On 11th September last year under the headline "Damn right I want a downgrade!" this column suggested that that was exactly what President Jacob Zuma was aiming for. The certainty that dismissal of Pravin Gordhan from the finance ministry would cause an adverse reaction among international credit ratings agencies gave Mr Zuma reason to loathe them as agents of white monopoly capitalism.
There is something pathetic about the reaction of his party to President Jacob Zuma's cabinet reshuffle last week. The secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC), Gwede Mantashe, said it was "unfortunate" that the party had not been given prior notice. The move was a formula for instability, would deepen divisions, undo the alliance, etc.
At the moment, South Africa is enduring an economic crisis. Most of us do not know how we will get out of the mess we are in. Ever since President Jacob Zuma took the driving seat, things have gotten worse.
Earlier this month, President Jacob Zuma made an impassioned plea for the country’s traditional leaders to organise, raise money, instruct lawyers, and lodge claims to land under the re-opened land claims process before the current window shuts in June 2019.
John Kane-Berman, the Chief Executive of the Institute, wrote in Business Day today that threats to the constitution have galvanized many South Africans into action, which may have the long-term consequence of safeguarding it.
The outcome of the motion of no confidence last night reveals two insights: either the factions have united or the anti-Zuma faction at its fullest count is no more than 20% of the parliamentary caucus. Out of 384 MPs, 177 voted in favour of the motion, 198 against it with 9 abstentions. Much of the narrative to immediately emerge was that 'Zuma is weakened', the 'ANC is split' or the 'ANC is divide
Unlike Ramaphosa and his team at Davos, Zwane fails to inspire confidence at Mining Indaba, writes David Christianson
