The South Africa of Today

This article is based on the address given by Miss Thompsonat the Africa Day Conference held at the Royal Society of Artson November 17, 1956.     

Political Aspects of The New Africa

In the following article Professor Da Silva Cunha, Under-Secretaryof State for the Overseas Territories in the Portuguese Government,one of the most brilliant jurists of the younger generationin his country, makes an analysis of Portugal's policy of integrationin her African Provinces in relation to black nationalism, Pan-Africanism,Communism and the other forces that today are asserting themselveson the African continent     

The Coloured People of South Africa

Miss Attles, a sister of the Prime Minister, has worked in theUnion for 37 years, first in the Railway Mission and since 1929in Claremont, a suburb of Cape Town. This article representspart of a lecture on the 30th April with the Dowager CountessBuxton in the Chair. After the discussion, the Union Governmentfilm Towards the Future was shown, giving the obverse side ofthe medal, with schools and amenities greatly in advance ofconditions in comparable areas, like the West Indies.     

The Leprosy Problem in Africa

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the British Empire LeprosyRelief Association, familiarly known as Belra. The author hasbeen interested in the leprosy problem for many years, in thecourse of which he has visited scores of leprosariums both inAfrica and in other parts of the world.     

The regulation of party switching in Africa

The article presents a complete overview of existing regulations of party switching in Africa since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. While most established democracies do not see any reason for sanctioning with legal restrictions the decision of members of parliament to change their party affiliation, in Africa many countries take a critical stance towards party switching. Frequent party switching is considered to weaken political parties, to hinder the institutionalisation of party systems, and to endanger the stability of government and the legitimacy of democracy. The article distinguishes legal regulations of party switching conceptually by what is prohibited and its enforcement. A preliminary analysis shows that anti-defection laws indeed matter for party system institutionalisation in Africa's emerging democracies.     

The drug trade in Southern Africa

Introductory Address by Dr. AM Omar MP, Minister of Justice, at the South African Institute of International Affairs’ Workshop on ‘The Drug Trade in Southern Africa’, 5 June 1997, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.     

The Early Introduction of Cocoa to West Africa

While going through old records at Kew, Dr. Howes discoveredsome papers which shed and interesting light on the earliestdays of attempts to establish cacao on the West Coast. He haswritten this note at our invitation.