THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Sep

11

2025

Africa’s youth renaissance: The time for bold action is now

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

STANDING before delegates from across Africa at the Industrial Skills Week for Africa conference in Lusaka, I was struck by a profound realisation: we are witnesses to history in the making. Africa stands at the threshold of its greatest opportunity, yet we risk squandering it if we fail to act with the urgency this moment demands. More than 80 percent of Zambia's population is under 35. Across our continent, we are the youngest in the world. This is not merely a statistic - it is our defining characteristic, our greatest asset, and our most pressing challenge rolled into one. The…

Sep

10

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

A Disgraceful Waste: Zambian President Hichilema’s vindictive legal battle over Lungu’s burial

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE President of Zambia's relentless legal crusade to force the burial of former President Edgar Lungu in Zambia represents nothing short of a reckless and disgraceful waste of millions in public funds. This costly court action in South Africa is not merely an egregious abuse of state power - it is a calculated assault on the dignity and fundamental rights of a deceased individual and his grieving family. The family of the late Edgar Lungu possesses the sole and indisputable right to decide where their loved one should be laid to rest. Their decision to honour his final wishes and…

Sep

09

2025

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

BRICS countries must “pivot from crisis management to strategic action, from emergency fixes to collective growth and development”

BRICS NEWS, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WE are witnessing seismic shifts in global trade that present both challenges and opportunities in the re-ordering of the global economy. There is a shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world. This moment is marked by intensifying global competition and growing geopolitical tensions. Unilateral tariff actions are contributing to an increasingly protectionist environment, which poses great hardships and danger for the countries of the Global South. The uncertainty of the new trading regime has already negatively affected employment levels in my own country, South Africa, and is an obstacle to our economic growth. We are therefore supportive of meaningful…

Sep

09

2025

By CLAVER GATETE

Africa’s agricultural paradox: From breadbasket potential to food import reality

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AFRICA stands at a crossroads that defines not just our agricultural future, but our very destiny as a continent. We possess over 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, abundant water resources, and the youngest population on Earth. Yet in 2024, we imported food worth $115 billion while our own people go hungry. This is not just a policy failure—it's a moral crisis that demands immediate action. The Paradox That Shames Us All How can a continent destined to be the world's breadbasket remain unable to feed its own children? We have the land, the water, the sun, and the…

Sep

06

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

Justice cannot wait for a Madlanga Commission: Masemola, not Cachalia, is the Police Commissioner

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

South Africans deserve clarity, and operational police work is not, and must never be, subject to political whims. Yet Acting Minister Firoz Cachalia seems determined to wrongly insert himself into matters that are none of his business. His recent public criticism of Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola's decision to return the infamous 121 dockets to the Task Team is a dangerous precedent that strikes at the heart of police independence. Masemola did what any responsible police commissioner should: he restored the dockets to the unit charged with investigating them properly. These files were previously misappropriated by suspended Police Minister Senzo…

Sep

05

2025

By TEMITAYO ISAAC ODEYEMI

60% of Africans don’t believe democracy is working in their interests – how parliaments can fix the problem

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ACROSS Africa, democracy is being tested by rising authoritarianism and military coups as well as a growing disconnect between citizens and the institutions meant to represent them. The latest flagship report from Afrobarometer, a pan African research network, delivers a powerful warning. Citizen Engagement, Citizen Power, released in July 2025, reports that over 60% of Africans are dissatisfied with how democracy works in their countries. Support for democracy remains high, but belief in its effectiveness is fading, especially when citizens feel excluded from meaningful participation in decisions that affect them. Put simply, the crisis of participation results from people being…

Sep

04

2025

By KRISTOF TITECA

DRC’s latest peace deal is breaking down and it isn’t the first – what’s being done wrong

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A series of peace initiatives since 2021 have sought to address the escalation of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following a renewed offensive from the M23 rebel group. The origins of this crisis go back to the First Congo War in 1996. Since then, the intensity of conflict in eastern DRC has ebbed and surged. The current M23 offensive represents one of its most violent phases. Over nearly three decades, numerous peace efforts have been undertaken, yet neither local, regional, nor international interventions have succeeded in bringing lasting stability. Crucially, they have failed to tackle the broader…

Sep

03

2025

By Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina

“In the last 10 years I had no life. I was always thinking Africa, dreaming for Africa, inspiring Africa and delivering for Africa”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I AM grateful to God that I was created and born as an African. I will always work to advance Africa's interests and expand possibilities and opportunities for our continent. I will live as an African. I will die as an African. And on the resurrection day, if it is possible, I hope God will let me come back as an African. I dreamed that one day I would have the opportunity to serve the continent. That opportunity came on May 28, 2015, when I was elected President of the African Development Bank Group right in this hall. From the…

Sep

02

2025

By JOHN AERNI-FLESSNER

Lesotho’s historian ‘Burns’ Machobane told the country’s story – and helped build it after colonialism

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

LAST year, Lesotho celebrated 200 years since the founding of the nation by Moshoeshoe I. This year the small country in southern Africa will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence from colonial Britain. As it does so, the number of Basotho people who personally saw colonialism end is rapidly diminishing. Even smaller is the number of people who can claim to have built the institutions that mark post-colonial Lesotho, and post-colonial Africa more broadly. Professor Lehlohonolo Burns Banda Jiane Machobane, who died on 9 August 2025, was one such person. Lesotho (green) is surrounded by South Africa. TapticInfo/Wiki…

Sep

01

2025

By MANU LEKUNZE

Cameroon’s election risks instability, no matter who wins

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CAMEROONIANS will vote in presidential elections on 12 October 2025. The incumbent, Paul Biya, who has been in office for nearly 43 years, will be a candidate. In 2025, as in the last election in 2018, and in all presidential elections since 1992, it is reasonable to expect that the ruling party will win. And opposition parties will want to protest. If Biya wins, by the end of the new term in 2032, he will have been in power for half a century. It will be a feat no other executive head of state has ever achieved in modern history.…