Addis Ababa:  African leaders have kicked off a new round of talks on a new continental development plan, targeting the creation of jobs for the youth under an initiative sponsored by the Danish government, dubbed the Africa Commission.

Bamako:   The Malian capital, Bamako will on 24-25 November host an international workshop on "Promotion of peaceful democratic transitions in Africa", organized by the United Nations, the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) and the Foundation Forum of Bamako.

Johannesburg:   How can governance be improved to give development a chance in Africa? Political theorist Patrick Chabal believes a role has to be found for traditional methods of accountability to be used alongside formal systems recognised in the West.  Chabal, a professor of Lusophone African Studies…

Johannesburg:   Over the last twenty years, the ballot box has replaced military coups as a means of political change across Africa, says Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, a political scientist from the University of Ghana. However the results of democratic practices are a mixed bag of sand and sim-sim. …

Harare:   South Africa said on Thursday it will withhold aid for Zimbabwe until a representative government is in place, in what appeared to be the first punitive measure by a regional country to enforce a power-sharing agreement.  The South African government also said it was "extremely concerned"…

Harare:  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime has banned a visit planned by a distinguished group of international "Elders" to assess Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis, state media reported on Thursday.  The group was denounced by Harare as "a clique... made up of personalities hostile to Zimbabwe,"…

Kigali:   Many Civil Society Organisations from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, last week met at Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda, to discuss trade and regional development issues.  Productive discussions regarding regional trade issues were raised, and the…

Bamakao:   Health experts and activists have heavily criticised African governments for failing to collaborate with civil society organisations (CSOs) on health research and health policy development.  Governments tend to perceive CSOs as a threat because they are independent, often critical of government…

Kinshasa:  A silent genocide is taking place in the east and northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Catholic bishops say.  The bishops of the Permanent Committee of the Congolese Bishops' Conference (CENCO) issued a "cry of grief and protest," saying that they are "disturbed and overcome by…

Lagos:  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo should take advantage of his recent appointment as a Special Envoy to the crisis-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to re-launch himself as one of Africa's Statesmen leading the pack in the resolution of the various ethnic and political crises and conflicts…

Freetown:  One of Sierra Leone's highly respected academics, Dr. Osman Gbla, has been unanimously endorsed and approved to serve as chairman of the Governing Council of the Sierra Leone African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

Dar es Salaam:  United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) has criticised the pace of implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Tanzania, saying it is slower compared to other member countries.   Dr Kojo Busia, the Uneca senior development management official, said since…

Nairobi:  Kenya's progress in dealing with the challenges of post-election violence will come under scrutiny during Africa peer review in January at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The country is among the five countries that include Ghana, Namibia, South Africa and Rwanda that are expected to provide progress…

Nairobi:   With the world slightly past the halfway mark to the Millennium Development Goal deadline of 2015, pressure is mounting to promote gender equality. Goal Three is to promote gender equality and empower women -- but in fact, every goal relates directly to women's rights.  This calls for specific…

Luanda:  She was orphaned by Angola's liberation struggle against Portugal, but through it she found a new family and a life-long inspiration.  "I was raised on politics, I grew up through the revolution," says Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem, one of Angola's top women politicians.

Cape Town:  In this article of our series, Elroy Paulus, Black Sash Advocacy Programme Manager, argues that the government's new anti-poverty strategy falls far short of what is needed:  Deputy President Baleka Mbete unveiled the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy discussion document at the Union Buildings…

Addis Ababa:   In the midst of the most serious global financial crisis in a century, a new report on monetary and financial integration in Africa will be released this week by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) jointly with the African Union. The report finds that "African countries…

Abuja:   Crude oil smuggling continues unabated in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, spurred by chronic under-development, a disaffected youth, and increasing lawlessness.  Mohammed Umar, an Abuja-based oil industry analyst, estimates that at least 100,000 barrels of oil are stolen every day through…

Windhoek:   The Director General of the National Planning Commission this week expressed the hope that an action plan will emerge from a three-day seminar in the capital that will encourage a partnership that will generate empirical evidence on which to plan social interventions, which in return will…

Windhoek:   The Director General of the National Planning Commission this week expressed the hope that an action plan will emerge from a three-day seminar in the capital that will encourage a partnership that will generate empirical evidence on which to plan social interventions, which in return will…