Theme: COVID-19

Peace and security remain a top priority for the future of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where issues of governance, slow socio-economic development and armed insurgency continue to pose significant threats to the region’s long-term stability. With over 40% of the population in Southern Africa made up of young people, their potential to contribute to social development against this backdrop, remains largely untapped.

Amid a purported increase in vaccine hesitancy in South Africa, and a week of unrest in early July which caused interruptions to the vaccine drive in parts of the country, South Africa has now opened up vaccinations to the entire adult population, that is anyone over the age of 18. Despite studies suggesting that vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent among younger age groups, the youth flocked to vaccine centres in their thousands heeding the government’s call to get vaccinated against COVID-19, stifling some of the panic surrounding vaccine hesitancy.

The outbreak of COVID -19 and the ferocity with which it has spread across the world imposes the need for an equally formidable response to safeguard not only public health, but also democracy. This is in view of the fact that the magnitude of this global health crisis could topple democratic institutions and offer a glamorous appeasement to governments to use emergency powers to inhibit civil and political rights.

Zambians went to the polls on 12th August 2021 to cast their votes in the General elections. The political landscape was dominated by two political parties; the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) led by Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema. After a tense election, the opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema emerged as the winner of the Presidential election with almost one million votes more than the incumbent.

On 24 August 2021, Zambia’s seventh republican president, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema fondly known as HH of the United Party for National Development (UPND) was sworn in. While his ascent to power was a resounding triumph in the 2021 presidential elections, the canvassing was coarse. In addition to circumscribed political space to campaign, he was also a target of hate speech and tribal rhetoric from some political opponents. Although uttered within the ambit of electioneering, there are inescapable after effects especially in sustaining social cohesion.

Zimbabwe’s reaction to the hashtag #ZambiaDecides2021 has been so poignant as to reflect the impression that the election had taken place in the country south of the Zambezi itself. Indeed, the parallels between Zambia and Zimbabwe are too close to call, especially on the electoral front in recent years.