Vol 64 No 25 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Opposition realignments and ruling party exits open up the field for next year's election
The resignation of Mavuso Msimang, deputy president of the African National Congress Veterans' League (ANCVL) and a respected lifelong activist, has widened cracks in the ruling party. It...
Vol 64 No 25 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
A new contender has entered the crowded opposition field with a plan to take on the ruling party in next year's elections
Outgoing chairman of FirstRand Bank, Roger Jardine, has surfaced as the latest contender to lead an alliance of opposition parties against the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in...
Vol 64 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The presidency has been hit by a wave of resignations as doubts grow about his political survival
Key advisors to President Cyril Ramaphosa have been quitting as signs grow that support for the African National Congress (ANC) will below 50% of the vote in the...
Vol 64 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Both the ruling African National Congress and the main opposition Democratic Alliance are struggling to navigate a new political era
The latest opinion survey results – by the Social Research Foundation, Ipsos and the Brenthurst Foundation – are unanimous that the African National Congress's (ANC) share of the...
Vol 64 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Finance minister turns down bailout request from Transnet whose failings have cost the economy over US$26 billion
Tough decisions and strong political backing are needed to turn around the ailing state-owned transport and logistics company, Transnet which could face a ratings downgrade. Structural and wide-ranging...
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Vol 64 No 24 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Aiming to lead a coalition against the ruling ANC in next year's elections, opposition activists are hiring image-makers
Buoyed by recent opinion polls that suggest that they could deny the African National Congress an outright majority at the 2024 general elections for the first time since...
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Vol 64 No 23 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Ministers are torn between tax hikes and spending cuts in the tightest fiscal crunch for 30 years
After several opinion surveys forecast support for the African National Congress (ANC) dropping below 50% for the first time in next year's national election, the government is struggling...
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Vol 64 No 22 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Opinion surveys forecasting the ANC vote to fall well under 50% has raised the opposition coalition's hopes of unseating the ruling party in next year's election
Public support for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since the first post-apartheid elections in 1994, appears to have dropped significantly according to...
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Vol 64 No 21 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Unless the power utility gets credible leadership and more investment to boost generation and transmission it will continue to hold the economy down
The IMF's latest data forecasts South Africa's economy will grow by 0.9% this year, up from projections in July of 0.6%. The marginal improvement is based on fewer...
Vol 64 No 20 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The increasingly difficult task of servicing growing debt while delivering social development presents President Cyril Ramaphosa with the toughest choices of his presidency. 'It is a balancing act...
Vol 64 No 20 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Bad economic news on almost all fronts complicates the ruling party's campaign to win over voters ahead of next year's elections
As the election campaign gets under way, President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling African National Congress confront an increasingly problematic economic legacy. It is sure to undermine the...
Vol 64 No 20 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Delayed by the power crisis and fights with the coal lobby, the government says the green plan will launch at the UN Climate Summit
After two years of turf wars, the government's implementation plan for its US$8.5 billion (R160bn) Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) will be made public at the UN COP28...
Vol 64 No 19 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The President has finally pushed out key Zuma ally Busisiwe Mkhwebane, but the cadre system which protected her is intact
The firing of discredited Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on 13 September is being lauded by President Cyril Ramaphosa's supporters as a victory in his campaign for zero-tolerance of...
Vol 64 No 19 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Beefed up local organisation and a public spending push could help the ruling party avoid a coalition next year
Unheralded, the campaign for next year's national elections started this month. The ruling African National Congress will be fighting on multiple fronts: to cut state spending and rein...
Bringing in new members and opening up more local currency trade point to a longer-term power shift
It was the biggest international gathering in South Africa since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the country's first democratically elected leader in 1994, but the 22-24 August...
Vol 64 No 14 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Risks persist of a return to state capture by corrupt businesspeople and politicians, argues the prime mover of the three-year Zondo investigation
On 22 June, a year after he released the conclusions of his marathon investigation into corruption, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo lambasted parliament and the executive for failing to...
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Vol 64 No 14 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
This latest ruling should allow the President to focus on his agenda – ending the power cuts and winning next year's vote
The rejection by the Public Protector of accusations against President Cyril Ramaphosa of wrongdoing over the discovery that he and his employees had been storing hundreds of thousands...
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After days of awkward and unproductive diplomacy, the economic consequences of the war will worsen for Africa – starting with the collapse of the grain deal
The African peace mission to Ukraine and Russia has exposed the chasm between the two countries – with Kyiv insisting on Russian withdrawal from its territory and Moscow...
Vol 64 No 13 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Corporate chiefs are going public on their fears about the economic slide and social chaos
After months of intense preparation, the two leading business umbrella groups – Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and Business for South Africa (B4SA) – launched a major initiative...
Accusations of secret arms shipments to Moscow raise questions about Pretoria's non-alignment and its competence on security
Long-simmering tensions exploded when United States ambassador Reuben Brigety broke with diplomatic discretion last month and accused South Africa of secretly uploading weapons and ammunition for Russia's war...
Vol 64 No 9 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
A new player steps on to the stage vowing to disrupt the status quo ahead of elections next year
Rise Mzansi, the brainchild of Songezo Zibi and allies, was launched with some grandeur on Johannesburg's Constitution Hill – home to the Constitutional Court and a symbol of...
Vol 64 No 8 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Light on policy, the biggest opposition party will have to work harder to beat the African National Congress
Just three days after John Steenhuisen, newly re-elected leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, announced a 'moonshot pact' with other parties ahead of the 2024 elections, the DA...
Vol 64 No 7 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
After four years of balancing factions in the ruling ANC, the President is concentrating power in his office
It was a more upbeat and energised Cyril Ramaphosa that took on critics this month complaining that he consulted too much and took too long to make decisions....
Vol 64 No 6 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The President's reshuffle prioritises next year's elections instead of addressing the economy, infrastructure and electricity emergency
After serial delays and great expectations, President Cyril Ramaphosa brought in 10 new ministers for his reshuffle on 6 March with a wary eye on next year's general...
Vol 64 No 6 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
A law forcing political parties to disclose their funding has cast light on cash from three local billionaires and a Russian oligarch
With national elections due to be held next year, concerns are brewing over whether donations could be used to buy influence. Africa Confidential's analysis of declarations by South...
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Vol 64 No 5 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The budget's debt relief for Eskom will impose targets and hasten privatisation but offers no short-term relief from power cuts
The explosive television interview by André de Ruyter, outgoing chief executive of ailing electricity utility Eskom on 21 February, which upstaged Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's budget on the...
Vol 64 No 5 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
President Ramaphosa is using party committees to consolidate his grip ahead of national elections next year
South Africans, still buckling under the strain of crippling daily power cuts with no end in sight, are waiting for the appointment of a Minister of Electricity, announced...
Vol 64 No 4 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Parliament debates the President's latest plan amid bid to block emergency regulations in court
Tough questions have greeted President Cyril Ramaphosa's latest efforts to tackle the chronic electricity shortages – declaring a state of national disaster and appointing a minister of electricity...
Vol 64 No 4 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
The coming cabinet changes will show whether the President is ready to use his new political authority
After spending his first term fending off a rebellion from supporters of ousted President Jacob Zuma, President Cyril Ramaphosa should now be able to sack all those ministers...
Vol 64 No 4 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
From civic organiser in the Alexandra township to the heights of the ruling party, the country's new Deputy President is one of its canniest politicians
In spite of some last minute ructions it looks a matter of time before Paul Mashatile, who outsmarted the Cyril Ramaphosa and Zweli Mkhize camps at the African...
Vol 64 No 3 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
With rolling power cuts obliterating support for the ANC, the government is being pushed to act against vested interests
After four days of deliberations, on 29 January the ruling African National Congress agreed in principle to declare a national disaster in response to rolling power cuts which...
A weakened President and the deepening electricity crisis will slow reform and increase the prospects of coalition government in 2024
The coming year is likely to see further loosening of President Cyril Ramaphosa's grip on his divided ruling party and reduce his ability to progress economic reforms.
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Vol 64 No 1 |
- SOUTH AFRICA
Acting decisively on power cuts and state companies would be first sign that the President now envisages radical changes
It was not the landslide that his supporters had predicted but enough to secure Cyril Ramaphosa a second term as leader of the African National Congress, setting him...
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