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The year 2023 saw seismic shifts in South Africa's political discourse.

The state of the African National Congress is perilous, to say the least, and it's facing a major onslaught from opposition parties who have been chipping away at its core support.

Cadre deployment, loadshedding and State corruption are some of the ANC's major challenges, with the Democratic Alliance the loudest voice in making this known to the country.

The DA held an elective conference early in the year, where incumbent leader John Steenhuisen solidified his support.

It was at the same conference during which the idea of a unified opposition emerged. Known first as the moonshot pact, it evolved into what is now known as the Multi-Party Charter.

Political analysts, however, believe the DA is still hamstrung by its own internal challenges.

The DA's coalitions at local government have been somewhat of a damp squib - and, while it governs the City of Cape Town with a majority, it was unsuccessful in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Ekurhuleni.

The only success it attained was the coalition agreement in the City of Tshwane.

Political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela said the DA's internal elections were a success, but not without drama.

"The person who contested John Steenhuisen subsequently left the position as councillor of Johannesburg. She is now no longer active in party activities. One can claim the ramifications of that contestation led to Mpho [Phalatse] being out in the cold. The fact that, soon after that congress, she left, and there was no post-conference reconciliation after a brutal battle," he said.

They eventually managed to form a stable coalition in Pretoria. They managed to work together with other parties. They learned an important lesson: to humble themselves and work with other parties. Under [Tshwane Mayor] Cilliers Brink, there is some stability there.

"In Ekurhuleni, it had to succumb to the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters coalition - similarly, in the City of Joburg. The DA failed in Joburg because they could not accommodate the Patriotic Alliance (PA). That is the consequence of the fact that the PA has proven to be a problem for the DA, even in the Western Cape.

"The DA finds itself uncomfortable to go into a coalition with a party that is threatening it in other parts of the country. I think the DA disappointed its coalition partners, like ActionSA, primarily because it can't have the PA in the same coalition."

Also, in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, there were setbacks.

"They have succeeded in holding one coalition and have failed in three others," Mkhabela said.

Steenhuisen said that, when he came into the leadership role, he inherited a party that was 12% at the polls.

"The leader had just walked off the job and trotted all over the party as he walked out the door. It was met with headlines from, ironically, News24, which famously said it was the death of the DA. Well, here we are in 2023, on the cusp of an election where the DA is up in the polls.

"Nobody talks about the next government in South Africa without talking about the DA. That is not bad for a party that was destroyed and written off as dead," he said.

According to Steenhuisen, the DA will be the second-largest party in the country.

"We will be, as we currently sit just 7% away from the ANC, with the opportunity that, if things go right, we will overtake them. Where we govern, we have been able to deliver for South Africans. We have not spoken about creating jobs and pushing more people into the unemployment line. What we do, backs up our offer to South Africans. You [are] going to need a strong DA to rescue South Africa," he said.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said the DA still found it very difficult to break from its traditional support base.

"It has made some progress in communities in South Africa - but, numerically, they do not seem to have built on its percentage of the broader vote in South Africa. On their own, the party is rather stagnant in its popular sup...

The African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal accused former president Jacob Zuma of "gross ill-discipline" for publicly "divorcing the ANC" by backing the uMkhonto weSizwe Party.

Provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo was scathing in his assessment of Zuma's political maneuvering.

He was speaking at the Garden Court Hotel in Durban's beachfront before a large contingent of journalists and various wings and partners of the ANC in the province, including Cosatu and the ANC Youth League.

On Saturday, 81-year-old Zuma held a press briefing at the Ipelegeng Centre in Soweto where he denounced the "ANC of Ramaphosa" and said he would not campaign for the party in the upcoming elections.

Instead, he would vote for the newly formed MK Party, which is named after the ANC's military wing during apartheid.

Zuma said the party was registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa with his "knowledge and blessings".

He also said he would be establishing a "patriotic front" to "steer the ship of total liberation".

In recent months, he said he met with "leaders of our people across the spectrum", including 10 registered political parties.

They discussed the formation of a patriotic front and a voting bloc after the election to pursue "a minimum consensus programme" where they have at least 10 common points they agree on.

Mtolo said that for the first time in the ANC's 111 years of existence, "a former president and outstanding leader of our movement announces publicly his decision to vote for another political party, and effectively campaign for that party".

He added:

We view that as literally divorcing the ANC and leaving the ANC to make another political formation. This is a form of gross ill-discipline.

In the ANC's constitution, the party lists under acts of misconduct: "joining or supporting a political organisation or party, other than an organisation in alliance with the ANC, in a manner contrary to the aims, objectives and policy of the ANC" and "acting as the election agent or canvasser of a person standing in such election for any political party and in opposition to a candidate duly endorsed by the national executive committee or provincial executive committee".

Meanwhile, Mtolo said the ANC in the province was faring well, winning four recent by-elections, including two in Msunduzi and one in eThekwini.

The party has, however, seen some decline in support in KZN in recent years with the Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance and smaller parties eating into the ANC's once guaranteed stronghold.

Mtolo said that the KZN branch of the ANC was focused on the upcoming elections, adding that the recent by-election wins indicated what the populace wanted.

"It is clear that the people of KZN, the masses, who are the true assessors of the progress made by the ANC, have shown their support."

New MK Party has nothing to do with ANC

Mtolo said the ANC wanted to make it clear that the true uMkhonto weSizwe was launched on 16 December 1961.

He said the new uMkhonto weSizwe was not "genuine".

"It is a party disguised to lure voters and loyal members of the ANC to think it is the same thing as uMkhonto weSizwe of the ANC."

He said the requirements to join the ANC's uMkhonto weSizwe were clear.

"You should have a force number, know your commander, know your cell and the camp you were in during exile. The [MK Party] has recruitment forms, they recruit anyone. Even my child born in 2000 can be part of this."

He said the "real" uMkhonto weSizwe was still a part of the ANC and would continue to campaign for the party in the run up to the 2024 general elections.

"They will be in our campaign working with us door to door, asking the people of KZN to vote for ANC. We are happy with the reception we are receiving from people in KZN who still have hope of ANC."

On Saturday, the ANC sought to lay claim to the legacy of MK by issuing a statement to mark the 62nd anniversary of uMkhonto weSizwe.

"As the ANC, we hold the collective members of MK in t...

The year began with a bang for the African National Congress following the conclusion of its national conference in December 2022, with the promise to revive its youth, women's and veterans leagues, which were all disbanded for more than five years after suffering from entrenched factional battles.

The internal fractures, mainly a result of leadership contests as part of jostling for proximity to the levers of state power, were succinctly detailed by the ANC's former chairperson and Parliament Speaker, Baleka Mbete, who did not mince her words in July during the ANC Women's League national conference.

Mbete alluded to the aftermath of the ANC's 2007 Polokwane national conference, which elected Jacob Zuma as party president in a bitter fight with his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki - which spawned the creation of Cope as a breakaway political organisation.

"The post-Polokwane intensely factional environment had a very negative effect on all movement structures at all levels. The women were also affected as they were part of the movement and all its formations. It is a fact that, when history is captured, it will show how exactly and how much we reflected this contamination as women," Mbete said in her July report to the league's gathering.

The youth and women's league conferences each had to continue beyond their allocated three days in July after squabbles over delegate credentials and general tardiness, which have recently become the hallmark of ANC gatherings.

The ANC's woes were piling up as the year drew to a close. The party had to fight off the sheriff of the court after events company Ezulweni Investments attached its accounts and other physical assets to recover R102-million owed to the company for merchandise supplied to the party for the 2019 elections campaign.

The move to attach the party's assets followed a scathing Supreme Court of Appeal judgment against the ANC - and party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in particular, who was the party's 2019 elections head.

The party has said it is taking its fight to the Constitutional Court as it claims that it did not enter into any business transaction with Ezulweni and that this was a work of fraud by its officials.

Party president Cyril Ramaphosa is said to have intervened in the embarrassment ahead of the 2024 elections.

ANC stalwart Mavuso Msimang's resignation was another blow for the governing party, as it faces one of its toughest elections yet.

Msimang, who served the ANC for 60 years, resigned citing, among other concerns, how the party had been "wracked by endemic corruption", which had had devastating consequences for the lives of the people of South Africa.

Another party veteran, Pallo Jordan, told News24 it was "an extremely sad day for the ANC" when Msimang resigned. He said this was not only because of the veteran's contribution to the liberation movement, but also because the Msimang family had made immeasurable contributions to the ANC.

"If there is a family to be referred to as a royal family in the ANC, it is the Msimang family," Jordan said, adding that Msimang's father was among those who drafted the first ANC constitution and was one of the party's founding members.

Jordan added:

That things have come to a point where a veteran like Mavuso feels that he has to resign is indicative of very deep malaise.

However, in a dramatic twist, Msimang withdrew his resignation after what appeared to have been some convincing from his comrades.

Mbalula was forced to withdraw his accusations that Msimang had been bribed to join another political formation, and was made to apologise.

News24 reported that Mbalula had been rebuked by the ANC's top leadership for his public attack on Msimang.

The ANC is headed into its most momentous election yet, considering the tight margins by opinion polls that have the party tracking at a paltry 48% - nearly 10% lower than it achieved at the 2019 elections.

The latest shenanigans in its ranks have added a significant dent to a party ...

In what he described as an attempt to "rescue" the African National Congress, corruption-accused former president Jacob Zuma laid claim to the "spear of the nation" - uMkhonto weSizwe.

But the ANC, in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal, will launch "an action plan in defence of the gains of the National Democratic Revolution as led by the ANC".

"We wish to state categorically that recent developments may have created a perception in some quarters that there is a state of paralysis that will liquidate the ANC, its alliance partners and ultimately destroy the Mass Democratic Movement," said ANC KZN chairperson Bheki Mtolo in a statement.

"It is important to say that such a perception has, in the past, been proven wrong."

The provincial executive committee, along with several alliance partners and aligned organisations, will brief the media on Monday.

On Saturday, at a press briefing, which started more than an hour late in Soweto, the 81-year-old Zuma made an announcement about his political future. It involves remaining a member of the ANC.

"I will die a member of the ANC," he said.

However, he will not campaign for the party in the upcoming elections. Instead, he will vote for uMkhonto weSizwe, a recently established party named after the ANC's military wing during apartheid, which was established on 16 December 1961, and disbanded in 1994.

Zuma, through his daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, said: "It is not enough to withdraw from the ANC campaign, which will lead our people to more misery, poverty, racism, unemployment, deepening load shedding and a government led by sellouts and apartheid collaborators."

Zuma listed seven gripes he had with the party he once led - all of it emanating from the 2017 elections and what had happened to him and his allies in the aftermath.

"It is also our duty to guide our people on what to do in order to save our revolution from its enemies and to achieve the society envisaged in the Freedom Charter.

"No single organisation can pull us out of the present crisis. We require the same spirit of unity which saw us defeating the monster of apartheid."

Zuma said that choosing "the vehicle of the uMkhonto weSizwe party in pursuing our freedom from the present capture by white monopoly capital and the enemies of our people operating among us", he could only quote the founding statement of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) on 16 December 1961: "The time comes in the life of any nation when there remains only two choices: submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our future and our freedom."

He said this statement as true on 16 December 2023 as it was on 16 December 1961.

"The new people's war starts from today. The only crucial difference is that, instead of the bullet, this time we will use the ballot."

According to Zuma, the party was registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa with his "knowledge and blessings".

On Sunday, the spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, the Economic Freedom Fighters's Mzwanele Manyi, released the new party's certificate of registration with the IEC, dated 12 December 2023, as well as correspondence in September from the IEC to Jabulani Sibongiseni Khumalo, indicating that the registration had been approved.

When it emerged that a party - named uMkhonto weSizwe - was registered in September, the ANC expressed its dismay and mooted a legal challenge.

At the time, Khumalo told News24 in words echoed by Zuma on Saturday: "We have issues with the leadership failures of the ANC, so we decided that we will take our spear as members of MK and take the lead to solve the issues faced by the ANC."

He denied he was eating away at the ANC's voting base by registering a political party designed to "help save the party".

At that time, MK Military Veterans Association convenor Dan Hato said Khumalo was not a MKMVA member and was unknown to the ANC.

On Sunday, ANC ...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria misdirected itself when it ordered him to set up an investigative committee that should probe allegations that AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini was not identified in line with traditional customs.

On Monday, the president filed for leave to appeal Judge Norman Davis' ruling which nullified and invalidated his recognition of Misuzulu as king of the Zulu nation in a government gazette in March last year.

In his ruling last week Monday, Davis said the president had breached the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act by recognising Misuzulu as king without first dealing with the allegations that his ascension to the AmaZulu throne was in contrast to customary laws.

Davis' ruling followed an application by Prince Simakade Zulu, one of Zwelithini's sons, and the late king's half-brother Prince Mbonisi Zulu, among other AmaZulu royal family members, who challenged Ramaphosa's decision to certify Misuzulu as the Zulu monarch.

The matter, which was defended by the president, King Misuzulu and others, was heard over three days in October.

In his leave to appeal papers, seen by News24, the president said he recognised King Misuzulu following a KwaZulu-Natal High Court ruling by acting Judge President Isaac Madondo, which said the king was identified lawfully.

The president said:

The court ought to have found that section 8(4) of the Leadership Act did not apply as the jurisdictional requirements triggering its application, namely an allegation or evidence that the identification of Prince Misuzulu (as he then was) as a king was not done in accordance with customary law and customs, had already been finally determined in the judgment of Madondo AJP, which issue the court a quo found to be res judicata [already dealt with].

"Consequently, and having found that it was not open for His Lordship to overturn the judgment of Madondo AJP which, in turn, found that the decision taken on 14 May 2021 to identify King Misuzulu as successor to the throne had been taken in terms of Zulu law and customs, the court erred and misdirected itself in directing the president to appoint an investigative committee, as contemplated in the Leadership Act, to conduct an investigation and to provide a report in respect of allegations that the identification of King Misuzulu was not done in terms of customary laws and customs."

The matter is expected to be argued in court next year.

The State Security Agency has slammed former Inspector-General of Intelligence Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe's demand for a R6.1-million payout as built on misrepresentation - and has gone to court to block it.

Dintwe - whose security clearance was pulled by then-spy boss Arthur Fraser when the intelligence watchdog chief started investigating him for alleged abuses in 2018 - is suing President Cyril Ramaphosa, the minister in the presidency and the SSA for more than R6.1 million he claims is still due to him.

In papers filed at the Johannesburg Labour Court, Dintwe's lawyers accuse the minister in the presidency and the SSA of ignoring his demands that he be paid the full gratuity he was owed once his service ended (which he says the SSA miscalculated), outstanding salary amounts and nearly half a million rand for the 124 days of leave he says he never took.

The SSA and minister in the presidency are, however, adamant the contract erratum Dintwe is relying on to make his demands is constitutionally invalid and not enforceable because it was based on misrepresentation by the former IGI - and have now launched their own Labour Court litigation to obtain a ruling that sets it aside.

Recently resigned SSA Director-General Thembisile Majola told the Labour Court this erratum - which was signed by then-minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele and the chairperson of Parliament's Standing Committee on Intelligence Jerome Maake two days after Dintwe's term ended - had inflated the IGI's remuneration by 52% or R1.9-million.

She said in an affidavit filed two weeks before she left office:

At no stage were the [SSA] and the [SSA Director-General] consulted in relation to the amendment of the employment conditions in relation to the remuneration and gratification of the [IGI] prior to the signing of the erratum.

Majola further accuses Dintwe of knowing he was acting against the prescripts of the Constitution and the law when he sought the change in his contract and made the misrepresentation to Gungubele and Maake she said he used to justify it.

The former IGI "cannot claim to be an innocent part of the conclusion of the erratum," she added.

Dintwe was appointed by President Ramaphosa and was tasked with investigating alleged wrongdoing by state intelligence.

He began his five-year term as the IGI on 15 March 2017 and ended it on 15 March 2022.

Under the conditions of his employment, Dintwe was supposed to receive a salary package that is equivalent to that of the Public Protector (who receives the same salary as a Supreme Court of Appeal judge).

The IGI's benefits include a "non-taxable service allowance of R73 435" a year, a "non-taxable entertainment allowance of R45 000" a year, use of a state vehicle for private use (up to 75 000km), paid travel and accommodation for his spouse, "unlimited hotel accommodation similar to that of a deputy minister" and an "operational catering allowance".

Dintwe's contract also reveals, in addition to unlimited business class local and international flights, he was given 24 business class tickets for domestic travel every year, which he was able to give to whomever he chose.

This benefit is not given to the Public Protector, and the SSA and IGI has refused to comment on its purpose, on the basis the dispute over Dintwe's remuneration is sub judice.

Dintwe's entitlement to these airline tickets is not disputed in this litigation, however.

Like the Public Protector, the IGI is entitled to receive a gratuity at the end of the term.

That gratuity is calculated according to a specific formula and - as in the case of the Public Protector - typically runs into several million rand.

According to Dintwe, the terms according to which his gratuity was calculated incorrectly recorded his five-year term of office as being seven years, the same as the Public Protector.

As a result, he said, Gungubele and Maake signed an erratum (effectively an addendum to his employment contract) on 17 March 2022, two days after his ...

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation has published a public opinion survey, the South African Reconciliation Barometer 2023, which has revealed that South Africa is facing several serious challenges, including the high cost of living, loadshedding, deep poverty and unemployment.

The IJR's public opinion survey aims to provide a nationally representative measure of South African citizens' attitudes to national reconciliation, social cohesion, transformation, and democratic governance.

The South African Reconciliation Barometer was first published in 2003, marking the report's 20th anniversary, this year.

According to the report, the balance of trust in the country is low and nowhere is this more evident than in attitudes about leadership.

Around eight of ten South Africans agree that national leaders are not concerned about what happens to ordinary people.

About 79% of people believe leadership cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

On the issue of confidence in a range of important public institutions early survey rounds found that more than half of all South Africans were confident in a range of key public institutions in the past decade. In 2023 only 33% of South Africans expressed confidence in the legal system while 32% felt confident about national government.

Only 35% South Africans have confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The report also reveals that 82% of South Africans believe that corrupt officials often get away with crimes and 74% believe that there is no real political will to fight corruption.

South Africans have yet to see those implicated in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry report charged with graft despite the high cost spend on the commission.

Furthermore, the report paints a gloomy picture as it states that South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world.

President Cyril Ramaphosa met the South African Jewish Board of Deputies at his presidential residence, Mahlamba Ndlopfu, in Pretoria on Wednesday to discuss the county's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The SAJBD made requests relating to diplomatic recognition of Israel and to the boycott of Israeli and Jewish businesses in South Africa.

With regard to the first issue, the SAJBD petitioned Ramaphosa to restore full diplomatic recognition of Israel, including the reopening of the South African embassy in Tel Aviv, and to assure that the Israeli embassy in Pretoria will not close to enable the Israeli ambassador's return to South Africa.

News24 previously reported that Israel's foreign ministry recalled its South African ambassador after South Africa recalled its diplomatic staff from Israel.

At the time, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies reacted with anger at the perceived ill-treatment of the ambassador, saying that the government had shown hostility toward him.

With regard to the second issue, the SAJBD called on the president to speak against the boycott of Israeli and Jewish businesses in South Africa and protect the South African Jewish community against antisemitic incidents and attacks.

The SAJBD previously said antisemitism in South Africa had "increased nearly tenfold" and was being "fuelled by inflammatory rhetoric by some in political leadership", according to a News24 report.

The organisation said there were as many as 80 incidents in six weeks and compared the surge to campaigns by "local Nazi-supporting white groupings" in the 1930s.

Commenting on Wednesday's discussion, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa reiterated the South African government's position on the situation in the region.

He added that South Africa stood with the people of Palestine "who have endured over seven decades of apartheid type of brutal occupation".

Magwenya added that the country condemned the October attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens, including women and children, and called for all hostages to be released.

South Africa condemned the "genocide that is being inflicted against the people of Palestine" through the bombardment of Gaza and called for the immediate cessation of hostilities, Magwenya said, as well as the resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and Israel.

South Africa also called on the International Criminal Court to investigate all the atrocities and war crimes committed in the region.

Magwenya said:

President Ramaphosa indicated that the South African diplomats based in Tel Aviv will remain in South Africa for consultations during the current state of conflict. However, the government will endeavour to make available all the necessary support that is required by South African citizens in need of assistance.

He added that the government denounced antisemitic behaviour and appealed to South Africans to "remain true to the tenets of the country's Constitution".

The conflict in the Middle Eastern region intensified after an October attack by Hamas on southern Israel.

Israel retaliated with widespread bombing throughout the Gaza strip.

South Africa's headline consumer inflation fell to 5.5% year on year in November from 5.9% in October, statistics agency data showed on Wednesday.

Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, rose to 4.5% year-on-year in November from 4.4% in October, the statistics agency said.

November's headline reading remains within the South African Reserve Bank's inflation target range of 3% to 6%.

At the bank's last policy meeting in November, Governor Lesetja Kganyago reiterated the bank's expectation that inflation would stabilise around the mid-point of its target band by 2025.

KwaZulu-Natal African National Congress provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo on Wednesday announced the expulsion of former Umzumbe local municipality speaker Sbonelo Maphumulo for what he calls "de-campaigning".

He was addressing media when he warned that all members who did not toe the party line would be subjected to ANC disciplinary processes.

Maphumulo was suspended on August 22, 2023 after the ANC provincial executive committee had received a report on his alleged conduct which was interpreted as in defiance of ANC decisions, particularly in ANC council meetings.

"Once you are de-campaigning the ANC you are not supporting the party as a liberation movement and as a party in government," he said.

Maphumulo was charged for acting in breach of the membership oath for failing, refusing or neglecting to execute or comply with any ANC policy, standing order and undermining the respect for or impeding the functioning of any structure or committee of the ANC, amongst other things.

"Based on the overwhelming evidence presented by witnesses during the disciplinary hearing, Cde Sbonelo Maphumulo was found guilty on all the charges. We must hasten to point out that this verdict was reached in line with the principle of fairness and equality. Cde Sbonelo Maphumulo was given the opportunity to defend himself and state his side of the story," explained Mtolo.

He added that the ANC in KZN was satisfied with the work of the chairperson of the Provincial Disciplinary Committee and also Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Super Zuma in relation to Maphumulo's disciplinary hearing.

Mtolo said "it should be recalled that ANC structures marched to the provincial office in protest against his conduct. After the PEC's decision to suspend his membership, Maphumulo was subjected to fair disciplinary processes," stressed Mtolo.

He said the party was giving all ANC members the right to approach party leadership if they felt that some actions taken against members were not fair.

Mtolo said his party would not divulge all the internal discussions but would make sure that it dealt with members who were "doing as they please in the name of the party".

Recently ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula warned against 'de-campaigning' the ruling party following the resignation of party veteran Mavuso Msimang.

Mbalula said 'de-campaigning' the ANC had implications for the party's standing in public while he stressed the open-door policy which allowed party members to express their views.

Mtolo said the ANC had done a lot for South Africans, mentioning the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in KZN as the best hospital in the southern hemisphere, and giving mention to the King Shaka International Airport and the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

He said even some rural areas had been improved.

"South Africans are not fools. They can see what the ANC has done. We can't allow members who de-campaign us to remain in the party," said Mtolo.