South Africa

Economics

Politics

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sacked Andrew Whitfield, a member of the center-right Democratic Alliance, or DA, from his ministerial position without providing an explanation, Reuters reported on June 26.

South Africa: Ramaphosa Sacks DA Deputy Minister, but DA To Maintain Support for Budget 

South Africa's National Assembly adopted the government's proposed fiscal framework with the support of the left-leaning African National Congress, or ANC, and the center-right Democratic Alliance, or DA, Bloomberg reported on June 11.

South Africa: National Assembly Approves Fiscal Framework

United States

Energy

The South African government formally offered to buy 75 million to 100 million cubic meters of liquified natural gas a year from the United States under a 10-year contract in exchange for duty-free access to the U.S. market for automotive parts and duty-free annual quotas of 40,000 vehicles, 385,000 tons of steel and 132,000 tons of aluminum sold in the United States, Reuters reported on May 26.

South Africa: Pretoria Eyes U.S. LNG Imports for Duty-Free Trade Perks

U.S. President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a contentious meeting on May 21 in Washington that quickly soured after Trump raised debunked claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa, prompting a rebuttal from Ramaphosa, BBC reported the same day.

U.S., South Africa: Tense Trump-Ramaphosa Meeting Bodes Ill for Trade, Economic Relations

The center-right Democratic Alliance said it "cautiously" supported the third iteration of South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's 2025 budget presented to South Africa's National Assembly, News24 reported on May 21. 

South Africa: Democratic Alliance 'Cautiously' Backs Third Budget Iteration 

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration welcomed 59 white South Africans to the United States as part of its resettlement program for South Africa's Afrikaner community, Reuters reported on May 13. 

South Africa, U.S.: Trump Administration Welcomes First Afrikaners Under Resettlement Program 

Around two-thirds of the left-leaning African National Congress party's lawmakers in South Africa's National Assembly have urged the party's leadership to remove the center-right Democratic Alliance from government on the basis that the DA was undermining the ANC and government cohesion, The Sunday Times reported on May 4. 

South Africa: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that he would present a new budget to South Africa's National Assembly on May 21, adding that it would focus on spending discipline and not involve additional taxes or borrowing, the Daily Maverick reported April 30.

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

Assessments

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

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

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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

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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.

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

Environment, Science & Technology

The Geopolitics of Water

Science & Technology

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

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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

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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 

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference at the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., on July 11, 2024. 

Biden's exit from the U.S. presidential race will free him to pursue more aggressive action against Russia over Ukraine and increase pressure on Israel to end its war with Hamas. 

What To Expect from Biden's Foreign Policy Farewell Tour

Parc des Champions on July 4, 2024, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero in Paris.

The Weekly Rundown: The Paris Olympics, Netanyahu Addresses Congress

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: Ramaphosa Sacks DA Deputy Minister, but DA To Maintain Support for Budget

South Africa: National Assembly Approves Fiscal Framework

South Africa: Pretoria Eyes U.S. LNG Imports for Duty-Free Trade Perks

U.S., South Africa: Tense Trump-Ramaphosa Meeting Bodes Ill for Trade, Economic Relations

South Africa: Democratic Alliance 'Cautiously' Backs Third Budget Iteration

South Africa, U.S.: Trump Administration Welcomes First Afrikaners Under Resettlement Program

South Africa: Two-Thirds of ANC Lawmakers Seek To Oust DA From Government

South Africa: Finance Minister To Present New Budget on May 21

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