The renewal of the ANC is more about resolving tensions within the organisation than institutional renewal. A getting to do the right things right approach assumes a membership that knows the right things. Since the Polokwane putsch, the ANC's internal order began to be defined in factional terms. From that [...]
Since the dawn of a constitutional state and a consequent democratic order, South Africa has worked and believed in the sustainability of the Mandela national unity spirit for the past thirty years. The emerging government of national unity, the choice of the opening of Parliament on Nelson Mandela Day, and [...]
We become the people our world ultimately shapes. We become the education we have or have gone through. We become the experiences we have had. We are the background that shaped us. Most importantly, we are the window from whence we originate. Those who do not know where we come from [...]
Society seldom reflects on any other recession but the economic recession. Described as a significant, widespread, and prolonged downturn in (economic) activity, it is deep, pervasive, and lasting. A recession lasts for sustained periods, and recovery never translates into former peaks as new growth trajectories will always begin at the [...]
The ANC’s loss of absolute power to govern has necessitated its transition into a coalition government mode. This loss carries significant implications, representing a substantial territorial gain for the opposition complex on all fronts. Despite the 40% performance of the ANC at the polls being derived from a low voter turnout [...]
As the government of national unity (GNU) evolves, South Africa must adapt or suffer the consequences of its choice. The adaptation process, however, is usually plodding, if it happens at all. President Cyril Ramaphosa's call to steer the country into a service delivery-focused direction has thus far enjoyed the support [...]
The African National Congress is officially still pursuing a National Democratic Revolution. When interrogated about what it ideologically stands for, except for the amorphous broad-church response, the most crisp answer is its pursuit of a continuous National Democratic Revolution whose end state is a National Democratic Society. The defining [...]
This was published in TimeLive 16 October 2024As the reality of the last term of Ramaphosa starts to sink within the ranks of the ANC, the Gauteng posture on the GNU may be seen as the firing of the starting gun to mark the beginning of a race towards 16 [...]
The announcement of the 2024 National and Provincial elections results will forever signify a posterity-defining moment for the hegemonic hold of the ANC over South African politics. This is a moment of profound significance, a turning point in the political landscape of South Africa. The absolute political power to govern the [...]
This was published in the TimesLive on 08 October 2024 under the title "The Hlophe-JSC paradox: builders of the constitution couldn't have seen this coming.To say that justice has become a means to other ends and not an end itself is not a semantic quibble but a serious moral point. When [...]
