Expert Analysis
Tanzania: Pre-election developments: October 23-26
Election Campaign Concerns Deputy Secretary General for ACT-Wazalendo for Zanzibar, Nassor Ahmed, reportedly went missing for 5 hours on Sunday (25th October) after his vehicle was hit by an unmarked car which then took him away. Leaders of ACT-Wazalendo in Zanzibar...
President Mnangagwa eschews election observers for a reason
On a recent state visit to Zimbabwe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa praised Malawi for successfully holding its election re-run without the presence of foreign observers and questioned whether they were required for polls in the region. Sound familiar? In 2011, the then...
Tanzania Election Tracker 2020
Introduction Tanzanians are heading to the polls on the 28th October. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has governed Tanzania since independence in 1961, and is the second longest-ruling party in Africa. President John Magufuli swept into power in 2015 with a...
Science isn’t enough to prevent disaster: the case of the desert locust plague in East Africa
East Africa is experiencing the worst desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) outbreak in decades. The outbreak began in early 2019 and science isn’t enough to save the livelihoods and ensure the food security of at least 39 million people who are currently at risk....
Zimbabwe’s ban on mobile money adds to suffering of its citizens
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which has also closed the stock exchange over forex concerns, has hit people already losing livelihood options during the Covid-19 lockdown hard The Zimbabwean government has, for a prolonged period, been engaged in a losing battle to...
Citizens tired of being played for a fool
There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, "fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” We have former United States president George W Bush to thank for this misconstrued adage. This...
READ BETWEEN THE LINES
Sign-up to our newsletter to get the inside track on Africa