EDITORIALS
Trouble Brewing in the GNU on Three Fronts
Trouble is brewing in South Africa’s Government of National Unity after Cyril Ramaphosa said he would apply his mind to a request from the DA to reshuffle its Cabinet members, uncorroborated and as yet unsubstantiated allegations were levelled at a DA Cabinet minister, and the ANC-aligned Speaker of Parliament went against legal advice in deciding that Parliament would not intervene to oppose an interdict Mr Ramaphosa has sought to block the Phala Phala enquiry.
22.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
Dispatch from Washington
Richard Tren writes on the view from Washington on the latest global developments.
21.6.2026 |
Richard Tren
The DA's Real Opponent Is Not The ANC
The DA’s requested Cabinet reshuffle sets up a very important test about whether that party can do better in national government than the ANC has done. Fail that test and both parties are likely to sink into a deepening relative irrelevance in the minds of voters.
19.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
The Common Sense’s Diary
GHL did a good thing, he should stay on that track, the people want strength, the ANC’s master plan is to ensure parity with the DA, CR has a dilemma now, the DA must not make the ANC’s voter mistake, Elon Musk is the opposite of South Africa, we were right on Iran and the Israelis are wrong, the best thing The Common Sense ever did and why nobody cares
18.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
South Africa's Illicit Economy Could Push It Back onto the Money Laundering Grey List
While South Africa exited the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025 after implementing sweeping anti-money laundering reforms, it now faces a far more demanding review cycle at a time when concerns over the country's expanding illicit economy and the influence of a persistent "shadow state" continue to mount.
18.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
Hill-Lewis Has Done the Right Thing
On 9 March, this newspaper wrote in an editorial that John Steenhuisen needed to be fired as Minister of Agriculture – blessedly, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has now asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to do exactly that.
17.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
Youth Day, South Africa: The Promise Unfulfilled
Tomorrow morning at 10am it will be exactly 50 years to the hour since the police opened fire on schoolchildren in what would become the infamous Soweto uprising. The contemporary government has not done right by the generation that led that protest, or their children, and now their grandchildren.
15.6.2026 |
The Editorial Board
How to Save City Power and Johannesburg Water
Richard Wilkinson writes on some of the steps necessary to save Johannesburg.
13.6.2026 |
Richard Wilkinson
How the UK Learnt from South Africa
Simon Lincoln Reader writes on how Britain is aping South Africa’s race laws.
13.6.2026 |
Simon Lincoln Reader
South Africa’s Greatest Asset Is Its Common Ground
Polling by the Social Research Foundation and The Common Sense shows a country whose citizens are moderate, centrist, practical, and committed to living and working together to build a great country – and it cannot be stressed often enough that South Africa’s greatest asset now is the common ground and the common values that exist among its people.
12.6.2026 |
Frans Cronje
