Sunday Times Politics Weekly

Sunday Times Politics Weekly is a flagship political podcast from the Sunday Times. Each week, our we speak exclusively with politicians, academics, policy experts and analysts to unpack the issues shaping South Africa — from power and governance to accountability, the economy and social justice. Through rigorous, informed conversations, the podcast offers context, scrutiny and insight into the decisions that affect the country and its people. An Arena Holdings production.

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Episodes

Political news of the week: President vs public protector

This week a full bench of the Gauteng high court pointed out the pie on the face of public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. The court cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying to parliament about the source of donations to his 2017 ANC presidential campaign, in a judgment likely to bolster opposition calls for the removal of Mkhwebane. On Tuesday, the court set aside a potentially damaging report by Mkhwebane, describing the protector’s approach as based on a mistaken and “fatally flawed” reading ...

Mar 12, 2020•26 min0

ANC must take some responsibility for technical recession

A fourth-quarter GDP contraction of 1.4%, following a decline of 0.8% in Q3, has placed SA in a technical recession for the second year in a row. Load-shedding and the coronavirus outbreak mean that any quick improvement is unlikely. In this week’s Sunday Times Politics Weekly, the team says that the governing party is not blameless in having caused this situation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adve...

Mar 04, 2020•31 min0

Public servants won't take Mboweni's budget lying down

Cosatu has warned the government that it will have “egg on its face” for wanting to cut the public sector wage bill, saying its behaviour in the saga was worse than the apartheid government's. The SA economy is in trouble and the public sector has made it clear that it is not happy to bear the brunt of the decline. In this week's Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast, the team is joined by Business Day journalist Mudiwa Gavaza. They get into the nitty-gritty of the politics that will follow finan...

Feb 27, 2020•35 min0

SONA and its fall out: who runs parliament in 2020?

It has been a dramatic political week for SA. There have been accusations of murder, claims of abuse, insults flung and histrionic walkouts. This drama ensued during Ramaphosa’s 2020 state of the nation address and has not ceased since. In this week’s Sunday Times Politics Weekly Podcast the team asks the question: Who is pulling the strings in the country’s parliament? Julius Malema very boldly assures that it is him. Our panel seems to agree, saying that the DA and ANC are bowing to the EFF’s ...

Feb 20, 2020•38 min0

Following the president: Africa calls for Ramaphosa to take charge

In this week's Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast, the Sunday Times politics team follows President Cyril Ramaphosa from the AU (AU) summit in Ethiopia to the state of the nation (Sona) address in Cape Town. While shadowing the president, a theme has emerged as top dignitaries and political players call for the president to take charge. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....

Feb 13, 2020•32 min0

Can Portia Derby turn around Transnet and DA loses control - again

2020’s political play opened up with a bang, as the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast hits your streaming apps once again. In our first episode for 2020 the Sunday Times politics' team discusses the unjust calls for new Transnet CEO Portia Derby to account for her ex-husband Brian Molefe’s sins. The team also looks into the DA’s loss of control in yet another Metro, as embattled Tshwane mayor,Stevens Mokgalapa, announces his seemingly forced resignation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz compa...

Feb 05, 2020•29 min0

That's a wrap: The 2019 political year

In the final episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, the politics desk covers the biggest political stories of the year. Its members discuss what happened and how events are likely to affect the country's political future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dec 12, 2019•26 min0

SAA is past salvation, but who do we blame?

SAA continues to hemorrhage funds and politicians continue to argue about the future of the embattled state-owned entity. In this week’s Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast, the team has a heated debate about what ought to be done with SAA and who is to blame for the situation the airline finds itself in. The team also confronts the contentious issue of coalition governance. Is it the future of SA politics or simply a divisive strategy that prevents adequate governance? Hosted by Simplecast, an...

Dec 04, 2019•29 min0

VBS helps Malema loot millions and #SexInTheCity goes viral

The Sunday Time politics team gets into the nitty gritty of the biggest political scandals of the week. This week the team dives into allegations against EFF leader Julius Malema, who has personally benefited from millions of rands that were channelled to a company exposed as his own slush fund. The team also touches on a leaked audio clip of Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa and MMC for roads and transport Sheila Senkubuge, which went viral. The two are allegedly discussing plans to fire governme...

Nov 27, 2019•27 min0

Race muddies the discussion around competence in SA politics

In today’s Sunday Times Politics Weekly, the politics team discusses the appointments of new Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter and DA interim leader John Steenhuisen. Both appointments raised concerns within the political arena around competency and transformation. For more episodes, click here. Chat to us on Twitter at #STPoliticsWeekly Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcast | Pocket Casts | Player.fm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collecti...

Nov 20, 2019•39 min0

ANC MEC’s car hire 'scam' & the DA’s ‘non-racialism’ isn’t convincing

In this episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, the Sunday Times politics team deep-dives into the Kwazi Mshengu scandal. KwaZulu-Natal MEC Mshengu has been caught using an elaborate scam to justify his not using the state car used by his predecessor - instead blowing hundreds of thousands of rands in taxpayers' money on car hire. The team also discusses who is likely to take over as DA party leader at the federal council meeting, set to be held at the weekend. Debate with us on Twitter #STPoli...

Nov 14, 2019•36 min0

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