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Thursday, August 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Trade and poverty: Facts beyond theory
ECONOMY-BOTSWANA: Job Losses Show ‘‘Diamonds Are Not Forever’’
‘‘The situation is now very bad, very bad for workers. It is no longer about the workers alone, it is about the government, the companies, everyone. We need to talk. Dialogue is the only solution.’’TRADE-GHANA: Rice Farmers’ Markets So Close and Yet Out of Reach
Last year, rice farmers took to the streets of Ghana’s capital of Accra and accused the government of allowing imports to destroy their livelihoods.
Q&A: How to Break the Cycle of ‘‘Endless Philanthropy''
Dr Ramon E Daubon not only believes in democratising development but takes umbrage at the ‘‘cult of tangible results'' in development assistance.AFRICA: Yet Another Case of Graft Involving French Arms Trade
Three days ago, Jean-Charles Marchiani, a former member of the French secret services, was released from the Paris prison of La Santé where he had been serving time since May 2008. Last year, a tribunal in Paris found Marchiani guilty of influence peddling and other corruption charges involving African countries.
Q&A: Zimbabwe's Finance Minister, ‘‘The Worst Job In The World''
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe last week presided over the formation of a new unity government. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary general Tendai Biti was appointed to the post of finance minister.FRANCE: New Claims About Corrupt Relations with African Dictators
The possibility that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner might have misused his public position in France to boost his profitable private business with prominent African dictators arises at a time when the local authorities are dealing with numerous corruption affairs.
ECONOMY-DR CONGO: Joblessness Rises As Global Crisis Hits Mining
It is busy at the gates of Bralima brewery in Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). About 60 men are waiting at the doors, hoping for them to open and someone to offer them work. Their numbers have grown since the global economic crisis which has caused the collapse of the local mining industry.TRADE: Financial Crisis Makes Liberalisation Less Rosy
With the current economic crisis, questions are being asked about the viability of further liberalisation as envisaged in the Doha Round at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In particular, the North’s pressure on poor countries to open financial markets may be ‘‘obsolete’’ because of the role of the financial sector in the crisis.ECONOMY: Germany Helping South Africa With 2010 Soccer World Cup?
As the building of new soccer stadiums and transport infrastructure in South Africa steams ahead, little seems to have come of the agreed assistance by the host of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Germany, to the 2010 FIFA World Cup host, South Africa.
TRADE-UGANDA: ‘‘Green’’ Burial Cloth Gets New Lease on Life
Bark cloth, a fabric historically used by the Buganda in central Uganda to wrap their dead before burial, is making a comeback in the form of trendy crafts, clothing and household goods.TRADE: Russia Supplying Legal And ‘‘Illegal’’ Arms to Africa
Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, plans to grow the volume of Russian armament and military equipment to Africa over the next four to five years. This comes on top of allegations that Russia is selling arms to smuggling and contraband rings, thereby contributing to conflict on the war-torn continent.ZIMBABWE: Government Scheme to Access Forex Blocks Small Business
The ZANU-PF government’s efforts to gain access to foreign exchange (also known as forex) by imposing an expensive licensing system on Zimbabwean enterprises, enforced with the threat of prosecution, is undermining one of the last remaining means of survival in the collapsing country.
ZIMBABWE: ‘‘Dollarisation’’ of Economy Hitting Poor Hard
The collapse of the Zimbabwean economy has led to the ‘‘dollarisation’’ of the economy – and even to what some, who have still maintained some sense of tragicomedy, call the ‘‘petrolisation’’ of the economy because of the re-emergence of barter trade.
ZIMBABWE: ‘Life Is Like A Casino – We Live Each Day As It Comes’
Long lines of stalls, run by women, have sprung up next to many of Zimbabwe’s highways, selling honey, milk, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and chickens. As prices in towns skyrocket due to unprecedented inflation levels running in the millions, people leave their towns to purchase basic commodities.
TRADE: Exporting Inside Africa as Expensive as Exporting to Asia
Despite the new free trade agreement linking southern African states, it still costs as much to move goods between African states as it costs to move goods from Asia to Africa, according to an economist.AFRICA: European Parliament Softens Position on EPA Trade Deals
The European Union’s only directly elected body is demanding that a new trade deal between the bloc and Cameroon should not be applied to other countries in central Africa.
KENYA: Tourism Industry Picking Up Again After Election Violence
As the eagerly awaited recovery in tourism after the election violence in Kenya takes off, bad news has come in the form of corruption allegations.
EAST AFRICA: Even Fish Heads Are Now Unaffordable
Illegal trade and overfishing in Lake Victoria have led to fish scarcities in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Large quantities of illegally traded unprocessed fish, especially Nile perch and tilapia, may be finding their way to export markets in the European Union (EU).ECONOMY-TANZANIA: Investing The Money Under The Mattress
Omari Saidi heard bad news about the global financial crisis, but the 34-year-old Tanzanian taxi driver felt too far removed from the world market to worry.
ZIMBABWE: Contradictory Claims About Ivory Trade After CITES
The decision by an international body to again allow some southern African countries to conduct once-off ivory sales has been attacked by an animal rights activist saying elephants are being threatened by poaching because of the breakdown in the legal and social order in Zimbabwe.EAST AFRICA: Plan to Integrate Bourses Despite Hesitant Tanzania
Despite Tanzania’s resistance to cross-border investment, a position that contradicts the East African Community Customs Management Act, plans are going ahead to integrate the three major bourses within the region, namely the Dar es Salaam stock exchange, the Nairobi stock exchange and the Uganda securities exchange, plus the stock exchange in Burundi.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Trade has historically been a geopolitical tool, creating significant economic imbalances in developing countries. However, many countries in East Asia and Latin America have been able to alleviate poverty due to increasing trade. Tackling poverty has proven to be much harder in low income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, and their dismal trade performance is one important reason for that. They remain at the margins of world trade and indeed of the world economy. These articles are aimed at informing readers about the complexities of trade and its varying effects on development, with a special focus on the consequences of the global economic crisis, the potential of fair trade and the gender implications of trade policies.
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