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/ 22 September 2006
A vindication, a temporary reprieve, an affirmation of South Africa’s justice system, an indictment of the National Prosecuting Authority: the interpretations of Wednesday’s dismissal of corruption charges against former deputy president Jacob Zuma are many, and varied.
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/ 18 September 2006
There were 18 in Africa 35 years ago. There are 34 now — which begs the question: are policies to thin the ranks of the almost three dozen least developed countries (LDCs) on the continent even somewhat effective? To date, only one African state has managed to leave behind its LDC status: diamond-rich Botswana, in 1994.
A call has been made for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to involve civil society in its decision-making process — in deed, as well as in word. This came ahead of the annual SADC summit for heads of state and government that gets under way on Thursday in Lesotho’s capital, Maseru.
No less than a quarter of annual development aid — about -billion — is being used by donor countries to fund technical assistance of sometimes dubious worth, says ActionAid International in a new report. The study, titled Real Aid 2, was launched on Wednesday by the Johannesburg-based NGO.
Recent moves by the Zimbabwean government to allow white farmers whose land was confiscated to resume farming have drawn a variety of responses. "They killed people; they threw them out of their farms, they destroyed the economy. Now they want us to rescue them," says Gerry Whitehead, whose land was seized in 2002.
A former director of the United Nations Commission on HIV/Aids and Governance in Africa has painted a gloomy picture of efforts to bring the pandemic under control across the continent. ”There is absolutely nothing optimistic about HIV in Africa, 25 years after the virus was discovered,” said Nana Poku.
For generations, African farmers have relied on local knowledge to manage and conserve water. Whether this knowledge should be recognised and promoted by the government is a matter of some debate in the Southern African region, however. The issue is also in the spotlight on Wednesday, which marks World Water Day.
With more than five million of its 47-million citizens HIV-positive, South Africa currently has more people living with HIV/Aids than any other country. This brings with it a heavy burden as concerns providing anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to those in need. More than 500 000 South Africans require ARVs.
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/ 16 January 2006
Political tensions in Swaziland are on the rise following the arrest of 15 pro-democracy campaigners in recent weeks over petrol-bomb attacks that were made on courthouses and the homes of various officials last year. The activists belong to the banned People’s United Democratic Movement.
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/ 11 January 2006
The African leg of the World Social Forum kicks off next week in the Malian capital, Bamako, with a host of issues on the agenda: war and militarism, global trade and debt, to name just a few. The conference website where these topics are listed makes no direct mention of Aids, however, or the need for good governance in African states.