THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

May

22

2025

The end of aid: What The Global South needs to do

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Themrise Khan IF the Global South today feels it is reacting to the current aid debacle rather than driving the response to it, that is as much of their own making as it is of the more powerful Global North. Recipient nations have been made to believe they are unable to function without external support, and it is a line they bought unequivocally as long as the money flowed in. This learned dependence is why we need to push for the end of foreign aid. Not a reset. Not a reimagining.…

May

21

2025

By ABBEY MAKOE

A Beacon of Hope: My day at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I never expected to be moved to tears by a foundation visit, but that's exactly what happened when I stepped through the doors of the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) in Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa. The moment I arrived, I witnessed something extraordinary: young faces from Forte Secondary School in Soweto and Westbury Secondary School lighting up with possibility as they experienced technologies many had never seen before. Gugu Motlanthe, the foundation's Executive Trustee and wife of former President Kgalema Motlanthe, greeted me warmly. "What drives us," she told me, her eyes reflecting both determination and compassion, "is bridging the educational…

May

19

2025

By OLUWASEYI OMOWUNMI POPOGBE

Lagos slum evictions don’t work: 6 ways city planners can actually help the poor

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MILLIONS of people in Lagos live in slums. Slums typically have poor housing infrastructure and sanitation, and limited access to education, health facilities and clean drinking water. These challenges make the people who live in slums vulnerable to health crises, high illiteracy rates and poor standards of living. A central element of the city authorities’ efforts to address the issue has been to evict people. Over the past decade, more than 50,000 people have been evicted from their homes in Lagos slums. As a development economist who has carried out studies on urban poverty in Lagos State and the social…

May

17

2025

By LAURA BERLINGOZZI and MARTA CAVALLARO

Can dialogue with jihadist groups bring peace to the Sahel?

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Laura Berlingozzi and Marta Cavallaro INTERNATIONAL diplomacy seems increasingly unable to stem the tide of regional crises. As violence escalates globally, stretching across continents, a sobering truth is emerging: Neither the rhetoric of victory at all costs nor the resort to military solutions alone is paving sustainable roads toward peace. Armed conflicts continue to fuel cycles of radicalisation and extremism, destabilising the international security landscape. From one crisis zone to another, brute force – sometimes clad in high-tech arrogance – has consistently failed to contain the spread of violence. The Sahel,…

May

14

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

America’s dangerous game: How diplomatic falsehoods undermine South African sovereignty

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN the arena of international relations, truth is often the first casualty. The United States' recent policy of granting refugee status to Afrikaner families based on dubious claims of "persecution" represents not merely a diplomatic misstep but a dangerous continuation of a troubling pattern - one where falsehoods serve as pretext for undermining the sovereignty of nations that dare chart an independent course. This is not South Africa's first encounter with American diplomatic deception. In 2023, South Africa was forced to formally demarche the US Ambassador after he made explosive and entirely false claims that a South African vessel had…

May

14

2025

By DR SELLO SELE

Double standards, faith and religion: SA’s absurd contradictions regarding GBV

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

IN recent weeks, South Africa has once again been rocked by cases of gender-based violence (GBV) that have revealed an absurd contradiction in the public’s reaction towards each of these cases. The most harrowing incident involves the alleged assault of a now eight-year-old girl, referred to as Cwecwe, at Bergview College in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. In stark contrast is the acquittal of Nigerian televangelist Timothy Omotoso, who faced multiple rape and kidnapping charges, which sparked a wave of celebration and jubilation among his followers, many of them women. This juxtaposition brings to light the serious absurdity among South…

May

09

2025

By NDEY TAPHA SOSSEH

“On World Press Freedom Day, we stand with the journalists of Burkina Faso”

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AS repression deepens under military rule, Burkinabè journalists continue to resist with courage and conviction—sustaining a legacy of freedom shaped by pioneers and institutions like FILEP and the Norbert Zongo Press Centre. Today, as the world pauses to mark World Press Freedom Day, we must turn our eyes—and our conscience—toward a region where the pen is under siege, where truth is a dangerous profession, and where the voices that inform, question, and defend democracy are being silenced. We refer to Burkina Faso, a country caught in the crosshairs of insecurity, political transition, and mounting repression of its independent press. Over…

May

08

2025

By CHRISTOPHE PREMAT

Valentin-Yves Mudimbe: the philosopher who reshaped how the world thinks about Africa

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CONGOLESE thinker, philosopher and linguist Valentin-Yves Mudimbe died on 21 April 2025 at the age of 83. He was in the US, where he had lived for many years. A towering figure in African critical thought, Mudimbe’s work – translated and studied worldwide – has profoundly shaped postcolonial studies. He leaves a groundbreaking intellectual legacy on the colonisation of knowledge and the condition of Africans. At a time when debates on decolonising knowledge are gaining ground, Mudimbe’s passing invites us to revisit the work of a thinker who, since the 1980s, paved the way for a radical critique of imposed…

May

07

2025

By AZWIHANGWISI JUDITH MPHIDI

City police in South Africa’s capital have a bad image – how to fix it

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CORRUPTION in South Africa’s public institutions has been a pressing issue for the past two decades. From national government offices to local municipalities, stories of officials enriching themselves at the expense of the public have become all too familiar. The Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department – responsible for traffic policing, crime prevention, and bylaw enforcement in South Africa’s capital city – has not escaped this crisis. With over four million residents spread across 6,298 square kilometres, Tshwane plays a vital role in the country’s political and economic landscape. Yet its municipal police department, one of the largest in South Africa, with…

May

06

2025

By JUSTICE TANKEBE

Ghana’s citizens have a right to protest: what does the law say about restricting it?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

GHANA’S attorney general and minister of justice dropped charges against members of Democracy Hub, a civil society group, in February 2025, after four months of prosecution. The group had organised a protest in September 2024 against the widespread destruction and contamination of the country’s water bodies by persons and gangs engaged in illegal artisanal mining. Media reports alleged police harassment and use of excessive force during the three-day protest. The actions of the police and the courts were the latest in a history of suppression of the exercise of the right to protest. They are based on a military-era law…