19/11/2020

The imminent arrest of a ruling-party bigwig is good news for Cyril Ramaphosa
Corrupt procurement deals are ubiquitous
in South Africa. So much so that the
country coined the term “tenderpreneur”
Under Jacob Zuma (pictured,
centre), president from 2009 to 2018,
the corruption reached such kleptocratic
levels it became known as “state capture”.
On November
10th he was issued with a warrant
for his arrest on corruption charges related
to the asbestos case.
And if the state
wins its case against Mr Magashule, it
would be the clearest sign yet that the president’s
anti-corruption drive is serious.
For 15 years Mr Zuma has
been in and mostly out of court for his alleged
part in a corrupt arms deal dating
back to the late 1990s
Zambia
Unless it pays an
overdue $42.5m coupon, or bondholders
give it more time, on November 13th Zambia
will officially default on its debt.
Though it would be the first African state to
do so since the start of the pandemic, covid-
19 is not the root cause of its troubles.
More important is the pf’s misrule,
Government debt as a
share of gdp has risen from 21% to 120%
(see chart). External debt has increased
seven-fold, as Zambia borrowed in dollars
from Western bondholders and Chinese
state banks. Much of the money has been wasted. A
dual carriageway north from Lusaka estimated
to have cost $1.2bn stops on the outskirts
of the capital
an official
watchdog, found $520m worth of money-
laundering or suspicious transactions
in 2018, up from $382m in 2017. Institutions
meant to oversee borrowing—the finance
ministry and parliament—have been bypassed
as departments and agencies within
the presidency have racked up debts
also raised eyebrows. It included
5.7bn kwacha ($275m) for farm inputs,
such as fertiliser—a300%increaseon
the previous year. It may win over some of
the 56% of Zambians who live in the countryside

Egypt
Egypt has
laws against sexual violence and harassment
(the latter enacted only in 2014), but
victims keep quiet for fear they will be
blamed and shamed. The authorities have
been known to subject women to so-called
“virginity tests” and to ask about their sexual
history, often using the information to muddy a case
Most of Egypt’s judges and prosecutors
are men. They decide what violates Egyptian
values. Since April the authorities have arrested
ten female TikTok influencers on charges
of violating family values and inciting “indecency”
and “debauchery”. Six have been
sentenced to two years each in prison; two
have received three-year sentences.

Beirut