A report in the FT states that Libya’s rebels are examining possible corruption at the country’s $65 billion sovereign wealth fund and its links to the family of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, according the man in charge of the investigation. Mahmoud Badi, a former technocrat with the Gaddafi regime, has been appointed by the National Transitional Council to track Libya’s foreign assets, including those held by the Libyan Investment Authority.

Members of a regionally appointed team that is meant to assist Zimbabwe’s unity government with implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) have still not been selected, months after SADC leaders resolved that the political parties needed help. Additionally, no timelines for the process have been set.

Botswana is developing a policy to protect, preserve and promote its indigenous knowledge and mainstream it into the country's macro-economic framework. Development of the policy will involve identifying, documenting and gathering local traditional knowledge practices from areas including agriculture, health, culture and religious beliefs, and then feeding them into a legislative framework.

South Africa's official opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a website developed to track the opportunity cost of not implementing the youth wage subsidy policy announced by President Jacob Zuma in his February 2010 State of the Nation Address. Nobody disputes that South Africa has a crisis of youth unemployment. The rate of joblessness in the country is amongst the highest in the world, and 71% of the unemployed are under the age of 34.

South Africa is one of Africa's most liberal outposts, while Kenya has a reputation for conservatism. But no society is static, least of all in Africa. And the recent appointment processes around new chief justices in these two regional powerhouses demonstrates just how important – and potentially vulnerable – the democratic rule of law is, in places that have long histories of human rights abuse, and where inevitable social change threatens age-old customs. An opinion piece by Mark Gevisser for The Guardian.

Many scholars acknowledge that industrial policy can work well in countries with strong merit-based public services and political checks and balances. However, there are very few empirical studies available that analyse industrial policies in low and lower-middle income countries. This study by Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik intends to help fill this gap by assessing the quality of industrial policies and industrial policy making in Mozambique.

Kenya is losing its grip in the battle for foreign direct investments (FDI) to Uganda and Tanzania as heightened political tensions and restrictions on foreign ownership in some sectors turn away multinationals. The FDI inflows to Kenya dipped from Sh67.8 billion in 2007 to Sh13.1 billion in 2009 and Sh12.4 billion last year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Last year, Uganda’s FDI inflows jumped to Sh78.8 billion from Sh75.9 million while Tanzania’s increased from Sh60 billion to Sh65.1 billion—making the twin countries the key beneficiaries of the region’s common market.

South African police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse supporters of the leader of the youth wing of the governing African National Congress (ANC) in Johannesburg. Julius Malema was due to face a disciplinary hearing when hundreds of his supporters started to throw stones and bottles at police.

The Kenyan Parliament has made history by passing 15 Bills that required to be enacted by August 27 in a record four days. The Bills include the Elections Bill, the National Gender and Equality Bill, the Kenya National Rights Human Commission Bill, the Political Parties Bill, the National Police Service Bill, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Bill and the Commission on Administration of Justice Bill.

'Two Worlds' is a documentary film which looks to address inequality in post-Apartheid South Africa, a country described as both a 'first' and a 'third' world in one. The film features interviews from 18 people including students, researchers and activists, searching for answers to some of the crucial issues affecting the country today. The documentary questions why South Africa has one of the greatest divides between rich and poor in the world, and ultimately attempts to use South Africa as an example of global inequality.

The death toll from the suicide bombing at the UN headquarters in the Nigerian capital stands at 21, with 73 injured, the deputy United Nations chief announced, reducing a previous toll of 23.

August 21st marks the 40th anniversary of the execution of George Lester Jackson. The Chicago- born Jackson would have celebrated his 70th birthday on September 23rd. Jackson was a prisoner who became an author, a member of the Black Panther Party, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison organization. He achieved global fame as one of the Soledad Brothers before being executed by prison guards in San Quentin Prison.

Based on an edited portion of Prisons on Fire by the Freedom Archives (2001) with video editing by Oriana Bolden.
from Vimeo. from Vimeo.

Cape Verde’s opposition candidate, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, 61, has won Sunday’s presidential run-off elections with 54 per cent of the votes cast. His rival, Manuel Inocencio Sousa, 60, has conceded defeat after 92 per cent of the overall ballots were counted by Monday morning.

One of the more serious problems facing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund is a long history of Western racism, the author of this article argues. 'Unless the IMF and the World Bank are willing to undergo a radical reform, not a superficial one (to prolong its power structure for Western domination), their historical relevance will come to an end soon, to be replaced by alternative global institutions when the new powers in the Asian century (and others) take their turn to reshape the world order.'

DRC President Joseph Kabila has warned national institutions not to shoot their expenditures out of control. The president has had a big issue with his prime minister, Adolphe Muzito, on this matter. In the past two years, President Kabila has prevented the premier from signing documents related to big expenditures. He has accused the Prime Minister of excessive spending in disregard of the allocated budget.

Tax Justice Network - Africa and Action Aid International Kenya have conducted country studies on tax incentives for all East African Community (EAC) member states except Burundi. The Rwanda country study is complete. The report titled 'Policy Brief on Impact of Tax Incentives in Rwanda' is available and the 'East African Taxation Project: Rwanda Country Case Study' is also available. The amount lost in tax incentives is staggering, and rising: 'In 2006, according to the International Monetary Fund, the amount of revenue foregone in Rwanda to tax incentives was three per cent of GDP. Calculations from our research suggest that by 2008, this had risen to 3.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent by 2009. This compares with 2.8 per cent of GDP in Tanzania in 2008/9; one per cent of GDP in Kenya and 0.4 percent in Uganda.'

A World Council of Churches (WCC) and All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) report details historical conditions that have led to the upcoming elections in Liberia and describes the findings of the Ecumenical Solidarity Mission following their travels through Liberia from 7 through 12 August. The report concludes that resolution of Liberia’s 'difficulties and anxieties associated with the electoral process' will require 'strong political will from major stakeholders to reach a political compromise'.

Liberia’s October 2011 general and presidential elections, the second since civil war ended in 2003, are an opportunity to consolidate its fragile peace and nascent democracy, says this report from the International Crisis Group. 'Peaceful, free and fair elections depend on how well the National Elections Commission (NEC) handles the challenges of the 23 August referendum on constitutional amendments and opposition perceptions of bias toward the president’s Unity Party (UP)... The most serious threats to security, however, are the persistence of mercenary activities and arms proliferation.'

Stiff competition in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa has compelled SA to prioritise 'economic diplomacy' among a range of foreign policy measures designed to drive economic growth. This comes as SA is losing its prime position as the preferred gateway from which to do business on the continent. A draft foreign policy white paper released last week also proposes the setting up of a development agency targeting other African countries, saying the 'success of economic diplomacy will determine the extent to which SA can achieve its domestic priorities'. Regional integration, reform of the international trading system, and negotiating preferential access for African goods on international markets form the core of SA’s economic diplomacy.

The Hawks confirmed that they were investigating African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema for fraud and corruption, eNews reported on Saturday. 'From the information that we have, we have enough to tell us that we need to do a full investigation...there's a lot that tells us that we have reason to worry,' Hawks spokesperson McIntosh Polela said. ENews also reported that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) initiated its own investigation into Malema's financial affairs and alleged failure to pay tax.