Vol 58 No 6 | ZAMBIA Lungu’s terms and conditions 3rd March 2017 The President is confident that judges will rubber-stamp his eligibility to stand again in 2021. If not, a two-thirds majority in Parliament is within easy reach President Edgar Lungu had barely begun his second term of office this year when he declared himself ready for another. Although the constitution states that no president who...
Vol 58 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Zuma's anti-Gordhan play 3rd March 2017 President Jacob Zuma is hesitating over a reshuffle which could tear the African National Congress apart President Jacob Zuma has become increasingly irritated with his respected Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, who was widely praised after presenting a balanced budget on 22 February amidst...
Vol 58 No 5 | ZAMBIA Aides with agendas 3rd March 2017 The influence of President Lungu's staff worries many. Business deals and dirty tricks against the opposition are multiplying Concern about the actions of State House advisers has grown so much that President Edgar Lungu felt obliged to persuade civil servants not to be intimidated. At a...
Vol 58 No 5 | ZIMBABWE Whose judge is it anyway? 17th February 2017 A battle royal is in progress over selecting the new Chief Justice; he or she could end up deciding who becomes the next president The Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, Godfrey Chidyausiku, reaches the compulsory retirement age of 70 during February, which has set the cat among the factional pigeons of the ruling...
Vol 58 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA The state of Jacob Zuma's presidency 17th February 2017 Relentless attacks on the President's character are weakening the economy and undermining his influence on the succession With ten more months as leader of the African National Congress (ANC), President Jacob Zuma tried to shore up his government with a flurry of populist policies –... READ FOR FREE
Vol 58 No 4 | ZIMBABWE ZANU-PF digs for votes 17th February 2017 Fuel trader Trafigura is boosting the ruling party by lending at an inordinate rate to a flagship agricultural programme The commodity giant Trafigura is providing major financial support to a government programme called Command Agriculture in what is widely seen as a major boost to the Zimbabwe...
Vol 58 No 3 | ANGOLA Naval deal under spotlight 3rd February 2017 Luanda's latest lavish defence contract has eerie echoes of Mozambique's controversial naval procurement Angola is planning a major expansion of its navy with the help of Privinvest Group, the company which supplied fishing vessels and high-technology military patrol boats to Mozambique....
Vol 58 No 3 | MOZAMBIQUE Artfully dodging debt 3rd February 2017 A growing faction in the governing Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) favours repudiating its US$2 billion in questionable secret loans. It wants those responsible for the loans,...
Vol 58 No 3 | ANGOLA Squeezing the banks 3rd February 2017 The government has decided to mobilise domestic savings and deposits to plug the gap in public finances under the routine-sounding name of the State's Annual Debt Plan. The...
Vol 58 No 2 | MADAGASCAR Hery's hard line 20th January 2017 The three-cornered fight between the president and his predecessors looks set to continue, and with it yet more instability and conflict Just when Malagasy politics appeared to be edging towards a more consensual mood, with the last-minute passage of the 2017 budget and a distinctly upbeat December donors' meeting...
