At the same time, to disregard ethnic realities would be to build on loose sand, also a high-risk exercise. Is it possible to consolidate the framework of the modern African state while giving recognition and maximum utility to the component elements of ethnicities, cultures, and aspirations for self-determination? Ethnicity is more than skin color or physical characteristics, more than language, song, and dance.
Deprive a people of their ethnicity, their culture, and you deprive them of their sense of direction or purpose. Traditionally, African societies and even states functioned through an elaborate system based on the family, the lineage, the clan, the tribe, and ultimately a confederation of groups with ethnic, cultural, and linguistic characteristics in common. These were the units of social, economic, and political organizations and inter-communal relations.
In the process of colonial state-formation, groups were divided or brought together with little or no regard to their common characteristics or distinctive attributes. They were placed in new administrative frameworks, governed by new values, new institutions, and new operational principles and techniques.
The autonomous local outlook of the old order was replaced by the control mechanisms of the state, in which the ultimate authority was an outsider, a foreigner.
This mechanism functioned through the centralization of power, which ultimately rested on police and military force, the tools of authoritarian rule. This crude force was, however, softened by making use of traditional leaders as extended arms of state control over the tribes or the local communities, giving this externally imposed system a semblance of legitimacy for the masses.
Adding to this appearance of legitimacy was the introduction of a welfare system by which the state provided meager social services and limited development opportunities to privileged sectors. National resources were otherwise extracted and exported as raw materials to feed the metropolitan industries of the colonial masters. Smith Development was conceived as a means of receiving basic services from the state, rather than as a process of growth and collective accumulation of wealth that could in turn be invested in further growth.
The localized, broad-based, low-risk, self-sustaining subsistence activities gave way to high-risk, stratifying competition for state power and scarce resources, a zero-sum conflict of identities based on tribalism or ethnicity. Independence removed the common enemy, the colonial oppressor, but actually sharpened the conflict over centralized power and control over national resources. Today, virtually every African conflict has some ethno-regional dimension to it.
Even those conflicts that may appear to be free of ethnic concerns involve factions and alliances built around ethnic loyalties. Analysts have tended to have one of two views of the role of ethnicity in these conflicts. Some see ethnicity as a source of conflict; others see it as a tool used by political entrepreneurs to promote their ambitions.
In reality, it is both. Ethnicity, especially when combined with territorial identity, is a reality that exists independently of political maneuvers.
To argue that ethnic groups are unwitting tools of political manipulation is to underestimate a fundamental social reality. On the other hand, ethnicity is clearly a resource for political manipulation and entrepreneurship. Francis M. Deng Former Brookings Expert. After independence Africans were eager to disavow tribalism as divisive. Unity was postulated in a way that assumed a mythical homogeneity amidst diversity.
Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana outlawed parties organized on tribal or ethnic bases. Julius Nyerere, a scion of tribal chieftaincy, stamped out tribalism by fostering nationalistic pride in Tanganyika and later, Tanzania, born out of the union with Zanzibar. Jommo Kenyatta of Kenya forged a delicate alliance of ethnic groups behind the dominance of his Kenyan African National Union party. In South Africa, apartheid recognized and stratified races and ethnicities to an unsustainable degree.
Post-apartheid South Africa, however, remains poised between a racially, ethnically, and tribally blind democratic system and a proud ethnic self-assertiveness, represented and exploited by Zulu nationalists, spearheaded by the emotive leadership of Chief Buthelezi. Throughout Africa, the goal of safeguarding unity within the colonial state has preserved the stability of colonial borders while generating ethnic tensions and violence within those borders.
Some people lost some bread Eh-ya! Someone nearly die Eh-ya! Someone just die Eh-ya! Police they come, army they come Eh-ya! Confusion everywhere Eh-ya! Huuun un! Seven minutes later All don cool down, brother Police don go away Army don disappear Them leave sorrow, tears and blood Them regular trademark Them leave sorrow, tears and blood Them regular trademark.
Can I afford to compromise These feelings and save my mind? Will you let me crash? You are a citizen A resident, a resident in my heart. I hope you enjoyed this African Playlist and songs about Africa. And I hope that it brings your heart a whole lot of the joy, beat, and rhythms of Africa! Let me know in the comments below. I welcome any suggestions and am more than happy to add to this list. Continue your love for good music with these essential: On the beach songs for your holiday playlist.
Keep dancin' Rai. October 1, July 31, September 1, Your email address will not be published. New Here? Start here. Welcome to A Rai of Light! A home for extraordinary people around the world. If you've ever felt like there must be more to life, this site is for you.
Out of a love for travel, writing, photography, sharing stories and a desire to inspire others , I created this space to connect with other like-minded individuals. Along the way, I share my journey and strategies on Travel , Art and Life. Which countries can you visit on a Schengen visa in Right now. Edinburgh Travel Guide. Everything you need to know about visiting. Shortcomings in infrastructure quality and delivery disproportionately affect the poor and rural populations.
Poor infrastructure raises the costs "poverty premium" of supplying products to low-income and "difficult-to-reach" neighbourhoods, ultimately increasing the prices charged for those products. Tedcoris a grassroots company that brings waste management to underserved communities. It provides informal workers and disadvantaged entrepreneurs with training to provide effective waste management.
Tedcor obtains waste treatment contracts with municipalities and subcontracts tasks to these small businesses. The company thus ensures regular demand for the entrepreneurs' services. This business model lowers the overall cost of the waste management services, meaning that waste collection services can be extended to previously underserved areas. Most OECD countries have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, thanks to improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care.
Higher life expectancy is generally associated with higher health care spending per person, although many other factors have an impact on life expectancy such as living standards, lifestyles, education and environmental factors. When asked, "How is your health in general? Despite the subjective nature of this question, answers have been found to be a good predictor of people's future health care use. Gender, age and social status may affect answers to this question.
Living in satisfactory housing conditions is one of the most important aspects of people's lives. Housing is essential to meet basic needs, such as shelter, but it is not just a question of four walls and a roof. Housing should offer a place to sleep and rest where people feel safe and have privacy and personal space; somewhere they can raise a family. All of these elements help make a house a home. And of course there is the question whether people can afford adequate housing.
Housing costs take up a large share of the household budget and represent the largest single expenditure for many individuals and families, by the time you add up elements such as rent, gas, electricity, water, furniture or repairs. In addition to housing costs it is also important to examine living conditions, such as the average number of rooms shared per person and whether households have access to basic facilities. The number of rooms in a dwelling, divided by the number of persons living there, indicates whether residents are living in crowded conditions.
Overcrowded housing may have a negative impact on physical and mental health, relations with others and children's development. In addition, dense living conditions are often a sign of inadequate water and sewage supply. While money may not buy happiness, it is an important means to achieving higher living standards and thus greater well-being. Higher economic wealth may also improve access to quality education, health care and housing.
Household net adjusted disposable income is the amount of money that a household earns each year after taxes and transfers. It represents the money available to a household for spending on goods or services. Household net wealth is the total value of a household's financial and non-financial worth, such as money or shares held in bank accounts, the principal residence, other real estate properties, vehicles, valuables and other non-financial assets e. Having a job brings many important benefits, including: providing a source of income, improving social inclusion, fulfilling one's own aspirations, building self-esteem and developing skills and competencies.
Unemployed persons are defined as those who are not currently working but are willing to do so and actively searching for work.
Long-term unemployment can have a large negative effect on feelings of well-being and self-worth and result in a loss of skills, further reducing employability. In South Africa, the percentage of the labour force that has been unemployed for a year or longer is currently at The wages and other monetary benefits that come with employment are an important aspect of job quality.
Another essential factor of employment quality is job security, in terms of expected loss of earnings when someone becomes unemployed. This includes how likely you are to lose your job, how long you are likely to remain unemployed and how much financial assistance you can expect from government. Workers facing a high risk of job loss are more vulnerable, especially in countries with smaller social safety nets.
In South Africa, many people participate in the informal economy where the quality of jobs and access to training is low. At the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, young people are connected to employers looking for entry-level talent to help them get their start in the formal economy. This project is co-funded by the South African government under the Job Fund, and aims to match young people with potential employers through psychometric and qualitative assessments. Young people with at least upper secondary education are targeted in particular and training is provided for those testing with low levels of numeracy proficiency.
Candidates are also provided with bridging courses to improve their employability. Since the project was first launched in , Harambee has placed about 35 young people in South African businesses.
Happiness or subjective well-being can be measured in terms of life satisfaction, the presence of positive experiences and feelings, and the absence of negative experiences and feelings. Such measures, while subjective, are a useful complement to objective data to compare the quality of life across countries. Life satisfaction measures how people evaluate their life as a whole rather than their current feelings.
When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, South Africans on average gave it a 4.
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