How does money flow to and within Africa? Information about money flows is unreliable, so SAMP did a study to find out more.  The study, called MARS (Migration and Remittances Survey) shows how money flows between countries. With the exception of Zimbabwe, most movements and subsequent remittances flows are intra-regional. In Zimbabwe, about 60% of the migrants reside within the SADC region and 40% outside it, providing opportunities for comparison of the two migrant streams. Read the report here.

Idasa has published a book which analyses the political and economic constraints on Zimbabwe’s democratic transformation, considering the case for a transitional justice or “truth commission” process in the country.  The book emerged out of a series of roundtable discussions between shareholders in Zimbabwe and the broader South African region.  It also discusses the need for a stabilisation programme to ensure reconstruction and the role of military involvement in security sector reform in Zimbabwe. For more details about the book and how to order, click here.

Challenges to Education in Zimbabwe
When Robert Mugabe became the president of Zimbabwe in 1980, he pledged to make education his top priority and the new majority-led government introduced an education for all policy. By 2004, the literacy rate in Zimbabwe had soared, placing the nation among the most literate on the continent. Educational institutions in neighbouring countries sought graduates from Zimbabwe and teaching was a respected profession. Today, it’s a very different story. Read this report on the challenges to education in Zimbabwe today.

Monitoring Progress in Zimbabwe
As Zimbabwe extracts itself from years of turbulence, the Global Political Agreement (GPA) provides the map for the way forward. Thus, monitoring the implementation of the GPA provides some measure of understanding progress in Zimbabwe. This document gives a monthly overview of political developments in Zimbabwe, under the terms set out in the GPA. See more here.

Also see the Government of Zimbabwe's plan for 100 days from 29 April 2009, which represents the practical implementation of the Zimbabwean commitment to the people of Zimbabwe as outlined in the Global Political Agreement and the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP).

When South Africa’s Judicial Service Commission (JSC) meets later this year to consider who will replace four titans of the Constitutional Court when their terms expire this October, it will be one of the first real opportunities to assess where the judiciary stands in the light of the 2009 national election. See this article here.

In South Africa, the new Department for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has as its mandate to improve coordination across the three spheres of government and to make sure that provinces and municipalities carry out their service delivery and development functions effectively. According to a June discussion document, the department sees itself as the “Cog in the Wheel of Government” as it works to create jobs, fight crime, and improve rural development, health and education. Read more about the work of this new department here.

Rather than the combination of rule by law and violent physical oppression that characterised Robert Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, Swaziland’s political leadership is using subtle measures and increasingly repressive legislation to silence political opposition. The King has presided over a regime that has banned opposition parties and increasingly detains and harasses political activists and civil society organisations. The Swazi king is not a brutal dictator by any measure, but his behaviour deserves more than the murmur of disapproval it is getting from the world and the region in particular. See this article here.

Also read this article on the Repression of Opposition in Swaziland.

If you would like to subscribe to twice weekly newsflashes on Swaziland, click here.

In Afrobarometer’s tenth year of operation, read some of the latest releases from public opinion surveys – see reports on the Evolution of African Political Regimes in the Last 10 years; Poverty Reduction, Economic Growth and Democratisation in Southern Africa; African Media and Telecommunications; and Citizens and Democratisation. See these reports and others here.

Building Citizen Leadership in Zambia and Malawi
Idasa’s iLEDA programme is working on Citizen Leadership for Democratic Development in Zambia and Malawi. The project aims to build democratic leadership capacity in communities while addressing development more broadly, by highlighting the role of citizens in public work as well as the anchoring role of locally owned initiatives in the civic life of communities. The Programme offers courses to citizen leaders and community development leaders, as well as elected officials, government workers.

Political Party Ethics
Idasa’s PIMS held a roundtable discussion in June on Internal Party Regulations and Ethics. Guest speaker was Prof Gavin Woods and attendance by a number of political parties such as the ID, the DA, the IFP, the UDM and COPE ensured a lively debate.

ANSA holds social accountability training
Idasa’s Economic Governance Programme is the secretariat for ANSA-Africa (Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in Africa-Africa). ANSA-Africa and the World Bank Institute hosted civil society groups from Africa, South Asia and East Asia for a course on social accountability in June.

Leadership Training in Burundi and South Africa
Idasa’s CCEP and iLEDA programmes worked together on a three-month citizen leadership training programme in Burundi. Part of the initiative was to promote the Idasa campaign to win support and endorsement for the AU’s African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. iLEDA is also holding workshops in communities in Mpumulanga and Limpopo to introduce the Swedish study circle method, which is based on Swedish folk schools and is an innovative, informal community education model.

Migrant Health
Idasa’s SAMP co-hosted a workshop on “Promoting Health and Development: Migration Health in Southern Africa” in June in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and in partnership with the World Health Organisation. The workshop aimed to facilitate regional dialogue and cooperation to work towards the implementation of the World Health Assembly's 2008 resolution on migrant mealth.

Promoting Regional Dialogue on Migration
Idasa’s SAMP was in Bangkok in early June for a meeting that brought together people from major regional consultative processes on migration throughout the world to share experiences and exchange views on the benefits of promoting regional dialogue, capacity development and cooperation on migration.

Promoting a Habit of Citizen Participation
Idasa is holding workshops for local journalists in South Africa on Promoting a Habit of Citizen Participation in Democratic Discourse.

Working with Youth and Traditional Leaders in Swaziland
Idasa staff have recently been in Swaziland, holding consultative meetings with youth organisations and conducting interviews on the role of traditional leaders in a democratic Swaziland.