Another peaceful election in Africa
The outbreak of COVID -19 and the ferocity with which it has spread across the world imposes the need for an equally formidable response to safeguard not only public health, but also democracy. This is in view of the fact that the magnitude of this global health crisis could topple democratic institutions and offer a glamorous appeasement to governments to use emergency powers to inhibit civil and political rights.
The Zambian 2021 general elections overview
Zambians went to the polls on 12th August 2021 to cast their votes in the General elections. The political landscape was dominated by two political parties; the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) led by Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema. After a tense election, the opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema emerged as the winner of the Presidential election with almost one million votes more than the incumbent.
Zambia’s 2021 Elections: Implications for Social Cohesion
On 24 August 2021, Zambia’s seventh republican president, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema fondly known as HH of the United Party for National Development (UPND) was sworn in. While his ascent to power was a resounding triumph in the 2021 presidential elections, the canvassing was coarse. In addition to circumscribed political space to campaign, he was also a target of hate speech and tribal rhetoric from some political opponents. Although uttered within the ambit of electioneering, there are inescapable after effects especially in sustaining social cohesion.
#ZambiaDecides2021 What about ZimDecides2023?
Zimbabwe’s reaction to the hashtag #ZambiaDecides2021 has been so poignant as to reflect the impression that the election had taken place in the country south of the Zambezi itself. Indeed, the parallels between Zambia and Zimbabwe are too close to call, especially on the electoral front in recent years.
The Effects of COVID-19 on the Rights, Protection, and Wellbeing of Children in Situations of Conflicts in Africa
COVID-19 has ravaged and devastated economies, fracturing communities’ social safety and exposing individuals to unemployment, homelessness, a heightened sense of loneliness, a careless world, and mental health challenges. These effects of COVID-19, though the world over, have been felt even more in the Global South, especially in Africa. Unfortunately, the light touch of the first wave might have created a false sense of escaping for many African countries, robbing the continent of precious time to better prepare for subsequent waves.
South Africa’s Women’s Peace Table Calls for Peace and Security
At a time of a health crisis, societal tensions, and social-political unrest in South Africa, now, more than ever, we need to bring a meaning to solidarity and put our hands and hearts together to explore how we can rebuild social cohesion and peace in a divided South Africa.
Third wave in Africa: state responses and impacts on state-societal relations
The world watched while India struggled with the COVID-19 Delta variant that was proving to be the most transmissible COVID-19 variant worldwide. It was only a matter of time before the African continent would have to face up to this more contagious variant too.
Child Labour, the Mining Sector, and COVID-19 in Central Africa Region: Findings and Possible Actions
It was particularly pleasing for me, on the occasion of the International Year for the Abolition of Child Labour, Forced Labour and Trafficking in Persons, which Africa celebrated on 18 June 2021, to launch a reflection on child labour in Central Africa, particularly in the mining sector, and the influence of COVID-19 on this unfortunate scourge. The problem of child labour in the world, and particularly in Africa, is a major issue that deserves to be addressed with the utmost rigour and urgency.
Global Vaccine Politics and its impact on Africa – the case of Zimbabwe
With new technologies and the evolution of medical science in the twenty first century, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed faster than vaccines for previous pandemics and epidemics. Vaccine nationalism, where some governments signed agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply their own populations with vaccines before they had become available for other countries, has led to the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines.
Water Resources and Inter-State Conflict: Legal Principles and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
Amid the climate emergency, access to freshwater is a potential source of tension and conflict between states. One example of tension tied up to a transboundary watercourse is the on-going dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the water resources of the River Nile. A long-standing dispute between the countries has gained tension due to the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) by Ethiopia.