africa Archives

Mar282022 by Paul LinusNo Comments

Evolution of South African music: The 1980’s

Music

The 1980's saw a significant growth in the ever evolving South African music scene with an array of new artists and bands flourishing like never before. Bubblegum Music An unadulterated style of South African pop music, Bubblegum was uniquely based on vocals with overlapping call-and-response lyrics combined with the use of electronic keyboards and synthesizers. The first major bubblegum star was Dan Tshanda of the band Splash, followed closely in popularity by Chicco Twala whose claim to fame was his politically oriented lyrics and a collaboration with the famed Mzwakhe Mbuli. During the late 1980’s Yvonne Chaka Chaka rose to stardom with her 1984 hit ‘I’m in Love With a DJ’ being the first major bubblegum hit. Her popularity continued well into the 1990’s with her first n...

A Discourse on Africa’s Look East Policy

Featured, General

The Look East policy which Africa as a continent embraced so tightly at the beginning of the 21st Century has a long and winding history. It is also very significant in explaining Africa’s pivotal position in international politics, with the ability to swing from West to East as the tides of world politics change. The Look East Policy in Historical Perspective If much of history has to be kept away, then the most important starting point for any discussion on the history of Africa’s look east policy would be the Cold War. This would also involve ignoring the epic journey of China’s General Zheng He to the east coast of Africa in the 15th century. China refuses to ignore this piece of history when drumming its historical ties with Africa. Beijing has recently signed an agreement w...

Chocolate and African Child Labor

Business, General

Most people in the West love eating chocolate, yet have little idea about where the cocoa beans come from that make up modern chocolate products like chocolate bars and cocoa powder. Chocolate and Child Labour It turns out over 50 percent of the cocoa beans used in commercial production come from The Ivory Coast in Africa, or Cote d’Ivoire (the government of this country discourages the use of the English translation Ivory Coast, preferring the French.) Unfortunately, lots of child labour bordering on slave labour is used in these cocoa plantations. Chocolate manufacturers in the West have agreed to something called the Harkin-Engel protocol (named after two US politicians) which entails an agreement from manufacturers to clean up their supply lines and make sure no child o...