Vol 42 No 12 | ZIMBABWE The military-financial complex 15th June 2001 Zimbabwe's soldiers will not soon pull out of Congo-Kinshasa. Their commanders are committed to President Robert Mugabe's government through a web of business ventures there. The links run...
Vol 42 No 11 | ANGOLA Who blinks first? 1st June 2001 Government and UNITA rebels edge reluctantly towards a ceasefire and new negotiations in one of Africa's longest-running wars Rebel leader Jonas Savimbi has a cruel sense of timing. For 18 months, he has been calling on the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola to start...
Vol 42 No 11 | ANGOLA Lev Leviev takes on De Beers 1st June 2001 De Beers announced on 24 May that it was suspending its investment and prospection in Angola's diamond business. That is a triumph for Lev Leviev, whose diamond interests...
Vol 42 No 11 | MADAGASCAR Political eclipse 1st June 2001 The 'Red Admiral', sure of re-election, has a vision of the future Anxious to show he cares about his people's welfare, President Didier Ratsiraka is worrying about the solar eclipse due in southern Africa on 21 June. He recently inaugurated...
Vol 42 No 10 | NAMIBIA After Sam, maybe 18th May 2001 The founder of the third-term movement may just try for a fourth It is three years until Namibians must elect their next president, but already there is confusion about President Sam Nujoma's retirement. He pioneered Africa's 'third-term movement' (applicants: Presidents...
Vol 42 No 10 | ZAMBIA Disbelief 18th May 2001 President Frederick Chiluba has sworn that he will not after all seek the unconstitutional third term that he worked so hard to win. On 8 May he reaffirmed:...
Vol 42 No 9 | SOUTH AFRICA The plots thicken 4th May 2001 Allegations of conspiracies against Mbeki are widening ANC divisions The Minister of Safety and Security, Steve Tshwete, is not known for political finesse. Nevertheless, he had to be taken seriously when he announced that the police would...
Vol 42 No 9 | ANGOLA Talking to Jonas 4th May 2001 The government may be getting ready to talk to its arch-enemy, Jonas Savimbi of the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola. The new parliamentary commission of...
Vol 42 No 8 | ZIMBABWE More of Mugabe 20th April 2001 The President's insistence that he will fight the next election surprises few and worries almost everyone The President's indecision is final. President Robert Mugabe's announcement on 17 April that he will contest the next presidential election as his party's flagbearer has resolved nothing (AC...
Vol 42 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICA Sniping at the President 20th April 2001 With elections far off, the gossips have fun with Thabo Mbeki Could President Thabo Mbeki risk being ousted by his own party? Will he be challenged for the leadership of the African National Congress at the end of 2002...