Zille - Ramphele Rift Favors ANC as Elections Near

the Zille-Ramphele break-up ahead of the 2014 elections reminds me of  celebrity  marriages at Hollywood. Hollywood marriages seldom last. Some have lasted as short as55 hours while others lasted longer–as long as 52 days. That is it! If we can learn anything from Hollywood celebrities, it is that anything can become a dramatic film.

Glamorous, dramatic, thoughtless and short-lived, the breakup of the partnership between the Democratic Alliance headed by Helen Zille and Agang SA’s leader Mamphela Ramphele seems to have followed this pattern. That this happens only weeks ahead of the pending elections is ominous.  Who will be the winners and losers from this unexpected divorce? Read full article on News24

Will the African Union silence all guns by 2020?

The African Union’s (AU) move to declare the year 2014 as a “Year of Agriculture and Food Security” reflects its desperate desire to go beyond the complex web of political crises that have long tied its hands.

Embroiled in a series of deadly conflicts, the AU is finding it difficult to maintain law and order on its soil. This perceived lassitude has prompted world powers such as France, Germany and the United States to want to step in—at last. These arrivals should indeed give the AU the much needed support to implement its ambitious project to silence all guns by 2020, but will it? Read full article on Africa Review