News links

Here are some links from yesterday. At least one construction project is behind schedule in South Africa's plans for the World Cup next summer. An air-tram taking visitors from the airport to the city/stadium/hotels will be not be finished until (at least) 2 weeks after the World Cup's start. With so many other construction projects rushing to get done, having one not finish on time isn't a huge deal. It's a bit disappointing because I want to hear that everything is on schedule, and will run like a dream. But that's unrealistic. I hope, however, that this is not indicative of other projects; one setback shouldn't accrete into many. The ANC briefly considered paying their contractors to rush the air-tram construction so it would be done in time, but in the end the price tag for doing this was too high. Understandable. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if this gets pushed back further--seems like contractors always later than they predict in construction.

Big news in Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai ends his government boycott. Derek Catsam is right on the mark arguing that maintaining the status quo benefits Mugabe. There is now a new deadline on the agreeing and implementing some of the details of the GNU (government of national unity). Mugabe wants Tsvangirai to act as the PR person to aid-donors in the west. And Tsvangirai wants formative change in the government structure so that he is a legitimate partner.

I'm working on a post with some quick thoughts on China's role in Africa (in light of China's summit with African leaders this week).