Vol 48 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICAZIMBABWEBRITAIN Scrum half 2nd November 2007 Relations between Britain and South Africa, not helped by the Springboks’ 15-6 defeat of England in the Rugby World Cup in Paris on 20 October, have become poisonous again ov...
Vol 48 No 21 | SOUTH AFRICAANALYSIS Zuma, Buthelezi and the Zulu nation 19th October 2007 The exit of Inkatha leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi from politics and the rise and rise of Jacob Zuma as a national leader with an unassailable base in KwaZulu-Natal is a moment of truth for South Africa’s Zulus. The Inkatha Freedom Party, so long dominant in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), is losing its grip and risks disintegration. Its leader, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, told its national conferenc...
Vol 48 No 21 | SOUTH AFRICA A king's ransom 19th October 2007 The King of the Zulus, Goodwill Zwelithini, has been allocated 30 million rand (US$4.4 mn.) by the state for the 2006/2007 financial year. There are fears that he could overspend b...
Vol 48 No 21 | SOUTH AFRICA Take me to your traditional leader 19th October 2007 President Thabo Mbeki's attempts to reform the system of traditional leaders to bring it into line with democracy are not universally popular. Traditional leaders are resisting, es...
Vol 48 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Exit Pikoli, Chief Prosecutor 5th October 2007 Factions in the security services are fighting their own battles as the contest for the national leadership heats up The suspension by President Thabo Mbeki of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Vusi Pikoli, may foreshadow a constitutional crisis. At the very least, it embitters the co...
Vol 48 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Zuma in the sights 5th October 2007 Insiders say that President Thabo Mbeki is frustrated by the National Prosecuting Authority's inability to make headway in its case against Jacob Zuma. Last September, Judge Herber...
Vol 48 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Intelligence in a divided house 5th October 2007 South Africa's intelligence services, police and army appear rudderless, with increasingly limited civilian or democratic oversight. Vusi Pikoli is the fifth chief of a security de...
Vol 48 No 20 | ANGOLA Surfing the surge 5th October 2007 The start-up of British Petroleum's 200,000 barrels per day Plutônio deep-water field this week marks the latest of the multi-billion dollar projects that will increase Angol...
Vol 48 No 19 | ZIMBABWE Signs of movement 21st September 2007 After a surprising political deal, reformers hope that at last the opposition’s talks with government are leading somewhere This week’s deal in parliament between the government and the opposition parties over constitutional changes shows the desperation on all sides after five months of stagnation in t...
Vol 48 No 19 | ZIMBABWE Turbulent priests 21st September 2007 Just when President Robert Mugabe thought it was safe to go back to the altar, another troublesome priest has lambasted him for running an oppressive and corrupt regime. This time ...