03 March 2022
Mozambique: In November 2021, the ministers of the interior and of defence had been replaced by President Nyusi. Now, six ministers have been sacked, including the minister of finance. Neither the reasons for the sacking nor the names of the new ministers were given.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2022. 4:38
Miriam Makeba: Music interwoven with activism. “There’s nobody in Africa who made the world more aware of what was happening in South Africa than Miriam Makeba.” An homage with interesting video links.
https://theconversation.com/the-legacy-of-iconic-singer-miriam-makeba-and-her-art-of-activism-178230
ADF/Uganda/Congo-Kinshasa/Kenya/Tanzania: The terrorist Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have widened their recruitment base to include – beyond the traditional RDC and Uganda – Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. ADF’s primary motive seems to be organised crime – first of all exploiting minerals – facilitated by terror tactics (terrorising locals to make them leave so they have unhindered access to the mines). With the East African Community trying to abolish borders, ADF’s activities could benefit.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/expansion-of-the-allied-democratic-forces-should-worry-east-africa
Mozambique: Progress against terrorism in the country’s north is insufficient. The article reflects on what is missing. “Many of the challenges emerging in Mozambique have also confronted Mali and the wider Sahel region. These include the complexity of different and poorly coordinated foreign interventions, the lack of synergy among humanitarian, military and peacebuilding actors, and a focus on military deployments instead of root causes.”
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/lessons-for-mozambique-after-frances-withdrawal-from-the-sahel
Burundi: Sanctions have been lifted by the US and the EU – which is excellent news for Burundi’s economy which has been in recession for some time – but this comes despite human rights not having been substantially improved nor political space having been opened. Only external politics seems to really have changed from an isolationist stance under Nkurunziza to a re-engagement with the international community under Évariste Ndayishimiye. Burundi’s human rights situation has been described as “dire” in the September 2021 report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, citing “cases of arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances by the National Intelligence Service, violent attacks on civilians by the government-affiliated Imbonerakure youth militia and intimidation of journalists”.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/burundis-return-to-the-international-fold
Libya: Fathi Bashaga has been sworn in as prime minister in Tobruk (east of the country) where parliament elected him in February. But the old prime minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah will not step down and has closed down Libyan airspace to stop ministers from reaching Tobruk. Two of Bashaga’s ministers are said to have been abducted while travelling by land.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2022. 16:25 resp. 12:24
Mozambique: Adriano Afonso Maleiane, so far finance minister, has been named new Prime minister. Mr Nyusi is in the process of reshuffling his cabinet. Maleiane was “key in restructuring the country's hidden debts which were at the heart of a corruption scandal that shook the country to its core”.
BBC Africa Live 03 March 2022. 17:41
02 March 2022 b
“No matter how powerful a king, he won’t crown himself”
BBC Africa Live 02 March 2022. 4:39. African proverb of the day. Sent by D'Boss Ating to BBC News Pidgin
Uganda: Renowned Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija – he has won the Pen Pinter international writer of courage prize in 2021 and recently fled to Germany – is taking the Ugandan government to the East African Court of Justice and wants it “to declare that his arrest, detention and torture were illegal”. He had been “arrested in December after posting tweets (allegedly) insulting Mr Museveni and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba.”
BBC Africa Live 02 March 2022. 5:40
South Africa: The third and final part of the Zondo report into state capture recommends that Jacob Zuma be investigated for accepting gifts from Bosasa, an enterprise that was repeatedly awarded government contracts. Beside him, “current Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe and senior African National Congress politicians Nomvula Mokonyane and Thabang Makwetla” should also be investigated for their dealings with Bosasa.
BBC Africa Live 02 March 2022. 12:53
South Africa/Terrorism: US sanction against four alleged IS financiers based in South Africa point to the possibility of IS members in the country “playing an increasingly central role in facilitating the transfer of funds from the top of the ISIS hierarchy to branches across Africa”.
BBC Africa Live 02 March 2022. 17:01
Africa & the Indo-Pacific: Despite the Indo-Pacific’s growing weight in today’s world, the littoral states of the western Indo-Pacific rim don’t have a vision for the super-region and neither does the African Union. To not lose out, the Indian Ocean Rim Association could serve as a platform.
https://theconversation.com/african-states-need-a-vision-for-relations-with-the-indo-pacific-177377
Climate change/IPCC report: Under the best-case scenario – a 1.5℃ warming above pre-industrial levels – “children under 12 will experience a fourfold increase in natural disasters in their lifetime, and up to 14% of all species assessed will likely face a very high risk of extinction.” Effects will not be evenly spread – Africa, Asia and low-lying island nations will be hardest hit. Climate change will further increase inequities across the globe. Of course: the more temperatures increase, the worse the effects.
https://theconversation.com/mass-starvation-extinctions-disasters-the-new-ipcc-reports-grim-predictions-and-why-adaptation-efforts-are-falling-behind-176693
Nigeria: The authors of this article did research into the harmful effects of the lockdown on informal workers in Nigeria, focussing “on violations of human rights of informal workers in Nigeria by state actors”. They give an overview over their results. They call for major changes if anti-pandemic measures ever become necessary in the future.
https://theconversation.com/nigerias-pandemic-lockdown-measures-were-hard-on-informal-workers-177466