The th!nc Foundation

There are questions that South Africans find difficult to answer about their politics. The most crucial question is whether the country has arrived at a post-ANC governing party state.  South Africa’s constitutional order is paraded, legitimately so, as one of the best in the world. As an order, it has been able to provide political stability for the past three decades. What has not been tested is its resilience in the event that there is no one party with the absolute political power to form a government.  Like any good system, the order sent signals of the uncertainty that might come with a less than 50% of the votes threshold at the national government through the experience in local government. When political power started changing hands in most of the economic nodal points of RSA in 2016 and 2021, respectively, the constitutional order entered a continuous phase of uncertainty that culminated in the May 2024 moment.    With the loss of absolute political control...

When two former ANCYL presidents, with a combined experience of over 60 person-years as national leaders, call for the NEC, of which they are members, to resign, it is a seismic event. This signifies a monumental shift within the NEC, which we might see the full extent of at the mooted December 2025 National General Council of the ANC. These eruptions open the muted leadership debate within the ANC, raising questions about the calibre, breed, or character of individuals needed to ensure the organisation’s survival in the current times.  The new era, a post-Ramaphosa reality, will undoubtedly be shaped by increased multipartyism and a more diffuse state executive authority. Voters’ power will determine who is suitable to lead South Africa. The reputations of leaders or individuals within political parties will be weaponised to move voters away from established political brands. This necessitates a fresh leadership approach, one that is responsive to the changing political landscape....