EDITORIAL: Pressuring Banks to Do the Impossible
A VARIETY of surveys and studies – by the World Bank, UN Conference on Trade and Development and by eAfrica last year – have noted that lack of credit blocks business growth in Africa. But conventional wisdom said little could be done.
Putting Faith in Child Care
Governments, donors must recognise the role of religious groups in caring for vulnerable children.
Comment – Saga Down South: What Political Culture Are We Building?
In June, a court found that South Africa’s deputy president, Jacob Zuma, had engaged in a “generally corrupt relationship” with his financial advisor, a briefcase entrepreneur found guilty of corruption and fraud who had given millions of rands to Zuma and won a slice of a controversial arms deal without any technical capacity.
Comment – Zuma: Measuring the Impact
An explosive mix of corruption and politics has unleashed political rebellion against South Africa’s president as corruption and factional fighting grip the ruling ANC.
Côte d’Ivoire: Warning Signs of Another Rwanda
PEACE is within Côte d’Ivoire’s grasp, if only the government and rebels honour their pledges, Pierre Schori of the UN mission in Abidjan said last month, after another delay to the preparations for elections in October.
EDITORIAL: How Much Does AIDS Cost Africa?
As far back as 2003 a World Bank report warned that most studies on the macroeconomic costs of AIDS – as measured by reduced GDP rates – were underestimating the impact of tearing holes in Africa’s social fabric.
Greening the Namibian Desert: An African Success Story
A determined entrepreneur turns an arid landscape into a burgeoning vineyard
Regional Integration & Economic Partnerships Agreements Seminar
SAIIA and Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) held a two-day seminar, from 10-11 November 2005, looking at regional integration in Southern and Eastern Africa, with specific focus on the role played by external partners in these integration projects.
Post-Hong Kong Insights
The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, the first since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, has missed many deadlines since its 2001 launch in Doha, Qatar.
Bilateral investment treaties
Luke Eric Peterson of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) presented research on South Africa’s growing stock of bilateral investment treaties (BITs).