Sub-Saharan Africa
The future of Africa is often regarded in a strangely unimaginative and pessimistic way. Yet Africa today is full of diversity, economic potential and innovative development.
However, the continent faces numerous challenges. As a liberal foundation, we believe that sustainable development depends on strong democratic institutions. Through our activities, we therefore promote liberal policies such as human rights, the rule of law, innovation, digitalisation and free trade.
From our offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Harare, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Abidjan and Dakar, we support partners in several African countries in advocating liberal values and implementing democratic structures.
News
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A President Under Pressure
Many believe that President Ramaphosa would be the only one who can save the party from electoral disaster, but a scathing report released in November, with just over two weeks to go to the conference, exposed Ramaphosa as potentially much less clean than the corruption-fighting leader he has thus far been. The report - compiled by an independent panel appointed by parliament and headed by a retired chief justice found that there might be grounds for impeachment.
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Shani: fighting against sexual violence towards children
FNF Tanzania launches an animated video series called Shani. The release of the video series will coincide with the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Towards Women and Children campaign from 25 November - 10 December 2022. Shani is a young ordinary girl from a village in Tanzania. Her secret is that she has the ability to transform and access her superpowers to fight monsters who find sneaky ways to enter into their lives with an aim to cause harm.
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The Dilemma of Whistleblowers of Corruption in Africa
“Corruption in Africa really fights, this doesn’t mean that corruption doesn’t fight elsewhere, but corruption in Africa fights hard,” Pusetso Morapedi of the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF). She was speaking in a panel discussion on the SABCNews programme, It’s Topical on Sunday, 6 November 2022. The show assembled a panel discussion of a dozen whistleblowers who blew the lid on corruption at state owned enterprises and the private sector.
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Health as a fundamental human right
In July 1946 WHO constitution was signed, declaring health as a right. “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition” it says. 76 years later, how much of this declaration is realised? Attaining a high standard of health means; access to healthcare for all in a timely acceptable and affordable manner.
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Freedom Speech and Award Ceremony of Guinean Opposition Leader Cellou Dalein Diallo
Cellou Dalein Diallo has dedicated his political life to the peaceful struggle against the autocratic rule and the mismanagement that have dominated Guinea for a long time. Organising the opposition's voice against the multiple military take overs in Guinea, he has often been on the receiving end of the brutality of state supported violence under the different military juntas.
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New office and hub of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Nairobi
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation will have a strong presence to promote democracy, human rights, entrepreneurship and free trade in Kenya. At the opening of our new office in Nairobi, our chairman Prof Paqué states: Kenya and the whole of Africa have the chance to take a big economic step forward. The liberal family will support them on the ground. Read the speech in full here.
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Nailbiter continues for Peace Prize of the German Book Trade winner Tsitsi Dangarembga
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has traveled to Harare, Zimbabwe, for the announced sentencing of Tsitsi Dangarembga. But the attrition tactics against the critic continue: the date for the pronouncement of the verdict has been postponed to September 29. Dangarembga is a peaceful critic of Zimbabwe's autocratic repressive system.
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Nailbiter continues for Peace Prize of the German Book Trade winner Tsitsi Dangarembga
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has traveled to Harare, Zimbabwe, for the announced sentencing of Tsitsi Dangarembga. But the attrition tactics against the critic continue: the date for the pronouncement of the verdict has been postponed to September 29. Dangarembga is a peaceful critic of Zimbabwe's autocratic repressive system. She was sentenced because of a poster calling for reforms. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation has been observing the trial on the ground since it opened some two and a half years ago.
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Calling young innovators: Pitch your idea on a global stage
With her innovative research in these cells, Emmie Chiyindiko impressed the judges at the Falling Walls Lab Cape Town, co-hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the University of Cape Town. ‘Falling Walls Labs’ are events held around the world in which budding innovators have just three minutes to pitch a groundbreaking idea that stands to change the world for the better. The winners of these international labs come together in Berlin, Germany each year.
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Tsitsi Dangarembga – A Case of Freedoms and Reforms on Trial
Tsitsi Dangarembga and Julie Barnes are accused of unlawfully demonstrating against corruption, calling for media and political freedom. They are further charged with attending an illegal public gathering and contravening COVID-19 regulations. Fungisai Sithole, Project Manager at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom office in Harare, Zimbabwe, attended the trial at the Rotten Row Magistrate Court in Harare.
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THE CLASH OF SYSTEMS: African Perceptions of the European Union and China Engagement
“The African survey participants hold up a mirror to European policy on Africa and expose Europe’s sometimes still paternalistic and romantic view of Africa. Europe's belief in the superiority of its own values contrasts with the pragmatic view of Africans on the performance and behaviour of the two partners (the EU and China)," says Stefan Schott, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in East Africa Project Director.
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The Journey from OAU to AU: Security Remains a Key Concern in Africa
The Malabo extraordinary summit is going to afford the continental body the opportunity to re-look what it once adopted in 2020 to silence the guns. The African Union Peace and Security Council expressed its grave concern over the persistence of conflict in the continent. As the continent seeks to rebuild itself, there are worries that this has been triggered by several factors like the trend of civilians acquiring arms for protection during situations of conflict.
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The Effects of Low Vaccinations Numbers in the Region
Meanwhile, low vaccination rates in the region have also hit vaccine makers in Africa who hoped to use demand for vaccines to generate orders. In May, a South African factory in Gqeberha said that it was on the verge of shutting down the production line it had set up to manufacture a version of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because it had not received a single order for its product. “International agencies” are being blamed for not placing orders.
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Behind Zimbabwe’s Currency Woes
The Z$750 000 note shocked many as a bigger banknote, but the Z$100 billion-dollar note in 2008 stole the show, which remains named as the Guinness record world's highest denomination banknote notwithstanding the ensuing introduction of a Z$100 trillion dollar note. The 100 trillion-dollar note became part of Zimbabwe’s former central bank chief Gideon Gono's failed efforts at saving an economic Armageddon characterised by a feisty inflation and deficits...
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The DRC joins the East Africa Community bloc
On April 8, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally joined the East African Community (EAC), a regional trade and political bloc. Analysts say that both the DRC and its neighbours stand to benefit from the new arrangement, which will expand the EAC as far west as the Atlantic Ocean and further open Congo’s market of 90 million people to the region. But the DRC’s ongoing security challenges could also complicate its integration.
Social Media
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#16DaysofActivism2022 continues, FNF Tanzania officially launches the animation series #Shani! “Story telling through film is the best way to engage the community and to keep ideas alive,” German Deputy Ambassador to Tanzania, Dr Kathrin Steinbrenner! #Shani a three episode animation series with a five episode audio series will broadcast in hospitals, buses and other facilities to raise awareness against sexual violence towards children. The series is produced in partnership with Tai Tanzania 🚨 Watch the series, in KiSwahili with English subtitles here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu00m-l7ea9KZn3PTKqXq4qRgJ2ghld4_
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The 4000 or so party members that will be attending the party's elective conference from 16 to 20 December in Johannesburg, will go there knowing it could be the last for the ANC as a governing party. Many believe that President Cyril Ramaphosa would be the only one who can save the party from electoral disaster, but a scathing report made public at the end of November, with just over two weeks to go to the conference, exposed Ramaphosa as potentially much less clean than the corruption-fighting leader he has thus far been. The report - compiled by an independent panel appointed by parliament and headed by a retired chief justice - found that there might be grounds for MPs to impeach Rampahosa.
