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Rick has over 40 years experience working in the land sector in Southern Africa. He is part of the Land Portal knowledge engagement team working to research and develop knowledge resources including data stories, blogs and in-depth country profiles for Southern, Central and Eastern Africa.
Rick is also a Senior Research Associate with Phuhlisani NPC - a South African land sector NGO and the curator of specialist Southern African land news and analysis website https://knowledgebase.land
He tweets on land related issues Twitter account https://twitter.com/KnowledgebaseL
He has a PhD from the University of Cape Town. His research in Langa, Cape Town features as the central case study in a recent book Urban Planning in the Global South (2018), co-authored with the late Vanessa Watson, which examines the on-going contestations over land and housing in the rapidly growing cities of the global South.
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Zimbabwe's Disappearing gold: The case of Mazowe and Penhalonga
Illicit financial flows (IFFs)in the artisanal gold mining sector in Zimbabwe are responsible for leakages of an estimated 3 tonnes of gold, valued at approximately USD157 million every month. The artisanal gold sector has transformed from being a traditional livelihoods option for local families to an anchor of gold smuggling cartels that are robbing the country of the precious metal. Artisanal mining has also spread its tentacles from alluvial gold deposits along rivers and dry riverbeds to large scale disused mines that are now patronized by ruling party officials.
The Forever Mines: Perpetual Rights Risks from Unrehabilitated Coal Mines in Mpumalanga, South Africa
According to South African government records, there are no fewer than 400 abandoned coal mines.The risks from unrehabilitated mines extend far beyond the people who access the sites –they risk polluting the water of millions of South Africans. Coal across South Africa is found predominantly in ores with sulfur-bearing minerals. When these ores come into contact with water and air, sulfuric acid is created, which can lead to further leaching of heavymetals from ores. This reaction poses significant risks to water and agricultural land in many parts of South Africa, including in Mpumalanga.
Mining and illicit trading of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Mining and the illicit trade in minerals have long been the source of social and environmental upheaval in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and coltan, a mineral essential to modern electronics, has become a particular focus of criminal networks. This study reveals a network of organised crime involved in the production and supply chain of coltan, and its connections to
Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners' rights
Sierra Leone's parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.
The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge tracts of land for palm oil and sugarcane plantations in recent years.
Drought: We know what to do, why don’t we do it?
Ignoring the plight of 20 million people in the Horn of Africa is a political choice.
The 20 million people struggling to survive a scorching drought in the Horn of Africa are victims not only of a climate crisis but of the failings of governments and humanitarians to heed the lessons from earlier disasters.
Kigali city launches fresh operation against undeveloped land
City of Kigali authorities have said they have embarked on renewed exercise to identify plots of land within city suburbs that have not been developed, warning that the law will take its course for those who will be found at fault.
The 2013 Law Governing Land Use in Rwanda provides for the confiscation of land within urban areas for which a detailed physical plan was approved by competent authorities, but it spends three consecutive years unexploited.
Kenya’s Internally Displaced: An Enduring Colonial Legacy
Whoever between Raila Odinga and William Ruto takes the presidency of this country after 9/8 must find the moral courage to finally break with a colonial legacy that has relegated thousands of our co-citizens to a life of unending misery and despair.
Karamoja, Uganda: When climate change intersects with conflict and poverty
Karamoja, Uganda: Karamoja is one of the poorest regions in Uganda with a poverty rate of 66%, more than three times the national poverty rate
Rwanda and the DRC at Risk of War as New M23 Rebellion Emerges: An Explainer
The precipitous escalation of the security crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) risks reigniting interstate conflict in the Great Lakes region. The myriad actors and interests involved, however, often defy easy analysis. To help clarify what is driving the worsening security situation, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies compiled this explainer drawing on the insights of multiple exper
Climate change drowning West African coastline
Erosion and tidal surges are threatening fishing communities in West Africa. As a result, many people are fleeing inland — losing their livelihoods. The sea has already encroached two meters into the country's interior.