Ethiopians were hopeful that Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s resignation last week would open the way for improvements in the country. But when the government almost immediately declared a state of emergency, optimism faltered and it seemed that an agenda of democratic reforms might not be foremost on politicians’ minds. Yohannes Gedamu explains.

The reaction to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first state of the nation speech has been overwhelmingly favourable. Roger Southall explains how Ramaphosa pressed all the right buttons, and managed to restore dignity and decorum to South Africa’s parliament. For his part, Mark Swilling argues that Ramaphosa must rebuild the country’s institutions as the centrepiece of a new economic policy while Keith Gottschalk digs in to examine the dreadful legacy Jacob Zuma has left after nearly a decade in the presidential hot seat.