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SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS

'ActionSA is my last political home; I'm going nowhere'

Former Build One South Africa (Bosa) Gauteng Legislature member Ayanda Allie has joined ActionSA, vowing it will be her final political home. This move comes just a week after…

  • Lunga Mzangwe
2 min read
The MK party has removed Mzwanele Manyi as its chief whip in the National Assembly, less than a year after his appointment.
SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS

EXCLUSIVE: Speak only when authorised, MK party warns Mzwanele Manyi to desist from engaging with the media

The newly established Strategic Presidential Team of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has cautioned its MP, Mzwanele Manyi, against engaging with the media without prior…

  • Lunga Mzangwe
3 min read
Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede. (Wikus De Wet/AFP)
SOUTH AFRICA POLITICS

Former eThekwini mayor joins MK Party as KwaZulu-Natal deputy convener

Zandile Gumede, former eThekwini mayor and long-standing ANC member, has officially defected to the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. Her unveiling in Durban signals a significant…

  • Sandile Motha
3 min read
SOUTH AFRICA POLITICS

The ANC must treat its brand as a strategic risk

The ANC must evolve beyond its historical legacy, focusing on performance, integrity, and risk management to rebuild public trust. The 2024 election results signal a critical…

  • Ashley Nyiko Mabasa
6 min read
Due process: Multiple sources say senior DA leaders were blindsided by Geordin Hill-Lewis’s proposed reshuffle this week. Photo: Supplied
SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS

Angst and anger as DA reshuffles

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis’s decision to seek sweeping changes to the party’s representation in the government of national unity (GNU) has ruffled…

  • Mandisa Makgakga
  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Resolute: SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila delivers the Party message at the COSATU 40th Anniversary Rally. Photo: SACP
ANC

SACP ignores ANC pleas, presses on

The deepening rupture between the two was laid bare at the commemoration of Joe Slovo’s death

  • Mandisa Makgakga
7 min read
The elections announced for 4 November will have a consequential impact on our body politic as municipal polls often project how national elections will turn out. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
2026 ELECTIONS

Electoral Commission of South Africa sets out 2026/27 local election schedule

Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo urged Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to announce the election date ahead of proclamation

  • Nkateko Joseph Mabasa
3 min read
The red beret and EFF leader Julius Malema reflect the image of the party. Photo: File
ANC

The ‘unbranding’ of parties has political consequences

Colours, logos and slogans are losing power in the Age of Personalities – and social media

  • Moshe Kola
6 min read
The Democratic Alliance has claimed credit for the about-turn by the treasury on the tax, saying its legal team had presented a strong case against the flawed parliamentary process used to adopt the fiscal framework
ACTIONSA

Parties hail VAT reversal as ANC admits budget vote missteps

The Democratic Alliance has claimed credit for the about-turn by the treasury on the tax, saying its legal team had presented a strong case against the flawed parliamentary…

  • Nkateko Joseph Mabasa
4 min read
An ANC volunteer carries a poster of Cyril Ramaphosa as she prepares to erect a party station at the Msholozi Informal Settlement near Brakpan, Johannesburg. (File photo by Delwyn Verasamy/MG)
ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT

Why South Africa needs electoral reform: A look at mixed-member proportional systems

The country desperately needs a system that makes politicians accountable to voters, not their political parties

  • Daniela Ellerbeck
4 min read
Action SA chairperson Michael Beaumont. (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)
ACTIONSA

ActionSA and DA both woo ANC as Tshwane coalition talks reach impasse

ActionSA has ruled out future coalition agreements with the Democratic Alliance.

  • Mandisa Makgakga
  • Lunga Mzangwe
6 min read
Glum: Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema (left) looks on as deputy president Floyd Shivambu announces that he has left the EFF to join uMkhonto weSizwe party. (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Video

‘Undermined’ Floyd Shivambu quits EFF for Jacob Zuma’s MK party

Shivambu has allegedly been looking for a new political home for some time, and is said to have approached the ANC, but was rejected

  • Mandisa Makgakga
  • Lunga Mzangwe
6 min read
The municipality is the coalface of service delivery — this is where citizens experience value for their votes, taxes and rates. It is one of the single most important spheres of governance, which cannot afford such vulnerability. (Darren Stewart/Gallo Images)
BLUE ECONOMY

Local government reform: strengthening democracy in a coalition era

With the advent of coalition politics at local and national level, policies are needed that help to maintain stability

  • Siphesihle Mbhele
5 min read
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
ANC

Democratic Alliance wants 12 cabinet posts or no GNU deal

The opposition party has rejected the ANC’s offer of six ministerial positions in the government of national unity

  • Mandisa Makgakga
4 min read
DA supporters. The writer says parties must take voters through their ‘thinking’ processes, not just pontificate at rallies. (Ihsaan Haffejee/Getty Images)
PARTICIPATION

The need for informed policy solutions beyond election rallies

All too frequently, the solutions provided in manifestos are simplistic, time-consuming and expensive to implement

  • Patrick Kulati
7 min read
Political parties have not given money to the Solidarity Fund for relief in KwaZulu-Natal
ANC

KwaZulu-Natal floods highlight trust deficit between citizens and state

Political parties have not given money to the Solidarity Fund for relief in KwaZulu-Natal

  • Eunice Masson
5 min read
Staying put: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is under pressure from some political parties to resign over the VAT drama and the national budget. (Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BUDGET

Opposition parties criticise Godongwana over public sector wage bill, state-owned enterprises

The finance minister’s reduction in corporate income tax and allocations to education, health, social development, justice and police have been welcomed

  • Anathi Madubela
3 min read
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana. (Photo by Jeffrey Abrahams/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
BASIC INCOME GRANT

Long wishlist for Godongwana ahead of Wednesday budget speech

Political parties and trade unions are asking the finance minister to address the growing national debt crisis and to extend the R350 grant

  • Anathi Madubela
5 min read
Mail & Gaurdian
BODY POLITIC

Editorial: Deepening era of coalitions will test the maturity of South Africa’s democracy

The low voter turnout in the local polls is something our leading parties must take to heart as they look to rebuild their relationship with the electorate.

  • Editorial
3 min read
Voting tactically may seem like a realistic, mature option, but it compromises the integrity of your vote and is corrosive to the long-term health of democracy. (Photo by OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
ANC

Local government elections: Why it’s rational to vote with your heart

Voting tactically may seem like a realistic, mature option, but it compromises the integrity of your vote and is corrosive to the long-term health of democracy

  • Simon Abbott
7 min read