SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Feb

16

2023

Analysis: Tunisia arrests raise opposition fears of wider crackdown

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ANGUS MCDOWALL and TAREK AMARA COORDINATED arrests of political and media figures represent a new phase in Tunisian President Kais Saied's struggle with a fragmented but emboldened opposition, raising fears of a wider campaign to quell dissent. Since Saied shut down parliament 18 months ago, moving to rule by decree before rewriting the constitution, security forces had moved only sporadically against opponents who accuse him of an undemocratic coup. Saied has denied a coup, saying his actions were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos. He promised to uphold the rights and freedoms won in the 2011 revolution that…

Mar

12

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s power crisis: going off the grid works for the wealthy – but could deepen injustice for the poor

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa’s current electricity crisis has been described as “a perfect storm”. A number of factors have converged to reach this point: an ageing and inadequately maintained fleet of coal power stations, delays in upgrading the Koeberg nuclear power station and significant failures at the recently built Medupi and Kusile coal power stations. Authors CHRISTINA CULWICK FATTI, Senior researcher, urban sustainability transitions, environmental governance and resilience, Gauteng City-Region Observatory SAMKELISIWE KHANYILE, Researcher, Gauteng City-Region Observatory Since the beginning of 2022, power utility Eskom’s inability to meet the country’s electricity demand has resulted in unprecedented load-shedding (scheduled power cuts). In 2022,…

Feb

16

2023

By The African Mirror

South Sudan’s oil and water give it bargaining power – but will it benefit the people?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Sudan has long been one of east Africa’s most unstable states. But surging external interest in its resources and the diplomatic agility of its rulers are again underlining how pivotal the country remains to regional energy and water politics. Much of Africa has spent 2022 facing sharp increases in the costs of energy and food driven by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the strengthening of the US dollar. Authors HARRY VERHOEVEN, Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University FRANCOIS SENNESAEL, DPhil Candidate, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford For states that have…

Feb

14

2023

By The African Mirror

Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THIS year marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through “the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg” on 18 December 1923. A century on, up to 94% of South Africans over the age of 15 confirmed in a recent survey that they owned a radio set in one form or other. Author SISANDA NKOALA, Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology Radio remains firmly in place as the country’s most loved medium. Millions tune in daily to 40 commercial and public broadcast stations and over 250 community stations. Although other forms, like television, have…

Feb

04

2023

By The African Mirror

Explainer: Why has peace eluded South Sudan?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

AARON ROSS AMONG the more ambitious hopes for Pope Francis' visit to South Sudan, this week is that it will give a jolt to a peace process aimed at ending a decade of conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and opposition forces that back First Vice President Riek Machar signed a deal in 2018 that committed the two sides to share power and forming a unified national military. But implementation of that agreement has been slow and violence between rival communities has continued to flare up. Here are details about…

Feb

01

2023

By The African Mirror

The Badoo ritual gang created fear in Lagos: here’s what made victims vulnerable

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

VIOLENT cult gangs are well known in Nigeria. Though there are no statistics on their numbers and impact, Lagos State in southwest Nigeria has more than 10 of these groups controlling different areas. They operate in neighbourhoods and their memberships cut across age groups. They control certain territories as their own, extorting money from businesses and residents. Author OLUDAYO TADE, Communication/Security Consultant, Sociologist/Criminologist/Victimologist and Facilitator, University of Ibadan But the Badoo cult gang that operated in the Ikorodu area of the state between 2016 and 2018 was different. It was a violent ritual gang. The capture of its leader and…

Jan

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Southern Africa calls the tune as great power suitors queue up

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TIM COCKS and CARIEN DUPLESSIS SOUTH Africa and its neighbours were at the centre of a tussle for influence this week when top Russian and U.S. officials visited, offering a rare moment of leverage for governments on a continent more used to being buffeted by events than wooed. With a war in Europe pitting invading Russian forces against Ukraine's army supplied with Western arms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were both on the hunt for broader international support. For the countries of southern Africa, which maintain strong ideological and historical sympathies for Russia but…

Jan

28

2023

By The African Mirror

Non-racial South Africa: book shows debate on nation building is still relevant today

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THERE has been much comment recently on the lack of representation of minorities in the leadership structures of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC). For Douglas Gibson, a former leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), the exclusively black composition of the ANC’s top leadership shows that the ANC is no longer committed to building one nation. He believes the ANC is clearly not a home for all. Look at its MPs, ministers, MECs, councillors, and mayors … The leadership has place only for black South Africans. For Gibson, the baton has been passed on to the…

Jan

20

2023

By The African Mirror

Al-Shabaab is just a symptom of Somalia’s tragedy – the causes are still in place

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR at least 14 years now, the militant group Al-Shabaab has terrorised the southern region of Somalia. Its ambition is to impose a tyrannical dictatorship over the entire country through fear and brutality. To achieve its aims, it has sought to oust the Somali government and its foreign military allies. I have been a student of Somali political economy for over three decades. I predicted the collapse of the Somali state and political order 33 years ago. That analysis foretold the miserable conditions Somalis have endured since. The political and humanitarian catastrophe predates the terrorist group’s rise – thus, Al-Shabaab…

Jan

12

2023

By The African Mirror

People of colour: there’s a bias in how pictures are used to depict disease in global health publications

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

PHOTOGRAPHY is a powerful tool in storytelling and scientific communication. But it can also cause harm when used unethically. We started to realise how photographs can send the wrong message when we were approached, as a group of infectious disease specialists, to develop a presentation on resistance to antibiotics. Our audience was a clinical group in east Africa. Authors ESMITA CHARANI, Honorary Associate Professor, University of Cape Town MARC MENDELSON, Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Cape Town The global health organisation that asked us to do this wanted to use its own branding on our teaching slides. But when…