Keyword: ANC

On the State of Democracy in South Africa

Steven Friedman - South African democracy spans two very different worlds. In one, people complain loudly but enjoy full democratic rights – in the other, most remain unheard and battle for the right to speak. In both, life is difficult for those who do not conform. Among political scientists - and many of the South Africans who can speak - it is fashionable to label this country’s democracy a ‘party dominant system’. Democracy, is, in this view, limited by the iron grip of the...

South Africa's Freedom Journey Fatally Undermined by Continuing Crises of Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality

Picture: Woman walking in Langa township courtesy WBUR Boston Dale T. McKinley - Evidently, the ANC thinks that the people of South Africa do not know their own history. That’s more or less what ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe said the other day when addressing the media in the lead-up to the organisation’s 103rd anniversary celebrations. In his words: “We will be reminding people of their history. They don’t know the journey and the complexity of the journey. Freedom is not a destination. It is a journey.” Besides their...

How the ANC and SWAPO Exploit African Insecurities to Stay in Power

Picture: Namibian Presdient Hifikepunye Pohamba; his wife Penehupifo Pohamba; First Lady Bongi Zuma and President Jacob Zuma courtesy GCIS Alexander O'Riordan - From the outside Namibia looks just like South Africa with vast and growing income inequalities, high unemployment and a national politics dominated by their liberation struggle as well as a colonial and pre-independence history, as if not more brutal than South Africa’s. Political appointments dominate the executive with payoffs to former exiles and veterans an open secret and rumours of unchecked corruption part of everyday conversation. Unlike in South Africa, however, the ruling...

Is the NDR Really a Formula for Radical Change?

Picture: COSATU Secretary General Zwelizima Vavi, President Jacob Zuma and COSATU President Sdumo Dlamini courtesy GovernmentZA/flickr Steven Friedman - Why is an idea, which featured in Marxist debates decades ago now thrown about by all sides in mainstream public debates? Why is it used by both sides in the dispute wracking Cosatu? Because it touches on a core issue facing our society. The idea - or slogan - is ‘national democratic revolution’ (NDR). Both those who supported Numsa’s removal from Cosatu and Numsa itself say they support the NDR - Numsa complains it is ‘not on track’ while its opponents say...

Riot Police in Parliament

Picture: President Jacob Zuma courtesy GovernmentZA/flickr Richard Pithouse - When the ANC raised Jacob Zuma above the rule of law and the scrutiny of parliament they repeated, on live television, an aspect of the logic with which the subaltern classes are routinely governed. The democratic rights that have been enjoyed by the middle classes over the last twenty years are frequently denied to people who inhabit zones, like the former Bantustan or the urban shack settlement, where different rules apply. In these zones, despotic forms of power are not uncommon....

Six Reasons Why Rushed Cadre Deployment is Bad for the Cabinet and for the Country

Picture: Transport Minister Dipuo Peters and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa during a Cabinet Lekgotla at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria on 10 June 2014 courtesy GCIS/GovernmentZA/flickr Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen - The African National Congress has recently launched its Imvuselelo (Revival) Campaign. At the launch, President Jacob Zuma indicated it means a “back to basics campaign”. The campaign aims to reconnect with voters and drive membership. The campaign requires new members to swear an oath that they did not join the ANC to advance personal material interests and for branches to conduct community work each Friday. Iterations of this campaign using the same name have been around...