Blog: WorldView

News that Angola has recently deported 37 Chinese citizens, accused of extortion, kidnappings, armed robberies and running prostitution rings in and around Luanda, is of profound interest to China-watchers in Africa.

News of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s death on August 20, 2012 brings to four the number of African heads of state who have died so far this year. At times like this, it is often reported just how risky it is to be an African president: since 2010, Africa has lost ten heads of state due to natural causes (eleven if we include the President of Somaliland) plus Gaddaffi’s violent execution.

South Africa's inclusion into the BRICS in 2011 served to kill off the distinct relevance of the India, Brazil and South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA), an alliance formed in June 2003 and which, at the time, was heralded as creating a new dynamic in international politics, bringing together as it did three important economies of the global South. 

It is my distinct honour to deliver an address on behalf of Minister Nkoana-Mashabane to the distinguished academic community of SAIIA and South Africa as well as our partners from BRICS countries. DIRCO was requested to address the issue of South Africa, BRICS and global governance.

In a week when SA was jubilant over the election of Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as the first chairwoman of the African Union Commission, Pretoria was back in the spotlight — this time regarding its stance on the proposed United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution on the situation in Syria.

Mrs Dlamini-Zuma’s election as the new Chair of the African Union Commission signals a watershed moment for the continental body.  The result, following a hot contested and well strategised race that stretched over six  months, should enable the AU to get back to business following January's  impasse.

Now dubbed  the ‘Iron Lady of Africa’, the new AU Commission Chair will certainly have her work cut out.

The Treaty of Lisbon is supposed to give the EU a stronger, more coherent voice on the world stage and to offer more continuity in EU foreign policy and in the union’s relations with partners. It has introduced new posts and working structures, most notably the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service (EEAS).

We used to be the poster boy of Africa. People looked at us to become leaders on the world stage. But that was during the Nelson Mandela era. Now we contribute towards turning the African Union into a lame duck.