ACCRA // They heard it in Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe has continued his heavy-handed rule for nearly three decades. They heard it in Kenya, where politicians are still wrangling for power 18 months after an election dispute ravaged the country. They heard it in Guinea, Madagascar and Mauritania, which have experienced coups in the last year.
Across this continent plagued by corruption and crippled by leadership that is often less than democratic, Africans heard Barack Obama's message:
"No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy. That is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there. And now is the time for that style of governance to end," Mr Obama said in his wide-ranging speech in Ghana on Saturday.
Like his speech in Cairo to the Muslim world last month, his Ghana address was meant for a broad audience, in this case all of sub-Saharan Africa. That Mr Obama came to Africa to deliver his message gives him more credibility on the continent.
African strongmen will no doubt take note that the US says it will not tolerate iron-fisted regimes.
But it is no longer the only power in a position to dictate terms to African leaders. China has shown it will overlook a human rights violation or two to do business with African countries. In Sudan for example, where the US has sanctions in place because of the government's human rights record, China has strong ties and guzzles most of the country's oil.
Jerry Rawlings, a former president of Ghana who came to power in a coup and later instituted multiparty democracy, said Africa needs America's partnership to cement democracy on the continent. "Africa has always been able to take on that challenge," he said. "We need a transparent and accountable partner."
Aside from restating US commitment of a portion of a US$20 billion (Dh73bn) G8 farm aid pledge, Mr Obama did not offer Africa anything except the vague notion of support. He said the solutions to Africa's problems need to come from Africans, a mantra that aid workers in Africa have long been repeating.
"Africa's future is up to Africans," he said, but added, "America will be with you every step of the way, as a partner, as a friend."
With a US back home just now bottoming out, this is no time for Mr Obama to throw money at Africa as his predecessor, George Bush, did by tripling aid to Africa.
Open pockets go a long way in Africa, even though Mr Obama can probably do more for the continent by helping to end its addiction to aid and goading its leaders into better governance. Still, Africans are left wondering what Mr Obama brought them.
"Given Mr Obama's ancestral heritage, the common man in any African city or village expects him to do at least as much as Mr Bush did, if not more," The Daily Nation, Kenya's leading newspaper, wrote in an editorial.
"And this is where Africa goes wrong. A pervasive mentality that the only way for Africa to develop is through aid from the West needs to be done away with."
Though his father comes from Kenya, Ghanaians call Mr Obama "brother". Much was made of Mr Obama's African heritage - "I have the blood of Africa within me," he said - and this made his blunt message more palatable and less condescending to Africans.
Africans seemed to get the message.
"His speech was brilliant because he talked about deepening democracy and investing in people," said Antwi Sekere, Ghana's deputy minister for social welfare. "America will support us but we need to take responsibility for the development of our country."
The White House described Mr Obama's brief stopover in Ghana as a chance to leave a footprint on the continent and define his administration's Africa policy. He will likely make a longer, multi-nation Africa trip sometime during his term.
Mr Obama also asked Africans to send him questions via text message. The White House received more than 5,000 questions from across the continent, and Mr Obama answered some of them in an online video posted late yesterday.
If nothing else, Mr Obama's visit to Africa got people talking about this neglected continent. It was a well-chosen finale to the president's week-long trip that included a summit in Russia and a G8 meeting in Italy, which focused in part on development in Africa.
Even if Mr Obama did not bring solutions for Africa's problems, he got the continent at the top of the news agenda. "Africa is in the headlines this week," said Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, director of the centre for democratic development in Accra, Ghana's capital. "This encourages us Africans to stay the course."
mbrown@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Mountain%20Boy
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Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
