Dissecting South Africa’s current political turmoil

What does 2017 hold, and can we look beyond the Zuma years, state capture and corruption?

Date: 2016-11-21

Time: 17:30 to 19:00

Venue: 6 Spin street, Cape Town

RSVP: Helen Chanda, Phone: +27 12 346 9500, Email: [email protected]

Despite getting a bloody nose in the August local government elections, there is little evidence that the African National Congress (ANC) has a plan to improve its electoral performance in 2019 or deliver more responsive governance.

The ANC faces deep divisions, exacerbated by President Jacob Zuma’s own weaknesses and the allegations of corruption against him. Rising levels of social instability and inequality have caused deep fault-lines in South Africa’s democracy. Government has been unable to deal with the universities’ crisis. Moreover, the Public Protector’s recent state capture report and the criminal charges against the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, show a party at odds with itself, mired in corruption and struggling to govern effectively.

How does South Africa move forward and what might the political and economic future look like?

This seminar is co-hosted with the Goedgedacht Forum on Social Reflection.

Chair: Judith February, Consultant, Governance, Crime and Justice, ISS

Speakers:

Pippa Green, Journalist, Editor, Academic and author of Choice not fate: the life and times of Trevor Manuel

Adriaan Basson, Journalist and Editor, News24.com

Mpumelelo Mkhabela, former editor Sowetan and PowerFM station manager