Vol 38 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA First, the good news 28th February 1997 Having weathered political and economic storms in the past year, the ANC-led government is showing results After just over a thousand days in office, President Nelson Mandela and his ministers have a spring in their step. The rand is strengthening; the economic management is...
Vol 38 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Deep foreground 28th February 1997 It was an impressive, if slightly bizarre, demonstration of open government. On 10 February, 30 or so journalists found themselves in the hospitality suite of the National Intelligence...
Vol 38 No 5 | NAMIBIA Malaysian money I 28th February 1997 Along with other East Asian 'tiger economies', Malaysia is being assiduously courted by the ruling South West Africa People's Organisation. Trade and Industry Minister Hidipo Hamutenya (AC Vol...
Vol 38 No 4 | ANGOLA It's not over yet 14th February 1997 The UN is gradually pulling out but key political and military issues are unresolved The doubters have been proved wrong, says the ever optimistic Alioune Blondin Beye, the United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative in Angola. A government of national unity is...
Vol 38 No 4 | ANGOLA Oil the wheels 14th February 1997 Spectacular oil finds in the Congo basin off Angola's coastline are bringing in foreign investors and boosting the government's bargaining position. Industry sources reckon that within six years,...
Vol 38 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Hard bargains 14th February 1997 Buthelezi raises the stakes at a time when his ANC opponents need successful peace talks The Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party is poised to extract far reaching concessions from its main opponents, the African National Congress. The ANC wants a peace agreement, having...
Vol 38 No 4 | ZAMBIA Budget stress 14th February 1997 The MMD is clamping down politically but can't afford to make tough economic changes Having sauntered back into State House after bitter and flawed elections (AC Vol 37 No 24), President Frederick Chiluba must now live with his unenviable inheritance: a tottering...
Vol 38 No 4 | NAMIBIA Play it again, Sam 14th February 1997 SWAPO is soon to decide on the future of a President who understands politics A sense of uncertainty about the future is growing as the time to resolve the succession issue draws near (AC Vol 37 No 19). Will Sam Nujoma try...
Vol 38 No 4 | MADAGASCAR Unresounding 14th February 1997 The Red Admiral is no longer red or an admiral - or an ex-President, either A month after the presidential election (AC Vol 37 No 25), the victory of Didier Ratsiraka has at last been announced. Returning to power on just over half...
Vol 38 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Mangope on trial 14th February 1997 The trial of former Bophuthatswana President Lucas Mangope will raise more questions about his associates in South Africa and Europe (AC Vol 35 No 13). He faces 200...