Michael Gerson of The Washington Post has an op-ed in which he shows how an initiative to address the AIDS crisis in Zambia has met with remarkable results. Gerson's conclusion? That programs such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reveal that “that the next step in the AIDS crisis is not only […]
Kenya (more famously) and Nigeria have both been dealing with fraught internal negotiations regarding the inner workings of government. The stalemate over the composition of the cabinet (and thus the dynamics of power) continues in Kenya. Outside observers, including the British, have advised that Mwai Kibaki's side be willing to give up some seats in […]
As most Zimbabweans still struggle to survive and to access the basics — bread, toilet paper, and the like, the prospect of chaos hovers around them. The story remains largely the same — lots of news, little actual information. The Southern African Development Community plans to meet to address the Zimbabwe situation. Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa, […]
Has anti-immigrant xenophobia reached new lows in South Africa? Attacks on migrants have increased in recent months and many worry that this marks a disturbing trend. IRIN has a report.
It is the most potent and dangerous arrow remaining in Mugabe's quiver. More daunting than corruption, more destructive than his alliances with the power structure, Mugabe's ability to marshal violence is the biggest remaining X-factor remaining in whether or not he clings tenaciously to power. That violence might come in the myriad security forces at […]
Unrest and fear of worse to come has again taken hold in Kenya as the country's political stalemate has again spilled out into the streets. While some commentators have taken to dreaming of future hopes, such as Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta, most Kenyans are caught up in the here and now. I wrote […]
[Zapiro, Mail & Guardian, 4 April 2008] One clear division between Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma (and as stark as the political and personal conflicts are between the two men and their supporters, when it comes to policies and platforms most people could not stake out clear and categorical differences between them) comes on the Zimbabwe […]
It appears that India's engagement with Africa has the potential to yield fruit. Indian officials have announced “duty free preferential market exports” from developing nations, including 34 in Africa. While Africans have every right to be skeptical of any such deals with the outside world, this deal appears to represent a vital moment for African […]
The largest transaction to occur under the auspices of South Africa's Black Economic Empowerment program appears set to go through, and most observers are lavishing praise on the deal and its ramifications. The Economist has the details.
The negotiations in Kenya appear to have reached stalemate, and possibly collapse. One can only hope that the solution still lies in talks and not in a resumption of violence in the streets. But in all likelihood the masses are not going to raise arms over an issue as relatively esoteric (from the vantage point […]
Who benefits from the delays plaguing Zimbabwe's election? The smart money is that Robert Mugabe benefits by being able to consolidate his hold on power and marshal his resources. But what if the time allows certain facts to become clear and gives those Mugabe loyalists who are beginning to stray the impetus to do so? […]
Stop me if this sounds familiar: Recently prominent South African political leaders met away from the country's major metropolitan areas in order to determine future leadership. The divisions were stark and clear and the leadership campaign tightly contested between two men, both of whom have their supporters and their detractors. Welcome not to Polokwane 2007, […]
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