Stephen Chan

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Zambia's president Hakainde Hichilema addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Photo by MARY ALTAFFER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.

MundoÁfrica

At his inauguration one year ago this week, Zambia’s president Hakainde Hichilema inherited a country with a heavily indebted economy and a reputation for fiscal unreliability.

He has secured, for now at least, Zambian citizens’ buy-in and patience for what he is seeking to do – with future debt-repayment austerity lurking on the horizon.

Hichilema’s predecessor Edgar Lungu consistently harassed – and some would say persecuted – Hichilema, casting him in the role of a perpetual loser who was destined never to win the presidency with five failed previous efforts.

At the same time, Lungu embarked on an ambitious but recklessly-financed programme of both prestige and infrastructural projects, relying greatly on foreign liquidity particularly from China, and on commercial borrowings by way of the issue of Eurobonds – upon which his administration defaulted.…  Seguir leyendo »

Robert Mugabe in 2002. Credit Anna Zieminski/Agence France-Presse

MundoÁfrica

It’s not been a good year for Robert Mugabe. When cameras caught him stumbling down the steps of a podium in February, photographers were forced to delete the images and several bodyguards were later fired. Nevertheless, photoshopped pictures of the nonagenarian dictator went viral. Some show him sprinting up a football field, riding a surfboard, astride a missile, and were almost affectionate. Others might be tactfully described as vulgar, hostile — and symbolic of his approaching end.

An indication that his grip on power might loosen sooner rather than later came in September when, in an address to Parliament, he spent nearly half an hour oblivious to the fact that he was reading the same State of the Nation speech he had given in the same chamber to the same M.P.s…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfrica

Twenty years have passed since South Africa’s first democratic election, and 24 since Nelson Mandela walked free. Yet last week the ruling African National Congress still used Mr. Mandela’s photo as its symbol on the ballot instead of President Jacob Zuma’s, recognizing that the party’s popularity was being sullied by a president caught in a web of corruption charges.

The A.N.C. won with 62 percent, down from over 65 percent in 2009. Despite its gradual slide, the party has repeatedly managed to retain power without the need for coalitions or compromises. A strong A.N.C., free from effective opposition, should have delivered a strong South Africa in line with its policies.…  Seguir leyendo »