The relationship between the dominant political force in the GNU, the ANC, and civil society, including its alliance partner, the SACP, is at an all-time low. This disconnect underscores the urgent need for better communication and understanding. Without fail, the ANC is manoeuvring itself into a corner. It might not [...]

 When the correctness of your policy eats your votesElection winning has become the most important path to winning the ultimate prize of politics, state power, in multiparty democracies. What attracts voters to a particular party is the new vector of political power definition, irrespective of the broader normative implications to [...]

Smaller political parties, with the potential to earn between 10 and 15% of the vote, are set to play a crucial role in shaping the new majority. Those with 20% and above will have the power to influence the cadence of coalition arrangements, empowering them to shape the future of [...]

This was published in TimesLive on 17 July 2025The General Mkhwanazi press conference will be remembered as a pivotal moment when the silence surrounding the experiences of appointed officials at the hands of elected officials was broken. The relationship between elected and appointed officials is fundamental to making democracy work and ensuring [...]

 The end of ANC hegemony dooms the Uhuru dividend The ANC's hegemonic hold over South African politics, the constitutional and democratic order, is dying. The regional liberation movements who have historically revered its ideational prowess are bemoaning this free fall. When it declared that in the dock on state capture and [...]

This was published in TimesLive on 19 July 2025The ANC's policy response to one of its most significant post-apartheid challenges, corruption and state capture, will be remembered as a rare commitment by a political party to restore its integrity with society. Establishing the integrity commission allows ANC members to undergo [...]

This was published in TimesLive on 09 July 2025As Provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi declared at a significant career press conference that "I will die for this badge", he sounded like a military operative making a heroic statement. The plain truth, after listening to the entire speech, is that he expressed a specific [...]

This was published in TimesLive on 02 July 2025Unless you are familiar with how the GNU works, the ANC-DA staged tensions seem like a straightforward story. The two opponents, fighting for dominance over South Africa's liberal spirit and facing a local government election to decide who will win, are about to lose [...]

 Dr FM Lucky Mathebula (Prof)*Humanity has constantly been interrupted by its advances to upend the status quo established as the basis of coexistence with the self and the natural environment. The need to overcome time and distance is central to humanity's pursuit of betterment. Speed to arrive, contact, complete, and [...]

South Africa has undergone significant changes in the past three decades, and this transformation is set to continue in the next three. The trends that have shaped the country's democratic, constitutional, and economic order will continue to influence its future. The urgency of addressing its troubled past, contested present, and [...]