The th!nc Foundation

The debate in Parliament has elevated the equality of indigenous languages to a point of visible equality before the law. The first sign of a society committed to its freedom comes when it demands the rights of authentic self-imagination. Political and economic domination is exerted through cultural influence.  The extent to which a society can ideate itself out of any situation lies in limitations imposed by the language in which it accesses the knowledge it requires to develop. Through language, humanity has been able to demonstrate that no universal human perspective exists.  Language is therefore the prism through which humans experience (their) reality  It is not only a vocabulary or grammar, in a linguistic sense, that defines the competitiveness of a society, but the grammar of development and the language it is expressed with that sets the bar at which competitiveness can start. Almost every time second or third-language-speaking leaders appear cognitiv...

This was published in the Sunday Times of 21 August 2024 under the headline: The NDR-GNU PARADOX IS THE NEW BATTLE.  Does the NDR still have one centre, or is it still being pursued? Have we moved into a world with one NDR objective being pursued by multiple processes (of struggle) in different membership forms by 'revolutionaries'? The tensions which characterised the NDR were contained by the lived experience of apartheid and the unifying objective of getting rid of its relics. However, the long-term cause of today's political estrangement in RSA was the CODESA settlement or accord. In that case, the short-term catalyst is the period between the announcement of Zuma's leadership of the MK Party and the May 2024 election outcome: a no absolute majority power context.  Over the past few months, the struggle for political dominance in South Africa has intensified to unprecedented levels. The lines of political conflict have shifted, and the traditional opposition role in...

Generally, the rise of parties like MKP and the EFF is the direct consequence of the loosening of the bond between voters and the representatives they elect, and the increasing perception that the governing party, and lately it will be the GNU, serve a narrow elite and capital interests. Unfortunately, no dogma exists to reverse such a tide except to deliver services and make the liberation dividend as broad-based as possible. Dismissing issues-driven opposition to the emerging elite consensus is a serious mistake. The phase the leader of the GNU finds itself in produces 'anti-system voters'. These are characterised as voters who are frustrated with political systems they perceive as broken and with economies that reward only the wealthiest. We are now in a position where every ANC member, especially those carrying the brand of 'izikhokho ze ndawo' like Zuma used to and still is, needs to think about this development as an existential threat to the movement.  The MK Par...

  As we describe the nature of political opposition developing around, within, and out of us, we should appreciate that our character as an organisation will have to change as an outcome of the renewal journey we have embarked upon. A decision to renew an organisation is complete if it runs towards its criticism. The truth that comes from criticism should be confronted head-on.  Renewal is not just a theoretical concept; it's a practical call to action. It requires a complete reorientation of our organization towards its core values and objectives. For the ANC, this means more than just implementing policies; it means living and breathing the very essence of the South African Constitution in our daily actions and decisions.  As a liberation movement and political party, it is threatened by factionalism, the multiple oncoming sub-national elections before 16 December 2027, sophisticated ethnic divisions, the national question, a grossly underperforming and unequalise...

This was published in the Sunday Times on 18 August 2024 under the title "Recalibrating the templates of economic dominance." The need to manage the risk that the GNU is the standard defining the ANC renewal is urgent. The inconvenient truth is that the forces that make the rand economy move are disproportionately influenced by an anti-ANC or ANC hegemony. Dealing with this requires a sophisticated strategy to influence the market to start understanding the bona fides of the ANC regarding growing the RSA economy for all. However, left alone, the markets are notorious for creating political turbulence to the extent that they sustain the economy's structure as they would want. Therefore, anchoring the GNU on a social compact is strategic and urgent, given how race and economic status have assumed a higher premium of significance in RSA politics.   It is crucial for the ANC to steer clear of being absorbed into an establishment it has not foreseen. There is compelling ev...

This was published in the TimesLive on 15 August 2024. When a society is at a standstill, unable to find the best path to unlock its potential, it often repeats what it already knows. This results in a discourse about the future confined by the 'ideation prisons' of the past, where outdated ideologies trap leaders and thinkers. To break free from this cycle, a new way of thinking is necessary and a beacon of hope. It transcends narrow and mechanical approaches to understanding the growth and competitiveness of nations. The 2024 elections have placed South Africa in a context where its leadership is called to think and believe in its ability to work together for a cause beyond the narrow ideological or other interests of the political parties or institutions it leads.    The divides that characterised RSA politics for much of the past 30 years of democracy have receded, marking a significant shift. A new frontier of no absolute majority government is the new political reality. ...

One of the Government of National Unity's fundamental deliverables is rebuilding a capable and meritorious public service. In this area, the GNU will generate scripts or scenarios to recalibrate how service delivery will become a feature of governing RSA. As a result, concepts and labels, some with deep ideological intentions and baggage, are baying for centre stage as the vocabulary of rebuilding the public service. From the battle to sustain the predominant 'public service transformation', 'public service reform', 'professionalisation of the public service', 'single public service' to 'back-to-basics' and 'meritorious capable public service' nomenclature, South Africa is faced with the reality of just getting the Public Service as an institution to get things done, emphasizing the urgent need for a 'back-to-basics' approach.  Underscoring the societal preoccupation, the urgency to 'get things done' has become a signi...

This was published in the TimesLive under the title "ANC, beware, the opposition complex is mastering the takeover of surface politics" on 08 August 2024. With the devastating performance of less than 50% from the 2024 national and provincial elections barely in the rearview mirror, the local government electioneering has already begun. The opposition complex, a coalition of political parties opposing the ANC, has unleashed a propaganda juggernaut to project the GNU as a strategic victory against a 'supposedly' majoritarian ANC. Branding agencies are profiling non-ANC ministers as the oxygen RSA governance requires. End-of-project implementation and launch events are masterminded and will be launched in opposition complex-governed municipalities or by GNU partnership leaders. While the ANC is still excelling with the details of what post-May 2029 means, the opposition complex is mastering the takeover of surface politics. The service delivery gaps in municipalities,...

This was published in the Sunday Times on 04 August 2024 under the headline "Zuma's expulsion from the ANC a risky move." The centrality of Jacob Zuma in the disintegration of the ANC is an area of significant impact that RSA thinkers still need to fully grasp. Zuma has been branded to have presided over the nine wasted years, and his term was one in which a convergence of corruption, state capture, and, lately, a counterrevolution happened. The censure of his influence represents a narrative the academic-media complex’s establishment has thus far managed to manufacture or consolidate consent about. The reach of this narrative carries the weight of his leadership in the ANC and South African politics.  Zuma was, and arguably still is, a node of orientation, faction, or tendency within the ANC. He does not straightforwardly replace any legacy of struggle. Instead, he has added complexity to RSA's political power architecture. He has become the shapeshifter of politic...