Politics & Policy

Politics & Policy

Uganda and Kenya protests highlight corruption at the very top, which happens to be the most difficult to fight

Political corruption destroys the incentives of those in power to curb corruption and persists because it keeps the regime afloat, a function that extends beyond mere personal gain
The main gate of the Parliament of Uganda in Kampala, Uganda
EconomyPolitics & Policy

The IMF is failing countries like Kenya: why, and what can be done to stop it

IMF’s declining resources relative to the size of the global economy has meant less funding than members need, forcing austerity and weakening its bargaining position in crises
Street art in Dublin against IMF/EU debt, June 2013. The recent Kenyan anti-tax protests are a warning that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is failing. The public does not think it is helping its member countries manage their economic and financial problems, which are being exacerbated by a rapidly changing global political economy. The IMF has provided financial assistance to Kenya; however, the funding comes with strict conditions that suggest debt obligations are more important than the needs of long-suffering citizens. This is despite the IMF's claim that its mandate now includes helping states deal with issues such as climate, digitalisation, gender, governance, and inequality. Unfortunately, Kenya is not an isolated case. Twenty-one African countries are receiving IMF support. In Africa, debt service, on average, exceeds the combined amounts governments are spending on health, education, climate and social services. The tough conditions attached to IMF financing have led the citizens of Kenya and other African countries to conclude that a too powerful IMF is the cause of their problems. However, research into the law, politics and history of the international financial institutions suggests the opposite: the real problem is the IMF’s decline in authority and efficacy.
EconomyPolitics & Policy

The roots of the economic turmoil that led Kenyan youth to take to the streets

Corruption, a perennial problem in Kenya, has become a major source of anger; young people, who see corruption everywhere, from the street to offices, feel that it has stolen their future
A large group of youths protesting against proposed tax increases in Nairobi, June 2025
OpinionPolitics & Policy

Rwanda genocide: why Tutsis remain at the centre of eastern DRC conflict 30 years on

Governments in both Kigali and Kinshasa continue to play their part in subverting reconciliation to end tensions and conflicts in the east of the DRC triggered by the 1994 Rwandan genocide
Six Banyamulenge women in the Democratic Republic of Congo being interviewed by a media house
EconomyPolitics & Policy

Africa’s debt crisis demands a bold new approach

Africa cannot rely on the global community to provide adequate funding or debt relief to address its development needs and crises, such as pandemics or extreme weather events
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other G20 leaders at the opening ceremony of the 2023 G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, India, on 9 September 2023. The G20 agreed a Common Framework that was supposed to help resolve the sovereign debt crises in low income countries. Four African countries applied to have their debts restructured through the framework. Despite years of negotiations, it has failed to fully resolve the debt crisis in three of them.
Politics & Policy

DRC’s anger at West over M23 justified, but government failings understated

Anti-Western protests in Kinshasa over the war in eastern DRC allow the government to blame the West after five years of limited progress, at best, in resolving the crisis
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame meets with President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo Ahead of the 74th UN General Assembly, 24 September 2019
Politics & Policy

Exit of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from Ecowas could fuel regional unrest

The three countries left the 15-member Economic Community of West African States after being suspended following military coups that overthrew elected governments
US President Joe Biden bids farewell to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Raj Ghat Memorial before departing for the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Sunday, 10 September 2023.
Politics & Policy

Uganda stagnates in bottom quarter of anti-corruption rankings

Uganda ranks in the bottom quarter of a global barometer of public sector corruption released Tuesday
An anti-corruption billboard in rural Zambia
Politics & Policy

Here’s why the ICJ’s genocide ruling won’t change Israel’s behaviour in Gaza

The International Court of Justice's ruling on Israel's behaviour in Gaza will be a hollow victory because global power politics will dilute its impact
Palestinian flags at a pro-Palestine rally in Johannesburg, 28 October 2023
Politics & Policy

Top UN court orders Israel to ‘prevent genocide’ in Gaza, but stops short of calling for immediate ceasefire

International Court of Justice orders Israel to take all measures in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid in
The courtroom at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. In a landmark decision, the International Court of Justice in The Hague has ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of acts of genocide” in Gaza and to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid to enter the territory. But the court’s “provisional measures” in the case brought by South Africa at the end of December stop short of ordering a ceasefire.
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