South African President Jacob Zuma, who is also the president of the governing African National Congress, with his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
The ANC will be judged by its ability to deliver on its promises to provide basic services and good governance, practise sound financial management and combat corruption this election year.
Supporters of South Africa’s governing ANC at the party’s 104 anniversary celebration in Rustenburg.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
For more than 100 years South Africa’s ruling ANC and its leaders have often been able to speak to and for the nation with resonance and moral authority, their words matching actions. Not any more.
The Chinese and South African governments, led by presidents Xi Jingping and Jacob Zuma, cement ties during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Reuters/Wang Zhao/Pool
When it comes to the global political economy, no one “talks left and walks right” more than China, a dominant player in global capitalism. South African and Chinese aspirations have much in common.
An excavator clears land for a palm oil plantation in southern Sierra Leone for a Lichtenstein-based a company. Such projects are criticised by some as ‘land grabs’.
Reuters/Simon Akam
International development banks are supposed to ensure adherence to human rights in the projects they fund. Instead, their practices provide fertile ground for human rights abuses.
Months after an inconclusive election, Croatia has at last picked an almost unknown figure to be its new prime minister: Tihomir Orešković, chief financial officer of a Canadian generic pharmaceutical…
South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of student protests against fee hikes, racism and for the decolonisation of curriculum.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
Many works published on decolonisation originate from Ngugi wa Thiongo’s idea of decolonising the African mind. Imperialism, he writes, has left its mark on the minds of the previously colonised.
The ANC faces its toughest municipal elections test next year amid falling support.
Reuters/Mark Wessels
The annulment of the Tlokwe byelection results is a blow for the governing ANC. It has had a torrid 2015 and faces difficult local government elections early next year.
South Africa’s nuclear deal with Russia is part of the backdrop to the current crisis.
Reuters/Alexei Nikolsky
President Jacob Zuma’s era has been characterised by a high turnover, not only of cabinet members, but also senior public officials and executives in state-owned enterprises.
South Africa’s Justice Sisi Khampepe swears in David van Rooyen as the new Minister of Finance while President Jacob Zuma looks on.
EPA/Elmond Jiyane
The sudden expulsion of the finance minister makes it hard not to be pessimistic about the South African government’s ability to manage the difficult challenges it might face in 2016.
A maturing relationship. Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening of the China-Africa summit in Johannesburg.
EPA/Elmond Jiyane
For the grand plans unveiled at the China-Africa summit to succeed, Africa will have to cooperate more extensively. The larger and more successful nations need to become sub-regional leaders.
The Nairobi-Thika highway is being built by China Wuyi, Sinohydro and Shengeli Engineering Construction, and is funded by Kenya, China and the African Development Bank.
Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
China offers an alternative to traditional donors and investors in low- and middle-income countries. Adding to its appeal is its focus on infrastructure projects.
The skylines of Alexandra township and Sandton City. Decolonising education involves helping students understand how different experiences shape our world.
Reuters/Kim Ludbrook
The Open Government Partnership promotes transparency, public accountability and civic participation in government to combat corruption. It is hoped South Africa will help it grow in Africa.
China’s choice of South Africa to host the China-Africa summit underscores the special relationship between the two countries.
Reuters/Petar Kujundzic
The Africa-China summit will provide an opportunity to get a feel for how Chinese President Xi Jinping is responding to democratic developments in Africa.
Miners pray during the one-year anniversary commemoration of the killings of 34 striking miners by police outside Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
The reporting of the Marikana massacre was characterised by embedded journalism, sensationalism and polarisation of views. The media became a loudspeaker for powerful political and economic interests.
Tunisian women marking International Women’s Day. The country scores poorly when it comes to women’s safety.
EPA/Mohamed Messara
The world is generally not safe for women. But some projects in North Africa provide a glimpse of hope as the world marks the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Tanzania’s John Magufuli greets ruling party members after being declared winner of the presidential elections.
Reuters/Sadi Said
Tanzania’s new president, John Pombe Magufuli, needs to change the country’s lukewarm attitude to the EAC and regional integration, which has cast a shadow over the future prospects of the region.
President Jacob Zuma took over as leader of the ANC with a promise to reconnect the party with the people. His legacy suggests otherwise.
Reuters/Sumaya Hisham
Judged by general citizen sentiment expressed at the grassroots, Jacob Zuma has failed to bring the ANC closer to the people. Research shows substantial alienation between the ANC and communities.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma being welcomed on his arrival in Khartoum by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir earlier this year.
Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
South Africa’s withdrawal from the ICC could have mere symbolic value. The country will continue to have obligations to binding decisions taken by the UN Security Council – including those pertaining to the court.
South African rugby coach Heyneke Meyer sings the national anthem at the World Cup.
Reuters / Eddie Keogh
South Africa’s rugby administrators are facing increased criticism for their failure to shed its white image. The tone of the debate is different this time, amid growing protests against inequality.
Yarik Turianskyi is Manager of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs and guest lecturer in African Governance and Eastern European Politics, University of Pretoria