Vol 55 No 24 | SOUTH AFRICA The succession war has begun 5th December 2014 Zuma is moving to protect his future as factions form up for the battle to decide who will be the next president President Jacob Zuma had barely taken office last May before the first shots in the battle to succeed him were fired. He has already blocked the election of...
Vol 55 No 23 | SOUTH AFRICA Gloom settles on economy 19th November 2014 The aims of public spending cuts and structural change to improve growth sit ill with the pressure in the cabinet for radical policies Six months into President Jacob Zuma's last term of office, the economic forecasts are worsening. The governing African National Congress is suffering from strategic splits in its Triple...
Vol 55 No 23 | SOUTH AFRICA Hard times for the revenue service 21st November 2014 Once a model of fiscal probity, SARS is proving as troubled as many other state institutions by factionalism, intrigue and political interference The South African Revenue Service was one of the most effective state agencies of the post-apartheid era. Often held up as a model tax organisation for developing countries...
Vol 55 No 22 | SOUTH AFRICA Splinter injuries 7th November 2014 It is becoming clear what kind of workers' party will emerge to challenge South Africa's political establishment when the once-mighty, 2.2 million-member Congress of South African Trade Unions...
Vol 55 No 21 | NIGERIASOUTH AFRICA Clash of the Titans 24th October 2014 Relations between South Africa and Nigeria have plunged to new depths. South African ex-President Thabo Mbeki and Nigerian ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo are working behind the scenes to try...
Vol 55 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA DBSA moves centre stage 10th October 2014 The state-owned bank repositions itself as a likely African hub for the new BRICS development bank South Africa's state-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is being restructured to become the regional centre of the new development bank for the BRICS group of Brazil,...
Vol 55 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Julius Malema in the dock 10th October 2014 Will attempts to clip the wings of the maverick leader sink him or raise his profile? Within the space of a week, Julius Malema, the self-styled 'commander-in chief' of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been charged with both corruption and parliamentary indiscipline,...
Vol 55 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Labour movement schism deepens 2nd October 2014 The ANC's bid to hold together the trades union federation is failing amid plans for a leftist party The efforts of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and other top officials in the African National Congress, such as ANC Deputy General Secretary Jessie Duarte, have made little headway...
Vol 55 No 20 | SOUTH AFRICA Gauteng challenge 10th October 2014 Five months after the May general elections that returned President Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress to office, the provincial conference of the Gauteng ANC, which opened...
Vol 55 No 19 | SOUTH AFRICARUSSIA Nuclear secrets 25th September 2014 A US$50 billion agreement with Russia to build up to eight nuclear reactors has raised the alarm in South Africa about the speed and secrecy with which the...