Counterpoints

Criticism of the ICC on the grounds of anti-African bias or neo-colonialism is simplistic. It overstates the power of the ICC and underestimates the ability of African states to manipulate the Court for their own ends.

The publication uses pay as you earn (PAYE) taxation data from the Kenya Revenue Authority to define and analyse middle-income earners in formal employment in Kenya.

Disputes handled by Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) are consistently resolved more quickly, cheaply and amicably than those heard in Nigeria’s congested courts.

Beacon Mbiba scrutinises Zimbabwe’s urban statistics and cautions about exaggerating the extent of de-urbanisation

Fr. Atta Barkindo looks at the ways in which Boko Haram has exploited history and memory to create an ideology grounded in local context.

Slums play a central role in Ghanaian politics. The way that they are really governed, how “hidden” informal networks interact with formal politics, and how citizens hold their leaders to account, are too often overlooked.

Land is a “key fault line” in Kenya. Throughout East Africa land law reform has been pursued at the expense of substantive land reform. New laws have not been redistributive or transformative in a positive way.

L’impôt sur les terrains et sur les bâtiments pourra appuyer le développement économique et politique sur le plan local en Afrique.

Although never popular, taxation is an essential component of consensual and representative government. Property tax has been posited as the ideal source of income for municipal governments.

While recent Eurobond issues are often depicted as evidence of Africa’s economic resurgence, they should also encourage close scrutiny of public financial management and debt sustainability.