In the opinion pages today, Stephen Grootes analyses the power of the presidency in the future, Busi Mavuso looks at the proposals made to solve Eskom’s energy generation capacity, and Adriaan Basson looks at the latest spat of tavern killings over the weekend.
How much true power will the future SA presidency hold? – Daily Maverick
Commentator Stephen Grootes analyses the power of the presidency and how former presidents as well as Cyril Ramaphosa have wielded that power.
Grootes goes as far back as apartheid-era presidents, PW Botha, and FW de Klerk, but homes in on how Mandela, Mbeki and Zuma were able to use the power of the presidency to personal effect.
Grootes analyses how presidential power has shifted from the centre and from the person leading the ANC to the provinces and branches, which now yield enormous power over the person leading the party. Read more here.
BUSISIWE MAVUSO: Proposals on power crisis are encouraging – Business Day (for subscribers)
Business Leadership SA leader, Busi Mavuso writes that the submissions from businesses, civil society, and the government to solve the ongoing energy crisis are good and show plans for bringing new generation capacity onto the grid with new storage capacity within two years.
Mavuso writes that soon South Africa will find out if the problem of bringing on a new energy supply lies within the mountain of red tape that must be navigated to get such a deal off the ground or if the problem is delivering the power itself. Worse yet, could the problem lay with both areas? Read more here.
Adriaan Basson | Tavern shootings: The problem is guns, not booze – News24 (for subscribers)
Adriaan Basson writes about the shootings at three different taverns over the weekend, which left 21 people dead. Basson writes that while many have been clamouring over the effects of alcohol not much has been said about the gun crisis in the country.
Basson argues that stricter gun laws are necessary, and those gun owners should have to go through rigorous and regular licensing requirements and mental health testing if they seek to keep a hold of their guns.
He also writes that amnesty should be given to those who want to hand over their guns to be destroyed. Read more here.
Here’s what else we’re reading today:
Will South Africa be next to see forced change of government? – The Citizen (for subscribers)
Tavern killers must face justice – The Citizen (for subscribers)
Public Protector impeachment should not be used by MPs as a political battering ram – Daily Maverick
EDITORIAL: Cost of living continues to rise beyond the means of many – Business Day (for subscribers)
PETER ATTARD MONTALTO: Shift the gears of SA exceptionalism and start tackling reality – Business Day (for subscribers)
Ralph Mathekga | Rudeness from our ministers cannot be a political strategy – News24 (for subscribers)
