The Spark

East London, South Africa — Five years ago, in the midst of a burst of South African student activism, a fierce fire was lit. It was out of a deep necessity for an independent voice, a voice capable of exploring the structural injustices of our society and challenging the youth to believe for a better future, that the Spark, as a socialist news and analysis website, was born, originally for the students, by the students. In marking this anniversary, The Spark is not only looking back but is also announcing a major development that will enable it to maintain its critical work of independent journalism while founding a genuinely innovative civic and community organisation – the Azanian Social Justice Initiative (ASJI) .  Our origins were modest, stemming from the lecture halls and student common areas where the seeds of critical thinking and group action were planted. During its first two years, The Spark acted as an uncompromising window into campus injustices, ranging from the comp...

On May 21, 2025, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented his third attempt at the national budget, a document that, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, perpetuates the neoliberal agenda of austerity. This budget, far from addressing the systemic issues plaguing South Africa, reinforces the capitalist structures that prioritize capital accumulation over the welfare of the working class. The Illusion of Fiscal Responsibility Godongwana's budget is anchored in the ideology of fiscal consolidation, a term often used to justify spending cuts that disproportionately affect the working class. The proposed R28 billion in spending cuts are not mere numbers; they represent a direct assault on public services such as healthcare, education, and social welfare programs. These cuts are justified by the need to stabilize public debt, yet they fail to address the root causes of the fiscal deficit, such as tax evasion by the wealthy and corporations.( Reuters ) Taxation: A Tool for C...

In the name of fiscal prudence and debt stabilization, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his third budget speech on May 21, 2025—a ritual obeisance to global capital that concretizes the ruling class’s war on the working masses. Behind the technocratic jargon of “sustainable debt path,” “revenue shortfalls” and “expenditure reprioritization” lies a naked class project: to preserve surplus value for financiers and monopolies by slashing the social wage, shrinking public sector capacity, and shifting the costs of economic crisis onto labour. From a Marxian standpoint, this budget is a manifesto of austerity-driven capital accumulation, thrust upon an already squeezed proletariat. 1. The Fetish of Debt and the Fetish of the Market Godongwana began by lamenting an R 75 billion fiscal gap—no mention of the trillions paid out in interest to bondholders since 1994. His solution: cut R 60 billion from “non-core” spending, delay infrastructure projects, and extract more from an ...

In mid-May 2025 President Cyril Ramaphosa flew to Washington, D.C., under the official banner of a “reset” of trade and diplomatic ties. State releases touted bilateral economic deals and “improved trade terms”. But as observers immediately noted, the backdrop was anything but routine. The Trump administration had slapped tariffs on South African exports and invoked a bizarre refugee resettlement order, while South Africa had just hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice for alleged genocide in Gaza. In practice the trip became less about tractors or trade deficits than about geopolitics and pressure on Pretoria’s Palestine policy. In fact, analysts pointed out that discussions were sure to “touch on South Africa’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict”. An insider memorably called the whole affair “a high-stakes act of political supplication” – driven by Washington’s demands and Trump’s anger – rather than any genuine equal exchange. In short, the Reset narrati...

From May 19 to 22, 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa embarked on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to Washington, D.C., aiming to mend frayed relations between South Africa and the United States. This visit, however, appears less as a sovereign engagement and more as a concession to imperial pressures, risking the erosion of South Africa's hard-won post-apartheid gains.  A Delegation Reflecting Elite Interests Accompanying Ramaphosa were figures emblematic of South Africa's economic and political elite: billionaire Johann Rupert, golfing legend Ernie Els, and DA leader John Steenhuisen. Their presence underscores a delegation more attuned to appeasing U.S. capitalist interests than addressing the pressing needs of South Africa's working class and marginalized communities. Rupert's ties to U.S. business circles, Els's appeal to American cultural sensibilities, and Steenhuisen's political positioning suggest a concerted effort to align South Africa's policies ...

In capitalist South Africa the budget is a battleground of class interests. On May 21 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will table a revised 2025 budget – the third attempt after two earlier versions were derailed by coalition infighting and court rulings over a proposed VAT hike. With the VAT increase now scuttled, Treasury faces a R75 billion hole. To plug the gap, Godongwana plans roughly R60 billion in cuts, targeting critical departments and projects. In plain terms, clinics will wait and roads will crumble – the poor will suffer. This is no technocratic exercise: it forces a stark choice between bankers’ debt and workers’ needs, exposing the political economy’s contradictions. The working class cannot afford this merciless austerity. Social Cuts: Who Pays? Marxists know it is always the poor who pay first. Already-overstretched departments – health, education, police – now face the axe. Even the business lobby admits South Africa “cannot afford to cut the education, hea...

In a recent statement, South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana asserted that taxing the wealthy could trigger capital flight, thereby justifying the government's decision to forgo implementing a wealth tax. This position has sparked debate, especially when examined through a dialectical-materialist framework, which scrutinizes the material conditions and class dynamics underpinning societal structures. ( University of Johannesburg News ) The Material Basis of Wealth and Class South Africa's economic landscape is characterized by stark inequality, a legacy of apartheid and sustained by neoliberal policies that favor capital accumulation among the elite. The top 1% of South Africans control a disproportionate share of the nation's wealth, while a significant portion of the population lives in poverty. This concentration of wealth is not merely a statistical anomaly but a reflection of systemic structures that prioritize capital over labor. ( SowetanLIVE ) Godongwa...

I. Introduction: The Revolutionary Spirit of Workers’ Day “ We want no condescending saviours. We must save ourselves .” —  The Internationale International Workers' Day is a commemoration and at the same time a celebration of the working class. It was established by the Second International which was under the theoretical leadership of Karl Kautsky. The Second International was a global organisation of socialist parties and trade unions. In July 1889, a resolution was taken to celebrate the working class on the 1st of May. The day was originally chosen to commemorate the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, where workers were killed while protesting for an eight-hour workday. The eight-hour workday movement finds its roots in Australia in 1856, eight years after the Communist Manifesto was published. This was led by stonemasons in Victoria who led a mass stoppage, leading to an entire movement which has largely been successful in the capitalist world especially after the 1917 B...

Abstract In 2022, as SRC Premier of North Campus at Nelson Mandela University (NMU), I contributed to student-led discussions that led to the 2023 establishment of the North Campus Business Incubator. This initiative was not merely an entrepreneurial effort but a decolonial project aimed at challenging Eurocentric knowledge systems and neoliberal dominance in higher education. Informed by scholars such as Dr. Thobekani Lose, Dr. Bernard Sebake, Dr. Pedro Mzileni, and Prof. Nomalanga Mkhize, this article examines students’ agency in this transformation, positioning NMU as a potential model for global higher education reform. Introduction: Framing the Crossroads Nelson Mandela University (NMU), formed in 2005 from a merger of colonial institutions like PE Technikon, carries a dual legacy: a name synonymous with liberation and a structure still shadowed by coloniality (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2013). In 2022, students at North Campus, myself included as SRC Premier, engaged in discussions that bi...

          Introduction On the 12th of March 2025, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Enoch Godongwana finally presented the 2025/26 budget speech after a failed first attempt at presenting it. The first attempt failed because the Government of 'National Unity' (GNU) failed to agree on a proposed two percentage point increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT). This created an uproar across the political spectrum and sparked a nationwide debate about the role of National Treasury, and the fiscal & monetary policy of the Republic of South Africa. The budget speech was finally presented, and it was not a major deviation from the original speech. The ANC led coalition back peddled on the figure of two percentage points but continued to motion for a VAT increase of zero-point five percentage points in this coming financial year, and another zero-point five percentage points in the financial year of 2026/27. This totals to an increase of one percentage point over the cou...