HOW TO SPOT A NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN

A look at the television adverts of six leading political parties and what they say about the nature of those party’s campaigns..

AN IDIOT’S GUIDE TO THE ERASMUS COMMISSION

An overview of the 157 page judgment handed down by the Cape High Court on the legality of the Erasmus Commission. In this edition, we look at what the key findings were, what the judgment means for the ANC and how the DA’s opposition to the Commission epitomises the values that underpin an Open Opportunity [...]

LITTLE-BY-LITTLE

How does change happen? For the most part, little-by-little. In this edition, we look at the idea that, over time, the ANC has fundamentally changed – from a democratic colossus in 1994, to a party mired in corruption and defined infighting in 2008; and why it is so difficult to properly identify exactly how – [...]

STRENGTHENING SOUTH AFRICA’S PUBLIC DEBATE

Given the constraints on public debate in South Africa – outlined in the previous edition of The Real ANC Today – what can we do to strengthen it? Of central importance are two principles: that every opinion has an equal opportunity to be heard and that each person has the ability to properly [...]

A NUMBING OF THE PUBLIC MIND

What constitutes a good argument? It’s a pertinent question in South Africa today, certainly with regards to public debate. In this edition, we look at the role reason plays in our public discourse, the constraints on it and how they affect our ability to construct a good argument.
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• Strengthening South Africa’s Public Debate
• Nationalism Breeds Mediocrity

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN

Jacob Zuma seems to be surrounded by people with less than inspiring public records; and, the closer your get to the ANC President, the more dubious their contribution to South Africa seems to become. Who are these people, what are their public records and why do they attach so strongly to Jacob Zuma?
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• Defending the [...]

NATIONALISM BREEDS MEDIOCRITY

There is a strong case to be made that, under the ANC, South Africa is increasingly embracing mediocrity at the expense of merit and excellence. Why is this? What is it about the ANC, and nationalism more generally, that seems to oppose excellence and seek to reduce institutions to the lowest common denominator.
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• Strengthening South [...]

VIOLENCE, MURDER AND MAYHEM

In this edition, we set out a collection of ten of the most gratuitous quotes by the ruling party condoning or invoking violence. Our story is shaped in the form of a quiz – see if you can identify who said the relevant quote and – for a bonus point – in each instance, the [...]

A CURIOUS CASE OF SELF-DESTRUCTION

The Eastern Cape is often in the news for the wrong reasons. Indeed, for many people, it seems to epitomise all that is wrong with the ANC administration. Why is this? After all, historically and culturally, the Eastern Cape is the ANC’s heartland. Why is it that this important constituency not a shining beacon of [...]

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE – ZUMA ON HIV/AIDS

The third instalment, out of three, on ANC President Jacob Zuma, his public record and the prospect of a Zuma Presidency. In this edition we look at his record on HIV/Aids. What did he say when Mbeki was questioning the link between a virus and a syndrome? Did he defend the President or stand up [...]

BEYOND THE WILL OF MORTAL MEN

The second instalment, out of three, on ANC President Jacob Zuma, his public record and the prospect of a Zuma Presidency. Jacob Zuma is constantly invoking religion in his communication. But it is much more than a metaphor, indeed, Zuma seems to believe that the fate of the ANC and the Bible are intricately connected. [...]

BUSTING THE ZUMA MYTH ABOUT ZIMBABWE

The first instalment, out of three, on ANC President Jacob Zuma, his public record and the prospect of a Zuma Presidency. There is a myth that Jacob Zuma is different to Thabo Mbeki – that, with regard to issues like Zimbabwe and HIV/Aids, he will do the right thing. His track record, however, says otherwise [...]