Dysfunctionality in South Africa’s public service has led to poor access to piped water.
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South Africa’s civil service has failed to implement policies to eradicate poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The question of whether the constitution should continue to be supreme has become a public as well as a political issue.
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The constitution and the principle of constitutionalism will continue to be politically contested territory. So far it’s held in South Africa.
South Africa has clearly defined mandates for the police, military and intelligence services.
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The security services that watch over South Africans today are a far cry from the instruments of minority rule of the apartheid era. They are subject to the constitution and the rule of law.
Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma: two very different styles of governing.
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The second episode of What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa?, a three-part podcast series on The Conversation Weekly. Featuring interviews with Mashupye Maserumule and Michael Sachs.
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New Zealand has dropped six points on the main global index of perceived corruption. To turn that around, the government must guard against state capture by vested interests.
Jacob Zuma at the launch of his new party, uMkhonto Wesizwe, in 2023.
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The ANC tied itself in knots defending Zuma’s destructive bad behaviour in the past. Acting against him now would require it to own up to its sins.
South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana.
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South Africa’s fiscal situation is arguably at its worst in the post-apartheid era but the proposed solutions are contentious.
Aziz Pahad in Tehran in 2004. He was South Africa’s deputy foreign minister at the time.
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South Africa will miss having a “diplomat-scholar” of his calibre to turn to for sage advice.
Whistleblower Athol Williams, a former partner at Bain SA, testifies at the State Capture Commission in 2021.
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Whistleblowers should be entitled to financial support. But that has potential costs as well as benefits.
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South Africa needs a new social contract whose core aim is the creation of dynamic economy.
Essop Pahad was a confidant of former president Thabo Mbeki.
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When Essop Pahad was given a job, he did it efficiently. He surprised even his critics with his diligence.
Nelson Mandela, the late first president of democratic South Africa, is credited with the relatively peaceful transition from apartheid rule.
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There is never going to be a final assessment of Mandela’s legacy. How it is regarded will continue to change, depending on the destination South Africa travels to.
President Ramaphosa, right, receives the final report of the State Capture Commission from Judge Zondo in 2020.
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The Zondo Commission was globally unique in scope and scale. The book selects and explains its key findings and recommendations.
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In a world where economic sanctions make trade in US dollars almost impossible, gold has offered a way to evade these restrictions.
The African National Congress has lost electoral support but remains dominant.
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Dissatisfied ANC voters were much more likely to switch their votes if they held positive views of an opposition party. However, the problem for the opposition is that few people held these views.
Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter.
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The book shows how parts of South Africa now fester with organised crime.
Presidents Hage Geingob, left, and Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
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How Swapo and the ANC respond to any further decline in electoral support will define the future of democracy in both countries.
Paul Mashatile, the deputy president of South Africa.
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Mashatile could be the new broom that sweeps clean. Ramaphosa’s apparent confidence in him suggests that he has some latitude to do so.
South Africa provides fertile ground for money laundering and terrorism funding.
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In being grey listed South Africa joins a list of countries with poor governance. Others are war zones or countries with jihadist terror groupings operating on their land.
Mondli Gungubele, former minister in the Presidency, was in charge of intelligence.
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Having an intelligence service that is not fit for purpose means the country is vulnerable to security threats from within and outside the country.