Vol 52 No 17 | ZIMBABWE The police fail to protect 26th August 2011 Amid the finger-pointing, conspiracy theories and angst at Solomon Mujuru’s death, what stands out with crystal clarity is the incompetence of the Zimbabwe Republic Police before, after and...
Vol 52 No 17 | SOUTH AFRICA Suddenly, the nationalisation talk gets serious 26th August 2011 The President and his business friends will have to make concessions to the growing calls for more state ownership Nationalisation of the country’s mines, banks and land is under serious consideration by the governing African National Congress and not only because of the populist calls for it...
Vol 52 No 17 | SOUTH AFRICA The nationalisation investigators 26th August 2011 The team investigating nationalisation was appointed in September 2010 by the African National Congress National General Council to investigate the ‘desirability and modalities’ of nationalising mines and asked...
Vol 52 No 17 | MOZAMBIQUE Renamo threatens a return to violence 26th August 2011 As it regroups to take on Frelimo in 2014, the former armed opposition talks of a return to the military option In a chilling echo of history, Afonso Dhlakama, the leader of the biggest opposition party, the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, has been threatening armed resistance against the government. Renamo,...
Vol 52 No 17 | MALAWI Protests postponed 26th August 2011 Protestors plan to take to the streets again next month if their 20-point list of demands to end economic hardship and democratic restrictions are not met. They postponed...
Vol 52 No 17 | ZIMBABWE It’s not cricket 26th August 2011 On 4 August, Zimbabwe announced its return from the cricketing wilderness, playing – and winning – its first international for over five years, a test match against...
Vol 52 No 16 | ZIMBABWE Hard winter in Harare 5th August 2011 ZANU-PF outpoint their opponents by taking over the diamond revenue and latching on to a popular national cause As senior allies of President Robert Gabriel Mugabe concede through gritted teeth that there can be no national elections this year, they have moved the battleground to economic...
Vol 52 No 16 | ZAMBIA A vote about money 5th August 2011 Largesse from the copper boom rather than good policies boosts the President’s chances in next month’s polls The main challenger to President Rupiah Bwezani Banda in the elections he has called for 20 September is his arch-rival Michael Chilufya Sata: both agree that money will...
Vol 52 No 16 | ZAMBIA Some Banda backers exit 5th August 2011 In the last two months, some high-profile Movement for Multiparty Democracy personalities, including close friends of President Rupiah Banda’s, have crossed over to Michael Sata’s Patriotic Front (PF).
Vol 52 No 16 | MALAWI The President lashes out 5th August 2011 After killings and detentions by security forces, oppositionists plan another demonstration to press their demands for reform President Bingu wa Mutharika’s shift from egotistical technocrat to violent despot was not entirely surprising, given his style of government over the past six years. Few people believe...