Africa is a less corrupt place and there has been a global recognition of how harmful corruption is and how detrimental and damaging it is to development, according to Dr. Peter Eigen, founder of the global corruption watchdog group Transparency International. "On the international front, far more effective measures to protect countries from corruption are now in place. Five years ago, it was not a crime in domestic law for a firm from Germany or Japan or the US to offer bribes abroad. In fact, in many instances bribes were tax deductible! But there has been a sea change in the international legal system now. Some 35 countries have acceded to the OECD Convention Against Corruption, which means that those firms now cannot bribe abroad with impunity in places like Africa." This is an extract from an interview with Eigen in e-africa, the electronic journal of governance and innovation.

African states are among the least successful on the continent. They have been among the least successful in overcoming the early post-colonial legacy of single-party or military regimes and in moving toward democracy. Forty-plus years after independence, most are still struggling to find a political system capable of holding together their diverse populations. Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Angola together account for about 40 percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa. Their chronic internal problems have repercussions that go well beyond their boundaries. In addition, Africa’s big states, with the exception of South Africa, do not serve the interests of their citizens, their neighbours or the broader international community. Despite the advantage for growth that large states with resource bases and domestic markets should theoretically enjoy, Africa’s three most populous countries - Nigeria, Ethiopia and the DRC - have an average per capita income under $300 a year, virtually unchanged in the last 20 years and representing a substantial decline in real income and living conditions for most citizens. New paradigms of governance and engagement must be sought to address the special challenges posed by large populations and national territories, argues this article in e-africa, the electronic journal of governance and innovation.

Celebrities can cause considerable change in society. Little wonder you have the likes of celebrated soccer star Kalusha Bwalya getting involved in the measles campaign, late Princess Diana in the land mine crusade and Bono in debt relief for developing countries, and the list is endless. Having realised the grand impact that celebrities give in effecting social change, the ministry of Labour and Social Security which has been working in close collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in the fight against child labour in Zambia, have identified local celebrities to help in fighting the scourge. They have picked on two local artistes, St Michael (Michael Zulu) and his wife Sista D (Daputsa Nkhata-Zulu) to be their child labour ambassadors in Zambia.