THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jul

24

2024

Kenya’s former President Daniel arap Moi mastered the art of silencing critics – why his tactics wouldn’t work today

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

COUNTRYWIDE protests, police killings, mass arrests and calls for the president to stand down. This is Kenya in 2024 – and, for many, it’s evoking memories of another era: the 24-year rule of Daniel arap Moi. However, Kenya is a very different country today with a new constitution, an array of institutional reforms and a freer media environment. This means that Moi-era strategies are no longer available to, or will no longer work for, Kenya’s current president, William Ruto. During his presidency, which lasted from 1978 to 2002, Moi ruled with an iron fist. His obsession with control and loyalty,…

Jul

22

2024

By VINOTHAN NAIDOO

Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech to parliament listed South Africa’s old problems – but no new solutions

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opening of parliament speech successfully captured the spirit of a diverse and cohesive multi-party government ready to get down to work. But it failed to tell South Africans how the new dispensation will do things differently, and better. In the May 2024 national and provincial elections, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress party received just over 40% of the national vote, triggering a multi-party coalition government for the first time in 30 years. The results signalled frustration with the ANC’s inability to promote job-creating growth, achieve significant reductions in poverty and inequality, and demonstrate clean governance. Ramaphosa’s…

Jul

19

2024

By ERIC MAGALE and MARIO SCHMIDT

Kenya protests show citizens don’t trust government with their tax money: can Ruto make a meaningful new deal?

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

EACH year, the Kenyan government tables a finance bill outlining measures for funding the national budget. In the past, these bills have scarcely attracted public attention. This changed dramatically in 2023, with President William Ruto’s first budget following his election victory the year before. Ruto inherited an economy battling high food and fuel prices in addition to a heavy debt burden. His budget policy response, however, added to the crisis by doubling the tax on fuel, increasing income taxes and introducing a levy to fund his pet project of affordable housing. He justified higher taxes as a necessity imposed by…

Jul

19

2024

By MATTHEWS PHOSA

Mandela Day lesson to partners in the government of national unity

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

WE are all witnesses of a seismic shift in the South African landscape. Thirty years after liberation, the voters have rejected the ANC as the majority voice of society and forced it onto a government of national unity with a number of other parties, notably the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party. As a member of the governing party, we have to admit that, three decades after 1994, we have not achieved our goal of a better life for all. We are not safe, people are hungry and cold, our infrastructure is deteriorating, and we are suffering from terminal…

Jul

19

2024

By HUGH CORDER

South Africa’s new parliament needs to do a better job of holding cabinet to account: legal scholar weighs the chances

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africa has entered new territory with a government of national unity after the May elections. The parties representing more than 70% of the electorate will now be the dominant force in parliament. The parties that are not part of the unity government will doubtless continue to demand accountability from the executive. A particular challenge arises, however, for the clear majority of MPs from a range of political ideologies now represented in the executive. The constitution obliges parliament to hold the executive accountable. Having several political parties in the cabinet complicates this. How will this work out, in the light…

Jul

17

2024

By ABBEY MAKOE

Improved China-Africa relations expected to top agenda at FOCAC, says new envoy Wu Peng

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NEW Chinese ambassador to SA, Wu Peng, has hit the ground running barely weeks after arriving to strengthen diplomatic ties between Beijing and Pretoria. Wu begins his term of office at a time when the flourishing bilateral relations between the two nations – well into the 26th year – are described as cruising in the “golden era”. China has been SA’s biggest trading partner for more than a decade – in fact, for 14 years in a row. However, the entire African continent has reaped the benefits of heightened economic cooperation with China over the last 15 years. This clearly…

Jul

16

2024

By AIKANDE CLEMENT KWAYU

Tanzania’s election laws make it hard to build political opposition – what needs to change

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TANZANIANS go to the polls this year in local elections to vote for street and village chairpersons. This will be followed by a general election next year for councillors, members of parliament and the president. Both sets of elections are being watched closely. They’re the first to be held following a raft of changes over the past eight years to drag Tanzania away from its history of operating as a one-party state and towards a more multiparty arrangement. This history has included restrictions on opposition parties’ activities. For example, between 2016 and 2023, political rallies were banned in Tanzania. This…

Jul

16

2024

By PATRICK GATHARA

Don’t let the elders steal your revolution

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Patrick Gathara IN the space of just three weeks, the political scene in Kenya has been completely upended by a youth protest movement that threatens to render all the normal rules of political engagement obsolete. The upstart Generation Z has rejected much of the wisdom and tradition of their elders and created a “fearless, leaderless, partyless, and tribeless” movement that has left the political class – both within government and outside of it – scrambling to catch up. Kenya hasn’t seen anything like it. In the past, political action has been…

Jul

15

2024

By AGIZA HLONGWANE

For Bra Stan, a football titan like no other… the gift that kept on giving

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Basibulele They killed us when they killed you From jump, you were right there in the maternity ward In green scrubs, masks and gloves When Kaizer XI drew its first breath We all know what happened when they became the Chiefs of this place Then you gave us Magesh the super-lyricist The proud “Mfana KaMshengu” who created a groove A groove that made us move, setting our souls free, singing songs of happiness Long before “Tiki Taka” was even a thang You bequeathed us the fabled Shoeshine & Piano at Mamelodi Sundowns When uThish’ Gumede first told us about Bafana…

Jul

13

2024

By JULIUS MAINA

Kagame’s iron grip for decades

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THERE is little doubt that Paul Kagame will win the votes necessary to extend his 24-year rule in Rwanda’s general election on 15 July 2024. The ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front, nominated Kagame as its presidential candidate during a congress in March. He got 99.1% of the vote. Kagame faces Frank Habineza, who leads the opposition Democratic Green Party, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate and former journalist. In the country’s last election in 2017, Kagame garnered nearly 99% of the vote. This year, about 9.5 million Rwandans are registered to vote. Since he was first elected president in…