The African > Politics

Electing a Black Pope a bridge too far for the Vatican?

Sun, 04 May 2025 10:00:00 GMT

With allegations of deep-seated racism having been levelled against the Vatican in the past, it is unlikely that an African candidate will be able to amass the two-thirds majority required for a successful election, says the writer.

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SA's non-aligned status in critics crosshairs

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 12:00:00 GMT

In an era defined by polarisation and media simplification, South Africa’s refusal to conform to Western narratives continues to be both a strength and a necessity. In hosting the Ukrainian president, President Ramaphosa walked a diplomatic tightrope, says the writer.

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International community's moral obligation to silence the guns

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 09:00:00 GMT

The international community must put pressure on Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to find a way of resolving their differences and bring the devastating proxy war in Sudan to an end, says the writer.

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Quest for Reparations: AU Justice Campaign Undermined by Shifting Geopolitical Sands

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 12:02:00 GMT

For reparations to become a reality, the political will of the African Union’s member states will have to be awoken. The imperatives of historical justice will need to be weighed against economic feasibility, says the writer.

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Foreign Policy: South Africa Asserts Its Sovereignty With Clear Stance On Taiwan

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:21:00 GMT

There is a regurgitation of a baseless narrative that a sovereign and independent decision by the government of South Africa that was taken in line with the country’s long-held foreign policy principles is somehow the outcome of clandestine pressure from China, says the writer.

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Major outcomes and possibilities for the Global South

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 09:50:00 GMT

South African President at 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia on 22-24 October, 2024. The BRICS Plus bloc and its growth in all regions in a fracturing multilateral order is a testament to its relevance, durability and values of inclusion in an age where humanity- and the planet needs global and regional cooperation for its survival, says the writers.

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Ruto, Gachagua fallout masks Kenya’s political and economic distress

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 08:24:00 GMT

A STREET vendor reads a local daily newspaper, The Nation, headlined 'Fired' following the impeachment by the Senate of former Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua in Nairobi on October 18, 2024. Kenya has a long history of fallouts between presidents and their deputies, says the writer. Picture: Tony KARUMBA / AFP)Dr.

Fighting graft requires robust institutions, political will, accountability

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 15:14:00 GMT

Deputy President Mashatile addressing the International Anti-Corruption Day commemoration at the University of South Africa on December 12, 2023. Picture: Siyabulela Duda/GCIS. By Paul KariukiCorruption is a scourge the world over. Countries around the world are losing billions of dollars due to corruption.

NPA’s vetting saga exposes national security challenges

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 12:52:00 GMT

Advocate Shamila Batohi addresses the media following her appointment as National Director of Public Prosecutions by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018. Picture: Jairus Mmutle/GCISZelna JansenTHE National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Advocate Shamila Batohi, released a media statement on 20 October 2024 in which she made allegations of “unwarranted and politically motivated attacks on the organization and a smear campaign against its senior staff’.

Youth disenchantment impacts on Swapo’s dwindling popularity

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 09:21:00 GMT

SWAPO supporters celebrate the party’s landslide victory following Namibia’s first democratic election in November 1989. While SWAPO has maintained substantial support among older voters and rural-based voters, particularly in northern Namibia, it is less popular among the large body of youth, says the writer.

No compromise in supporting the Sahrawi, Palestine struggles

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 08:00:00 GMT

Saharawi delegates take part in the Extraordinary Congress of the Polisario Front (PF) at the Sahrawi refugee camp of Dakhla. Members of the international community must support the struggles of the Sahrawis and Palestinians until they win freedom. None of us can truly be free while there are still those struggling under the yoke of colonialism, in occupations that become increasingly brutal over time, the writer says.

‘No friend of the working class, poor’

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 06:00:00 GMT

Then Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivers the 2019 budget speech. Mboweni became minister of Labour and after showing what he could do to change the country’s archaic labour laws, he became understudy to Chris Stals, then the governor of the Reserve Bank, taking up the position in 1999, the writer says.

A fresh new face for 50-year-old Frelimo could be a boost for Mozambique

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 05:00:00 GMT

Mozambique nationals cast casting their vote in the general elections at the Consulate General of Mozambique in Johannesburg. After 50 years in power, Frelimo’s decision to field young Presidential candidate Daniel Chapo looks like it has paid off, the writer says. Picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers / October 9, 2024By Kim HellerAlthough the results of the Mozambique election, held on 9 October 2024, are yet to be finalised, early indications are that Frelimo will maintain its. . .

Frontline States’ solidarity with Palestinian struggle intensifies

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:00:00 GMT

Regina Mundi, Soweto Prayer service in solidarity with Palestine, on October 6, 2024. As South Africans, we continue to draw parallels between our struggle against colonialism and apartheid and that of the struggle of the Palestinian people against colonialism and apartheid, the writer says. – Picture: WhatsApp / SuppliedBy Wesley SealeAs South Africans welcomed home some of the remains of their heroes and heroines of the struggle last month, we were told that it was not easy to get the governme. . .

Mbeki’s conflict resolution proposals a way forward for AU?

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 06:30:00 GMT

An exterior view of the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union Peace and Security Council and a few weeks after the United Nations Summit of the Future which adopted the Pact for the Future where peace and security were some of the major themes, the APSD is a timely intervention and adds a valuable platform to talk about peace and security in Africa, the writer says.

Rejection of Mchunu’s ‘voice of reason’ an indictment on KZN leadership

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 06:00:00 GMT

Left to right, Sihle Zikalala , the ANC’s Provincial chairperson in 2017, Nkosazana Dlamini, an ANC presidential candidate in 2017 and then Premier of KZN Willies Mchunu at the closing of the two days ANC KwaZulu-Natal Provincial General Council on December 5, 2017, at Olive Convention Centre, Durban.

‘Coalitions must always be about serving all of our people’

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 06:15:00 GMT

MK Members protest as President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 18, 2024 convenes a joint sitting of the newly established two Houses of Parliament to deliver the Opening of Parliament Address for the Seventh Administration. Where there are hung municipalities, the type of municipality in place should be an executive committee, the writer says.

Politicians sowing racial discord must be held accountable

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 06:00:00 GMT

Community members hold weapons as they stand at a road block in Phoenix Township, on July 15, 2021 to prevent looters from reaching the community. – Picture: Guillem Sartoria / AFPBy Reneva FourieThe history of apartheid in South Africa has brought attention to conservative, white, right-wing extremism.

Zimbabwe’s complicated legacy of land reform: a path to justice or betrayal?

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 05:30:00 GMT

President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Desperately seeking economic stability and the recovery of the country’s agricultural sector, Mnangagwa is using the compensation card as part of his deck to appease Western powers and end US sanctions, the writer says. Picture: Information Ministry Zimbabwe / XBy Kim HellerWhen Robert Mugabe took power in a newly liberated Zimbabwe in 1980, he did what any self-respecting African leader would do.

US bolsters waning influence through global destabilisation

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 05:00:00 GMT

Palestinians react at a hospital where casualties of Israeli bombardment on al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip were transported on April 8, 2024, as the war between Israel and the Hamas movement continues. The liberation struggles in South Africa and Ireland, among others, demonstrate that fear is an ineffective tool of governance as every person martyred only gives rise to dozens more.

Arab world’s silence informed by its domestic fears

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 04:00:00 GMT

Saudi journalist, Global Opinions columnist for the Washington Post, and former editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel Jamal Khashoggi offers remarks during POMED’s “Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia: A Deeper Look”. Picture: Wikimedia Commons. By Wesley SealeOn the eve of the sixth anniversary of the silencing of the Saudi dissident, Jamal Khashoggi, the international community was met with silence this week from much of the Arab world in the wake of Iran’s response to illegal Israeli actions.

Frelimo’s Chapo set to lead amid a myriad of challenges

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 03:00:00 GMT

By Sizo NkalaMozambique is set to hold its seventh presidential and parliamentary elections on October 9 which will see 17 million registered voters choose the country’s president and 250 legislators. The presidential elections will see the candidate of the ruling party, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), Daniel Chapo, compete against three other candidates including the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) candidate, Ossufo Momade, Lutero Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement . . .

Zille, DA exploits ANC turmoil to ‘push own political agenda’

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 07:00:00 GMT

DA Federal chairperson, Helen Zille, attends the proceedings of its urgent application challenging the designation of former Western Cape Judge President, John Hlophe, to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). Zille has constantly reminded the ANC that it did not win the election, and as such, cannot make unilateral decisions on who else should join the coalition without consulting the DA and other political parties, the writer says.

Anglican same-sex blessings ban at odds with Constitution

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 06:15:00 GMT

Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba, right, with the life-size statue of the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu during Human Rights Month in March, 2023. The decision which denies local bishops the right to bless same-sex couples in congregations is a step backward for many who have hoped the Church will reflect the growing calls for inclusivity, the writer says.

Make teachers the heartbeat of efforts to transform education

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 06:00:00 GMT

I Can Academy in Parkwood, Cape Town, where children listen to their dedicated teacher, Alletta Frans, as she reads to them during a lesson. While not a panacea for the system’s challenges, the BELA Bill is a step towards improving education quality through learning and teaching, but it needs a committed teaching force.

All eyes on UN Security Council while African Union loses its way

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 05:00:00 GMT

Philemon Yang (centre), President of the seventy-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, chairs the first plenary meeting of the seventy-ninth session of the General Assembly. At left is Secretary-General António Guterres and at right is Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management.

Biden’s destructive Israel Policy has led us to the brink of War on Iran

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 04:30:00 GMT

Projectiles above Jerusalem, on October 1, as Iran launches a missile attack on Israel. Biden has been out of his depth throughout this crisis, relying on political instincts from an era when acting tough and blindly supporting Israel were politically safe positions for American politicians, the writer says.

How Western media lets Israel get away with murder in Lebanon and Gaza

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 19:15:00 GMT

A man cries over the shrouded corpse of a child killed in an overnight Israeli strike, in the yard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on August 10, 2024. We now know exactly what it looks like when dishonest reporting succeeds in justifying genocide, the writer says.

Claudia Sheinbaum sworn in as president of Mexico

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 18:15:00 GMT

Claudia Sheinbaum addressing the Zócalo on October 1. Mexico’s first female president has vowed to continue and deepen the project of the Fourth Transformation started by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador. – Picture: MORENABy Pablo MeriguetOn October 1, 2024 Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was sworn in as the new president of Mexico.

Israel’s ideology of genocide must be confronted and stopped

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:45:00 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the United General Assembly and shows maps of the Middle East on September 27, 2023. Israel’s violent extremists now in control of its government believe that Israel has the Biblical license, indeed a religious mandate, to destroy the Palestinian people.