The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Harare has announced it will discontinue support to new black commercial farmers when the next summer season commences. The decision comes in the face of an economic meltdown. According to a statement issued by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, the decision came after the government discovered a significant …
In the absence of land reform, Koltas invariably find themselves working on others' fields. "I would work as a daily wage labouerer if I wasn't bonded,' Lal admits. "Many labourers have taken loans because they have accepted that they will never be able to pay back any amount anyway,' says …
The business of settling new-formed land, rehabilitation of environmental refugees and building and maintaining embankments is subject to much political manoeuvring. Anthropologist Amites Mukhopadhyay of Kalyani University, West Bengal, who's researched these machinations extensively, calls it " char politics'. Chars are new sandbanks the rivers throw up, which go on …
With the upsurge of Naxal activity, there has been a rethink on development and land reform programmes. Some efforts are being made, especially by the centre, to push the programmes in tribal belts. The perception that Maoist violence is not just a law and order issue is gaining ground. In …
the Salwa Judum movement, an armed counter-Naxalite campaign in Chhattisgarh comprising of local tribal and non-tribal people backed by the state, is precipitating a deeper crisis in the state instead of solving the problems posed by extreme Left insurgency. Involving civilians directly in the fight against armed insurgents (mostly local …
parliament in Nepal is now determined to find out how much property King Gyanendra owns. The government is already preparing a huge tax bill for the king and his family. "We are collecting details of the land and property owned by the king and members of his family and if …
three decades ago, the Left Front government in West Bengal started its rule by distributing land to the landless through its famous land reform programme. Now, the political grouping is preparing to grab 17,200 hectares (ha) of mostly agricultural land for industry
function table() { var popurl="image/20060430/47-table.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=400,height=350,scrollbars=yes") } "We don't want any free clothes, education or even food. All we want are our lands and forests,' demands Karrian. The 60-year-old from Devalaya hamlet of Gudalur taluka in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiri district belongs to the Panniya tribe. Anthropologists classify this tribe as …
on march 7, 2006, more than 7,000 residents of Maan, a sleepy village 30 km west of Pune in the Mulshi valley in Maharashtra, fought pitched battles with land survey officials of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (midc) who were accompanied by a police contingent. midc wants to acquire land …
people in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh, near Manali, were summarily ordered by their multitude of gods to protect a swathe of land earmarked for a tourist resort at a somewhat bizarre ceremony. The reason was, from all accounts, that they inhabited that area, having presumably descended from their …
Several villagers were injured in a clash with the police in China recently, reports news agency ap . The villagers, protesting against inadequate compensation for land bought to build a road leading to a highway, had blocked a highway in Sanjiao village of Guangdong province. Around 30-50 people were reportedly …
When South America's poorest country goes to the presidential polls on December 18, 2005, land reform will be high on its agenda. Left-wing leader Evo Morales, a coca grower and an indigenous leader, has the support of many landless peasants. The Centre for Legal Training and Social Investigation, a social …
Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez has made a momentous move towards justice and prosperity for the country's rural poor. He recently signed a new rule on land reform that aims to do away with giant estates controlled by a handful of rich people. Labelling the pattern of land ownership in the …
Please act: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Union government on January 3, 2004, in response to a petition by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) that seeks a thorough examination of the contents of soft drinks. The petition points out that despite extensive research proving that …
Namibia has inched closer to its dream of resettling thousands of "land-hungry' and disadvantaged citizens through land reforms. The government recently completed the valuation of the country's commercial farmlands. This will help the ministry collect land tax from farm owners. The revenue so generate will be used to buy agricultural …
In a recent recall referendum the people of Venezuela reaffirmed their faith in President Hugo Chavez. As a token of gratitude Chavez vowed to step up certain agricultural reforms. However, the "revolutionary' social policy, like many others before it, promises to generate more controversy than good. The government plans to …
kerala's tribal resettlement mission is turning out to be a typical bureaucratic exercise. The recent acquisition of the 3,060-hectare (ha) Central State Farm (csf) at Aralam in Kannur district by the state government for resettling landless tribals is a case in point. The government purchased the land from the Union …
June 7 saw the life of Binda bai, a tribal woman belonging to Golkheda village in Madhya Pradesh's (mp) Khargone district, change drastically for the worse. The day had begun on a normal enough note, with her husband Jawan Singh setting off to work in his fields. But the 55-year-old …
