In a dramatic turn of events within South Africa’s security and governance landscape, Firoz Cachalia was officially sworn in as Acting Minister of Police on Friday following the suspension of Minister Senzo Mchunu, who is now on full pay leave pending the outcome of a damning inquiry into alleged corruption in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Cachalia, a former MP and academic, takes over the crucial portfolio at a time of heightened public concern over violent crime, deep institutional…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has broken his silence following the United States’ announcement of sweeping 30% tariffs on South African goods, stating that the government is engaging with Washington and has submitted a Framework Deal to avoid further economic damage. In a statement issued on Friday by Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa described the reciprocal tariffs as “concerning,” noting that South Africa is among several countries affected by the new U.S. trade regime under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).…

South Africa’s century-long tradition of elite pact-making began with the 1910 Union, which forged white unity through excluding black South Africans from political life. In response, black elites—mostly Christianised African professionals and chiefs, collectively known as amazemtiti or ‘Black Englishmen’—formed the ANC in 1912, hoping to counter this settler compact through petitions and appeals to imperial justice. “Tell England that we are not the barbarians they think we are.”—Sol Plaatje, 1914 formal protest letter to King George V against the…

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has officially submitted a motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa, citing constitutional violations, economic mismanagement, and alleged political interference in state institutions. The motion, submitted by MK Party Deputy President and Parliamentary Leader Dr. Mandlakayise John Hlophe, on Tuesday, marks the first formal attempt to oust Ramaphosa since the establishment of the Government of National Unity (GNU) following the May 2024 general elections. In a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly,…

The Presidency has strongly denied claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Special Envoy to North America, Mcebisi Jonas, was rejected by the United States government. This comes as fresh signs of division emerge within the Government of National Unity (GNU). In a statement on Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya accused the DA of spreading “disinformation” and acting against the national interest. The Presidency said the DA is deliberately trying to embarrass Jonas and mislead the public…

Opposition political party ActionSA has branded the first year of the government of national unity (GNU) as a failed project. The Herman Mashaba-led party said the GNU is “Unity in Name, Failure in Practice.” This is contained in the statement of assessment that the party issued since the GNU took office a year ago. The party said it elected not to join the GNU because that would have left the opposition benches to “regressive forces … who played key roles…

There is a war raging—not of guns, but of manipulated images, falsified polls, weaponised perception, and manufactured narratives. This war is not fought on the battlegrounds of constitutionally sanctioned contestation, but through a deceptive campaign of disinformation led by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and its cohorts in business and media. It is a war camouflaged as democratic engagement, yet it undermines the very ethos of our post-apartheid constitutional order. What we are witnessing is a nefarious recycling of colonial and…

South Africa’s political terrain has always had its fair share of critics — some well-meaning, others just bitter and bored. But it is the latter, masquerading as analysts, that have now become the loudest prophets of doom. Chief among them is Moeletsi Mbeki — the permanent pessimist, the serial slanderer, the man who has not met a Black President he would not crucify to satisfy his personal bitterness. Let us not forget: Moeletsi was the same man who cartoonishly predicted…

US President Donald Trump has confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa with his claims that there is genocide against white farmers in South Africa.  Adding another layer of wrong information, the US president claimed that white farmers are “executed” after their farms have been violently grabbed without compensation. Unflinching, Trump made the claim more than twice, even after Ramaphosa had explained to him that there is no genocide, but that there are victims of rampant crime in the country, including farmers.  This…

The leader of ActionSA, Herman Mashaba, took another jab at the DA today, saying the scrapping of the VAT increase was achieved by parties outside the government of national unity (GNU), not by any court action. Mashaba was speaking in Sandton on Thursday, April 24, where parties including the ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), BOSA and others briefed the media following the government’s decision to scrap the increase. This came after DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille and other party members…