Vol 47 No 13 | ZAMBIA Candidates wanted 23rd June 2006 Sickness and death have taken the front-runners, leaving politics leaderless as elections loom Zambia's economy is looking up, as the recent boom in copper prices helps drive growth in gross domestic product up to more than 6 per cent this year,...
Vol 47 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Ndebele intrigue 23rd June 2006 When Themba Ncube, leader of Bulawayo's 'war veterans', was assaulted in his office on 30 May, the media wrongly reported it as a battle for control of the...
Vol 47 No 12 | SOUTH AFRICA Head to head 9th June 2006 Jacob Zuma has won more points in his battle for the presidential succession Jacob Zuma's supporters claim that a battle of ideas and loyalties is gripping the African National Congress. On his side are the populists, while President Thabo Mbeki leads...
Vol 47 No 12 | BOTSWANA Smiling all the way 9th June 2006 Botswana will now market diamonds but De Beers' latest move may not please the neighbours Smiles wreathed the faces of President Festus Mogae and the De Beers' Chairman, Nicky Oppenheimer, as they confirmed the De Beers-Botswana diamond partnership for the next quarter of...
Vol 47 No 11 | SOUTH AFRICAZIMBABWEBRITAIN Hard talk at No.10 26th May 2006 The main disagreement, over policy on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, has been fudged; both sides now back United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's initiative to offer support for...
Vol 47 No 10 | ZIMBABWE The Spill Blood succession 12th May 2006 After Mugabe, the country may be run by a female president and a retired soldiers' club With the nom de guerre Teurai Ropa ('Spill Blood'), Vice-President Comrade Joyce Mujuru Chimurenga (née Runaida Mugari) has been consecrated as front-line successor to President Robert Gabriel Mugabe,...
Vol 47 No 10 | ZIMBABWE Brass at the top 12th May 2006 Soldiers and ex-soldiers hold top jobs in agriculture, industry, government and the diplomatic corps. Now they are trying to run the economy, with orders to turn Zimbabwe's fortunes...
Vol 47 No 10 | SOUTH AFRICACHINA Who makes the shirts? 12th May 2006 China's booming exports cause political problems for Mbeki's ruling alliance President Hu Jintao missed out South Africa on his tour of Africa and the Gulf last month, when he visited Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya. That wasn't...
Vol 47 No 10 | SOUTH AFRICA JZ is innocent, so far 12th May 2006 After his acquittal on rape charges, Zuma is back in the running Jacob Zuma began his political fight-back as soon as he left the Johannesburg High Court on 8 May, after his acquittal on charges of rape (AC Vol 47...
Vol 47 No 10 | MALAWI Bakili's bullets 12th May 2006 The arrest on treason charges of Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha and two of his close associates - Yusuf Matumula, ex-Trustee of the Bakili Bullets football team, and United Democratic...