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Time to avoid the dictatorship v democracy debate in Africa
Guardian -- Events in the Middle East have the present generation fired up in much the way their parents were after the movements in eastern Europe in 1989. Right now, it is hard to have a conversation about anything in the field of politics and development without somebody throwing in "what about Tunisia, Egypt, Libya… Syria?" This is all very exciting – as it was in 1989. But from the point of view of anybody whose main concern is enduring poverty and bad governance in low-income Africa, it is also troubling. I write with some feeling as the director of a research programme – Africa, power and politics – that is trying to get across some fresh and evidence-based ideas on the latter subject...

France cancels all of Togo's debt
Daily Notion -- France has decided to cancel all of Togo's debt, amounting to some 100 million euros, in a bid to encourage the West African nation to pursue economic reforms, the finance minister here said Thursday. The deal was signed on Wednesday between France's ambassador and Togo Finance Minister Adji Ayassor to cancel 101.1 million euros ($143.1 million) in debt. "This agreement, under which France has cancelled 100 percent of Togo's debt, puts in practice France's commitment to carry out recommendations of the Paris Club," Ayassor said on state radio. The Paris Club is an informal group of 19 creditor countries and includes the world's most industrialised nations. The group decided in December to cancel $203 million in debt to Togo. Countries also indicated they intended to provide debt relief on a bilateral basis to Togo amounting to $404 million...

Africa's stunning growth can't hide pervasive poverty
Globe and Mail -- There was a flutter of excitement among Africa’s chattering classes this month when a new study concluded that 34 per cent of Africans can be described as middle-class consumers. The study by the African Development Bank was a highly controversial one -- especially when a closer look revealed that 180 million of these supposed “middle class” consumers have such meager incomes that they are spending only $2 to $4 a day. The study was, in some ways, an encouraging look at the continent’s economic growth, showing that Africa is not the hopeless land of poverty and despair that many Westerners have assumed. But there was plenty of data in the study, and in other recent reports, to raise a cautionary flag about the region. Africa is far from an Asian tiger, and naïve cheerleading is not the best response to Africa’s difficult problems...

Malawi lays foundation for science university
Africa Good News -- Seven years after it was first mooted, the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) is finally getting off the ground. President Bingu wa Mutharika laid the foundation stone this month (9 April) in the southern district of Thyolo. MUST - formally known as the Lilongwe University of Science and Technology - will be built with a loan of US$70 million from China on 650 acres of land from the president's farm, something that commentators have flagged as a potential problem if the ruling party fails to win future elections. Construction, which will take 20 months, was due to start last year following an announcement by Mutharika on 25 August. The government had been authorised to borrow US$80 million from the Export-Import Bank of China but the plan was delayed while a suitable site was found...