Africa News Update
Africa News Update offers news, background and feature articles from African sources twice weekly. The newsletter is free of charge and is edited by the Norwegian Council for Africa. Some of the articles may be shortened.
South Africa: The politics of the black middle class
Johannesburg (South Africa) - Before the 2009 general elections, political pundits predicted that a shift of black electoral support from the African National Congress (ANC) to Congress of the People (COPE) was inevitable. It was further pointed out that this shift was going to occur along class lines; we were told that the black middle class perceived COPE as the political party that could represent its class interest. Although COPE won about seven percent of the national vote in the 2009 elections, the internecine feud among its leaders has effectively made the party politically irrelevant. Read >
Tuesday, 05 February 2013
South African Civil Society Information Service (SACSIS), by Mandisi Majavu*
Kenya: Shock as UN holds back millions planned for elections
Nairobi (Kenya) - Kenya is inching closer to a financial crunch as it seeks funds to finance next month’s elections, with revelations the UN is holding back Ksh18 billion ($209.3 million) in reimbursements over Somalia incursion — money Nairobi had budgeted for the polls. Read >
Tuesday, 05 February 2013
The East African (Kenya), by Jaindi Kisero
Egypt: The hazardous roads and railways
Cairo (Egypt) - Transport Minister Hatem Abdelatif stunned the nation on 13 January when he revealed that road accidents kill as many as 10,000 people every year. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
West Africa: US establishes drone base in Niger to targets regional militia
Abuja (Nigeria) - The United States of America is planning to establish a drone base in Niger, a country sandwiched between Nigeria and Mali, two nations that have been under attack from Islamic militants. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
This Day (Nigeria)
Eritrea: Thousands of Eritreans in UK rally in support of army mutiny
London (UK) — Activists say that over 2,000 Eritreans including opposition politicians' held a demonstration in London on Tuesday seeking democratic change in one of the world's most politically repressive nations. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Sudan Tribune (France)
South Africa: Government is wide off the mark on Swaziland (opinion)
Swaziland is ruled by King Mswati III, one of the last absolute monarchs in the world. According to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's Richest Royals, Mswati is worth at least R670 million. There have been no democratic elections in the country of 1.2 million people since 1973 – political parties are banned and the King appoints the prime minister and cabinet. Unions are also banned, political prisoners languish in the jails, over 70% of Swazi citizens live below the poverty line, and life expectancy is a horrific 31 years. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
South African Civil Society Information Service (SACSIS), by Anna Majavu*
South Africa: Hundreds fired after farmworkers´strike
Cape Town (South Africa) - Hundreds of farmworkers in the De Doorns area have been fired after the end of the farmworkers strike in the area on 22 January. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Ground Up (South Africa), by Ben Fogel
South Africa: Billionaire Patrice Motsepe will give half of fortune to the poor
Johannesburg (South Africa) - South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe has announced he will give half the money generated by the Motsepe family's assets to assist poor South Africans. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Mail and Guardian (South Africa)
Nigeria: Pipeline vandalism still thriving despite pious pronouncement to stop trend
Abuja (Nigeria) - The continuous attacks on the nation's pipelines have become a matter of national threat, with government seemingly helpless in finding a lasting solution to the ugly trend which is costing the country the loss of billions of naira yearly. Read >
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Leadership (Nigeria), by Juliet Alohan