Reuters—South Africa mulls credit line for neighbor Zimbabwe
South Africa is considering opening a credit line to help neighboring Zimbabwe rebuild its shattered economy after years of political and economic crisis, Reuters reports today. While a credit line will not solve the country’s funding problems, it will allow private banks to lend money to wholesalers, retailers and producers to purchase goods using credit, and ultimately give millions of poor Zimbabweans easier access to essential products. Zimbabwe has estimated it needs $1 billion now to get farms, schools and hospitals working, and another $5 billion later to fully rebuild the economy.

Reuters—Zimbabwe PM says cholera cases higher than reported
In other news from Zimbabwe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said yesterday that cases of infections and deaths from the country’s worst-ever cholera epidemic were far higher than those reported. According to the World Health Organization, more than 80,000 people have been infected since the outbreak six months ago with nearly 4,000 killed. “This is most likely a dramatic underestimate of the real figures given the unreported cases and deaths in communities,” Tsvangirai said.

Washington Post—U.N. leader warns Sudan on expulsion of aid groups
U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon warned yesterday that the Sudanese government’s order to expel foreign aid organizations in Darfur would “cause irrevocable damage to the humanitarian operations there.” The expulsion order Wednesday followed a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on war crimes charges. At least 10 foreign aid groups have been targeted, including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, and CARE International.

The Guardian—As long as the opposition is strong enough, this great democracy can defy the moral contamination of a President Zuma
South Africa is gearing up for a critical election next month. Simon Jenkins, writing in The Guardian, asks if the country will go the way towards formal one-party rule, or might it emerge as the one stable and truly constitutional big-state democracy in Africa?

-Steve Wilson