In the Pambazuka 2010-09-22, issue 497, Charles Abugre writes a beautiful piece about the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) success and challenges ahead. His article comes at a time when world leaders are gathering in the Big Apple to review progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. What I like about Charles’ article is that it […]
The law has not been passed yet, but the Local Government Permanent Secretary Erastus Negonga seems to suggest that regional governors will no longer be elected regional councillors, but people appointed by the President. He told the Namibian that the procedure of governors being elected by the regional councils would change and that no elected […]
The Namibian parliament is debating a law that will give President Pohamba the power to appoint regional governors. Given the ruling South West People’s Organizations’ (SWAPO) electoral advantage in the parliament, it is given that the law will be passed. This means that soon the new regional councilors to be elected in the regional elections […]
African Presidents head to Atlanta for the Africa Policy Forum organized by Ambassador Andrew Young and the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation (http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/). Titled “the Africa Policy Forum: A Vision for the 21st Century,” the forum will take place on September 24-28, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the largest gatherings of its kind, the September […]
After a six-month boycott over last year November’s election results, nine politicians of the Rally for Democracy Party (RDP) and Republican Party (RP) were sworn in as members of the National Assembly yesterday. I must admit…that’s where I want the RDP (as the official opposition party) to be, representing the aspirations of its constituencies, and […]
One doctor, two nurses and a volunteer — affiliated with California-based Allen Temple AIDS ministry were scheduled to appear before a judge in Zimbabwe on Monday over AIDS drugs. The aid workers were arrested on Thursday after being charged with distributing AIDS drugs without a license. This is a developing story, and information is still […]
The court case in which the Rally for Democracy Party-led (RDP) opposition coalition is challenging the presidential and parliamentary election results held on November 27 and 28 last year has been sent back to the High Court which struck the case from the court roll on technical merits in March this year. The ruling gives […]
It seems that Evilastus Karonda’s re-election as the Secretary General of Namibia’s largest trade union federation at its fifth Congress which ended on Sunday September 5 in the capital Windhoek is a victory for the Namibian workers. Apparently, Karonda’s championship of bread and butter issues affecting the workers earned him enmity among his colleagues in […]
The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), an umbrella body of affiliated Namibian workers unions in public and private sector, is winding down its national congress in the capital under the theme of “Back to Basics.” Back to basics is a befitting theme because the congress is taking place at a time when Namibia’s largest […]
A riot over price hikes in Mozambique has brought services to a halt in the capital Maputo. At least six people have been reported dead, and hundred more injured when the police fired shots to disperse crowds of people protesting in the streets on Wednesday. The protesters barricaded roads, hurled rocks at cars, set ablaze […]
This time in the Kingdom of Swaziland as Eastern and Southern Africa heads of state and Government convene for the 14th Summit of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, starting tomorrow September 1, 2010. Sounds familiar? A little over two weeks ago, Southern Africa heads of state and government met in Windhoek for […]
If you are a company from the overlooked continent, how do you penetrate the international market? For 40 emerging African Challengers, a new breed of ambitious African companies, the answer is to imitate a model based on multinationals from China, India, Brazil, and Russia, referred as “New Global Challengers”, who have recently taken advantage of […]
Johannesburg (52), Nairobi (56), and Lagos (59) made the Foreign Policy magazine’s 2010 Global Cities Index. The index provides a comprehensive ranking of global cities’ performance by measuring their influence on the world stage, ranging from the size of the economy, politics to culture. Not a surprising choice here, but personally I find the three […]
Zambia may be Africa’s largest producer of copper, but the impact of this red metal on the country‘s economy still remains a mixed blessing. In the Mail and Guardian article posited on the Zambian Watch website at http://www.zambianwatchdog.com/2010/08/23/zambia-on-red-metal-alert/, it is argued that Zambia’s heavy reliance on copper is exactly what’s wrong with Zambia’s economy. To […]
Like him or not, this week’s person of the week in the SADC region goes to Robert Mugabe. On August 17, 2010 during the closing ceremony of the 30th Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Namibia, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe received a standing ovation, a gathering that included Africa’s present and former heads of […]