Dispatches

Popular trust in public institutions and officials is an important indicator of political legitimacy, a key resource for the development and functioning of modern democracies (Freitag & Bühlmann, 2009; Chingwete, 2016; Mishler & Rose, 2001; Newton, 2001). However, some analysts argue that while trust is important in a democracy, citizens would be naïve if they didn’t have a certain level of distrust as well (van de Walle & Six, 2004).

En plus d’être confrontés à d’immenses défis sécuritaires et humanitaires depuis quelques années, les Burkinabè font face à une situation économique difficile. Même avant l’arrivée de la pandémie de la COVID-19, la croissance du produit intérieur brut (PIB) réel annuel du pays s’est ralentie en 2019, et le secteur agricole, qui emploie 80% de la population active, a été caractérisé par une campagne déficitaire en ce qui concerne la production céréalière (Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie, 2019).

Gender equality is both Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 5 and a theme underpinning various other goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (United Nations, 2019). The agenda highlights the need for gender-equal access to education, ownership of resources, and engagement with information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Em apenas um ano, Angola melhorou da 167a para 146a posição no Índice de Percepção da Corrupção (CPI) da Transparency International (2020), em grande parte devido à força das reformas anticorrupção introduzidas após a posse do Presidente João Lourenço em Setembro de 2017 (Jornal de Angola, 2020; O Observador, 2020a).

In just one year, Angola improved from 167th to 146th on Transparency International’s (2020) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), largely on the strength of anti-corruption reforms introduced after President João Lourenço took office in 2017 (Jornal de Angola, 2020; O Observador, 2020a).

Sixty years after claiming its sovereign rights from the British, Nigeria is classified as a middle- income mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology, and entertainment sectors. Touted as Africa’s largest economy, it ranks as the 27th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal gross domestic product and the 24th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity (World Bank, 2020a).

The export of diamonds, water, mohair, and other wools is an important source of revenue for Lesotho, contributing 9.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 (Sawe, 2019). Despite these riches, Lesotho is classified as one of the least developed nations in the world (United Nations, 2018), and more than half of Basotho (51%) live below the national poverty line (Callander, 2017).

Despite gains in building its democracy, Tunisia still struggles with poor economic conditions and high rates of unemployment and inequality (Diwan, 2019). The country, especially in the interior region, is also plagued by unreliable public services such as medical care and water supply – particular problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Tunisia’s public health facilities face severe challenges, including substantial debt, too few beds to meet demand, inadequate equipment, and a shortfall of 14,000 qualified medical staff (News24, 2017).

La Guinée vient d’adopter une nouvelle Constitution suite au référendum controversé du 22 mars 2020, qui a été couplé avec des élections législatives ayant conduit à la mise en place d’une nouvelle Assemblée Nationale. Ce double scrutin a été boycotté par bon nombre de Guinéens. La nouvelle Constitution stipule que le Président de la République est élu pour un mandat de six ans, renouvelable une fois.

La Côte d’Ivoire, la Guinée, et le Sénégal ont en commun leur histoire d’anciennes colonies françaises. Ils partagent le Français comme langue officielle et ont des structures politiques et institutionnelles très similaires. Tous ces trois pays situés en Afrique de l’Ouest ont obtenu leurs indépendances dans une période de 18 mois en 1958-1960 (CNDP-CRDP, 2010).

Le Gabon, pays démocratique depuis le début des années 1990, est comme bon nombre de pays africains dont la démocratie ne se limite parfois qu’à la simple tenue d’élections régulières. Pourtant nous savons que la force de la démocratie libérale réside dans le fait qu’elle donne au peuple ce à quoi il aspire le plus: la liberté (Diallo, 2011).

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened problems that were already bedeviling Nigeria’s health system, including run-down or inadequate medical equipment, underpaid and unmotivated medical staff, and unequal access to health care (Andolu Agency, 2020; Pulse Nigeria, 2020). The World Health Organization has labeled Nigeria a human resources for health (HRH) crisis country (Global Health Workforce Alliance, 2020).

Face aux mutations continues des technologies, les habitudes de consommation d’informations des Guinéens aussi évoluent. Même si la radio reste la source d’information la plus populaire, elle est en train d’être concurrencée par la télévision, et l’Internet et les réseaux sociaux sont de plus en plus présents au quotidien des Guinéens.

Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world; about half of its population lives below the poverty line (United Nations Development Programme, 2019; National Statistical Office, 2017). Heavily dependent on agriculture, its economy is susceptible to climate and other shocks (World Bank, 2019). Although annual economic growth averaged 4% between 1971 and 2017, this growth fluctuated between a high of 14% in 1971 and a low of -11% in 1994 (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2019).

After weeks of massive demonstrations demanding President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta’s resignation, thousands of jubilant Malians celebrated the military coup that removed him from office on 18 August (Al Jazeera, 2020). But some observers were left to wonder whether democracy in Mali is dead.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many countries to take drastic actions to reduce its spread and impact. In Zimbabwe, a national lockdown in effect since late March has been eased to allow select industry and commerce to operate, but the informal sector remains locked down (Government of Zimbabwe, 2020).

Poverty levels in Sierra Leone are high, with health shocks like the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and the current COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating economic hardship in the country. At least 57% of the population live below the poverty line, while 11% are in extreme poverty (Government of Sierra Leone, 2019a).

Depuis le retour au multipartisme en 1990, consécutif à la tenue de la Conférence Nationale Souveraine, le Gabon n’échappe pas au débat sur la question identitaire. En effet, avec plus de 50 ethnies, la question des identités est régulièrement soulevée dans le débat national et se pose comme un obstacle à la construction d’une nation post-ethnique (Etoughé, 2003). Le processus de l’élection présidentielle anticipée de 2009 avait d’ailleurs montré une sorte de fracture ethno-politique suscitant le débat sur le repli identitaire.

Almost 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making the continent the world’s youngest (Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 2019). Africa’s youthful population is a tale of two perspectives – one seeing an enormous resource with almost unlimited potential (African Union Commission, 2006), the other a ticking time bomb if the continent fails to build the structures and economic resilience to support and engage this burgeoning population (African Development Bank, 2018).

In 2015, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) recommended that Lesotho undertake wide-ranging reforms of the Constitution, Parliament, the judiciary, and the public and security sectors (Post, 2017). These recommendations followed a 2014 coup attempt, then-Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s escape to South Africa, the assassination of army commander Lt. Gen. Maaparankoe Mahao, and an SADC intervention.  

Since assuming office in May 2015, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken several measures to curb corruption.

L’utilisation de la mesure d’audience par les médias est faible en Côte d’Ivoire. Selon une étude du Ministère de la Communication, de l’Économie Numérique et de la Poste (2017), la plupart des médias ivoiriens naviguent à vue sans une véritable connaissance et maîtrise du marché par des études d’audience et d’habitude de consommation des cibles.

Sierra Leone is making significant gains in school enrollment, but learning outcomes, literacy levels, and skills acquisition are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the United Nations Development Programme ( 2019) , Sierra Leone's Human Development Index values place close to the bottom – 181 st of 189 countries. While gender parity in enrollment has nearly been reached at the primary and junior secondary school level, girl completion rates still lag behind considerably at the senior secondary school level (Government of Sierra Leone, 2019a).

Depuis 2015, le Burkina Faso fait face à des attaques terroristes dont le bilan s’élève à environ 2,000 personnes tuées, tant parmi les forces de défense et de sécurité que parmi les populations civiles. Selon International Crisis Group (2020a, b), depuis la première attaque revendiquée par un groupe jihadiste en octobre 2015, plus de 550 attaques ont été répertoriées. Environ 1 million de personnes sont déplacées à l’intérieur du pays; des écoles sont fermées dans les régions du Sahel et de l’Est; et des infrastructures publiques sont désertées ou détruites.

As COVID-19 reached the shores of Africa, many governments reacted by shutting down much of economic, social, and public life in order to slow the spread of the disease. On 15 March, with only three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, the government of Kenya closed all schools and imposed curfews, among other measures. On 7 July, with more than 8,000 confirmed cases, the government announced that primary and secondary schools would remain closed until 2021 and teaching would be moved to non-contact platforms (BBC, 2020; News24, 2020).

To try to ensure continuous teaching and learning while schools are shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education (MoE) through the Ghana Education Service (GES) has introduced virtual learning platforms. Televised (Ghana Learning TV) and online (icampus) programs, along with a radio reading program, are to provide students the opportunity to continue studying their core subjects – mathematics, English, science, and social studies – as well as selected electives (Graphic, 2020; Myjoyonline, 2020; News Ghana, 2020).

L’élection présidentielle approche en Côte d’Ivoire au moment où plusieurs leaders politiques ont des démêlés avec la justice. Avec certains leaders de l’opposition en exil ou emprisonnés, on risque fort de voir le microcosme politique continuer de se radicaliser dans les semaines et mois à venir. La libération de l’ex-Président Laurent Gbagbo et de son collaborateur Charles Blé Goudé, président du Congrès Panafricain des Jeunes Patriotes, suggèrent un renouveau dans la compétition politique.

Well into its third decade of democracy, South Africa entered 2020 with a limp. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and its shutdowns began making most things worse (Roux, 2020), the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, also known as the Zondo Commission, was investigating large-scale corruption in government and private companies (Southhall, 2019). Lack of popular trust in the Public Protector, whose reports have been frequently contested in court, reached epic proportions as Parliament began steps to have her removed from office (Gerber, 2020).

An estimated 1.59 billion students in 194 countries, or 91.3% of the world’s student population, have been affected by school closures as a result of the COVD-19 pandemic (UNESCO, 2020). That includes 297 million students across the African continent and 4.13 million in Zimbabwe. With support from the World Bank and others, countries are trying to keep education going through remote learning via radio, television, the Internet, and social media (Kuwonu, 2020; World Bank, 2020).