Anele Mda, an independent candidate vying for a seat in parliament, says political parties will be chasing after independents but she won’t work with any party. She is our guest on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast with Sunday Times deputy editor Mike Siluma. We kick-start the conversation by asking her why it was important to publicly rebuke the IEC for not displaying her photo during the signing of the Electoral Code of Conduct. Eastern Cape-born Mda tells us how she was bitten by the p...
May 04, 2024•53 min0
One of the big election stories has been the Jacob Zuma factor and his uMkhonto weSizwe Party. According to polls and by-election results, the party has outshone parties such as the EFF and the IFP. In this episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly we explain and hopefully demystify the Zuma/MKP phenomenon in our politics, and how it might impact our body politic after May 29. Our guests this time are Sanusha Naidu, senior research associate with the Institute for Global Dialogue, and Susan Bo...
Apr 18, 2024•38 min0
Mike Siluma sits down with Election expert Ebrahim Fakir to discuss the upcoming South African elections and what you need to know from how they work, to how they are calculated and what you need to do! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Mar 28, 2024•35 min0
Veteran trade union leader Zwelinzima Vavi has had his setbacks, but the “tragic mistake” he is still kicking himself for was to support Jacob Zuma in becoming president of the ANC and the republic. The only mistake, and the biggest mistake, is that I was convinced by some members of both Cosatu and the SACP that the then deputy president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, was going to be good for the agenda of the working class and therefore we must rally workers behind him.” In this episode of the Sunday...
Mar 16, 2024•1 hr 42 min0
South Africa’s position in the Israel-Hamas war has further strained relations between Pretoria and the Israeli government, culminating this week in the withdrawal of our country’s diplomats from Israel. In this episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly we explore the issues at the heart of the disagreement between the countries, and why South Africa is supporting the cause of the Palestinians. Our guests are Garth le Pere, visiting professor at the University of Pretoria, and Dr Lubna Nadvi, ...
Nov 09, 2023•37 min0
This week police arrested Dudu Myeni, the former chairperson of SAA and an associate of ex-president Jacob Zuma on fraud and corruption charges – charges arising from benefits she allegedly received from Bosasa, the defunct company implicated in state capture. In this episode of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we look at the state’s underwhelming track record in bringing to book individuals accused of complicity in state capture during the Jacob Zuma presidency. Chief justice Raymond Zondo, wh...
Oct 05, 2023•38 min0
This week on Sunday Times Politics Weekly we delve into the controversial legacy of IFP founder and prime minister to the Zulu nation Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who died at the weekend at the age of 95. Buthelezi's legacy has been the centre of debate in recent days after his passing, with some labelling him a “warmonger”, a catalyst for violence and a prop or ally of the apartheid government. On the other hand, his defenders have labelled him an iconic political figure and a struggle icon. The EFF's...
Sep 15, 2023•46 min0
In this episode of the Sunday Times Politics weekly, Sunday Times Politics Editor Sibongakonke Shoba sat down with Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald, one of the parties for the proposed ‘moonshot’ pact alliance. Asked if he thought the country was ready for a white president, Groenewald said: ‘No. We’re too close to apartheid still’. Groenewald also spoke on working dynamics of multiparty coalitions, redressing the inequalities of South Africa’s past, and what he thought of DA leader J...
Jul 29, 2023•38 min0
This week on the Sunday Times politics Weekly we shine the spotlight on the prospects of the Zimbabwe elections. Our panellists on the podcast are prominent Zimbabwean scholar professor Ibbo Mandaza and Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena representing Zimbabwe Community in South Africa organisation. The two assess what the elections mean and the role of the Southern Africa region in turning the country around. Next month, on August 23, Zimbabweans head to the polls to choose from a dozen candidates vying...
Jul 27, 2023•36 min0
Recently elected ANC Youth League president Collen Malatji joins 'Sunday Times Politics Weekly' to assess South Africa's politics and the role of young people and what he stands for. He was elected unopposed earlier this month after an eight-year leadership void in the ANCYL. Episode hosted by Sunday Times political reporter Sisanda Mbolekwa and produced by Bulelani Nonyukela. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal d...
Jul 22, 2023•49 min0
Since his appointment, there has been keen interest to better understand where Deputy president Paul Mashatile stands on national issues. In this episode of the Politics Weekly, Mashatile sat down with Sunday Times' Sibongakonke Shoba, Kgothatso Madisa and Caiphus Kgosana for a wide ranging conversation including among other things his view on the country's just transition to green and renewable energy, the basic income grant and the now non-attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Other ...
Jul 20, 2023•48 min0
Our guests on the ‘Sunday Times Politics Weekly’ are pessimistic about the plan hatched by DA leader John Steenhuisen to unseat the ANC. This week Steenhuisen announced that six opposition parties would hold a national convention aimed at ousting the ANC in the next elections. The so-called “Moonshot Pact” was first mooted by the DA at its congress in April. Besides the DA, the parties which have signed on for the convention are the IFP, Freedom Front Plus, Action SA, United Independent Movement...
Jul 06, 2023•39 min0
Joburg speaker Colleen Makhubele talks to Sunday Times Politics Weekly about politics, her ambition to lead COPE, being fired on national TV and more. She joined Sunday Times journalist Sisanda Mbolekwa in studio on the podcast and talked about the calibre of leaders in Johannesburg and mayor Kabelo Gwamanda. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising....
Jul 01, 2023•1 hr 4 min0
Unisa’s Prof Everisto Benyera counts what South Africa loses for its stance in the Russia-Ukraine war. He, in part, specialises in peace-building and mediation. Last week, African leaders led by President Cyril Ramaphosa undertook a mediation mission to Ukraine and Russia in the latest bid to end the war in Ukraine. That mission received a mixed reaction, with some deriding it as Ramaphosa’s ploy to change negative international perceptions about SA’s non-aligned stance. Benyera tells our Sunday...
Jun 22, 2023•29 min0
In a wide-ranging conversation with ‘Sunday Times Politics Weekly’, EFF leader Julius Malema shared his views on the upcoming elections, and possible coalition permutations. Malema says he won’t join any coalition in which Cyril Ramaphosa or John Steenhuisen are potential presidents. However, he did speak of his willingness to work with deputy president, Paul Mashatile, whom he acknowledged he had a soft spot for. Malema also addressed the willingness of the party to accept former ANC secretary-...
Jun 17, 2023•1 hr 3 min0
A public spat has recently broken out between King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and his prime minister, Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi, over control of the Ingonyama Trust. The trust controls large tracts of land in KwaZulu-Natal — about 2.8-million hectares — on behalf of the Zulu kingdom. Sunday Times journalist Zimasa Matiwane, who has been following the story, and UKZN academic Dr Mphumeleli Ngidi, who teaches history, explain the origin of the dispute. Reports that suggest the dispute in the royal Zu...
Jun 08, 2023•29 min0
In a wide-ranging conversation with ‘Sunday Times Politics Weekly’, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula speaks on the ANC, his predecessor Ace Magashule who faces possible expulsion from the party, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mbalula reflected on his tenure as party SG and assessed the ruling party under the leadership of President Cyril Ramaphosa. He said voter frustration gave him the impression support for the ruling party could be as low as 30% ahead of next year's general electio...
Jun 03, 2023•41 min0
The cholera outbreak in Tshwane has again put the spotlight on the crisis in local government negatively impacting service delivery to citizens. Local government is often regarded as the coalface at which the state delivers citizens’ basic needs. But what is their recourse when it fails to do so, as is the case in much of the country? To explore the matter, we are joined on Sunday Times Politics Weekly by Dr Sithembile Mbete, a lecturer in the department of political sciences at the University o...
May 25, 2023•36 min0
Mass deportation of illegal foreigners, death penalty, cancelling race — some of the (things) Gayton McKenzie says he will do when he becomes president. In a robust conversation on the Sunday Times Politics weekly with the Patriotic Alliance leader, McKenzie says he knows he will become SA president and laid down his objectives which “are all anti-SA constitution”, which he labelled as hypocritical. “I know I’m gonna be the president of this country and God will come back to South Africa.” McKen...
May 18, 2023•35 min0
Amid the ICC arrest warrant, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit has been intensely debated in the ANC NEC. SA was also naive for not making provisions to protect itself when it joined the International Criminal Court. We hear from our guests on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast this week. Previously, we discussed the dilemma faced by our government after the ICC’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Putin, who is due to attend the Brics summit in Durban in August. Since then t...
May 04, 2023•35 min0
Amid continuing uncertainty in the leadership of metros in Gauteng, ActionSA has tabled motions of no-confidence against the current mayor Thapelo Amad and speaker of Johannesburg, Colleen Makhubele. To talk about what seems like a drastic step, and other issues afflicting party coalitions as well as ActionSA's way forward going into the 2024 elections, host Mike Siluma is joined by ActionSA National Chairperson, Michael Beaumont. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...
Apr 13, 2023•30 min0
Our country has been placed in a quandary after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin which compels SA, as a signatory to the ICC’s Rome Statute, to arrest him if he visits South Africa. International relations minister Naledi Pandor has said Russian is an old, historic friend which supported the fight against apartheid. Putin is expected to visit South Africa in August to attend a Brics summit and the country has been ordered to arrest ...
Mar 30, 2023•35 min0
This week on the Politics Weekly we reflect on the public protector’s leaked preliminary report, which seems to have exonerated President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal. We also look at public accountability of our judges, and why it seems to take so long to bring them to book when they stray. Joining us for this episode of the Politics Weekly is Franny Rabkin (Sunday Times legal correspondent) and Dr Fikile Vilakazi (who teaches politics at the University of the Western Cape). The...
Mar 16, 2023•33 min0
The recent cabinet reshuffle was not intended to address South Africa's crises but to satisfy ANC factions. And Gwede Mantashe and Pravin Gordhan will call the shots regarding electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The two ministers, Mantashe (energy) and Gordhan (public enterprises), might overpower the new electricity minister who was brought in to deal with the ongoing load-shedding crisis. The president moved incompetent ministers around to make party factions happy, therefore undermini...
Mar 09, 2023•23 min0
Guilty players castigating former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter expose their lack of commitment to solve corruption crisis, argued Lawson Naidoo and Wayne Duvenhage on the 'Sunday Times Politics weekly'. De Ruyter made claims of how corruption brought the power utility to its knees. The ANC party has challenged him to provide proof to back up his allegations, failing which, it says, it will take legal action. President Cyril Ramaphosa has also challenged De Ruyter to prove his claims. Naidoo, execut...
Mar 02, 2023•29 min0
The latest crime stats indicate that, despite government’s promises to contain it, crime is getting worse, posing a threat to the country and its people — that’s the focus of the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast this week. The head of justice & violence prevention at the Institute for Security Studies, Gareth Newham, spoke on crime patterns and trends in the country while giving his expert view of the violence and proposing solutions. Renowned political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng analysed ...
Feb 23, 2023•29 min0
The latest local authority elections have been hailed as an indicator of the rapidly waning influence of the ANC. But they also gave us a foretaste of what life might be like under a national coalition government. To date, that foretaste has at times been sweet, and at other times rancid and desperately wanting. This week on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, we look at the phenomenon of coalitions and how they might affect our lives in future. Are they a progressive step towards accountability, ...
Feb 02, 2023•31 min0
As power generation crumbles around our ears, experts are calling to have politicians ousted from Eskom's decision-making processes. South Africa in the throes of the worst power crisis in history and the government has again promised it has a plan to end load-shedding. But given previous empty promises, what is the country to make of government pronouncements? This is the question Sunday Times Politics Weekly host Mike Siluma poses to Pan African Investment and Research Services CE Dr Iraj Abed...
Jan 26, 2023•30 min0
One of the biggest problems in our country is the failure of the state to provide quality services to us, the citizens – such as public health services, transport and education. This week Sunday Times columnist Prof William Gumede wrote that the solution lies in forcing political leaders to use public services in order to improve them. In this podcast, Gumede, associate professor at the School of Governance at Wits, and Prof Busani Ngcaweni, principal of the National School of Government, join o...
Jan 19, 2023•31 min0
On Sunday Times Politics Weekly, Zweli Mkhize chats about what he will do if he is elected ANC president at the party's elective conference this weekend, Digital Vibes corruption allegations and the growing support he has received since being nominated. The former health minister received 916 nominations for the position, while his rival, President Cyril Ramaphosa, received 2,037. However, Mkhize says after engagements with ANC branches, all indications are that he has “huge support”. He also to...
Dec 14, 2022•38 min0
