Sunday Times Politics Weekly

In this episode TimesLIVE digital politics editor Lizeka Tandwa talks to COSATU president Zingiswa Losi about the formation and the SACP stance on the government of national unity, the ANC’s path of renewal, and the party’s drop in the election results. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe tells Sunday Times politics editor Sibongakonke Shoba that DA federal chair Helen Zille will collapse the government of unity. “We are not going to have a parallel government run by Helen Zille. There’s one president here and that president is President Cyril Ramaphosa. Production by: Bulelani Nonyukela. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com f...

Political analyst Dr Sithembile Mbete and Lizeka Tandwa from the Sunday Times politics team define and scrutinise the ANC’s options for governing models, such as government of national unity [which the party announced as its choice on Thursday evening], a grand coalition and a minority government. They also look at the party's conflicting ideologies and policies, the options for coalition partners...

South Africa allowed Zimbabwe to be run into the ground, says Mmusi Maimane on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly, blaming the government for the influx of Zimbabweans into SA. “If it wasn’t for the ANC’s policy on the government of national unity when [late former president of Zimbabwe Robert] Mugabe had lost elections we wouldn’t have this influx of Zimbabweans,” says Maimane as he is quizzed by S...

The DA should have burnt the ANC flag instead of the national flag, says ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says in a wide-ranging interview on the Sunday Times Politics Weekly podcast. The party stirred controversy earlier this week when it launched its election campaign advertisement showing the national flag in flames. The DA has defended the advert, with federal chair Helen Zille saying the altern...

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...

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 ti...

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.

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...

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....

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 accu...

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...

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 multipart...

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 aro...

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...

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...

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...

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 c...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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 hypocritica...

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...