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Articles on Helen Zille

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The Democratic Alliance has been accused of inflaming racial tensions in Phoenix. Local residents belonging to a protection group stand watch in July 2021 at the height of the violence. Photo by Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

What inflammatory election posters say about South Africa’s Democratic Alliance

The Democratic Alliance posters were not a bolt from the blue. They were consistent with messages the party’s current leadership has been sending out for some time.
South Africa’s Pretoria News didn’t dress itself in glory with its false decuplets story. This picture was taken following Nelson Mandela’s death in 2013. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

False story about decuplets was a low point for journalism: how to fix the damage

Tighter controls are not the answer; the opportunity should be used to think differently about trust and journalism. It is critical to enable audiences to distinguish reliable, verified information.
A real problem for the Democratic Alliance is that it cannot hope to displace the dominant African National Congress. EFE-EPA/Kevin Sutherland

South Africa’s main opposition party caught in an unenviable political bind

The problem for the Democratic Alliance is not one of policy. There is real substance in its commitment to substituting racial criteria for overcoming historical disadvantage.
Protesters occupy a national highway in the Western Cape. EPA/Nic Bothma

Growing Western Cape protests show citizens expect greater accountability

Governing parties and officials need to take note of the frustration being expressed by ordinary South Africans.
Cape Town’s Muizenburg beach. Water shortages in the city hasn’t deterred tourists. EPA/Nic Bothma

Why the drought levy tabled by Cape Town’s mayor is unfair

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.
Des van Rooyen, cooperative governance minister and new treasurer-general of the MK Military Veterans Association. eNCA.com

Comrades in arms against apartheid are now at one another’s throats

MK, the army of the then banned ANC, electrified millions of oppressed people to rise against the apartheid regime. Today, its veterans are being used in factional battles within the ruling party.
South African President Jacob Zuma reacts during the official announcement of the municipal election results in Pretoria. Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

Message to white South African voters: Keep calm … and shut up!

Various commentators have wrongly over the last 22 years said that black people voted blindly for ANC governments. There’s no better example why the academy needs a dramatic post-colonial overhaul.
Mmusi Maimane was elected leader of the Democratic Alliance at the party’s federal congress on Sunday. EPA/Kim Ludbrook

First black leader breathes life into South African opposition

With the election of Mmusi Maimane as leader, the Democratic Alliance, like the ANC, calculated that a black rather than coloured leader is needed for victory at the national level.

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