THOUGHT LEADERSHIP - The African Mirror

Jun

14

2024

Jacob Zuma: South Africans have five theories about why he’s still popular

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A number of theories are being touted in South Africa about why and how former president Jacob Zuma retains his appeal as a leader. And why the party he formed – uMkhonto we Sizwe – to contest the recent elections managed to get 14.58% of the vote in the national elections and 45.35% in the provincial elections in KwaZulu-Natal to become the largest party in that province. This just over five months after its launch. But all the conjecture and explanations need to be treated with extreme caution: this is because nobody knows. Based on my five decades immersed in…

Jun

13

2024

By JOLEEN STEYN KOTZE

South Africa’s unity government: 5 parties that need to find common ground

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOLLOWING South Africa’s historic 2024 general election, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has started a process to establish a government of national unity. This, after it lost its parliamentary majority. As a political scientist, I believe that five political parties, including those with the highest shares of votes, are key to constituting a unity government. This view applies even to those parties, such as the Economic Freedom Fighters, that have already shot down the idea of a government of national unity. In my view, attempts should be made to bring in smaller but significant political parties. The five are…

Jun

12

2024

By JOYCE BANDA

Time for G7 to make good on climate cash for Africa: Joyce Banda

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP, EDITORS CHOICE

AS G7 leader, Italy must press member states to deliver on their climate finance promises to African nations bearing the brunt of global warming. Dr Joyce Banda is a former President of Malawi I recently joined world leaders in Azerbaijan at the Baku Global Forum. Yet again, western governments were reluctant to make financial commitments to help countries suffering the most from climate change to rebuild and recover. A decade ago, climate leadership meant building the foundations of global agreements. Today, it means delivering on them. This month’s G7 Summit offers that opportunity for host country Italy but as the…

Jun

11

2024

By ROGER SOUTHALL

Death of a liberation movement: how South Africa’s ANC became just a regular political party – with some help from Jacob Zuma

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE African National Congress (ANC), the party that’s led South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994, has long considered itself a “liberation movement” – representing all South Africans, as the “voice of the people”. But its dismal performance in the 2024 elections (winning only 40% of the national vote) confirms that its transition from the status of a liberation movement to just a political party is now complete. There can no longer be a pretence that it alone represents “the people”. It is now simply the largest among a host of ordinary political parties doing what ordinary political…

Jun

07

2024

By ABBEY MAKOE

Whatever the coalition is formed, SA will triumph

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AS South Africa stands at a political T-junction, figuring which way to go, many such as the DA’s leader John Steenhuisen dread a “doomsday coalition” whilst hordes of ordinary folks express cautious optimism. South Africa has never been here before. This is indeed unchartered territory, laced with uncertainty, trepidation as well as hope. For the first time since the dawn of democracy in April 1994, the electorate has ordered the political elite to share power at national level. After 30 years of solitary governance, the ANC has been given what in football can be described as a yellow card. It’s…

Jun

07

2024

By PHILIPPE BURGER

South Africa’s election results present 3 options for government: all are fraught with danger

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SOUTH Africans do not have a deep culture of coalitions. There have been a few coalitions at provincial and municipal levels but most of these were quite unstable. The outcome of the 2024 national election up-ended 30 years of electoral dominance by the African National Congress. The party garnered only 40.18% of the vote while the Democratic Alliance got 21.81%, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party 14.58% and the Economic Freedom Fighters 9.52%. That means that the country will need to learn to dance the coalition dance, a dance that under the best of conditions is fraught with partners stepping on each…

Jun

05

2024

By SIPHIWE NYANDA

“No coalition deal with Zuma, ANC must call a special conference for a new mandate”

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

I speak as a pained member of the ANC. I write as an aggrieved member of the Veterans League; as an angry member of the MK Liberation War Veterans (MKLWV), as well as a former Chairman of the uMkhonto weSizwe Council (MK Council) The former Deputy President of the ANC, Mr Kgalima Motlanthe penned a well-reasoned article in the Sunday Times on the issues the ANC cannot compromise on in seeking to form coalitions to take the country forward following the elections, which for the first time saw the ANC lose its parliamentary majority since the advent of democracy 30…

Jun

04

2024

By LAWRENCE HAMILTON

South Africa: coalition government won’t fix past failures – expect the private sector to play a bigger role in delivering power, transport and security

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TO help save the planet, governments across the globe are choosing to adopt sustainable policies and encourage (or coerce) the private sector to do likewise. Given the climate crisis, most responsible governments are focusing on finding every possible means to meet existing needs without sacrificing the planet to meet the needs of future generations. In South Africa things are different. Although the country has presented guidelines for a just transition to greener energies, this has not been out of choice. It’s been out of necessity. It is mainly due to the collapse of the country’s energy infrastructure, not government leadership…

Jun

02

2024

By CORINNE SANDWITH

Mayibuye! The 100-year-old slogan that’s stirred up divisions in South Africa’s elections

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

POLITICAL parties the world over use slogans, icons, colours, names and flags to establish their political and historical credentials. What happens when two political parties lay claim to the same history and the same symbolic capital? In South Africa, a conflict of this kind is being played out between the governing African National Congress (ANC) party led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the breakaway party Umkhonto weSizwe, (MK Party) associated with former president Jacob Zuma. At the centre of the fight between the rival parties is the word “mayibuye”, which has been deployed as an election slogan for the MK…

May

28

2024

By GUY BERGER

Hate speech and disinformation in South Africa’s elections: big tech makes it tough to monitor social media

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

There’s a growing global movement to ensure that researchers can get access to the huge quantity of data assembled and exploited by digital operators. Momentum is mounting because it’s becoming increasingly evident that data is power. And access to it is the key – for a host of reasons, not least transparency, human rights and electoral integrity. But there’s currently a massive international asymmetry in access to data. In the European Union and the US, some progress has been made. For example, EU researchers studying risks have a legal right of access. In the US too, some companies have taken…