Raymond Suttner
Albert Nolan – memories of a non-believer
19th October 2022 I first met Albert Nolan when I emerged from prison in 1983. I was then a Communist, although it was illegal to be one and I didn't admit that in... →
No lifeline to people-unfriendly coalitions. Strengthen wider democratic possibilities! A reply to Pierre de Vos
10th October 2022 There is much preoccupation with coalitions as “the future” of South African politics, with study visits and much media focus on the question.... →
We need to find an escape from “choiceless democracy”
3rd October 2022 I have an aversion to being a political spectator and have been involved in politics since my youth in the 1960s, first in the Progressive Party... →
ANC governments caused the problems: they cannot be the ones to resolve them
19th September 2022 The country is in the grip of a range of crises that need to be resolved if democracy is to be salvaged, and people are to be rescued from hunger,... →
Freedom and xenophobia do not belong together – Freedom must be defended and xenophobia banished
5th September 2022 The revocation of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) which would have expelled thousands has now been postponed until June 2023. Clearly Home... →
Widespread xenophobia and cowardly acts against Zimbabweans must be combatted by all democrats
29th August 2022 Migration between states of southern Africa has a long history, crucial to the development of mining in South Africa and the sheltering of freedom... →
The murder of Abahlali’s Lindokuhle Mnguni is part of a broader attack on our constitutional order that must be repelled
24th August 2022 The murder of Lindokuhle Mnguni, the 24th leader of Abahlali baseMjondolo to be gunned down, has met with indifference on the part of the state and... →
Moving beyond “disillusionment” means recreating our political life
8th August 2022 South African democracy is in crisis. People do not see benefits from 28 years of freedom. Many are hungry, homeless, unemployed, subject to... →
The current crisis makes a “new politics” more urgent
1st August 2022 Media and ANC preoccupations, depict the ANC electoral contests as the major political issues of the day. Given the ANC’s low level of support and... →
Betraying the liberation struggle: ANC ‘renewal’ is empty and we already have an alternative vision for South Africa
21st June 2022 The ANC has betrayed the oppressed people of South Africa, with whom it once enjoyed a close relationship of trust. Talk of renewal is empty, with... →
The crisis of today goes beyond the future of Cyril Ramaphosa and may affect that of the state
13th June 2022 The crisis surrounding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm robbery ought not to distract our focus from the wider state crisis. The Zuma era... →
Remedying our crises must include relative autonomy and professionalisation of public service
6th June 2022 Rebuilding a state that works for all the people cannot be conceived purely at the level of clean ups and ‘orange overalls’. The need for a... →
Murder of Nokuthula Mabaso - another Abahlali killing with impunity?
16th May 2022 This week end the shack dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo buried another leader, Nokuthula Mabaso, murdered in front of her children.... →
Let’s call ANC/state criminality what it is: Treason
9th May 2022 This week Nokuthula Mabaso, a leading Abahlali baseMjondolo figure was gunned down. This is the 23rd hit on Abahlali members, with only one case... →
Popular power, insurrectionism and their legacies
28th April 2022 Both popular power and insurrectionism were important, albeit controversial components of the ANC-led struggle against apartheid. Both have some... →
ANC crisis derives not purely from indifference to the poor but also an absence of debate
19th April 2022 The ANC-led alliance’s indifference to the plight of the poor and those marginalised in a range of other ways has been repeatedly noted. Given this... →
The EFF, the judiciary and the necessity to still be freedom fighters
11th April 2022 The EFF thrives on outrageous statements, as in their recent attack on the judiciary as having been captured. The EFF does need our attention... →
People in government are not listening to the cries of pain. They no longer hear them
28th March 2022 Certain basic qualities are needed for a political movement to win the trust of the people. One of these is simply to listen very carefully to what... →
ANC renewal will remain an empty slogan- a new political configuration is needed
16th March 2022 “Renewal” has become a priority for the ANC, following election setbacks. It is, however, unlikely to represent a meaningful rupture with the... →
South Africa faces crises on multiple fronts, threatening the democratic project and our constitutional values
8th March 2022 South Africa is in the grip of a wide-ranging crisis, especially affecting the poor and other vulnerable people. The state has long failed to... →
SABC’s rush to dismiss Head of News, Phathiswa Magopeni, and avoid adequate investigation of irregularities
31st January 2022 In the last week irregular steps taken to victimise the SABC head of News, Phathiswa Magopeni, have multiplied with the CEO, Madoda Mxakwe acting... →
The crisis of our times cannot be resolved simply by electing new ANC leaders: We need a new alignment of forces
17th January 2022 The decline of the ANC bears a relation to a broader deterioration in democratic life and respect for constitutionalism. It is important not to see... →
Making sense of the ANC local government defeats
29th November 2021 The outcome of the recent local government elections constitutes a severe setback for the ANC, but insofar as no other party marshalled majority... →
What went wrong? Saving the democratic project needs more than elections to maintain close links with the people
16th November 2021 We are living in confusing times. During the Struggle for freedom, it was clear to those who were actively involved that one had to take sides and... →
ANC defeat, crisis of the democratic order and how to rebuild
9th November 2021 The Local Government Election results have created a crisis for the ANC as well as challenges for the DA, that also lost votes. It throws open the... →
Democracy takes a hit: Ways of recovering our political power
2nd November 2021 The recent local government elections are unlikely to improve the lot of the poor who live in squalor, but there may be a more dangerous fallout,... →
Things fall apart in South Africa today and ANC leadership appears unable to act decisively
25th October 2021 There is a general sense of “things falling apart” in South Africa today, something more than corruption or widespread ineffectiveness, but a... →
If we want to remedy our current choiceless democracy, we must re-establish link between politics and the people
12th October 2021 There is a general sense of cynicism about the forthcoming elections. Political parties are not trusted, and their undertakings are not believed.... →
Has South Africa managed Covid well?
7th October 2021 South Africa managed Covid as well as it could, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa. It is an important assertion and a question to consider... →
Revitalising democratic life
22nd September 2021 On various campaign visits to communities in recent days, the ANC and Cyril Ramaphosa himself continue to provide evidence to many who were likely... →
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” – Proverbs 29:18.
13th September 2021 In my recent article on “deZumafication”, I referred to the absence of vision in the post-Zuma era. (See “’De-Zumafication’” and the possibly... →
“De-Zumafication” and the possibly terminal crisis of the ANC
7th September 2021 The current crisis of the ANC has taken a range of permutations. I have not wanted to write a series of narratives - of which we have plenty - on... →
What is political analysis?
23rd March 2021 The modern nation state is strongly associated with the rise of the print media, and modern democracy with the public sphere enabled by the print... →
Leadership in Question part 11: The personal and the political in Chris Hani’s leadership
8th February 2021 We live in a time when a movement once devoted to the wellbeing of all, has become callous. That contempt for the welfare of others is diffused... →
Leadership in Question Part 10: What can we learn from Chris Hani’s leadership qualities?
1st February 2021 Previous articles in this series are to be found here. “We have always lived the ANC in our camps. We have dreamt about the ANC. There was no other... →
Leadership in question part nine: Luthuli, masculinity and gender
25th January 2021 Previous articles in this series are to be found here. Luthuli’s masculinity, Luthuli as a gendered subject →
Leadership in Question part 8: Luthuli, a Christian Chief with integrity, is deposed by the apartheid regime
19th January 2021 Chief Albert Luthuli took being a chief seriously and acted with sensitivity to the needs of his community, refusing to impose fines against an... →
Leadership in Question Part six: Chief Albert Luthuli, leadership and service
11th January 2021 This article is part of a series on leadership. Click here to read articles in the series. The life of Chief Albert Luthuli bears lessons that are... →
Leadership in question part 5: In a pandemic openness and compassion must be part of democratic leadership
6th January 2021 In a period of considerable danger, presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is essential that leadership enjoys public confidence. Regrettably, the... →
Leadership in Question part 4 – Can the ANC recover and lead a democratic project? Can and should the ANC even survive?
7th December 2020 At the moment there is a lot of soul searching under way among ANC stalwarts with whom I am in contact, although I am not part of any of these... →
Leadership in Question part 3: Has Cyril Ramaphosa taken control of the ANC and the state?
30th November 2020 It was never going to be easy to steer the South African ship of state after the Jacob Zuma years, even though Cyril Ramaphosa’s rise to the... →
