In public discourse, there is a tendency to incorrectly equate fundamentally dissimilar entities in nature and purpose. The governments of national unity (GNU) established in 1910, the 1990s and 2024 only share a name but are vastly different in context and outcome. Some commentators’ insistence on justifying this ‘sameness’ is intellectually dishonest and misleading.  It is akin to comparing Newcastle in Natal with Newcastle in the UK; they share a name but are distinctly separate places. In mainstream political literature,…

Mpumalanga ANC chairperson Mandla Ndlovu has been elected premier, marking a new era for the province after the 2024 general elections. He replaces embattled former Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, who was forced to relinquish the top job after ANC top brass confirmed Ndlovu’s candidacy in a statement released on Thursday, June 13. The Mpumalanga Legislature elected Ndlovu at its first sitting on Friday.  His election came hours after it emerged that the ANC and the Democratic Alliance had agreed to…

African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that the governing party has listened to ordinary South Africans’ issues and will deliver on the mandate after securing a decisive vote on Wednesday. Ramaphosa spoke over the weekend at the ANC’s Siyanqoba rally at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, Gauteng. This was the ANC leader’s final pre-election campaign rally before the country’s hotly contested elections since democratic rule in 1994.  Ahead of the May 29 polls, various surveys have indicated that…

During his last address to the nation in February this year, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the state was working to improve the quality of healthcare and ensure equitable access, given that the state of the country’s healthcare system has a significant impact on people’s lives. This is reported by Prensa Latina, a partner of TV BRICS. During the debate on the speech, Health Minister Joe Phaahla announced that the so-called NHI bill project will be implemented in two…

Simphiwe Zondi in Johannesburg, South Africa, was especially happy on 16 April. At the 2024 Job Fair of the Chinese-Invested Enterprises in South Africa held in the Gallagher Convention Centre on that day, he presented his CV and immediately secured a job as a technical director at the South Africa subsidiary of PowerChina, which ranked 105th on the Fortune Global 500 list in 2023. He was one of the few applicants who signed employment contracts at the job fair.  “I cannot reveal…

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa has responded decisively to address concerns about the security of its systems after the leak of sensitive information from the lists of candidates of the African National Congress (ANC) and Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) political parties. An official from the country’s independent elections management body has been identified through a preliminary investigation, according to the IEC’s chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo. Mamabolo was addressing the media at the IEC offices in Pretoria on…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally nominated a woman to lead South Africa’s judiciary after failing to do so two years ago following recommendations from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for the presidency, announced that Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Mandisa Maya has been nominated by Ramaphosa to succeed Chief Justice (CJ) Raymond Zondo upon his retirement in the next six months. If appointed, Maya will not only be the first woman CJ, but mostly the first to…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has ramped up his efforts to combat corruption by granting the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) the authority to investigate significant claims of mismanagement and illegal activities at two important state entities, the Department of Home Affairs and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). Proclamation 154 of 2024 gives the SIU extensive authority to probe various suspected irregularities at Home Affairs, including dodgy visas, citizenship rights, and the firewalls scandal. SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said an…

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) has been met with criticism from South African political parties and social media users, who have expressed their skepticism towards his portrayal of a prosperous country. On Thursday, February 8, 2024, Ramaphosa delivered his final SONA for the sixth parliament but delivered what detractors called an ANC re-election campaign. Using a metaphorical approach, Ramaphosa shared the fictional story of Tintswalo, who was born in 1994 and experienced the positive effects of…

South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has defended Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel, saying his countrymen would “not be passive bystanders and watch” when a crime against humanity is being perpetrated elsewhere in the world.  In a show of power and assertiveness on the global stage, Ramaphosa hailed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling against Tel Aviv as a victory for international law and justice. He added that South Africa’s stance that Israel committed genocidal acts in Gaza had been…