A drought levy is being proposed for water scarce Cape Town. The levy is facing wide opposition and there are claims it’s punitive and punishes those trying to save water.
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa unwittingly fell for an old trick used to discredit politicians.
GCIS
Instead of ignoring his accusers, South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa entertained them, tried to silence them through court, and then revealed a long-past affair of little interest.
Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, leads a campaign to clean up the city streets.
The Star/Itumeleng English
South African President Jacob Zuma, should be worried about the outcome of the no confidence vote in him. His legitimacy in the ANC and the country has plummeted.
The motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma displayed tension between party and conscience.
REUTERS/Mark Wessels
The motion of no confidence against South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma showcased tension at the heart of South Africa’s democracy. Should MPs have the right to vote according to their conscience?
Protesters march ahead of a vote of a no confidence against President Jacob Zuma.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
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.
President Jacob Zuma has been brought to book repeatedly by South Africa’s courts. He also faces a rising tide of discontent. One way or another, he seems to be running out of political lives.
South Africa’s Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng making a ruling on secret ballots in Parliament at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
A motion of no confidence - secret or open - in South Africa’s president will be destabilising. There’s value in ensuring that such a hefty decision is made openly and with courage of conviction.
Children marching on the
anniversary of the Soweto uprising.
EPA/Kim Ludbrook
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.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma in Parliament.
Nic Bothma/EPA
South African President Jacob Zuma’s follies cost the ANC dearly during last year’s election. Is it too late for the party to save itself come 2019?
Demonstrators protest outside South Africa’s Parliament in Cape Town against President Jacob Zuma’s firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
Are those ANC members critical of Zuma willing to stand up and be counted? Will Pravin Gordhan, popular hero of the hour, provide one further great service to the nation?
Western Cape Premier.
Helen Zille.
Reuters/Mark Wessels
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille ‘s Twitter rant about colonialism caused an uproar as it brought back memories of a brutal and violent time in South Africa.
Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
For Western Cape Premier Helen Zille to invite black South Africans, in a casual manner, to differentiate the legacies of colonialism is asking a lot.
Security officials remove members of the Economic Freedom Fighters during South African President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address.
Reuters/Sumaya Hisham
The ANC should draw the lesson that South Africans are unlikely to tolerate the ongoing descent of their politics into the gutter without strident resistance - in the streets, if necessary.
South Africans queue to vote in the 2016 municipal elections. The governing ANC is accused of wanting to generate ‘fake news’ to influence voters.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
The planting of messages and countering narratives in the media is not new. It’s part and parcel of contemporary politics especially during elections. The internet simply makes an old problem worse.
Demonstrators protest against censorship by the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
It’s vital that the problems at the South African Broadcasting Corporation be fixed in the public interest and for democracy, given its wide media reach in the country.
The opportunity for emerging political figures to make their mark is considerable.
The Conversation
Here are five political leaders from around the world who are emerging as significant talents and possible contenders for influence in 2017 and beyond.
The ANC got rid of one president , Thabo Mbeki (right) in 2008. The groundswell against incumbent Jacob Zuma is growing.
Mike Hutchings/Reuters
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.
Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State