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 –

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

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

Read the rest of SADC respects Zimbabwe’s early election date – By Simukai Tinhu »

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

Read the rest of REVIEW: Last Train to Zona Verde: overland from Cape Town to Angola – By Paul Theroux »

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

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

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

Read the rest of Tsvangirai must form a coalition to have any chance in upcoming elections – By Simukai Tinhu »

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.

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

  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

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

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

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

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

Read the rest of How ZANU-PF stays in power – By Simukai Tinhu »

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

Read the rest of Making friends in London: is a new rapprochement on Zimbabwe occurring? – By Ian Scoones »