Explainer - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Explainer: What to look for in China’s annual parliament session this week

CHINA'S parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), will kick off its annual session, with all eyes on plans to support growth in the world's second-largest economy. A property crisis, deepening deflation, a stock market rout, and mounting local government debt woes have pressured China's leaders so that the stakes for this year's session loom large for international investors and companies operating there. Here are key details and issues to look out for: WHAT ARE THE "TWO SESSIONS"? Parliamentarians and political advisers gather in Beijing every March for two parallel sets of meetings called the Lianghui or "Two Sessions". Fanfare surrounds the week-long meetings in the…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Explainer: What will happen to Oscar Pistorius when he is released from jail?

NEWS

FORMER Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison on Friday after he was granted parole nearly 11 years after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Here is a look at what will happen to Pistorius after his release under South Africa's so-called restorative justice programme. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PISTORIUS AFTER HIS RELEASE? Pistorius - known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs - became eligible for parole in March 2023 after he had served half of his 13 years and five months sentence for murder. He was granted parole on November 24, to take effect on January 5.…

Dec

2023

By MICHAEL HOLDEN

Explainer: What is the UK’s Rwanda migrant deportation bill?

NEWS

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's new bill, which seeks to send immigrants who arrive illegally in Britain to Rwanda, faces a contentious vote in parliament on Tuesday. A month after the British Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful, Sunak hopes the new legislation will fulfil his pledge to stop people arriving across the Channel in small boats. Here are details about the plan and the migration issue: WHY IS IMMIGRATION SUCH AN ISSUE IN BRITAIN? Taking back control of the country's borders and ending the free movement of people was a major factor that led to the 2016 vote for…

May

2023

By MACDONALD DZIRUTWE

Explainer: What to expect from Nigeria’s new president Bola Tinubu

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

NIGERIA'S new president Bola Tinubu faces a litany of problems, including widespread violence, double-digit inflation and industrial-scale oil theft. His victory is being challenged in court by his two main rivals in February's election, and analysts say he may need to reach out to opponents to help heal a divided nation. Here is how Tinubu proposes to address problems that many Nigerians believe worsened under his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, on whose party ticket he ran. HOW DOES HE PLAN TO FIX THE ECONOMY? Tinubu says he will build on Buhari's public infrastructure programme to create jobs and remove legal limits on government…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Explainer: Why Lesotho parliament is debating reclaiming land from South Africa

NEWS

CARIEN DU PLESSIS LESOTHO legislators are debating a motion that proposes reclaiming large parts of South African land that Dutch settlers seized from the small mountain kingdom in a series of territorial wars in the 19th century. Even if the motion passes, its economically and militarily more powerful neighbour South Africa - which completely envelops Lesotho - is unlikely to cede the land. To do so would violate an agreement between African countries in the 1960s to respect the borders laid down by colonialists during centuries of exploitation of the continent. WHAT DOES THE MOTION PROPOSE? It suggests that Lesotho…

Feb

2023

By RACHEL SAVAGE

Explainer: What is at stake for investors in Nigeria’s election?

NEWS

VOTERS in Nigeria go to the polls on February 25 and international investors are cautiously hopeful that whoever is elected as the next president of Africa's largest and most populous economy will be more market-friendly than the current government. While there are also parliamentary elections, the focus is on the presidency. With incumbent Muhammadu Buhari not on the ballot, the main contenders are ruling party veteran Bola Tinubu, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and third party candidate Peter Obi. WHAT ARE MAIN ISSUES FOR INVESTORS? Multiple exchange rates, widespread insecurity and low oil production due to massive crude theft are all problems that worry…

Feb

2023

By CARIEN DU PLESSIS and KOPANO GUMBI

How will South Africa’s ‘state of disaster’ resolve power crisis?

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster to fight a paralyzing power crisis that in recent months has included daily rolling power cuts. What does this mean and how might it resolve a crisis that has been years in the making? WHAT IS A NATIONAL STATE OF DISASTER? The president has the power under the 2002 National Disaster Management Act to declare a crisis a National State of Disaster if existing legislation cannot adequately deal with the problem. This gives the government powers to release available resources to tackle the disaster, appoint people to render emergency services and…

Feb

2023

By GLORIA DICKIE

Explainer: Why was the Turkey-Syria earthquake so bad?

WORLD

THE magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria is likely to be one of the deadliest this decade, seismologists said, with a more than 100 km (62 miles) rupture between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Here is what scientists said happened beneath the earth's surface and what to expect in the aftermath: WHERE DID THE EARTHQUAKE ORIGINATE? The epicentre was about 26 km east of the Turkish city of Nurdagi at a depth of about 18 km on the East Anatolian Fault. The quake radiated towards the northeast, bringing devastation to central Turkey and Syria. During the 20th century, the…

Feb

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…