Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 2,600 citizens and organisations - academics, policy makers, social activists, women's organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa. 
comment & analysis
Rising tribalism in South Africa: A rejoinder
Andrew M Manyevere
2012-05-17, Issue 585
Gumede is right in his conclusion that people will seek refuge in tribalism when democratic institutions are made to fail.
Time for radical action on the unemployment crisis
Ayanda Kota
2012-05-17, Issue 585
There are at least four million young people without jobs in South Africa. This is the country’s worst crisis, yet some people still say that the ANC has done well with the economy.
Commemorating Empire: A personal reminiscence
Marian Douglas-Ungaro
2012-05-17, Issue 585
‘I find myself marking these dates as if they were personal milestones because they are two of many landmarks, not only for the entire modern world, but for my own family’.
Damage to Nok sculpture in private Western collection
Will other African artefacts end this way?
Kwame Opoku
2012-05-10, Issue 584
cc P T JThe recent damage to a Nok sculpture raises important questions about the legality and morality of removing African artefacts from their origins and transporting them to the West.
Mandela: reading The Courier on Robben Island
Annar Cassam
2012-04-18, Issue 581
Thirty years ago, on March 31 1982, prisoner number 466/64 of Robben Island was transferred to Pollsmoor maximum security prison (Cape Town), thus ending two decades of banishment to the worst outpost of the South African penal system. During these years, The UNESCO Courier brought regularly news and ideas from the five continents to Nelson Mandela. In November 1983, The Courier published an issue on Racism with a portrait of Nelson Mandela on the cover.
World Bank needs to be better managed
Mo Ibrahim
2012-04-19, Issue 581
It is high time the US foregoes its sense of entitlement at the World Bank and allows a merit-based and transparent contest for the presidency to allow non-American candidates a genuine chance of winning.
As a Ugandan citizen, I demand justice or death
Vincent Nuwagaba
2012-04-05, Issue 580
cc J GA personal account of human rights abuse in Uganda raises questions about the role of mainstream human rights organisations supported by international donors.
A promising future for the country.....
An inspiring future for the girls
Nubian Club
2012-04-05, Issue 580
cc SOS S UKThe involvement of several Sudanese sects, groups, and institutions in the campaigns and events for women is our desired success as an organization working to support women's rights.
Loopholes in Ghana’s budgetary process
Ron Singer
2012-03-22, Issue 578
cc K CParliament is supposed to play a key oversight role in budgeting, but that is not the case in Ghana. This is one of the areas of institutional reform that need urgent attention.
Nigerian deniers of Biafra genocide
Osita Ebiem
2012-03-22, Issue 578
cc WikimediaThe deniers of the Nigerian genocide may deny it as much as they like, but their denial will never erase the fact that this heinous crime occurred.
Sex toys to save Zimbabwe’s homosexuality in prisons
Marujata Kwenda
2012-03-22, Issue 578
cc C FIf there is any meaningful change it should be providing condoms, which the government has refused to do.
A constructive comparison of Israel and apartheid South Africa
Kenya Palestine Solidarity Committee
2012-03-15, Issue 576
cc S HComparisons between Israel’s control over the Palestinians and apartheid South Africa can yield crucial clues on how to move towards the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kony 2012: Widening the cracks, letting the light in?
Mildred K Barya
2012-03-15, Issue 576
cc LSJForget that the Kony 2012 video has flaws. Rather, bring on the help and catch Joseph Kony.
New Zimbabwean constitution not a panacea for free and fair polls
Dewa Mavhinga
2012-03-15, Issue 576
cc A-BA new constitution for Zimbabwe is only one step in a series of fundamental reforms that are needed before Zimbabwe can hold elections.
The guise of growth : The paradox of generosity
Luam Kidane
2012-03-08, Issue 574
cc A PA full commitment to transformative change differs from a commitment to charity that does not recognise its inherent problematic nature, because the latter sustains itself on marginalization.
Ghana, corruption and development
Kofi Akosah-Sarpong
2012-02-22, Issue 571
cc BBCGhana is embroiled in a corruption scandal that ruling party MPs believe won't effect how people vote. Think again.
Small arms and violence in East Africa
Andrew Mwangura
2012-02-22, Issue 571
cc G SA proliferation of small arms is fueling conflict and instability in East Africa.
Policing freedom of assembly: gone too far?
Sarah Mount and Sanyu Awori
2012-02-23, Issue 571
cc M DDid the Tanzanian activists cause a breach of the peace or prejudice public safety and the maintenance of public order? Crucially, were the police, by prohibiting the alleged assembly and subsequently arresting the activists, using their discretion appropriately?
Fuel scarcity and renewable energy option for Nigeria’s South-South
Fidelis Allen
2012-02-16, Issue 570
cc A DThe fuel crisis in Nigeria proves the truism that no government ever voluntarily pursues the public good without some form of struggle by the governed. It ought not to be so.
South Africa: Battle of the egos at Rondebosch Common
Charlene Houston
2012-02-09, Issue 569
cc D v d MPeople are beginning to search beyond political parties for solutions. The youth are doubtful even of old style community organisations and are now exploring new forms of activism and new vehicles for change.
Debate: The wrong answers to the wrong question
A response to HRW
Barry Sautman and Yan Hairong
2012-02-02, Issue 568
cc MerlinIn responding to a critique of their Human Rights Watch report, the authors make basic mistakes by ignoring key structural conditions, keeping alive racist myths about Chinese cruelty that prevent 'a focused effort on the actual causes of the grave human rights problems that exist in mining on the continent', argue the authors of the original critique.
Ethiopia: Middle Passage to the Middle East
From the International Slave Trade to the International Maid Trade
Alemayehu G. Mariam
2012-01-19, Issue 566
cc L PIn what classifies as modern day slavery, Ethiopian women sent to work in the Middle East have few rights and are subject to widespread abuse.
Southern Africa: Democracy without the citizens
Ndumba Kamwanyah
2012-01-12, Issue 565
cc T LSouthern Africa’s ‘democracies’ do not produce citizens but subjects controlled by governments due to the hierarchical nature of the region’s politics, which demands obedience. But for how long will this go on?
South Africa: ANC leadership battles should be open and democratic
William Gumede
2011-12-20, Issue 564
cc L DMuch of the infighting in South Africa’s ANC, which is paralysing both government and the party, is the result of outdated codes, traditions and rituals governing the elections of leaders of the party, especially that of the president, writes William Gumede.
Ethiopia’s Awramba Times: More powerful than ten thousand bayonets
Alemayehu G. Mariam
2011-12-08, Issue 562
cc M JTwo weeks ago, Ethiopia’s last independent weekly stopped publication after its managing editor was ‘forced to flee the country’. Zenawi has ‘finally succeeded in smashing and trashing Ethiopia’s free press,’ writes Alemayehu G. Mariam.
New academy to propel women into leadership
Zaya Yeebo and Scholastica Marenya
2011-12-08, Issue 562
cc E BThe Women’s Leadership Academy will mobilise ambitious Kenyan women leaders in every village, town, county and constituency and build their skills to the level where they are able to compete with men for the various political positions in the constitution.
Reorienting Kenyan youth towards constructive change
Zaya Yeebo
2011-12-08, Issue 562
cc K BDo the Kenyan youth understand the anti-colonial struggle of their forefathers? How about neo-colonialism and attempts to re-colonise Africa? Zaya Yeebo writes that serious efforts to jolt the youth into action should go beyond the dollars splurged by the US embassy in Nairobi.
COP 17: A few key issues summarised
Trust for Community Outreach and Education
2011-12-01, Issue 560
cc World BankIn this briefing TCOE, one of the lead organisations in the Rural Women’s Assembly at COP17, sets out some key issues at stake in this week’s climate change conference in Durban.
20 years of 16 days of Activism, how far are we?
Shuvai Nyoni Kagoro
2011-11-30, Issue 560
cc L WOn the 20th anniversary of the global Sixteen Days of Activism on gender violence campaign, Shuvai Nyoni Kagoro asks whether ‘the millions of dollars spent in cash and human time’ have significantly reduced the violence women and other marginalised groups face ‘because of their gender’.
Paul Biya’s rogue governance of Cameroon
Peter Wuteh Vakunta
2011-11-29, Issue 560
cc WikimediaPresident Paul Biya’s regime has deeply disillusioned the Cameroonian people, writes Peter Wuteh Vakunta. But Biya will not be president forever, so the challenge for Cameroonians is to look beyond the failed leadership and begin to imagine a new future for themselves.