Vol 56 No 25 | SOUTH AFRICA Jacob Zuma's costly week 18th December 2015 The President kicked a hornets' nest when he sacked his Finance Minister. The ensuing crisis hit his authority and the economy The impromptu alliance of African National Congress leaders and business interests which forced President Jacob Zuma to rethink his unilateral decision to sack Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 25 | SOUTH AFRICA Dissent dogs DA leadership 18th December 2015 Lindiwe Mazibuko's political comeback has come to a sudden stop. Some feel ex-leader Helen Zille retains too much power behind the scenes Once upon a time, Lindiwe Mazibuko was the golden girl of opposition politics: she was articulate, respected and quoted in the media every day. She was the youngest...
Vol 56 No 25 | SOUTH AFRICA EFF's economic roadshow 18th December 2015 As Malema's following grows, a dialogue has begun with investors worried by talk of nationalisation and price controls Foreign direct investment is vital to the South African economy and the only confident prediction is that there will be deep change. As Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters...
Vol 56 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICA Cyril looks to his heartland 4th December 2015 Everything seemed to be going the President’s way in the succession battle but then his deputy rallied his troops Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's prospects of succeeding President Jacob Zuma in 2019 – in steep decline recently – changed for the better last week with his endorsement by...
Vol 56 No 23 | SOUTH AFRICA Dlamini-Zuma bandwagon speeds up 11th November 2015 The momentum behind the AU chief’s bid to lead the country is increasing as the powerful coalition behind her notches up a key win The campaign within the African National Congress for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to become the next leader of the party and the country has just received a major boost. Sihle...
Vol 56 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICA Zuma man hangs on at SABC 6th November 2015 A controversial figure fights to hold on to his multi-million rand job at the national broadcaster but is embarrassing the ANC Attempts to get Hlaudi Motsoeneng out have dragged on for almost two years, ever since Public Protector Thulisile Madonsela recommended in February last year that the South African...
Vol 56 No 21 | SOUTH AFRICA ANC looks in the mirror 22nd October 2015 Losing over a third of its members under Jacob Zuma's presidency, the ANC is getting nervous about next year's local elections It may have ended with a stirring rendition of the liberation struggle song Mhla Sibuyayo (The Day We Return) led by President Jacob Zuma but the governing African...
Vol 56 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Rise of the third termers 8th October 2015 There is a push within the ANC for Zuma to stay on as party President for yet another term Hand signals have always been a favourite at African National Congress gatherings. During the bruising party leadership race in 2007, Thabo Mbeki's opponents used the football hand gesture...
Vol 56 No 18 | SOUTH AFRICA In league with Zuma 10th September 2015 The President’s supporters consolidate their grip on the party by securing the leadership of its Youth League The election of a relatively unknown North-West provincial leader of the African National Congress Youth League as National President of ANCYL has again highlighted the growing influence of...
Vol 56 No 17 | SOUTH AFRICA The woman most likely… 27th August 2015 The plan that a woman should be the ANC's next leader is gaining in popularity. But it's also an ingenious tactical ploy by Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign to succeed President Jacob Zuma suffered a massive blow when the African National Congress Women's League declared that a woman should be the party's next...
Vol 56 No 17 | SOUTH AFRICA Launch of a bandwagon 27th August 2015 The nascent campaign behind Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has the support not only of the African National Congress Women's League and other elements of President Jacob Zuma's camp but also...
Vol 56 No 16 | SOUTH AFRICA Cracks in the ANC monolith 6th August 2015 The alliance between ANC, communists and labour is weakening. Anti-Zuma factions seem to be carrying all before them Eight unions in the Congress of South African Trade Unions are raising funds abroad to start a new labour-based political party and a new union federation. They want...
Vol 56 No 16 | SOUTH AFRICA Public sectarians 6th August 2015 State-owned enterprises are in disarray as political appointees and managers clash. Much of it is to do with the ANC
Vol 56 No 16 | SOUTH AFRICA Left and right on the Rand 6th August 2015 The South African Competition Commission’s investigation of alleged bank manipulation of foreign exchange dealing is dividing government economic departments, Africa Confidential understands.
Vol 56 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Seeing red on Zuma 23rd July 2015 The supporters of President Jacob Zuma in the South African Communist Party leadership have narrowly averted a split with the governing African National Congress.
Vol 56 No 13 | SOUTH AFRICA Petrol projects trouble 26th June 2015 PetroSA is the latest state-owned giant to suffer labour and financial problems, with managers first in the firing line The Board of the state-owned Petroleum, Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa has suspended two senior executives three weeks after the government demanded they go on gardening...
Vol 56 No 13 | SOUTH AFRICA Save the children 26th June 2015 New visa regulations for children travelling to South Africa have been criticised as 'economic sabotage' by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Tourism contributes 9% to...
Vol 56 No 13 | SOUTH AFRICASUDAN Fugitive flees as courts sidelined 18th June 2015 The main casualty of the Sudanese President's trip to the African Union summit was the rule of law President Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir has again escaped the clutches of the International Criminal Court (ICC) but his disruptive appearance at the African Union summit and his...
Vol 56 No 12 | SOUTH AFRICA Money worries 12th June 2015 Deepening financial problems in the African National Congress could hamper its campaigning for next year’s local elections The governing African National Congress is in such dire financial straits that it could not pay staff salaries at the end of May. So it is looking to...
Vol 56 No 11 | SOUTH AFRICA Uneasy lies Zuma’s head 29th May 2015 The President’s rivals are using the ANC’s expected poor showing in the coming local elections as a rallying call against him Next year's local government elections are widely seen as likely to be the most competitive since the end of white-minority rule in 1994 and that has got leaders...
Vol 56 No 10 | SOUTH AFRICA Maimane wins leadership 15th May 2015 The Democratic Alliance has voted in its first black leader and hopes for big gains in the 2016 local elections The emergence of Mmusi Maimane, a 35-year old priest from Soweto, as the dapper new leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance after its party congress in Port Elizabeth...
Vol 56 No 10 | SOUTH AFRICA Part of the union 15th May 2015 The biggest trades union, the 365,000-member National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, is confident of reversing its expulsion from the Confederation of South African Trade Unions. On...
Vol 56 No 9 | SOUTH AFRICA BRICS on the rocks 1st May 2015 Designed as a radical alternative to the World Bank by the BRICS group countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the much-vaunted New Development Bank is...
Vol 56 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICA Poison plots and power games 17th April 2015 President Zuma cancelled the results of ANC elections in Durban because the wrong candidates won A new conference to elect regional leaders of the African National Congress is to be held at the end of April after President Jacob Zuma declared February's vote...
Vol 56 No 7 | SOUTH AFRICA Cold war at Eskom 3rd April 2015 The suspended Chief Executive Officer of state electricity utility Eskom, Tshediso Matona, has lost his bid to overturn his suspension by the Board of Directors.
Vol 56 No 6 | SOUTH AFRICA BEE worsens mining outlook 20th March 2015 The mineral sector is already weak but intricate deals for ANC favourites are also sapping foreign enthusiasm for investment Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) mining deals are becoming more lavish and opaque, skirting the law and enriching insiders, industry observers say. The arrangements also carry reputational risks for...
Vol 56 No 5 | SOUTH AFRICA No-fly zone for legal eagles 25th February 2015 The presidency is working to remove police and prosecutors who refuse to suspend actions against highly influential people The decline in independence of South Africa's top criminal justice institutions is accelerating as President Jacob Zuma redoubles his efforts to immunise himself and his entourage from prosecution...
Vol 56 No 4 | SOUTH AFRICA A rowdy state of the nation 13th February 2015 President Zuma's vision of the road ahead failed to ignite passion. Only the chaos that descended on Parliament stood out Despite fist fights and forcible expulsions from the chamber of the National Assembly, African National Congress officials insisted President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address on 12...
Vol 56 No 1 | SOUTH AFRICA Turbulence trending 9th January 2015 Zuma faces a serious challenge from Ramaphosa and ANC internal battles could weaken efforts to tackle urgent economic problems The coming year will be dominated by the struggle within the African National Congress between President Jacob Zuma and his supporters and those seeking to replace him with...