It’s been two months since Tanzania’s new president took over following the death of the controversial former head of state John Magufuli. The early weeks of Samia Suluhu Hassan’s presidency raised hopes that she was committed to steering the country down a more democratic path. Not so fast, warn Nic Cheeseman, Alitalali Amani and Hilary Matfess. Tanzania’s tendency to veer towards authoritarianism predated Magufuli and can be traced further back to the undemocratic track chosen by the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi. Democratic progress in Tanzania will therefore take more than just a new leader.

Significant tracts of Table Mountain, the iconic flat-topped range at the tip of Africa, were burnt to cinders earlier this week in the wake of a fire that swept through the University of Cape Town campus and surrounding suburbs. Alanna Rebelo and Karen Joan Esler examine the environmental factors that led to the disaster, arguing that it was undoubtedly due to environmental negligence by various authorities.

A range of countries have taken steps to drive down consumption of food and drinks shown to be bad for our health. To understand what’s happening in east and southern Africa, a dozen researchers spent over three years looking at the opportunities for exploring such policies in seven countries. Their findings have just been published. In their article, Agnes Erzse and Karen Hofman take a look at why data are so important to the design of any interventions, while Mulenga Mary Mukanu explains how Zambia has struggled to balance public health with economic policy. You can find articles on the rest of the research here.

Contact us here to have your event listed.

It’s free to republish, here are the guidelines. Contact us on africa-republish@theconversation.com in case you need assistance.