South Africa

Rival factions in the African National Congress are shoring up their support bases within the party for another round of combat. After surviving an attempt by his opponents...

The former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader and present Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, has surprised many by saying that she may stand for the provincial leadership of the...

General Siphiwe Nyanda was during the liberation struggle one of Jacob Zuma's closest confidants in the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK),...

The African National Congress looked more deeply divided than ever as fault lines over the presidency of Jacob Zuma deepened early this week. A three-day meeting of the...

President Jacob Zuma and his allies are hoping rating agencies will downgrade South Africa's credit status to 'junk', sources among his supporters have told Africa Confidential. This, they...

This has been one of Jacob Zuma's worst months since becoming President in 2009. On 25 November, the mounting list of corruption allegations against him are to be...

Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson faces renewed questions about the unauthorised sale of South Africa's strategic fuel reserve. Last December, 10 million barrels of oil were sold at a...

The courts, civil society and the largest trades union took the lead this week as pressure on the governing African National Congress mounts to drop President Jacob Zuma...

This month, the fight between President Jacob Zuma and his diminishing band of defenders on the one hand and on the other, the gutsy former Public Protector Thulisile...

As police fired rubber bullets at students in Johannesburg on 4 October protesting against rises in university fees, officials in the governing African National Congress were talking of...

The plush Mount Nelson Hotel at the foot of Cape Town's Table Mountain provided the perfect setting for the unofficial launch of the CR17 campaign, as Deputy President...

The funerals of veteran African National Congress leaders have become informal hustings where ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) leaders can vent their anger about Jacob Zuma's...

One of the most fiercely contested elections in post-apartheid South Africa has left the African National Congress in shock, the Democratic Alliance energised and the Economic Freedom Fighters...

The Youth League of the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal has fired the first salvo in the 2017 ANC succession race. It has publicly backed the outgoing African...

On a cold July evening, downtown Johannesburg was abuzz with celebrities and African National Congress politicians sporting designer outfits in party colours and drinking Champagne. This was no...

The National Treasury has launched an investigation into companies suspected of trying to profit from the volatility of the rand over the past year. Business circles have been...

The government is using its influence at the South African Broadcasting Corporation, the public service broadcaster, to silence dissenting voices and quash news of protest in the lead...

President Jacob Zuma's office is drafting a bill to restrict foreign funding for local non-governmental organisations and to compel international NGOs (INGOs) operating in South Africa to be...

Regulators have begun inquiries into whether or not the three Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, exported large sums of money to Dubai, where they are now believed...

Mining firms already struggling with low international commodity prices and rising labour costs are up in arms about the draft revised Mining Charter which the government issued for...

Talk of a new trades union federation is closer than than ever to reality, Africa Confidential has learned. The country's largest union, the National Union of Metalworkers of...

The governing African National Congress (ANC) is under pressure from a wave of popular protest the like of which has not been seen since before the first free...

The Gupta family has flown out of South Africa and relinquished all posts in their companies, despite strenuous denials that they were leaving for good. They threatened Africa...

A veteran of the pre-liberation African National Congress armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK, Spear of the Nation), General Siphiwe 'Gebuza' Nyanda doesn't scare easily. Yet when a...

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan went to London, Boston and New York from 7-11 March to persuade investors, ratings agencies and the world that South Africa is still a...

Beleaguered President Jacob Zuma has just lost another round in his battle with a growing coalition of forces seeking his early exit. He is under attack from within...

The Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, are in the process of moving to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, say sources in the governing African National Congress. Several of...

Under pressure from party leaders and supporters, and from a variety of bad decisions and a stagnating economy, President Jacob Zuma appears to have abandoned formerly key African...

The Gupta business family – brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh – has been catapulted on to South Africa's front pages since their friend President Jacob Zuma sacked Finance...

Delivering the State of the Nation address yesterday at the opening of what promises to be the South African Parliament's most turbulent year, President Jacob Zuma announced a...

The contract of the new South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan runs only until this year's local government elections, Africa Confidential hears from Treasury sources. The date for...

The opposition has smelt blood and aims to give the African National Congress its toughest run since majority rule arrived in 1994. The ANC may lose key cities,...