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Jan
18
2024
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s ANC marks its 112th year with an eye on national elections, but its record is patchy and future uncertain

South Africa’s ANC marks its 112th year with an eye on national elections, but its record is patchy and future uncertain

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
THE speech President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered at the 112th birthday celebration of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), on 13 January can be seen as the party’s opening election gambit: a stadium packed to capacity, the display of a united leadership, and an invocation of three decades of success, delivered by a leader firmly in control of his party. SANDY AFRICA, Associate Professor, Political Sciences, and Deputy Dean Teaching and Learning (Humanities), University of Pretoria The annual January 8 statement, unsurprisingly, was a 30-year self-assessment and is self-congratulatory. It was silent on the many failings under ANC…
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Jan
14
2024
By The African Mirror
Ramaphosa targets ‘decisive’ ANC win in South African elections

Ramaphosa targets ‘decisive’ ANC win in South African elections

NEWS
SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his African National Congress (ANC) party would be seeking a "decisive victory" in this year's national elections, slated to be the most highly contested in the country's democratic history. Ramaphosa is looking to win a second term as president as Africa's most industrialised country prepares to hold its closest poll for three decades. Analysts say the ruling ANC is at risk of losing its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela's victory in 1994 ushered in a new era of democracy following decades of apartheid rule. "When they look at us and say…
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Dec
17
2023
By The African Mirror
Zuma says he will not vote for ANC in South Africa’s election

Zuma says he will not vote for ANC in South Africa’s election

NEWS
FORMER South African president Jacob Zuma said he will not campaign for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in the 2024 general election and will vote for a new party, a sign of growing divisions within the ANC ahead of the vote. Zuma, who said he remained an ANC member, has previously lashed out at his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of failing as a leader and betraying the ANC with his stance against corruption. On Saturday Zuma repeated the accusations, and cited among other issues the expulsion from the party of its former secretary general after he was…
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Nov
21
2023
By The African Mirror
Israel recalls its ambassador to South Africa for consultations

Israel recalls its ambassador to South Africa for consultations

NEWS
ISRAEL has recalled for consultations its ambassador to South Africa following the "latest statements from South Africa", Israel's Foreign Ministry said South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party on Thursday said it would support a parliamentary motion calling for the Israeli embassy in South Africa to be closed. South Africa, which is highly critical of Israel's campaign in Gaza against Hamas, has recalled its diplomats from Israel. Hamas militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, sparking the devastating war in Gaza.
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Nov
17
2023
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s ANC backs motion to close Israeli embassy

South Africa’s ANC backs motion to close Israeli embassy

NEWS
SOUTH Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party said that it would support a parliamentary motion calling for the Israeli embassy in South Africa to be closed. The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) will propose the motion later on Thursday, also calling for the suspension of all diplomatic relations with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. South Africa's strong support for Palestinians dates back to former President Nelson Mandela's days, with the country likening their plight to its own before the end of apartheid in 1994. Israel rejects the comparison. "The African National…
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Oct
11
2023
By The African Mirror
Israel-Palestine conflict divides South African politicians – what their responses reveal about historical alliances

Israel-Palestine conflict divides South African politicians – what their responses reveal about historical alliances

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
HAMAS’ brazen and deadly attack on Israel on October 7 elicited varied responses within the South African political scene. These diverse reactions reflect the long history, since before democracy in 1994, of South African engagement with the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The conflict holds symbolic significance for many in the country. ASHER LUBOTZKY, Scholar in Residence, University of Houston As with the war in Ukraine, taking sides on the issue also allows the different parties to highlight their position on the struggle for or against global Western dominance The South African government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), characterised the recent…
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Nov
11
2020
By The African Mirror
Why South Africans need to give political parties more money

Why South Africans need to give political parties more money

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
STEVEN FRIEDMAN, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg IF South Africans fear that funding political parties is a waste of money, they may care to think about the costs of not funding them. But, if they want value for their cash, the way parties get money needs to change. Party funding is back on the agenda in South Africa after the treasurer of the governing African National Congress (ANC), Paul Mashatile, said taxpayers needed to give parties more money. Finance minister Tito Mboweni says he is willing to listen to the argument. Almost inevitably, parts of the media known…
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Sep
25
2020
By The African Mirror
Why South African opposition’s policy on racial inequality is out of sync with reality

Why South African opposition’s policy on racial inequality is out of sync with reality

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
STEVEN FRIEDMAN, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg CLAIMING, as South Africa’s official opposition the Democratic Alliance (DA) does, that policy must ignore race in South Africa, is like insisting that economic inequality should have been ignored in nineteenth-century Europe. The party resolved at a recent policy conference to oppose policy that uses race and gender as a criterion. This aims to set it apart from the governing African National Congress, which endorses affirmative action as a means of addressing the inequities created by centuries of minority white rule. Although this decision must still be ratified by the federal…
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Aug
31
2020
By The African Mirror
How corruption in South Africa is deeply rooted in the country’s past and why that matters

How corruption in South Africa is deeply rooted in the country’s past and why that matters

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
STEVEN FRIEDMAN, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg WHEN South Africans express shock at corruption, few seem to know that it is perhaps the country’s oldest tradition. Citizen anger about corruption, a constant theme in South African political debate, reacts to a very real problem. This was underlined recently by news that well-connected people had enriched themselves at the expense of efforts to contain COVID-19. What is not real is the widespread belief that corruption is both new and easy to fix. Reactions to corruption portray it as a product of African National Congress (ANC) rule (or majority rule…
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