The last time an issue of Africa in Fact focused on the continent’s cities was April-June 2018, six years ago, and it’s probably an understatement to suggest that we now live in a very different world.Meanwhile, African cities have continued on the trajectory analysts and policymakers predicted in the early 2000s, a period of unprecedented growth, much of it unplanned, that sees no sign of abating. As a 2010 World Bank report noted: “The massive migration of people from rural into urban areas is the most spectacular demographic upheaval that Africa has experienced in recent decades. While Africa was 80%…
Susan Russell
Susan Russell
Susan Russell is the editor of Good Governance Africa’s quarterly journal, Africa in Fact. She has worked in the media industry for more than 30 years as a journalist, editor, publisher, and as a general manager. Career highlights include several years working for Business Day and more than a decade as a reporter, editor and General Manager at the Sunday Times in Johannesburg.
Welcome to the first issue of Africa in Fact for 2025. The year has begun amid mounting global instability: widening inequality, escalating climate threats, and relentless conflicts. For Africa, these challenges underscore the urgent need to remain committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Good Governance Africa believes that inclusive conservation has a pivotal role to play in meeting SDG targets. Rooted in the recognition that local communities must be active participants in the stewardship of natural resources, inclusive conservation offers an opportunity to harmonise ecological protection and human well-being. Ecological sustainability remains the foundation for human prosperity, and humanity has…
This special issue of Africa in Fact celebrates the 10th anniversary of our mothership, Good Governance Africa (GGA). Over the past decade, Africa in Fact, as GGA’s flagship publication, has become a consistent contributor to the conversation about governance, policy, and development on the African continent. To mark this milestone, we have departed from our regular format to publish an anthology of selected articles from our archive of 70 issues of AIF. Choosing a necessarily small selection from the archive has been difficult. Our authors have explored a wide range of issues, from governance and public policy to economic development and…
We live in a world where new advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are announced on an almost daily basis. These developments are expanding the frontiers of vital sectors like healthcare (diagnostics, surgery, and therapies) and education, as well as media, retail, and financial services.But, as with any tool, AI can be used for good and for bad, and this issue of Africa in Fact sets out to look at how the technology has enabled a flood of misinformation and disinformation, both of which pose a serious threat to good governance and human security on our continent, and proposes strategies to…
The first issue of Africa in Fact published last year, in January, dealt in depth with the scourge of Transnational Organised Crime (TOC) in all its toxic forms in Africa, a global phenomenon that poses a direct threat to good governance in every corner of our continent. In this issue, we turn our attention to TOC’s evil twin, corruption, a corrosive force that left unchallenged eats into both heart and soul of the democratic process. Definitions of corruption vary but broadly speaking it describes the abuse of power – and resources – by public servants and elected officials for private gain.…
Bemoaning the inconvenience of a 24-hour power cut that began in a corner of Johannesburg on Christmas Day – following several days without water – the response from a friend recently returned from West Africa was, “well, at least here we have a schedule; in Nigeria there is no notice [of cuts].” Small mercies. In a grossly unequal city like Johannesburg, blighted by crumbling infrastructure and local government unwilling or unable to keep the taps flowing and the lights on, there are far too many citizens for whom even an intermittent supply of either water or electricity remains unattainable. As contributor Stuart…
Two decades into the 21st century, it is difficult to accept that on a planet where so many people suffer the health and other consequences of too much of everything, millions of Africans still struggle to access two of the most basic human needs: sufficient food and clean water.The figures are stark. As Raphael Obonyo writes in this issue, Africa is facing unprecedented food insecurity, with more than 134 million people in 29 out of 54 countries facing acute shortages, according to the US Department of State Humanitarian Information Unit.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that about 257 million…
There is a single statistic mentioned in almost every article in this issue of Africa in Fact, that describes the extent of Africa’s energy poverty in the starkest terms. That is, 600 million Africans (roughly 60% of the continent’s population) still do not have access to electricity at all and for whom the debate over what a just transition from fossil fuels to renewables looks like remains moot.The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 commits to ensuring “universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030″, with the intention of “substantially increasing” the share of renewable energy…
Welcome to the first issue of Africa in Fact for 2023, which we devote to the phenomenon of transnational organised crime (TOC), an ever-evolving menace that threatens the security, well-being, and livelihoods of millions of people on this continent, subverting efforts at political, economic, and social development in the process. TOC is a broad term for a wide range of activities that include human trafficking and smuggling, illicit financial flows, money laundering, illicit trade in drugs, firearms and other weapons, precious metals and gemstones, wildlife, and wildlife products such as rhino horn and pangolin scales, fake medicines, and environmental crimes such…
