Vol 62 No 16 | SOUTH AFRICA Who runs Gauteng? 5th August 2021 As the national political and commercial powerhouse, Gauteng is one of the most contested provinces in the country Gauteng is South Africa's smallest but most densely populated and richest province, covering 1.5% of the country's land mass, with an estimated population in excess of 15 million... READ FOR FREE
Vol 62 No 16 | ZAMBIA False-flag operation 5th August 2021 Two Zambian-flagged merchant ships suspected of shipping weapons to Libya have been stopped in the Mediterranean by European Union naval vessels enforcing the United Nations arms embargo, according...
Vol 62 No 16 | ZAMBIA Rivals close as polling day nears 3rd August 2021 Ahead of the 12 August vote the ruling party offers handouts and grand projects while the opposition points to the crashing economy Against a backdrop of falling support for President Edgar Lungu and a sliding economy, the Patriotic Front government is showering farmers and civil servants with handouts and good...
Vol 62 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Who runs KwaZulu-Natal? 22nd July 2021 Our correspondents look at the leading politicians and their parties in the country’s most volatile and second most populous province The African National Congress is dominant in KwaZulu-Natal, with 44 seats in the 80-seat provincial legislature, while its nearest rival, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has just 13....
Vol 62 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Anatomy of a failed insurrection 22nd July 2021 Recovery from the violence, looting and sabotage is likely to be slow amid spiralling joblessness and with the ringleaders apparently still at large A confluence of widespread economic despair, hunger and protest sparked by the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma, began with a deliberate act of sabotage. On...
Vol 62 No 15 | ZAMBIA Eyes on the count 22nd July 2021 Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema is investing hope and major resources, including a phone app and satellite systems, to mobilise over 20,000 election agents from his United Party for...
Vol 62 No 15 | MOZAMBIQUERWANDA Nyusi annoys the neighbours 22nd July 2021 While 1,000 Rwandan police and troops, widely admired for their military qualities, have arrived on the Afungi peninsula to defend the liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure against Cabo...
Vol 62 No 14 | SOUTH AFRICA Relief as Zuma surrenders 8th July 2021 After organising a mass rally to back his defiance of the Constitutional Court, ex-president Zuma was arrested on 7 July At the stroke of midnight and after hours of negotiating with senior officers, ex-President Jacob Zuma handed himself over to police on 7 July. He now starts a...
Vol 62 No 14 | ESWATINI A state of royal denial 8th July 2021 As reports and videos circulate showing dozens of pro-democracy protestors being shot and killed by security forces, regional and international pressure on King Mswati III is mounting. Veteran...
Vol 62 No 14 | ZAMBIA President bids to postpone poll 2nd July 2021 Political violence, Lungu's ill-health, rows about Kaunda's burial, and rampant Covid make for a grim backdrop ahead of the general election Exceptional levels of violence – by ruling Patriotic Front thugs and police – are raising questions about the credibility of the parliamentary, municipal and presidential elections due on...