Thomas Sankara had a vision to change the way things were, by creating a model of social democracy in one of Africa’s poorest countries. Twenty-three years after Sankara’s assassination in October 1987, Mwaura Kaara calls on Africans to ‘be courageous enough to dream again and visionary enough to act on our dreams.’

Senegal is credited with being a stable country in Africa but this stability cannot fully hide the political uncertainties that afflict the country. While the institutions function, the electoral calendar has almost always been respected, and the opposition is free to express itself, heavy storm clouds hang over the near future of the country. The current regime, confronted by dangers that threaten its survival, is seeking to prolong its power indefinitely which, according to Sidy Diop, could have most serious consequences.

We live in a violent society, Richard Pithouse writes, but this very fear of violence is used to justify other forms of violence such as racism, xenophobia and fear of the poor. ‘… the presence of self-organised poor people in civil society is often received as a threat by all kinds of constituencies, including some of those that, be they liberal or radical, assume a right to enlighten and lead poor people from above,’ Pithouse argues.

Isabeau Doucet critically examines the funding promises made by the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission. Housing and employment programs have been overlooked. Mortgages and bourgeois interests are the IHRC’s main priorities, Doucet argues.

Donors would rather continue to send aid to the Ethiopian government rather than admit it is not reaching the Ethiopian people, Ethiopian Recycler argues. ‘Zenawi knows denial will breed denial.’

The pretrial stage of the criminal justice process is particularly vulnerable to corrupt practices, which hit the poor and disenfranchised hardest, says Kersty McCourt.

Nearly 11 months since Haiti was devastated by an earthquake, the country is still in ruins, with 1.5 million internally displaced people forced to live in crowded unsanitary conditions. Sokari Ekine reports from the Haitian blogosphere on the progress that hasn’t been made.

‘There’s no political event more dangerous than a general election’, and ‘if wise counsels do not prevail, no one can predict what might happen’, writes Cameron Duodu.

The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), just announced by the South African government, can be praised for being a hard win in a context that offers few building blocks to make bolder decisions, writes researcher and policy analyst Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen on the South African Civil Society Information Service website. 'However, time is not on the side of the poor and more broadly, the country. A conscious attempt to finalise economic policy that has the best prospect to break unemployment is needed, and such policy should be integrated within government’s policy and budget by the next MTBPS in 2011.'

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/502/68169_sa_strike_tmb.jpgThe social weight of organised, mobilised workers is beginning to consolidate in South Africa. The September public sector strike was a shining example, writes Trevor Ngwane.

Western donors continue to hand out billions of dollars in ‘humanitarian’ and ‘economic’ aid to Ethiopia’s Zenawi regime each year, turning a blind eye to the fact that their handouts are propping up a repressive dictatorship, writes Al Mariam.

Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) heavyweight Zwelinzima Vavi has denied suggestions that a civil society conference under way in Boksburg was testing waters for a new political party. 'Let us right from onset state that we are not an anti-ANC and anti-government coalition,' the Cosatu general secretary told delegates on Wednesday. 'We are not here to begin a process to form any political party, nor to advance the interest of any individual.'

Kenya's foreign minister has stepped aside amid a growing scandal involving the alleged misuse of his ministry's funds for several land deals abroad. Moses Wetangula, who maintains his innocence, made his announcement as MPs were set to vote on his suspension. A parliamentary report recommended his removal until claims over deals for new embassies were fully investigated.

On 31 October Tanzanians will elect a new President and a 10th Parliament (Bunge). Many of those standing for election served during the 9th Bunge between 2005 and 2010. How did these MPs perform? Did they participate actively and represent their constituencies by asking questions and making interventions, or were they silent backbenchers? Using official Bunge data sources, Uwazi at Twaweza, an organisation that seeks to 'liberate' data and information so as to better inform public discussion, has presented a ranking of the most and least active MPs in Parliament.

Kofi Akosah-Sarpong tackles excessive spending on funerals in Ghana. More attention should be spend on the living, he argues.

Amidst persistent warnings that climate change will destroy Africa, the leaders of the world's second largest and second most populous continent have launched the 'Climate for Development in Africa Programme' and decided to set up an 'Africa Green Fund'. The two significant steps to defend the continent come in run-up to the landmark UN climate change conference from November 29 to December 10 in Cancun, Mexico, where the African Green Fund is expected to get underway.

Ethiopians from various cities in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia held a conference on Saturday to discuss and coordinate plans for the upcoming 5th anniversary of the Ethiopian election massacre. The participants discussed and updated each other about the various events that are being organised throughout the month of November in remembrance of the those fellow Ethiopians who were gunned down by the Meles regime while peacefully protesting the election fraud and demanding respect of their vote.

Routledge, in collaboration with editors and society partners, have selected research articles which engage with the UN World Development Information Day themes of: Sustainable Development, Human Settlements and Energy; Advancement of Women; Population and Migration; Governance and Institution Building; Macroeconomics and Finance; Social Development. These articles are available free online until 31 December 2010. All articles have been drawn from leading journal titles within Development Studies, Gender Studies, African Studies, Asian Studies, Middle East Studies, European Studies, Politics & International Relations and Demography.

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Khartoum has committed multiple breaches of an arms embargo over Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region and China has done little to ensure its weaponry is not used there, according to a confidential report seen by Reuters. The latest report by the so-called Panel of Experts, which monitors compliance with a 2005 UN arms embargo for Darfur, is now in the hands of the Security Council's Sudan sanctions committee. It says Khartoum's violations include unauthorised transfer of military hardware and troops to Darfur.

In November the European Union expects East African countries to sign a ‘comprehensive’ trade agreement. But Yash Tandon warns that the deal is not in Africa’s favour.