Democracy is in a parlous state in many countries in southern Africa. Autocrats hold onto power, while electorates have little to choose from at the polls.
The internal processes of South Africa’s ruling ANC for electing the president is distorted by money, patronage, factionalism and vote-rigging. It negates the democratic legitimacy the party claims.
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has the difficult task of deciding whether MPs can have the protection of a secret ballot when voting whether to fire President Zuma or not.
President Jacob Zuma’s grounds for appeal are surreal. He invokes the meaning of a rule set by the apartheid context he ferociously fought against, to justify his executive action in a democracy.
Populist movements are on the rise. Their supporters distrust the establishment, elites, authority and official sources. The post-truth world is a post-expert world.
The South African government is not giving up on its push for a controversial nuclear power plan. But it’s chances of succeeding have been greatly reduced.
The populism politics adopted by South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress, mask a strategy to deflect attention from the party’s policy failures and to hide its many scandals.
The Cape High Court ruling which declared South Africa’s nuclear energy plan as illegal may have put paid President Jacob Zuma’s ambitions of clinching the deal while he is still in office.
South Africa celebrates Freedom Day this week amid growing discontent over misrule by President Zuma and the ANC. This has led to increased calls for ethical and caring leaders.
The framing of the prevailing political protests in South Africa shows too much focus on the role of individuals. This is dangerous in hearkening back to the flawed Great Man Theory.
Democracy in South Africa is meaningless if it doesn’t improve the lives of the people. To do this, the governing ANC must be led by conscientious, competent and interested leaders.
The promise of Easter, which Christians around the world celebrate, can be likened to the new struggle in South Africa for a new leadership and government that cares about the people.