MALI Crisis in the command 15th February 2013 MALI Bamako: Children playing on a wall. Pascal Deloche/Godong / Panos Image courtesy of Panos Pictures Secret deals between army putschists and the jihadists threaten the military campaign as Bamako politicians demand retribution The strange pact under which President Dioncounda Traoré appointed the serial putschist Captain Amadou Sanogo as head of the military reform committee in a grand ceremony in Bamako on 13 February exposes the contradictions at the heart of the government. It also raises questions about the fractured command of the national army and its willingness to fight alongside French and West African forces in northern Mali. These doubts will probably speed up the timetable for the United Nations’ involvement, as requested by France and now discreetly backed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
MALI Rocky road in the north 15th February 2013 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site The war against the jihadists is winding into the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains on the Malian-Algerian border. Last week, French and Chadian forces retook Tessalit, some 90 kilometres...
KENYA Nairobi’s governing passions 15th February 2013 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site The race to be governor of the capital is tense, filled with drama and defying the expectations of the experts The Nairobi gubernatorial race – part of the 4 March general elections – is turning into one of the most fascinating political battles of recent times. The...
The African conference season started early this year. First out of the blocks was the London-based Economist, which held its ‘Africa summit’ on 5 February: next comes the Times ‘Africa CEO summit’. Dubai hosts a Gulf States Invest in Africa conference just before the World Economic Forum on Africa meets in Cape Town in May. At times, this first ‘Africa summit’ pulled in contrary directi... The African conference season started early this year. First out of the blocks was the London-based Economist, which held its ‘Africa summit’ on 5 February: next comes the Times ‘Africa CEO summit’. Dubai hosts a Gulf States Invest in Africa conference just before the World Economic Forum on Africa meets in Cape Town in May. At times, this first ‘Africa summit’ pulled in contrary directions. Young hedge-fund and private-equity analysts stood keenly by, ever alert for the 30% ‘absolute return’. The man from the Diageo drinks conglomerate could barely conceal his delight at supplanting the unlicensed and uncontrolled ‘concoction’ pedlars of Kenya with his competitively-priced Senator Keg beer. Dissenters at the back quietly pointed out that the grain that is fermented to befuddle the Kenyan poor is at least locally sourced. Might we see a multinational variant of changaa next? More substantial dissenters at the summit such as Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf questioned the distribution of the benefits of Africa’s much trumpeted growth. ‘We have to change the paradigm,’ she pleaded. ‘We have growth without development.’ The suits looked at the ceiling as she argued that perhaps protectionism and industrial policy could help Liberia break out of its economic cul de sac. Similarly, Oby Ezekwesili’s plea for foreign companies to be more socially responsible and accountable fell a little flat among some of the frontier market pioneers. Read more
KENYA By Skype from The Hague 15th February 2013 Kenya’s first presidential debate, broadcast live on eight television and 34 radio stations on 11 February, was unlikely to sway an electorate deeply polarised by ethnic and regional...
ERITREA Issayas staggers a little 15th February 2013 Whoever was responsible, the army rebellion and the seizure of Asmara’s television station expose growing cracks in the totalitarian facade News of mutiny filtered out of Eritrea in late January as it might out of a hermit kingdom. On 21 January, some 200 soldiers with at least two...
ZAMBIA Jobs on the roads 15th February 2013 President Michael Sata’s promise to reduce mass employment is yet to be fulfilled. Although he has raised the necessary finance, public institutions are having trouble translating it into...
EUROPEAN UNION The new poor give less 15th February 2013 As EU members cut public spending, funds to Africa shrink and promised aid percentages are under pressure The European Union’s austerity measures are taking an increasing toll on concessional development finance and grants to African and other developing countries. At their summit on 8 February,...
MALISUDAN Jihadists from Mali in Darfur 15th February 2013 The arrival of the latest batch of foreign fighters complicates Khartoum’s tactical options The Khartoum regime’s ties with Islamists in the region are under scrutiny again following the arrival in Darfur of jihadists retreating from the French military campaign in northern...
ERITREAQATAR Qatar's cold shoulder 15th February 2013 At least one of President Issayas Aferworki’s few allies shows concern about his survival. On 2 February, Sudan’s President Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir and his leading defence...
MALAWI Banda takes on her deputy 15th February 2013 The President is at loggerheads with her deputy just as she tries to strengthen her party in Parliament President Joyce Banda wants to build a parliamentary majority from defectors from the Democratic Progressive Party to her own People’s Party. She founded the PP after the...
SUDANBRITAIN British military aid for Sudan 15th February 2013 The latest round of British military cooperation with Sudan under the aegis of its Defence Minister, General Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, who is wanted by the International Criminal...
ZAMBIA Kabimba looks ahead 15th February 2013 Although the PF government is still trying to fulfil its economic promises, senior party figures are already looking forward to the 2016 polls Zambia’s next elections are not until 2016 but Wynter Kabimba, the Justice Minister and Secretary General of the governing Patriotic Front, is positioning himself to succeed President Michael...
UGANDA Spring in opposition’s step 15th February 2013 New opposition leader and liberation fighter Mugisha Muntu tries to galvanise the ranks as he senses growing disarray in the ruling party A tough police and military crackdown is stifling attempts to reproduce the success of the Walk to Work street protests led by Kizza Besigye, the then leader...
SIERRA LEONE Loyalty rewarded 15th February 2013 Only several months after President Ernest Bai Koroma’s re-election are the winners and losers in the post-electoral division of spoils becoming clear. Most prominent among them is Usman...
SOUTH AFRICA Swearing deputies 15th February 2013 Cyril Ramaphosa, the African National Congress’s new Deputy President, is finding that the smooth path to power that was promised him may be strewn with boulders. He agreed...
TANZANIA Daily pressure 15th February 2013 Tanzanian journalist Erick Kabendera is complaining about what he calls ‘harassment’ of his elderly parents by the country’s immigration and security officials. In November, he gave testimony...
TUNISIA Answers needed 15th February 2013 When opposition leader Chokri Belaïd was shot dead by three masked men in a black car on 6 February, the secular opposition, the mainstream Islamist Hizb Ennahda and...