ANC
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Oligarchy and the subversion of democracy–warnings from South Africa
The world has an oligarchy problem. It threatens economic and social stability and accelerates planetary environmental destruction and global warming. While much has been written about Russian oligarchs, it has become clear that the West, particularly the U.S., has a similar and growing oligarchy problem. Thom Hartmann writes how ” The American Oligarchs Have Arrived… Continue reading
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“South Africa’s ‘Just’ Transition climate deal with the west is a betrayal of the working class”
South Africa is set to implement an $8.5bn plan funded by western countries to transition from coal-based energy to renewables. The country’s biggest union NUMSA has warned this plan will only intensify privatization while burdening South Africans with debt and poverty. Continue reading
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“A fearless leader”: South African shack-dwellers’ leader, Lindokuhle Mnguni, assassinated in Durban
Chairperson of the eKhenana commune of Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), who was out of prison on bail, was gunned down at his home two days before he was to appear in court. This is the third murder of AbM leaders in eKhenana commune in Cato Crest this year. Continue reading
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South Africa: Let them have a ridiculously large luminous flag
The ANC has destroyed or severely damaged the post office, the national airline, the railways, the electricity system and some of our most crucial hospitals. It was recently announced that the deterioration of the country’s network of weather stations has reached a critical point. Many public buildings, as well as other infrastructure, have been abandoned… Continue reading
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Another assassination in Durban
Last night, just before 8pm, Nokuthula Mabaso was assassinated at the eKhenana Commune in Cato Manor, Durban. She was shot six times, four times in the back, and died in the arms of her comrades. She is the second leader in the commune to be assassinated. Ayanda Ngila’s life was taken on 8 March. Continue reading
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Long Read | Home and exile, freedom and loss
Mandla Langa and Mphuthumi Ntabeni’s new novels, The Lost Language of the Soul and The Wanderers, intersect in their reflections on the lives of Umkhonto weSizwe freedom fighters. Continue reading
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South Africa: Trouble in the promised land
The socialist commune Abahlali baseMjondolo built from the eKhenana land occupation in Durban has won international admiration and solidarity, but it now faces a new wave of repression. Continue reading
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South Africa: All of them must go!
It seems likely that the elections on Monday will bring significant change to how many of our cities are ruled. All the surveys show that millions of South Africans hold local government in contempt, that a significant number of former ANC supporters will not be able to bring themselves to vote for a party that… Continue reading
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South Africa: Blame for May Day’s bare whimper
May Day 2021 has come and gone, without much of a whimper, let alone a bang. And it is the novel coronavirus that is only marginally responsible. Because there would not have been much of a bang even without the pandemic. Continue reading
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Leader of shack-dwellers’ movement arrested by South African police for ‘conspiracy’ to murder
George Mqapheli Bonono, the deputy president of Abahlali baseMjondolo, was arrested on May 4. The movement maintains that it is a politically motivated attempt by the police to discredit the organization at the behest of the ruling ANC Continue reading
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‘The Politic of Blood’: Political Repression in South Africa
In his famous speech from the dock in April 1964, Nelson Mandela spoke of ‘revolutionary democracy’ rooted in precolonial forms of collective deliberation and decision making. In a speech given in April 1982, Joe Foster, then General Secretary of the Federation of South African Trade Unions (Fosatu), stressed the need for workers ‘to build their… Continue reading
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EXCLUSIVE: OR Tambo’s forgotten speech at Chatham House in 1985
Oliver Reginald Tambo On October 29 1985, Oliver Tambo gave a speech at Chatham House in London. In it, he urged a reluctant British government to support the fight against apartheid — and expertly dissects the hypocrisy in not doing so. For decades, the speech was buried in the Chatham House archives. For its centennial… Continue reading
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Rainbows, dreams & ethical journalism By Terry Bell
29 June 2019 — Terry Bell Writes South Africa seems to be obsessed with rainbow images. First there was that grand illusion of a rainbow nation, now faded. But it did, for some time, obscure, to a degree, rotten reality. Now, with the latest State of the Nation (SONA) address we have what seemed to Continue reading
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South Africa: A new dawn — or an impending storm By Terry Bell
Minimum wage legislation, introduced on January 1, was supposed to herald the first pale rays of a promised new dawn. This promise would be consolidated once the ANC again held the reins of national power with Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa in the top job. Continue reading
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SA — still awaiting a workers’ party By Terry Bell
One interesting result of South Africa’s May 8 national and provincial poll was the effective demolition of an enduring myth, beloved of many bosses and union-bashing free marketeers: that union bosses call the shots and members blindly follow. This is a claim trotted out at the time of almost every major strike. Continue reading
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Ronnie Kasrils on South African Election
The best aspect of South Africa’s sixth national election since democracy in 1994 was that it was extremely peaceful, virtually incident free, fair, and credible. The top marks go to the 16 million who cast their votes, many in difficult rural terrain and some in cold, rainy conditions. The downside was that this was the… Continue reading
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SA elections – a cry for a real alternative By Terry Bell
Most South Africans are probably more than ready for an alternative political dispensation. That much seems clear, given the results of last week’s national and provincial elections where the gatvol (fed up) factor was in full play. Continue reading
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South Africa elections 2019: widespread fury and big gains for the EFF
Election results can provide an important barometer of the mood in society. The results of the Sixth National and Provincial elections on 8 May confirm that there is a deep ferment in South African society. The sharp drop in voter turnout, together with the high abstention from the election process, especially by the youth, meant… Continue reading
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South Africa: What about the workers? By Terry Bell
While there has been much media debate about what “black middle-class” voters will do today, there has been nothing about where the votes of unionised workers may go as South Africa completes its sixth non-racial election. This is perhaps because it is widely assumed that, in terms of labour voting patterns, nothing much has changed… Continue reading
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What is the SRWP’s Vision for South Africa? By Pavan Kulkarni
With the slogan “Equality, Work, Land!”, the newly-founded Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) of South Africa is set to contest the general election scheduled on May 8. The party aims to use parliamentary institutions to complement mass struggles, with the slogan “socialism and nothing else”. It has unveiled a radical agenda for the country, including… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 