Arcadia Foundation

Quite likely, South Sudan will break away to become an independent country after a 2011 referendum and if so, it will need a lot of investment. Certainly its economic potential, like the potential existing in many African nations is without doubt. What is indeed questionable are the convictions of those making decisions in the region to honestly and openly promote the opportunity for investment and simultaneously seek out and thwart the rampant corruption in the region.

Yes, South Sudan has oil, sugar and grain, but the government apparently stifles the exploration of its potential by allowing corrupt officials to travel with heavy bank accounts, flush with cash, running a nation with all of the resources but none of the work ethic.

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Eliot Brockner is a New York-based media analyst and writer. He is a regular contributor to LatAmThought. The below article found in World Politics Review from Mr. Brockner discusses both the collective sigh of relief from the Honduran people when Porfirio Lobo Sosa was sworn in as president on January 27th and challenges thereafter. The election that marked the end of a lengthy power struggle between Zelaya and interim President Roberto Michelletti indeed sent the small Central American nation into the international spotlight.

Although this answers the question of who will be president of Honduras in 2010, and closes some lingering chapters from the crisis, a significant amount of work lays ahead for Lobo’s government, which is under pressure from many governments in the region — as well as the Organization of American States — to carry out a full-scale investigation into the events of last year, in order to make sure that a repeat scenario is avoided.

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Power and the titles that accompany it are difficult to let go of, even within the ranks of established international and geopolitical communities. Mugabe has had a stranglehold on power for decades, even when it hinders progress for a Zimbabwe he claims to love. Omar Bongo rather silently ran Gabon for nearly the same amount of time. Manuel Zelaya was caught red-handed, attempting to prolong his tenure as President of Honduras. Hugo Chavez will not leave Miraflores Palace without a fight, even while the foundations of his regime crumble around him. The African Union has recently followed suit, electing a new president, ending a bid by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to stay on as president of the organization for another year.

Leaders from 53 African countries chose Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika as the organization’s new leader during an annual summit Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Winning hearts and minds will clearly be on the agenda for Mr. Mutharika. He has allowed the Chinese government to attempt similar in his country for the last ten years.

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