There’s a popular view that commercial farming can make a major contribution to economic development in African countries. But Ruth Hall, Dzodzi Tsikata and Ian Scoones warn that policy makers must be careful about which models they support. Some can do more harm than good.

South Africa’s judiciary - accused of overreach on the grounds that it’s second-guessing the executive and parliament - has been called on to make another difficult decision. This time it must rule whether MPs should be allowed a secret ballot when they vote on whether or not to remove President Jacob Zuma. Prince Mashele argues that the court needs to make a philosophical, rather than legal decision.

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