Vol 64 No 20 | NAMIBIA Fishrot trial delay 5th October 2023 The long-anticipated Fishrot corruption trial of 10 highly placed Namibians accused of multi-million fishing quotas fraud, racketeering and corruption, has been postponed again thanks to delaying tactics. The...
Vol 64 No 20 | BOTSWANA Antwerp gems deal on the rocks 3rd October 2023 The President put much store into a scheme intended to add value to diamond sales, but the dream seems to be turning sour The Botswana government's ambitious plan to sell part of its huge rough diamond output have been dealt a hammer blow by the implosion of its selected sales partner,...
Vol 64 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA At last, the $8.5bn energy transition plan is ready 26th September 2023 Delayed by the power crisis and fights with the coal lobby, the government says the green plan will launch at the UN Climate Summit After two years of turf wars, the government's implementation plan for its US$8.5 billion (R160bn) Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) will be made public at the UN COP28...
Vol 64 No 19 | ZIMBABWE Mnangagwa keeps it in the family 21st September 2023 An enlarged cabinet stuffed with relatives and loyalists is complicating international efforts to restart negotiations on the country's finances International and regional concerns persist about the legitimacy of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's victory in national elections last month, particularly the failure of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to...
Vol 64 No 19 | SOUTH AFRICA Long goodbye points to broken system 21st September 2023 The President has finally pushed out key Zuma ally Busisiwe Mkhwebane, but the cadre system which protected her is intact The firing of discredited Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on 13 September is being lauded by President Cyril Ramaphosa's supporters as a victory in his campaign for zero-tolerance of...
Vol 64 No 19 | MALAWI Bribes case on the rocks 21st September 2023 The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has decided not to prosecute government officials who may have taken bribes so long as they return them to the state, according to leaks...
Vol 64 No 19 | SOUTH AFRICA Despite everything, the ANC charts a path to victory 18th September 2023 Beefed up local organisation and a public spending push could help the ruling party avoid a coalition next year Unheralded, the campaign for next year's national elections started this month. The ruling African National Congress will be fighting on multiple fronts: to cut state spending and rein...
Vol 64 No 18 | ZIMBABWE Legitimacy questions may spur talks 7th September 2023 Regional and international critiques of election rigging have undermined ZANU-PF amid calls for a transitional authority to be set up Regional leaders, like the four million Zimbabweans in exile, voted with their feet when invited to attend Emmerson Mnangagwa's inauguration for his second presidential term on 4 September....
Vol 64 No 18 | MOZAMBIQUE Maputo may settle loans case 7th September 2023 The London High Court has ruled that President Filipe Nyusi will not have to respond in court to claims that he helped defraud his own country and accepted...
Vol 64 No 18 | SOUTH AFRICABRICS Beijing asserts global south leadership role 25th August 2023 Bringing in new members and opening up more local currency trade point to a longer-term power shift It was the biggest international gathering in South Africa since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the country's first democratically elected leader in 1994, but the 22-24 August...