Vol 59 No 7 | ZIMBABWE UK leans to Mnangagwa 6th April 2018 Britain may be breaking ranks with donors and creditors over conditions for restoring Harare's access to finance. The International Monetary Fund continues to take a firm line, ins...
Vol 59 No 7 | SOUTH AFRICA Zumaists and Ramaphorians 6th April 2018 President Cyril Ramaphosa could face his toughest test yet when former President Jacob Zuma has his day in court on 6 April, as tensions between their respective factions in the Af...
Vol 59 No 6 | SOUTH AFRICA Ramaphosa begins world tour 23rd March 2018 After five weeks of reshuffling and restructuring after Zuma’s exit, the President is taking his new line-up on the road President Cyril Ramaphosa is preparing to set out his stall on the international stage, not only to deliver the message that South Africa is under new management but to restore his...
Vol 59 No 6 | BOTSWANA A well-scripted succession 23rd March 2018 National wealth may be on the wane, but the establishment is ensuring the change in leader will not disturb political stability After ten years in office, President Ian Khama is on a farewell tour of the country, as pundits ponder whether he was ineffective because he did not do too much, or effective for t...
Vol 59 No 6 | NAMIBIA Geingob reasserts control 23rd March 2018 The President has seen off a serious challenge as he prepares to take action on corruption and regain public trust Almost three years into his first five-year term, Namibia's first non-Oshiwambo head of state, Hage Geingob, seems to be in a dominant position. Previously acting leader of the rul...
Vol 59 No 6 | MOZAMBIQUE Maputo's haircut 23rd March 2018 On 20 March Mozambican officials met London creditors of its previously hidden US$2 billion loans to try to convince them to accept a major restructuring of the debt. They told hol...
Vol 59 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Zexit, Ramaphoria, then political landmines 9th March 2018 The new President faces challenges from left and right as Julius Malema steals a march on the government over land reform Weeks of good news for President Cyril Ramaphosa came to a grinding halt on 1 March when the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) outmanoeuvred him to win a parliamentary mot...
Vol 59 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Not yet Team Ramaphosa 27th February 2018 The new cabinet line-up shows signs of a fraught balancing of ANC factional interests It may be Cyril Ramaphosa's first cabinet but it was not all of his making. That much was evident from the repeated delays in the announcement from the Union Buildings on the eveni...
Vol 59 No 4 | ZIMBABWE After Tsvangirai 23rd February 2018 Leadership rivalries within the opposition could leave ZANU-PF with a clear run at this year's elections The death of veteran opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, announced on 14 February, has prompted a massive show of grief and support for one of the doughtiest campaigners against t...
Vol 59 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA Auntie Pat's spat 23rd February 2018 The opposition Democratic Alliance, which runs the drought-stricken Western Cape, is embroiled in a battle to rid itself of Patricia de Lille, Mayor of Cape Town, the provincial ca...
