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...
Vol 49 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Politics of the budget 29th February 2008 Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2008 budget was a more powerful statement on Thabo Mbeki’s presidency than the President’s own speech. In his State of the Nation address to...
Vol 49 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Putting figures on it 29th February 2008 Trevor Manuel’s budget showed real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5% in 2007 and forecast growth of 4% in 2008, 4.2% in 2009, and 4.6% in 2010.
Vol 49 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Thunder on the left 29th February 2008 The African National Congress’s new leadership, in which the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) have aligned themselves behind Jacob...
Vol 49 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Party probe 29th February 2008 African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma’s purge of allies of President Thabo Mbeki is gathering pace, with all the ANC’s key policy-making committees under the control of the...
Vol 49 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Divided House in Cape Town 15th February 2008 Policy splits deepen within the governing ANC as Thabo Mbeki starts his last full year as the country's President Pomp, ceremony, fashion parades and backslapping are the usual accompaniments to the state-of-the-nation address with which President Thabo Mbeki opens a session of South Africa's parliament. This time,...
Vol 49 No 4 | ZIMBABWE In the lion's den 15th February 2008 Simba Makoni's decision to challenge President Robert Mugabe has surprised those who suspected he lacked the courage to see it through. The odds could hardly be higher for...