Namibia Minute.
Friday, 24 April 2026
A daily Namibian brief · Est. 2026
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Organization

Democratic Alliance

Also known as: DA · Democratic Alliance (DA)

South Africa's second-largest political party, currently navigating leadership transition and internal tensions over its role in the coalition government.

Politics

ANC demands members choose between party, SACP

The News

The ANC has given its members who also belong to the SACP a 10-day deadline to declare which party they will campaign for in local elections, after the SACP announced it would contest independently. The move highlights tensions within the historically intertwined alliance and poses practical complications for senior figures like SACP chairperson Blade Nzimande and ANC Chair Gwede Mantashe, both of whom hold ministerial positions.

23 April 2026 · The Namibian →

Yesterday

  1. ANC demands members choose between party, SACP

    The ANC has given its members who also belong to the SACP a 10-day deadline to declare which party they will campaign for in local elections, after the SACP announced it would contest independently. The move highlights tensions within the historically intertwined alliance and poses practical complications for senior figures like SACP chairperson Blade Nzimande and ANC Chair Gwede Mantashe, both of whom hold ministerial positions.

    23 April 2026 · The Namibian →

Wednesday 15 April

  1. South Africa's DA party elects young new leader to broaden appeal

    Geordin Hill-Lewis, 39, has become leader of South Africa's second-largest Democratic Alliance party, tasked with extending its support beyond its predominantly white and minority voter base to the black majority who make up about 80% of the population. Hill-Lewis has acknowledged a "trust deficit" and says winning the trust of more black South Africans will be his main focus, supported by a more diverse and younger senior leadership team than his predecessors.

    15 April 2026 · The Namibian →

Monday 23 March

  1. South Africa: ANC signals mayoral strategy for Johannesburg election

    President Ramaphosa's comments suggesting retention of Johannesburg's current mayor signal possible ANC plans to impose a national candidate on the region, while the party's recent march focused on defending national sovereignty appears designed to shift campaign messaging away from local service delivery failures to broader anti-Trump and liberation movement themes.

    23 March 2026 · The Namibian →

Thursday 19 March

  1. Russian agents conducted covert operations in South Africa elections

    A data leak reviewed by Forbidden Stories reveals that Russian influence agents engaged in covert operations during South African election campaigns between 2019 and 2025, including secret meetings with ANC leadership, smear campaigns against opposition parties, and fabricated documents. The Company, a network run by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, allocated significant budgets for online disinformation campaigns and paid social media influencers to target political opponents.

    19 March 2026 · The Namibian →

Sunday 8 March

  1. South African court strikes down minister's VAT-setting powers

    The Western Cape High Court declared that South Africa's VAT Act unconstitutionally delegates tax-setting authority to the finance minister, a power that must rest with parliament. Judge Matthew Francis ruled that parliament has 24 months to remedy the constitutional defect, with the current VAT rate to remain in effect unless parliament itself amends the law.

    8 March 2026 · The Namibian →

Thursday 5 March

  1. Mosiuoa Lekota's legacy beyond apartheid struggle honored

    The Namibian's analysis of Mosiuoa Lekota, who died on Wednesday, argues that his role in forming the Congress of the People in 2008 was equally vital to his anti-apartheid activism. By breaking the ANC's political dominance, Cope's 1.3 million votes prevented Zuma's government from securing a two-thirds majority, shifted South African politics from racial to policy-based competition, and inspired the formation of other parties including the EFF and ActionSA, fundamentally changing the country's democratic trajectory.

    5 March 2026 · The Namibian →

Monday 23 February

  1. Zille and Mashaba lead Johannesburg mayoral race as ANC falters

    The race for Johannesburg's mayor is now dominated by DA candidate Helen Zille and ActionSA president Herman Mashaba, with the ANC yet to name a candidate and facing declining support in the city. Infrastructure failures and declining voter turnout in traditional ANC strongholds like Soweto have reshaped the political landscape ahead of local elections expected in late November 2026.

    23 February 2026 · The Namibian →

  2. ANC facing structural decline in Gauteng ahead of elections

    The ANC in Gauteng is weakened by service delivery failures, corruption, and entrenched factionalism among regional leaders, leaving the party unable to arrest its decline before local elections. With a minority government vulnerable to no-confidence votes, the party may resort to horse-trading with opposition parties to pass budgets, perpetuating extraction and undermining governance.

    23 February 2026 · The Namibian →

Tuesday 17 February

  1. South Africa's DA leader Steenhuisen steps down amid scandals

    John Steenhuisen, leader of South Africa's Democratic Alliance and agriculture minister in the coalition government, announced he will step down at the party's April congress following multiple scandals including poor handling of foot-and-mouth disease, personal financial mismanagement, and controversy over the sacking of Environment Minister Dion George. His departure opens the way for successors including Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

    17 February 2026 · The Namibian →

Friday 13 February

  1. Ramaphosa's 2026 Sona balances competing interests through strategic ambiguity

    South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's 2026 State of the Nation Address employed careful political calculations to address diverse constituencies—including populists demanding military intervention, ANC loyalists seeking preservation of state ownership, free-marketeers wanting private sector participation, and others—while deliberately omitting topics like the Expropriation Act and farm murders that might alienate coalition partners. The speech also downgraded previous priorities like the Fourth Industrial Revolution in favour of green economy rhetoric, and reduced the urgency around gender-based violence despite its earlier treatment as a national emergency.

    13 February 2026 · The Namibian →

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