This article draws attention to the course of the different dynamics invested in the social protection system, as a fundamental and internationally recognized right: life, health, education, work, housing, healthy environment, among others, with a view to sustainable development in nations. Through an exploratory and descriptive research, the article aims to bring a critical approach to the Mozambican social protection system, where, initially, we perceive social protection as a model based on the mutual recognition of the other as a social being and endowed with rights, where neighbourhood networks, kinship and/or even small social groups, share the philosophy of sharing and/or mutual help (exchange of goods and services). This social protection system, although informal, ensured in Mozambique, over several years, some social and economic stability for families, particularly those in need. In another aspect, we will approach social protection as an inalienable right, in which the governance, in its mission, has the entire responsibility of guaranteeing the full enjoyment of the resources and opportunities that will allow the individual to develop capacities and skills in view of social well-being. In conclusion, we will have an overview of the efforts that the Mozambican State, within the scope of international agreements, undertakes for a more effective and understanding social protection.
O projecto que desaguou no número aqui apresentado surgiu em Recife, por ocasião da III Conferência sobre Activismos em África, realizada em Setembro de 2021, em formato online devido às restrições na decorrência da pandemia. Os três organizadores deste dossier participaram dela, coordenando painéis e propondo comunicações, identificando, na temática dos movimentos sociais e das suas reivindicações e na defesa dos direitos humanos, os eixos fundamentais para construir uma ponte intelectual e de compromisso cívico entre África e o Brasil. Em 2024, decidimos, portanto, organizar um número especial sobre assuntos relacionados com o Sul Global de língua oficial portuguesa, cientes de que se tratava de um desafio. Primeiro, a produção científica nos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (PALOP) está ainda aquém do desejado; em segundo lugar, o nosso desafio era ir um pouco além das representações geralmente institucionais que destes países são projectadas para fora, incluindo estudos sobre a realidade afro-brasileira. Com efeito, são inúmeras as pesquisas que, constantemente, privilegiam relações bilaterais ou multilaterais dentro do Sul Global de língua oficial portuguesa (actividades da CPLP ou dos vários governos nacionais), evitando tratar de assuntos incómodos, tais como a questão LGBTQAI+ nos PALOP, ou o fracasso de muitos dos países de língua oficial portuguesa, sobretudo africanos, na protecção dos direitos humanos dos seus cidadãos ou da população migrante. Daí, a nossa exigência de criar esta ponte intelectual de universos epistemológicos, históricos, sociológicos entre os dois lados do Atlântico e do Índico africano, cujas conexões são, hoje, mais do que nunca actuais e vivas.
This text aims to address civil associations in Mozambique, focusing on Lambda, an organization founded in 2006, which fights for the defense and recognition of the rights of sexual minorities at the national level. Mozambique decriminalized homosexuality in 2014 and is cited as one of the few tolerant African contexts towards homosexuality. However, Lambda has had a legalisation process pending since 2006, a circumstance that signals an ambiguous stance on the government side towards sexual minorities. The researcher used a qualitative approach, relying on semi- structured interviews with key witnesses and the direct experience of the researcher. It was concluded that associations in Mozambique face major challenges. In the case of Lambda, such elements are even more pronounced, as members of sexual minorities lack acceptance from society and the government, including families who prefer to expel their members, rather than understand and accept their sexual orientation.
This article examines the protest actions they have triggered by the so- called revús with a view to bringing about social change. The article seeks to understand and describe the relevance of these actions, the type of demands raised, as well as the articulation established at local and national level because of expressions, aspirations, wills, political and social struggles against the authoritarian Angolan political culture. The article essentially discusses two pre-election protests held in Luanda on symbolic dates and three expressive movements, two before and one during the electoral period, which initially emerged on social networks. The text focuses on analyzing the social impact of these events, especially among young Angolans.
This article, which is based on qualitative research carried out in Cape Verde, aims to analyze whether there is a possible contradiction in the Cape Verdean labor market, between the legal and institutional conditions that facilitate the exercise of freedom of union and some social and political practices that limit them and are imposed on unions and workers by successive governments and companies. The situations that limit the exercise of freedom of association contribute to the reduction of the socioeconomic security of Cape Verdean workers, who face, in many moments and contexts work, situations of precariousness and informality, combined with the possibility of losing their jobs, in a context in which the unemployment level, especially in youth, is high.
This article analyses the pedagogical experiences in the “Black Epistemologies” course at the Department of Anthropology and Museology at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). The main objective is to present Afro- referenced narratives from faculty members about the challenges of teaching black authors and authors who have historically been made invisible in the Social Sciences. These narratives are associated with the concepts of the Racial Device, Racism, Sexism and the White Self Ideal. The main techniques of this qualitative research were participants observation and writing. It is concluded that the “Black Epistemologies” course played a central role in the development of critical thinking among students and educators.
Mozambican civil society has experienced a not always linear evolution, since it began to strengthen itself in the early 1990s. The dependence, not only financially, but also programmatically and managerially of most such organizations, squeezed between government pressure and the demands of international donors, has been the hallmark. The result was that only a few organizations were able to evolve, having their own agenda, competent staff and constant funds that would allow medium- and long-term programming of their actions with local communities. In most cases, national civil society organizations remained weak, with a clear skills deficit and therefore dependent on donors, usually international ones. This article seeks to report research that was carried out in Mozambique with three main subjects: international donors, national NGOs and other national entities like foundations, that serve as collectors of donor funds, and grassroots organizations, which represent the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds. Through a qualitative approach, based essentially on interviews with key informants, the result was that the tripartite mechanism implemented in Mozambique is limited, fostering the dependence of civil society organizations rather than inducing them to change and evolve towards greater quality and stability, not only of a financial kind.
The project that led to this issue emerged in Recife, during the 3rd Conference on Activism in Africa, held in September 2021 in online format owing to restrictions related to the pandemic. The three organisers of this issue took part in the conference, co-ordinating panels and proposing papers along the theme of social movements and their demands in the defence of human rights. In the process they identified the fundamental axes for building an intellectual link and civic commitment between Africa and Brazil. Therefore, in 2024 we decided to organise a special issue on topics re- lated to the Portuguese-speaking global South. We were keenly aware that this would be a challenge, for several reasons. First, scientific production in the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) is still below par. Second, we wanted to go beyond the generally institutional representations of these countries, including studies on the Afro-Brazilian reality. There are numerous studies on bilateral or multilateral relations within the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and the activities of various national governments. However, they avoid uncomfortable subjects such as LGBTQAI+ in the PALOP or the failure of many Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in Africa, to protect the human rights of their citizens or migrant populations. This is the context for our effort to create this intellectual link between the epistemological, historical and sociological universes on both sides of the Atlantic and the African Indian Ocean, the connections between which are more alive today than ever before.
Le projet qui a abouti à ce numéro a vu le jour à Recife, à l’occasion de la 3e Conférence sur l’Activisme en Afrique, qui s’est tenue en ligne en septembre 2021, en raison des restrictions causées par la pandémie. Les trois rédacteurs invités de ce numéro ont participé à la conférence, coordonné des panels et ont proposé des communications dans le thème des mouvements sociaux et de leurs revendications et dans la défense des droits de l’homme. Dans le processus, ils ont identifité les axes fondamentaux pour la construction d’un pont intellectuel et d’un engagement civique entre l’Afrique et le Brésil. Par conséquent, en 2024, nous avons décidé de coordonner un numéro spécial sur des sujets liés au Sud lusophone, conscients qu’il s’agissait d’un défi. Tout d’abord, la production scientifique dans les pays africains de langue portugaise (PALOP) est encore en deçà de ce qui est souhaité ; en- suite, nous sommes allés un peu au-delà des représentations généralement institutionnelles qui sont projetées vers l’extérieur de ces pays, y compris les études sur la réalité afro-brésilienne. Il existe d’innombrables études qui privilégient constamment les relations bilatérales ou multilatérales au sein de La Communauté des pays de langue portugaise (CPLP) et des activités de la des différents gouvernements nationaux.tout en évitant d’aborder des sujets inconfortables tels que la question LGBTQAI+ dans le PALOP, ou l’échec de nombreux pays lusophones, en particulier africains, à protéger les droits de l’homme de leurs citoyens ou de leurs populations migrantes. D’où la nécessité de créer ce pont intellectuel entre les univers épistémologiques, historiques et sociologiques des deux rives de l’Atlantique et de l’océan Indien africain, dont les connexions sont plus actuelles et vivantes aujourd’hui que jamais.
Les chocs économiques récents, notamment la pandémie de la COVID-19, ont illustré la fragilité des politiques publiques construites autour des sources de recettes concentrées. Le besoin de disposer d’une structure fiscale plus diversifiée constitue une préoccupation importante dans les pays en développement. Cet article analyse la diversification des recettes fiscales (DRF) de 39 pays d’Afrique, sur la période 2005-2019, en distinguant les pays riches en ressources naturelles des autres. Un indice de suivi de la DRF est construit. Les résultats indiquent que la valeur moyenne de cet indice pour l’Afrique se situe à 0,846, traduisant une performance insuffisante en matière de DRF. En outre, les facteurs qui déterminent la DRF sont analysés en employant la méthode bayésienne, la Méthode des moments généralisés (GMM) et la méthode des moindres carrés à variables dichotomiques et à biais corrigé (Least Squares Dummy Variable Corrected (LSDVC)). Les résultats montrent que le développement et la diversification économiques, la promotion du secteur industriel, des échanges commerciaux, de l’éducation, ainsi que le développement financier et celui de la digitalisation renforcent la DRF. En revanche, l’économie informelle, les ressources naturelles, la corruption et l’instabilité politique la détériorent. Ainsi, les pouvoirs publics devraient mettre l’accent sur la diversification économique, le développement de la digitalisation, la fiscalisation progressive du secteur informel et l’amélioration de la qualité des institutions, pour une diversification et une mobilisation accrues des recettes fiscales.
The formation of housing and settlement patterns, such as shape, space enclosure and organisation, are influenced by physical, social and economic factors. However, Rapaport found that sociocultural factors are the primary determinants of built form. This view has been challenged, justifying a replication of the study in other built environments. This study explores the influence of the socioeconomic occupation of the Tiv people in Nigeria on their housing and settlement patterns. The means-end chain qualitative enquiry was applied during interviews with twenty-four participants to determine the inherent socioeconomic values connecting their occupation to settlement pattern. Their settlements were found to be dispersed, with aggregated joint compounds, creating sufficient space for farming. However, the pattern of dispersion of settlements poses security risks. Therefore, transformative efforts are required to aggregate the settlements to make more land available for mechanised agriculture and to enhance people’s safety. More studies are required to reveal the sociocultural values of Nigerian Indigenous housing for sustainable development of their built environments and way of life.
*Texte révisé de la conférence de clôture prononcée lors de la 16e Assemblée générale du CODESRIA qui s'est tenue du 4 au 8 décembre 2023 Chacun de nous, chacune de nous a vécu la pandémie d’une manière personnelle, intime, mais elle comporte également des enseignements universels et le temps est venu pour les spécialistes des sciences sociales et des humanités que nous sommes de commencer à tirer les leçons de ce qui nous est arrivé quand le virus du corona a fait irruption dans le monde. C’est à titre de contribution à cette entreprise – que le Codesria a mille fois raison, comme toujours, de juger urgente et nécessaire – que je vais partager avec vous des réflexions qui ont fait l’objet d’interventions publiques de ma part au cours des deux terribles années durant lesquelles le virus a sévi, sur des sujets comme la citoyenneté et la religion face à la crise sanitaire, le discours de la science au défi du Covid-19 ou encore pour une « (cosmo)politique d’humanité » en réponse à la crise sanitaire et à l’urgence climatique. Ces interventions ont eu pour cadre des conférences académiques, bien sûr, mais également des entretiens dans la presse lorsque, comme bien d’autres, j’ai été sollicité sur ces sujets en raison de mes travaux en philosophie islamique, d’une part, en épistémologie et histoire des sciences, de l’autre.
Even though international legislation recognises the eradication of gender- based violence as a crucial target for the promotion of human rights and the achievement of the sustainable development of the world, violence against women has received little intellectual attention and scholarly intervention from academia. In the African region, where diverse sociocultural and institutional gender discriminative factors often mean unequal power relations between women and men, the prevalence of gender-based violence is particularly critical. This article examines the institutional implications of violence against women by comparing South Africa and Botswana, two countries that adopted democratic systems after gaining independence from the United Kingdom. It highlights the importance of the Constitutions of both countries and the representation of woman in politics. The divergence between the two states’ legal and political approaches to gender equality and human rights underscores the role of gender-specific institutions in the prevalence of violence against women. This article also uncovers the limitations of existing strategies and proposes a better understanding of inequality within gender relations and its reflection within the frame of institutions to find a way to resolve violence against women and achieve gender justice.
Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) have been presented as a method for identifying interventions that will improve the lives of residents of economically poorer countries. I argue that RCT-driven development policy is unlikely to achieve even its narrower objectives and, instead, is likely to hinder the attainment of long-term economic and social development objectives in African countries. The article examines two fundamental methodological problems: first, that proselytisers of this approach, despite claims to the contrary, have not addressed the challenge of extrapolating from experimental results to policy interventions; second, that while the use of RCTs is framed as an objective scientific approach to policymaking, it systematically smuggles in the ideological and other biases of the researchers involved. These claims are illustrated with three sets of examples: controversial studies that involved cutting off water to poor households in Nairobi and randomising exposure to a Christian missionary programme in the Philippines; studies on civil servant absenteeism in Kenya and India cited in the 2019 Nobel award; and two case studies from South Africa pertaining to labour market and educational interventions where RCTs distorted the policy process with negative consequences. The conclusion is that the RCT approach is a dead end for African development.
The period immediately after independence in Tanzania was marked by intense planning for the country’s development. Part of this planning involved the healthcare system and was aimed at addressing the grave dangers posed by life-threatening diseases. Improvements in healthcare included the expansion of medical facilities and staff. The government identified maternal health as vital in revamping public health. It understood that the well-being of mothers and children was fundamental for the prosperity of the newly founded state. The focus, however, was on rudimentary health provisions. This article examines health policy planning in Tanzania immediately after independence. Using examples from maternal health, it argues that healthcare planning after independence was still largely shaped by the measures developed under colonial rule despite the optimism about a sovereign future. This was mainly because the problems and plans that had arisen during colonialism remained in existence after independence. The article uses archival, oral and secondary sources to show how attempts to shift health policies were hindered by poor planning, lack of funds, inadequate staff, gender relations and the choice between healthcare and other needs. It examines how the newly independent government negotiated the quest for better healthcare, especially maternal health.
This article assessed the acquisition, maintenance and storage costs associated with different types of storage facilities used by smallholder maize farmers in Uganda, applying cost-based descriptive analysis. These costs influenced the farmers’ decisions about the type of storage facility to use. Poor storage exacerbates losses that result from pests, rats and rot. The findings show that the high costs of acquiring storage and maintenance precluded smallholder maize farmers from accessing good storage. For policy purposes, more investment needs to be directed towards acquiring safe storage to reduce exposure to risk and protect smallholder farmers from food and income insecurity. This article serves to illuminate the storage challenges at the household level to increase food and income security and assuage poverty. The study’s conclusion on the analysis of storage is indicative only. Further research that includes a representative number of storage facilities per storage type needs to be carried out, including a cost-benefit analysis.
