South Africa

Economics

South African Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced that 11 train operating companies had met requirements to access South Africa's rail network and would now enter negotiations over commercial contracts defining the modalities of their access, Reuters reported on Aug. 22.

South Africa: Government Picks 11 Private Companies To Access Railway Network 

United States

Politics

South African Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi said his department was "prioritizing" a policy review assessing whether telecommunications companies could operate in the country using equity-equivalent programs rather than by granting a 30% stake to Black South Africans, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 20. 

South Africa: Minister Hints at Expansion of Equity-Equivalent Alternative to Black Ownership in Telecom Sector 

Iran

Military & Security

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation publicly rebuked South African National Defense Force Chief Rudzani Maphwanya for making pro-Iranian comments at a meeting with senior Iranian military officials in Tehran, Daily Maverick reported on Aug. 13.

South Africa: Army Chief's Pro-Iran Comments Hint at Emerging Politicization of Security Apparatus  

The National Executive Committee of the African National Congress party, or ANC, agreed not to remove the center-right Democratic Alliance, or DA, from South Africa's coalition government despite resentment toward the party's "theatrics," News24 reported on Aug. 5.

South Africa: ANC Backs Partnership With DA, But Looks for New Coalition Partners   

The United States is planning to impose 30% “reciprocal” tariffs on South Africa from Aug. 7 following Pretoria’s failure to reach a trade deal by Aug. 1, Reuters reported on Aug. 1.

South Africa: Trump Administration To Slap 30% Tariffs on South African Exports

China

Taiwan

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was considering restricting the sale of semiconductors to South Africa after the South African government unilaterally renamed the island's two representative offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg as "Taipen Commercial Offices," Focus Taiwan reported on July 29.

South Africa: Taiwan Mulls Semiconductor Restrictions Amid Renaming of Diplomatic Missions

South African Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said that the South African government and the U.S. Trade Representative's office signed an agreement laying out the conditions for South Africa to reach a "trade deal" with the United States, News24 reported July 24. 

U.S., South Africa: Countries Agree on Framework for Trade Deal

South Africa's National Assembly approved the government's Appropriation bill, the final piece of legislation needed to pass the 2025 budget, Bloomberg reported on July 23.

South Africa: National Assembly Passes Appropriation Bill, Treasury To Change Budgetary Process

Media

Podcasts

What does the country's latest corruption scandal mean for President Cyril Ramaphosa and South African politics? 

Essential Geopolitics: The Outlook for South Africa's Coalition Government

Assessments

Japan

Philippines

 The European Union and China will hold a high-level leaders' summit July 24 in Beijing, marking the 50th anniversary of Chinese-EU diplomatic relations.

U.S.-China Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An EU-China Summit, South Africa's Budget Vote

Kenya

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Poland

Global Trade

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: A U.S. Tariff Ruling, Israel's Opposition Seeks To Dissolve the Knesset

United Kingdom

Portugal

Romania

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 21 during an official trip to the United States.

The Weekly Rundown: South Africa's U.S. Reset, Three European Elections

Snapshots

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen holds a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 28, 2025.

Rising tensions between the ruling ANC and its key coalition partner over the 2025 budget are raising the risk of a coalition breakdown, which would threaten policy paralysis and a marked depreciation of the rand.

What the Democratic Alliance's Exit From Government Would Mean for South Africa

Germany

France

Ukraine

A list of countries facing reciprocal tariffs on display April 2 at the White House.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

U.S.-Iran Relations

The Weekly Rundown: The Escalating Global Trade War, South Africa's Coalition Government on the Brink

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa arrives at a briefing at his African National Congress (ANC) party's headquarters in Johannesburg on May 13, 2024.

Energy

Social Issues

South Africa will struggle to meet Trump's demands for major foreign and domestic policy changes, which will risk exposing the country to disruptive U.S. economic retaliation, including entity-based sanctions.

Trump Turns Up the Heat on South Africa

South Korea

The Reichstag on Jan. 22 in Berlin. The center-right alliance between the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, is widely expected to emerge as the largest bloc in the Bundestag after the Feb. 23 general election and lead the next coalition government.

The Weekly Rundown: German Elections, Macron and Starmer Meet Trump

The Geopolitics of Water

While government reforms will help catalyze much-needed investments in water infrastructure, these are unlikely to rapidly resolve the country's water supply challenges, which threaten to undermine South Africa's economic growth amid more frequent droughts. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Cascading Effects of South African Underinvestment in Water Infrastructure

Ethiopia

Brazil

Egypt

United Arab Emirates

Indonesia

Russia

Moldova

India

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

Angola

Botswana

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lesotho

Madagascar

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Seychelles

Eswatini

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Lebanon

Qatar

Vietnam

Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

Photograph of the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, at night. 

The government will likely face intra-coalition challenges and strong pushback from trade unions, but early signs of compromise from both the DA and ANC suggest it could successfully pass several structural reforms in the coming years.

The Challenges Facing South Africa's New Coalition Government 

At the tip of the African continent lies South Africa. The country borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and also surrounds Lesotho and much of Swaziland. South Africa's current borders were consolidated by the British in 1910 as the Union of South Africa, following the Boer Wars between the United Kingdom and Dutch settlers.    The Drakensberg and Karoo mountains rim the coastlines, separating a dry interior from a coastal region, which captures the majority of the country's rainfall.    Two key factors distinguish South Africa from much of the rest of the continent. The country has a malaria-free climate, which attracted European settlers. It also has abundant mineral resources — including gold, diamonds, coal and platinum — in the north-central interior.    This mining area is the geographic core of South Africa — encompassing the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria and adjoining parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State provinces. This core is connected by road and rail to a series of ports — from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, to Durban and Richards Bay — that carry goods and resources to and from Gauteng.    The wealth generated there underwrites financial, agricultural, industrial and manufacturing activity in other parts of South Africa.    South Africa's geographic challenge is to protect the extraction of natural resources in its interior while striving to maintain sufficient employment. It must then find ways to disperse enough wealth to appease its populations in the Gauteng and peripheral zones of the country.

SITUATION REPORTS

South Africa: Government Picks 11 Private Companies To Access Railway Network

South Africa: Minister Hints at Expansion of Equity-Equivalent Alternative to Black Ownership in Telecom Sector

South Africa: Army Chief's Pro-Iran Comments Hint at Emerging Politicization of Security Apparatus

South Africa: ANC Backs Partnership With DA, But Looks for New Coalition Partners

South Africa: Trump Administration To Slap 30% Tariffs on South African Exports

South Africa: Taiwan Mulls Semiconductor Restrictions Amid Renaming of Diplomatic Missions

U.S., South Africa: Countries Agree on Framework for Trade Deal

South Africa: National Assembly Passes Appropriation Bill, Treasury To Change Budgetary Process

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