Blue Lines
It was 'noises off' that dominated the first summit of the African
Union under its new Commission Chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on 3-4
July. As Chad's veteran
Foreign Minister, it was hoped that he would be
able to make progress on the continent's multip...
Patrick Smith
We start this week in Addis Ababa for an important but poorly attended
summit of the African Union, then take stock of a regional security
summit held over the weekend in Bamako. Looking at a big real estate
foreclosure linked to a Nigerian oil baron in M...
Patrick Smith
This week there is some important court reporting. First from Nairobi where the Appeal Court has backed an important ruling on vote counting, to the delight of civil society and the opposition. And then to South Africa's Constitutional Court which has mad...
Blue Lines
The storm in Congo-Kinshasa has been gathering for a year and the next six months are likely to prove
critical. Warning of grave danger, the former Secretary General of the
United Nations, Kofi Annan,
together with former presidents of South
Africa and Ni...
Patrick Smith
We start in Nigeria
on a rare
high note – at least on the economic plane – and then go to Tanzania, where President John Magufuli's government is
stepping up his campaign of resource nationalism. In South Africa, President Jacob Zuma is also playing the
r...
Patrick Smith
Political changes in Europe – and their effects on Africa –
start the ball rolling this week. And then it's off to Lusaka where the Zambian government is about to ink a
new deal with the IMF. In Nigeria,
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo's
profile could rise h...
Blue Lines
Extreme weather amid this week's storms in Western Cape in South Africa and the continuing drought in north-east Africa remind us of the
realities of climate change. Cape Town hovers between devastating
storms one month and worsening water shortages for t...
Patrick Smith
We start with the aftermath of the United States' withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and its implications for Africa. Then we go to Morocco, where protests are spreading. In South Africa, the relentless drip of information and claims about Presiden...
Patrick Smith
We start this week with another high-stakes battle between a multinational mining company and an African government, this time in Tanzania. The Ethiopian government is celebrating Tedros Adhanom winning the leadership of the World Health Organisation; and...
Blue Lines
The appointment of regional security specialist Peter Pham as the United States' Assistant Secretary
of State for African Affairs has been welcomed by African diplomats in
Washington. 'We have an appointee with knowledge and a certain affinity
with Africa...