South Africa’s Sovereignty is Undermined from Within, Not Without
President Cyril Ramaphosa is wrong to argue that “powerful states” undermine South Africa’s sovereignty – where sovereignty is threatened, the cause can be found in the policies of his own government.
Editorials
February 16, 2026
4 min read
The SONA South Africa Needed
What Cyril Ramaphosa delivered last night was underwhelming and lacking in ambition - The Common Sense "reports on" what a good SONA speech would have announced.
Editorials
February 13, 2026
6 min read
Roedean’s Antisemitism Scandal Is Not Over: It Is Just Beginning
The antisemitic radicalisation in American universities has now reached South Africa, following a school’s decision to not honour a sporting fixture against a Jewish school.
Editorials
February 12, 2026
4 min read
The Common Sense Diary
Roedean gone mad, the DA's risk and its opportunity, world-class cities without water or power, the rise of the ANC’s Christian flank, roll-on Beijing, how to do a deal in America.
Editorials
February 11, 2026
3 min read
Roedean Must Act to Remove the Stench That Now Wafts Across Its Manicured Lawns
Antisemitism has a long and shameful history within elite Western society, often expressed not through violence but through exclusion, euphemism, and social consensus – that is a history to which Roedean School in Johannesburg has perhaps permanently hitched its legacy.
Editorials
February 10, 2026
6 min read
South Africans Should Welcome New Chinese Trade Pact
China and South Africa have agreed to a framework promising duty-free access and investment talks by March – that is a very good thing.
Editorials
February 10, 2026
5 min read
How to Strike a Trade and Investment Deal with the US
South Africa could secure a sweeping trade and investment deal with the United States in weeks rather than years if it drops ideological posturing, sends the right envoy, and negotiates firmly around mutual economic interests.
Politics
February 9, 2026
6 min read
Sovereignty as a Fig Leaf for Hating on the Jews
A provincial government that cannot deliver water, sanitation or healthcare chose ideology over relief, expelling Israeli aid to shield a failing political narrative rather than help desperate communities.
Editorials
February 6, 2026
4 min read
As Steenhuisen Walks, the DA’s Next Leader Has a Lot to Think About
John Steenhuisen’s successor will have to balance the economic and political stability of the GNU with South Africa’s dire need for reform and economic growth – and that will be very difficult.
Editorials
February 5, 2026
7 min read
The Common Sense’s Diary Grapes of Wrath Edition
The end of John Steenhuisen, Powell proven right, chaos at the Department of Agriculture, why didn’t he see this coming, who could believe his approach to foot-and-mouth disease could work, the DA to reap a whirlwind, Cabanac would have saved him, making the wrong friends, alienating true friends.
Editorials
February 4, 2026
7 min read
