Vol 63 No 25 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
After months of horse-trading and under the shadow of another corruption scandal, the ANC will decide this week on who will lead the party and country
The African National Congress's long-awaited 55th elective conference kicks off on 16 December after a week of political turmoil and crippling rolling blackouts. Cyril Ramaphosa will be encouraged...
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Vol 63 No 25 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Presidential allies reckon they have the numbers to fight off a rebellion before national conference
Within three days of the parliamentary advisory panel's report on the Phala Phala affair landing on 30 November and concluding there may be grounds for his impeachment, President...
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South Africa has just ended a government subsidy set up by President Jacob Zuma for Central African Republic to run an embassy in Pretoria. Until November, South Africa...
Vol 63 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
ANC branches favoured the president in the leadership elections but parliament's probe into the Phala Phala affair could derail him
Until the afternoon of 30 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa had all but ensured a second five-year term as African National Congress leader and as presidential candidate in the...
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Vol 63 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa's backers worry that his chances of a second term are weakened by the 'Farmgate' saga which his rivals are exploiting
In front of the cameras the comrades beamed. Yet several senior African National Congress officials say that President Cyril Ramaphosa's position is weakening and don't rule out 'a...
Vol 63 No 23 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
King Charles III and Prime Minister Sunak see President Ramaphosa's forthcoming visit as marking a new era
It is symbolically and politically important to Britain that South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is the first leader to be hosted by King Charles III for a state...
Vol 63 No 22 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The president will face off against the man controlling the ANC machine at the party’s upcoming elective conference
Discontent over the multiple powerful positions accumulated by African National Congress Secretary-General Paul Mashatile was behind President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision not to make him his running mate, and...
Vol 63 No 22 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The tide is turning against corruption despite a factionalised ruling party and failing state-run transport and power utilities
In the early hours of 27 October, Matshela Koko, former chief executive of the ailing state power utility Eskom, and 16 senior officials were arrested on fraud charges...
Vol 63 No 21 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Big companies are using alternative routes and service providers to keep goods moving after a strike at the state-owned railway and port operator
Dysfunction at the cash-strapped transport behemoth Transnet has forced importers and exporters to bypass the country's ports and trains and resort increasingly to trucking goods. Cargoes, including coal...
Dogged by chaos and infighting at home, politicians in Whitehall and Pretoria could both gain from the state visit to London in November
The British and South African governments are both struggling to resolve serial political and economic crises. Against this backdrop, planning a state visit for President Cyril Ramaphosa to...
Vol 63 No 20 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
KwaZulu-Natal's ANC branch is backing former health minster Zweli Mkhize as party leader – worrying both the Zuma and Ramaphosa camps
The decision by the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa's second biggest province and its largest reservoir of party members, to choose former health minister Zweli...
Vol 63 No 20 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
An alliance of unions, civic activists, and business is launch a new party next year to fight the 2024 elections
Activists are building a broad-based movement to take on the country's three main parties ahead of the widely forecast realignment should the ruling African National Congress lose its...
Vol 63 No 19 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Ousted President Zuma and his allies want his ex-wife to win back control of the ANC in party elections in December
In mid-September, at a five-star hotel overlooking the majestic Indian Ocean on KwaZulu-Natal's north coast, a group of African National Congress members wearing party caps and tee-shirts were...
Vol 63 No 18 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
There could be upsets galore as the fractious ruling party opens campaigning for its top jobs
From fixing potholes, going to church, firing up the comrades at imbizos (community meetings) to speaking at memorials for African National Congress stalwarts, party activists who want to...
The Guptas and their allies enlisted big-name multinational firms in state capture and some are losing global business over their role
Britain's three-year ban on public sector contracts with Bain & Co, the world's biggest management consultancy, for its 'grave professional misconduct' in South Africa may be part of...
Vol 63 No 16 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The President has managed, for now, to save his anti-corruption campaign from opponents who have regained control of KwaZulu-Natal province
In his closing address to the African National Congress’s 6th policy conference in Johannesburg on 31 July, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the gathering was overwhelmingly in favour of...
Vol 63 No 16 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa’s plan to restore reliable electricity access is flawed but fast action is vital to rescue the ANC’s political standing
A plan to strengthen the private sector, import technical skills and remove the 100-megawatt licensing threshold for independent power producers could end crippling power cuts within two years,...
Vol 63 No 16 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The province with most ANC members is a stronghold for the ousted President and voted strongly against the incumbent
Anyone who thought ex-President Jacob Zuma was a spent force within the ruling African National Congress had a rude awakening at the ninth KwaZulu-Natal elective conference on 22-24...
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Vol 63 No 16 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Rumblings about coups and the ANC's failures on corruption set the stage for defeat of presidential allies in key province
It started about as badly as it could for President Cyril Ramaphosa with the news that the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, was investigating whether he had breached the...
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Vol 63 No 15 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The President looks beleaguered as his rivals claim the Farmgate affair makes him little better than the corrupt officials he wants to purge
President Cyril Ramaphosa vigorously defended his probity in a speech to the South African Communist Party (SACP) on 15 July, insisting he would not be railroaded or intimidated,...
Vol 63 No 14 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Ramaphosa's and the ANC's future looks increasingly uncertain as the final state capture report adds to growing disaffection in the country
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's epic state capture report is proving disastrous for President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Few give Ramaphosa much credit for...
Vol 63 No 14 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The Democratic Alliance claims to be a viable alternative to the ANC but a post-election deal is its likeliest path to power
John Steenhuisen and The Democratic Alliance (DA) are preparing for an era of coalition politics after the 2024 elections when they predict the African National Congress's share of...
Vol 63 No 14 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The ruling party's local conference went well for the President but the leadership is split and few believe the party can recover its standing
Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has got his favoured candidate elected as leader of the African National Congress in Gauteng, the country's richest province, the party remains chronically split...
Vol 63 No 13 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Former securocrat Arthur Fraser, who revealed the 2020 burglary at the President's farm, may have ulterior motives
Once a key associate of President Jacob Zuma in the state security and intelligence apparatus, Arthur Fraser has leapt onto the front pages with his claims about the...
Vol 63 No 13 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The 'cash-in-the-couch' scandal has damaged the President. It is being exploited to the full by his enemies, but it doesn't look enough to unseat him
On a wintry day on 13 June in Johannesburg Carl Niehaus, the chief spokesperson of the African National Congress's so-called Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction, led a delegation...
Vol 63 No 13 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Next month the ruling ANC will elect a new leadership in the province pitting President Ramaphosa's supporters against those of his predecessor
Once the powerhouse of the African National Congress (ANC) under former President Jacob Zuma, his home province of KwaZulu-Natal has become a seething hotbed of economic sabotage, political...
The ruling party's ambivalence on Ukraine reflects its parlous finances as well as its internal feuding and ideological posturing
A transparency law on political party funding has embarrassed the ruling African National Congress by revealing its links to Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch under global sanctions. This...
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Vol 63 No 13 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Energy experts forecast that power cuts could get '10 times worse' by 2026 unless government shows political will to back renewables
The latest wave of power cuts – or 'load-shedding' as the government prefers to call them – could be a foretaste of a wider electricity crisis over the...
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Vol 63 No 12 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The symbols of the corruption of Jacob Zuma's regime, two of the Gupta brothers face extradition to South Africa
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa have been negotiating the extradition of Atul and Rajesh Gupta since their arrest on 6 June by Dubai police...
Vol 63 No 12 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
A wounded Ramaphosa is consolidating support for a second five-year term but prospects are bleak for the ANC winning outright victory in 2024
Arthur Fraser, the former head of the country's State Security Agency, has called for a criminal investigation against Cyril Ramaphosa, which will badly damage the ruling African National...
As Russia seeks to evade western sanctions on oil and gas exports, mystery surrounds the fate of two super-tankers loaded with 4.2 million barrels of Russian crude oil...
Pretoria’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is complicating its economic and political relations
The international argument over how to respond Moscow's invasion of Ukraine played out, with some diplomatic grace, when Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria...
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Vol 63 No 11 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Talks in parliament will boost inter-party cooperation as leaders mull an electoral pact
Talk of a national coalition government in South Africa after the 2024 elections – some say even before – is gathering steam with a meeting on tactics in...
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Vol 63 No 10 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The final report of the State Capture Commission is set to shake up the ruling party and present Ramaphosa with his toughest choices yet
The first four reports of the epic State Capture Commission headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo are a clear indication that the ruling African National Congress is in...
Two of South Africa's leading mining companies – Anglo American and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) – are scrambling for mining rights in Congo-Kinshasa. They are concentrating efforts on...
African mining and energy companies move into new markets and try to steer around sanctions on Russia
Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and western sanctions complicate strategy for some South African mining companies but other African companies are benefiting as Europe scrambles for alternative sources of...
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Vol 63 No 9 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
ANC leaders push bold new plan to boost business role in state firms, energy transition and big infrastructure projects
Ahead of the African National Congress's policy conference slated for the middle of this year, its leaders are backing a radically pro-business plan to redraw the role of...
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Over a year after India and South Africa called for emergency measures, WTO members have proposed a plan to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines
Pressure is building on President Cyril Ramaphosa to reject a compromise proposal offered by the United States and the European Union for a temporary waiver of intellectual property...
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The diplomatic rift between Botswana and South Africa is set to deepen after Gaborone charged its former President Ian Khama with illegally possessing arms with a messy extradition...
Vol 63 No 8 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Private sector participation in the ailing rail freight network has been granted, signalling more privatisation to come
For the first time in its 160-year history, the national rail freight system, operated by state-owned Transnet Freight Rail, will open Its network to private operators. The news...
Vol 63 No 8 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The anti-corruption drive and the demise of powerful interest groups are set to change the face of the ANC
As the ruling African National Congress prepares for its elective conference in December, the focus is now on the contested slot of Deputy President, as rival factions fail...
Vol 63 No 7 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Russia's war is stoking a commodity boom but tax windfalls cannot offset the Ramaphosa government's economic and political woes
At the fourth annual international investment conference in Johannesburg on 24 March, South Africa hauled in another 332 billion rand (US$22.7bn) for new projects which, added to previous...
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Vol 63 No 7 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa's reshuffle of policy, security and intelligence posts is to be followed by wider changes in government and the ANC
President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to suspend Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane after parliamentary speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula called for her impeachment. Several high court judgements had criticised Mkhwebane's findings...
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Backed by Russia during the liberation struggle, the African National Congress struggles to find a 'neutral' stance on the Ukraine war
On the scale of economic gains and losses, a quick end to the Russian war on Ukraine would be in South Africa's, and much of Africa's best interest....
Vol 63 No 6 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Rejecting the advice of the Judicial Services Commission, Ramaphosa has picked his own man as top judge as well as top corruption-buster
In appointing Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the new Chief Justice, President Cyril Ramaphosa used his constitutional powers to trump a populist cabal in the 23-person Judicial...
Internal rivalries in the ruling ANC complicate the government’s response to war in Ukraine
Russia's full-blown war against Ukraine has opened a crack in the BRICS alliance – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the political and economic grouping that...
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Vol 63 No 5 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Details are required from the government on its plans to drive growth, fund social grants and create jobs
Trade unionists and bankers are urging Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to use his budget on 23 February to spell out the trade-offs he plans to make on social...
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Vol 63 No 4 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
After struggling to reform the system dominated by his predecessor's allies, Ramaphosa is making some critical new appointments
The writing is on the wall for National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole and Police Minister Bheki Cele after President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation address in which...
Vol 63 No 4 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa said to favour more radical anti-poverty measures as contest over top jobs and policies heats up in the ruling party
As he was preparing his state of the nation address in Cape Town City Hall on 10 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa was deluged with contradictory advice about the...
Vol 63 No 3 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
A basic income grant and a land expropriation law may allow the President to strengthen his grip on the ruling party
When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa takes the podium on 10 February in Cape Town's City Hall – which will substitute for the colonial-era parliamentary buildings gutted by...
Vol 63 No 3 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa has bolstered his standing in the ANC but campaigning for the party's top leadership positions has got off to a rancorous start
The row between President Cyril Ramaphosa and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu over her criticism of the country's judges and constitution has opened the race for the top posts...
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Committed investors and political will are key to success of proposed tie-up between Kenya Airways and South African Airways
Officials in Nairobi and Johannesburg are working with new investors for the launch next year of the biggest airline alliance in Africa after two years of crashing revenues...
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Vol 63 No 2 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
With a carefully structured online tirade, the Tourism Minister puts in her bid for the leadership of the African National Congress
A startling attack on the constitution and the judiciary by a senior minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet is the opening shot in a bid to replace the...
Opposition parties hope to exploit factional battles in the ruling party ahead of its elective conference in December
The sight of flames blazing from the 147-year-old parliament building in Cape Town in the early hours of 2 January was a discouraging start to what is set...
Vol 63 No 1 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
International memorials celebrate The Arch's campaigning for freedom and justice as activists regroup for a new era
As world attention focussed on the requiem mass for Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu in Cape Town on new year's day, activists were hailing his work for the anti-apartheid...