Why there’s not much hope for Cope

This op-ed was written on the eve of South Africa’s elections in April.
When Mosiuoa ‘Terror’ Lekota and Mbhazima Shilowa announced they were “serving divorce papers” on the African National Congress (ANC), their political home, there was a frenzy of speculation that this would result in a tectonic shift in South Africa’s political and electoral [...]

Devious Shikota is merely Mbeki 2.0

Come 2009 elections, Shikota won’t be getting my vote. While their pro-constitutional rhetoric is encouraging, it’s also hard to believe.
Where was Lekota’s commitment to the constitution when he was in Mbeki’s cabinet? He seemed quite happy to toe the party line when it came to Aids, Zimbabwe and other issues.
It’s tempting took think the likes [...]

Godin’s marketing lessons from the US elections… SA parties take note!

Seth Godin, branding guru and author of — amongst other things — The Purple Cow, has done a fascinating analysis of the marketing lessons we can learn from the US elections. With South Africa’s own just around the corner, perhaps this is something that the ANC, DA and Shikota SANC SADC ???? parties can take [...]

National Convention: the voices

David Ansara, who blogs at Quid Pro Quo, was at the National Convention on the weekend and has conducted a series of fascinating interviews with some of the leading players in the new movement, including Smuts Ngonyama, Mluleki George and Philip Dexter.
Click here for more.

Talking points at the National Convention

The first day of Lekota’s National Convention has passed and, by all accounts, been a success, with almost 5000 delegates in attendance. On the convention’s website, there is a useful summary of what the speakers said (a list that includes Mosiuoa Lekota, former Cosatu stalwart Willie Madisha and Unisa vice-chancellor Barney Pityana) .
In her weekly [...]

Rebel party gathers critical mass

The M&G analyses the potential support Mosiuoa Lekota’s breakaway party has across the country in this article. The most likely sources of support are the division-wracked Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.
Today The Times quotes Lekota on further plans for the convention, with a new party possibly launched on Reconciliation Day (16 December). Click [...]

Shilowa teams up with Terror

Today Mbhazima Shilowa, Gauteng’s former premier, announced his resignation from the ANC and his decision to join Mosiuoa Lekota’s new political formation.
According to The Times, Shilowa will be the convenor-in-chief of the convention that will discuss the formation of the new breakaway party, which is to be held on 2 November.
Ray Hartley, editor of The [...]

New party about power not policy

Karima Brown, the Business Day’s political  editor, writes a devastating analysis of Mosiuoa Lekota’s moves to break away from the ANC. On the motivations of the formation of the new party she writes that:
It points to a group of powerful individuals who accessed state resources so that they could rule in perpetuity. The move to form a new [...]

Lekota (sort of) forms new party

At a briefing hosted by Radio 702 this morning, Mosiuoa Lekota announced the imminent formation of a convention that in the coming weeks would “determine how to proceed, to defend democracy in this country.” He indicated that it would be likely that this new movement would be contesting the 2009 general election, describing the move [...]

Terror strikes… and Jeff responds

Mosiuoa Lekota, the former ANC chairperson who recently resigned from the cabinet, sent an open letter to the ANC yesterday, lambasting the movement for forsaking the values of the Freedom Charter. Jeff Radebe responded on behalf of the ANC — rather viciously.
This public spat could signal the birth of the much anticipated breakaway party. The [...]