Former South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan.
GCIS
Pravin Gordhan was throughout his life driven by a deep commitment to non-racialism.
A makeshift camp for displaced people in eastern Sudan in July 2024.
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Sudan is the site of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with around 25 million people in need of urgent assistance.
Uganda Police arrest protesters during a planned anti-corruption demonstration in Kampala on 23 July 2024.
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The most detrimental impact of political corruption is that it destroys the power holders’ incentives to curb it.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, at a past press conference in Khartoum, Sudan.
Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Armed groups looking to infiltrate the state to influence policy first pursue their objectives without openly antagonising the government.
The constitution gives parliament authority to oversee the exercise of public power and hold the executive accountable.
GCIS
Hard bargaining still needs to happen before the country has a definitive sense of how executive accountability will be enforced under a unity government.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa (L) and his deputy Paul Mashatile (R) flank new agriculture minister John Steenhuisen.
Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images.
A sea change in the system of governance is needed to fix South Africa and rebuild an economy plagued by serious crises.
Protesters hold placards during a demonstration in Nairobi.
Photo by Boniface Muthoni/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Corruption in Kenya drains resources that could have been used for services like healthcare or education.
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.
Jon Hrusa/EPA
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.
Henghameh Fahimi/AFP via Getty images
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.
Bongani Mnguni/Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images
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.
Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
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.
GCIS
The Zondo Commission was globally unique in scope and scale. The book selects and explains its key findings and recommendations.