The term ‘rurality’ has no universal definition and varies across geographical and temporal dimensions. What is deemed rural in the Global North may vastly differ from rural conceptions in the Global South, indicating a profound disparity in socio-economic and cultural contexts. Furthermore, the passage of time alters the perception of rurality; areas once considered rural may now be on the urban fringe, transformed by the spread of cities and infrastructure.

Like a thief in the night, the COVID-19 epidemic has taken much from the world, and Africa is no exception. Lives were lost, and global economies lost much in income and the workforce. Many such economies have not recovered from the economic shocks even today. The devastation was particularly worse in Africa, where most economies are third-world economies relying on subsistence agriculture and raw material manufacturing. Most of the economies in the African continent do not process the mineral they produce, nor do they process their crops but instead export them with little value addition.In this Issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development, academics on the African continent reflect on various governance processes to make governments and their institutions more efficient. Effective governments will probably create resilient communities, and resilient communities ought to be prepared to survive pandemics and future crises.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our failures to deal with unemployment, inequality, poverty, corruption, civil conflict and unrest, and gender equality. We dare say we have abysmally failed to deal with the issue of gender-based violence, which spiked with the emergence of COVID-19. We have seen the unrelenting marginalisation of the subalterns. We have witnessed women's continued oppression under various patriarchal practices that are anathema to the accordance of the value of what women are to society as mothers, sisters, bearers, and bringers of humankind – simply priceless.

We draw wisdom from the Shona proverb, 'Kupedza nyota kuenda padziva' which translates - To quench thirst is to go to the stream, and if you need help and information, you should go to an expert or an eyewitness. We are of the view that we have all the information that we need to articulate those lived experiences; the experts are there; the knowledge and know-how are explicit in the communities we live in - the episteme, the ontologies, the theories abound in our communities. We must learn, write, document, preserve, and curate them – that is the challenge we are putting forward to you as African scholars and all contributors to this journal.

The changes brought by Covid-19 were sudden, drastic and unexpected for citizens and governments alike. While there are some predictions of likely future trajectories of the social and economic impact of the pandemic, and the post-covid-19 world, much of the discourse reveals deep uncertainties. What appears to be clear though, is that, the impact of the pandemic is already massive and will be long-lasting. Developmental livelihood initiatives and projects have been set back and livelihood activities have been curtailed or halted altogether. While, globally, recovery from this impact is already proving to be painfully slow for most sectors, it is the poor and vulnerable populations that are finding it most difficult to recover. The rural populace already facing numerous challenges including the impact of climatic change are in a particularly more vulnerable situation. Public institutions consistently adjust to the changing dynamics created by the pandemic and are taking proactive measures to remedy future impact. In Africa, despite numerous constraints, government responses have been fast and decisive albeit at varying degrees. Yet, some voices decry how government response does not adequately address vulnerable populations.

As I write this editorial, #ZimbabweanLivesMatter has been trending on South Africa’s social media platforms for close to 48 hours. Both local and international celebrities have spoken against human rights abuses, said to be on the increase in that country. With the COVID-19 pandemic regulations against social gatherings in full force, people have taken to social media to voice their displeasure. While politicians in the SADC region have, in the main, remained silent on the latest developments in that country, a growing civil society voice appears to be gaining traction with possibilities of straining international relations in the region. The issues in Zimbabwe are multifaceted; they cut across several sectors, administrative regimes and political ideologies. Such issues are also not unique to Zimbabwe since many African countries have had their share of inefficiencies, abuse of human rights and widespread public protests. This phenomenon encapsulates some of the issues explored in this July issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development.

It has been over a year since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. During this time, we have with ease, but sometimes with difficulty, adjusted to the new norm of working remotely while ensuring at all costs that we save lives and livelihoods. There have been areas of hope during this time. We have seen innovations in delivering public services, as new collaborations have forged new and better ways of managing the pandemic. Sadly, there have also been areas of despair, with the public sector struggling to roll out vaccines at the pace required to save lives. We have also witnessed cases of malpractice, maladministration and outright corruption during this time. A characteristic of these two diametrically opposed phenomena of hope and despair is the calibre of leadership. Good leaders inspire hope in the renewal and recovery of a post-COVID-19 world, while abysmal leadership engenders despair and a breakdown in public service provision processes. For Stoller (2020), the pandemic is an opportunity to reflect on leading healthcare through a crisis, cataloguing best practices, and cascading these leadership practices broadly. In this Editorial, we reflect on these diametrically opposed cases of hope and of despair.

As a continent, Africa is often branded as the continent plagued with wars, terrorism, coups and a range of social self-inflicted woes. The narrative is changing as the Continent’s citizenry becomes increasingly aware of democratic practices and governance processes taking place in other countries. This is, in the main, buoyed by telecommunications and, particularly, social media, which is increasingly playing an educational role in Africa’s citizenry. Signe and Gurib-Fakim (2019) commented that the transformation that Africa has undergone in recent decades has been remarkable. Africa is shaping its own destiny and should be referred to as the ‘African opportunity’ instead of the threat. Recognising Africa as an opportunity rather than a threat is critical for governments, citizens and researchers globally as it will position Africa’s countries to face challenges and further boost desired development trends. In this edition of the African Journal of Governance and Development, we explore issues of foreign aid, secondary education, higher education and social media. We explore these issues with a view to scope out the opportunities and challenges in shaping Africa’s development trajectory and build the Africa we want.

Despite the numerous structural problems that plague the African continent, many governments in Africa continue to show a commitment to poverty eradication. The ever-growing rural-urban 
migration and related challenges have contributed to a renewed focus on rural areas where the 
majority of the poor reside. The decentralisation of government services has created immense 
gains in many places across Africa where the governance structure has morphed into a transfer 
of authority and resources from central to subnational governments. Sadly, these small gains are sometimes overshadowed by persistent ethnicity and sentiments of ethno-nationalism, conflicts 
and separatism. This is particularly evident where federalism rather than decentralisation has taken root, as in the case of Nigeria and Ethiopia. In this issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development, we showcase attempts to fight poverty in Ghana and the commitment to bring higher education services to rural Rwanda. We also reflect on the genesis and impact outcomes of federalism in Ethiopia and Nigeria. Lastly, we reflect on fiscal policy and governance on the Continent and, specifically, their effect on human development in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

The mark of a great nation is in the way its citizens feel safe and unencumbered in their pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and in becoming self-respecting, self-reliant and self-determining. The greatness of a nation also lies in the way it treats its vulnerable citizens – notably the poor, the young and the elderly as well as in its pursuit, advancement and protection of human rights. A lot of this is dependent on a nation’s institutions of governance, its legislation, its processes and its policies. More significantly, however a lot depends on the implementation of these policies as well as the enforcement of legislation without prejudice. Numerous strategies have been advanced including, but not limited to, decentralisation, e-government, partnerships with international bodies and appropriate monitoring and evaluation of government programmes. In this issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development, authors from across the African continent reflect on a few of these significant systems and processes.

This volume looks at the themes of colonialism, Africa’s ‘development’, elections and international development goals. As prelude, Nhemachena and Dhakwa (2017: 56) aver that: The paradox is that in a world that claims to be increasingly inclusive, Africans are increasingly being excluded from owning their own resources that are still being grabbed by transnational corporations trawling the world, in the logics of global hunter-gatherers in which Africans are treated as foreigners in their own countries

We shudder to think of our beloved Africa, without its minerals, its forests and animals but with degraded land and environment and silted rivers. We leave to you to ponder for the present and future generations. The time is now to act and to do the right things. We will only have ourselves to blame. Therefore, good governance and astute leadership, however defined, are important if they encumber corruption and deliver on infrastructure that benefits Africans and their posterity in a stable and peaceful environment. Complicating matters for Africa, are wars and the emergence of religious fundamentalism. We are inspired by a growing crop of African academics and researchers keen on understanding and explaining Africa’s complexities by developing a body of knowledge on African issues. It is through this body of knowledge generated by African researchers, on the continent and in diaspora, that we just might, incrementally, find African solutions to Africa’s problems and challenges.

The nature and complexity of societal problems invoke the need to craft responses, not from an insular and narrow-minded perspective, but from an open-minded perspective that is inclusive of a variety of thoughts and paradigms. This need to recast societal problems outside the traditional discipline boundaries and reach solutions based on a redefined understanding of complex situations saw the emergence of Transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinarity aims to systematically and holistically focus on problem-solving while drawing on a variety of seemingly disparate disciplines and knowledges. Haverkort and Reijntjes (2006:2) note that Transdisciplinarity is a relatively recent approach (to knowledge generation) having emerged seven centuries later than disciplinarity which, itself, followed the work of the Swiss philosopher and psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980). In this Issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development, it is with brevity that we reflect on Transdisciplinarity.

The discourse in this issue is diverse in terms of the geographical regions of the African continent it explores. The arguments in the issue are, however, comparable in that they relate to the issue of nation building, good governance and the credibility of institutions on the African continent

The state bears the responsibility to provide services to its citizenry. This is not only because there are weak and vulnerable members of society that cannot afford the basics but also because some services are of a nature that cannot effectively be provided by the private sector. The effectiveness and transparency in the delivery of public services has long been a topic for discussion in political and academic discourse. Issues tend to focus around transparency and questions of whether the right, deserving people are receiving the services; whether the mode of service delivery is the most effective and whether or not government expenditure is fully accounted for in the service delivery continuum of input, output and impact.

The desire for the advancement of human rights, the creation of world peace and the need for safety and security within and across national borders has, in the past five decades, increased the need for international cooperation. This is evidenced by the creation of supranational and regional bodies with political and economic interests. The United Nations, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are cases in point. While countries generally maintain their sovereignty, most of their legislations and domestic policies experience a degree of international influence. In other words, the traditional approach of sovereignty that posits its values on territorial integrity, is being, in the main, gradually replaced by the need for countries to develop the capacity to act and win acceptance from the regional or international bodies. One can argue, however, that the acceptance of sovereign states by the fraternity of regional and national bodies is very much a reflection of the acceptance of these states by their own citizenry. Put differently, states that are not accepted as promoting human rights and good governance at home are unlikely to receive favourable acceptance on the international scene. It is thus vital for countries to strike a balance and work in close cooperation with their citizenry while advancing close cooperation with international structures.

In this issue, although discussions are mainly country specific, elements to which they refer resonate with what happens in most African states. The essays of the issue reflect on the successes and challenges faced by four member states of the African continent, namely Ethiopia, Morocco, Mozambique and Nigeria. As in the past, this issue provides analyses of the various countries’ societal matters, ranging from economic, educational, health and popular political issues. The analyses are based on research evidence. The opening essay of the journal, Okeke’s essay, critiques the purpose of political power within the continent and introduces these issues by simultaneously examining the ways in which these facets have broadly affected the citizenry of the African continent. In the same breath as Okeke, co-authors Odigwe and Aibieyi, in the essay that analyses Nigeria’s economic development pursuits, raise very cogent questions. The opinion of these authors is that if nothing is done to ensure efficiency and accountability, and if nothing is deliberately embarked upon to protect the sovereignty of the ordinary African citizenry, African democracies face an uncertain future.

This edition comes out at a time when in the latest general election held on 15 October, Mozambique made history by electing the first president who has not been directly involved in the war of liberation. After Samora Machel, Joaquim Chissano and Armando Guebuza, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi will become the country’s fourth president. The election of Filipe Nyusi opens a way for him to lead the historic ruling party, Frelimo. While one can look at the election of the new president of Mozambique as a simple democratic process, it should be noted that the dynamic of the democratic state imposes the need of leadership to be more innovative and outreaching and to develop economic and social policies to meet the demands of the masses. The greatest challenge that any leadership, in Africa, face (Mozambique is not an exception) is the ability to maintain peace and political stability as well as the ability to develop and implement social and economic policies that are inclusive and responsive to the short, medium and long term needs of the country.

In its pursuit for economic development and human development in particular, Africa’s position relative to international systems is considerably weak. Poor performance of African countries is, in the main, brought on by social upheaval, political instability and a pervasive undermining of democratic regimes in favour of authoritarian ones. The causes of this state of affairs are numerous and multifaceted, originating from inside and outside Africa’s boundaries. Therein too  rests the solution – from inside and outside Africa’s boarders. The articles in this issue of the African Journal of Governance and Development resonate with the all too familiar cliché “African solutions to African problems” and show how local solutions offer more effective and sustainable solutions to a diverse range of settings than those developed externally