Raymond Suttner
North-West uprising and restoring democratic values and practices
23rd April 2018 It is a common occurrence during protests to have foreign-owned businesses, that is businesses owned by refugees from Africa or Asia (not the... →
Is Zuma mounting a revolt against the Ramaphosa-led ANC and state?
9th April 2018 In the last few weeks before and during the court appearance of Jacob Zuma in Durban last week there have been repeated self-references by Zuma to... →
Can the ANC recover ground lost under Zuma?
5th April 2018 With the departure of Jacob Zuma as ANC and state president and the positive reception accorded to the initial period of the Cyril Ramaphosa... →
Shifting political ground challenges all parties
26th March 2018 The removal of Jacob Zuma as ANC and state president and some of the early steps of the Cyril Ramaphosa-led ANC and government has posed challenges... →
Pit toilet school deaths and human dignity
18th March 2018 This week we mark Human Rights Day, on the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960. It comes in the wake of the second known death of a... →
Contestations in Ramaphosa era: what is an emancipatory route?
12th March 2018 The election of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president in December evoked high expectations from a range of quarters in South African society, because it... →
Rebuilding our political life
5th March 2018 What type of politics do we have and what do we need for every citizen to feel that he or she belongs in this country and contributes to the shape... →
The Ramaphosa presidency – constraints and choices
26th February 2018 As one watches the unfolding of the Cyril Ramaphosa presidency one sees the care taken in preparing almost every gesture and presentation that... →
Unfinished business and legacies of the #Zuma period
19th February 2018 Many will evaluate Jacob Zuma’s legacies by considering its impact on the economy, the rule of law, public institutions and similar factors. This... →
Managing Zuma’s departure without undermining democratic values
12th February 2018 Ever since the ANC conference in December the public and for the most part, the ANC has watched how ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa would address the... →
“Two centres of power” within the ANC? How does #Ramaphosa resolve this?
5th February 2018 Making deals, through securing a meeting of minds, always bears the danger that one celebrates negotiating skills and deal making rather than... →
Cyril Ramaphosa “triumphant”: what does this mean?
29th January 2018 Astonishingly, in one month, much of the formal political terrain in South African politics has changed significantly, though unevenly and with... →
Transitioning from Zuma to Ramaphosa
22nd January 2018 The election of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC President in December evoked much euphoria or cautious optimism, in the ANC, business and media. But... →
De Lille crisis reveals DA factionalism and extreme centralisation
15th January 2018 This time last year the DA had reason to be happy with their change of political fortunes. The local government elections of 2016 had seen it take... →
Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency: taking sides
7th January 2018 Different people relate to the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC president in distinct ways, and this may relate to their political location.... →
What can we expect from South Africa's ANC conference?
13th December 2017 These days, South Africa's media seem to be reporting continuously on a single subject: the governing ANC's 54th national conference that is... →
Will continuing crises of 2017 persist?
11th December 2017 Although the year has not yet ended we can say it has been marked by a series of crises. What is troubling is that there is no sense that these... →
ANC in December: what is at stake?
3rd December 2017 Fairly often it is suggested that the ANC may not be able to hold its December conference, now frequently called an “elective conference”.... →
Can Mugabe’s departure package be a model for Zuma?
28th November 2017 Many of us were shaken by the sudden and swift removal of Robert Mugabe from the Zimbabwean presidency. When someone holds office for 37 years,... →
Non-violence is essential to respect human dignity
13th November 2017 Much media coverage currently focuses on the “race” for the ANC presidency, “slates” of individuals who would apparently form part of the... →
How do we get rid of Jacob Zuma and rebuild democracy?
30th October 2017 Every time one thinks we have heard the worst about Zuma and his acolytes or fraudsters or gangster associates there is more that emerges, as with... →
Policing in post-apartheid South Africa: the past in the present
23rd October 2017 For most people, the police were the face of apartheid representing force against the majority of the South African population, without whose... →
Leadership in question
18th October 2017 Very many South Africans are worried about the character and quality of leadership of the country and continue to hear allegations of corruption... →
Betrayal and recovering trust?
9th October 2017 Hardly a day passes without new revelations of state capture, corruption and other forms of malgovernance. These emanate from the Public... →
The ANC and future without the ANC
2nd October 2017 The violence in the ANC Eastern Cape elective conference shocked many people, even though violence (and murder) has become a common feature of the... →
Decolonising project: what is the place of ubuntu?
26th September 2017 The process of pursuing decolonisation of the colonial and apartheid knowledge and cultural projects, often relates to retrieval of the... →
Zuma and allies under pressure: what way forward for the country?
18th September 2017 We are in a very confusing moment of post apartheid politics. At one level much of the support base around President Jacob Zuma is under attack or... →
December ANC conference: what are realistic expectations?
11th September 2017 Most commentators and sections of business see December 2017 as a decisive moment for the country, insofar as someone other than Jacob Zuma is... →
Are DA-led coalitions sustainable now and into 2019?
5th September 2017 In last year’s local government elections the ANC nearly fell below 50% of the national vote. It lost three major metros, in addition to Cape Town,... →
Ruth First, validating dissent and building a democratic consensus
28th August 2017 On 17 August 2017, the 35th anniversary of Ruth First’s assassination was marked at the University of the Witwatersrand with a panel discussing... →
“Jailbird”, Sergeant Joubert and me
21st August 2017 Recently a relative phoned and said “Bertie Joubert” sends regards. I asked who this was and he said he is the warder who got me a... →
The no confidence vote: where to now?
15th August 2017 Everyone appears to agree that last week’s motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma signified something very significant and different in... →
Vote of no confidence in a time of political decadence
7th August 2017 It is hard to maintain interest in the various gyrations of ANC MPs, the report that some will vote against Zuma in an open ballot in the vote of... →
Contestation without debate?
31st July 2017 Analysts repeatedly tell us that the contest between candidates vying for the ANC presidency has notions like radical economic transformation (RET)... →
State capture and beyond
25th July 2017 Remedying the problems we currently face in South Africa may be more complicated, taxing and difficult than much current debate seems to envisage.... →
Remembering Luthuli on the 50th anniversary of his death
17th July 2017 We remember leading individuals of the past in order to grapple with the meanings of their lives and to see what bearing their legacies have on the... →
Mandela and masculinity today
11th July 2017 In remembering Nelson Mandela, in the month of his birth, it is valuable to return to the neglected question of what he has to teach us about... →
How do we understand and get out of the present political mess?
3rd July 2017 At critical moments, it has often been remarked that the ANC has sat down and reviewed its weaknesses and marked out a fresh course of action to... →
What do we need after Zuma?
26th June 2017 Important as corruption and state capture are as features of the Jacob Zuma presidency, they do not represent the only elements that need to be... →
The need for a revitalised politics after Zuma
14th June 2017 When considering how to rebuild democratic life once the Jacob Zuma period passes, we need to recognise that, even without Zuma, many people feel... →
‘State capture’ has been proved. What do we do about it?
5th June 2017 In the last week South Africans have experienced a bombardment of scandalous e-mails relating to the influence of the Gupta family on the... →
