Tag: African National Congress (ANC)

Between 1960 and 1989 in South Africa, more than 130 people were executed for crimes that had a political motive. Who were they? What did they do, and why did they do it? While many people have heard of Solomon Mahlangu, John Harris, or even Vuyisile Mini, the vast majority of executed activists remain unknown. This is despite the fact that they paid the ultimate price for their actions.

2024 marked the biggest election year in human history. Over 70 countries held elections, representing more than half the global population. Estimates show that over 80% of incumbent parties lost voter support in 2024 compared to the previous election. This shift made 2024 a significant year for global democracy.

With the state of the nation having taken place earlier this month, I find myself rolling my eyes continuously. The ridiculousness of it all is hard to believe. I can’t believe our country has come to this.

The first notable initiative in government by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – South Africa’s second oldest existing federalist institution – has been to centralise spaza shop regulations under the central government. The xenophobic dimension is less surprising.

Mathews Phosa has been an eyewitness to the dramatic shifts of political power in South Africa. He was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement, the United Democratic Front (UDF), and the African National Congress (ANC). In 1985, he fled into exile and became an Umkhonto weSizwe commander in Mozambique.

Austerity does not need to mean suffering. Cutting public spending is urgent to address South Africa’s growing debt. Delaying cuts will only worsen debt and interest payments, making future cuts more severe. Reducing spending needn’t harm South Africans, as many wasteful expenses can be removed. In 2023, the Democratic Alliance (DA) estimated that the African National Congress (ANC)-led departments wasted around R40 billion in 2022/23 alone.

If South Africa were a cat, it would be rapidly running out of its nine lives. In 2024, voters sent a clear signal to the fractured African National Congress (ANC) that they had run out of patience. It lost its majority and was forced to enter a difficult multi-party coalition.

Mandatory health cover of formally employed is tried and tested and if put to use in South Africa could reduce the public health burden, increase public per capita spend on health, and free up resources that could help address the country’s most pressing health crises.

Siviwe Gwarube is the first Democratic Alliance (DA) member to become Minister of Basic Education; an impressive feat that is fraught with peril. The DA did not nearly accomplish all that it should have after forming a government of national unity (GNU) with the African National Congress (ANC).

There is a rare opportunity to right a lot of South Africa’s wrongs in one go. Corruption and unemployment are two major roadblocks. Permit me to explain how they can be simultaneously addressed within the current administration. I suggest an amnesty largely on the African National Congress (ANC’s) past wrongdoing in office in return for liberalisation of labour laws. This may be for a bit further down the line.