After two decades of political dominance, the electoral performance of the ANC is at its lowest since it became the governing party of South Africa in 1994. But is the party really unraveling?
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Articles on Public Protector
Displaying 21 - 38 of 38 articles
Far from the limelight, South Africa’s public protector has been instrumental in assisting individuals who grapple with unfair treatment from government departments and other public institutions.
All eyes are on the next move from President Jacob Zuma after he survived a bid from senior ANC colleagues to remove him. The fallout is expected to be focused on the economic cluster of government.
Credit ratings have an impact on government, as well as ordinary people. This article was first published last year as South Africa faced a possible downgrade.
Former South Africa’s President, Thab Mbeki, has made a remarkable intervention that condemns parliament’s failure to act against President Jacob Zuma. But he is eight years too late.
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 former public protector’s report has stirred national consciousness. Jacob Zuma is swimming against the tide. Is he sinking, or might he still pull the trick of a proverbial cat with nine lives?
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.
The idea of giving South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma amnesty in exchange for early exit is tempting but it will set a bad precedent.
South Africa’s parastatals are in a dire state. Instead of being the mandated sites of development and profitability, they are costing the public purse billions and have been abused.
The public protector needs to be “fit and proper”. That means he or she must be honest, reliable and have integrity.These qualities cannot be assessed through an interview and background checks only.
There were high hopes that the SABC would become a true public broadcaster after the end of apartheid when it was used ruthlessly as a propaganda machine. But those hopes have since been dashed.
In many ways the office of the Public Protector has become the barometer of the state of South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
South Africa’s public broadcaster is in a state of crisis, gripped by paranoia and facing accusations of censorship. Can it be saved?
The increase in rioting ahead of municipal elections in South Africa, such as that in Pretoria, suggests that the country’s general election in 2019 could be more violent than previous elections.
Jacob Zuma has backtracked on two major decisions in under two months – first after he fired his finance minister; now he says he’ll pay back public money spent on his lavish Nkandla homestead.
Tensions are probably inevitable in any constitutional democracy that empowers the courts to overrule the executive and legislature. But, judges are worried cabinet undermines the rule of law.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town
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Visiting Professor at the Business School, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
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PhD Candidate/Research & Teaching Assistant, Grenoble Ecole de Management/Lecturer in Organisational Psychology, Rhodes University
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Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town
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Professor of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand
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PhD student in Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Professor Emeritus of Public Law, University of Cape Town
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Professor of Law, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor, Stellenbosch University
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Lecturer, Nelson Mandela University
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Head: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Lecturer in Political Science, Nelson Mandela University
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Distinguished Professor and Derek Schrier and Cecily Cameron Chair in Development Economics, School of Economics and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand
