The restaurant test: why Helen Zille is different
Johannesburg has been here before. Hopeful moments, promising candidates, talk of change. And then coalition chaos, institutional sabotage, and a slow slide back into dysfunction.
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Criminal justice system loses way on investigation of 14 prima facie corrupt police personnel
On 17 December 2025, the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry delivered to the president its first interim report on the work it did in 2025. The report has not been made public, but it has apparently been studied by the presidency.
There’s always one, isn’t there?
The project to return the famous steam train between George and Knysna to service has begun, but one lot are trying to put a stick in the spokes. When what was then South African Railways (now Transnet) put an end
DA troika could do the trick
Now that John Steenhuisen and Helen Zille have voluntarily and perhaps timeously, exited from the DA Federal leadership corps to pursue alternative personal political ambitions, the party has a welcome opportunity to present new leading actors on our national political
Is this the best the ANC can do?
Nicholas Lorimer and Michael Morris discuss the various parties' comments on the 2026 SONA. They also talk about Lesufi's blunder on the water crisis. https://www.youtube.com/live/mA8v7Slqj1E?si=AwMEGajjIo17fDWQ
The parlous state of the nation
In his 2026 State of the Nation address (SONA) this evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to set out the government’s key policy objectives and deliverables for the year ahead, flag challenges and outline interventions to unlock South Africa’s potential.
Dion George’s new “non-partisan” conservation lobby is explicitly partisan
Fired environment minister Dion George launched a new conservation initiative to advance his activist agenda. Not three months since being booted out of government, Dion George has resurfaced as the inaugural executive chairman of the newly-launched global NGO, the Conservation
Yes, liberalism does eschew regulation of gambling and other vices
South Africa now finds itself in an economic malaise to which liberalisation is the only viable answer. With tepid if any growth rates, the highest formal unemployment rate in the world, and disinvestment continuing apace, the last thing anyone should be thinking is, “How can we increase state
Will water hand Joburg to the DA?
Nicholas Lorimer and John Endres discuss how the DA might benefit from the water crisis in Joburg. They also discuss a state-owned property company and if National Service is a good idea. https://www.youtube.com/live/0-KI03q8UZI?si=2wDoIFL36rcf4A7q