Sustainable Industrialialisation

COVID-19 Shatters Hopes for Industrial Advance in Africa

But the Next Decade Might Trigger the Change Needed

Viewpoint by Jenny Larsen*

VIENNA (IDN) – Industrial development in Africa has been sluggish for some decades. Now, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic kick in, hopes for better progress, at least in the short term, appear to be fading. But if countries grasp the right opportunities, the next decade can deliver the industrial change needed to meet the challenges ahead.

Industrialization and development go hand in hand. There is hardly a country in the world that has developed without building a strong manufacturing base. But for Africa – sometimes referred to as the continent of the future – the fruits of industrialization have often seemed just out of reach.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 November 2020

Why Cybersecurity for Small Businesses is More Necessary Now Than Ever Before

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Nearly one-fifth of small businesses experienced either a hack, virus or data breach in 2019, according to data from B2B site The Manifest. While this proves that small businesses are indeed vulnerable to cyber attacks, it also serves as a warning to others that makes proper security precautions a necessity in 2020 and beyond. From the consequences that being unprepared can bring to the reasons behind why small businesses are such a target, prioritizing cybersecurity is critical as hackers continue to get smarter.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 15 November 2020

Image: Members (dark blue) of the Pacific Islands Forum. CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Fiji’s Tourism Workers Turn to Farming and Fishing As COVID-19 Ravages the Industry

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – The COVID-19 crisis has hit tourism-dependent Pacific Island countries severely. Fiji, the largest of these states, is feeling the impact badly, with laid-off workers of tourism-related industries, such as hotels and travel companies, turning to farming and fishing for survival. Because of its larger land mass and fishing grounds in the sea, Fiji’s population is trying to cushion the impact depending on their natural resources.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 29 September 2020

Photo: Cover the reviewed book. Credit: Amazon

Colonialism Is Not Dead, it has Acquired A New Face

Sri Lankan Author of a New Book Warns

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) – In the 19th century, European powers came to Asia and used gunboats and gunpowder along with doublespeak to intimidate and coerce local rulers to accede their land for the European mercantile elites to establish plantations.

Sri Lankan born American sociology professor Dr Asoka Bandarage’s Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands 1833-1886’* published originally in 1983 documented extensively how the British used doublespeak to grab land and ultimately the country to establish coffee and tea plantations.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 September 2020

Photo: Louis Pasteur a French biologist, microbiologist, and chemist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, in his laboratory. Painting by A. Edelfeldt in 1885. Public Domain.

The Boons and Banes of Technology – Is It Really Making Things Better?

Viewpoints by John K. Davis and Jason Crawford

NEW YORK (IDN) – Technology and science have played a key role in human history. Many successive civilizations have contributed to the world's advancement. Often the development of technology also helped these societies to dominate militarily, politically, and economically their neighbours, as well as increase the welfare of their citizens.

Following is the dialogue between Dr John K. Davis, Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Fullerton, and Mr. Jason Crawford, the author of The Roots of Progress. The bilateral exchange is posted on PAIRAGRAPH, a hub of discourse between pairs of notable individuals.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 September 2020

Is Technology Really Making Things Better?

Viewpoints by John K. Davis and Jason Crawford

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 24 September 2020

Photo: The port at Tema, Ghana. @ Jonathan Ernst / World Bank.

COVID-19 Crisis Underlines the Importance of Economic Diversification in Africa

Business as Usual Will Only Reinforce Economic Hardship

Viewpoint by Njuguna Ndung’u*

NAIROBI (IDN) – Africa’s low level of economic diversification is a leading factor in the continent’s economic fragility. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the risks of countries’ over-dependence on a single natural resource such as oil.

Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources, including minerals, and revenues from their export constitute a major source of income for many countries.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 September 2020

Image source: Governing Africa: British records from African countries under colonial rule

Russia Sees Neocolonialism as An Investment Barrier in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia not only supported African countries in liberating themselves from the yoke of colonialism and attaining political independence but also facilitated in the UN General Assembly adopting in 1960 the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. It's a landmark document which states that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.

Russia has now embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers a fortified barrier on its way to regain Soviet-era multifaceted influence in Africa.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 09 August 2020

Photo: Pemex Tower at Night. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Oh No! Mexico!

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl

Bill Dahl is an investigative journalist based in Queretaro, Mexico. You can find more of his work at https://www.BillDahl.net

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) – As the world moves ahead, Mexico lurches backward.

In June 2020, Mexico dropped out of the top 25 countries for foreign investment for the second time in over 20 years. For the second largest economy in Latin America, this is bad news. What has precipitated this decline in confidence by the global investment community? This article explores the central reasons for this reality.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 11 July 2020

Image: Owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi, MIDROC Gold Mine Plc has operated the open-cast mine in Guji zone of the Oromia region for more than two decades. (Image courtesy of Wardell Armstrong.)

Ethiopian Gold Mine Leaves Deadly Toxic Waste Trail in Prime Minister's Home Town

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A gold mine in Ethiopia's most populous and restive region, Oromia, has been anything but a blessing. Residents claim that contamination from the mine, owned by an Ethiopia-born Saudi tycoon, has led to disastrous health problems.

Locals say chemicals used to process gold at the open-pit mine near Shakiso, 222 miles south of the capital, Addis Ababa, have polluted water streams and the air, causing humans and animals respiratory illnesses, miscarriages, birth defects and disabilities.