I question the wisdom of the African Union (AU) to send the South African President Jacob Zuma, who is also the SADC mediator and facilitator on the Zimbabwean crisis, to Libya in an attempt to revive the AU “roadmap” (another AU loaded word) for ending the conflict between Muammar Gaddafi and the anti-Gaddafi uprising. Zuma’s […]
Africa’s last monarch King Mswati III of Swaziland reportedly has cancelled plans for a “silver jubilee” (estimated to be 1.2 million euros) amid warning from the IMF that the landlocked kingdom is teetering on financial collapse. Well, the truth is that King Mswati needs to cancel many things, including: • He should unban political parties, […]
In the highest ever voter turnout, South Africans firmly put the governing African National Congress in charge of the nation’s municipalities, taking 61.95%) of the vote nationally. Did the delivery of basic services like water, housing and jobs influence the way people voted on Wednesday May 18, 2011? Of course it is difficult to tell, […]
The other Africa that you hardly see or hear in the news…a modern Africa with burgeoning middle class. They are entrepreneurs, aspiring minds, and achievement-oriented professionals. Follow the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13332507
Are Museveni’s sins less despicable than Mugabe’s or Kaddafi’s? Yoweri Museveni’s violent response to mass protests in Uganda – sparked by rising food and fuel prices –-is just one of many such traits found in most dictators in the world (if not in Africa). Media reports suggest that Museveni will stop at nothing but a […]
Can the Swazi King withstand the pro-democracy uprising or will he be toppled down? It seems like the Swazi kingdom yesterday spend most of its efforts trying to thwart an Egypt and Tunisia like uprising. Police reportedly rounded up activists, and fired teargas at pro-democracy protestors demanding an end to Mswati’s monarchy in Swaziland’s main […]
When Laurent Gbagbo’s endgame seemed imminent, the U.N. peacekeeping director Alain Le Roy hastily declared that the “war is over” in the western African nation of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), a headline that was splashed across TV screens, newspapers, news radio stations, and social networks around the world. But it turned out that Laurent Gbagbo, […]
The UN here says that the “war in Cote D’ivoire is over”, and apparently Gbagbo is hiding in the basement, negotiating his terms of surrender. What this political exist entail remains to be seen. But it is clear that Gbagbo would probably want a political pact that would protect him and his cronies from being […]
It seems like the Southern African Development Committee is finally getting it as the regional body toughens with Zimbabwe’s Mugabe! In an unusual move, the Southern African leaders issued a communiqué late Thursday, scolding the ZANU-PF government for political violence and the failure to adhere to the 2008 Global Political Agreement for power sharing. One […]
The writing that Ivory Coast is headed for catastrophe is clearly on the wall! According to the International Red Cross, approximately 800″ people were massacred in one city alone in earlier this week. The West African regional block Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) has made u-turn with regard to their bluff to use […]
The UN Security Council has imposed a no-fly zone over Libya, and has authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians. The Arab league, United States, France, and some European nations have been hard at work, putting together contingency plans to intervene if Gaddafi continues to massacre his own people. Missing in action is the African […]
On Monday Namibia turns 21 years old. A lot has changed since this Southern African country gained its independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. Yet, the country faces a high rate of unemployment rate, corruption is on the rise, and the gap between the rich and the poor remains unchallenged. Why? Although the Namibian […]
While for many ordinary Zimbabweans getting Panadol (a pain relief medication), is a luxury they cannot afford, Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe’s ruler for the past 30 years) just in one year managed to fly to Singapore four times for medical check ups. Mugabe’s fourth and recent visit was last Thursday, a visit Mr. Charamba, his spokesperson, […]
Stories from the troubled Zimbabwe suggest that the Zimbabwe government is paying a closer attention to the revolution sweeping across North Africa and Middleast. In response to an anonymous Facebook page called “Zimbabwe Million Citizen March” (which called for a day of rage against President Robert Mugabe’s tyrannical rule), the government went all the way […]
Not yet confirmed, but inside sources tell me that mass action days are planned for Zimbabwe (1st or 21st March), Angola (7th March), and Swaziland (1st April). No surprise there! Why? The three countries share something in common: 1. Zimbabwe: Dictatorship, human rights abuses, worse economic condition, and high unemployment rate). 2. Angola: (state-sponsored corruption, […]