Burkina Faso Is Constructing Its First Expressway

Burkina Faso is focusing on construction and modernizing the country. Part of this new policy objective is to add more roads. Burkina Faso is in the process of building the first expressway within its land. The expressway will connect Ouagadougou to Bobo Dioulasso. An estimated $357 million will be invested in the infrastructure project. More roads are going to be built to facilitate trade  and travel.  Burkina Faso is seeking to transform itself through the Faso Mebo initiative. The new agenda involves improving the standard of living and developing Burkina Faso through a series projects. The new freeway can aid in getting Burkina Faso more access to ports. Constructing a large network of freeways would help with the exchange of goods and services. The contemporary period operates on fast transport. Equipping Burkina Faso with better infrastructure can allow it to be a better competitor in the global economy. Getting connected to the ports in Ghana or Ivory Coast  improves Burkina Faso's economic condition. To ensure that projects are successful more funds and expertise is required. This means increasing the number of skilled workers and keeping employment high. The building of infrastructure indicates that Burkina Faso is on a pathway to modernized national development.      

Tanzania's Political Upheaval

 

Post election violence and discord has swept Tanzania. The circumstances surrounding the election questioned the legitimacy of the political process. The opposition parties were prohibited from participation. President Samia Suluhu Hassan won 97% of the vote due to the suppression of other political parties. The Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party has been the dominant force in Tanzania's politics for decades. CCM was created out the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union and Afro-Shirazi political parties. The merger was done in 1977 and like other African national liberation political parties remain in power. At the time, these political parties were revolutionary yet now they are promoting de facto one party authoritarian governments. The Samia Suluhu Hassan government responded to protests with more violence by law enforcement. Now demonstrations are banned and to participate would be charged as attempting a coup. Tanzania is aware of the fall of Mali, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, and Chad. President Samia Suluhu Hassan does not want to create a Madagascar situation. This would result in President Hassan being exiled or  the  military  seizing power. The violence is not coming to an end. The police and military were unleased to inflict harm on demonstrators. Certain patrols were present just to intimidate protesters. The threat of violence and  a deterrent for  other citizens joining protests.       

Attempted Military Coup In Benin

 

Benin thwarted an military coup. Military coups are becoming more common across West Africa. The interior minister has reported that President Patrice Talon was safe. President Talon's exact location remains unknown. The administration did provide a statement. The coup plotters were condemned for disturbing the peace. A response from ECOWAS was to deploy soldiers. Forces from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone are coming to support Benin's military. The concern with this relates to Benin's sovereignty and independence. Beninese are going to view such actions as occupation of their country. ECOWAS does not want governments like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Africans are questioning institutions like ECOWAS, who at times as more of  an alignment to Europe and North America. All the coups of the 2020s are not revolutionary movements. Chad's coup was the assertion of the power of the Deby family. Little is known about the coup plotters. The name they give themselves is the Military Committee for Refoundation. This coup plot makes some more suspicious of the Beninese Armed Forces. Certain soldiers could be sympathizers with the Military Committee for Refoundation. Instability can cause intervention from neighbors and EU interference. The coup plot should be a reminder to the Beninese government to confront discord and corruption. Those grievances become the catalyst for military coups in African countries.      

Netflix Set To Purchase Warner Bros.

 

After being purchased by Discovery, and then separating Warner Bros. is going into a new phase. Netflix is set to purchase Warner Bros. for an estimated $72 billion. Concerns have been raised about the problem of too much media amalgamation. Consumers are trying to figure out what the status of HBO Max will be. The fear is that it will be shutdown and Netflix has one less streaming competitor. Discovery buying Warner Bros. was more of a spiral. Warner Bros. operated as its own company since 1923. The 2022 merger with Discovery was an error. Subsidiary companies are at the will of the parent companies. Meaning, they could be terminated or sold to another corporation. As movie theaters struggle, the concern is that Netflix is leading the charge to make them relics of the past. Entertainment production is becoming more of a monopoly. Corporate  avarice also comes at the expense of creativity and filmmaking. Netflix insists that it will continue to allow Warner Brothers to release films in theaters. The wise choice would be to maintain streaming services and do theater releases. Simultaneously, combining various resources produce more content. Netflix would diversify catalogues of entertainment. There is a benefit to making coproduction projects with Warner Bros. film studios. A number of popular franchises could expanded with this business model. Warner Bros is no longer a parent company and might never get that status back. Warner Bros. has existed for 102 years and it is not disappearing anytime soon. Netflix was only been a company since 1997. Starting in 2007, the DVD rental service began streaming. Having the Warner Brothers intellectual properties and a popular streaming service could be a success, if managed correctly.      

 

Guinea-Bissau Falls To Military Rule

 

Guinea-Bissau has become another African nation to fall under military rule. The military coup was induced when disputes over the presidential election were escalating. The military asserted the coup was launched to prevent a deterioration of security. Election results were not announced. The error of opposition candidate Fernando Dias and President Umaro Sissoco Embalo was to claim victory before all votes were tabulated. Besides internal political discord, Guinea-Bissau struggles with foreign interference. Guinea-Bissau is a transport area for illicit drug trafficking. Drugs coming from South America are smuggled into the country and make their way to Europe. A series of coups continue to occur across West Africa and Central Africa. Corrupt governments and failures of liberal democracy have pushed militaries to act. All the coups are not revolutionary acts or objections to neo-colonial imperialism. While the coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Gabon were welcomed Guinea-Bissau is a different case. A number of  government institutions  are suspended and the electoral commission has done nothing to confront the junta. A prime minister has been appointed, but real administrative power rests with General Horta Ina-A. The military junta claims it will release the election results, but this could be a means of deflecting unconstitutional actions. Dias and Embalo are no longer in Guinea-Bissau. Fernando Dias accused President Embalo of inducing a self-coup. Little evidence exists of this claim and the junta made no further statements. Guinea-Bissau had military coups in 1980, 2003, and 2012. More coups could happen if  transition of power, electoral process, and the public are not respected.