991. Using the lens of microhistory, and drawing from extensive interviews with Bgoya and conversations with two colleagues and three authors, the article first chronicles his early life and ideological formation and what influenced his career in book publishing. It then examines the key achievements and challenges faced by these publishing houses in different times of austerity (e.g. Structural Adjustment Programmes, foreign investment with conditionalities, declining state support and high printing costs), along with the complex ways in which Bgoya has navigated the shifting, often uncertain, political, financial and legislative landscapes, while retaining his intellectual freedom and core Pan-Africanist beliefs. Constraints have not hampered Bgoya's pursuit of ambitious projects or his commitment to publishing relevant and progressive books, either written by African authors or on African matters. I suggest that reducing the scale and identifying how specific conditions of austerity have affected the choices made by a publisher over time can yield insights into the ways in which cultural institutions have contributed to knowledge production and dissemination in postcolonial Africa.

The unintended consequences of liberalization and austerity on higher education in Mozambique

Chronic shortages of resources to run the state have been a feature of Mozambique since the colonial period. Even before the adoption of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) in the late 1980s, conditions were austere due to the effects of Portuguese colonialism, a decade of liberation struggle, prolonged civil war and policy mistakes following independence in 1975. Drawing from archival research and oral accounts, this article analyses the impact of the liberalization of higher education in Mozambique. It explores the strategies adopted by intellectuals and academics to navigate reduced state support and donor conditionalities accompanying austerity measures from the late 1980s. It also highlights the paradoxical effects of austerity measures on fundraising, intellectual production, and the expansion of educational institutions. Austerity measures brought about by SAPs have forced universities and faculty to reinvent themselves by commercializing and privatizing higher education and seeking external funding for research. At the same time, scholars are now intellectually freer but more dependent on donors’ research agendas. Finally, the introduction of privately owned higher education institutions and the marketization of public institutions have increased divisions between the elites and the majority of Mozambicans who cannot afford to pay the fees charged.

Music and the Challenges of Socio-Economic Inequalities in Nigeria: ‘The Small People’s Anthem’ By Sẹ́gun Akinlolú as a Case Study

Popular music scholarship has tended towards romance, wealth accumulation. Adequate attention has not been paid to the contributions of popular music to fight against socio-economic inequalities of various forms in Nigeria. Inequalities of various forms are part of the realities of life across climes. However, challenges of socio-economic inequalities in Nigeria and other developing countries are particularly more problematic considering the ever-widening gap between the haves and have nots in these countries. While many of the advanced countries of the world have introduced several efforts to mitigate the effects of inequalities on their citizens through the introduction of social safety nets in the area of conditional cash transfer, housing and educational system, the same could not be said about Nigeria and other sub-Sahara countries. The introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programmes of 1986 and the concomitant retrenchment of welfare services in Nigeria has since, exacerbated socio-economic challenges in the country. In addition to the efforts of the constituted governments at various levels in Nigeria, several attempts are also being made between the country and the developed countries of the world both at multilateral and bilateral levels to combat the problem of socio-economic inequalities. This study, therefore, employed archival and library methods of data collection to thematically analyzed the roles of music in combating the ever-increasing socio-economic inequalities in Nigeria, using Sẹ́gun Akinlolú’s music, ‘Small Peoples’ Anthem’ as a point of reference. The study concludes that awareness of the populace about the menace of socio-economic inequalities and their various forms remains inadequate among Nigerians. Improved advocacy and deliberate government actions are viewed as a panacea to the problem of inequality in the country.

Structural adjustment programmes and communicable disease burdens: causal evidence from 187 countries

International financial organisations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play a central role in shaping the developmental trajectories of low- and middle-income countries through their conditional lending schemes, known as "structural adjustment programmes". These programmes entail wide-ranging domestic policy reforms that influence local health and welfare systems. Using novel panel data from 187 countries and an instrumental variable technique, we find that IMF programmes cause over 400 excess deaths and over 4,100 excess disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from communicable diseases per 100,000 population. IMF-mandated privatisation reforms cause over 570 excess deaths and over 6,700 excess DALYs per 100,000 population. Structural adjustment programmes, as currently designed and implemented, are harmful to population health and increase communicable disease burdens in developing contexts.

The effect of International Monetary Fund programmes on population health

Background: As one of the world's most powerful international financial organisations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is uniquely positioned to shape global developmental trajectories by influencing domestic policy arrangements. However, its role in shaping population health is understudied. Methods: We use previously unavailable cross-national time-series data and an instrumental-variables method to examine the causal impact of the IMF's structural adjustment programmes on age-standardised all-cause mortality rates and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 187 countries between 1990 and 2017. For this purpose, we specify two-way fixed-effects regression models. Findings: According to our baseline models, IMF programmes cause 392 excess all-cause deaths (95% CI: 176-608; p = 0:0004) and 4,205 excess DALYs (95% CI: 2,429-5,981; p = 0:000004) per 100,000 population. This aggregate effect appears to be driven by IMF-mandated privatisation reforms, which lead to 562 excess all-cause deaths (95% CI: 267-857; p = 0.0002) and 5,285 excess DALYs (95% CI: 2,749-7,822; p = 0.00004) per 100,000 population. Interpretation: Structural adjustment programmes play a significant role in perpetuating preventable disability and death in developing contexts. The IMF's policy reforms, especially those pertaining to the privatisation of state-owned enterprises, increase excess mortality rates and disease burdens in the world's most vulnerable regions. Funding: None.

4. Neoliberalism in Latin America and Africa

‘Neoliberalism in Latin America and Africa’ explores the influence of the Washington Consensus in shaping neoliberal policies in Latin America and Africa. From the perspective of the IMF or the World Bank, market-oriented reform in this region was needed to produce sustained economic growth. To that end, they linked their financial assistance to ‘structural adjustment programmes’ anchored in one-size-fits-all economic prescriptions. However, not all markets 'work' in exactly the same way and according to the same rules. In many instances, the neoliberal remedies applied to Latin America and Africa were microeconomic strategies that failed to account for the unique social, political, and cultural contexts in which they were enforced.

Africa’s Current Path

Cilliers provides a summary and analysis of Africa’s development history since the 1980s including the impact of the Brundtland Commission report that culminated in the Millennium Development Goals and, in 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals. Other key matters covered in the chapter are the impact of the various structural adjustment programmes, Africa’s growing dependence upon commodities, the continents rapid democratisation and slow pace of urbanisation. The chapter concludes with a summary of key characteristics of Africa’s likely future—the Current Path forecast to 2040—that includes a forecast of economic size, demographics, income and poverty levels. The chapter serves as essential backdrop to the struggle for development that is examined across different sectors in subsequent chapters.

The issue of school privatisation in Côte d'Ivoire

The Ivorian state has been involved in the construction of public schools given their importance for development. Since the 1980s, there has been a reduction in funding linked to the economic crisis and structural adjustment programmes. Thus, by a convention the State will concede the public service of education to the private sector. The results of this research on the conditions of access to private schools in the Abidjan district were analysed through a cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical aims. This has led to disparities in costs between municipalities. 40,000 FCFA for minima and 1, 922,000 FCFA for maxima, a multiplication order of 48. In secondary school, the minimum is 43,000 FCFA and the maximum is 2, 706,000 FCFA, a multiplication order of 63. In higher education there are less disparities. In total, there are many differences in the costs of schooling from one school to another. While the public-private partnership has encouraged more children to attend school, it has also created a challenge to access because of the expensive costs of attending school.

The Political Economy of Industrialization and Industrial Policy in Africa, 1960‒2018

This chapter examines industrial policy (IP) in Africa from late colonial times to the present. It focuses on explanations of the failure of African countries to transcend the first stage of import substitution and effect the structural transformation of their economies. These explanations lie in the nature of a country’s power relations, their interaction with foreign capital and international institutions, and their effect on the ability of the state to implement IP. We point to the continuities from colonial IP to the post-independence adoption of more rapid import substitution, then to the effects of liberalization through structural adjustment programmes on IP and industrialization, and finally to the return of a more focused IP. We show the policy effects on industrial growth and economic structure in each period and argue that particular policies were followed because of the power of specific class and state coalitions to prevent or effect change.

Causes of Child Sex Tourism Systematic

The tourism industry beyond all reasonable doubts is not only one of the most rapidly growing industries in the globe but one of the largest employer generating billions of dollars annually. However, in spite of that, the industry according to nascent studies has some profound negative socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental impacts on communities. For instant, tourists engaging children in sex for which they are not ready for both physically, mentally and psychologically has negatively impacted them physically, psychological, mentally, emotionally, economically; and socially. Some have even died. Although the precise number of child sex tourism casualties and their circumstances is not scientifically well researched and documented, what is indisputable is they are in millions. This lack of scholarly documentation, beyond reasonable doubt has posed a great challenge to all concern authorities. Thus, this research was meant to address this gap. The fundamental rationale for the systematic literature review is to examine the present scale and degree of the causes of child sex tourism, share knowledge to spark and inspire processes that will usher rapid growth from all directions in the fight against the menace. A systematic review of the literatures using information collected from different sources was actuated. Google Search Engine was used to search these articles. During the search numeration combinations of words and phrases were used to ensure articles reflect the most recent knowledge and scholarly works. In essence, only peer-reviewed articles published after 2008 were selected except extracts perceived to be of fundamental mileage to the study. However, articles published by staunch international organizations working in the protection of children for years and has produced indefatigable knowledge in commercial sexual exploitation of the children were stealthily appraised. Poverty, which is commonly cited, is not the sole justification for the commercial sexual exploitation of children, even though it contributes to an environment that may sequel to such exploitation. In summation, a range of other complex contributing factors include consumerism, culture, economic disparities, social, political instability, environment, corruption, lack of reporting crimes, lack of and/or inadequate laws, poor enforcement, state lack of interest, debt burden, structural adjustment programmes, the practice of offering women as subservient to men, discriminatory policies, poverty, natural calamities, lack of training, demand and supply, power imbalances, sex trade, families encouragement, philanthropic organizations, internet access, crime and violence, transient workers, freedom of movement, domestic tourists, population expansion, child trafficking, individual, loss of communal farmlands; and porous borders. In conclusion, the causes of child sex tourism can be simply pooled and catalogued into