Vol 49 No 7 | ZIMBABWE Harare eyes the Kenyan model 28th March 2008 When Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga referred to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe as 'a dinosaur' last year, his party received an angry phonecall from Futungo de Belas in...
Vol 49 No 7 | ZIMBABWE Marking ballots, selling shares 28th March 2008 Companies are watching the elections with a particular focus - the implementation of the Indigenisation and Empowerment Act. Announced by President Robert Mugabe on 7 March, the Act...
Vol 49 No 7 | EQUATORIAL GUINEASOUTH AFRICA Butcher Shop 28th March 2008 The sacked director of South Africa's National Intelligence Agency, Billy Masetlha, is at the centre of fresh claims about the agency's collusion with plotters against Equatorial Guinea's government....
Vol 49 No 6 | ZIMBABWE Elections within elections 14th March 2008 The presidential contest attracts most attention but the battle for Parliament may decide the outcome There are four elections in Zimbabwe on 29 March and none of them are going according to plan for President Robert Gabriel Mugabe. The old mixture of coercion...
Vol 49 No 6 | MALAWI Moses on the mountain 14th March 2008 Parliament is prorogued, politicians are on trial - and bad-tempered elections are due next year Tempers are fraying as Malawi approaches next year's parliamentary and presidential elections. The all-important Malawi Electoral Commission, which will supervise the polls, has at last been appointed by...
Vol 49 No 6 | ANGOLA Stash the cash 14th March 2008 Angola's decision to set up its own sovereign wealth fund, as Africa Confidential recently reported (AC Vol 49 No 3), is only part of the picture. Fernando Ulrich,...
Vol 49 No 6 | ANGOLA First clean up, then list 14th March 2008 Sonangol intends to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange by 2010, according to Chief Executive Manuel Vicente. In February 2006, he mentioned this intention,...
Vol 49 No 6 | BOTSWANA Inscrutable Khama 14th March 2008 Vice-President Lieutenant General Ian Khama Seretse Khama, who is to take over as head of state within weeks, is a remarkably secretive politician. Even outgoing President Festus Mogae,...
Vol 49 No 5 | ZIMBABWE A birthday at Beitbridge 29th February 2008 Economic hardship and growing divisions in the ruling party give the opposition candidates a better chance in the coming elections President Robert Mugabe, sure of victory in the presidential election on 29 March, chose to hold his 84th birthday party in Beitbridge. The party overlooked the border post...
Vol 49 No 5 | ZIMBABWE Constituency carve-ups 29th February 2008 Whatever may happen in the presidential poll, the legislative elections are crucial and independent candidates likely to swing behind Simba Makoni are thin on the ground. A total...