Presidents in Africa just don’t seem to be able to stop themselves from fiddling with term limits. The referendum in Burundi, on whether or not to extend the country’s presidential term from five to seven years, is the latest example. Others have either abolished, amended or ignored them. Cheryl Hendricks and Gabriel Ngah Kiven warn that there’s likely to be large-scale political violence if the trend continues on the continent.
South Africa has launched several initiatives to try and deal with a reading crisis in its schools after statistics released last year showed that almost 80% of young children can’t read for meaning. Ingrid Willenberg explains that while increasing access to libraries and fostering a broader reading culture are worthwhile, the buck ultimately stops with the education department because inadequate instruction is the root cause.
Climate change could shrink areas in which cocoa plants are grown by 30%. This has the potential of threatening supplies to chocolate producers. Philippe Vaast explains how shade trees could help protect the cocoa - but they must be suited to the farmers’ needs.
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Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza is one of many authoritarian African leaders.
AMISOM Public Information/Flickr
Cheryl Hendricks, University of Johannesburg; Gabriel Ngah Kiven, University of Johannesburg
More leaders in more African countries will abolish term limits unless organisations like the African Union take action.
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Education
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Ingrid Willenberg, Australian Catholic University
Initiatives to tackle South Africa's reading crisis must take the country's realities into account.
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Environment + Energy
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Philippe Vaast, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)
Shade trees buffer cocoa plants from heat and water stresses, and create conditions that benefit their growth.
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Politics + Society
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Tatek Abebe, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
As Addis Ababa develops into a modern city, beggars are increasingly being treated like public nuisances and criminals.
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Benjamin Roberts, Human Sciences Research Council; Jare Struwig, Human Sciences Research Council; Narnia Bohler-Muller, University of Fort Hare; Steven Gordon, Human Sciences Research Council; Yul Derek Davids, Human Sciences Research Council
Governing parties and officials need to take note of the frustration being expressed by ordinary South Africans.
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From our international editions
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Jennell Vick, Case Western Reserve University
Where you come down on the latest internet hullabaloo depends on how your brain fills in gaps in the sounds you hear.
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William McKeen, Boston University
A journalism scholar and biographer of Tom Wolfe looks back at a literary great's life of challenging cultural standards.
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