Source: Government of Qatar
Doha | August 17, 2026
HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani met with HE Prime Minister of the State of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, who is visiting the country.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and ways to support and strengthen them -particularly in the fields of education, health, and tourism- in addition to a host of topics of of mutual interest.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – Portuguese –
Primeiro Ministro recebe em audiência Encarregado de Negócios da Embaixada dos EUA
O Primeiro-Ministro, Francisco Carvalho, recebeu em audiência de cortesia o Encarregado de Negócios da Embaixada dos Estados Unidos da América em Cabo Verde, Dr. Mark Weinberg. O encontro serviu para abrir canais de diá. sobre projectos futuros e reforçar a parceria estratégica entre as duas nações em áreas de interesse mútuo.
Cabo Verde e os Estados Unidos mantêm uma relação histórica de amizade, alicerçada numa vasta comunidade residente naquele país e numa cooperação sólida em sectores como a segurança, a educação e o desenvolvimento económico.
Distribuído pelo Grupo APO para Governo de Cabo Verde.
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Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Tom Shipley, Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex
Youth-led demonstrations that shook Madagascar in late 2025 began as protests over water and electricity shortages. They quickly evolved into bigger demands for political change, forcing president Andry Rajoelina into exile. The Gen-Z protesters (most born between 1997 and 2012) spoke of dignity, corruption and a broken social contract.
A military-led transitional government took advantage of the turmoil to take power. In a new book chapter and co-authored paper published by the GI-ACE research programme at the University of Sussex, Ketakandriana Rafitoson and Tom Shipley argue that the protesters overthrew a captured state.
But what is state capture? What does it look like in Madagascar? And what could happen next?
State capture is a harmful corruption phenomenon. It involves powerful political and business networks reshaping the rules – laws and institutions – to serve their own ends.
Originally conceived by economists at the World Bank, state capture has the distinct idea of “shaping the rules of the game”. This is in contrast to everyday forms of corruption, which involve breaking the rules. It’s the difference between the pharmaceutical firm that uses its political connections to lower regulatory standards and the bribe paid to a nurse by a patient to secure vital treatment.
During protests in countries as diverse as Bangladesh, Serbia and Madagascar, the language of state capture provided a powerful mobilising force. This has brought new attention to a concept which for many years was a niche academic term.
It is no accident that Madagascar was ranked among 10 countries at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index in 2025. Access to basic public services is low, holding back the economic prospects of young protesters.
State capture helps explain why.
Our colleague Liz Dávid-Barrett at the Centre for the Study of Corruption has developed a helpful framework that unbundles state capture into three pillars.
The first pillar is about fixing the rules governing key aspects of economic and political life. In Madagascar, the constitution has formed the bedrock of capture. Enacted amid a political crisis in 2010, it grants the presidency extensive powers. These include the right to appoint one-third of the members of the senate, a power relentlessly exploited by former president Rajoelina (2009-2014 and 2019-2025) to build patronage networks.
The second pillar is about controlling the implementation of public policy. Madagascar’s state bureaucracy is packed with political loyalists. Captors have also zeroed in on certain institutions, such as the national power and water utility, where there are opportunities to profit from corruption. This has had disastrous economic consequences. For instance, Madagascar’s electrification rates are among the lowest globally and power cuts are common.
The third pillar is about deflecting accountability by controlling or attacking institutions like the judiciary, the media and civil society. As an example, captors cleverly manipulated the design of an anti-corruption court to ensure their own immunity from prosecution. A High Court of Justice was created in 2018 to try senior officials. It has made zero prosecutions despite 37 cases being brought before the court. Threats of violence and legal action against activists were constant, repressing democratic activism.
Control of central state structures is only part of the story, however.
Captor networks have generated vast profits in vacuums of state authority, giving them powerful incentives to resist efforts to regulate those sectors.
At an early stage illegal rosewood logging helped captor networks under Rajoelina build the wealth used to control state institutions. Over time, these networks adapted as new economic opportunities emerged. They shifted from rosewood to vanilla and gold. Madagascar is the world’s leading producer of vanilla, while illegal gold exports have been a major source of profits for captor networks.
This economic activity in the shadows illustrates a conundrum that also applies to other countries where there is not much of a functioning state. Captor networks do not always need state institutions to control resources and retain power. They use formal rules when those rules serve their interests – and bypass them when they don’t.
Madagascar’s Gen Z-led protests brought these questions of concentrated political and economic power into focus.
This isn’t the first time the Malagasy people have created a window of opportunity for change. Street protests against the rising cost of living and corruption facilitated Rajoelina’s entry into power in 2009. These windows have been shut without much achieved, however.
Exploiting the most recent upheaval, a transitional military government headed by Colonel Michael Randrianirina seized power in late 2025. It made commitments to a two-year transition period before elections.
But concerns the timetable will slip are merited. This is especially given growing Russian influence around Randrianirina which could lead to the postponement, or even cancellation, of elections in 2027.
The protest movement faces complications of its own. A recent survey found that 52% of citizens don’t trust the movement. The military government and old networks have also sought to infiltrate and intimidate activist groups.
The Concertation Nationale (national dialogue) – scheduled to begin in August 2026 but repeatedly delayed – will be a test of the direction of travel.
A national dialogue is an inclusive process for building consensus at a time of crisis. In theory, then, it could be a valuable forum for re-defining the rules of the game in a captured state. Constitutional change is expected to be on the table in a process overseen by church groups, but there are concerns about their independence.
The main focus of European governments now is the elections timetable. These donors retain influence but are in competition with Russia for the transition government’s ear.
Elections are important, of course, but likely to be flawed if structural issues around how they run are not addressed. Political finance, for example, has long been a black hole, which works to the advantage of established powerbrokers.
On anti-corruption, measures supported by international donors tend to focus on law enforcement efforts – going after the bad guys – over systemic reform. In a situation of state capture where corruption is systemic, this carries risks and can be counterproductive. Enforcement bodies can be captured and used to pursue political opponents.
Ultimately, breaking the cycle of state capture requires more than reshuffling elites.
Gen-Z reformers, civil society organisations and supportive foreign donors need to push for measures that can deliver quick and tangible benefits for citizens. For instance, strengthening the governance of the state power utility to improve basic public service provision. Other countries have made progress in tackling corruption in critical development sectors, like health.
Gen-Z protesters created an opening in Madagascar. But it is the months leading up to elections in late 2027 that will determine whether that leads to meaningful and lasting reform.
– In Madagascar, Gen-Z overthrew a corrupt regime but the battle against state capture has barely begun
– https://theconversation.com/in-madagascar-gen-z-overthrew-a-corrupt-regime-but-the-battle-against-state-capture-has-barely-begun-289407
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Maurizio Esposito La Rossa, Associate Professor of Anthropology, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
France’s Ministry of Culture handed over three Malagasy skulls to Harea Georges Kamamy, the reigning king (ampagnito) of the Sakalava people in Menabe, a western region of Madagascar, on 26 August 2025. The skulls had been held for more than a century in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris.
One was identified as belonging to Toera, the Menabe king killed by French colonial troops in 1897. When handed over, it was placed in his tomb to complete his skeleton. A “bathing of the relics” ceremony (fitampoha) completes the process of the late ruler becoming an ancestor. This ceremony also consecrates the accession of the new sovereign.
Anthropologist Maurizio Esposito La Rossa’s research on the Sakalava monarchy has resulted in a new book, Sovereigns of Gold, Spirits of Silver: Ritual, History and Hierarchy in Madagascar (HAU Books, in press). This work informs his explanation of what the return of the skulls means, spiritually and politically, and why it has proved divisive.
Among the Sakalava people of the Menabe region, royal relics (dady) have been central to political life since the first kingdoms were founded in the 17th century. Made from fragments of the skull and other parts of the deceased sovereign’s body, relics carry the generative power (hasina) of royal ancestors. It is this power that legitimises the rule of the living king. The relics are made by ritual specialists drawn from local groups, and allow the dead sovereign to return as a spirit, or tromba.
It’s a practice that embodies the alliance between the political power of the “stranger-king” (anthropologist Marshall Sahlins’ term for a ruler who originates from elsewhere) and the ritual authority of the “masters of the land” who legitimise him.
My fieldwork in Madagascar (2015-2025) focused on how royal rituals reframe the dynastic conflicts between the “gold” and “silver” princely branches, hence my book’s title.
“Gold” princes are the legitimate heirs: they alone may rule, and they alone possess relics. “Silver” princes, descended from a king’s sisters or secondary wives, have no right to hold relics, nor to have relics made from their own remains after death.
Historically, silver princes faced a choice: stay and take up ritual office within the existing kingdom, or leave to found a new one elsewhere, stealing or fabricating relics of their own. Many of them chose the second path. Combined with the slave trade conducted with foreign powers, this dynamic drove the Sakalava monarchy’s expansion along the west coast between the 17th and 19th centuries.
The return of Toera’s presumed skull belongs to a much longer history of relic politics involving the French, the Sakalava and the Merina.
In the Sakalava monarchy, succession rules have long been flouted, and polygamous marriage strategies have produced no shortage of princes with a claim to the throne. Possessing the relics – or even just credibly claiming to – has for centuries been the decisive factor in legitimating royal power. It’s driven disputes that continue today.
Relics were also a target of the two conquests the Sakalava kingdoms suffered: by the Merina kingdom of Madagascar’s highlands in the 1820s, and by the French colonial army at the end of the 19th century. When the French took control, they returned relics to Sakalava rulers after the Merina had earlier confiscated them. In doing so, they helped restore the rulers’ political legitimacy, enabling the French to govern through them as local intermediaries.
The latest gesture has been framed as an act of reconciliation between former coloniser and formerly colonised. But it has also reopened tensions within Madagascar: between the central government and the local Sakalava monarchy, and between rival dynastic branches contesting the Menabe throne.
The restitution was negotiated between the French and Malagasy governments, with the Malagasy side represented above all by then-president Andry Rajoelina, a Merina from the capital. Menabe royals have complained they were not adequately consulted over how the ceremony was organised, and the Menabe king regretted that the skulls were handed to Madagascar’s government instead of the royal family. One royal descendant, Joe Kamamy – descended from Toera through the female line, and therefore ineligible to rule under patrilineal succession – reportedly sought to claim the skull for himself, to found a new tomb and a new kingdom.
This echoes the age-old pattern of “silver” princes seeking to become “gold” kings by founding kingdoms of their own.
It would be too simple to read this restitution solely through the lens of former coloniser versus formerly colonised. That decolonial framing has real merit – it does justice to a history of dispossession ignored for far too long.
But it can also obscure internal power relations. In doing so, it can legitimise forms of domination exercised by local elites and, in some cases, reignite conflicts among them. Restitution, while undoubtedly a gesture of repair, is also a political act that can redifine (or consolidate) pre-existing local hierarchies.
– Returning bones to Madagascar doesn’t just right a colonial wrong: why a royal skull still has power
– https://theconversation.com/returning-bones-to-madagascar-doesnt-just-right-a-colonial-wrong-why-a-royal-skull-still-has-power-289536
Source: APO
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mr Mikateko Mahlaule, has noted the judgment of the Constitutional Court, which has blocked Shell and Impact Africa’s offshore exploration activities along South Africa’s Wild Coast.
Mr Mahlaule said the committee respects the authority of the Constitutional Court and recognises the importance of ensuring that communities are meaningfully consulted and that environmental considerations are properly addressed in decisions relating to the country’s natural resources.
However, he expressed concern about the broader implications of prolonged legal uncertainty and repeated delays for investment, exploration and economic development in South Africa’s offshore petroleum sector.
“The country cannot afford for potentially significant economic opportunities and job creation initiatives to remain permanently at the conceptual stage because of uncertainty around exploration. Exploration is the process through which we establish whether resources exist and whether they can ultimately be developed for the benefit of the economy and the people of South Africa,” said Mr Mahlaule.
He stressed that economic development and environmental protection should not be treated as mutually exclusive objectives. “South Africa needs a regulatory framework that protects our environment and the rights of affected communities, while at the same time providing investors with sufficient certainty to undertake responsible exploration. If uncertainty continues to delay exploration indefinitely, we risk losing investment and opportunities for economic growth, skills development and employment,” he said.
Mr Mahlaule said South Africa cannot afford to fall behind other resource-rich countries in attracting investment into exploration and developing its natural-resource base. The committee will continue to engage with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources on the implications of the judgment and the broader challenges facing offshore exploration, including regulatory certainty and the need to create an environment conducive to responsible investment.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Source: APO
President Dr. Patrick Herminie joined fellow Heads of State and Government at the Official Opening Ceremony of the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit, held at the Durban International Convention Centre.
South Africa formally assumed the Chairpersonship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) during the Ceremony.
His Excellency Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, opened proceedings as Interim Chairperson, setting the tone for a Ceremony that opened with a vibrant cultural performance before President Herminie took to the podium to deliver his maiden address to the Summit.
The Ceremony’s defining moment came with the formal handover of the SADC Chairpersonship, as His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, passed the mantle of regional leadership to President Ramaphosa, who accepted the Chairpersonship before the Assembly.
President Herminie thereafter joined his regional counterparts in closed session, where deliberations on the Summit’s agenda got underway.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.
Source: APO
The East African Community has handed over two border patrol vehicles to the Burundi Border Police in an effort to strengthen border security, improve mobility and enhance the fight against cross-border crime and illicit activities.
The vehicles were handed over by the EAC Secretary General, H.E. Amb. Stephen Mbundi, at a ceremony held in Bujumbura on Wednesday, 12 August, 2026. The support is being provided under the EAC–United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) project, Creating a Secure Trading and Customs Environment in the EAC through Enhancing Border Security, with funding from the Government of Japan.
The two vehicles form part of a regional deployment of 16 patrol vehicles, with each of the eight EAC Partner States receiving two vehicles for use at key and porous border points. Burundi is among the first Partner State to receive the vehicles.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, EAC Secretary General Amb. Stephen Mbundi said the initiative was a regional milestone that demonstrated the Community’s commitment to collective security and regional integration.
“This is more than the handover of vehicles; it is a demonstration of what we can achieve when we act together as a Community. With sixteen patrol vehicles being deployed across all Partner States, we are strengthening our shared commitment to secure borders, safer communities and a more integrated region,” said Amb. Mbundi.
He noted that the intervention was informed by technical assessments of EAC One-Stop Border Posts, which identified mobility gaps as a key challenge affecting border security and trade facilitation.
The EAC Secretary General emphasised the close link between security and regional trade, noting that secure and efficient borders are essential to unlocking the benefits of the EAC’s regional market.
“These vehicles will strengthen the presence of our border police, enable faster responses and reinforce our collective fight against smuggling, trafficking and other forms of cross-border crime. By securing our borders, we are not only protecting our people and communities; we are creating the confidence and stability needed for trade, investment and prosperity to flourish across East Africa,” said Amb. Mbundi.
Representing the Government of Burundi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, H.E. Amb. Édouard Bizimana, welcomed the support and underscored the importance of strengthening coordinated responses to security challenges along the region’s borders.
He noted that borders face multifaceted challenges, including organised and transnational crime, while cross-border agencies often face logistical constraints in carrying out their duties.
“This logistical support is of strategic importance to Burundi and the region. It will strengthen the mobility of our border security teams, enhance border control and operational efficiency, and reinforce regional cooperation. Ultimately, stronger border security creates a safer and more conducive environment for the movement of people and goods and for the growth of cross-border trade,” said Amb. Bizimana.
The Minister expressed appreciation to the EAC Secretariat, UNOPS and the Government of Japan for supporting the initiative, noting that the vehicles would enhance the operational capacity of agencies responsible for cross-border security and trade facilitation.
The support follows assessments conducted by the EAC Peace and Security Department at various One-Stop Border Posts across the region, which identified transport and mobility as key areas requiring intervention.
The EAC and its partners reaffirm their commitment to deepening regional cooperation and strengthening cross-border security, recognising that secure and efficient borders are essential to the free and safe movement of people and goods. The initiative underscores the EAC’s shared vision of a peaceful, secure and integrated region where stronger border security creates the foundation for expanded trade, greater connectivity and shared prosperity across East Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of East African Community (EAC).
Source: Africa Press Organisation – French
Le ministre de la Santé Dr Mohamed Seddik AIT MESSAOUDENE et le Représentant de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) en Algérie, Dr Phanuel Habimana, ont procédé à la signature du Plan de travail conjoint Gouvernement algérien – OMS pour le biennium 2026-2027, lors d’une cérémonie organisée au siège du ministère de la Santé ce jeudi 13 aout 2026.
La cérémonie s’est déroulée en présence du représentant du ministère des Affaires étrangères, de la communauté nationale à l’etranger et des affaires africaines des cadres du ministère de la Santé et du bureau de l’OMS en Algérie.
À cette occasion, les deux parties ont réaffirmé leur engagement commun à poursuivre et à renforcer leur coopération au service de l’amélioration de la santé des populations et du développement durable du système de santé national.
Le Plan de travail conjoint 2026-2027 définit les principaux axes de coopération entre le Gouvernement algérien et l’OMS pour les deux prochaines années. Il s’articule notamment autour du renforcement du système de santé et des soins de santé primaires, de l’accélération des progrès vers la couverture sanitaire universelle, ainsi que de la prévention et de la lutte contre les maladies transmissibles et non transmissibles.
Le Plan de travail prévoit également des actions visant à renforcer la préparation, la surveillance et la réponse aux urgences sanitaires, conformément aux engagements internationaux en matière de sécurité sanitaire.
Une attention particulière sera accordée à la promotion de l’innovation et de la santé numérique, à la consolidation des capacités nationales dans le domaine de la réglementation et de l’accès à des produits de santé sûrs, efficaces et de qualité, ainsi qu’au développement d’approches intégrées et multisectorielles pour faire face aux nouveaux défis sanitaires.
La signature de ce plan de travail témoigne de la volonté commune des deux parties de consolider leur partenariat stratégique et de poursuivre leurs efforts conjoints en faveur d’un système de santé plus performant, résilient et équitable, au bénéfice de l’ensemble des citoyens.
Distribué par APO Group pour WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Source: APO – Report:
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In the message, the Sovereign extended His congratulations to the Gabonese President, along with His warmest wishes for the happiness and future of the Gabonese people.
On this occasion, His Majesty the King expressed His hope that the deep bonds of brotherly friendship between Morocco and Gabon would continue to grow stronger.
“To this end, I assure Your Excellency of My readiness to continue working with you to strengthen the Moroccan-Gabonese partnership, making it more strengthened, mutually supportive and prosperous,” the Sovereign writes.
– on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
Source: APO – Report:
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The Eastern Cape Provincial Whip in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Adv Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana, has noted the Constitutional Court’s ruling setting aside exploration rights held by multinational Shell and Impact Africa, a South African oil and gas company.
Adv Nonkonyana noted that the ruling now prevents the companies from exploring for fossil fuels off the Wild Coast. He said the ruling was vindication that, despite our economic development needs, our people are listened to.
“The ruling gives the voices and decision-making to the community about the things that have a potential to affect their lives and future generations, like mining. We cannot pursue profit at all costs and ignore its impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. Multinationals should learn from this judgment that they will not be allowed to break our country further without ploughing back to the communities whose lives are impacted,” he said.
Adv Nonkonyana is leading the Eastern Cape’s permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces this week as part of the annual NCOP’s Provincial Week flagship programme. The delegation will focus on the implementation of infrastructure projects.
He said the delegation was excited to be returning to the province for a fruitful visit. “We need to implement projects that benefit people and add tangible value to our communities,” said Adv Nonkonyana. He said the delegation expects a different report than last year’s, when the construction mafia affected project implementation. The delegation will split into two, with one focusing on projects in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and the other in the Chris Hani District Municipality.
“We are calling for work to continue even on projects that we visited last year, such as the flood victims in Mthatha West, and the accommodation needs of the affected.” Adv Nonkonyana said the delegation will want to be briefed on the progress made in helping the flood victims. He said the delegation appreciates Premier Oscar Mabuyane’s support during their visit to the province.
– on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
