Vol 42 No 23 | SOUTH AFRICASUDAN Guns for hire again 23rd November 2001 A born-again Executive Outcomes operation is at the centre of allegations of a military contract between ex-South African Defence Force soldiers and the Sudanese army. A former director...
Vol 42 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICA Short-pants to no pants 9th November 2001 The former apartheid party negotiates its way to obscurity The New National Party, heir to the old Afrikaner-apartheid tradition, hitched up in June 2000 to the Democratic Party, whose members claim to inherit South Africa's liberal tradition....
Vol 42 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICA Don't confront, co-opt 9th November 2001 The African National Congress often deals with its opponents by co-opting them, offering jobs and a hearing in exchange for an end to opposition. Co-option began with the...
Vol 42 No 22 | NAMIBIA Nujoma – the movie 9th November 2001 The 'cult of Sam' is reaching new heights: you've seen the President, now watch the film. Local businesses have pledged 90,000 Namibian dollars(US$11,000) towards the N$20 million budget...
Vol 42 No 21 | ZAMBIA Payback time 26th October 2001 The President's cheque is stolen and the election heats up The arrest of three men last week on charges of stealing President Frederick Chiluba's salary over the past 16 months is instructive. Apparently Chiluba hadn't noticed that 82...
Vol 42 No 21 | ZAMBIA Presidential runners 26th October 2001 Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD): formed 1990, governing since 1991. Support: Copperbelt and Bemba people, trades unions; endorsed by Dean Mung'omba's Zambia Alliance for...
Vol 42 No 20 | ZIMBABWE The road to ruin 12th October 2001 Mugabe needs to win the presidency again, even if he wrecks the country International eyes are off Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe is having a good anti-terror war. The Commonwealth summit scheduled to have opened in Australia on 6 October would...
Vol 42 No 20 | ANGOLA Stuck again 12th October 2001 The United States, calling for 'no talks with terrorists', still wants to prod President José Eduardo dos Santos towards talks with Jonas Savimbi's União Nacional para a Independência...
Vol 42 No 19 | BOTSWANA Koma going 28th September 2001 The feeble opposition should be strengthened by the imminent retirement of Kenneth Koma, veteran leader of the Botswana National Front. His BNF critics walked out in 1998 to...
Vol 42 No 18 | ZAMBIA Puppet or prince? 14th September 2001 The ruling MMD's new flagbearer seems too close to Chiluba and too far from the voters Levy Mwanawasa's emergence last month as the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy's candidate for president is the least bad option for incumbent Frederick Chiluba, who has no intention...