Youssou N'dour for president?

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Dear Reader... In early January, Senegal's superstar Youssou N'dour the king of mbalax announced that he plans to run as a candidate in presidential elections in Senegal planned for 26 February.

He said in his statement he feels it is his `patriotic duty' to run for the highest office in the land. And although he has `no formal qualifications' he will surround himself with the best indi

DR JAKKIE CILLIERS

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

is the executive director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). He has a BMil (BA) from the University of Stellenbosch and a Hons BA, MA (cum laude) and DLitt et Phil from the University of South Africa (UNISA). He is an Extraordinary Professor in the Centre of Human Rights and the Department of Political Sciences, Faculty Humanities at the University of Pretoria. He also serves on the

DR GWINYAYI A. DZINESA

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

is a senior researcher at the ISS in Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to assuming this post, he served as a senior researcher at the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town; Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Africa's International Relations, the University of the Witwatersrand; Visiting Scholar at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo and as a research and publications o

DR VERONIQUE TADJO

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

is a FrenchIvorian writer and artist who heads the French department at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has published several novels, books of poetry and children's books. Tadjo completed her doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris in African-American Literature and Civilisation.
In 2005, her novel Reine Pokou, concerto pour un sacrifice was awarded Le Grand Prix Littéraire d´Afrique No

ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

is a pioneer in the South African market in the use of the Internet as a tool for productivity, and developed the first South African benchmarks for website usability and strategy. He is also an author of books on Internet business and on urban legends, and is an awardwinning IT journalist.

What to do about the Dalai Lama?

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As the ANC celebrates 100 years of its existence, South Afric a is faced with a number of important foreign policy decisions, including how to manage its relationship with China. Th e controversial issue of the Dalai Lama will arise again in 2012, following Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's invitation to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit South Africa during the countr

Goodluck Jonathan's bad timing

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As Nigerians took to the streets in January in what has been described as an `indefinite strike' against the controversial removal of the state fuel subsidy, many experts warned that this would further compound the volatile security conditions in Africa's most populous country.

The government's abrupt termination of the fuel subsidy on New Year's Day took Nigerians by surprise as they marked

Tracking down Africa's illicit arms

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The ability to trace small arms and light weapons (SALW) is an important step toward transparency and preventing the illicit use of firearms in conflict and crime, and 8 December 2011 marked the sixth anniversary of the adoption of the Inter national Tracing Instrument (ITI) by the United Nations General Assembly.

Although not legally binding, the ITI's adoption demonstrates an acknowledgem

South Africa's crime rate going down

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The findings of the 2011 Victims of Crime (VOC) sur- vey, which indicates perceptions of crime and is carried out by Statistics SA, support the police statistics that demon strate a decrease in South African crime levels. For example , the 2007 VOC survey found that 57% of households thought crime had increased in their areas over the previous four years while only 18% thought it had decreased.

Huge challenges ahead in Libya

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Despite the much-vaunted defeat of former president Muammar Gaddafi, the `new' Libya is still on very uncertain political and security terrain. It faces a daunting series of both immediate and longer-term challenges.

Although the war in Libya ended with the fall of Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, Gaddafi loyalists were not totally dislodged from the country. It is feared that pockets of resistan

26 FEBRUARY Presidential election, Senegal

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The incumbent president, Abdoulaye Wade, who has been in power since 2000, has vowed to run for a third term.
The Constitutional Court will rule before the end of January on whether his candidature is in line with the constitution.

Other candidates are the Socialist Party leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng, former prime ministers Moustapha Niasse, Idrissa Seck and Macky Sall, and international m

MARCH Presidential election, Egypt

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Following the ousting by popular protests of former president Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians are expected to elect a new leader in March.

It remains to be seen whether the leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, General Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, will want to stay on beyond the transition phase.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammed Al Baradai has meanwhile announced he will not be runn

APRIL 23 Presidential election, Mali

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

President Amadou Toumani Touré has announced he is stepping down in Mali after two five-year terms as presi dent, paving the way for any of a number of candidates to take over from him.

Among these are Soumaïla Cissé, current chair of ECOWAS; Dioncounda Traoré, president of the national assembly; MP Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta; and popular NASA scientist Cheikh Modibo Diarra, who has not yet decl

AUGUST SADC summit, Mozambique

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Southern African DevelThe opment Community will face a number of tough choices at the summit, presided over by Mozambican president Ar mando Guebuza.

Th e summit will have to decide on what to do about the increasing opposition to King Mswati II's rule in Swaziland and whether to accept the prevailing status quo in Madagascar.

It will also have to take a stand on elections in Zimbabwe

7 DECEMBER Presidential election, Ghana

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Incumbent president John Atta Mills will be facing the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in what promises to be a tight elections race.

Atta Mills has to contend with defections from his own party, notably by former president Jerry Rawlings, who has withdrawn his support for Atta-Mills.

Issues likely to be on the campaign agenda are the figh

DECEMBER Presidential election, Kenya

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Many Kenyans have mixed feelings about the upcoming elections. While there is fear of a repeat of the violence that followed the December 2007 poll, these elections will finally bring an end to the coalition that has often hampered effective govern ment in Kenya.

The current prime minister, Raila Odinga, is likely to face deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former ally William Ruto.

2012 Year of the (terrible economic) Dragon

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Following a year marked by significant global tipping points, the threat of recession looms large. Jakkie Cilliers warns that Africa is more vulnerable to the global economic crisis than ever before. The Chinese Year of the Dragon is set Tto be a difficult year for Africa, as Europe enters another recession, the US struggles to avoid the same and even the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia,

REDUCING THE GLOBAL IMBALANCE

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani, global commentator and chairman of Gallup Pakistan, says that if you want to understand your own country, you should view it in relation to the rest of the world.

`I believe we should take a global view of the world rather than a nation- or state-centric one. We tend to start with states and add them all up and then end up with the world.
My view is we should have o

A healthy, working continent

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The development of a malaria vaccine and other significant research breakthroughs gives Africa hope for the future. This could save millions of lives, writes Patrick G McLennan. In October 2011, GlaxoSmithKline and IPATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative announced a significant breakthrough in their attempts to find an effective vaccine against malaria. While vaccine research has been underway fo

POSITIVE OUTCOMES

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Data from phase three clinical trials of 15 000 children in seven African countries suggest that the RTS,S vaccine could cut the number of malaria cases by half. While these results are based on children aged 5-17 months, new results for infants aged 6-12 weeks will be released soon.

This vaccine is only the latest advance in a long line of initiatives geared towards reducing the inciden

DIVERSIFY OR STAGNATE

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

For a prosperous future, Africans shouldn't be lulled by the current commodities boom, argues André Roux. In May 2000, The Economist described Africa as `the hopeless continent'; in December 2011 the same publication emblazoned its cover with the words ` Africa rising'. Economic growth in Africa averaged more than 5% per annum in the first ten years of this century, more than double the rate r

GETTING SMART

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

With the number of smartphone users in Africa skyrocketing, Arthur Goldstuck predicts that Africans will invent unique applications adapted for their world. Nothing sums up the current and potential future impact of technology on Africa better than the continent's apparently insatiable appetite for connectivity.

Today it is still mainly about connecting human voices, but in the not-tood

Self-made consumers

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As the wealth of African countries increases, analysts are still struggling to define the emerging middle class, which does not necessarily correspond to preset definitions, writes Paul-Simon Handy. They may not be earning as much as their counterparts elsewhere but they consume, they aspire to a better life and they do everything they can to get their children through school.
This is Africa

NOT ALL GROWING AT THE SAME PACE

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Since the 1990s, continent-wide economic growth has seen a steady increase.
Among other characteristics, this can be attributed to growing investment and higher commodity prices. Surprisingly, it also comes in the face of more volatile global economic times.
Under this façade of continent-wide growth, however, are deep regional differences. Northern and Southern Africa continue to represen

Q&A

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Liesl Louw-Vaudran spoke to Mahboub Maalim, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD), about the challenges in Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and their surrounding border regions. QWHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF KENYA'S MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SOMALIA?
The incursion into Somalia was the result of serious problems that Kenya had been having with the Al Shabaab terrorists fo

ZANU-PF `Elections, come what may'

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party are insisting that elections should be held this year. The opposition says previous elections have shown what a dangerous undertaking this could be and first wants a new constitution. As the writing of a new constitution kicked off in December 2011, Gwinyayi Dzinesa believes this year is likely to see a referendum in Zimbabwe. But will it

A SMALL TEAM

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The constitution-drafting committee led by three principal drafters Justice Moses Chinhengo and constitutional experts Priscilla Madzonga and Brian Crozier has made significant strides in producing a draft before the January 2012 lapse of the 35-day deadline. The drafters are using a list of agreed constitutional issues drawn by COPAC from a national report of people's submissions.

The chi

A Chinese yuan for Zimbabwe?

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Zimbabwe's economy has seen major improvements since the introduction of the US dollar and important reforms by the unity government installed in 2009. But a lot still hangs in the balance, reports Barnabas Thondhlana from Harare. There is a palpably buoyant mood in Zimbabwe today, fuelled primarily by the fact that the economy has started to recover after a decadelong slump and the collapse of

DIAMONDS TO FINANCE DICTATORSHIP

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Zimbabwe stands to earn more than US$3bn a year from the three Marange mines, it is reported; enough to end its economic woes almost at a stroke.

But if the revenue from diamond sales fell exclusively into the hands of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF it could, critics argue, spell the return of a single-party dictatorship and end the present shaky power-sharing arrangement between Mugabe an

A new coat of paint for the Golf Republic

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

By Véronique Tadjo The swimming pool at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan has just reopened to the public, from 9am to 5pm each day. The water is clear and refreshing in this humid heat. Everything seems calm and peaceful. It reminds me of the time it seems so long ago now when I used to bring my children here to play in the water.

Yet this is where everything happened, where the fate of Côte

Corruption busters needed

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Where significant private sectors have remained, they are often under the threat of possible nationalisation or of simply not getting trading licences if they do not toe the line Most well-intentioned corruption-busting remedies implemented in Africa by Western powers, donors and multilateral organisations fail because the root causes of corruption on the continent are poorly understood.

Skeletons in the cupboard: the Dutch lead the way

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Netherlands seems to be leading a new crusade of taking moral responsibility for human rights violations perpetrated by its soldiers in its former colonies Peacekeeping is evolving in ways that are difficult to predict, as demonstrated by the current shift in ideas about the responsibility for human rights violations that occurred prior to or during the deployment of peacekeeping missions to

A big year for two giants

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Dianna Games takes a look at the year ahead for Africa and the challenges facing the continent's two major economies, Nigeria and South Africa. The New Year started in Nigeria with a bang. Just as the country was get ting over the Christmas bombing of a church by an Islamist group, killing dozens of people, the government caused rage by removing its longstanding subsidy on fuel.

A protract

Writing about the elusive Tsvangirai

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A new autobiography records the history of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the life of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Liesl Louw-Vaudran spoke to William Bango, co-author of the book. Icaught up with William Bango, former spokesman for Morgan Tsvangirai, in a nearly deserted restaurant in one of Harare's former leafy suburbs. Th are slowly picking up in Zimbabwe thank

How to write about Kenya

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

One day I will write about this place by Binyavanga Wainaina Granta 2011 Reviewer: Liesl LouwVaudran We've waited a long time for this book. The author of the well-known Granta article entitled `How to write about Africa' (2005) a hilariously damning piece about how outsiders tend to exoticise the African experience has now produced a finely tuned literary work that is funny, entertaining an

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

As the ANC celebrates 100 years of existence, more and more books on the organization's history are appearing on the shelves.

Heidi Holland's 100 Years s of Struggle Mandela's ANC has just been published by by Penguin books. Holland has has written numerous non-fiction ion books, including the acclaimed med Dinner with Mugabe.

Prof. Susan Booysen, well-we

African perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the new ICC Prosecutor

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM Cape Town May 2012 The election of the ICC`s new Prosecutor in December 2011 is a milestone for the court. This is undoubtedly one of the most important positions within the ICC and its most public. It comes as no surprise that Africa has followed the process closely and that expectations of the new Prosecutor are high. African states form one of the largest signatory b

Blue-light brigades

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Adriaan Basson, Finish & Klaar: Selebi's Fall from Interpol to the Underworld (Tafelberg 2010) Reviewed by William Gumede Adriaan Basson's Finish & Klaar: Selebi's Fall from Interpol to the Underworld shows just how `normal' corruption has become in South Africa. It is a chilling exposition of just how far the value distinction between right and wrong has blurred. Basson's book should serve as

THE POLITICS OF A HUSTLE ECONOMY

authour@pressmart.com (authour) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

by Tanya Pampalone It was a languid Monday afternoon in November when a local journalist took us through Kinshasa's diplomatic quarter alongside the Congo River.

Isaac pointed out the sites. There was the Grand Hotel, which charges upwards of US$250 a night, with local politicians and journalists milling about in its corridors while outside, election observers waited to hop into their ubi

TheAfricanOrg

Youssou N'dour for president?

DR JAKKIE CILLIERS

DR GWINYAYI A. DZINESA

DR VERONIQUE TADJO

ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK

What to do about the Dalai Lama?

Goodluck Jonathan's bad timing

Tracking down Africa's illicit arms

South Africa's crime rate going down

Huge challenges ahead in Libya

26 FEBRUARY Presidential election, Senegal

MARCH Presidential election, Egypt

APRIL 23 Presidential election, Mali

AUGUST SADC summit, Mozambique

7 DECEMBER Presidential election, Ghana

DECEMBER Presidential election, Kenya

2012 Year of the (terrible economic) Dragon

REDUCING THE GLOBAL IMBALANCE

A healthy, working continent

POSITIVE OUTCOMES

DIVERSIFY OR STAGNATE

GETTING SMART

Self-made consumers

NOT ALL GROWING AT THE SAME PACE

Q&A

ZANU-PF `Elections, come what may'

A SMALL TEAM

A Chinese yuan for Zimbabwe?

DIAMONDS TO FINANCE DICTATORSHIP

A new coat of paint for the Golf Republic

Corruption busters needed

Skeletons in the cupboard: the Dutch lead the way

A big year for two giants

Writing about the elusive Tsvangirai

How to write about Kenya

CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

African perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for the new ICC Prosecutor

Blue-light brigades

THE POLITICS OF A HUSTLE ECONOMY