SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Dec

17

2024

South Africa’s low-cost housing model is broken – study suggests how to fix it

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE backlog of subsidised public housing in South Africa is estimated at 2.4 million. In this interview, Hlengiwe Maila, a research fellow at the School of Public Management and Administration at the University of Pretoria, answers questions posed by associate professor Adrino Mazenda about possible solutions. Maila’s PhD thesis, which was jointly supervised by Mazenda and Professor Lianne Malan, focused on developing a new model for the South African housing sector. What’s the current system and what’s wrong with it? Currently, public housing is built on the basis of contracts issued by the government. But the model is failing. First,…

Dec

14

2024

By ZUNAIDA MOOSA WADIWALA

Historic climate change advisory: what the case before the International Court of Justice might mean

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, held hearings in mid-December 2024 on the legal obligations that governments have under international law to protect the environment and limit climate change. It’s the biggest case the court has ever heard. The court is expected to hand down a legal advisory opinion in 2025. This will shape international climate law and governance. Climate law specialist Zunaida Moosa Wadiwala explains. What triggered this case? This climate change case started in 2021 when a group of law students lobbied the government of Vanuatu, a tiny South Pacific island nation threatened by rising…

Dec

13

2024

By OSCAR GAKUO MWANGI

Kenya has moved people out of the country illegally: what the law says about extraordinary rendition

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

KENYA has been accused by various non-state and state actors of supporting extraordinary rendition, which refers to the secret transfer of people from one country to another without due process of law and against their will. The most recent case of extraordinary rendition was the removal of Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye in November 2024 from Kenya to a military jail in Uganda. Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, who studies regional security and governance, explains. What is extraordinary rendition? Extraordinary rendition refers to the illegal transfer of a detainee to the custody of a foreign government for purposes of detention and interrogation.…

Dec

11

2024

By MOHAMED MUSTAFA

How Sudan’s mutual aid groups are supporting out of school children

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Mohamed Mustafa COMMUNITY groups and mutual aid networks in war-hit parts of Sudan have set up learning centres and safe spaces for children amid almost two years of disrupted schooling and because of continued inadequate support from international humanitarian agencies. But members of the groups said they need more resources to expand their operations, ensure that children aren’t turning up to classes hungry, and recruit and properly support teachers and volunteers who are themselves impacted by the conflict. “We try to shield the children as much as we can, but the…

Dec

10

2024

By ZAINONISA PETERSEN; BENITA MOOLMAN; and NOMPUMELELO ZUNGU

Rape is still rape even if you’re married – report finds some South African men don’t believe it is

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SEXUAL violence, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), includes any sexual act or attempt to obtain sex through coercion, regardless of the relationship between the parties. This encompasses rape, unwanted sexual touching, and non-contact forms of sexual violence. One of the factors that differentiates healthy intimate partner sex from violent sexual encounters is consent: the voluntary, ongoing agreement to engage in sexual activity. It is essential in every sexual act, regardless of relationship status or prior interactions. And it can be withdrawn at any time. Yet, deeply rooted cultural and societal beliefs continue to shape how consent is…

Dec

07

2024

By THOMAS PREHI BOTCHWAY

Ghana elections: religion and ethnicity are key to voters – and political leaders know it

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SINCE Ghana returned to democracy in 1992, the country has held nine consecutive elections In all these elections ethnicity and religion have played a role, even though the country’s constitution bars the explicit use of social identities in party politics. For the first time in over three decades, the 2024 elections had two politicians from different religions leading the biggest parties. One a Muslim, Mahamudu Bawumia, and another a Christian, John Mahama. Bawumia, the current vice president, leads the incumbent New Patriotic Party while Mahama, himself a former president, leads the National Democratic Congress. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo…

Dec

06

2024

By OBI ANYADIKE

African-led peacekeeping fills a UN-sized hole

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS, EDITORS CHOICE

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Obi Anyadike IN 2011, Ugandan and Burundian troops of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) fought for control of a shattered Mogadishu in bloody house-to-house combat against determined jihadist militants that lasted for almost a year. It was grinding urban warfare. In one month alone, more than 50 African Union troops were killed – as were an unknown number of civilians. It wasn’t until October 2011 that AMISOM finally overran al-Shabab’s last strongholds in the north of the city. (See The New Humanitarian’s film Soldiers’ Stories, which followed Ugandan troops during the so-called "Battle for Mogadishu”.) This…

Dec

05

2024

By MAYA GOLDMAN; BRYNDE KREFT; KATE ORKIN; and NTUTHUKO HLELA

South Africa’s poverty relief grant should be increased rather than paid to be more people – economists explain why

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa’s unemployment rate stands at a staggering 33.5%, one of the highest in the world. Coupled with an alarming poverty rate – where more than half of the population lives on less than R1,558 (about US$88) a month – the socioeconomic landscape is dire. The country’s social assistance system has been a critical tool in the fight against poverty and unemployment. In fact, South Africa has one of the largest cash transfer programmes in Africa. More than 19 million grants are paid out every month. These are the Care Dependency Grant, Child Support Grant, Disability Grant, Foster Child Grant,…

Dec

04

2024

By STIG JARLE HANSEN

Will al-Shabaab get stronger in Ethiopia? Two reasons why it’s unlikely – analyst

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THERE have been numerous reports of arrests of al-Shabaab insurgents, the dismantling of an al-Shabaab terrorist network and the interception of arms in Ethiopia in 2024. Reports have also suggested that al-Shabaab is seeking to establish “an active combat presence” in the Bale mountains. These reports have led to mounting fears that the terror group could seek to establish a presence in Ethiopia, as it has in Kenya. The Somali jihadist group is active in Kenya. It targets civilians, security officers and telecommunication infrastructure. Its 2011 kidnapping of a Frenchwoman contributed to Kenya’s invasion of Somalia. The subsequent hostilities led…

Dec

03

2024

By FELIX AJIOLA

Lagos street hawkers are blamed for crimes in traffic – but gangs are the real problem

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TRAFFIC in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, is congested and chaotic. About 1.8 million vehicles used Lagos roads in 2022. The city has 226 vehicles per kilometre. The global average is 11 cars per km and the Nigerian national average is 16. Congestion isn’t the only problem, though. Another is the risk of being a victim of crime in the traffic. Statistics are hard to come by, but the mainstream media regularly report stories about Lagos residents being robbed or even losing their lives in attacks by criminal gangs on the roads. The population of Lagos is estimated to be nearly…