HISTORICAL FACTS: 5 - The Untold Story

Analysis-S.Africa's Ramaphosa on a knife edge as crises spur leadership contest

South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa is beset by crises that have cast doubt on his presidency and left him vulnerable to a leadership challenge as his party begins the process of selecting candidates for the next national election.

Reuters · Aug 5, 2022

South Africa's ANC says economy, corruption are priorities

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa says the fight against corruption and work to improve the country’s faltering economy have been endorsed by the ruling African National Congress party in order to improve its declining electoral support

The Independent UK · Jul 31, 2022

South Africa is trapped again: what kind of leaders can set the country free

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki recently painted a gloomy picture of the country and its prospects. He said the governing African National Congress (ANC), led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, did not have a national plan to address the country’s many socio-economic problems. These include high and growing unemployment, inequality,…

The Conversation · Jul 31, 2022

Ramaphosa scandal looks set to intensify the ANC's slide, ushering in a new era of politics

The African National Congress (ANC) faces an increasingly uncertain future as the dominant political party in South Africa following the recent scandal engulfing its leader, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The Conversation · Jun 24, 2022

South Africa’s Ramaphosa edges closer to reelection as ANC head

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appears increasingly likely to retain his position as head of the ruling African National Congress in December as his allies continue to win control of key party structures.

Tribune News Service · Jun 4, 2022

Former South African president predicts the end of the ruling party: history is on his side

Former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe, one of the saner voices in the ruling African National Congress (ANC), has recently given voice to heresy. He has said that the time of the ANC in power is coming to an end. The party that has dominated South African politics since 1994,…

The Conversation · May 4, 2022

Pressure groups offer the best hope for South Africa's democracy

South Africans have learnt that democracy isn’t simply a destination that they reached with the formal end of apartheid on 27 April 1994. It is also a lifelong quest to keep up the pressure against corruption, and on elected representatives to deliver on their promises.

The Conversation · Apr 25, 2022

South Africa's constitutional democracy debate: echoes of an inglorious past

Some prominent politicians from South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) recently questioned the role of the courts in the constitution. In January, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu insulted the judges as “colonised” for enforcing the constitution, which she blamed for continued black deprivation 28 years into democracy.

The Conversation · Apr 18, 2022

Johannesburg's first woman mayor speaks on effective coalitions and fighting corruption

South Africa’s nationwide local government elections held on 1 November 2021 saw a continuing trend of no outright winners in some key cities, resulting in coalition governments. This is a relatively new phenomenon in South Africa, resulting from the decline in support for the African National Congress, which has dominated…

The Conversation · Mar 21, 2022

New book examines how science and tech shaped South African history

As historians, we have both been immersed for many years in trying to understand and write about South Africa’s complex, conflictual history. Conquest, colonial domination and racial division in the shape of apartheid played a central role. So too did the rise of black opposition and the transition in 1994…

The Conversation · Feb 10, 2022