Blog: Southern Africa

June 18, 2013

Waiting for Elections in 2013: 11 Theses (with Appropriate Apologies) on Zimbabwe’s Moment of Magical Realism — By David Moore

Posted by rethinkingzim

Ever since Zimbabwe’s Transitional Inclusive Government’s (TIG) constitution was finally agreed in the middle of March, the country’s political discourse had been in overdrive. Primarily it has been debating the date of the election that could end two eras –

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June 17, 2013

SADC respects Zimbabwe’s early election date – By Simukai Tinhu

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

On 15th the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) held an extraordinary summit on Zimbabwe in Maputo. The main issue discussed was the 31st July election date set under the pretext of complying with the Constitutional Court’s ruling that elections must

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June 12, 2013

REVIEW: Last Train to Zona Verde: overland from Cape Town to Angola – By Paul Theroux

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

By Magnus Taylor The arch miserableist returns, and he’s “happy again, back in Africa, the kingdom of light”.  A lot of people will hate this book, and I can see why. But strangely, I didn’t. Theroux is abrasive, opinionated, politically-incorrect

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June 10, 2013

Framing death – how will the world mark the passing of Nelson Mandela? – By Keith Somerville

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

When I woke up on Saturday 8th June and looked at the leading stories in the news I felt a shiver.  Again, South Africans (and many in the rest of the world) are dreading the news that Nelson Mandela’s lung

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June 3, 2013

Tsvangirai must form a coalition to have any chance in upcoming elections – By Simukai Tinhu

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

On Friday the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe ruled that the upcoming elections must be held by the 31st of July. This development confirms the suspicions of many that ZANU-PF intends to hold elections immediately after the expiry of the coalition

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May 22, 2013

African unity after 50 years of OAU/AU: A dream deferred? – By Solomon Ayele Dersso

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

As the AU is marking the 50th anniversary of the OAU under the theme ‘Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance’, it is necessary to subject the 50 years journey of the OAU/AU with respect to the question of unity to critical scrutiny.

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May 17, 2013

The curious case of Africa’s Progress and the missing Millennium Development Goals – By Susana Edjang

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

  The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that have driven the global development agenda, since September 2000, when Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, and 191 member states surprised the world by unanimously agreeing and making, the Millennium Declaration. The

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May 15, 2013

Bob Diamond, Uhuru Kenyatta and the rise of Afro-confidence: WEF 2013, Cape Town – By Richard Dowden

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

The World Economic Forum held its annual meeting (the Davos of Africa) in Cape Town last week. It was the biggest so far – yet another sign that business is taking Africa more and more seriously – but beyond the

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May 9, 2013

How ZANU-PF stays in power – By Simukai Tinhu

Posted by AfricanArgumentsEditor

Recent arbitrary arrests of prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa and senior officials of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), coupled with sporadic attacks on civilians and civil society by the state, have been interpreted by some including the MDC

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May 9, 2013

Making friends in London: is a new rapprochement on Zimbabwe occurring? – By Ian Scoones

Posted by rethinkingzim

Recently, the ‘Friends of Zimbabwe’ group of western donors met in London, together with representatives of all of Zimbabwe’s main political parties. The ‘Friends’ group – formerly known as the ‘Fishmongers’ after an expensive restaurant in Harare – is a

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