SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Jun

20

2023

Gold fraud: the Goldenberg scam that cost Kenya billions of dollars in the 1990s – and no one was jailed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE Goldenberg scandal in the early 1990s is Kenya’s largest documented gold fraud. The scheme involved Goldenberg International Limited, which pretended to export gold and diamonds, and in exchange received substantial subsidies from the government for “earning” foreign exchange. Kenyan businessman Kamlesh Pattni – who was at the centre of the scandal and was charged with fraud but eventually acquitted – was recently named in a new investigation into gold fraud. This time his operation is allegedly being run through Zimbabwe from his base in Dubai. Economists Roman Grynberg and Fwasa Singogo, who have researched the Goldenberg case, and the…

Jun

09

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s power crisis will continue until 2025 – and blackouts will take 5 years to phase out

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa is in the middle of a severe electricity crisis, with enforced power cuts that have worsened every year. Electricity is sometimes unavailable for 10 hours a day. The shortfall is the consequence of frequent breakdowns at its ageing coal power plants, which constitute 74% of the country’s generating capacity. In theory, improving the performance and reliability of the existing coal plants would resolve the power crisis. This remedy is promoted in some quarters. But it’s easier said than done. To function satisfactorily, many of the plants would require a complete overhaul, which would be both time-consuming and prohibitively…

Jun

13

2023

By The African Mirror

China’s population grew older and richer: policy lessons for some African countries

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR decades China was the world’s most populous country. But that’s changed. Its population has peaked, and is now falling. The country has achieved high levels of economic growth for four decades, reducing poverty and raising per capita incomes. Between 1978 and 2018 China’s economy grew by an average of 9.8 per cent per annum. Today it is the second biggest economy in the world after the US. Author LAUREN JOHNSTON, Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs and Associate Professor at the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney China’s demographic profile has played a key role in its…

Jun

06

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s power blackouts: solutions lie in solar farms and battery storage at scale, and an end to state monopoly

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ROLLING blackouts are costing South Africa dearly. The electricity crisis is a barrier to growth, destroys investor confidence and handicaps almost every economic activity. It has raised input costs for producers and retailers and has triggered a new round of inflation and interest rate increases. Author DAVID RICHARD WALWYN, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria Any solution will obviously incur cost because it will require the adoption of new technologies, such as large-scale grid-connected solar farms that are linked to battery energy storage. But these technologies are expensive. A solar farm consisting of 50 MW of photovoltaic panels with…

May

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Being queer in Africa: the state of LGBTIQ+ rights across the continent

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS, LGBTQIA+

IN recent years several African countries have decriminalised same-sex relationships. But they’re not representative of the continent. In fact, queer rights at times appear to be eroding in much of the continent, with Kenya and Uganda most recently in the news for harsh laws and violence against members of the LGBTIQ+ community. We asked sociologist and queer studies scholar Zethu Matebeni five questions. Author ZETHU MATEBENI, South African Research Chair in Sexualities, Genders and Queer Studies, University of Fort Hare How would you describe the state of LGBTIQ+ rights? The state of LGBTIQ+ rights on the continent could be described…

May

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Arms-to-Russia row raises doubt about South Africa’s compliance with arms control. It could face tougher scrutiny in future

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE recent furore over accusations by the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, that South Africa was supplying arms to Russia despite its declared policy of non-alignment, has sparked a debate on whether the country’s arms control is lax, non-compliant and lacks oversight. The debate was further fuelled by the South African government’s reluctance to provide clear answers to questions about what Russia’s Lady R cargo ship came to deliver – or to pick up – from South Africa in December 2022. Author MOSES B. KHANYILE, Director: Centre for Military Studies, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University The general…

May

18

2023

By The African Mirror

Did South Africa sell arms to Russia? Only a series of unlikely scenarios could have made it possible

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ON 11 May 2023 the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, claimed that South Africa had secretly exported arms to Russia in December 2022. The announcement rapidly fed into a popular narrative that South Africa was increasingly siding with Russia in relation to Moscow’s aggressive war in Ukraine. Author GUY LAMB, Criminologist / Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University Brigety’s statements made both South African and international news headlines, including the Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Financial Times. He asserted that based on US intelligence reports, ammunition and/or arms were furtively loaded onto a Russian cargo vessel, the “Lady R”,…

May

15

2023

By The African Mirror

Zulu vs Xhosa: how colonialism used language to divide South Africa’s two biggest ethnic groups

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa has 12 official languages. The two most dominant are isiZulu and isiXhosa. While the Zulu and Xhosa people share a rich common history, they have also found themselves engaged in ethnic conflict and division, notably during urban wars between 1990 and 1994. A new book, Divided by the Word, examines this history – and how colonisers and African interpreters created the two distinct languages, entrenched by apartheid education. Historian Jochen S. Arndt answers some questions about his book. Author JOCHEN S. ARNDT, Associate Professor of History, Virginia Military Institute What is the key premise of the book? The…

May

11

2023

By The African Mirror

Farmers in South Africa face power cuts and a weak rand – but a number of factors are working in their favour too

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WINTER is an important season for South African agriculture, with some of its key field crops being produced during the cold months of June, July and August, and maturing after that, with harvesting in December. Preparation of the land for winter crops begins in April, which is also the same time harvesting of the summer crops begins. Author WANDILE SIHLOBO, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University Farmers in the Western and Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo and other winter crop growing regions are making arrangements for growing winter wheat, canola, barley and oats. All of the country’s wheat…

May

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Peace in the DRC: East Africa has deployed troops to combat M23 rebels – who’s who in the regional force

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE East Africa Community (EAC) has completed the deployment of its regional force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to oversee the withdrawal of the rebel group, M23, from the eastern part of the country. The last contingent was of South Sudanese soldiers who joined troops from Kenya, Burundi and Uganda. Author JENNA RUSSO, Researcher and lecturer, City University of New York Formed in 2012 as a splinter group of the armed militia National Congress for the Defence of the People, the M23 briefly occupied the city of Goma the same year. It was quickly routed by forces…