ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: 'We Need Interventions'

The markets will be hanging on Trevor Manuel's every word when South Africa's minister of finance delivers his thirteenth Budget Speech on February 11. Expectation is even greater among poor communities, the unemployed and workers as the world's longest serving finance minister signals his government's economic plans in the face of the global economic crisis.


Q&A: ‘An Opportunity to Do Things Differently’

As Zimbabwe's government of national unity begins its work, gender activists are pushing for a greater place for women in decision-making.

POVERTY: Cash Transfers Transform Lives of Malawi’s Poor

Malawi has taken major strides towards reducing poverty and hunger in the country. Government’s cash transfer scheme has managed to reach many of those usually unable to access grants due to lengthy and complicated bureaucratic processes and assessments.

ZIMBABWE-POLITICS: Thou Shalt Not Give Up Your Right…

Among the vital tasks spelled out in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that frames Zimbabwe's power-sharing government is the drafting of a new constitution. Even before the process begins, it is under challenge from Zimbabwean civil society.

ZAMBIA-POLITICS: Grumbling Over Constitutional Review

Two years into its work, the Zambia's National Constitutional Conference (NCC) is finding it difficult to get wide public acceptance.

MEDIA-SOUTH AFRICA: Battle Over Future of Public Broadcaster

A powerful coalition of civic organisations is calling for a complete overhaul of the legal framework of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to force it to fulfil its public broadcasting mandate.

Q&A: ‘Development Must Adapt to Water Resources We Have’

Environmental experts warn that one of the first effects of climate change will be scarcity of water, especially throughout the African continent. Already depleted water resources will become even more scarce.

EDUCATION-ZAMBIA: Communities Doing it For Themselves

"My mother has no job and she cannot afford the cost of educating me and my sister at the government school," says 12-year-old Muyunda Nyamba. But the little boy is one of 37,000 children from Zambia's poorest neighbourhoods beginning the new school year calendar at community-run schools.

POLITICS-MADAGASCAR: Scores Dead in Political Violence

"The capital has never known such stillness," Marie Ratonvonirina said of the one-day stayaway declared by the mayor of Antannanarivo, Andry Rajoelina, on Jan. 29.

ZIMBABWE: Teachers' Strike Infringes Children’s Right to Education

The crisis of Zimbabwe’s education sector is deepening by the day, as the country’s schools remain closed due to the unremitting teachers strike.

ZIMBABWE: MDC Bites the Bullet

The spirits of a nation were lifted when Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main section of the Movement for Democratic Change declared that his party would enter a unity government under terms negotiated at a special regional summit.

SWAZILAND: Simple Solution – Save Rainwater

It's so early, the frogs are still croaking, as women push forward holding firmly onto their buckets while dodging cattle that are also scrambling for water in the pond at Gebeni. It has rained only a few times since the wet season began in October, and competition for water begins as early as 5:00 am.

MAURITIUS-RIGHTS: Sceptical Welcome for Equality Law

Nobody shall suffer prejudice in his social life or his place of work because of his or her ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, political conviction or physical handicap. This is the challenge of Mauritius's new Equal Opportunities Act (EOA).

SWAZILAND: Free Education? Maybe Next Year…

Although the Swazi constitution stipulates free primary education from 2009, parents will have to pay school fees this year. Only three days before the start of the January term, the country's government announced it will continue to charge for primary education, contrary to the law.

ZIMBABWE: Unity Govt or Not, People Must Mobilise

Following an extraordinary Summit of SADC heads of state in Pretoria on Jan. 26-27, it was announced that a unity government is to be formed in Zimbabwe, apparently resolving months of disagreement following a power-sharing agreement in September 2008.

RIGHTS-ZAMBIA: Vulnerable Children Must Fend For Themselves

There will be as many as one and a half million orphaned children in Zambia by 2010. Deprived of adult guardians by the AIDS pandemic, many of these children will end up living in the streets of the country's major towns and cities.

ZIMBABWE: Government Scheme to Access Forex Blocks Small Business

The ZANU-PF government’s efforts to gain access to foreign exchange (also known as forex) by imposing an expensive licensing system on Zimbabwean enterprises, enforced with the threat of prosecution, is undermining one of the last remaining means of survival in the collapsing country.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Little Hope at SADC Summit

After a 12-hour meeting behind closed doors, Southern African Development Community leaders emerged early on Jan. 27 to announce that bitter political rivals Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai will form a unity government.

ZIMBABWE: ‘‘Dollarisation’’ of Economy Hitting Poor Hard

The collapse of the Zimbabwean economy has led to the ‘‘dollarisation’’ of the economy – and even to what some, who have still maintained some sense of tragicomedy, call the ‘‘petrolisation’’ of the economy because of the re-emergence of barter trade.

Q&A: Zimbabwe – Fighting Cholera on a Shoestring

Nearly 50,000 cases of cholera have been reported in Zimbabwe by the World Health Organisation; the death toll stood at 2,755 on Jan. 21.

Q&A: Unlocking the Power of Constitutional Rights

South Africa's constitution is often celebrated for its protection of social and economic rights; but how readily can this protection be invoked by the most vulnerable?