Today on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we consider the harm and the need for vigilantly groups, such as Operation Dudula, in modern SA society. Recently, we had a conversation about the challenges of managing immigration in our country, and touched on the activities of organisations such as Operation Dudula, which campaign to give priority to South Africans when it comes to job and business opportunities. Dudula is again in the news, following the arrest of its leader, Nhlanhla 'Lux' Dlamini...
Mar 31, 2022•26 min0
This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we are looking at the controversy surrounding our country’s R50m donation to the republic of Cuba, which has been interdicted by the courts. The panel discusses what our legal and ethical obligations are to allied foreign countries. Can South Africa afford to help others when its own house is not in order? If we do not look to maintain foreign relationship, will our allies still support us when we need aid? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. ...
Mar 25, 2022•25 min0
This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly we talk matters immigration, more specifically the activities of the group calling itself Operation Dudula and the Dulula Movement , which have been campaigning against what they calls 'illegal foreign traders' and the employment of undocumented foreign workers. This week our host Mike Siuluma is joined by Shenilla Mohamed Executive Director of Amnesty International, Prof Rothney Tshaka Director of the School of Humanity at UNISA, as well as Naledi S...
Mar 17, 2022•28 min0
This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we thought we should catch up on the build up to arguably the major political event of the year – the ANC’s elective conference taking place in December. Among other things, we look at the state of play in the provinces, the lack of skilled leadership within the party, as well as the names of some of the candidates bubbling to the top. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of perso...
Mar 10, 2022•33 min0
SA’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has divided public opinion. Some felt our response was too tepid, while others supported Pretoria’s call for a negotiated solution. In this week’s episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we explore the government’s rationale, as well options open to it. Our host, Mike Siluma is joined by Prof Daniel Bradlow from the University of Pretoria and co-editor of the book Values, Interests and Power: South African foreign policy in uncertain times, a...
Mar 03, 2022•31 min0
In this week’s episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly we are talk about the state of the African National Congress – and how that impacts our national life. This off the back of the assertion by former president Thabo Mbeki that the collapse of the ANC would have dire consequences for the country. Is he right in that assertion? Or the ANC itself become a threat to the well-being of the country and its people? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...
Feb 25, 2022•34 min0
In this week's episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly we are reflecting on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address, and asking if we need to maintain an event that seems to be nothing more than a political ritual. Our host Mike Siluma is joined by UniSA political lecturer Dr Dirk Kotze and Associate Prof with the School of Governance at Wits University William Gumede. The panel concludes that the vision is there politically, but the state simply does not have capacity. They also...
Feb 17, 2022•30 min0
When the majority of a country is “captured” who is left to hold those responsible to account? This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast, we’re reflecting on the Zondo commission’s reports so far. Now that we have a clearer understanding of the effects of state capture in SA, our panel asks: who should we be holding accountable and is SA’s justice system up to the task? In this riveting episode our host, Mike Siluma, is joined by political journalist Mawande AmaShabalala and associat...
Feb 03, 2022•30 min0
In this episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we’ll be looking at the ANC’s succession race, which is under way in all but name. Apart from the obvious names, such as President Cyril Ramaphosa and tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu, another name that has come up is that of justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola. This week we consider the “youth factor” in ANC leadership and whether the party should have more young people in its leadership ranks. Is Lamola really jumping the...
Jan 28, 2022•29 min0
SA’s constitution has recently been the subject of much public debate following a critical opinion piece penned by tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu. In this episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we invite one of the leaders who participated in the drafting and adoption of the constitution, struggle veteran, activist and former constitutional development minister, Mohammed Valli Moosa, to share his thoughts. What were the tenets upon which SA’s constitution was based; how much of the document w...
Jan 20, 2022•26 min0
In this week’s episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we look at President Cyril Ramaphosa's four-nation diplomatic excursion to West Africa. We discuss the significance of the visit, and whether it marks a change in SA’s relations with West Africa, as well as the rest of the continent and even the globe. We discover that the visit marked a change in the attitude of Ramaphosa towards the West in particular, and a unification of African countries. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See p...
Dec 09, 2021•28 min0
This week SA has experienced confusion and contention, as a result of coalition talks among our political parties. We have also been following this political tension in the dark, as Eskom has yet again imposed large bouts of loadshedding throughout the country. This week our panel of experts and journalists provide an update on the state of the ongoing coalition negotiations. This as the political parties are scrambiling to form governments, especially in most of the major metropolitan councils....
Nov 18, 2021•32 min0
This week on the Sunday Times politics Weekly podcast, our host Mike Siluma is joined by Associate Professor at the WITS School of Governance William Gumede, politics reporter's Kgothatso Madisa and Aphiwe de Klerk to talk coalition progress, after a Watergate local government election. The panel considers the political fallout from the municipal elections, and the horse-trading taking place for control of most of the key metros. The big finding to come out of the discussion, is that most of the...
Nov 11, 2021•28 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, our panel delves into some pre-election analysis. Ahead of the polls, we will look at which major cities are likely to fall to coalition governments, and how those coalitions are likely to be structured. After that, we will be looking at the sea change in the ANC, which has seen the return to the political forefront of key leaders, including ex-president Thabo Mbeki. What lies behind this development, and what does it mean for the ANC? Hosted by Simplec...
Oct 28, 2021•31 min0
Our big stories on this week's episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly with Mike Siluma include the factors that have affected the 2021 municipal elections so far, including; mounting political killings, empty promises and the seeming eradication of Covid-19 as a health concern at most political rallies. We also try to gauge the temperature inside the ANC, where two of its most powerful leaders, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Former Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize, are fighting for thei...
Oct 21, 2021•25 min0
This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly with Mike Siluma, our learned panel considers the uncertain future of the DA in the wake of controversial election posters which have caused tensions within the party. Insiders suggest this may be a litmus test for party leader John Steenhuisen's future at the helm of the opposition party. Also on our menu this week will be the pressure piling up on Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane after the public protector’s adverse report on him. The panel cons...
Oct 14, 2021•26 min0
In this week’s episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we try to shed light on the controversy around the Democratic Alliance’s campaign posters in Phoenix, which seemed to endorse racial attacks on black people during the July riots. We try to understand the logic behind the posters themselves and unpack the behind the scenes of the DA's eventual apology and removal of said posters. Our panel also provides listeners with an update on the search for the country’s new Chief Justice, with the for...
Oct 07, 2021•27 min0
In this week’s episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly we discuss the main party election manifestos- who are the three main parties targeting, what are they promising and what is the likely impact on voter participation levels? Also this week, we take a closer look at the SIU's report on the Digital Vibes scandal and the criticism of the president's handling of the situation along with the valid question - in a country that is supposed to be on a crusade against corruption, how is it no one has...
Oct 01, 2021•34 min0
In this week’s episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, our panel talks about the importance of public institutions, and the responsibility of political leaders, particularly those in the DA, have to support them. Also this week our panel will try to understand what’s going on in the ANC Alliance, following Cosatu’s decision to, again, support the ANC in the municipal elections. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...
Sep 23, 2021•28 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, our host Mike Siluma and his all female panel, discuss the culture of violence which has entrenched itself in SA's politics, about which not much is being done. The panel also contemplate the impact of the Covid pandemic on the forthcoming municipal elections, with a particular focus on how it has altered the face of campaigning in the country. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of ...
Sep 16, 2021•27 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we start our chat by shining the spotlight on one of the most important institutions of our democracy, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC). The IEC has been the subject of controversy because of its handling of preparations for the coming municipal elections. We also try to understand the implications of the medical parole given to former president Jacob Zuma, which has also led to a predictable controversy. The parole frees the former president from j...
Sep 09, 2021•34 min0
This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast, we unpack the ANC’s electoral crisis, where the party has failed to register local election candidates in a number of localities, some quite important for its performance. With our panel, we’ll try to understand how the party could get things so wrong, after so many years of successful campaigning. After that we’ll look at government’s efforts to extend the SA social security net, and whether we are using the correct mechanisms to address po...
Sep 02, 2021•30 min0
The group discuss the fate of former president Jacob Zuma, whose foundation is asking for donations from you and I to help service his mounting legal fees. This while SA’s unemployment rate has surged to the highest on a global list of 82 countries monitored by Bloomberg. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Aug 26, 2021•25 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we focus on the state of our State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) , which have proven time and time again to be a thorn in the side of SA's tax payers. After that we’ll cast our eye to the other big story of the week, the unpopular election of NC MP Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as the new speaker of the National Assembly.She was elected by 199 MPs, beating DA candidate Annelie Lotriet who received 82 votes. Bound to raise eyebrows are the 17 spoilt ballots, suspec...
Aug 20, 2021•25 min0
In this week’s episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, host Mike Siluma speaks to the head of the ANC’s National Electoral Committee, Kgalema Motlanthe, about the party’s plan to improve the quality of its candidates in the forthcoming local elections. Motlanthe, a former president of the country and deputy president of the ANC, also talked about the importance of local government in our democracy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collectio...
Aug 12, 2021•23 min0
Topping our conversation this week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, is the fate of former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. You’ll remember that, despite allegations of impropriety, having come thick and fast against him, he hung on to his position, as if his life depended on it, only to resign yesterday just hours before President Cyril Ramaphosa was set to announce a cabinet reshuffle. What then, we ask, are the dictates of public accountability in SA and why didn't the presidency act again Mkhize...
Aug 06, 2021•26 min0
On this week's episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we will be looking at the increasing calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to reshuffle his cabinet, in light of the state’s rather ham-handed response to the recent looting and unrest, which cost much in terms of lives and damage to our economy. We’ll also be touching on the government’s recently announced economic interventions, to turn things around. This week our host Mike Siluma is joined by political analyst and project manager at Democ...
Jul 30, 2021•26 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we discuss money in our politics, more specifically the high court’s decision to keep sealed the CR17 funding details, information on the funding of Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC presidency. We ask, what is the decision’s affect on transparency and the role of money in our politics? After that, we’ll try to make sense of the apparent broken telephone in the government’s security cluster in the wake of last week’s rioting in KwaZulu-Natal and Ga...
Jul 22, 2021•27 min0
In this episode of Sunday Times Politics Weekly, there can only be one topic worth delving into; this week we focus all our attention on SA's current looting crisis and how it came about. Was it organised? Is there a political agenda, who may be complicit and would pardoning former president Jacob Zuma escalate or calm the situation? We delve into all this and much more in this week's episode. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and ...
Jul 15, 2021•23 min0
It's arguable that this week has been one of the most important in the political history of democratic South Africa. The arrest of former president Jacob Zuma was seen as a representation of the tussle between the rule of law and the political elite. But what does Zuma's arrest mean for the ANC as a ruling party and political structure. In this week's Sunday Times Politics Weekly, our host Mike Siluma is joined by Wits School of Governance associate prof William Gumede, Sunday Times political co...
Jul 08, 2021•28 min0
