The Week That Was: 9 - 13 June 2025
Top Political Stories This Week
Helen Zille potential DA candidate for Mayor of Johannesburg
Reports have emerged indicating that Helen Zille is considering applying to be the DA’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg in the next municipal election, likely to be in November 2026. Should she decide to apply, it is highly likely that she will secure the nomination and lead the DA’s campaign in Johannesburg.
Polling earlier this year by the Brenthurst Foundation indicated that the DA has an opportunity to become the biggest party in Johannesburg but would definitely need to form a coalition to govern. Zille has significant experience in Government having served as Mayor of the City of Cape Town for three years and as Premier of the Western Cape for ten years.
Fiscal Framework sails through Parliament
Both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces approved the fiscal framework on Monday, enabling Budget 3.0 to move towards taking effect. 268 MPs voted in favour of the budget with 88 opposing. 2 MPs (from BOSA) abstained. The ANC and DA voted in favour with MK and the EFF opposing.
First National Dialogue Convention announced
Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the much-anticipated National Dialogue will commence with a first National Convention on 15 August. The Convention is intended to “set the agenda for the National Dialogue”. This will then be followed by a second Convention in 2026 to “adopt a common vision and programme of action for our country into the future.” Ramaphosa announced an ‘Eminent Persons Group’ to “guide and champion” the National Dialogue. The Group includes individuals drawn from business, politics, the judiciary, civil society and sports. Key names include those such as Siya Kolisi, Edwin Cameron, Desiree Ellis, Bobby Godsell, John Kani, Thabo Makgoba and Lindiwe Mazibuko.
ANC retains two wards in Mpumalanga
The ANC comfortably retained two safe seats (Wards 18 and Wards 31) in Thembisile Hani Municipality in Mpumalanga on Wednesday. The party won 73% of the vote in Ward 18 and 70% of the vote in Ward 31. The main story of election night was the fact that MK leapfrogged the EFF into second place in both wards, winning 15% in Ward 18 and 16% in Ward 31.
Top Economic Story This Week
April’s manufacturing and mining numbers confirmed the ongoing decline in both sectors, where output and sales growth has been negative for over half a year. The economy will struggle to achieve Treasury’s revised 2025 growth forecast unless there is a significant improvement in the second half of the year.
Highlights from The South Africa Brief
Jonathan continued our series on the requirements and costs of contesting a national election by revealing that one needs a minimum of R54 million to register a national presence.
Jonathan and Paul have launched the “The Real National Dialogue”, the podcast version of The South Africa Brief in which they will discuss political matters every week and invite selected guests.
This week features a discussion on recent by-election trends and in particular what results may show about MK’s positioning ahead of next year’s Local Government Election. Also discussed is the possibility of a Helen Zille contesting in the City of Johannesburg as the DA’s mayoral candidate. And finally, the team look at a possible Trump/Ramaphosa 2.0 on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada this coming weekend.