If the Nairobi River were a human being, it would have choked to death by now. Despite various attempts to restore it over the past decades, the river continues to choke with garbage, industrial waste, agro and petro chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants, which have caused the extinction of aquatic life and turned the river into an eyesore. Nairobi River is a huge potential resource for the city. It should not be left to die.

Africa is a vast continent with diversity of cultures. Rather than see this as an impediment to development, the continent should take advantage of this rich cultural diversity in its quest for economic development and should change the attitudes of its people towards work, interpersonal trust, time, youth and women.

African countries should consider making insurance a mandatory requirement for certain categories of environmentally sensitive projects. This requirement should be applied pragmatically, in order not to drive away investors. At the same time investors, especially from developed countries, should not apply double standards when they are outside their countries of origin environmental pollution insurance is required.

Given the value of mapping, African governments need to raise funds from different sources, including from their development partners, the private sector, international foundations and other users to support not only the training of qualified cartographers and surveyors but also to procure new equipment and software to assist in the design of  quality maps.

As special-interest associations, community-based organisations fill an institutional vacuum, providing basic services to ensure a robust response to crises of poverty. It is at this local level that people, however limited their incomes or their assets, tend to reveal their true wealth: the ingenuity that they need to solve their own problems and those of their communities.

The continuing support across the world for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process demonstrates that it is still relevant and useful. More work is needed, however, to enhance the support which the process deserves, and especially to deepen its understanding by all key stakeholders.

The joint university experiment, by pooling resources within the same sub-region and drawing on the different strengths of the three member colleges and their respective host countries, represents an early and instructive model of South-South cooperation. 

The importance of sports has not been sufficiently appreciated by African governments for it to be integrated into their national development plans. There is no doubt that sports could play a critical role in attaining peace, development and stability.

Sustainable, effective and successful partnerships need to be built on mutual trust, on an explicit programme, clearly defined responsibilities, champion figures and financial resources. In this article, Dr. Kakonge outlines positive and negative factors that influence development assistance partnerships in Africa.

Their high-blown fantasy and improbable outcomes notwithstanding, James Bond films are strangely relevant to project management. They demonstrate the benefits of proper planning with clear implementation strategies and regular and effective monitoring. Further, the films emphasize the importance of networks and partnerships.