Africa NOW #119

Issued on 31st March 2022, by Africa Japan Forum (AJF)«Contents»

pp. 2-13		
Special Topic: Questioning the Nacala Corridor Economic Development in Mozambique
The withdrawal from the ProSAVANA JBL in Mozambique did not stop the operation of Nacala Corridor Economic
Development project. Exploitation of natural resources like coal and natural gas has continued along with infrastructuraldevelopment needed for it. These projects were touted as a success story of public-private partnerships (PPP) in overseas
economic cooperation: however, in fact, negative impacts on people’s life and environment such as forced relocation ofcommunities, terrible dust and other environmental degradation, and deteriorated living conditions near coal railways- the list is still endless. In areas where natural gas is being developed offshore, conflict or attack from armed groups isintensified, resulting in the displacement of up to 800,000 people. In light of this situation, this issue of Africa NOW features ‘Questioning the Economic Development of the Mozambique-Nacala Corridor.’
pp .3-10		 Round Table: Review of the activities calling for suspension of ProSAVANA-JBM (Part 2)

by Ikegami Koichi, Watanabe Naoko, Tsuyama Naoko, Akimoto Yoko, Takahashi Kiyotaka, Kondo Yasuo, Mozumi Mamoru

Following Africa NOW 118, this issue features ‘Roundtable Discussion: Looking Back on the Campaign to Stop the ProSAVANA-JBL (Part 2)’. First, participants talked about the purpose of the field survey of areas covered by the project andtheir impressions there. Next, they analyze some key elements that underpinned the movement, describing how the ‘divideand rule’ tactic was employed by the authority to undermine the voice of farmers’ or NGO’s organizations to speed up theproject. Finally, as future issues to be addressed, they discussed how the local people were damaged by the Nacala Corridor Economic Development project.
p .11		 Japanese ODA and FDI shifting to Public Private Partnership by Ikegami Koichi
Ikegami Koichi, an expert of peasants’ food sovereignty and their movement, analyzes problematic aspects of Japanese
ODA and foreign direct investment (FDI) through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). He raises concerns that the promotion of development through PPPs in Mozambique is aimed at securing natural resources, where a large part of theeconomic benefits from it may finally fall into the hands of investing companies and remained very little for local communities.
pp .12-13		 Interview with Vicente Adriano: Residents’ suffering caused by large scale resource

development

Vicente Adriano was a staff member of the National Union of Peasants (UNAC) in Mozambique, where he worked tostop the ProSAVANA-JBL. He is now a staff member of ADRA Mozambique. He explains the damage caused by the coalmining development in Moatize and a railway construction. He is also active in supporting those who were displaced in
the province of Cabo Delgado due to difficulties triggered by offshore natural gas development.

pp. 14-19
Interview with Fukao Koichi: Field of “exchange”: Northern Nigeria in 1980-1983（interviewer & commentator - Tamai Takashi)
Fukao Koichi, a member of AJF Board of Directors, served as served as an assistant to managing directorof Arewa Textilesin Nigeria for three years from 1980 to 1983. Arewa Textiles Ltd. was established in 1963, through joint investment andtechnology licensing by a major Japanese spinning company. The interview focused on his life in northern Nigeria. He recalls some difficulties he faced at work including incidents of unpaid salaries to employees, as well as some warm memories
of friendship with the people living in Nigeria. The interviewer, Tamai Takashi (a co-board chairs of AJF), adds backgroundinformation of the foundation of Arewa Textiles Ltd. and the situation in Nigeria in the 1980s. Tamai encourages readers torecord their experiences for future generations.
pp. 20-21
My identity in Nigeria as a mixed Nigerian and Japanese by Saito Onu Hana Jennifer Ifunany
This is the 12th installment in a series of ‘Essay Relay - African Kids Club’. A university student Saito Onu Hana Jennifer Ifunanya wrote the article. Her father is a Nigerian and mother is a Japanese. She spent three months from October 2021 in her
father’s home state of Anambra, Nigeria. She states that she was always conscious about her Nigerian identity in Japan, but inNigeria she was often considered a ‘foreigner,’ which perplexed her ideas about her identity. She also expresses uncomfortableness of being praised for her skin color taken for ‘fare’ (light remarkably similar to white) in Nigeria, which she has neverexperienced in Japan.
1Africa NOW 119

Attachment

p. 22
From the ‘International health and COVID-19’ blog post by Inaba Masaki
Adapted from a blog post on ‘International Health and COVID-19’ on the AJF’s website. Inaba Masaki, AJF’s Director ofInternational health, provides updates on COVID-19 and related global health issues.
p. 22
The Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment targets US$ 18 billion
The Global Fund (Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria) held an online preparatory meeting for the seventh replenishment in February and adopted an Investment Case with a target to reach a minimum funding requirementof US$18 billion over the three-year period for 2024-2026. The replenishment is expected to take place for the first timesince the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, some say that the target of up to US$18 billion is not enough.
p. 23

take Junko

Book Review: Sindiwe Magona “Mother to Mother” and “When the Village Sleeps” by Sa-Satake Junko’s review of two works by South African author Sindiwe Magona, Mother to Mother (“Haha kara Haha e” inJapanese title) and When the Village Sleeps. Based on the ‘Amy Bill Case’ in 1993 (a white American woman studying in South
Africa was killed by a group of black youths in a black neighborhood), the book ,Mother to Mother, takes the form of a letter
written by the mother of the perpetrator to victim’s mother. Through the narrative of perpetrator’s mother, the rage of blacks
against whites under colonial rule and apartheid was expressed. The other novel, When the Village Sleeps, depicts the life of
21st-century South African society in which drinking, drugs, and paid dating is not uncommon. On other hand, a fourthgeneration Xhosa girl, Mandlakazi (mandla means ‘power’), does the gardening of vegetable and helps secure food in a poor
urban area, which shows a sign of hope and the revival of Ubuntu (humanity) of the society.
Back cover

2Afterword (“Hitotsu no musubime to shite” in Japanese) and a record of AJF’s activities

Africa NOW 119

Attachment