Five years on, no-one has been held to account for the Marikana massacre where 34 miners were shot dead by members of the South African Police Service in a single day.
The bitter attitude of ANC leaders who spoke inside and outside Parliament before and after the no confidence vote added fuel to already existing public anger at the arrogance of the governing party.
The huge hype ahead of the vote of no confidence in President Zuma made the result anti-climactic. However, the fact that the motion was defeated by only a 21 vote margin is unprecedented.
The Gupta email leaks have exposed the involvement of some big private corporations. in the unfolding corruption scandal thus challenging the private sector to do some introspection.
Documents released ahead of the policy conference of South Africa’s embattled governing ANC show it hasn’t the guts or internal balance of forces, for self-correction and renewal.
The misfortunes experienced by Brian Molefe, the CEO of South Africa’s power utility Eskom, shows that the battle for the country’s public purse is not a one way bet.
The notion of South African exceptionalism runs deep. Many people in the country believe that in some cases they are superior to the rest of the continent.
The focus will now be on how the social democratic and left-leaning members of South Africa’s cabinet – the “constitutionalists” – will respond to the reshuffle.
Mahlangu’s resignation over the deaths of mental patients sets her apart from her colleagues in government. But, it does not portend a new trend in political accountability for the governing ANC.
It is common to reduce the politics of the ANC to a battle between personalities. A closer look suggest that this is a fight between two factions, both of them products of trends in the economy.
South Africa is breathing a sigh of relief after escaping a credit rating downgrade. But there are still serious concerns around structure of the country’s economy and finances.
The fallout at the meeting of South Africa’s governing ANC clearly exposed how the party’s factionalism has spilled over into government. This is likely to paralyse governance even further.
Defects in political governance, especially President Jacob Zuma’s failure to provide leadership, have induced a crisis of confidence in South Africa’s economy.
The use of the prosecuting authority and the police in ANC succession struggles has a long history. What’s different in the Zuma era is the symbiosis between elite police and the prosecution service.
South African President Jacob Zuma’s days of spinning out court cases indefinitely and at taxpayers’ expense may soon come to an end – possibly his worst news in a week of bad news.
Professor in Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, and Adjunct Professor in the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, University of Strathclyde