Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

For not the first time, the ANC wants to renew itself by fixing its branches. But its branches are weak not by accident. They have become tools to climb up the economic ladder by winning power battles. And they have become this because the economy still freezes many out of opportunities to climb that ladder. This is true not only of ANC branches but of all corruption in government.

This is the argument of my weekly Against the Tide column sent out to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact info@againstthetide.co.za.

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.