Vol 62 No 14 | ESWATINI A state of royal denial 8th July 2021 As reports and videos circulate showing dozens of pro-democracy protestors being shot and killed by security forces, regional and international pressure on King Mswati III is mounting. Veteran...
Vol 62 No 14 | ZAMBIA President bids to postpone poll 2nd July 2021 Political violence, Lungu's ill-health, rows about Kaunda's burial, and rampant Covid make for a grim backdrop ahead of the general election Exceptional levels of violence – by ruling Patriotic Front thugs and police – are raising questions about the credibility of the parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections due on...
Vol 62 No 13 | SOUTH AFRICA The urgency of now 24th June 2021 The President speeds up reform on power, the state airlines and the ports but laments that the tempo remains far too slow With two quick-fire announcements on 11 and 12 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa broke with ruling party orthodoxy and threw a lifeline to the ailing power industry and state...
Vol 62 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Mogul shuffles his interests 24th June 2021 Under US sanctions and losing favour with President Mnangagwa, top businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei is revamping his empire Zimbabwe's most controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei has shut down his fuel company, Sakunda Holdings, which was put under United States sanctions in August last year for having 'harmed...
Vol 62 No 13 | ZIMBABWE Farming out critics 24th June 2021 A fight over another round of farm confiscations is heading for the courts; but this time prominent black dissident is the target. Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) co-deputy Director-General...
Vol 62 No 12 | ZIMBABWE Tagwirei's pipeline under threat 10th June 2021 President Mnangagwa is backing a new oil company against a fuel cartel run by the generals' favourite businessman A company registered in the United Kingdom with strong South African links has signed an agreement that could give it dominance over Zimbabwe's more than US$1 billion fuel...
Vol 62 No 12 | NAMIBIA Apology but no reparations 10th June 2021 Berlin's belated offer of compensation for colonial atrocities won’t end the matter and is proving politically divisive Germany has finally acknowledged that its colonial forces committed genocide against the Ovaherero and Nama and agreed to pay compensation, but these communities of central-eastern and southern Namibia...
Vol 62 No 12 | ZAMBIA Betting the farm on winning 10th June 2021 As defaults continue and debts pile up, the President reckons his bonanza payment to farmers will win him re-election in August Just before the start of the three-month election campaign on 12 May, the Patriotic Front (PF) government rushed through at least US$145 million of new loans to fund... READ FOR FREE
Vol 62 No 12 | SOUTH AFRICA More time for the truth 10th June 2021 Three years of testimony on a decade of political and corporate crime are to be followed by a wave of prosecutions Few countries have had more thoroughgoing probes of their business and political classes but a bigger test is coming next. Can the governing African National Congress shut...
Vol 62 No 12 | NAMIBIA Controversial delta drilling 10th June 2021 Canada's Reconnaissance Energy Africa (ReconAfrica) is convinced it has hit paydirt in the Kavango basin of north-eastern Namibia/north-western Botswana, which extends under part of the watershed of the...