Today the Minister of State Security David Mahlobo delivered the State Security Agency (SSA) budget vote. It’s a long speech, with lots of things worth mentioning, but what does it actually tell us about the budget?
The SSA budget has grown from about R3 Billion in 2010/11 to R4.3 ...
By Lawson Naidoo
IN THE political storm — not yet a tsunami — following the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the Nkandla case, we should be careful not to lose sight of key constitutional principles the court clarified. This seminal, unanimous judgment cogently explains the supremacy of the Constitution, ...
By Ranjeni Munusamy
The date of South Africa’s fifth municipal elections is unlikely to be announced for at least another month with another round of registrations scheduled to take place on 9 and 10 April. Once the elections are proclaimed, the voters’ roll will be closed. There will be many ...
By MARIANNE MERTEN
Picture: Nardus Engelbrecht/SAPA.
The sequel to President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address unfolds over two afternoons from Tuesday as MPs take to the National Assembly podium to debate last week’s presidential remarks. With local government elections later this year, it’s the perfect opportunity to electioneer ...
By Lizette Lancaster
Increasingly, South Africans from all walks of life are mobilising for change. Many resort to public protest in the hope of galvanising government to improve its performance and do something about unacceptable levels of unemployment and poverty. Last year saw widespread community-level protests, along with large-scale student ...
By Judith February.
The President should focus on the multi-dimensional nature of South Africa’s crisis: from the economy, to racial polarisation, securitisation of the state, dysfunction and maladministration at local government, the problems are easily identifiable. The SONA should be easy to write. Go for the Big Five, and you’re ...
By Judith February.
It feels a little like the pot calling the kettle black.
This past week the African National Congress (ANC) was very eager to point out that certain Democratic Alliance (DA) MPs, including leader Mmusi Maimane, had failed to fully declare their interests in Parliament’s register of financial ...
By Jane Duncan
A new Bill threatens our digital rights and raises the spectre of internet censorship.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of cybercrime in the world. So it is hardly surprising that more people are looking to the government to step in and do something about ...
By Matthew Kruger
Corruption and political party funding: Debating the means to a desirable end
Political questions rarely have easy answers. Even when we agree that a particular goal is desirable - end corruption, for example - we often disagree over the appropriate means to that end. Here I consider ...