Unscrupulous politicians are adept at using regressive story lines that feed insecurities. That could be dangerous ahead of South Africa’s hotly-contested municipal elections.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on South Africa 2016
Displaying 1 - 20 of 25 articles
South Africa’s transition to democracy was based on the values of inclusive politics, reconciliation, human rights and constitutionalism. Twenty-two years on, how has the country fared?
As South Africa celebrates 22 years since the end of apartheid this month, a new survey by Afrobarometer suggests the country still has a long way to go in fulfilling the promises of freedom.
Ironically, the only feasible way of removing President Zuma lies outside the prescribed formal structures of the constitutional processes – at the head office of the governing ANC.
If South Africans are to make the radical changes they must to become truly great, the new generation will have to find a way of understanding the country’s past in its profound complexity.
The Constitutional Court judgment in the opposition’s case against President Jacob Zuma represents the exercise of judicial authority and expertise at the highest level by international standards.
South Africa’s governing ANC has to respond to public outcry about state capture or run the risk of electoral losses.
A gripping soap opera is unfolding in South Africa. The two protagonists are Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the President Jacob Zuma. The jury’s out on when the curtain will fall.
Seasoned social rights activist Mark Heywood argues that the constitution provides South Africans with more rights and entitlements than they may be aware of.
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan would need President Zuma’s undivided support to drive bold economic reforms. But, signs suggest that he does not have such support and is undermined by the president.
South Africa’s finance minister means well, especially in his bid to cut public sector expenditure. But his success requires strong leadership and strategic alignment across the entire public sector.
Pravin Gordhan’s Budget was indicative of gaping cracks between a finance minister and a president with widely differing world views and politics.
Health was not the priority in South Africa’s budget this year - more pressing issues took centre stage.
South Africa’s finance minister delivered a good mix of macro and micro-economic strategies to ensure the country survives economic uncertainty, restores confidence and achieves some growth.
Jacob Zuma tried to cover everything under the sun in his State of the Nation address. The speech was not pivoted on an anchor. It was a collection of inputs from various government departments.
President Jacob Zuma failed to focus on reforms that fix any of the health care in South Africa in the next five years.
President Zuma indicated a welcome slowdown in the South African government’s stated intention to invest in nuclear power plants.
In a bid to improve health care in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma has made several promises in the last three years. Some have materialised faster than others.
It is unlikely President Zuma will announce a structural changes in his State of the Nation Address. This, despite education being in dire need of fundamental restructuring and an economy in decline.
The 2016 State of the Nation Address provides President Zuma with the ideal opportunity to be statesman-like. That would require bold action of his part, something that he is unlikely to do.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in Political Science, Nelson Mandela University
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Head: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa
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Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Health Sciences,, University of KwaZulu-Natal
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Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies, Adjunct Professor in the School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
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Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape
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Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand
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Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg
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Professor of Economics and Researcher at the South African Cultural Observatory, Rhodes University
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Professor of Public Affairs, Tshwane University of Technology
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Professor of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University
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Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR)/Afrobarometer Assistant Project Manager for Southern Africa, University of Cape Town
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Professor and Head of Department of Political and Conflict Studies, Nelson Mandela University
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Emeritus Associate Professor in Public Law, UCT. Visiting Adjunct Professor, WITS School of Governance; Director, Africa Programme, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, University of Cambridge
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Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand
