South Africa says it is addressing deficiencies that led to grey listing
The South African government is working hard to address deficiencies in the fight against organised crime and illegal financial flows, said Minister of Finance...
Africa’s three waves of coups
Generalising about the 100 coups in post-independence Africa is difficult, but common primary drivers can be discerned.
The toppling of King Farouk in 1952 by...
Cabinet welcomes White House response to Lady R matter
South Africa’s Cabinet has welcomed the acknowledgement of the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, of the seriousness with which President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed...
Monetary cost to SA of Lady R would be “speculative” – Ramaphosa
The Lady R investigation and its report – with the exception of an executive summary – will remain secret as will, it appears, the...
Africa can end its rash of military coups
Military coups were common in Africa during the Cold War, and now seem to be returning. Between January 2020 and August 2023, there were...
Lady R “panel” appointments by the book – SA Presidency
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, via the Presidency spokesman, poured cold water onto a court attempt by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to challenge his...
Lady R inquiry report to be challenged in court
Another challenge – this time legal – is on the way for the Ramaphosa administration in the wake of the release of a summary...
Another call for release of full Lady R report
Non-profit organisation (NPO) Open Secrets has added its voice to the chorus of those calling for the full Lady R judicial commission of inquiry...
Parliament to have a security chief after an eight year absence
It’s taken over eight years to find a suitable person to take on the responsibility of security for the South African Parliament.
A 7 September...
Questions still abound around Lady R
An executive summary of the Lady R “independent investigation” raises more questions than answers, two opposition parliamentarians maintain.
Freedom Front Plus (FF+) leader Pieter Groenewald...
Russia in Africa: Prigozhin’s death exposes Putin’s real motives on the continent
The apparent assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the crash of his private jet between Moscow and St. Petersburg represents an inflection point in Russian-African...
Kenya and SA to boost military co-operation
Defence relations between Kenya and South Africa are to be strengthened, with at least five areas identified during a visit this week by a...
Niger: another symptom of Africa’s weak crisis-response capacity
Last month’s coup in Niger once again revealed Africa’s crisis of multilateralism. Political and security developments in Niger and other African countries confirm the...
South Africa contributes to silencing the guns – Ramaphosa
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa used the upcoming BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg to outline foreign policy, including...
Civilian support for military coups is rising in parts of Africa: why the reasons...
On the night of 13 January 1963, Togo’s President Sylvanus Olympio was shot dead by rebels in the first military coup staged in Africa....
Relative stability in the SADC region – Tshishekedi
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) this week marked its own day with chair Felix Tshisekedi pointing to “relatively stable peace and security” in...
Military coups in Africa: here’s what determines a return to civilian rule
Slightly more than two years after Niger’s first peaceful handover of power from one civilian president to another, the military seized power in July...
ISS: From Russia, with little to show for it
Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping for a record turnout of African leaders at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg last week to...
What caused the coup in Niger? An expert outlines three driving factors
At an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 July, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded the “immediate release and reinstatement”...
Mali catastrophe accelerating under junta rule
The threat of militant Islamist groups is spreading to all parts of Mali as the military junta stakes its claim to stay in power...
Government “strengthened” anti-corruption systems – Godongwana
No less a personage than President Cyril Ramaphosa’s finance minister admits no system is “watertight” against corruption.
This formed part of a written reply by...
Senegal: behind the protests is a fight for democratic freedoms
In a late evening announcement on 3 July, President Macky Sall put an end to speculations that he would seek a third term in...
ISS: Prigozhin’s rebellion throws Wagner’s African future into doubt
The brazen but brief rebellion that Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched in Russia at the weekend, and the deal he cut with Russian President...
Opposition parties seek Parliamentary answers on African Peace Mission
Predictably, the South African Parliament in the form of its International Relations and Co-operation Portfolio Committee, “applauded” the mid-month Cyril Ramaphosa-led African peace mission...
Wagner group mercenaries in Africa: why there hasn’t been any effective opposition to drive...
It is easy to understand what African rulers see in the mercenary group Wagner. Its fighters can be deployed quickly. It brings sophisticated arms...
No evidence of sanctions against South Africa, gov says in wake of Lady R
Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has batted away suggestions that South Africa may be hit with international sanctions due to its non-aligned stance regarding the...
Sudan conflict: how China and Russia are involved and the differences between them
As clashes continue between the Sudanese military and rapid support forces, the current and historic role of foreign governments in Sudanese affairs is under...
African Heads of State to embark on peace mission to Ukraine and Russia
President Cyril Ramaphosa along with five African Heads of State will in the coming weeks travel to Ukraine and Russia on an African Peace...
South Africa’s pact with Russia – and its actions – cast doubt on its...
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 South Africa has proclaimed a policy of non-alignment in that conflict. This position was placed in...
Africa’s Russia-Ukraine peace mission: what can it achieve?
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to lead an initiative of six African heads of state to explore an end to the year-long...
National Treasury sets aside R265 million to get SA off grey list
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says efforts to get the country off the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list are well underway, with...
ISS: Wheels come off South Africa’s hollow version of non-alignment
Following United States (US) Ambassador Reuben Brigety’s accusations that South Africa supplied arms to Russia, attention has rightfully focused on the credibility of the...
Russian embassy defends Lady R visit to South Africa
The Russian Embassy in South Africa has said the United States totally fabricated allegations that South Africa loaded weaponry aboard the Russian vessel Lady...
ISS: Pretoria once again on the horns of an ICC dilemma
Just as South Africa was done rescinding its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the saga of former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir’s...
Sudan’s conflict has its roots in three decades of elites fighting over oil and...
Sudan stands on the brink of yet another civil war sparked by the deadly confrontation between the Sudan Armed Forces of General Abdelfatah El-Burhan...
South Africa remains ICC participant, government says in turnaround
The Presidency has moved to clarify that South Africa remains a signatory to the Rome Statute and a participant in the International Criminal Court...
Omar al-Bashir brutalised Sudan – how his 30-year legacy is playing out today
Since independence in 1956 the Sudanese have lived through 35 coups, attempted coups and coup plots – more than any other African country. When...
South Africa progressing on meeting FATF recommendations
South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile maintains the country is making “significant progress” in addressing recommended actions by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)...
Police, soldiers praised for good work on national shutdown day
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet has applauded the efforts of the military and police ensuring there were no major incidents during the 20 March national...
SADC putting the brakes on money laundering, terror financing
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat is stepping up the region’s resolve to fight money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation finance.
There is a...
SANDF deployment during national shutdown was “wasteful” – EFF
In the wake of this week’s national shutdown called by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), party leader Julius Malema heaped scorn on government for...
Modise piggery cruelty case not over
Despite another legal setback, the National Council of SPCAs, with the assistance of AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, is going ahead with its case of...
Diplomacy and security on new SA number two’s to do list
South Africa’s new number two, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, is expected to be an active player on the diplomatic, military veterans and wider security...
Hawks boss to ensure country complies with FATF after greylisting
National Hawks head, Lieutenant General Advocate Godfrey Lebeya, says the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) will begin to focus its attention on ensuring...
Government action plan will deal with grey listing
The South African Cabinet’s International Co-operation, Trade and Security (ICTS) cluster notes the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) decision to list South Africa as...
ISS: New targets needed to manage West Africa’s military transitions
Since August 2020, five coups have occurred in three West African countries – Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau have weathered...
ISS: Shades of grey – FATF lists South Africa and Nigeria
The greylisting of South Africa last month by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has made waves in the country, occupying substantial media attention....
Another step on the SADC road to improved disaster management
A working Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional humanitarian and emergency operations centre in Mozambique is the forerunner of a similar one covering the...
