SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Seven down, one country to go for Nissan Daring Africa 2024

DARING Africa 2024, Nissan’s overland adventure across eight countries with four Nissan Navara pick-ups and an X-Trail SUV, has completed its Kenya leg, the expedition’s penultimate stop before transitioning to Egypt. “It has been an amazing journey so far,” says Nissan South Africa and Independent Markets Africa’ managing director, Maciej Klenkiewicz. “We set out to celebrate our African footprint and our 60-year-old light commercial vehicle (LCV) legacy on the continent through this incredible vehicle which, of course, was designed for Africa and is built in Africa by Africans. All that remains now is the final instalment of this odyssey, in…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Opel Unveils Stunning Next Generation Grandland SUV

MOTORING

Stylish and dynamic, spacious and versatile with a fully electrified drivetrain portfolio – this the new Opel Grandland that has been unveiled by the Rüsselsheim-based carmaker. The newcomer brings many design features first seen on the Opel Experimental concept car to life for the first time on a serial production model. These features include the 3D Vizor with illuminated Blitz logo proudly sitting at the centre and the permanently illuminated “OPEL” lettering at the rear. Further highlights include the Intelli-Lux Pixel HD lighting system with over 50,000 individual elements, plus the BEV-native STLA Medium platform and new flat battery packaging design which…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favouritism of Arab and Islamic identity

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE current civil war in Sudan goes beyond a simple power struggle between two generals. It reflects a deep-rooted crisis within the country’s governing structure that’s been present since it gained independence from the British in 1956. Since independence, the Sudanese have experienced 35 coups and attempted coups, more than any other African country. In the country’s southern region a 56-year rebellion eventually led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011. A Darfurian uprising in 2003 was sparked by accusations that the central government was discriminating against the region’s non-Arab population. It led to ethnic killings and continues to…

Apr

2024

By NITA BHALLA and LIN TAYLOR

UK’s Rwanda plan: Which other nations send asylum seekers abroad?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE British parliament has passed a divisive law to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promising that flights will take off by July, but legal hurdles could yet hold up or delay the policy. The "Safety of Rwanda" bill aims to cut immigration by deterring migrants from arriving without permission, but refugee rights groups say it criminalises genuine asylum seekers, and Britain's Supreme Court ruled last year that the East African nation was not a safe country to send people. Sunak has invested huge political capital in the Rwanda scheme, promising that it will stop tens of thousands of people arriving without…

Apr

2024

By MICHAEL HOLDEN

What is UK’s plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks after parliament passed much-delayed legislation to facilitate the deportation of those arriving in Britain without permission. Last November, the Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful but Sunak says the new law overrides any legal concerns and will thus fulfil his pledge to stop people arriving across the Channel in small boats. Here are details about the plan and the migration issue: WHY IS IMMIGRATION SUCH AN ISSUE IN BRITAIN? Taking back control of Britain's borders and ending the free movement of people into the…

Apr

2024

By SIBONOKUHLE NDLOVU

Academics with disabilities: South African universities need an overhaul to make them genuinely inclusive

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS, EDITORS CHOICE

VERY little research has been conducted about academics with disabilities working in South African universities. This means their stories, and the challenges they face in the daily demands of their jobs, are not often told. Sibonokuhle Ndlovu, who holds a PhD in education and lectures on the subject, explains what her study of academics with disabilities revealed. How many academics with disabilities are working in South Africa’s universities? We’re not sure. Statistics are hard to find, whether from individual institutions or the country’s education authorities. There’s also not been much research about academics with disabilities in the country. Government data…

Apr

2024

By SANDY AFRICA

South Africa’s security forces once brutally entrenched apartheid. It’s been a rocky road to reform

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ONE of the important tasks that faced South Africa’s democratic government after 1994 was to reform the apartheid-era security apparatus. The African National Congress (ANC), which was voted into power, had a laudable vision in the 1990s for reforming the police, military and intelligence services. Determined that South Africans would never again be subject to the brutality of the security forces, it ensured that the core principles it stood for were written into the country’s democratic constitution. Putting the vision and principles into practice, however, has not been easy, and fraught with setbacks. Over time, the abuse of power, a…

Apr

2024

By SAMUEL MEYERSON

Uganda’s fight against cattle raiders is dividing Karamoja communities

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda, a four-year outbreak of violent livestock raiding is finally subsiding – the result of a ruthless, informer-driven disarmament campaign by the army. But even as stability returns, divisions arising from class tensions, intergenerational friction, and animosities between raiders and government collaborators within communities may complicate future peace and reconciliation efforts. In 2022 and 2023, I spent over a year conducting oral history research in Kotido District, an area of northern Karamoja inhabited by the Jie, an ethnic group of 240,000 people. My research demonstrated that to properly address these deep intercommunal antagonisms, peace…

Apr

2024

By MARK SWILLING

South Africa’s electricity crisis: a series of failures over 30 years have left a dim legacy

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN 1994, apartheid ended and the African National Congress (ANC) won South Africa’s first-ever democratic elections, promising “Electricity for All” as part of its Reconstruction and Development Programme. Back then only 36% of all South Africans had electricity in their homes. The development programme promised to double that number by electrifying an additional 2.5 million homes by 2000. This seemed achievable – during the 1980s, the state-owned power utility Eskom’s build programme was so aggressive it had surplus electricity. Some power stations even had to be mothballed. By 1994, South Africa’s coal industry was generating high-quality coal which was exported…

Apr

2024

By HELEN ONYEAKA

How to end hunger in sub-Saharan Africa: fight inequality, gender imbalances and climate change

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

A greater part of Africa’s population can’t afford a healthy diet than any other regional population. Food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa is caused by climate change, high levels of poverty, rapid population growth, low economic growth, inadequate infrastructure and conflicts. Women are the backbone of agricultural labour in the region. The problems of limited access to land, water and technology faced by these women also worsen food insecurity. People have a right to food – to produce food, to be free from hunger, and to participate in policy decisions that affect food systems. The right to food is also recognised…