Vol 67 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICA DA triumvirate bets on black votes to break its political ceiling 15th April 2026 Geordin Hill-Lewis's election as Democratic Alliance leader at its biggest-ever congress gives the party a credible shot at winning the country's top cities The second largest party in South Africa’s governing coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has renewed its leadership at the biggest national conference in its history and set its...
DISPATCHES Vol 67 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICAUNITED STATES Almost 4,500 Afrikaner farmers take Trump’s refugee offer 13th April 2026 Washington claims great success with its asylum offer to white South Africans as its new ambassador to Pretoria dials back the rhetoric Almost 4,500 white South Africans have been given refugee status in the United States since last October, according to the US Department of State's Bureau of Population. In... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 7 | SOUTH AFRICASUDANSOUTH SUDANTRIBUTE The loss of a peacemaker: Adieu Nicholas Haysom 3rd April 2026 Fink Haysom, the anti-apartheid lawyer who helped end Sudan's north-south war and spent his final years trying to mediate in South Sudan serial crises, has died The death of Nicholas ‘Fink’ Haysom in New York on 17 March strips the United Nations of its most tenacious voice for accountability in South Sudan and is...
Vol 67 No 6 | SOUTH AFRICA Madlanga tests presidential power 20th March 2026 Eighty days in, the commission of inquiry has exposed corruption, destroyed careers and trapped Ramaphosa between legal process and political survival On 18 March, the Madlanga Commission entered its 80th day of hearings in Pretoria, with Gauteng Organised Crime Unit Sergeant Fannie Nkosi — formerly known as ‘Witness F’...
Vol 67 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Debt peaks as Treasury pushes for growth and credibility 6th March 2026 The proposed Budget steadies public finances and gives taxpayers some relief, but sluggish growth and the jobs crisis still cast a shadow South Africa has reached the peak of its debt mountain this fiscal year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Parliament in Cape Town in his 25 February Budget speech....
Vol 67 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Godongwana balances fiscal formula with spending boost 6th March 2026 The Budget, which will become law only after parliamentary revision, further Treasury scrutiny, public comment and presidential assent, seeks to boost health and education spending. The cessation of...
Vol 67 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Zille – the power behind the DA’s throne 6th March 2026 The veteran chief has cleared the way for her protégé to become the next party leader while she prepares to run for mayor of Johannesburg Having been the most vocal critic of Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, who in February announced his plans to vacate the leadership, Helen Zille looks set to entrench...
Vol 67 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA Patrice Motsepe isn’t running for the Presidency – but his campaign won’t listen 4th March 2026 Top ANC officials have rebuked lobbyists who want the mining billionaire and sports funder to run for the party leadership South African mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe is emerging as a reluctant challenger for the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) at the party’s elective conference at the...
Vol 67 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICAUNITED STATES The Trump-Ramaphosa axis heads south 20th February 2026 MAGA Republicans want open confrontation with Pretoria, but many US companies are rebuilding ties The arrival of United States President Donald Trump’s new ambassador, Leo Brent Bozell III, a veteran critic of the African National Congress, in South Africa sets up bilateral...
DISPATCHES Vol 67 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA After Steenhuisen quits as Democratic Alliance leader, three contenders have emerged in the race to succeed him 9th February 2026 The party’s ‘grand dame’ Helen Zille, was thought to be behind the exit as she launches her campaign to become mayor of Johannesburg Outgoing Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen hopes that by agreeing to stand down in April he will keep his cabinet seat as Agriculture Minister in the Government of... READ FOR FREE