Nigerian politics are at a crossroads. Or perhaps a better metaphor is that they stand teetering on a precipice. With Goodluck Jonathan set to run for re-election (and for his first election on his own since taking over after Umaru Yar-Adua’s death) the precarious wink-and-nod arrangement whereby presidential power alternates between the North and the […]
Apparently, in the bank’s efforts to promote economic growth and regional integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Development Bank has approved a U.S.$ 95.6 million loan for the Nacala Corridor Phase II Road project (NCRP) in Zambia. However, I am not sure about the assertion that “the work will enhance poverty […]
The Foreign Policy Association has published my latest “Viewpoints” article, “On Obama and Africa,” in which I give my take on the Dinesh D’Souza-Newt Gingrich idiocy in which they asserted that Obama is informed by a “Kenyan anti-colonialist world view.” [Cross-posted at dcat.]
Tomorrow I’ll be heading off to Austin for the Cold War Cultures: Transnational and Interdisciplinary Perspectives conference being held at UT Austin. I will give my paper, “Destructive Engagement: The United States, South Africa and the Cold War in the 1980s,” in one of the several Africa-themed panels. If you will be anywhere near Austin, […]
Namibia is bracing for a culture war as Kosie Pretorius, the chairperson and the leader of the Self-Help Trust of Namibia, pushes for Afrikaner traditional authority and a white only museum. Kosie Pretorius whose Monitor Action Group (MAG) political party failed to gain a seat in last year’s election, has been lobbying hard for the […]
Making African history accessible to students below the college level has sadly never been much of a priority in the US. The emergence of Africa Access Review should help.
In the Pambazuka 2010-09-22, issue 497, Charles Abugre writes a beautiful piece about the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) success and challenges ahead. His article comes at a time when world leaders are gathering in the Big Apple to review progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. What I like about Charles’ article is that it […]
I cannot imagine the tightrope that Morgan Tsvangirai walks on a daily basis. Tsvangirai, the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) Prime Minister of Zimbabwe who shares power with Robert Mugabe in little more than theory, knows that the thugs of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) are always just outside the door. The police […]
Independent Online is one of my go-to sources, especially for South African news, because it pulls together the reportage and commentary from the whole array of Independent newspapers, meaning it serves as something of an aggregation source. Well, they are undergoing change, with a new physical appearance and somewhat different interface. It looks better and […]
The law has not been passed yet, but the Local Government Permanent Secretary Erastus Negonga seems to suggest that regional governors will no longer be elected regional councillors, but people appointed by the President. He told the Namibian that the procedure of governors being elected by the regional councils would change and that no elected […]
The Namibian parliament is debating a law that will give President Pohamba the power to appoint regional governors. Given the ruling South West People’s Organizations’ (SWAPO) electoral advantage in the parliament, it is given that the law will be passed. This means that soon the new regional councilors to be elected in the regional elections […]
An article in Sunday’s City Press, “Mandela ching-ching,” has put the Nelson Mandela Foundation in a fighting mood. The article basically accuses the Foundation of cashing in on Madiba’s legacy. Here is the Foundation’s response. The gist: They believe the author, Khadija Bradlow, is wrong on the facts and is wrong on the merits of […]
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