ANC
-
South Africa: Democracy & ‘Father Christmas socialism’ By Terry Bell
As South Africa coasts uncomfortably toward national and provincial elections on May 8, accompanied by rolling blackouts and with commissions delving ever deeper into sewers of corruption, it is time to take stock of where the country is and where it may be going. This should apply in particular to trade unions that have, in… Continue reading
-
How the people could really govern By Terry Bell
The people shall govern. So says the Freedom Charter. And so they do, says the ANC along with all the parties represented in parliament. But this is a lie. And awareness of this fact is what has caused such widespread disillusionment with mainstream politics and political parties. In our party list electoral system this is… Continue reading
-
SONA 2019: Mbeki without the poetry By Terry Bell
South Africa is again in the midst of that five-yearly cycle when politicians make extravagant promises that, on even cursory examination, ignore reality. And that does not even mean looking ahead to the consequences of the fourth industrial revolution that the world has already embarked on. Continue reading
-
Cyril Ramaphosa relaunches neo-liberalism By Prof. Patrick Bond
Cyril Ramaphosa’s soft-coup firing of Jacob Zuma from the South African presidency on 14 February 2018, after nearly nine years in power and a bitter struggle to avoid resignation, has contradictory local and geopolitical implications. Amidst general applause at seeing Zuma’s rear end in the society, immediately concerns arise about the new president’s neo-liberal, pro-corporate… Continue reading
-
Cape Town Water Wars: A Literal Shitstorm
In Cape Town, one of the most unequal cities in the world, poor people are taking the buckets they use for chemical toilets and turning them into weapons, as the water shortage intensifies class conflicts Continue reading
-
Will New ANC President Ramaphosa Bring Real Change to South Africa?
Cyril Ramaphosa, who was recently elected to head South Africa’s ANC, is closely associated with major economic interests in South Africa, such as the Lonmin Mining Company, and is thus unlikely to bring about real change says Patrick Bond (inc. transcript) Continue reading
-
South Africa’s ANC’s “Internal Presidential Elections”: Ramaphosa Rises as Lonmin Expires By Prof. Patrick Bond
On the one hand are powerful elements friendly to so-called “White Monopoly Capital,” and on the other are outgoing ANC president Jacob Zuma’s allies led by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, his ex-wife and former African Union chairperson. The latter faction includes corrupt state “tenderpreneur” syndicates, especially the notorious Gupta brothers, and is hence typically nicknamed “Zupta.” Continue reading
-
Marikana Massacre Hangs Over South Africa's New Extremely Rich ANC Leader
After a tight race that exposed stark divisions within the party, the African National Congress elected Cyril Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid crusader, business tycoon, and key suspect in the 2012 Marikana Massacre is positioned to be the country’s next president. But will he root out corruption, or is he part of the problem? (inc. transcript) Continue reading
-
In South Africa’s fight between hostile brothers – the “Zuptas” and “White Monopoly Capital” – a new consensus appears By Patrick Bond
Last week a conceptual barrier carefully constructed by elites since 2015 was suddenly cracked at the University of the Witwatersrand Great Hall by two of South Africa’s leading economic personalities: Pravin Gordhan, who served as a pro-business Finance Minister for seven years until being fired in March, and super-consultant Iraj Abedian, who in 1996 had… Continue reading
-
Video: The Giant Is Falling Official Trailer 2016
10 October 2016 — Youtube The Giant is Falling takes us through the big political events of recent years that signify the dying days of the ANC in South Africa. Locating the moment when things fell apart as the Marikana Massacre, the film charts the various ways people have collectively responded to the ANC’s failure Continue reading
-
Anti-ANC vote campaign initiated in South African general election By Thabo Seseane Jr.
Anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu has added his voice to a campaign championed by senior members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to get the electorate to vote against the party in the May 7 general election. Continue reading
-
South Africa: COSATU: In the eye of the storm By Jay Naidoo
All these years later, I still sometimes go back to the intoxicating days of 1985. The workers of South Africa had a dream. They dreamt that one day we would walk out of the cold night of apartheid’s tyranny. They dreamt that the sun would shine down on the new democracy. We dreamt of a… Continue reading
-
Numsa's Big Fat United Front: social movements, mineworkers welcome – maybe even the EFF By Ranjeni Munusamy
So it has finally happened. The militant metalworkers union Numsa is now actively campaigning against the ANC government and has issued a call to South Africans to join its “United Front” – a mass movement for socialism and radical economic change. Numsa will soon be hosting provincial consultative conferences to bring together left-leaning organisations and… Continue reading
-
Mandela Eulogies: Reinventing His Disturbing Legacy By Stephen Lendman
They infest world governments. They run America. They inflict enormous harm. Mandela exceeded the worst of South African apartheid injustice. He deserves condemnation, not praise. White supremacy remains entrenched. Extreme poverty, unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, and lack of basic services for black South Africans are at shockingly high levels. They’re much worse than under apartheid. Continue reading
-
South Africa: “Manifestos and Reality”
I speak to you today with a powerful and united mandate from 341,150 metalworkers. They made their views extremely clear in our workers’ parliament in December last year – the parliament we called the NUMSA Special National Congress. In that parliament there was vigorous debate. Every delegate knew that they would have to account to… Continue reading
-
South Africa: Forging a New Movement – Numsa and the Shift in SA Politics By Leonard Gentle
The decision of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) to cut ties with the African National Congress (ANC) has received poor analysis. Comment has tended to focus on the possibility of a new political party in 2019 or whether all this means that Zwelenzima Vavi will get his job back. As… Continue reading
-
Red tide rising: Numsa in attack mode By Ranjeni Munusamy
Elections 2014 will come and go, the ANC will be top of the pops, and a new bag of Liquorice Allsorts will fill the parliamentary benches. The great shake-up in South African politics looks set to happen after the elections – and metalworkers’ union Numsa is likely to play a big role in the new… Continue reading
-
The African National Congress: The Rise and Tragic Fall of a Revolutionary Movement By Anthony Monteiro
Black “rule” in South Africa is illusory. “White supremacy without the obvious hand of white people is the form of social and political control, which replaces legal apartheid.” The revolution was derailed. “The road from the Freedom Charter, to the Morogoro Consultative Conference, to the 1994 elections, to the murder of 34 miners at Mirikana… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 