The announcement that Numsa would form its own socialist party should come as no surprise. Numsa’s battles within Cosatu (most notably with its historical rival, the Jacob Zuma-aligned NUM) and the ruling alliance (particularly with the Zuma faction, ostensibly on questions of ideology) have served as a generous forewarning that this was coming. Further, in […]
COPE
The receding spectre of a one-party state
“If you have a country where everyone is complaining, you’ve got a democracy; if you have one where no-one is complaining, you’ve got a problem” (not bad, huh? — © Saks, D — all rights reserved etc … ). Related to the above is the paradox that huge victory margins in elections are indicative not […]
Reasons not to vote EFF?
My previous column elicited a wide range of public and private responses that have caused me to reflect again on my decision to vote for the EFF in 2014. Having considered most of these arguments — and more — before stating my intention to vote for the EFF, I think that I owe it to […]
Talking about EFF is bringing us closer as a nation
The South African public and media have devoured every scrap thrown to them by Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), with the media churning out tens of stories featuring analysis about the viability of this allegedly radical anti-capitalist protest movement. There’s been a cacophonous frenzy surrounding the launch of Malema’s new venture, and although some […]
Black diamonds could vote EFF
By Ntombenhle Khathwane There has been much speculation as to where the black middle-class vote will go. What is evident is that there is no party that totally encapsulates the aspirations of these people. Under the current political and economic landscape, the black diamonds could vote EFF as a protest vote against the ANC or […]
Why the poor vote for the ANC and will do so for a long time
The question of why the poor who are always complaining about the ANC continue to vote for the organisation has always preoccupied my mind. I could never really comprehend how it is possible for multitudes of people who are being abused by the ruling party would vote it into power. I tried to rationalise it […]
Malema’s problems will be over soonish
Let me tell ye how it shall be! The sun will be a blazing mass in the sky, rivers and oceans will run dry, massive swarms of locusts will roam the planet as human beings wither and die, blood will boil and turn to scabs as animals suffocate and drown in their own vomit … […]
Voter docility, racial resentment strangling SA democracy
With less than a week to go, the result of the US presidential election is too close to call. In the case of South Africa, you would have to go back all the way to the early 1950s to say the same thing. Ever since then, the results of elections in this country have been […]
Can we save the ANC?
The ANC is a party at war with itself. A party grappling with the machinations of converting from a liberation movement into a modern political party in government. This has proved to be a huge challenge as it also seeks to balance the fears and stubbornness of the old guard with the militancy and impatience […]
ANC conservative nationalism and ambidextrous politicians – Open Letter to Phillip Dexter
Dear Dr Dexter, The formal style of address may seem cold and harsh but I cannot bring myself to refer to you as comrade or Phillip, as I have always done. The man who sat so smugly next to Marius Fransman yesterday, singing the praises of the ANC was not the one I fought alongside […]