Refine
Year of publication
- 2010 (338) (remove)
Document Type
- Book (338) (remove)
Language
- English (127)
- mis (103)
- German (88)
- Portuguese (10)
- French (5)
- Multiple languages (4)
- Turkish (1)
Has Fulltext
- yes (338)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (338) (remove)
Keywords
- Mosambik (113)
- Mozambique (113)
- Moçambique (112)
- bible (63)
- christianity (63)
- Bibel (62)
- Christentum (62)
- Mwani (27)
- Ibo <Moçambique> (24)
- Mwani <Sprache> (24)
Institute
Die Zahl der Gesamtbeschäftigten erhöhte sich in Rheinland-Pfalz im ersten Halbjahr 2009 geringfügig und lag Mitte 2009 bei etwa 1,57 Mio. Beschäftigten. Hiervon waren rund 44 Prozent Frauen.Im Zeitraum von Januar bis Juni 2009 stellten rheinland-pfälzische Betriebe insgesamt fast 74.000 Personen neu ein, was einen Rückgang gegenüber dem Vorjahr um 17 Prozent im Jahr der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise bedeutet. Während der Wirtschaftskrise verringerten sich die Personalabgänge, die auf Kündigungen seitens der Arbeitnehmer zurückzuführen waren, deutlich, Kündigungen durch den Betrieb stiegen dagegen merklich an. Der Ablauf befristeter Arbeitsverträge nahm ebenfalls während der Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise deutlich zu. Die verringerten Personaleinstellungen sowie -abgänge führten im Jahr der Wirtschaftskrise zu einer niedrigeren Fluktuation. Die Fluktuationsrate fiel in den dienstleis tungsorientierten Branchen sowie in den mittleren Betrieben am höchs ten aus. Grundsätzlich bleibt festzuhalten, dass die Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise deutliche Spuren bei den offenen Stellen, dem Einstellungs verhalten der Betriebe sowie den Personalabgängen hinterließ. Die gravierendsten Veränderungen gab es bei den offenen Stellen, die sich im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um mehr als die Hälfte verringerten. Wie die Analyse des Zusammenhangs mit der Ertragslage, den Geschäftserwartung sowie dem Wettbewerbsdruck zeigt, beeinflusste am stärksten die künftige Wirtschaftsentwicklung die Personalnachfrage und diese verhieß Mitte 2009 noch keine wesentliche Trendwende.
Legt man die Zahlen des IAB- Betriebspanels zugrunde zeigt sich, dass die Auswirkungen der Finanzmarkt- und Wirtschaftskrise auf den Ausbildungsmarkt in Rheinland-Pfalz nicht so negativ ausfallen, wie zu befürchten war. Zwar ist analog zum Rückgang der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten in Rheinland-Pfalz auch die Zahl der Auszubildenden leicht zurückgegangen (-0,7 Prozent). Die Ausbildungsquote blieb jedoch unverändert hoch und lag in Rheinland-Pfalz weiterhin deutlich über dem westdeutschen Durchschnitt. Probleme, offene Ausbildungsplätze zu besetzen, verringerten sich im Jahr der Wirtschaftskrise. Nur Betriebe des Baugewerbes und in geringerem Maße kleine Betriebe hatten nennenswerte Probleme offene Stellen zu besetzen. Inwieweit bei diesen Ergebnissen konjunkturelle Effekte durchschlagen, lässt sich nicht abschließend klären. Eine Betrachtung des Zusammenhangs zwischen wirtschaftlicher Lage und der Ausbildungsbeteiligung liefert jedoch Hinweise, dass sowohl die zurückliegende ökonomische Situation der Betriebe als auch die erwartete Geschäftsentwicklung Einfluss auf das Ausbildungsverhalten haben. Betriebe, deren Ertragslage im letzten Jahr schlecht war, bildeten deutlich seltener aus als der Durchschnitt der rheinland-pfälzischen Betriebe. Betriebe, die mit einem steigenden Geschäftsvolumen rechneten, bildeten dagegen weit überdurchschnittlich häufig aus. Vor allem wiesen sowohl Betriebe mit einer mangelhaften Ertragslage als auch Betriebe, die mit einer negativen Geschäftsentwicklung rechneten, ein hohes ungenutztes Ausbildungspotenzial auf. Der aktuelle Wettbewerbsdruck spielte dagegen eine geringere Rolle. Falls dieser Zusammenhang eine Bestätigung erfährt, kann für den rheinland-pfälzischen Ausbildungsmarkt noch keine eindeutige Prognose gegeben werden: zwar wird die schlechte konjunkturelle Lage 2009 auch im folgenden Ausbildungsjahr zu spüren sein, die verbesserten Geschäftserwartungen jedoch ebenso.
Gemäß den Angaben des IAB-Betriebspanels erhöhte sich die Gesamtbeschäftigung in Rheinland-Pfalz trotz der Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise zwischen Juni 2008 und Juni 2009 geringfügig um rund einen Prozentpunkt. Flexible Arbeitszeiten und insbesondere die Kurzarbeit trugen maßgeblich dazu bei, die Krise abzumildern. Wie sich der strukturelle Einfluss der Krise auf die einzelnen atypischen Beschäftigungsformen auswirkte, konnte anhand der Daten des IAB-Betriebspanels untersucht werden. Die Auswertung zeigt somit, dass sich die Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise sehr unterschiedlich auf die verschiedenen atypischen Beschäftigungsformen ausgewirkt hat. Während die Kurzarbeit und die geringfügige Beschäftigung in Rheinland-Pfalz deutlich anstiegen und auch die 1-Euro-Jobber zunahmen, gab es bei den Midi-Jobs, der Teilzeitbeschäftigung und der befristeten Beschäftigung keine wesentlichen Veränderungen angesichts der Krise. Von der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise negativ betroffen waren auch Leiharbeitskräfte sowie freie Mitarbeiter, deren Bedeutung insgesamt jedoch gering ist.
Gemäß den Angaben des IAB‐Betriebspanels bleib die Arbeitsmarktlage in Hessen trotz der Wirtschafts‐ und Finanzkrise zwischen Juni 2008 und Juni 2009 recht stabil. Flexible Arbeitszeiten und insbesondere die Kurzarbeit trugen maßgeblich dazu bei, die Krise abzumildern. Trotzdem gab es einen Rückgang an sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten, was erwarten ließ, dass es einen Effekt auf die atypischen Beschäftigungsformen gab. Das Flexibilisierungsinstrument der Kurzarbeit kam auch in Hessen vermehrt zum Einsatz. Fünf Prozent der hessischen Betriebe setzten Kurzarbeit ein; sie betraf insgesamt rund sechs Prozent aller Beschäftigten. Im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe, dem am stärksten von der Krise betroffenen Sektor, betrug der Anteil der Kurzarbeiter sogar rund 25 Prozent. Insgesamt stieg die Kurzarbeit im Krisenjahr deutlich an, bezogen auf alle Beschäftigten hatte sie jedoch eine vergleichsweise geringe Bedeutung. Die geringfügige Beschäftigung stellt eine Beschäftigungsform dar, auf die Betriebe ebenfalls in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt zurückgriffen. Der Anteil der geringfügig Beschäftigten an allen Beschäftigten in Hessen lag im Krisenjahr 2009 bei 13 Prozent. In den Kleinstbetrieben war 2009 sogar fast jede fünfte Arbeitskraft geringfügig beschäftigt. Als Gründe für die geringfügige Beschäftigung gaben die Betriebe am häufigsten den geringen Umfang der Tätigkeit und die höhere Flexibilität an, die diese Art der Beschäftigung ermöglicht. Die Senkung der Lohnkosten war dagegen nach Angaben der Betriebe seltener von Bedeutung. Die Zahl der Midi‐Jobs erhöhte sich angesichts der Krise ebenfalls. Zwar gab es 2009 in rund 23 Prozent der hessischen Betriebe Midi‐Jobber, ihr Anteil an den Gesamtbeschäftigten betrug jedoch nur 2,7 Prozent. Obwohl zu erwarten gewesen wäre, dass sich Teilzeitjobs auf Kosten von Vollzeitarbeitsplätzen aufgrund der Unterauslastung der Kapazitäten erhöhten, verringerte sich die Zahl der Betriebe, die Teilzeitbeschäftigte hatten, deutlich. Der Anteil der Teilzeitbeschäftigten an den Gesamtbeschäftigten sank ebenfalls leicht, die Teilzeitquote lag 2009 bei 25 Prozent. Die geringen Auswirkungen der Krise sind darauf zurückzuführen, dass Teilzeitkräfte schwerpunktmäßig in der Dienstleistungsbranche zu finden sind, die von der Krise weniger stark betroffen war. Während der Krise verringerte sich die Anzahl der befristet Beschäftigten gegenüber dem Vorjahreswert um rund acht Prozent.
Bezogen auf die Gesamtbeschäftigten spielt der Anteil der befristet Beschäftigten mit 5,8 Prozent jedoch keine große Rolle. Allerdings erhöhte sich der Anteil der befristeten Arbeitsverhältnisse an allen Neueinstellungen, die im ersten Halbjahr 2009 abgeschlossen wurden, im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um fünf Prozentpunkte; 45 Prozent aller neu abgeschlossenen Arbeitsverträge waren 2009 befristet. Die häufigste Vertragsdauer der befristeten Verträge lag zwischen sechs Monaten und einem Jahr. Die Gründe, die für die Befristung genannt wurden, sind vielfältig, u.a. die Feststellung der Eignung der Beschäftigten, Unsicherheiten bezüglich der weiteren wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung sowie zeitlich begrenzter Ersatzbedarf wurden genannt. Die Auswertung zeigt somit, dass sich die Wirtschafts‐ und Finanzkrise sehr unterschiedlich auf die verschiedenen atypischen Beschäftigungsformen ausgewirkt hat. Während die Kurzarbeit und die befristeten Neueinstellungen in Hessen deutlich anstiegen, gab es bei den Midi‐Jobs, der Teilzeitbeschäftigung und der geringfügigen Beschäftigung keine wesentlichen Veränderungen angesichts der Krise. Von der Finanz‐ und Wirtschaftskrise negativ betroffen waren auch Leiharbeitskräftesowie freie Mitarbeiter, deren Bedeutung insgesamt jedoch gering ist.
Ein Ausgangspunkt dieses Reports war die Frage, inwieweit die hessischen Betriebe dem erhöhten Weiterbildungsbedarf durch verstärkte Fort‐ und Weiterbildung auch in wirtschaftlich schwierigeren Phasen tatsächlich Rechnung tragen. Grundsätzlich kann festgestellt werden, dass dies in Hessen 2009 der Fall war. Sowohl der Anteil der Betriebe, die Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen durchführten oder förderten als auch die Zahl der Beschäftigten, die hiervon profitierten, ist gegenüber den Vorjahren erneut angestiegen. Ein krisenbedingter Rückgang der generellen Weiterbildungsaktivitäten ist nicht zu beobachten.
Hessen liegt damit in punkto Weiterbildungsbeteiligung und Weiterbildungsintensität über dem westdeutschen Durchschnitt. Ein Grund hierfür könnte die Branchenstruktur Hessens mit einem hohen Dienstleistungsanteil und einem geringeren Anteil an Betrieben des Produzierenden Gewerbes sein, denn letztere haben eher niedrige Weiterbildungsquoten, während in den Dienstleistungsbetrieben überdurchschnittlich viele Beschäftigte qualifiziert werden. Dies dürfte auch den etwas höheren Anteil an geförderten Frauen erklären, die in den Dienstleistungsbereichen überproportional beschäftigt sind.
Eine Betrachtung der geförderten Beschäftigten nach ihrem Qualifikationsniveau ergab zudem, dass Geringqualifizierte deutlich seltener an Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen beteiligt werden als qualifizierte Beschäftigte, auch wenn diese Diskrepanz geringer geworden ist. Es wurde weiterhin deutlich, dass ein erhöhter Anteil an fördernden Betrieben eines Wirtschaftszweigs oder einer Betriebsgrößenklasse nicht zwangsläufig mit einem erhöhten Anteil an geförderten Beschäftigten einhergeht. So weisen Beschäftigte von Kleinbetrieben die höchste Wahrscheinlichkeit auf, durch ihren Betrieb für Fort‐ und Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen gefördert zu werden, obwohl kleinere Betriebe einen eher geringen Anteil an fördernden Betrieben aufweisen. Hinsichtlich des Orts der Weiterbildung ergab sich aus der Befragung, dass ein Großteil der Fort‐ und Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen außerhalb des Betriebs stattfindet, wobei aber auch interne Kurse und die Weiterbildung am Arbeitsplatz einen recht hohen Stellenwert einnehmen. Die Zahl der durchschnittlich durch einen Betrieb geförderten Maßnahmen steigt mit der Betriebsgröße. Neben diesen relativ konstanten Faktoren gibt es jedoch auch Indikatoren, die auf konjunkturelle Effekte hindeuten. Zu beobachten ist, dass Weiterbildungsformen, die weniger zeit‐ und kostenintensiv sind (interne Schulungen, Weiterbildung am Arbeitsplatz) an Bedeutung gewinnen, während aufwändigere Weiterbildungsformen (externe Schulungen, Teilnahme an Konferenzen etc.) etwas seltener genutzt wurden. Allerdings sind die Verschiebungen zu gering, um bereits jetzt einen generellen Trend zu konstatieren. Auch ist die Bereitschaft der Betriebe, die Kosten der Weiterbildung zu tragen, in den letzten zwei Jahren zurück gegangen, selbst wenn noch immer eine Mehrheit der Betriebe den entstehenden Aufwand allein bewältigt. Eine Kostenübernahme wird von den Mitarbeitern am häufigsten in Kleinstbetrieben und im Baugewerbe verlangt, was durch die geringere Flexibilität und den bestehenden Kostendruck erklärt werden könnte. Insgesamt, so zeigen die Ergebnisse, hat die betriebliche Fort‐ und Weiterbildung in Hessen eine relativ große und zunehmende Bedeutung, und konjunkturelle Einflüsse sind eher marginal.
Als Leitfrage wurde eingangs formuliert, ob bzw. wie stark in Zeiten der Wirtschaftskrise Veränderungen bei den hessischen Betrieben fest zu stellen sind. Als Ergebnis der Untersuchung lässt sich festhalten, dass die im Jahr 2009 zu beobachtenden Veränderungen spürbar, aber eher moderat sind. Die unmittelbaren und seitens der Betriebe wahrge- nommenen Auswirkungen der Finanzmarkt‐ und Wirtschaftskrise sind in den meisten Fällen gering und weniger dramatisch, als dies Konjunkturindikatoren nahe legen. Hierfür lassen sich mehrere Anhaltspunkte finden. Die betriebliche Einschätzung der Ertragslage des Geschäftsjahres 2008 liegt zwar leicht unter den Vorjahreswerten, aber noch immer deutlich besser als in Jahren 2000 bis 2005. Auch blieb der Anteil der investierenden Betriebe in der langfristigen Betrachtung konstant.
Hauptzwecke der Investitionen waren erneut die Betriebsausstattung sowie die Informations‐und Kommunikationstechnik. Allerdings gibt es durchaus auch einige Befunde, die als Krisensymptome klassifiziert werden können. So hat fast jeder vierte Betrieb die Investitionsplanung verändert, unter diesen hat jedoch immerhin jeder Dritte antizyklisch gehandelt und das Investitionsvolumen erhöht. Bei jenen Betrieben, die Investitionsvorhaben verringerten oder verschoben, war in den meisten Fällen nicht die Beschaffung von Fremdkapital hierfür ausschlaggebend. Die Erwartungen waren für 2009 eher negativ: erstmals seit vier Jahren rechnen mehr Betriebe mit einem sinkenden als mit einem steigenden Geschäftsvolumen im nächsten Jahr, besonders häufig im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe und in umsatzstarken Betrieben. Die hessischen Betriebe sehen sich darüber hinaus häufig einem hohen Wettbewerbsdruck ausgesetzt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass dieser Druck in der aktuellen Krise zugenommen hat, hiermit aber keine strukturellen Verschiebungen verbunden sind, weiterhin wird der Druck in Handel und Produzierendem Gewerbe sowie in Großbetrieben höher empfunden. Für hochgerechnet knapp 22.000 hessische Betriebe ist der Konkurrenzdruck derart hoch, dass er nach Einschätzung der Betriebe den Fortbestand gefährdet, hier vor allem im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe und bei sehr kleinen Betrieben. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine dramatische Verschlechterung der betrieblichen Einschätzungen bislang nicht vorliegt, eine generelle Entwarnung für die hessische Wirtschaft jedoch nicht gegeben werden kann
Legt man die Zahlen des IAB-Betriebspanels zugrunde, ergibt sich ein recht klares Bild: Die Auswirkungen der Finanzmarkt- und Wirtschaftskrise fallen auf dem Ausbildungsmarkt Hessens deutlicher weniger negativ aus, als dies zu befürchten war. Zwar ist analog zum deutschlandweiten Trend die Zahl der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten auch in Hessen leicht zurückgegangen, die Zahl der Auszubildenden stieg dagegen in einigen Sektoren nochmals an. Die Ausbildungsquote ist demnach etwas höher als im Vorjahr, liegt in Hessen aber noch immer unter dem den westdeutschen Durchschnitt. Umgekehrt haben Betriebe auch in der Krise noch Probleme, offene Ausbildungsplätze zu besetzen.
Die vorhandenen Besetzungsprobleme sind etwas geringer als im Vorjahr und betreffen besonders Kleinst- und Baubetriebe. Einige der untersuchten Indikatoren lassen allerdings auch krisenbedingte Effekte erkennen: So ist die Zahl der ausbildenden Betriebe in Hessen um hochgerechnet etwa 3.000 zurück gegangen, obwohl die Zahl der ausbildungsberechtigten Betriebe so hoch lag wie nie zuvor. Das hieraus resultierende ungenutzte Au sbildungspotenzial ist erneut bei den Kleinstbetrieben besonders hoch. Auch die Übernahmequoten, also der Anteil der erfolgreichen Ausbildungsabsolventen, die im Betrieb bleiben konnten, haben gegenüber dem letzten Jahr abgenommen, wobei erneut bei den Kleinstbetrieben der größte Rückgang zu verzeichnen ist. Inwieweit bei diesen Ergebnissen konjunkturelle Effekte durchschlagen, lässt sich nicht abschließend klären. Eine Betrachtung des Zusammenhangs zwischen wirtschaftlicher Lage und der Ausbildungsbeteiligung liefert jedoch Hinweise, dass insbesondere die zurückliegende ökonomische Situation der Betriebe Einfluss auf deren Ausbildungs- verhalten hat. Betriebe, deren Ertragslage im letzten Jahr schlecht war, bilden deutlic he seltener aus als der Durchschnitt der hessischen Betriebe. Der aktuelle Wettbewerbsdruck und die erwartete Geschäfts entwicklung spielen dagegen kaum eine Rolle. Falls dieser Zusammenhang eine Bestätigung erfährt, kann für den hessischen Ausbildungsmarkt noch keine Entwarnung gegeben werden: die schlechte konjunkturelle Lage 2009 wird auch im kommenden Ausbildungsjahr zu spüren sein.
Beschäftigungsprognose 2011/2012 für die Region Rhein-Main : IWAK-Betriebsbefragung im Herbst 2010
(2010)
Nach der aktuellen Beschäftigungsprognose für die Region Rhein-Main ist bis Ende 2011 mit steigenden Beschäftigtenzahlen zu rechnen. Dies gilt sowohl für die Gesamtbeschäftigung als auch, wenn auch in geringerem Maße für die sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung. Dieser Beschäftigungsanstieg wird sich, mehr oder weniger stark, in fast allen Branchen in der Region vollziehen, Ausnahme stellen lediglich die Öffentliche Verwaltung sowie die Finanz- und Versicherungsdienstleistungen dar. Das stärkste prozentuale Beschäftigungswachstum erwarten Betriebe aus den Bereichen Verkehr und Lagerei sowie Information und Kommunikation. Der Beschäftigungsanstieg wird überwiegend von kleineren und mittleren Betrieben getragen, hierbei ist hervorzuheben, dass gerade Kleinstbetriebe mit weniger als 10 Beschäftigten einen
überdurchschnittlich starken Anstieg der sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung erwarten: Etwa ein Drittel aller zusätzlichen sozialversicherungspflichtigen Stellen in der Region werden von den Kleinstbetrieben geschaffen.
Auch über das Jahr 2011 hinaus bleiben die Betriebe in der Region RheinMain optimistisch. Bis Ende 2012 erwarten sie einen Beschäfti-gungsanstieg um etwa 1,6 Prozent. Hier gilt ebenfalls, dass unter-schiedlichste Branchen diesen Beschäftigungsanstieg erwarten: Die Dienstleistungsbranchen tragen hierzu ebenso bei wie der Handel oder das Baugewerbe. Ausgenommen sind wiederum die Betriebe aus dem Finanz- und Versicherungssektor und der Öffentlichen Verwaltung, die weiter hin stagnieren werden, sowie das Gastgewerbe, das mittelfristig mit leicht rückläufigen Beschäftigtenzahlen rechnet. Nach Betriebsgröße differenziert bleiben auch bis Ende 2012 die kleinen und mittleren Betriebe der Beschäftigungsmotor der Region. Aber auch Großbetriebe rechnen eher mit einem leichten Anstieg, was für diese Betriebsgruppe in der IWAK-Betriebsbefragung in der Vergangenheit eher untypisch war. Die Entwicklung der Auszubildendenzahlen wird sich bis Ende 2011 ebenfalls positiv gestalten. Die Einschätzungen sind sektoral aber sehr heterogen. So gehen die meisten Dienstleistungsbranchen von einem (teilweise deutlichen) Rückgang der Anzahl an Auszubildenden aus, während das Verarbeitende Gewerbe, der Bereich Verkehr und Lagerei und auch der Bildungs- und Gesundheitsbereich einen Anstieg erwarten. Die sektorale Prognose der Anzahl der Auszubildenden geht jedenfalls nicht immer konform mit der sektoralen Beschäftigungsprognose. Was die Gründe für diese Heterogenität sein könnten (Probleme bei der Stellenbesetzung etc.) wird Thema des nächsten IWAK-Reports sein.
Das Ende der Wirtschaftskrise und die anziehende Konjunktur wirkten sich bezüglich Beschäftigungsentwicklung, Personalbewegungen, Personalsuche sowie erwarteten Personalproblemen unterschiedlich auf die Wirtschaftszweige und Betriebsgrößen aus. Im Baugewerbe und im Dienstleistungssektor stieg die sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung bis Mitte 2010 deutlich an, und zwar um 7,9 bzw. 8,4 Prozent. Diese Entwicklung korrelierte in beiden Branchen mit einem überproportionalen Anteil an Neueinstellungen sowie an offenen Stellen, gemessen an den Gesamtbeschäftigten. Gleichzeitig fiel der Anteil der Personalabgänge in diesen Wirtschaftszweigen überproportional aus, im Baugewerbe jedoch nur leicht überproportional. Beide Sektoren weisen somit eine hohe Dynamik auf. In beiden Branchen konnte ein hoher Anteil der Betriebe seinen Fachkräftebedarf nicht decken, d.h. in diesen Branchen hätten gerne 20 Prozent (Dienstleistungssektor) bzw. 25 Prozent (Baugewebe) der Betriebe mit Neueinstellungen weitere Arbeitskräfte beschäftigt. In beiden Sektoren rechnet künftig auch ein hoher Anteil der Betriebe mit Schwierigkeiten, den Fachkräftebedarf zu decken.
Das Verarbeitende Gewerbe sowie die Branche Handel/Reparatur zeigen zum Teil ebenfalls vergleichbare Entwicklungen auf. Das Verarbeitende Gewerbe, das besonders von der Krise betroffen war, erzielte mit dem beginnenden Aufschwung bis Juni 2010 nur einen geringen Anstieg der sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung (0,7 Prozent). Der Sektor Handel/Reparatur verzeichnete als einzige Branche sogar einen Rückgang (-1,5 Prozent). Gemessen an den Gesamtbeschäftigten entfiel auf beide Sektoren ein. Weit unterproportionaler Anteil der Neueinstellungen sowie der offenen Stellen. Auch die Personalabgänge waren in beiden Branchen unterproportional, wobei sie im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe stärker unterproportional ausfielen. Letztgenannter Wirtschafszweig rechnet jedoch zusammen mit dem Baugewebe am häufigsten mit Problemen bei der Deckung des künftigen Fachkräftebedarfs. Die Kleinstbetriebe hatten sich bezüglich ihrer Beschäftigungsentwicklung bis Juni 2010 noch nicht erholt und verbuchten einen Rückgang der sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigung um 1,1 Prozent. Dies äußerte sich in einem überproportionalen Anteil an den Personalabgängen. Gleichzeitig verbuchten die Betriebe dieser Betriebsgröße jedoch einen proportionalen Anteil an den Neueinstellungen und einen überproportionalen an den offenen Stellen, gemessen an den Gesamtbeschäftigten in dieser Betriebsgröße. In den mittleren Betrieben stieg die sozialversicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung besonders stark an; sie erhöhte sich um 7,8 Prozent. Diese Entwicklung ging einher mit einem überproportionalen Anteil an den Neueinstellungen und an offenen Stellen, aber auch einem überproportionalen Anteil an den Personalabgängen. In den Großbetrieben waren dagegen der Anteil der Neueinstellungen sowie der Anteil der offenen Stellen unterproportional, aber auch der Anteil der Personalabgänge.
Die Rede von der Unrettbarkeit des Ich, die sich bekanntlich bis in die Postmoderne zieht, wird im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert explizit und spätestens um die Jahrhundertwende topisch. Hugo von Hofmannsthal, so soll das vorliegende Buch zeigen, beteiligt sich an dieser Debatte mit einem außergewöhnlichen Beitrag: Er rekonstruiert in seinen literarischen Texten die sowohl psychologischen (nicht nur psychoanalytischen) als auch theologischen Wurzeln der genannten Gedankenfigur und macht sie auf diesem Wege zur Grundlage seines poetischen Schreibens und dessen immanenter Reflexion.
Child of earth
(2010)
Child of Earth is the story of Achu, a young African boy who loses his mother when he is still a baby. He is raised by his father in a household teeming with wives and children. Then the father dies and the task of raising Achu devolves on his aunt, his father's sister, who is married to one of the richest and most powerful men in the country. But the aunt is jealous because Achu is doing better in school than her own children . . .
Intimate strangers
(2010)
Intimate Strangers tells the story of the everyday tensions of maids and madams in ways that bring together different worlds and explore various dimensions of servitude and mobility. Immaculate travels to a foreign land only to find her fiancé refusing to marry her. Operating from the margins of society, through her own ingenuity and an encounter with researcher Dr Winter-Bottom Nanny, she is able to earn some money. Will she remain at the margins or graduate into DUST - Diamond University of Science and Technology? Immaculate learns how maids struggle to make ends meet and madams wrestle to keep them in their employ. Resolved to make her disappointments blessings, she perseveres until she can take no more.
Les murmures de l'harmattan
(2010)
The author of Harmattan Whispers reproduces life in such a harmonic order enveloped with dreams carefully filtered and balanced. As a keen observer of his society, he describes with passionate fervour movements that give existence its density. Emmanuel Matateyou in this poetic cocktail of his takes the reader through an African society where Harmattan, this North East trade wind, destroys as it sweeps along the ugly, the vicissitudes and the shredded pieces of life to leave place to a new kind of drunken quest. In the flux of his words and imagery, he gives life to dreams, fantasies and the Utopian visions of this lover of life, all of which are brought to the limelight through poetically revealing correspondences all rooted in passion and hope.
This is a very engaging book based on compelling stories of human triumph over adversity coming out of Africa, Asia and America. Gideon's personal journey and his account of his mother and uncle in this book exemplify what it means to be truly resilient. The book is moving, well thought out and masterfully structured, a most riveting Read. Gideon For-mukwai draws on local wisdoms from his native Cameroon to tell a universal story. It is a book written in evidence of a mind in tune with the heart. Its stories, strategies, and metaphors provide incredible wisdom relevant to any society and explicitly remind readers that our circumstances may be different, but the strategies to overcome are the same. If a widow can make a legendary success story in Africa, then almost anybody can. What makes this book special is the fact that it is based on the stories of modest human beings.
Konglanjo : (Spears of Love without Ill-fortune) and Letters to Ethiopia with Some Random Poems
(2010)
This collection of poems evolves as a network and satellite of an expressive pursuit of justice with a difference. For, though this poetry simultaneously shapes global and grassroots smiles and tears, its corpus is no matter for laughter or weeping. In familiar but not identical voices, the poet tackles social evils as parasites while cross-examining cultural assumptions in the same vein. Triple form -title poem, Letters to Ethiopia and Some Random poems, explores nightmares of colonial mission civilisatrice by dint of two decades of inspirational events from 1965 as invitations into a more serene world emerging from post-discoveries.
The forces of nature warranted that these two English speaking poets, linguists, translators cum academics and researchers be born in Ndop, Ngoketunjia Division, in the North West Region of Cameroon. The one is based in the USA and other in Australia. Disgusted by the rotten political clime in their country as well as the political stance of politician vis-à-vis the English speaking minority, these two poets in their poetry explore the ins and outs of the problems of existence, not only of the minority English speaking Cameroonian but those of minorities in a modern world with a push for globalization. To them art is not only a weapon for survival but one for resistance.
Rock of God (Kilán ke Nyùy)
(2010)
Rock of God centres on a significant war that Nso fought with Bamoun in the 1880s, and which war resulted in a devastating defeat for the Bamouns. During this war, a major Nso combat rule was broken: the Sultan (king) of Bamoun was decapitated. Both local story tellers and historians have indicated that the Sultan was only supposed to be captured alive. The play explores some very compelling reasons for this violation. It mocks any attempt at categorization because the events involved are as historically relevant as they are anthropologically profound; as literarily dense as they are linguistically compelling. It surely stands on its own because it clearly combines concepts of docu-drama, morality play, classical theatre, historical drama, and much more. But beyond all else, it is great artistry that demonstrates the genius of experimentation.
The call of blood
(2010)
Efenze, the President of the Board of Directors of government companies and a member of the Central Committee of the Ruling Party, eliminates his erstwhile business contractor, Sancheu, with the complicity of the latter's wife. His aim is to inherit Sancheu's widow and wealth and to forge his way into the Political Bureau of the Party. The Call of Blood is a dramatization of evil in its multifaceted dimensions including treachery, infidelity, greed, hypocrisy, double-crossing and vaulting ambition in a postcolonial society where those who wield political and financial power thrive or perish by their involvement in obscure schemes. The play is enriched by a great sense of dramatic economy and poetic style evident in the preponderant use of local imagery.
Wholeness Living
(2010)
Wholeness Living is about recognizing the power that exists within us, in others and in the Higher Power. When these powers are in harmony we experience growth in the sense of physical health, high self-esteem, high social interest, and high optimism. Therefore, wholeness living is the openness to the truth about the relationship with the physical self, the psychological self, others and the Higher Power. Based on years of clinical practice, academic research and personal investigation, Dr Bonaventura Balige's approach to leading a full, rich and happy life focuses on four main areas - the physical, the psychological, the social and the spiritual - any one or more of which can be at the root of our difficulties. In this book are lessons and heartfelt advice to help us address the issues interfering with our enjoyment of life. While it is true that life is often difficult, we have the tools to deal with any situation. Dr Balige shows us that every person has the power to create the wholeness that can see us through the storms of life. Every person can find happiness by following the steps explaining what wholeness living entails.
This book is the first comprehensive contribution to understanding the character of important societal transitions in Tanzania during Benjamin Mkapa's presidency (1995- 2005). The analyses of the trajectory of these transitions are conducted against the background of the development model of Tanzanian's first president, Julius Nyerere (1961-1985), a model with lasting influence on the country. This approach enables an understanding of continuities and discontinuities in Tanzania over time in areas such as development strategy an ideology, agrarian-land, gender and forestry issues, economic liberalization, development assistance, corruption and political change. The period of Mkapa's presidency is particularly important because it represents the first phase of Tanzania's multi- party political system. Mkapa's government initially faced a gloomy economic situation. Although Mkapa's crusade against corruption lost direction, his presidency was characterised by relatively high growth rates and a stable macro-economy. Rural and agrarian transitions were dominated by diversification rather than productivity growth and transformation. Rural attitudes in favour of land markets emerged only slowly but formal land disputes showed more respect for women's rights. Some space emerged for widening local participation in forest management, but rural dynamics was mainly found in trading settlements feeding on economic liberalization and artisanal mining. The transitions documented and analysed of Mkapa's presidency, however, indicate only limited transformational change. Rural poverty is therefore likely to remain deep and the sustainability of economic development to be at risk in the future. Mkapa was, however, able to protect the legacy of peace and political stability of Nyerere, but there were nevertheless important challenges to the first multiparty elections and governance, and particularly in Zanzibar. The post- script (covering 2005 2010), indicates that the incumbent president, Jakaya Kikwete, has yet to prove that he can change this legacy of Mkapa. Co-published with the Nordic Africa Institute and the Sokoine University of Agriculture, the contributions to the eleven chapters of this book are evenly shared between Tanzanian, Nordic and other European researchers with a long-term commitment to Tanzanian development research. he book is dedicated to the youth of Tanzania.
Conflict in Northern Ghana appears to be increasing in amplitude and frequency and its effects are getting more devastating. It is the view of this book that the Government of Ghana and civil society organisations involved in aspects of conflict management have approached peace issues in the region with an inadequate understanding of the local issues that divide and unite the people, or using sufficient resources to preempt conflict. In 2003 The Mole V summit was held in Damongo to discuss strategic directions for comprehensive development and poverty reduction in Northern Ghana as a mechanism for supporting conflict management. It is the aim of this publication to contribute to the proposed plan by suggesting past and current conflict management resources and mechanisms which could be employed. The suggestions are informed by surveys, which are oulined in the book, of particular conflicts in the three northern Regions of Ghana between 2006 and 2008 - their histories, causes and effects and their resolution.
he name Dar es Salaam comes from the Arabic phrase meaning house of peace. A popular but erroneous translation is haven of peace resulting from a mix-up of the Arabic words 'dar' (house) and 'bandar' (harbour). Named in 1867 by the Sultan of Zanzibar, the town has for a long time benefitted from a reputation of being a place of tranquility. The tropical drowsiness is a comfort to the socialist poverty and under-equipment that causes an unending anxiety to reign over the town. Today, for the Tanzanian, the town has become Bongoland, that is, a place where survival is a matter of cunning and intelligence (bongo means brain in Kiswahili). Far from being an anecdote, this slide into toponomy records the mutations that affect the links that Tanzanians maintain with their principal city and the manner in which it represents them. This book takes into account the changes by departing from the hypothesis that they reveal a process of territorialisation. What are the processesenvisaged as spatial investmentswhich, by producing exclusivity, demarcations and exclusions, fragment the urban space and its social fabric? Do the practices and discussions of the urban dwellers construct limited spaces, appropriated, identified and managed by communities (in other words, territories)? Dar es Salaam is often described as a diversified, relatively homogenous and integrating place. However, is it not more appropriate to describe it as fragmented? As territorialisation can only occur through frequenting, management and localised investment, it is therefore through certain placesfirst shelter and residential area, then the school, daladala station, the fire hydrant and the quaysthat the town is observed. This led to broach the question in the geographical sense of urban policy carried out since German colonisation to date. At the same time, the analysis of these developments allows for an evaluation of the role of the urban crisis and the responses it brings. In sum, the aim of this approach is to measure the impact of the uniqueness of the place on the current changes. On one hand, this is linked to its long-term insertion in the Swahili civilisation, and on the other, to its colonisation by Germany and later Britain and finally, to the singularity of the post-colonial path. This latter is marked by an alternation of Ujamaa with Structural Adjustment Plans applied since 1987. How does this remarkable political culture take part in the emerging city today?
This book is a compilation of oral histories about the movement of Luo and some Bantu-speaking peoples. It includes histories of many clans or ethnic groups, and how drought, warfare, disease, and competition over pastoral resources in western Kenya forced them to look for a land that they could call their own. Highly entertaining, the stories cross over from pre-colonial to post-colonial eras, with tales of fooling the colonial officers, winning battles and producing miracles. Although warriors and chiefs play a critical part in the stories so too do unlikely actors such as women, prophets, and common farmers. As one of the elders put it, 'Without history you are like wild animals' you need to know where you came from and who you are.' People with kinship connections to the ethnic groups represented here will delight in the references to places, people, kin groups and events. Residents of western Kenya will be able to trace some of their genealogies to North Mara and vice versa. Historians and anthropologists will find in this book a rich primary source for their own research. Those interested in cultural change will find this a fascinating case of Luo assimilation: events chronicled in this book are still underway and observable in communities today. Producing the text in both Swahili and English ensures that local people will have access to these histories for their own learning and on-going discussions about the past.
Despite being a large capital city in Africa in terms of size and its regional role, Nairobi is an unrecognised entity. For the majority of its inhabitants, the capital of Kenya is a transit point rather than a dwelling place. Since its origins, Nairobi has been a city of migrants, more predisposed to their rural roots than to their current city status. It is a non-conforming town, which conceals its urbanity more than it claims it, and whose identity remains evasive. Nairobi presents itself as a mosaic of residential areas which bring to mind the cityís history. The racial segregation that stratified the development of the colonial city has today disappeared, but it has given way to a form of social segregation. One must, therefore, not seek a unique identity in Nairobi, but rather, several identities - those of different communities that comprise the city and whose dynamics are seen at village and residential estate level. However, Nairobi is also a city that is contradictory. This East African capital city is often associated with slums and crime, and their increase and growth stigmatises the failure of urban policies. Therefore, it is at these cracks and fringes of the city that we should seek out the identities and dynamics that have shaped the city for a century. Nairobi is a fragmented city that can be understood in steps. The 13 contributory articles in Nairobi Today thus reveal the city. This multidisciplinary collective work invites us to gain entry into certain areas of the city, to visit its communities and to familiarise ourselves with its formal and informal institutions. This is a requirement in order to fully understand what makes Nairobi what it is today.
The importance of watercourses to human life and development cannot be overemphasised. From communication, trade, agriculture and the location of human settlements, they have played an immeasurable role. Almost 60% of Africa lies within shared rivers and lake basins. The Nile is shared by more than seven nations, the Zambezi by six, and the Congo by nine. With populations on the rise, many countries have been labeled water scarce nations, and in fifteen years it is predicted that many people on earth will be exposed to water shortage consequences such as famine and disease. Thirteen African nations already suffer water stress and soon another twelve will join the list unless something is done to thwart the problem. On March 20, 2009 in Nairobi, Hekima College collaborated with Jesuit Hakimani Centre and the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) to host the Hekima College Water Day Academic Seminar with the theme Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities. This book is the result of critical research and presentations by internationally renowned scholars, researchers and experts, and students of the Institute of Peace Studies and International RelationsHekima College. For most of 2009 Kenya suffered severe problems caused by flooding which took many lives and destroyed homes and important infrastructures. It highlighted the issues of water management and water conflicts, not only in Kenya but in other parts of East Africa, as it was made abundantly clear that not only scarcity of water, but excess water, incorrectly managed, can be disastrous. This timely, scholarly book presents discussions of the issues which underlie the major water crises in the region. They open the debate into the water problems of Kenya and East Africa in an effort to join the global campaign to find solutions to these difficulties.
Cheche, a radical, socialist student magazine at the University of Dares Salaam, first came out in 1969. Featuring incisive analyses of key societal issues by prominent progressives, it gained national and international recognition in a short while. Because it was independent of authority, and spoke without fear or favor, it was banned after just a year of existence. The former editors and associates of Cheche revive that salutory episode of student activism in this book with fast-flowing, humor spiced stories, and astute socio-economic analyses. Issues covered include social and technical aspects of low-budget magazine production, travails of student life and activism, contents and philosophy of higher education, socialism in Tanzania, African liberation, gender politics and global affairs. They also reflect on the relevance of past student activism to the modern era. If your interests cover higher education in Africa, political and development studies, journalism, African affairs, socialism and capitalism, or if you just seek elucidation of student activism in a nation then at the center of the African struggle for liberation, this book presents the topic in a lively but unorthodox and ethically engaging manner.
Sitting on the terrace of the royal plantation Frederiksgave, his favourite retreat, Governor Edward Carstensen came to see the inevitable: Denmark had to give up her 'possessions' in Africa. As fate would have it, he came to be the instrument by which two centuries of Danish involvement on the Gold Coast was terminated, thereby making way for the emergence of the colonial system that developed there. After the abolition of the slave trade, Denmark had struggled to find ways and means to legitimate her continued stay at the Coast. At an early stage the Danes initiated a number of attempts to establish experimental plantations to cultivate export crops such as cotton, coffee and sugar. But a transition from slave trade to 'legitimate' products required stability and peace, and a need for control, which the rather limited Danish presence was not able to maintain. Closing the Books comprises a compilation of the official reports that the last Danish Governor sent home during his term of office at the Gold Coast. The reports reflect his personal views regarding the economic and political situations there, as well as his ideas on the 'civilization of Africa'.
This book brings together articles and conference papers on the Zambezi River and Kariba Dam written by Dr. Tumbare between 1998-2010. Part I discusses issues of river basin and integrated water resources management and Part II contains papers in infrastructure development in the water and energy sectors.
The last text on the geography of Uganda was written in 1975 by Professor Brian Langlands. Since the last publication, Uganda has undergone numerous changes. The population has more than tripled from less than 10 million to almost 30 million. The district boundaries have changed and the number of districts increases every year. New districts are created every year. Economic productivity has also shifted over the years. Furthermore, new and emerging diseases have surfaced in Uganda. This book addresses the need for an updated document on the geography of Uganda. This book was written by a joint group of Ugandan geographers. The contributors authored chapters in their areas of specialization. There are a total of twelve chapters in the book. These chapters are based on the most current data available.
The Cold War period witnessed competition from political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, military and social dimensions between the United States of America (USA), and the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In the superpower rivalries, India and Africa were adversely affected in many ways. The situation did not change for the better in the post-Cold War period, which has witnessed the domination of the world by the US and its allies, the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialised countries. This domination has been characterised by the process of Americanization of the worlds, otherwise termed globalisation, in virtually all spheres of life. USA, India, Africa During and After the Cold War demonstrates that both the United States and The Soviet Union used African States, India and other Third World countries for their own geopolitical considerations; that the foreign policy and foreign relations of the US were meant to subject Africa and India to the dictates of US imperialism. The book assesses the impact of the Cold War and the post-Cold War order on Africa, India and the entire world and argues that the Non Aligned Movement is still relevant to the Third World countries despite the demise of the Cold War. The book analyses issues from the African point of view as opposed to hitherto Western view points but provides a balanced appreciation of the complex forces that shape foreign policies and foreign relations globally. It is a valuable contribution to modern diplomatic history and targets university students, researchers, foreign affairs ministries, and practising diplomats.
This books is the result of concerted teamwork among the academia staff of the Department of Religious Studies, University of Nairobi between 1986 and 1990. The Project was prompted by the necessity to produce relevant and comprehensive textbooks for the undergraduate degree programme. The book has remained in demand, confirming the relevance and quality of its content covering the whole range of major religions of the world with extensive geographical and historical acope. It includes a specific section on African Religion, thus placing the African Religious Heritage within the mainstream of the comparative study of the world's religions.
Reproductive Health, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa : Frameworks of Analysis
(2010)
This volume contains framework papers prepared for a collaborative research project on Reproductive Health, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa, an initiative of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). Taken together, the chapters in this book make a compelling argument that improvement in reproductive health is key to raising household incomes and to reducing poverty. the books reveals that the triple phenomena of better reproductive health, economic growth, and declining poverty, are likely to be found in an environment in which labour and product markets function. Further, a macroeconomic framework that encourages domestic and foreign investments and promotes social protection for current and future generations is essential.
A woman yearns for self-assurance to be a woman of dreams, of song and poetry. The feel of life, buried by over socialisation and domestication processes, oppressed by the surrounding culture and dealing with a problem without a name, is lifted in the process of dreaming, singing songs and reciting poetry. That is the woman Wanjira becomes when she narrates stories. She reclaims her dreams through her stories. She reclaims her wellness, hope, independence and strength. You see the sparkle in her eyes when she talks abut dances, courtship, beauty, children, love, courage, determination, joy, and womanhood. Reclaiming My Dreams: Stories by Wanjira wa Rukenya is thus, an individual artist's work. It goes a long way in helping students appreciate the narrative genre and understand the creative role of individual artists. This understanding demystifies the idea that anybody and everybody in the African society is a storyteller; an assertion that has belittled the artistry of African Oral Literature. The book makes us appreciate our cultural heritage. Students of literature in Secondary Schools and in higher institutions of learning will find this book useful.
Jean Hartley, born in Kenya, is acknowledged as being the first to legitimise fixing for wildlife film crews. Over the last 25 years, she has worked on over a thousand films, the vast majority being about wildlife and nature. She features five of the great film makers who all started their careers in Kenya in the1950s, legends whom she is proud to call personal friends. Watching all of their films, and many more, she became fascinated by the history of film making in Kenya and determined to find out when it all started. In this insightful book, she traces the roots of wildlife film back a hundred years, drawing on accounts of the original film makers and the professional hunters who guided those early safaris. She tracks the changes from those grainy, speeded up, silent films through to the technologically perfect High Definition and 3D films that are being made today.
This book seeks to help African Christian leaders to follow the notions of biblical leadership as servanthood and to train men and women with biblical and academic knowledge, which will be critical, practical, pastoral and applicable in the Kenyan context and participate in the discovery, transmission and preservation of knowledge and stimulate the intellectual life and cultural development of Kenya.
This text broadly and comprehensively covers the area of law of succession in Kenya. It exposes the substantive succession legal regime applying in Kenya as well as the Kenyan probate practice. It is tailored specifically for the legal practitioner, the Magistrate and Judge and the law student William Musyoka holds L.L.B and LL.M degrees from the University of Nairobi. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a law lecturer. He has taught the law of succession at the Kenya School of Law and is currently teaching the subject at the School of Law, University of Nairobi.
Written in a clear, concise and engaging style this book presents the entire criminal process in a simple, yet authoritative and informative way. The core principles that underpin the criminal procedure, their rationale and assumptions are well articulated and critiqued. In addition the book presents by way of illustration a comprehensive range of the latest local judicial decisions.
Studies have shown that the negative effects of credit market inefficiencies are most felt by smaller firms. Therefore, in countries such as Uganda, where micro enterprises are at the bottom of the economic pyramid, moral hazard and adverse selection severely affect their ability to access formal credit hence limiting their growth potential. Microfinance has been heralded for its use of innovative lending methods to improve access to credit. The last decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the outreach of micro lending institutions and the development of financial products suited to the needs of the economically active poor, who often, are unable to obtain credit from mainstream financial institutions. This book analyzes the law and economics theories on access to credit and enterprise finance and based on case studies in Uganda, presents empirical findings of the promise and limits of contractual innovations in micro credit.
On 30th December 2008, the President of Kenya, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki, assented to the controversial Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act 2008 which commenced on 2nd January 2009. This Presidential move had a deep impact on the long discussions, arguments and negotiations that were already in high gear by October 2006, when the Fourth Annual Ethics Conference on Media and the Common Good was held at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya. The essays in this book make a case for media freedom as well as media responsibility. Let the media create a culture of truth. Let the media not forsake the citizens; let them seek and disseminate the truth; let them not destroy the education, virtues and faith for which so many have shed their blood in Kenya, Africa and elsewhere. May reason prevail, guided by wisdom towards Truth.
One of the critical questions that Kenyans have continuously asked is what went wrong in January and February 2008 with the 'peace' they had hitherto enjoyed. There have not been readily available answers to this fundamental question. The collection of papers presented in this book attempt to provide, as a starting point, possible explanations for the events of early 2008 including key background issues in Kenyan history since pre-independence times. Based on a series of public lectures titled (Re)membering Kenya organized by the volume editors together with Twaweza Communications and sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Kenya, the Institute for International Education and The Ford Foundation the lecture series became a way of trying to get scholars to engage meaningfully with the Kenyan public on critical matters pertaining to their nationhood - even if this entailed first calling to question the 'lie' about the very ideas and practices upon which that nationhood is assumed to stand. A key lesson drawn from the unfolding discussions at the Goethe-Institut Kenya was that the 2007 elections' debacle was merely the cusp of momentous crises to do with among other issues, governance, law and order, Parliament's abdication of its role in ensuring accountability from the Executive, dilemmas of identity and socio-economic marginality. The book is the first of three volumes under the (Re)membering Kenya series whose overall objective is to cast some new light on the various trajectories that informed the happenings of January 2008. The present volume brings together some of the best interpretative writing and suggestions on pertinent questions, past and present, ranging from the architecture of Kenya's ethnicity, Kenyanness, generational competition, socialization and violence, iconic representations of identity to the ongoing debate on the efficacy of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). It is hoped that the issues debated during the public lectures and documented herein will spur further discussions in other spaces within civil society organizations, among activists and in newspapers where the public might continue to expand their thinking on the complex task of (Re)membering Kenya.
Leading the Night
(2010)
Deprived of being heard, people still have a voice. They make it heard in ways that disturb the status quo. This book is an engagement with such voices. Can Deni, Wairi, Yaadi, matatu people, militia people and taxi drivers in Kenya also ask 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' as Nelson Mandela did. Why do two men wearing bling bling turn into two snakes dancing in Rika's imagination? The web of corruption is intricate. No-one can lead this night alone. It takes many constellations, each one twinkling in its own radius. Many rays of light dispel darkness. The peoples' good leadership alone can check politicians' terrible ways. Philo Ikonya is the author of two poetry anthologies, This Bread of Peace and Out if Prison.
In most of Africa, there is evidence of politicised inter-ethnic rivalry and ethnic mobilisation to acquire, maintain or monopolise power as competition for resources intensify. This volume demonstrates how ethnic diversity can be managed at a number of levels in order to improve the lives of citizens. As the contributors show, ethnicity as an identity is fluid and malleable. It can be deconstructed in order to reduce its saliency. Evidently, strong ethnic affliation has also been viewed as a major barrier to human and economic development although ethnically bound welfare organisations do influence the economic and social life of citizens especially in the rural areas, In most of Africa, it is through ethnic identification that competition for influence in the state and in the allocation of resources becomes apparent. Occasionally, governments have sought to address this challenge through ethnic and regional balancing in political appointments. But this does not always work. Drawing on experiences from Eastern Africa and beyond, the contributors discuss how ethnic diversity can be a resource for the region.
The history of the subalterns, also known as the history of the voiceless, took currency in the early 1980s in South East Asia and has been dominated by scholars from that region. Despite its popularity, the history of the voiceless has not gained the attention it deserves in Cameroon historiography. In other parts of Africa and beyond this type of history has already taken root and animated scholarly production and debate. Cameroon history has been replete with studies that focus mostly on political history and the actions and intentions of top politicians of the day, with scant regard for the historical importance of the everyday life of ordinary Cameroonians as makers and breakers. This book takes a bold step in the direction of subaltern studies in Cameroon, and makes a clarion call for the institutionalization of voicing the voiceless. Nkwi - innovative and stimulating in his blend of history and ethnography of the everyday - offers fresh insights into the contextual understandings of subaltern Cameroon between 1958 and 2009. This is a welcome contribution to closing gaps in social history, from a leader amongst a budding new generation of historians of Cameroon and Africa.
Mountain forests provide important ecological services, and essential products. This book focuses on the importance of mountain forests in Cameroon for the local people who depend most directly on them, and have often developed a wealth of indigenous knowledge on plants and sophisticated institutions for managing limited plant and animal resources. Such knowledge and institutions have often been threatened, or even destroyed, by centralization and globalization; yet there is increasing recognition that community-based institutions are the best adapted to ensuring that mountain forests continue to supply their diverse goods and services to both mountain and other people over the long-term. The book provides a useful combination of case studies on ethnobotanic analysis and cultural values of plants, community-based ecological planning for protected area management and eco-cultural tourism development. It provides an unusually useful combination of overviews and synthesis of theory and experience with in-depth case studies of montane forest-adjacent communities and protected areas. Throughout the book there are good summary tables, case study maps, and diagrams that are relevant to the themes in question. Finally, the book addresses the possible mutual benefits of indigenous knowledge and modern science, indigenous peoples and the development of eco-cultural tourism in protected areas, indigenous peoples and ecological planning in protected areas. It therefore emphasizes cooperation based on partnerships amongst indigenous people, governments and the global conservation community, in the interest of effective conservation. This is a valuable book for land managers, environmental scientists, environmental biologists, natural resource managers and students reading subjects such as geography, biology, forestry, botany and environmental science.
The Lady with the Sting
(2010)
The Lady with the Sting is sequel to The Lady with a Beard. In the two novels Alobwed'Epie compares and contrasts the masculinity and femininity of the two heroines Emade, and her daughter Ntube. In the first novel, Emade shuns her sex and clinks to a false masculine mask. In spite of her achievements she fails to debunk the old system. In The Lady with the Sting, her daughter Ntube, a less charismatic heroine, allows nature take its course and in the end she seizes the opportunity the erring old system gives her and destroys it. Alobwed'Epie, author of The Death Certificate, The Lady with a Beard, The Day God Blinked, and The Bad Samaritan was born at Ngomboku in Kupe-Muanenguba Division, South-West Region, Cameroon. He studied at the Universities of Yaoundé and Leeds, and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon.
Soleil et ombre
(2010)
In this collection, Bill F. NDI resorts to more sagacious versification (rhyme constraints, alliterations and at times the alexandrine) in which appear marked influences of many a French poet. Some of his more audacious poems bring to mind Calligrams and typography of Appolinaire and Paul Éluard respectively.
Réussite scolaire, Faillite Sociale : Généalogie mentale de la crise de l'Afrique Noire Francophone
(2010)
Two volumes of school textbooks have notably led to self repulsion and attraction by the other peculiar to the black African elite. These are the collection put together by the missionary brothers Macaire and Grill: Mamadou et Bineta authored by Andre Davesne alone or in collaboration with J. Gouin. To have an understanding of the kind of scholar produced by the foreign school in the colonies a century after, it is worthwhile retracing the itinerary, followed through readings by generation of pupils, to know the sources that fed their imagination. Out of tune with the universe of their birth, unable to efficiently concretize school teaching, but having certainly perceived that education and education alone is the new pedigree of distinction, school pupils have had to simulate the appropriation of fetishist models of knowledge without necessarily assimilating the spirit of the new civilization and much less taking the challenge to preserve self integrity redeemed through a complaisant dependence that spares from taking any action by fear of doing wrong or being called to order by the overbearing world. If not, how can one explain, in spite of the material and symbolic crises, that the elite since independence have not initiated a discursive strategy for another effective school system? Now, with aspiration or repugnance to discontinuity, the intentions are to rid Africa of the unhealthy residual French complexes in order to engage on the path of double acknowledgement and difference. This seems the most likely to restore trust amongst the peoples and to assure the endorsement of men worthy of being called such.
Stranger in his Homeland
(2010)
Stranger in His Homeland completes the long-awaited trilogy of Linus Asong's fictitious village of Nkokonoko Small Monje, separately treated in The Crown of Thorns and its sequel A Legend of the Dead. However, it leads us back not to events after A Legend of the Dead, but to the crisis that created the passionately exciting The Crown of Thorns. Honest, enthusiastic, arrogant and self-righteous, Antony Nkoaleck, the first graduate of his tribe means well. But his society, entrenched in corruption, sees things differently and therefore judges him according to its own norms. Just one or two errors on Antony's part are enough to cost him his job with the government, the coveted throne of Nkokonoko Small Monje, and finally his life. It is a sad story, strongly reminiscent of Myshkin's fate in Dostoevysky's novel The Idiot, a story in which the Russian novelist vividly shows the inability of any man to bear the burden of moral perfection in an imperfect world.
The personality of the highly charismatic foremost African Nationalist, Kwame Nkrumah as featured once in a while in Ghanaian fiction. For example, the celebrated Ghanaian novelist, Ayi Kwei Armah draws attention to the corrupt nature of the Nkrumah regime in his famous novel, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. But this is by far the very first time that Kwame Nkrumah and his era have been made the main subject of a full-length novel.
The essays collected in this volume are, by the depth of their analysis and the breath of their vision, indeed 'No Trifling Matter'. They are a chronicle of the events in contemporary Cameroonian society, especially as concerns the conduct of public affairs therein. Over and above its relevance for our own time, this chronicle will, in the decades that lie ahead, serve as a rich source of information, opinion and comment which future generations, anxious to understand the making of an era whose impact, positive or negative, is destined to survive long after the longest-living of its principal actors and actresses shall have disappeared from the face of the Earth, will find a great benefit. Rotcod Gobata has, through these essays, lit and placed on a pedestal, a candle whose flame shall never die and whose glow shall serve as a beacon to guide and to inspire generations yet unborn.
This collection is produced by a trio which in reverse order recalls the trio Senghor, Csaire, Damas; one African and two Caribbeans who were flag bearer of a protest for the recognition of fundamental rights of which Blacks were deprived of. In the same vein, the Clervoyant, Ndi and Vakunta trio: a Caribbean and two Africans in a globalised world dissect and trace, through their poetry the horrible affliction of postcolonial pain Blacks suffer from in spite of the fight put up by their predecessors for the obtainment of fundamental human rights. For this trio, the black pen will continue to bleed until the pain is buried. That will be the only way for all from English speaking Cameroon to Haiti to lead a life worthy of its name.
When Sembe discovers that Amu, her husband of fifteen years, is having an affair with another woman, she moves out of the matrimonial home, but is persuaded to return by relatives and friends. However, a few months later, when Amu comes home to reveal that his mistress is pregnant with his child, everything crumbles. The social networks, customs and love that had restrained her from leaving him initially are overcome by the deep feelings of betrayal. The spouses, unable to resolve the matter amicably, immerse in a needless and senseless altercation that culminates in a physical fight. Sembe moves out of the matrimonial home and the marriage collapses. The spouses are left to struggle for the custody of their three daughters and, the ownership of matrimonial property in the plush Kenya suburb of Kileleshwa, through a corrupt Kenyan judicial system. Kileleshwa is a tale of love, betrayal and corruption, set on a background of ethnic incongruity, political uncertainty and very difficult economic times.
Forest Echoes
(2010)
Forest Echoes is a literary quilt revealing a mature poet bestriding generations as he patches together a people's culture, their philosophy, history, along with their attendant woes into a subtle, sometimes disillusioning even, yet purposeful and poignant whole. Nol Alembong is not afraid to be himself in this work: a scholar, teacher, parent, traditionalist and, above all, an Anglophone-Cameroonian. Whatever the case, these are magisterial and equally influential individual traits that have merged into a united whole in forging this poet's identity and concerns as evident from the thematic panorama of the poems. In 'Forest Echoes', the title poem, for example, one encounters a poet who, though steeped in his people's struggles, has been able to stand back, watch and evaluate the effects of the interactions of time, events, and society. It is this ability of his, as an involved yet detached observer, along with the trend of events that have scarred his people's lives, which have yielded the powerful emotions that he has assembled in this thematically lush, historically nostalgic, and overwhelmingly evocative collection.' - Dr. Emmanuel Fru Doh
Exhumed, Tried and Hanged
(2010)
Exhumed, Tried and Hanged elucidates the abuse of folk good faith and ignorance by a conceited, ruthless and grasping leadership that sows carnage among the natives of Etambeng, culminating in unprecedented exodus, untold suffering and death of the people in neighbouring villages. Upon the death of the perpetrator the few returnees are made to listen to the gruesome stories of how the aggrieved children of his victims took revenge on his corpse.
Assessing the impact of twenty-five years of action to promote the discontinuation of female circumcision (FGM) in Francophone West Africa, should consider a key issue: the contribution of the digital revolution, and how young people - girls and boys - have been associated. As victims, subjects, objects, actors, citizens, leaders and family and community stakeholders, FGM is for them a matter of concern. Youth, ICTs and FGM reveal gender issues that must be transversally integrated in public, private, citizen and personal development policies. This is the main message of this book, which presents the results of an innovative action research conducted by ENDA Tiers Monde, with the participation of girls and boys in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. The study is in the French language.
A Dictionary of Popular Bali Names is an exceptional minefield of Chamba names, meticulously assembled and expatiated for the curious user. As a pioneer in the field of dictionary-writing in the Cameroon grassfields, Fokwang's third edition counts for more than a regular dictionary. It skilfully combines a short history of the Chamba people in Cameroon as well as ethnographic issues on the naming ritual. John Fokwang's work stands in a class of its own and will serve as reference material for people of Chamba descent and those who favour the use of African names in general. This edition is an exceptionally worthy contribution to the ethnography of the Cameroon grassfields and of course, the growing literature and interest on African names and languages.
This book critically discusses missionary Christianity and colonization in Africa as twin enterprises with a common ambition. While the colonialist set out to invest capital and reap profit, the missionary desire was to tend and turn African souls from damnation. It was this desire that drove the missionaries into the interior, propelled by the belief that no land was too remote to escape their attention and vigilance. It equally kept missionary zeal buoyant. The clarification of the concept of salvation within the Roman Catholic Church during the Vatican II Council set in motion the current lethargy that has in some places crippled the mission itself. In retrospect, one can begin to wonder why Africans became Christians. What reasons motivated the early adherents to cling to this foreign religion? Were there some internal deficiencies in African traditional religions, which the Africans hoped to remedy by joining the new religion? Or was it just part of the wholesale flirting with whatever was foreign and perceived to be modern? What baits were used by the missionaries to entice Africans? Christianity posed a danger to many of the time-honoured answers to African problems. These were the values Africans converting to Christianity were expected to abandon. Why have Christians continually returned to their abandoned roots in time of crisis? This moving, well argued, richly documented and empirically substantiated study concludes by cautioning against the stubborn drive at radical conversion to Christianity with scant regard to the imperatives of enculturation.
A Basket of Flaming Ashes
(2010)
Ashuntantang is an extraordinary weaver of words who showcases vivid pictures that compete with 3D simulation. Her greatest asset is her use of the beautiful traditional Cameroonian anchor that evokes folk tales with its moonlight romance and glory. You feel, laugh, weep, shiver, wonder, and hail the triumphant spirit of the persona as it navigates African postcolonial and global experiences with the melancholy of an exile who is purposeful, strategic, and a lot of fun.
The Oracle of Tears
(2010)
Mbuh Tennu Mbuh is a lecturer in the English Department, University of Yaound I. A pioneer member of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association (ACWA) and a Fulbright and Commonwealth Scholar, Tennu holds a PhD from the University of Nottingham. He is author of a novel, In the Shadow of My Country.
Doctor Frederick Ngenito
(2010)
Dr. Frederick Ngenito shocks his entire ethnic community by finally marrying a girl whose rejection of him had cost him an enviable job. But this is nothing compared to the ire of the ancestors when he hides the facts surrounding his irate father's suicide and he is buried without the traditional cleansing, and which reduces him to a wreck. Harrowing but thoroughly enjoyable, this spellbinder of a novel is a brash standoff between filia and eros, science and fetish fears. Bloodcurdling premonitions and raspy raw effects make of this novel of many parts a story of dogged intolerance and catastrophe of half measures and falsification as quick solutions. Here is an unputdownable teeming with vivid true blood characters you cannot forget: Fred, brilliant, handsome, nai͏̈vely supercilious, the dream of every beautiful young girl; Beatrice, his wife, beautiful, proud, sensitive but unforgiving; Chief Mutare, Fred's father, the very incarnation of brute force, raw, untouched either by surface culture or inner human feelings. Upon the fatalistic relationship between these three characters, Asong builds this grim tale of great passions, of a love that is doomed. In this book stamped with an incomparable aura of authenticity, we see why Asong's novels are sometimes mistaken for case histories.
Chopchair
(2010)
The extremely irritable and quick-tempered chieftain, Akendong II has 14 children, all girls, and is saddened by the fact that he has no chopchair, a male heir to his throne. Then news comes to him that his favourite wife has given birth to a pair of twins, boys. He is even more angered by the fact that he has two heirs, a source of trouble for his kingdom. To avoid his wrath, his councillors change the story, sending away one of the boys to grow in hiding. Learning of the truth about his birth 15 years afterwards, the prince in hiding returns, kidnaps the palace prince and demands his full share of the kingdom. His will is done, but at a very great cost to the chief's peace of mind and relationship with his people. This is by far the shortest of Asong's novels and the least complicated by comparison. But the conflicts, the hallmarks of his art are still there, so also is his breathtaking suspense.
This collection represents, in substance and style, folk tradition in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Contained herein is a sampling of various human emotions, parental concerns, and societal conflicts: emotional insecurity, deceit, obstinacy, power and control, trickery, malevolence, greed, jealousy, and more. The stylistic representation is reflected in the double writing, as shown by the dialogues, the songs, and the use of choruses. These tales are ageless, placeless, and, therefore, anonymous; yet they are also the collective wisdom of a people who are supposed once to have walked the planet and communed with other animals and non-animals on the same terms. That is how humans, animals, vegetation, water, and hills/mountains are equally animate and have linguistic expression for their thoughts and sentiments. Folktales served primarily as entertainment, and also as a convenient way of teaching history and culture, and they invariably promoted good listening and speaking skills in the vernacular language as children learned to model the rhetorical patterns of their adult folklorists - with children taking turns night after night till they had gone full circle and then started recounting the same tales over. While the morale of some of the tales is obvious, that of other tales is not; and that, again, is typical both of the traditional mind set and of the educational backdrop of storytelling.
The Bafaw Language (Bantu A10) is a product of the language research programme of the Department of Linguistics of the University of Buea. It is the first serious piece of work on this highly endangered language, and aims to account generally for the data of Bafaw. The work therefore lays the foundation for more advanced work in the future. It provides a description of: the phonology, i.e. the sound system; the morphology or lexis; and the syntax of the Bafaw language. The work goes far beyond to provide a sociolinguistic survey of the Bafaw language community, and offers a discussion of functional literacy in Bafaw, the development of an orthography and the thematic glossary of the language. The book provides a useful resource for the Bafaw language development and an inspiration for further research and scholarship.
This book is a descriptive and documentary analysis of the Mankon I-language and E-language mirrored through aspects of history, geography, flora and fauna. These aspects manifest in the taxonomic nomenclatures attributed to referents in society. Because these referents were hitherto transmitted orally from generation to generation, the author has painstakingly analysed and documented aspects of Mankon culture for posterity. The work focuses in particular on Mankon proverbs for insights into the structure and function of the language. As a vehicle of communication, language plays a primordial role in encoding and decoding 'metalinguistic' data. Through thorough scientific linguistic universals and principals, Chi Che has proposed orthography for Mankon pedagogy that is simple, tenable and practicable. This book is the answer to the international clarion call for societies to analyse and document their endangered indigenous cultures. Schools, linguists, sociolinguists, anthropologists, historians and others will find this book especially useful.
For millennia, Africans have lived on the African continent, in close contact with the diversities of nature: floral, faunal and human; and in so doing they have developed cultures, values, attitudes and perspectives to the problems, ethical and otherwise, that have arisen from the existential pressures of their situation. The problem, however, is that such values and perspectives do not necessarily form coherent ethical theories. Theory-making is a second order activity requiring a certain amount of leisure and comfort which the existential conditions of life on the African continent have not easily permitted in the retrospect-able past. The elements of African bioethics are to be found in its cultural values, traditions, customs and practices. These are research-able, highlight-able and usable by those who would. The bioethical problems of our current global existential situation are such that all possible solutions, no matter their provenance, ought to be tried. Western culture has far too loud a voice combined with deaf ears in contemporary ethical discourse. But it should never be forgotten that other cultures have their own word to say and that alternative values, ways of thinking and practices exist, and attempt should always be made to bring these out and to highlight them, if they could possibly contribute to the satisfactory solution of a global problem. This book brings together various papers on bioethical issues and problems, written at different times, some previously published, each of which attempts to bring out some African elements, perspective or concern. The African narrative style predominates through these essays but their framing conforms, more or less, to the Western paradigm for presenting academic issues.
This is a timely book on the contemporary African priesthood. Just as in other parts of the globe, the African priesthood currently faces a serious crisis of identity. The unfolding crisis puts stress on the clerics and augments the tension with lay people. The model of the Church-as-Family of God opted for by the Church in Africa is a new milestone that puts pressure on Catholic priests to define their role in the new context. The identity and image of priests need to be specified as lay ministries render the Church active from the grassroots. Reflection about the ministry of the clergy in Africa is urgent, and indeed it is an important aspect of enculturation. Nyenyembe demonstrates an admirable capacity to situate his rich theological reflections in an African context.
Bernard Nsokika Fonlon, 1924-1986, rose from humble origins to become one of Cameroon's most famous sons. He was a scholar, a poet, a politician, a philosopher, a man of action and a man of courage. He was never too busy to see someone who was troubled, never too tired to take up the case of the oppressed or the downtrodden. He was a man who could communicate, with style, in half a dozen world languages but who could also use Pidgin English if it meant putting his listeners at ease. He was a man who moved in opulent circles but who collected for himself not money but the hearts of those who got to know him. It is easy to use superlatives of someone like Bernard Fonlon, easy to make him sound like a sage or a saint; it is less easy to describe the humour and the courtesy and the gentleness that irradiated all that he said and did. This book describes briefly the life and times of a man whose story incorporates the history of a young nation and whose autobiography, The Pathfinder, has all the excitement of an adventure novel. We could use a lot of words and still not get to the heart of the matter because ordinary words are for ordinary men and Bernard Fonlon was unique. To those who knew him, no introduction is necessary; to those who did not know him, no short introduction is enough. Bernard Fonlon did not leave a worldly legacy to his family and friends and country. He left much more. He left ideas that can never be buried and ideals that will challenge new generations.
Writing Therapy
(2010)
Writing therapy is a varied collection of poems of a brisk, forward taste. The poet uses her poems as a form of expression of the harmonies and tensions that reassure and perturb the mind, heart and Spirit. This is a canvas of emotional expression from the frustration of the African youth to the declaration of the feminist, the desolation of the lovelorn and finally the weathered contentment of the Christian believer!
Pieces of Silver
(2010)
Rosi-Daniela Kouoh, a female Divisional Officer newly appointed to Njopongo, steps into office at a time when preparations for elections in the Riders Union sows panic in the hearts of the town's barons and a tragic road accident ignites feelings of vengeance and survival. In order to determine the root-cause of the rising tension and build a platform for lasting calm and justice, she gets two men out of police custody; Sadi, a loser and bitter father of an unborn child, and Esingi, a daring, retired streetboy and chauffeur to the powerful Lord Mayor and business tycoon. This is the thrilling tale of a woman determined to purge her town of injustice, corruption and greed. It is also the story of the niece of the Lord Mayor torn between family loyalty and her love for a poor bus driver.
This book discusses the social and political consequences of the economic and financial crisis that befell African economies since the 1980s, using as case study the plantation economy of the Anglophone region of Cameroon. The focus is thus on recent efforts to liberalize and privatize an agro-industrial enterprise where overseas capital and its domestic partners have converged, the consequent modes of production and labour, and the alternatives proposed and resistance generated. The study details how the unprecedented crisis caused great commotion in the region, and presented a serious challenge to existing theories on plantation production and capital accumulation. The crisis resulted in the introduction of a number of neoliberal economic reforms, including the withdrawal of state intervention and the restructuring, liquidation and privatisation of the major agro-industrial enterprises. These reforms in turn had severe consequences for several civil-society groups and their organisations that had a direct stake in the regional plantation economy, notably the regional elite, chiefs, plantation workers and contract farmers. On the basis of extensive research in the Anglophone Cameroon region, Konings shows that these civil-society groups have never resigned themselves to their fate but have been actively involved in a variety of formal and informal modes of resistance.
Laughing Store is just what we need in times of troubles and uncertainties such as these. A book of humour from an acclaimed master of laughter, it lifts our hearts and raises our spirits. Jokes that touch about every domain of existence - from sex to religion, from births to deaths, from politics to the beer parlour, from the courtroom to the hospital. And most important of all, conceived in the supremely original Cameroonian flavour of jokes.
This book was first published as a two-part essay in 1965 and 1967 in ABBIA - Cameroon Cultural Review - under the title 'Idea of Culture'. Its main argument is that indigenous Africans cultures must be the foundation on which the modern African cultural structure should be raised; the soil into which the new seed should be sown; the stem into which the new scion should be grafted; the sap that should enliven the entire organism. This culture, the object of imperialist mockery and rejected, needs rehabilitation. However, such rehabilitation of African culture cannot be a mere archaeological enterprise. It will not answer to dig up the past and live it as it was. Not only is African culture not without its imperfections, times change and African culture must adapt itself, at every turn, to the changing times. In restoring African culture, it is imperative to steer clear of two extremes: on the one hand, the imperialist arrogance which declared everything African as only fit for the scrap-heap and the dust-bin, and, on the other hand, the overly enthusiastic and rather naive tendency to laud every aspect of African culture as if it were the quintessence of human achievement.
Here is a collection of sixty-two beautifully crafted poems on some of the deepest of human emotions. They celebrate love, constancy, beauty, marriage, birth and death; in the poems are hailed intellectual labour, leadership and duty. Occasionally, the poet depicts the states of his mind against the backdrop of nature, interfusing description, memory and meditation in a manner essentially romantic. The best in Ambanasom's poetry is matter and manner combined. The striking force of the poems lies in the intriguing relationship between romanticism and romance. Ambanasom's romanticism is concerned with the concept of nature as a universal being or a cosmic entity, nostalgia, the attempt to link his childhood with the present and the future, and the response to nature at different levels of his development. The poet also demonstrates a penchant for rural subject matter, places and people. In the poet of romance there is a more direct expression of basic human emotions, in particular of love that is enchanting, possessing, seductive, and alluring. We find in the poems, love that is reciprocal and imbued with constancy and understanding.
The New World Order Ideology expressed in the form of neoliberal globalization has been used by numerous politicians, scholars and media men through the ages. It refers to a worldwide conspiracy to effect complete and total control over the planet through money farming. This book examines the case of Africa put directly on the chopping board as client states by this ideology - when less hampered by idealistic slogans as human rights, raising living standards and democratization - to better the achievement of the agenda of the money farmers whose goal is to establish government by loan operations. The money farmers' strategy, as in credit card companies, is to lend as much as the subject target can borrow and still pay fees, charges and interest payments. This means to encourage them to borrow, loan after loan, consolidate all other loans and keep lending - up until the crop of foreign exchange seems in jeopardy. The ideal from the Lending Agency viewpoint is to get an African country maxed out on loans to the point that it actually operates all of its government and the nation on LOANS. Once that goal is achieved, you basically have a never ending crop of FOREIGN EXCHANGE from helpless and hopeless African governments and people. Here is Tatah Mentan at his trenchant best!
This is an original and innovative study of mobile phones in Africa from a theological perspective. The First and the Second Special Assemblies for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, held in Rome in 1994 and 2009 respectively, made an urgent appeal to the Church in Africa to employ various media forms of social communications for evangelization and the promotion of justice and peace. Evidently, electronic media are now increasingly used for evangelization across Africa. The proliferation of the mobile phone in Africa is a most welcome development to this end. On the basis of a thorough review of the growing literature on the mobile phone and the cultures it inspires, Goliama highlights the ambivalent nature of mobile cultures for the Roman Catholic Church's evangelization mission in Africa. He argues not only for the continued merits of face-to-face communication for the Church's pastoral approach in the African context. He points to how this could be enriched by a creative appropriation of the mobile phone as a tool for theological engagement, in its capacity to shape cultures in ways amenable to the construction of a Cell phone Ecclesiology. Such emergent mobile cultural values include the tendency of mobile users to transcend social divides, to promote social interconnectedness, and to privilege the question 'where are you?'. This informed and well articulated exploration of Cell phone Ecclesiology is thus envisaged to aid the Church in Africa to wrestle more effectively with challenges that diminish human life and promote instead qualities that are life-affirming to all categories of people in the Church and society.
Toil and Delivery
(2010)
Bill NDI's Toil and Delivery can be as playful and loaded as the clues in a cryptic crossword puzzle, which is to say that they are marked by a strange, energetic hybridity. They occupy a dynamic space between nursery rhyme and visionary Romantic verse, between the colloquial and the archaic, between postmodernity and anachronism. They are local and global, political and personal, Western and non-Western. With experiences traversing both Africa and the West, Bill F. NDI is one of those poets who gives meaning to the word globalisation. He embraces poetry as a material act in a troubled world, with poetry's power conveyed with typical irony.
In the olden days, after a day's work in the farms, children and parents returned home feeling worn out. As a sort of evening entertainment, children of the same family, compound or village then gathered round a story-teller to listen to folk tales and riddles. This was common in every African home. The listeners participate with joy by joining in the songs and choruses. Sometimes the children were given the opportunity to tell stories that they had known while the adult story-teller listened attentively in order to add more details where necessary. In telling these stories and riddles, children were expected to learn something through all those activities connected with the customs, environment, language and religious practices of their people. This book provides children with stories, riddles and some proverbs that parents ought to have told their children at home but have failed because of their present day busy schedules. Teachers will fill that vacuum at school as they guide the children in reading the stories, riddles and proverbs in their second language-English. As an instructional tool, this collection will foster literacy, promote cultural awareness and create situations where learners share with one another their personal experiences and traditions.
Patrick Tataw Obenson, alias Ako-Aya, the rabid critic, social crusader and witty journalist, all rolled up in one, was indeed a popular and widely admired pioneer in daring journalism and social commentary in Cameroon. Little wonder that when he died, he left behind countless painful hearts and many questions on the lips of his admirers. As a man of the people, the fallen hero of Cameroon's Fleet Street shared his experiences, be they good or bad, with his readers. He was a virile critic even of the sordid things in which he himself secretly indulged. Obenson's mind was open, and through his popular newspaper column - Ako-Aya - he exposed society and social action in all their dimensions. He had an axe to grind with all perpetrators of social vices, especially those of them that infringed on the rights of the common man. He gave them a good fight, using his newspaper as his only weapon - a weapon which could not be neutralized even by the most affluent nor the most coercive leadership. And he did so with nerve and valour and venom. Only Tataw Obenson could spit out really scathing pieces of satire, aimed directly at the highest governing authorities of his society. Only Obenson could make allusions even to his own apparently ugly self. Only he could be liberal and honest enough to confess how he boarded a taxi and later bolted without paying the driver. Only Obenson was able to foresee his imminent demise from the face of the earth and literarily wrote his own epitaph
This book addresses the key issues of reinstating the veritable nature of African values and most specifically those of the Bamilikes that had been discarded since Western Christianity came into contact with black Africa considered animist. This task is warranted by the malaise experienced in churches by some African Christians. This is further made necessary and even pressing by the sense failure that the first wave of evangelisation, which has proven incapable of incorporating the Words of God in the African religious belief systems. This analysis takes into account the exigencies of the present context. The media as well as educated men talk ceaselessly of globalisation and the global village. The question we should be asking is to know if globalisation can be attained without due consideration of African values. This work aims at showing the scientific, sociological and cultural bases of African values so far castigated by colonial discourse. One of the ways to make this known is to expose it, analyse it and show its importance at various levels.
The Earth Mother
(2010)
The fight against evil remains at the core of this play, pitting Kamsi and her supporters against a few daring councillors. Skilfully scripted by a renowned actor and playwright, this drama exposes the alliances and explosive tensions in Nyong village overwhelmed by unseen but supposedly harmful forces. Spiced with witty proverbs and humour, The Earth Mother will not fail to thrill its readers.
Strange Passion
(2010)
In Strange Passions John Ngong Kum Ngong's vocation and prime obsession remain constant - the soul of the nation. Passion, the central symbol in this collection is the patriotic sentiment in its various manifestations. As a self-conscious artist, Ngong summons his audacious technical dexterity to sublimate the sauciness characteristic of his style and direct it towards ideological ends. The significance of his contribution is as much in the urgency, originality and authenticity of his message as in the full range and complexity of his style, and the depth and density of his thoughts.
A remarkable feature of the collapse of the British Empire is that the British departed from almost every single one of their colonial territories invariably leaving behind a messy situation and an agenda of serious problems that in most cases still haunt those territories to this day. One such territory is the Southern British Cameroons. There, the British Government took the official view that the territory and its people were 'expendable'. It opposed, for selfish economic reasons, sovereign statehood for the territory, in clear violation of the UN Charter and the norm of self-determination. It transferred the Southern Cameroons to a new colonial overlord and hurriedly left the territory. The British Government's bad faith, duplicity, deception, wheeling and dealing, and betrayal of the people of the Southern Cameroons is incredible and defies good sense. Ample evidence of this is provided by the declassified documents in this book. Among the material are treaties concluded by Britain with Southern Cameroons coastal Kings and Chiefs; and the boundary treaties of the Southern Cameroons, treaties defining the frontiers with Nigeria to the west and the frontier with Cameroun Republic to the east. The book contains documents that attest to the Southern Cameroons as a fully self-governing country, ready for sovereign statehood. These include debates in the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly; and the various Constitutions of the Southern Cameroons. The book also reproduces British declassified documents on the Southern Cameroons covering the three critical years from 1959 to 1961, documents which speak to the inglorious stewardship of Great Britain in the Southern Cameroons. This book removes lingering doubts in some quarters that the people of the Southern Cameroons were cheated of independence. Its contents are further evidence of their inalienable right and sacred duty to assert their independence. No one who reads this book can possibly be indifferent to the just struggle of the Southern Cameroons for sovereign statehood.
What a Next of Kin!
(2010)
This psycho-anthropological and socio-cultural novel logically and succinctly x-rays the foundations and raison d'être of patriarchy through the implied questions - Is wealth the basis of patriarchy? Have women any role in the system? And how far can a patriarch protect his lineage from alien blood? The extremely wealthy father of eight daughters protagonist Ndi, says yes, to the first question; no, to the second; and in the third questions he says, through dogged pursuance of looking for a male heir by any means; but his lone son whom he unknowingly begot in a remote village in his early life and whom he accidentally stumbled upon and adopted as his heir in his odyssey of looking for a male heir through a series of marriages, says no, to the first question; yes, to the second and to the third question, he says fate is the umpire; and succeeds in convincing his father that he is right.
How else does the ramified phenomenon of greed (corruption, nepotism, extreme self-aggrandizement, megalomanic tendencies etc) become nefarious to both the physical and mental worlds of a people either individually or collectively? It brings about a retrogressing, catabatic state in their evolution in both regards, eating back into the socio-economic and political set up of a given society as well as unquestionably impairing the mindset of its people.
Bill NDI's Bleeding Red: Cameroon in Black and White is another masterpiece from a poet with a deeply political vision. This collection of poems with Cameroon as the particular focal point is a paragon of socio-political and cultural alertness in verse that will get every reader on their toes. Bill NDI's world is fraught with topsy-turvydom. It is a world darkened by experience and a keen sense of the wrongs plaguing his beloved country. He points out, without preaching, where it all went wrong, how it can, or what it will take to, be redeemed. The acerbity of Bill NDI s criticism runs from the very first poem of the collection 'Anthem for Essingang' through The Promise to the very last one 'Papa Ngando Yi Mimba for Camelun'. What a clime characterised by a 'clan of mbokos, clan of bandits' It is just natural that as they perpetrate 'death and sadness' in his beloved fatherland, nothing but 'disgrace', 'great shame', and 'repudiation' awaits them for evermore.
Each of the essays in this book is marked by a certain simplicity and clarity, a seriousness tinged with humour, masking a profundity that are unmistakably characteristic of Godfrey B. Tangwa alias Rodcod Gobata, one of the leading critical minds amongst Cameroonians. The essays are centred on the theme of democracy and meritocracy which the author believes to be the pre-conditions for genuine development in Africa. The immediate focus of these essays is Cameroon, a country remarkable for experimenting with French/English bilingualism and for having a political dictatorship which claims, wrongly or rightly, to have transformed itself into a democracy; but they are equally relevant to other countries in Africa and beyond. Each of the essays stands alone but they are all telling various aspects of the same story from various angles at various times using different modes of expression. Anyone who seeks a glimpse of understanding of the trouble with Africa and particularly with Cameroon, 10 years into the 21st century, would read this book with great profit.
We henceforth would open our eyes, as obscene dancers of moving kidneys, as songs burning with sexual aches, alarm bells in the stomach of emptiness, today constitute our revolution. For Ada Bessomo, Obili, a residential area in Yaounde, capital of Cameroon, is the epitome of bitterness itself. How does one, in such a context, reconcile self esteem, a recollection of better days and love for a country that flexes its muscles against your breath, almost as if to test your patience, to suffocate its very future?
The following pages, initially prepared for limited circulation in 1961, contain brief extracts and summaries of those parts of Eugen ZintgraffÍs book Nord-Kamerun (1895), of most interest concerning the colonial Bamenda and Wum Division. ZintgraffÍs book, the first by a European about the Grassfields, has not been translated and is hard to get second-hand. In using these notes the following points should be borne in mind: ZintgraffÍs knowdie;ledge of Bali (Mungaka) and Hausa was very slight, and his discussions of character, motives and political institutions are consequently superficial and open to criticisms. He had no means of checking what he was told, or thought he was told. He had no previous knowledge of any similar culture and no training in ethnographical method. He was, however, a good observer, and his descriptions of tools, dress, weapons and the like, can be regarded as fairly reliable. Finally, it must be remembered that Zintgraff wrote the book to justify his own actions and to support that small but influential section of public opinion in Germany which favoured rapid imperial expansion. A full account of the actions and motives of ZintgraffÍs opponents in the Kamerun Governdie;ment and in the Colonial Bureau of the German Foreign Office has not been written: we only have one side of the story. But there are some suggestive points made in RudinÍs Germans in the Cameroons and others referred to in these notes. What is perhaps most striking about ZintgraffÍs account is the fact that the people of the Western Grassfields were not so isolated from one another or their neighbours as might be thought. A network of trade-friendships covered the country and big men exchanged gifts over long distances. These links must be set beside the insedie;curity due to raids and slave-catching, and are well worth investigation.
We Get Nothing from Fishing : Fishing for Boat Opportunities Amongst Senegalese Fisher Migrants
(2010)
The world is regularly confronted on television and in other mass media with dramatic images of African boat migrants. Seemingly desperate, these Africans, most of them males, are willing to risk a perilous journey at sea, hoping for a better life in Europe. And, even worse, hundreds more are believed to die each year, swallowed up anonymously by the choppy waters off Africa's coast. This book focuses on fishermen who have played a pivotal role in boat migration from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands, advancing various reasons for the fishermen's prominent role. Besides their long history of migration, their proven experience with navigating, their family's push and investment, their perceptions and ideologies about Europe, there is also their growing marginalization as a result of the deepening crisis in the Senegalese fishing sector and the inadequate policies of the Senegalese government that prevents them from having good prospects of improving their standards of living. The book provides deep insights into the meaning of boat migration, and on the effects of success or failure on the migrants and their families. It goes beyond the usual economic explanations to convincingly situate boat migration within the long-standing West African culture of migration, and highlight the significance of socio-cultural and political factors. Among the fascinating findings are the perception of migration as status enhancing and a rite de passage in the Senegalese fishing communities, and the profound roles of the extended family, social networks and, above all, religion, especially the widespread influence of the marabout. The importance of information and communication technologies in sustaining transnational networks is equally highlighted.
Snatched from the Grave
(2010)
Black Caps and Red Feathers
(2010)
In Black Caps and Red Feathers the reader is taken into Creature's subconscious on the garbage heap where he is tenant, and where he recounts his multitudinous and gruesome experiences in Traourou's underground prisons. Ancestral Earth, set within a traditional African background, indicts Akeumbin, the king and custodian of the earth of Allehtendurih, who is caught in the dilemma of stopping a plague caused by the reckless exploitation of the earth and showing affection for his fiftieth bride. In compliance with the Princes of Earth, the women who are the principal victims, bring pressure to bear on the King who condescends to the urgency of appeasing the Ancestral Earth. The common denominator in both plays is communal grudge against irresponsible leadership and its fallouts of indiscriminate victimization that allow for the anticipation of a new or renewed consciousness.
Education of the Deprived is a perceptive socio-artistic examination of the key works of some major writers of Anglophone Cameroon literary drama today. For over two decades now socio-political developments in Cameroon, including the liberalization of the press, have led to an unprecedented proliferation of political, journalistic and imaginative writings. Availing themselves of their new-found freedom of expression, Cameroonians in general are forcefully articulating their views more than even before, and creative writers, in particular, are artistically recording intimate and painful experiences in the on-going endeavour to make sense of the socio-political environment; they are mapping out, through images and symbols, the peculiar contour of the collective Cameroonian soul. What observers have noticed, with regard to Anglophone Cameroon imaginative writing, however, is that there are few significant critical works to match the burgeoning creative literature. While in the 1970s there was a cry concerning the scarcity of imaginative works by Anglophone Cameroonians, the complaint now, at the turn of the 21st century, is that there is a dearth of critical literature capable of catapulting, on to the international literary scene, the Anglophone Cameroon literature being written. This book covers both traditional and modern drama as written by Anglophones, lays bare the technical differences between the two dramatic traditions, and brings out the central themes developed by these committed dramatists.
Anxiety in Mosaic
(2010)
Anxiety In Mosaic is a sum up of a man's fears and hopes into a volume of poetry; anxieties that span a cross section of the human phenomena of greed (in ramifications) and the resultant socio-political, economic and environmental consequences; the repercussions of worsted governance, feminist, ecological, emigrational and imperialist concerns, presented from the perspective of a philosophical questioning. The charm of these thoroughly vocal, finely-crafted poems not only lie in the quasi-compendious multiplicity of subject matter but also in their creative and innovative re-chartings.
The Moogo, the region of the Moose - known as 'Mossi' in ancient literature-occupies the entire central zone of Burkina Faso. It is divided into several kingdoms, the principal one comprising today's capital of Ouagadougou. Along with the singing griots, the evening storytellers pass on the ancestral word during the evening gatherings where they provide the group with models to follow. The folktale is the most appropriate form for teaching young children to express themselves, to structure their thoughts, and to reason. The tales portraying familiar animals will be reserved for the group of youngest children. The legendary gluttony and foolishness of Mba-Katre, the hyena, in contrast with the cunning and finesse of Mba-Soamba, the hare, will interest above all children from 10 - 12 years of age. The stories describing the origin of things, the reason for various social taboos, the legitimacy of social functions and structures, as well character flaws that need correcting, are reserved as a priority for adolescents.
The Crabs of Bangui
(2010)
Every man lives for himself, using his freedoms to attain his personal aims, and feels with his whole being that he can at any moment perform or not perform this or that action. The higher a man stands in the social scale, the more connections he has with others and the more power he has over them, the more conspicuous is the predestination and inevitability of every act he commits. Upon this philosophy, a former banker, Hansel Bolingo, suddenly finds [or makes] himself the regional representative of a Chinese firm that deals in crabs in Bangui. This catapults him into a position of instant wealth. His mouth-watering affluence draws immediate attention while his hypnotic powers cause hundreds of [not-so-honest]citizens to clamour for shares from which he builds up a huge fortune. But he soon discovers that he cannot deceive everybody all the time.
A Practical Guide to Understanding Ciyawo has been developed over fourteen years and systematically explains for the novice the important aspects of Ciyawo grammar for effective communication. A practical grammar guide, the instruction is accessible, giving the basics of pronunciation, to building verb tenses, to ways of combining the different elements of the language in order to form sentences.
This book contains a major research into, and deep investigation of Basotho language oral poetry in Lesotho at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The classical form, the dithoko, which was inspired by tribal wars or battles fought by the Basotho, is explored fully, but the absence of wars, and urbanisation with the economic and social imperatives of modernism, have inspired new forms of poetry. The new forms include dithoko, i.e. 'praise poetry'; the difela, 'mine workers' chants', and the diboko, the latter which as 'family odes', are still performed in rural areas. The research work involved the live performances of 33 diroki, i.e. poets, watched and recorded in their natural environments. The investigators were led by the late Professor Abiola Irele, then of Ohio State University.