Why the SA Reserve Bank Amendment Bill should be rejected
SA has an odd habit of revisiting bad ideas with dogged persistence. The SA Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, introduced by EFF leader Julius Malema on August 16 2018 and now open for public comment, is one such example. Though it lapsed in 2019 under parliamentary rule 333(2), it was revived that October. It then limped […]
When politicians seize the Central Bank
Of late, a dangerous idea is resurfacing in South Africa. Like a whale that circumvents the globe only to pop its head out in the waters of Cape Town every couple of years, the idea of nationalising the South African Reserve Bank just does not want to go away. Spearheaded by Julius Malema and the […]
How civil society helped save SA school governance
South Africa for the past three decades has faced a stubborn one way ideological street of ever-expanding centralisation. It is therefore both rare and refreshing to observe a ministerial response that is measured, constitutional, and receptive to civic critique. Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube’s recently published Guidelines for the Implementation of the 2024 Amendments […]
Privatise the SABC Entirely!
In politics, the phrase “too big to fail” often just means “too interconnected to be allowed to fail”. The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is one such beast deemed to be too big to fail. Since 2009, the SABC has received the equivalent of nearly R9 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts. That’s a staggering sum. It […]
Apologies in the stars: SA’s Satellite Policy and the perils of ideological rigidity
South Africa’s draft policy on satellite internet reads like a press release from a government at war with itself. On the one hand, it concedes—almost grudgingly—that access to fast, reliable internet is good for economic growth. On the other, it spends the better part of its pages convincing an imaginary inquisition that opening up the […]
Crime stats: time to bring safety home
Every hour in South Africa, nearly three people are murdered. Every day, over 500 people are assaulted with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. On average, 139 rapes occur daily. These aren’t abstract figures, but reflect the lived experiences of thousands of South Africans and are brutal reminders of lives lost, communities traumatised, and a […]
The ANC’s idealessness
The ANC’s Crisis of Idealessness—and the Road Back to Democratic Renewal The pathology of the ANC is a subject of growing fascination and frustration. For years now, South Africans both outside and in the party have been debating what exactly is wrong with the former behemoth that came to power so triumphantly three decades ago. […]
Why South Africa Needs a Leaner, Fairer, Safer State
Each year, the South African Parliament issues a quiet but important invitation to the general public, inviting ordinary South Africans to submit proposals and suggestions to amend the Constitution. It’s a democratic gesture and part of the machinery that keeps our republic healthy and responsive, even if the mere gesture often goes unnoticed. Most years, […]
After the talk shop: what real political work looks like
Politics has always had its rituals, formalities, and its theatre. In recent times, we’ve seen a resurgence of political conversation, not just in South Africa, but across the globe. There were fraught negotiations along the Ukrainian border and deepening partisan tensions in the United States, and now in Germany, where previously opposed parties have found […]
Power to the People?
South Africa’s great constitutional experiment is part modern republic, part post-liberation compromise. We’ve inherited a state both noble in its intentions and bloated in its execution. The Executive sprawls like a badly planned city, with ministries stacked like shipping containers on a listing vessel of political convenience. Our police force is centralised to the point […]