POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Campaign Financing in the Spotlight

Mention disputes over party funding, and the image that might first come to mind is that of Republicans and Democrats in the United States, trading allegations about reliance on special interest groups. However, the matter has also sparked controversy in South Africa recently, as the country prepares for its third democratic election.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Casts Shadow on Upcoming Election

As the countdown to South Africa’s Apr. 14 general elections entered its final week, researchers warned that the AIDS pandemic could undermine efforts to entrench democracy in the country.

POLITICS-MALAWI: A Blow to UDF Ambitions for Further Victory at the Polls

As Malawi's general elections draw closer, deepening national poverty is haunting efforts by the ruling United Democratic Front to remain in power.

POLITICS-SWAZILAND: Uneasy Donors Stay Put – For the Time Being

The sacks of maize that are keeping Mbali Mthembu's family alive bear the stamp "United States of America". The 25- year-old mother of three collects her monthly food stipend from a distribution point near the village of Siphofaneni in Swaziland's eastern Lubombo region, which has been hard hit by three years of drought.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Instead of Targeting Sex Workers, Police Harass All Women

It is retold so often that the account of how an embarrassed government minister rescued a female relative, who had been caught in a police sex worker crackdown he sanctioned, has become something of an urban legend.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Addressing Apartheid’s Legacy of Homelessness

Of all the achievements chalked up by South Africa's ruling African National Congress over the past 10 years, none seems to match its gains in providing housing for the poor.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Clerics Join Forces Against Hunger and Violence

"Deliver us from evil", a simple prayer from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament – yet one that resonated powerfully in Zimbabwe this weekend.

HEALTH-SWAZILAND: A Positive Spin-off From the AIDS Crisis

It may be a dim silver lining to a particularly dark cloud, but one apparent result of the AIDS pandemic in Swaziland is that fewer people in the country are smoking.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Land and Jobs Still Scarce for Blacks

As a group of visiting academics discovered, it takes just a quick trip to Soweto - a sprawling black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg - to be confronted with the problems that still plague South Africa, 10 years after the advent of democracy.

RIGHTS: Zimbabwe and the World Bank Under Scrutiny at CIVICUS

Human rights activists from Zimbabwe have called on African leaders to condemn what they describe as ongoing human rights violations in their country. This came during the biennial meeting of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), which ended Thursday (Mar. 25).

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Examining a Decade of Democracy

Academics and political analysts from around the world have gathered in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, for a conference on the achievements of the first decade of democracy in the country.

HEALTH-MALAWI: Drug Theft Poses Threat to Battle Against TB

Malawi joined other countries Wednesday in commemorating World TB Day - this to draw attention to a disease that claimed two million lives last year, according to the World Health Organisation. However, the efforts of Malawian officials to curb tuberculosis are being dogged by the theft of TB drugs from state hospitals.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Polarised, Muddy Election Campaign

As the date of South Africa's general election grows closer, the gloves are coming off in campaigning amongst political parties - even though the outcome of the poll is expected to hold few surprises.

RIGHTS: Civic Groups Want a Bigger Voice in SADC

Delegates to the biennial conference of the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) have called on the Southern African Development Community to become more responsive to the concerns of civil society.

RIGHTS: Relocation of San an Immediate Talking Point at CIVICUS Conference

The World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) has begun its biennial World Assembly with strong words from Botswana President Festus Mogae about the relocation of members of his country's San community. The assembly is being held in Botswana's capital, Gaborone.

ENERGY-SOUTHERN AFRICA: The Challenges of Getting Malawi Wired

It's a tale of delays, missed deadlines and the grinding problems that can dog large-scale infrastructure projects. Work to connect electricity lines between Malawi and neighbouring Mozambique was scheduled to have been completed by 2002. The deadline has now been shifted to 2005, however - and officials aren't ruling out 2006.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Former President Looks Back

"For many black South Africans very little has changed: the same people still own the big houses, they still hold down the best jobs, they still drive the fancy cars that speed - unseeing - past the black informal settlements that line our first-world highways," says F.W. de Klerk, the country’s last apartheid-era president.

ECONOMY-ZIMBABWE: Tussle Over Coal Prices Threatens Crucial Tobacco Sales

Hopes that Zimbabwe's enfeebled economy will benefit from tobacco sales have been thrown into doubt because of a shortage of coal, needed to cure the tobacco. With the sector already reeling under the controversial land reform programme, this could have severe implications for the import of food and other essential items.

ECONOMY-SWAZILAND: Loosening the Reins on Mineral Resources

The exploitation of Swazi mineral resources has long been a sensitive area of debate, as the colonial era saw a considerable portion of these resources being depleted by foreigners. However, the overtures of a South African businessman might be about to change all that.

HEALTH-ZAMBIA: Anger at Move to Declare Schools Condom-Free Zones

One step forward, three steps backwards: that's how various AIDS activists, parents and teachers in Zambia are describing government's decision to ban the distribution of condoms in schools on the grounds that it promotes promiscuity.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Dogs of War to Nip at Heels of Continental Parliament

When the new Pan-African Parliament is inaugurated in Ethiopia next week, it will confront a host of challenging issues - not least the role of mercenaries in Africa.