The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has projected that Africa’s urban population will double from around 717 million in 2020 to 1.4 billion by 2050, to become the world’s second-largest urban population after Asia. At the same time, urbanisation has contributed roughly 30% of Africa’s GDP per capita growth over the past two decades. African cities are therefore not peripheral to development; they are central to it. Africa’s projected urban growth represents a valuable demographic resource and major economic opportunities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet this potential is deeply complicated by the persistence and expansion of informal…
Owami Tshuma
Owami Tshuma
Owami is a junior data analyst intern in the Governance Insights and Analytics programme at Good Governance Africa. She is completing a Master’s degree in e-Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, building on a foundation in International Relations and Political Science. Her research interests focus on political economy with a particular focus on development and elections. She is especially interested in the intersection of governance, economic development, and institutional quality.
“I am thirty years old now, and ever since I completed my secondary education, I have been looking for a job to no avail. But for galamsey, I would still be unemployed. Now I am employed here and able to provide for my family’s needs… Galamsey is our saviour here.” This quote from a 30-year-old miner in Ghana’s western region, published in an August 2016 article published in the Oxford Developmental Studies journal, reflects the reality for thousands of young people in the region, where unemployment has more than doubled in the past year. Ghana, famously called the Gold Coast,…
