SADC’s credibility is at stake. Its lack of political will in acting decisively against despots is at odds with the African Union’s goal of promoting legitimate governance on the continent.
The Global Trends report provides a useful starting point to reflect on what’s in store for Africa over the next five years. And how the continent should think about responding to its challenges.
The main sticking point in the failed efforts at peace is the demand by Renamo that it be allowed to appoint provincial governors in the provinces where it claims to have won an electoral majority.
Representatives of Namibian communities affected by the 1904-1908 genocide have filed a class action against Germany in the US seeking reparations for atrocities committed by Imperial Germany
South Africa’s end of term report at the helm of the Open Government Partnership shows that it failed to meet key targets it set for itself. But it also shows improvements in some areas.
South Africa’s decision to leave the ICC suggests that its foreign policy is caught in a dilemma between lofty ideas, an unsettled identity crisis, and shifting priorities in a complex world.
The legitimacy and credibility of those in power has been eroded by bad governance, patronage and the obsession to claim an exclusive agency representing the people.
Cyril Ramaphosa is in pole position to become president of South Africa’s ruling ANC, 20 years after he lost the position by Thabo Mbeki. But, it won’t be easy. Neither will rebuilding the party.
After two decades of political dominance, the electoral performance of the ANC is at its lowest since it became the governing party of South Africa in 1994. But is the party really unraveling?
Far from the limelight, South Africa’s public protector has been instrumental in assisting individuals who grapple with unfair treatment from government departments and other public institutions.
Donald Trump’s disregard for Africa and African affairs is worrying. But it also presents a unique opportunity for progressive black leadership to shape US foreign policy.
Besides worries that Donald Trump might not make Africa a priority of his presidency, his temperament and views bode ill for democracy on the continent.
The fallout at the meeting of South Africa’s governing ANC clearly exposed how the party’s factionalism has spilled over into government. This is likely to paralyse governance even further.
There are early signs of the emergence of a third force for good in South Africa in the likes of the Save SA movement and Socio-Economic Future of South Africa convened by the Archbishop of Cape Town.
Despite the noble goals of the new South Africa and its ideals of racial harmony, racial tensions remain a major problem in the country. Prejudice and bigotry persists even in universities.
South Africa’s problem is that its constitution is a perfect brochure of the nation it aspires to be. But the contractors entrusted with its future have an entirely different project in mind.
Yarik Turianskyi is Manager of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs and guest lecturer in African Governance and Eastern European Politics, University of Pretoria