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Published 20th January 2022

Vol 63 No 2

Nigeria

In search of flagbearers

Bola Tinubu. Pic: @TinubuOnDStreet
Bola Tinubu. Pic: @TinubuOnDStreet

The ruling party begins the tortuous and divisive task of choosing its presidential candidate for the 2023 elections

On 26 February the ruling All Progressives' Congress (APC) will hold its national convention in Abuja to choose its top officials and set a schedule for the primary elections to pick its presidential flagbearer in the 2023 elections.

Lindiwe throws a designer hat in the ring

Lindiwe Sisulu. Pic: GCIS (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Lindiwe Sisulu. Pic: GCIS (CC BY-ND 2.0)

With a carefully structured online tirade, the Tourism Minister puts in her bid for the leadership of the African National Congress

A startling attack on the constitution and the judiciary by a senior minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet is the opening shot in a bid to replace the...

Dismissal could herald regime shake-up

The firing of a minister under international sanctions may be the start of a wider-ranging reshuffle within the ruling party

The dismissal this month of security minister Owen Ncube, who earned notoriety for his ties to a militia as well as for a bloody crackdown on protestors, has...

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THE INSIDE VIEW

Close to 300 million people are reliant on humanitarian aid as a consequence of the 55 civil conflicts raging across the world, a handful of them in Africa. The UN and other international agencies complain about donors' being reluctant to fund the necessary volume of humanitarian aid. But the problems are more structural.

David Miliband, who heads the International Rescue Committee in New York, argues that we're facing a three-sided system failure, of states, diplomacy and aid. The wo...

Close to 300 million people are reliant on humanitarian aid as a consequence of the 55 civil conflicts raging across the world, a handful of them in Africa. The UN and other international agencies complain about donors' being reluctant to fund the necessary volume of humanitarian aid. But the problems are more structural.

David Miliband, who heads the International Rescue Committee in New York, argues that we're facing a three-sided system failure, of states, diplomacy and aid. The worst conflicts in Africa – in Ethiopia, Libya and the Sahel – bear this out. Ethiopia's 14-month civil war has underscored the costs of this system failure. Over 5 million people are reliant on food aid in the Tigray region alone but Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has been repeatedly accused of preventing food aid and vital medical services from reaching them.

Both Abiy's government and the Tigrayan forces have refused to join serious negotiations. Neither regional players nor western powers have been able to prompt dialogue. Without illusions, Miliband calls for two key reforms: establishing an independent office for the protection of humanitarian access; and backing France's proposal that the veto in the UN Security Council should be scrapped in cases of mass atrocity such as Ethiopia and Sudan. Both reforms fall short of what is necessary but could begin to address the worsening system failure.

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The politics of division

Polarised parliamentary battles on an elections bill reflect starker ethnic divisions within the country at large

After filibusters and fisticuffs in parliament before Christmas, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his chosen successor Raila Odinga got what they wanted on 8 January, when the National Assembly...

At each other's throats

Municipal polls will be a test for the opposition, even as political ambitions divide the ruling party

Dakar will be the big electoral prize on Sunday, when voters elect municipal and departmental councillors in the first local polls in eight years. Control of the capital...

Prisoners' release sparks war cries

Intended as a conciliatory move, the release of political prisoners has met with calls to intensify the war with Tigray

When the federal government released several high-profile political prisoners this month, supporting its planned 'national dialogue', leading Amhara politicians hit back warning that the move should not signal...

After concessions, rival armies fight on

Addis Ababa released some prisoners and Tigray proposed a ceasefire. But despite weakened forces, there is little prospect of negotiations

The slowing of military operations follows 14 months of fighting which have inflicted heavy losses on both the Federal army and the Tigray forces and killed thousands of...

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A moment of reckoning for the gilded elite

After lengthy anti-corruption investigations, a former first lady, an ex-finance minister and their business allies face trial

When former president Albert René died in 2019, his opponents said it was a pity he never stood trial for corruption. Notoriously ruthless, he ruled the islands as...

Moscow guns for African gold

At this year’s summit, Putin has to offer African officials a better reason than mercenaries to switch allegiance from their traditional allies

President Vladimir Putin's government is organising the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in November: it is a moment of truth to prove how Russia has made a...

War dogs' old tricks

Mali can learn what to expect from Russian mercenaries by looking at their playbook from the Central African Republic

As Russian mercenaries deploy to Mali to combat Islamist insurgents, the country can expect to be forced to pay an escalating bill, on top of seeing the operatives...

Kapofi sparks outrage over genocide deal

The SWAPO government's defence of Berlin's compensation offer for its troops' genocide against the Herero and Nama fuels opposition, raising questions about a new hydrogen deal

Anger about the May 2021 genocide 'reconciliation' with Germany – under which Berlin is due to pay Namibia just €1.1 billion (US$1.3bn) over 30 years for its colonial...

Living in limboland

The military-backed clean-up and stronger export earnings are unlikely to help the economy. Reform is promised but structural change is unlikely

President Abdelmajid Tebboune's government breathed a typically Algerian sigh of relief as more stable oil prices and the higher gas prices have infused the cash-strapped treasury with funds....

Pointers

World Bank's hidden charges

Norway's Auditor-General has uncovered millions of dollars in hidden administrative costs after probing a US$100 million grant to Uganda. The grant was from the Global Partnership for Education...

Oil-sharing deal fires up row

When Senegal's former economy minister Amadou Hott visited Bissau last October, he sparked a furore by telling journalists about a secret deal to distribute revenues that might accrue...

Club of rivals

A successful club always attracts new members. That appears to be the rationale behind Congo-Kinshasa being fast-tracked to become the latest member of the East African Community in...

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