Africa at a Crossroads – The Continent’s Future Prospects 50 years after the Formation of the Organisation of African Unity/ African Union

This book is a compilation of selected papers presented during the 8th Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) Young Graduates and Scholars (AYGS) Conference held at the University of Johannesburg in the year 2014. The three-day conference, dubbed Africa at a Cross- roads: Future prospects for Africa after 50 years of the Organisation of African Unity/ African Union, voiced young graduates and scholars’ views on Africa’s future and developmental breakthroughs, as well as its challenges and opportunities. While the annual conference is a capacity-building platform for young scientists, it provided a platform for participants to engage in critical dialogue about the African realities and the possible, plausible and desirable future for the continent. The book thus provides a critical interrogation of the drivers of change in Africa moving forward, especially as the AU was busy churning out new ideas and mapping out a new vision for the next 50 years. Essentially the book provides insights on national systems of innovation, matrices on poverty, climate change and, lastly, a reflection on Africa’s position in global governance.

PART 1: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Chapter 1: Woody Species Diversity and Surface Soil Nutrients in an Opuntia Fulgida Engelm Invaded Semi-Arid Savannah Rangeland of South-West Zimbabwe

Chapter 2: Sustainable Intensification in African Smallholder Farming: Potential and Limits of Conservation Agriculture

Chapter 3: Africa and Social Media

Chapter 4: Using Radio Frequency Identification for Asset Monitoring

PART 2: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 5: The Gridlock Anthropogenic Global Warming Debate in Light of ‘Uncertainty’: How African Epistemic Contribution can Bypass the Impasse

Chapter 6: African Poverty Reduction Strategies: Reducing People’s Poverty without the People?

Chapter 7: A Southern African Resource Based Economy: Concepts for the Future

PART 3: GOVERNANCE, SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Chapter 8: Reconfiguring the Ezulwini Consensus in Pursuit of the United Nations Security Council Reform

Chapter 9: Evaluating the African Union’s Peace and Security Council in Rolling Back State Fragility since 2004

Chapter 10: Tribal Corruption and Preferential Treatment: Contradictory African Corrupt Practices and Tanzania’s Progress