Mmusi Maimane - Prophet Or Puppet?

Mmusi Maimane - Prophet Or Puppet? PDF Author: S'Thembiso Msomi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781868427086
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
'Mr Maimane, good evening to you and, with the greatest of respect, who are you?' This is how journalist Jeremy Maggs began his television interview with Mmusi Maimane in 2011 when he was unveiled as the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg. Since then, the charismatic Maimane's rise from obscurity to leader of the DA in 2015 has been nothing short of meteoric. His anointment as leader of the DA made history, marking the completion of this political party's transformation from 'white' political party to one whose new leader shared similar experiences to those of the majority voters. Yet there are those, even within the party, who denounce Maimane as nothing more than a puppet dancing to the tune of white masters. So who is the real Maimane? Experienced political reporter S'thembiso Msomi goes behind the scenes to examine how and why Maimane rose head up the opposition party. He delves into Maimane's formative years, his time at the pulpit in the church, and his family, to bring substance to the man. Msomi also examines Maimane's first year as head of the DA in the run-up to the local government elections, assessing how this young man has negotiated the often treacherous waters of political power. Finally, the author attempts to answer these burning questions: is Maimane his own man, and can he deliver the electorate that the DA so fervently desires?

Mmusi Maimane - Prophet Or Puppet?

Mmusi Maimane - Prophet Or Puppet? PDF Author: S'Thembiso Msomi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781868427086
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Mr Maimane, good evening to you and, with the greatest of respect, who are you?' This is how journalist Jeremy Maggs began his television interview with Mmusi Maimane in 2011 when he was unveiled as the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg. Since then, the charismatic Maimane's rise from obscurity to leader of the DA in 2015 has been nothing short of meteoric. His anointment as leader of the DA made history, marking the completion of this political party's transformation from 'white' political party to one whose new leader shared similar experiences to those of the majority voters. Yet there are those, even within the party, who denounce Maimane as nothing more than a puppet dancing to the tune of white masters. So who is the real Maimane? Experienced political reporter S'thembiso Msomi goes behind the scenes to examine how and why Maimane rose head up the opposition party. He delves into Maimane's formative years, his time at the pulpit in the church, and his family, to bring substance to the man. Msomi also examines Maimane's first year as head of the DA in the run-up to the local government elections, assessing how this young man has negotiated the often treacherous waters of political power. Finally, the author attempts to answer these burning questions: is Maimane his own man, and can he deliver the electorate that the DA so fervently desires?

Mmusi Maimane

Mmusi Maimane PDF Author: S'Thembiso Msomi
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1868427099
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
'Mr Maimane, good evening to you and, with the greatest of respect, who are you?' This is how journalist Jeremy Maggs began his television interview with Mmusi Maimane in 2011 when he was unveiled as the Democratic Alliance's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg. Since then, the charismatic Maimane's rise from obscurity to leader of the DA in 2015 has been nothing short of meteoric. His anointment as leader of the DA made history, marking the completion of this political party's transformation from a 'white' political party to one whose new leader shared similar experiences to those of the majority of voters. Yet there are those, even within the party, who denounce Maimane as nothing more than a puppet dancing to the tune of former leader Helen Zille and Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip. So who is the real Maimane? Experienced political reporter S'thembiso Msomi goes behind the scenes to examine how and why Maimane rose to head up the opposition party. He delves into Maimane's formative years, his time at the pulpit in the church, and his family, to bring substance to the man. Msomi also examines Maimane's first year as head of the DA in the run-up to the local government elections, assessing how this young man has negotiated the often treacherous waters of political power. Finally, the author attempts to answer these burning questions: is Maimane his own man, and can he deliver the electorate that the DA so fervently desires?

Political Parties in South Africa

Political Parties in South Africa PDF Author: Heather Thuynsma
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 079830510X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Political parties and the party system that underpins South Africa's democracy have the potential to build a cohesive and prosperous nation. But in the past few years the ANC's dominance has strained the system and tested it and its institutions' fortitude. There are deeper issues of accountability that often spurn the Constitution and there is also a clear need to foster meaningful public participation and transparency. This volume offers a different and detailed assessment of the health of South Africa's political system. This study intends to unravel the condition of the party system in South Africa and culminates in the question: Do South African parties promote or hinder democracy in the country? The areas of the party system that are known to require continued work are the weakness of democratic structures within parties, the perceived lack of responsibility of elected parliamentarians towards voters, non-transparent private partner financing structures and a lack of attractiveness of party-political commitment, especially for women. Experts in the respective fields address all of these areas in this book.

History of South Africa

History of South Africa PDF Author: Thula Simpson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197681182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 667

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Book Description
South Africa was born in war, has been cursed by crises and ruptures, and today stands on a precipice once again. This book explores the country's tumultuous journey from the Second Anglo-Boer War to 2021. Drawing on diaries, letters, oral testimony and diplomatic reports, Thula Simpson follows the South African people through the battles, elections, repression, resistance, strikes, insurrections, massacres, crashes and epidemics that have shaped the nation. Tracking South Africa's path from colony to Union and from apartheid to democracy, Simpson documents the influence of key figures including Jan Smuts, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, P.W. Botha, Thabo Mbeki and Cyril Ramaphosa. He offers detailed accounts of watershed events like the 1922 Rand Revolt, the Defiance Campaign, Sharpeville, the Soweto uprising and the Marikana massacre. He sheds light on the roles of Gandhi, Churchill, Castro and Thatcher, and explores the impact of the World Wars, the armed struggle and the Border War. Simpson's history charts the post-apartheid transition and the phases of ANC rule, from Rainbow Nation to transformation; state capture to 'New Dawn'. Along the way, it reveals the divisions and solidarities of sport; the nation's economic travails; and painful pandemics, from the Spanish flu to AIDS and Covid-19.

The Presidency of Barack Obama

The Presidency of Barack Obama PDF Author: Julian E. Zelizer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400889553
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
An original and engaging account of the Obama years from a group of leading political historians Barack Obama's election as the first African American president seemed to usher in a new era, and he took office in 2009 with great expectations. But by his second term, Republicans controlled Congress, and, after the 2016 presidential election, Obama's legacy and the health of the Democratic Party itself appeared in doubt. In The Presidency of Barack Obama, Julian Zelizer gathers leading American historians to put President Obama and his administration into political and historical context. These writers offer strikingly original assessments of the big issues that shaped the Obama years, including the conservative backlash, race, the financial crisis, health care, crime, drugs, counterterrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan, the environment, immigration, education, gay rights, and urban policy. Together, these essays suggest that Obama's central paradox is that, despite effective policymaking, he failed to receive credit for his many achievements and wasn't a party builder. Provocatively, they ask why Obama didn't unite Democrats and progressive activists to fight the conservative counter-tide as it grew stronger. Engaging and deeply informed, The Presidency of Barack Obama is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand Obama and the uncertain aftermath of his presidency. Contributors include Sarah Coleman, Jacob Dlamini, Gary Gerstle, Risa Goluboff, Meg Jacobs, Peniel Joseph, Michael Kazin, Matthew Lassiter, Kathryn Olmsted, Eric Rauchway, Richard Schragger, Paul Starr, Timothy Stewart-Winter, Thomas Sugrue, Jeremi Suri, Julian Zelizer, and Jonathan Zimmerman.

Speeches that Shaped South Africa

Speeches that Shaped South Africa PDF Author: Martha Evans
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
ISBN: 1776091426
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
Great speeches have the power to bring about political change, and South Africa lays claim to some of the world’s most skilled orators, from Nelson Mandela, whose courageous statement from the dock inspired the liberation struggle, to Desmond Tutu, whose ‘Rainbow People of God’ speech prepared the country for a new era. On the other side of the political spectrum, who can forget P.W. Botha’s infamous Rubicon speech, an oratorical flop which took the country backwards during the 1980s, or F.W. de Klerk’s unbanning of the ANC in 1990, which took it forwards again? Speeches that Shaped South Africa is the first collection of these historic utterances, featuring key speeches from the beginning of apartheid to the present. It includes Harold Macmillan’s ‘Wind of Change’, Thabo Mbeki’s ‘I am an African’ and Mmusi Maimane’s ‘Broken Man’ speech. Also featured are Bram Fischer, Helen Suzman, Steve Biko, Winnie Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Julius Malema and many others. The book covers past and present shenanigans in Parliament, clandestine broadcasts on Radio Freedom, moving funeral eulogies that celebrate our political giants, and the informal rhetoric of populist crowd-pleasers. Accompanying each speech is a commentary that places it in a historical context and explores its effects. Accessible and engaging, this analysis is based on original research and offers fresh insights into events. This is a fascinating journey through South African history over the past seventy years.

A Short History of South Africa

A Short History of South Africa PDF Author: Gail Nattrass
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785903683
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
South Africa is popularly perceived as the most influential nation in Africa – a gateway to an entire continent for finance, trade and politics, and a crucial mediator in its neighbours' affairs. On the other hand, post-Apartheid dreams of progress and reform have, in part, collapsed into a morass of corruption, unemployment and criminal violence. A Short History of South Africa is a brief, general account of the history of this most complicated and fascinating country – from the first evidence of hominid existence to the wars of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries that led to the establishment of modern South Africa, the horrors of Apartheid and the optimism following its collapse, as well as the prospects and challenges for the future. This readable and thorough account, illustrated with maps and photographs, is the culmination of a lifetime of researching and teaching the broad spectrum of South African history. Nattrass's passion for her subject shines through, whether she is elucidating the reader on early humans in the cradle of humankind, or describing the tumultuous twentieth-century processes that shaped the democracy that is South Africa today.

The End of Apartheid

The End of Apartheid PDF Author: Robin Renwick
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 184954865X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
In 2 February 1990, FW de Klerk made a speech that changed the history of South Africa. Nine days later, the world watched as Nelson Mandela walked free from the Viktor Verster prison. In the midst of these events was Lord Renwick, Margaret Thatcher's envoy to South Africa, who became a personal friend of Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, acting as a trusted intermediary between them. He warned PW Botha against military attacks on neighbouring countries, in meetings he likens to 'calling on the führer in his bunker'. He invited Mandela to his first meal in a restaurant for twenty-seven years, rehearsing him for his meeting with Margaret Thatcher - and told Thatcher that she must not interrupt him. Their discussion went on so long that the British press in Downing Street started chanting 'Free Nelson Mandela'.In this extraordinary insider's account, Renwick draws on his diaries of the time, as well as previously unpublished material from the Foreign Office and Downing Street files. He paints a vivid, affectionate, real-life portrait of Mandela as a wily and resourceful political leader bent on out-manoeuvring both adversaries and some of his own colleagues in pursuit of a peaceful outcome.

Over There

Over There PDF Author: Mark Ravenhill
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408125722
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
A programme text edition published to coincide with the world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 25 February 2009 "I found you. You're here. And I was over there. But now I'm over here. I'm here. You're my brother. I love you" When Franz's mother escaped to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, 25 years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. As history takes an unexpected turn, the brothers must struggle to reconnect. Mark Ravenhill's visceral new play examines the hungers released when two countries, separated by a common language, meet again.

Mission to South Africa

Mission to South Africa PDF Author: Robin Renwick
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
ISBN: 1868426556
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
An insider's blow-by-blow account of the release of Nelson Mandela and dismantling of apartheid by the ambassador who was in the midst of these events. Appointed to South Africa as Margaret Thatcher's envoy, Lord Renwick became a personal friend of Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Mangosuthu Buthelezi, acting as a trusted intermediary between them. He describes meetings with PW Botha, warning him against military attacks on neighbouring countries and arguing for the lives of the Sharpeville Six, as 'like visiting Hitler in his bunker'. He persuaded Margaret Thatcher to descend on Windhoek in support of the Namibia agreement. His close relationship with FW de Klerk helped him to get international support for his reforms. On the eve of his epoch-making speech to Parliament of 2 February 1990, De Klerk told him: 'You can tell your Prime Minister she will not be disappointed'. He paints a vivid portrait of Mandela ('far wilier, and a bit less saintly than others have portrayed him'), describing his meetings with him immediately after his release, inviting him to his first meal in a restaurant in Johannesburg for 27 years, rehearsing him for his meeting with Margaret Thatcher - and telling Thatcher that she must not interrupt him! The iron lady warmed to her visitor, but told him to 'stop all this nonsense about nationalisation'. The Mandela charm worked no less effectively on the Queen, who he took to calling 'Elizabeth' and persuaded to dance with him in the royal box in the Albert Hall.