Social Unrest In Guinea

Speaking Up GUINEA Deadly clashes erupted in the Guinean capital this week after unions called for an open-ended general strike against the country’s military junta, a rare protest in the West African country after the army seized power in a coup more than two years ago, Al Jazeera reported. A confederation of the main unions urged public and private sector workers to strike for the release of prominent media activist Jamal Pendessa, who was sentenced to six months in prison last week – with three months suspended. Unions also demanded lower food prices and an end to media censorship. The unrest has paralyzed the capital, Conarky, with businesses and schools being shuttered, while hospitals provided reduced services. Skirmishes took place in some of Conarky’s outskirts, where two young men were shot dead. The strike comes a week after the military dissolved the country’s transitional government – first formed in July 2022 – without giving any reason, nor saying when a new one would be installed. The army also ordered the confiscation of government officials’ passports and the freezing of their bank accounts. Protests have become very rare in Guinea since Gen. Mamady Doumbouya led the military to take power in September 2021. A year later, the military government banned all demonstrations, as well as detained a number of opposition leaders, civil society members and journalists.

Zimbabwe-Swimming With Crocodiles

Swimming With Crocodiles ZIMBABWE A Zimbabwean court recently gave opposition leader Job Sikhala a suspended sentence of nine months in prison for making falsehoods on social media. The charges stem from his allegation that a police officer killed a child at a bus stop. Sikhala’s attorney said the southern African country’s top court had found that the law he supposedly violated was unconstitutional, Africa News reported. Amnesty International called the decision a “travesty of justice.” The ruling came less than a month after a court freed Sikhala after almost 600 days in jail on pretrial detention for charges that include inciting public violence in 2022. As France 24 noted, the leader of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change political party has been arrested dozens of times since he entered politics in 1999 and challenged the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). These developments occurred as ZANU-PF candidates won a two-thirds majority in parliament earlier this month, paving the way for lawmakers to amend Zimbabwean laws to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term in office – a pattern that has been repeated across Africa as longtime leaders seek to flout term limits, Voice of America reported. Many hoped Mnangagwa would usher in a new era in the country after taking the helm following the ousting of longtime dictator Robert Mugabe in 2017. Instead, after winning reelection last summer, he appears to be continuing the same strongman tactics that Mugabe leveraged successfully to retain power for 37 years. Another opposition leader, for example, Nelson Chamisa, recently quit the Citizens Coalition for Change, saying ZANU-PF operatives had infiltrated the party. Speaking to Al Jazeera, he compared working in the party to a “swim in a river with hungry crocodiles.” “Crocodile” is Mnangagwa’s nickname. “Mugabe’s removal from power gave way to cautious optimism about a new dawn in the country’s post-independence affairs,” wrote World Politics Review. “But more than five years since he was succeeded in office by Mnangagwa, the hope for a more peaceful and prosperous Zimbabwe has all but evaporated.” Meanwhile, the economy hasn’t been faring much better than the political landscape: It has been growing, but inflation has cut into those gains and poverty remains widespread, according to the World Bank. The president and his allies, meanwhile, have pledged that the economy will improve significantly this year due to the recent discovery of oil and gas in the country as well as improvements in the mining and tourism industries, Voice of America reported. But economists were skeptical, and Zimbabweans continued to emigrate elsewhere in search of opportunities.

South African Rugby gets A $1 Billion US Cash Injection

Editor's notebook ADRIAAN BASSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The R1bn SA Rugby equity deal... and an elephant called Jurie Two years ago, I published a column in this space titled "Has Jurie Roux captured SA Rugby?". Roux, the now former CEO of SA Rugby, and his employers weren't thrilled. He took me to the Press Ombudsman and lost because his complaint was filed late. Two years later, the question remains relevant to every rugby fan who holds SA rugby and the Springboks dear. This time, Roux's influence is evident in the latest controversy to hit the governing body of rugby in South Africa – a R1.4-billion private equity deal with the little-known Ackerley Sports Group from Seattle in the United States. A bit of background: in 2015, Stellenbosch University issued a summons against Roux, the former financial director of the university, to repay R37 million he had unlawfully transferred from the university's reserves to Maties rugby club. The money was used to pay the accommodation and fees of Maties players like Peter Grant, Juan de Jongh and Ernst Joubert. Because of his impressive track record at Maties, Roux was appointed CEO of SA Rugby in 2010. On Roux's request, the university agreed to remove the matter from the roll of the Western Cape High Court and from public scrutiny, and initiate a private arbitration chaired by a senior advocate. In December 2020, the arbitration ruled in the SU's favour and ordered Roux to repay the R37 million. Roux appealed. In December 2021, he lost again. The heavyweight appeals panel found some Maties money ended up in Roux's account. But still, Roux wasn't done fighting a legal battle, possibly because he didn't have R37 million in spare cash lying around. So he returned to the Western Cape High Court and asked Judge Vincent Saldanha to set aside the arbitration award in 2023. He lost. And Saldanha ordered Roux to pay back not only the R37 million but also interest and legal costs. By this time, Roux's bill probably stood at around R50 million. He applied for leave to appeal and lost again. His petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal is expected to be ruled on in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, his accomplice in the so-called "Sparries" (savings) scam at Stellenbosch, Chris de Beer, was convicted of fraud by the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court two weeks ago and handed a five-year suspended prison sentence. The National Prosecuting Authority allegedly made a deal with Roux's lawyers to allow the arbitration process to come to fruition before criminal proceedings were instituted. That day is coming closer. Meanwhile, Roux was merrily conducting his business at SA Rugby, a body with the backbone of an amoeba. Year after year, SA Rugby found excuses as to why they could not act against Roux despite the very serious allegations he faced. Then suddenly, at the beginning of last year, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander announced Roux would "amicably" part ways with SA Rugby, but "be contracted to complete the implementation of the mooted equity transaction, as well as the handover to his successor, who will be appointed once the equity negotiations are finalised". Those in rugby administration saw this as a cynical move to remove Roux's name from the SA Rugby letterhead, but he remained working at SARU House in Plattekloof. His package as a consultant remains a state secret, but is rumoured to be more than what he earned as CEO. Different ballgame For the past year, Roux was exclusively negotiating with CVC, a private equity firm based in Luxembourg, London and New York, to buy a stake in a new company in which SA Rugby would be the majority shareholder. The argument is that such a transaction will inject much-needed cash into SA Rugby and help establish the Springboks as a global brand. But suddenly, at the end of last year, Roux, Alexander and acting SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer (the late Louis Luyt's son-in-law) announced to the provincial unions they were now concluding a deal with Ackerley Sports Group from Seattle, which owns stakes in American sports teams and Leeds United, that plays in the English first division. If CVC is a Porsche, Ackerley is a Kia Picanto (no offence to Picantos), also a car, but a completely different ballgame. Alexander, Roux and Oberholzer are passionately trying to convince the provinces they should go with Picanto's offer. The deal on the table is reportedly a R1.4-billion injection into SA Rugby. Still, it is entirely unclear what Ackerley brings to the Springboks or why Roux moved his loyalties from Luxembourg to Seattle. The deal gets even more murky with the revelation that Ackerley doesn't have enough money, but was shopping around elsewhere in the United States to fund the transaction. The country's four largest franchises, the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers, are now desperately trying to determine what is going on. Their hard-hitting letter to the SA Rugby bosses, which News24 revealed last week, shook the earth in Plattekloof. Remember that they are the key shareholders of SA Rugby who will have to pay the private equity partner its share before profits, if any, are divided between the unions. A key question in the franchises' letter to SA Rugby is finding out the transaction costs, commissions and success fees if the Ackerley deal is concluded. And herein lies the nub: the country's largest rugby clubs, all owned by private investors, know Roux desperately needs R50 million to repay Stellenbosch University or face a dire financial future. It is wholly reasonable for all Springbok fans to fear the private equity deal is not being brokered in the sport's best interests, but to line the pockets of a few individuals.