South African President Cyril Ramaphosa named a new minister this week to tackle the country’s electricity crisis as part of a Cabinet shakeup ahead of general elections next year. But many regard it as a half-hearted measure that is unlikely to produce the tangible policy reforms they argue South Africa desperately needs.
BRICS countries all are lending support to Moscow at a time when it has been largely cut off diplomatically and economically from the Western world. But while the group functions as a source of support for Russia, it is important to distinguish the differences in how and why they are offering that support.
It makes sense that a continent that is home to 54 countries and 1.2 billion people would also house many contradictory developments. Africa features several of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a burgeoning middle class. But much of the continent remains mired in debt, burdened by conflict and beset by elites clinging to power.
