Infinite Crisis is the title of a series of Superman comic books, featuring aliens, parallel worlds and all the usual high powered heroics that one would expect from such a distinguished franchise. Unfortunately, infinite crisis is also a fitting description of the internal politics of the ANC since the ousting of Thabo Mbeki in 2008. Following that fracas, Jacob Zuma was brought to power by a ‘coalition of the wounded’, various constituencies and individuals who had – or believed they had – been maginalised by the Mbeki camp. But the coalition itself did not last very long. COSATU soon began to criticise some of Mr Zuma’s policies, as well as the excesses of some of his ministers; the unionists also kept pointing the finger at corruption and lack of service‐delivery. More dramatically, Julius Malema, originally Jacob Zuma's key ally, turned on the new President and was eventually ejected from the ANC following a protracted struggle and an internal disciplinary process. Other significant players coalesced into pro‐ and anti‐Zuma groupings, though their exact membership was not always obvious.

Download the full article above.

Written by Mayibuye Magwaza and Mike Pothier, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO)