On 14 January South Africa celebrated the matric results of the Grade 12 class of 2024. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced that the class of 2024 obtained a pass rate of 87,3%. This percentage is quite significant measured against last year’s pass rate of 82,9%. More than 615 000 learners passed the exams in 2024. According to BusinessTech, this is the highest in South Africa’s history.
However, the pass mark for school subjects at matric level is 30% and 40% for subjects such as Maths and languages. Some feel that a pass mark this low is hardly something to celebrate. The bachelor pass for students to apply for university studies is only 47,8%.
Furthermore, the Department of Basic Education remains silent about the significant number of learners who had dropped out of school before they could write their final exam.
According to BusinessTech, one of the opposition political parties, Build One South Africa (BOSA), calculated the “true matric pass rate” by taking into account the number of learners who dropped out of school or otherwise never made it to matric, and thus arrived at a pass rate of 50%, which is much lower than the one announced by the Department.
AfriForum writes in a statement: “According to the Department’s technical report, the number of matriculants who wrote the exam is 36% less than the number who were in Grade 1 in 2013.” To find employment without a matric certificate is a challenge and it has a detrimental effect on South Africa’s economy.
According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, the Department of Basic Education’s performance and ability to improve remain an obstacle. “The findings of international performance measurements such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the 2024 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) prove that most South African schools are performing too poorly to be internationally competitive at all. This will create major challenges for the country’s economy and social stability in the future.”
In contrast, Afrikaans medium schools have once again achieved outstanding results and count among the top performing schools in Gauteng. The reason for this success has nothing to do with privilege, previous advantage discrimination based on language, or admission as some authorities claim to be the case, but is simply mother tongue education. Research shows that students achieve better results when they learn in their native language.
The issue of mother tongue education surfaced strongly in recent debates on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA), which has since been enacted and is now the BELA Act. Solidarity believes that it is time to reassess the education system, but the implementation of sections 4 and 5 of the Act, dealing with a school’s language and admission policy is not the answer to South Africa’s education problems.
Afrikaans home language speakers have the opportunity to attend school and complete their school education in Afrikaans, their native language, in contrast to the majority of South African learners who can attend school in their native language such as Sotho or one of the other African languages only up to Grade 3, after which they are forced to continue in English. Research shows that more than 80% of children in South Africa are taught in a language other than their mother tongue. This is rather problematic and contributes to South Africa’s poor performance compared with international competitors.
To suddenly force Afrikaans learners to be taught subjects such as Maths and Science in their second language, and teachers to teach in a language they have not been trained in, would depreciate and destroy a functional system.
According to a research report on the 2024 matric results issued by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), more than half of the matric respondents whose home language is Afrikaans want to continue their studies in Afrikaans. There has been an increase in this need since the release of the report in 2023. Mother tongue education is a factor that will contribute to the successful completion of tertiary courses.
The government should focus on developing policies that support mother tongue education, rather than forcing the 5% of Afrikaans medium schools in the country to convert to English medium schools. If all learners in South Africa could study in their home language, South African schools might reach, or even surpass, international standards.
The Solidarity Movement’s educational institutions
The last few years saw controversy and conflict at universities about Afrikaans on campuses, and now the BELA ACT is endangering Afrikaans schools too.
The Solidarity Movement identified the need for Afrikaans mother tongue education, also at tertiary level, and started to establish academic institutions where students can study in their home language without concerns that Afrikaans may be at threat. Flip Buys, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, says these institutions have not been established just “because we thought it would be easy,” but rather because it is vital to have stable Afrikaans institutions.
The Solidarity Movement has proudly established three tertiary educational institutions, Sol-Tech, Akademia and Bo-Karoo Opleiding (BKO), the latter in Orania. The Solidarity Support Centre for Schools is establishing a new, independent Afrikaans school, Gimnasium Pretoria, which will serve as a model for independent Afrikaans schools in the country and will promote Afrikaans mother tongue education.
Sol-Tech is an accredited, private vocational training college founded on Christian values. It uses Afrikaans as medium of instruction.
Sol-Tech focuses on vocational training that leads to the attainment of nationally recognised, practical qualifications. Its goal is to help young people realise their career goals through purpose-specific training.
Sol-Tech students are automatically more employable as they receive training of the highest quality and are equipped with new knowledge and skills. By producing highly trained and employable artisans Sol-Tech helps address the shortage of qualified artisans being experienced in the country.
Akademia is a Christian and independent higher education institution vested in the classical tradition of universities, and has its roots in the Afrikaans language and cultural communities.
The institution aims to provide an academic home where both the mind and the heart are shaped with a view towards a free future. Akademia consists of five faculties and offers two teaching models along with various programmes.
By 2028 Akademia plans to have a comprehensive residential campus in the east of Pretoria, accommodating 5 000 full-time undergraduate students and 1 500 postgraduate students.
The institution also intends to expand the full-time campus model to the Western Cape by 2026. Akademia already has a presence in the Western Cape through centres in George, Paarl and Somerset West. These centres are used by students studying via Akademia’s part-time distance learning model.
Bo-Karoo Opleiding is a practical craft institution (similar to Sol-Tech) in Orania that offers courses like agricultural management, infrastructure, construction and home-based care.
Gimnasium is a private school, and the name reflects a classical Western and Protestant heritage. At Gimnasium, child development will be the main focus and signifies a close connection with Akademia as a leading tertiary educational institution. The school is currently under construction and phase one will be completed in 2026.
Akademia and Sol-Tech have reached full capacity this year, and BKO has welcomed a new record number of students wanting to study in agriculture-related fields. The success of these institutions shows just how much mother tongue education is valued and contributes to producing qualified young people who can enter the workplace and contribute to the economy.
How the Afrikaners are making a comeback 30 years after the ANC took power
Ernst Roets
More than three decades have passed since the political transition in South Africa in 1994. The world celebrated as the African National Congress (ANC), led by Nelson Mandela took power in what was widely held to be the first democratic election in South Africa. The celebration was repeated in 1995 when South African won the Rugby World Cup – which was interpreted as a sign that the South African political project was working, and it was repeated in 1996 when South Africa adopted what was described as the most liberal, most modern and most democratic constitution in the world.
The BBC produced a documentary entitled Miracle Rising, in which celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Bono and Charlize Theron analysed the situation in South Africa, explaining the extent to which political transition must have been the result of divine intervention. South Africa also became the post-child success story of the United Nations – an example that the application of modern globalist ideologies to diverse societies leads to success.
Nelson Mandela present the Rugby World Cup trophy to Francois Pienaar in 1995
Of course, other than the fact that the transition did not lead to the civil war predicted by many, there really was not any tangible indication that the system would work. The celebration at the time was largely because people really liked the ANC and especially Nelson Mandela who had received saint-like status as a result of his passionate plea for reconciliation despite his imprisonment, and because of the fact that the written text of the South African Constitution was a manifestation of liberal democracy. At the time, it was almost impossible to counter any of this. The narrative was just too strong. And attempting to provide a counter-argument, or to caution against the prospects of a socialist ANC-led government, was met with aggressive accusations of racism and anti-democratic sentiment.
People seemed to forget that most Afrikaners also wanted to bring an end to the apartheid system, which was built on the idea of different homelands for different peoples, but eventually became a bizarre and indefensible system of forced separation, complete with benches and beaches allocated according to race. The question was not whether the system should end, but how it ought to be ended, and more importantly, what to replace it with. Yet, arguing that a system built exclusively on Western individualist human rights in a country as big and diverse as South Africa would not be a sustainable alternative as it would not make proper provision for the aspirations of the diversity of cultural communities, was met with fierce scepticism. Arguing such was interpreted as an attack on democracy.
F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela
It was a devastating time for the Afrikaner people. Everything that could be labelled as “Afrikaner” was fundamentally discredited and labelled as racist and backwards. We could not even use the word “Afrikaner” to describe our community, not because of some law, but merely because it was widely held as inappropriate to be an Afrikaner. Also, almost every Afrikaner institution collapsed – including the political parties, cultural organisations and pressure groups. This is partly due to the fact that many of these institutions were in some way dependent on, or linked to the state.
Yet, things did not turn out the way Oprah Winfrey, Bono and Charlize Theron predicted. The political wave at the time was deliriously in favour of the new South African government and the ruling ANC – a movement that proudly described its own ideology as a blend of race nationalism and socialism. And so, in a twist of tragic irony, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a self-ascribed nationalist-socialist movement became the celebrated face of liberal democracy.
At the time, the young Flip Buys, who became the leader of the mostly Afrikaans Mine Workers Union of South Africa held that in evaluating politics, it is more important to consider the tides than the waves. Even though the waves were overwhelmingly celebratory, the tide was also clear – no socialist, revolutionary movement has ever been able to govern responsibly. When the ANC took power, they made sure to state that they should not be thought of as a political party or a government, but as a liberation movement in power, still committed to revolution. This should have been an obvious red flag. Yet, the celebratory mood was just too overwhelming to be concerned about such inconveniencies.
And so, the Afrikaners started to plan. The price of abandoning our identity, culture and tradition was just too high, even though this is what was expected of us. The New South African project can be summarised in the words of Samora Machel: “ … for the nation to prosper, the tribe must die”. In other words, for the new South African identity to succeed, the cultural communities whose members are South African citizens should dissolve. This is because the ANC and its cheerleaders regarded culture and communal identity as “backwards” and “tribal thinking” that belong in the past.
It was at this time that the Afrikaners decided to build a movement. The most probable prospect for the future, based on what we can learn from historical experience, was that South Africa would not be the success story that was celebrated from the rooftops.
We have learnt the very important lesson of the dangers of statism – the Afrikaners spent much of the second half of the 20th century building a strong state, which, first, became morally indefensible, and second, was overtaken almost overnight and immediately turned against us. As a result of the fact that we are a numerical minority, the prospect of changing things through elections became unrealistic.
And so, our circumstances have led us to rediscover a fundamental truth about the human condition. It is the most important fact on which not just Afrikanerdom, but the West was built. First and foremost, it is the fact that by nature people are communal creatures. We instinctively wish to preserve our communities and the things we have inherited, even though modern globalist ideologies are vehemently opposed to this. Second, is the fact that the only way to prosperity and success is through community institutions.
Even though responsible citizenship remains important to us, we recognised that the state would only bring problems and no solutions. If we wanted to survive as a community, we had to find our own solutions. We became inspired by the words of the Afrikaner religious leader, Father Kestell who during the 1930’s said “’n Volk red himself” (A nation saves itself) and eventually adopted this to the slogan for our times: “Ons sal self” (We will do it ourselves).
And so, the Afrikaner project of the 21st century is aimed at ensuring a future for our communities through the building and strengthening of a network of community institutions. It started by rebranding the Mine Workers Union as Solidarity, rewriting its constitution and Buys’s announcement that this institution should form the basis of a new movement of institutions. Even though virtually all the Afrikaner institutions collapsed by the end of the 20th century, in just a few decades, the Solidarity Movement as we know it today has grown into a network of more than 50 institutions that actively work in various spheres of the Afrikaner community life to ensure a future for our community.
These institutions include:
· the Christian workers’ institution, Solidarity;
· the civil rights group, AfriForum;
· the community upliftment institution, the Solidarity Helping Hand;
· the Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations, the FAK;
· several academic institutions, including the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools, the trades’ training college, Sol-Tech and the institution for higher learning, Akademia;
· several media institutions, including Maroela Media, the largest Afrikaans online news platform;
· the property development company, Kanton;
· the Orania Development Company, OOM; and dozens more.
We believe that the only sustainable future is one in which communities take responsibility for themselves through their own institutions and in which mutual recognition and respect and peaceful coexistence are encouraged. As a result, our approach is based on what we might call bonding and bridging. Bonding implies working actively within our own community and taking pride in who we are and what we stand for. Bridging implies reaching out to other communities to cooperate with regard to the matters we agree on.
Meanwhile, the political dispensation in South Africa seems bound to fail. By almost every conceivable metric, South Africa is on the road to failure. Yet, expecting solutions from the government is simply too far-fetched. We will work with the government where we can, but we are grateful for the fact that we have rediscovered what it takes for a community to flourish.
For these reasons, the words of Winston Churchill that the future has already happened, even though it is not distributed evenly, resonate deeply with us. We believe that in some important ways the future of the Western world has already happened in South Africa as far as the crisis is concerned. But more than that, we also believe that in some important ways the future is already happening as far as solutions are concerned.
Ernst Roets is the head of the Afrikaner Foundation.
Dr Roets is Head of Policy at the Solidarity Movement and Executive Director at the Afrikaner Foundation. The Afrikaner Foundation is aimed at garnering international support for the Afrikaner people and the institutions of the Solidarity Movement. You can support the Afrikaner Foundation at http://afrikaner.org/support.
Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS) started legal action against the promulgation of the BELA Act.
According to these organisations, President Cyril Ramaphosa acted irrationally and contrary to various agreements as well as a recommendation by the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, by promulgating the BELA Act in its entirety. Gwarube recommended that the implementation of the language and admission clauses in the Act be postponed due to the absence of appropriate norms and standards.
According to these organisations, the minister also acted irrationally by having co-signed the promulgation notice contrary to her own recommendations to Ramaphosa of barely two weeks earlier that this Act should not be promulgated in its entirety. The Minister also made recommendations to Ramaphosa that would have afforded protection to, among other things, mother tongue education and Afrikaans schools.
Solidarity, AfriForum and the SCS, all part of the Solidarity Movement, already issued legal letters to Ramaphosa and Gwarube respectively, pointing out that the signing of the promulgation notice is irrational.
In terms of the legal letters, the Minister and the President have ten days to resolve the dispute. If there is no solution, the parties have no other choice but to go to court.
According to AfriForum Chief Executive Kallie Kriel, the promulgation of the BELA Act in its entirety is an act of aggression by the government against Afrikaans schools and children. “The promulgation is an indication that the ANC is turning the government of national unity into a government of national disunity that seeks to simply coopt parties like the DA and FF+ to help the ANC in implementing its policy,” Kriel added.
Kallie Kriel
Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann indicated that his organisation was unpleasantly surprised to see that the BELA Act was promulgated in its entirety, without any of the conditions as recommended by the Minister to the President. According to him, the promulgation is a dishonourable breach of the agreement the government signed with Solidarity at Nedlac. “The Constitution and case law confirm that the minister’s recommendation, as the person responsible for the implementation of the Act, carries weight. The promulgation of a law is not the sole task of the President. The purpose of the Minister’s recommendations is to postpone the implementation of the Act so that the necessary steps can be taken to implement the legislation effectively,” Hermann said.
Dirk Hermann
According to Leon Fourie, chief executive of the SCS, the President provided no reasons why he had simply ignored the Minister’s recommendations and agreements that had been reached. “It therefore appears that the President’s irrational promulgation of the BELA Act in its entirety succumbed to political pressure from the anti-Afrikaans elements in the ANC,” Fourie said.
Leon Fourie
Werner Human, the Solidarity Movement’s Head of Operations, indicated that, apart from the legal action being taken against the BELA Act’s promulgation notice, the institutions belonging to the Solidarity Movement will also focus on helping to ensure that the norms and standards and the regulations on the language and admission policies of schools, which must now be drafted by the Minister of Basic Education, contain provisions that will attempt to help prevent abuse of power by education officials and the targeting of Afrikaans schools. “The institutions of the Solidarity Movement also reserve the right to take legal action against the unconstitutionality of the BELA Act itself as well upon completion of the legal action against the promulgation notice,” Human added.
Werner Human
Click here for the Letter of Demand for both the President and the Minister.
The celebration of an unrealistic future National Health Insurance scheme on billboards across the country contributes to the injustice towards the South African taxpayer who already has had to fork out millions in preparation for the NHI.
Nonetheless, Solidarity notes how the government not only defends the unworkable NHI plans but even boasts about them, as can be seen on billboards along the highways.
Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), said if the Department of Health were prepared to face reality regarding the NHI, it would have relinquished all marketing of the NHI a long time ago.
“How does the government justify the costs incurred for giant billboards celebrating the upcoming NHI when it is struggling financially in almost every area?
“The government is marketing a pipedream, while unemployed doctors in the Eastern Cape are protesting, or while hospitals such as Groote Schuur in the Western Cape can now accommodate only a quarter of the number of internships it had available for training three years ago,” Du Buisson said.
According to him, millions have already been spent on preparations for the NHI, most of which was probably wasted due to the unfeasibility of the plan.
Du Buisson called attention to estimates from various interest groups opposed to the NHI, which indicate how devastating the financial burden of the NHI would be for South African workers.
“Where will the state get the funds for the estimated cost, which is between R660 billion and R1 300 billion? These are the latest estimates of what it will cost. The state does not know the answer to this question, and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi could not care less.”
“According to these estimates, average personal income tax will have to increase by R37 000 per year. This is not only outrageous. It is impossible,” Du Buisson said.
He warned the Government of National Unity (GNU) not to imitate ANC culture in terms of which taxpayers are expected to dig into their pockets for cents – even when it harmed their own interests.
In 2025, Solidarity will continue to do everything in its power to stop the NHI plans, and a court application against the NHI Act has already been filed in May 2024.
The controversial Articles 4 and 5 of the BELA Act cannot be implemented until the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, establishes a timeline and develops the necessary norms, standards, and regulations.
Practically, this means that these articles cannot take effect immediately. This meets an important part of the demands of the Solidarity Movement, including Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity School Support Centre (SOS).
This announcement aligns with Solidarity’s agreement with the government at Nedlac. This agreement stipulates, among other things, that the controversial articles cannot be implemented until norms and standards have been developed. According to this agreement, norms and standards must determine that Afrikaans schools that are full cannot be forced to change their language policy, while the language needs of the surrounding community rather than the education district must be taken into account.
Any official who tries to implement sections 4 and 5 before the Minister completes her work will be acting unlawfully.
The Solidarity Movement, including Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity School Support Center (SOS), will challenge any form of intimidation against schools in court.
The president’s announcement about the Bela law is, however, vague and appears to be an attempt to appease all parties. The promulgation of the act is inconsistent with apparent legal issues. It is unusual for the President to promulgate the law while leaving its implementation to the Minister.
The Solidarity Movement reserves their right to challenge the proclamation in court, depending on how it is published in the Government Gazette. We will also consider to challenge certain elements of the Bela Act in court.
The focus now shifts to the Minister of Basic Education. Solidarity has a binding bilateral agreement with the Minister at Nedlac, which guarantees certain protection for Afrikaans schools.
This agreement must now be translated into norms and standards, and the Solidarity Movement will ensure that the protection of Afrikaans schools is embedded in these. The Solidarity Movement will immediately engage with the Minister on this matter.
Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity School Support Center’s legal teams have already been instructed to thoroughly evaluate the final proclamation. They will assess the constitutional validity of the Bela Act, provide input on the proposed norms and standards, and stand ready to act if any official tries to force schools to implement sections 4 and 5 at this stage.
International Perspective 3: From GNU to G20: What to keep an eye on in South Africa in 2025
Dear friends, acquaintances and interested parties abroad
In this third edition of our international newsletter we discuss the huge diplomatic mistakes the South African government made in 2024, the opportunities contained in a government of national unity, and what it all holds for 2025.
Kind regards
Jaco Kleynhans
Head: International Liaison
Solidarity Movement, South Africa
From GNU to G20: What to keep an eye on in South Africa in 2025
Introduction: After a year of contrasts, major uncertainty still exists regarding South Africa’s future
A year ago, few people would probably have predicted that in 2024, South Africa would have a broad coalition government, also known as a Government of National Unity (GNU), for the first time since the 1990s. The GNU was a direct result of the ANC’s extremely poor performance in the national elections on 29 May. This party’s support fell from 57,5% in 2019 to 40,2% in 2024. This decline was driven by a sharp drop in participation by traditional ANC supporters and the rise of former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which enjoyed massive support among Zulu voters in KwaZulu-Natal as well as in parts of Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
The ANC leadership had to choose between moving towards the political centre by working with more moderate parties, or forming a coalition government with its archenemies, the MK and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), both extreme left-wing splinter groups of the ANC. The latter option was unthinkable for the Ramaphosa camp in the ANC, partly because of faction fights within the ANC and the incompatibility of the Ramaphosa and Zuma camps, and partly because of the negative implications that a hard-left coalition government could have for South Africa’s economy and international standing.
The result was a government of national unity, or perhaps rather a broad coalition government consisting of ten parties, namely (in order of size in parliament) the ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Patriotic Alliance (PA), the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and Good.
After more than six months of a GNU, it is clear that the GNU has given new hope to many South Africans, while also contributing to a slight improvement in South Africa’s international standing. The consensus is that the GNU should be given a fair chance. However, in recent months it also became clear that the ANC, especially in some areas such as economic policy, social policy and foreign affairs, has been unwilling to make concessions within the GNU. The party’s dominant role in these but also other areas, even those with ministers from other parties serving in the cabinet (such as Education and Agriculture), is an ever-growing challenge that could ultimately derail the GNU.
South Africans will likely go to the polls in a local election no later than September 2026. The influence of the GNU, tensions within the ANC, the role of MK (especially in diverting ANC support, but also how Zuma plays into faction fights within the ANC) and a series of challenges such as weak economic growth, unemployment, persistently high crime levels, civil disobedience, voter apathy and poor municipal service delivery, and even the total decay in towns across the country (with the exception of the Western Cape) create huge uncertainty in the run-up to the 2026 elections. All of this will play into important political decisions in 2025 as the ANC will try to prevent further losses in support in 2026.
At the end of 2024, South Africa is still a country facing huge challenges and even increasing crises. Hope for a GNU that must begin to show real results, or South Africa’s position as, for example, the chair of the G20 Summit in 2025, is for most South Africans not enough reason to approach the new year with optimism. Real results in combating corruption, improving fiscal discipline, achieving economic growth, creating jobs, combating crime, improving infrastructure and improving basic service delivery are urgently needed. In all these areas, the government has largely failed at national, provincial and local level in 2024, again with the exception of the Western Cape and a few other towns and cities in other provinces.
Pressure points that will determine South Africa’s direction in 2025
Economy
The South African economy shrank by 0,3% in the third quarter of 2024, despite most economists expecting slight growth. South Africa’s exports fell by 3,7% during the same period. Therefore, it appears that 2024 has once again been a year of almost no economic growth for the country, while the population and unemployment continue to rise. For South Africa to get its fiscal house in order, high economic growth would be essential.
South Africa’s budget deficit also increased by more than expected in 2024. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana recently announced that the budget deficit had risen to 5% of national output, while the expectation in February was still 4,5%. South Africa’s public debt, and the cost of financing it, continues to rise, while the economy is barely growing, with the growth forecast for 2025 expected to be 1,7% at best.
There are many reasons for the poor economic growth of the past decade or so. The most significant are certainly huge infrastructure problems and in particular electricity supply problems (which have largely been resolved), transport problems (rail transport and ports remain in chaos while the country’s road network continues to deteriorate), corruption, low business confidence (due to overregulation, populist political statements, policy uncertainty and weak political leadership), a massive loss of foreign investment, crime, poor education leading to skills shortages and skills mismatches, and growing concerns over instability in Southern Africa.
According to the Reserve Bank, South Africa’s positive net international investment position (IIP) has declined from a revised R2 424 billion at the end of March 2024 to R2 052 billion at the end of June 2024. In recent years there has been a massive withdrawal by investors, but also by large overseas companies, from the South African economy. During 2024, Shell, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Rolex, AngloGold Ashanti, TotalEnergies and BP all announced that they would withdraw from South Africa or that they had already begun to withdraw.
The consequences are persistently high unemployment (the official rate currently stands at 32,1%, with unemployment exceeding 40% if a broader definition is applied that includes discouraged job seekers). The consequences of persistently high unemployment are growing poverty, pressure on the welfare state (almost 28 million South Africans, close to 50% of the population, receive social grants every month) and increasing social unrest. The situation is becoming increasingly volatile with enormous political risks. The ANC’s loss of support during 2024 was a direct result of this poor economic performance. If the GNU cannot achieve better economic growth, it could lead to further growth in support for extreme left-wing populist parties such as the EFF and MK.
In 2025, it will be essential for the government to bring its spending under control without raising taxes. Threats of possible tax increases are contributing to a continued outflow of expertise from the country. South Africa currently has only 7,4 million individuals who pay income tax, and the burden on this small group of taxpayers is already too high. The budget speech in February 2025 will be crucial.
The ANC recently announced that it intends to proceed with plans to amend the South African Constitution to allow for expropriation of property without compensation. This would be a huge setback for property rights in South Africa and would have even more adverse consequences for the economy. The government’s plans to proceed with the introduction of an unaffordable National Health Insurance scheme also do not bode well. Apart from the economic consequences, these issues will also lead to more tension within the GNU.
The workings of the GNU
The Government of National Unity is still in its infancy, even though most stakeholders realise the urgency for clear results. The challenges for the GNU are primarily the ANC’s position that, as the largest party in the GNU, it can still dominate the determination of government policy. Therefore, the way the ANC implements policies that most other parties in the GNU disagree with is creating increasing tension. This could lead to a major crisis in 2025 and may even bring an end to the GNU.
One example is the way in which the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (the BELA Act) – a reform of the education system that will lead to greater centralisation of education and, in particular, a huge loss of mother tongue education – was implemented. The National Health Insurance Act (NHI), expropriation without compensation and other controversial policies clearly aimed at appeasing the ANC’s left-wing factions, who are too closely aligned to parties such as MK and the EFF, could pose the greatest threats to the GNU in 2025.
Already there are clear signs of improved service delivery, a more focused effort to combat corruption, and improved systems, infrastructure and management capacity in several government departments, especially those with ministers from the DA, IFP, PA and FF+. However, if the ANC continues to adjust fiscal policy, foreign policy and social policy without any concessions to the other parties in the GNU in an attempt to prevent further loss of support from the left wing of the party, this could lead to the end of the GNU, which could result in a massive crisis for South Africa.
A large majority of South Africans were and still are convinced that the GNU was the best option on the table after the general election. However, the success of the GNU has been extremely limited so far, and ongoing disputes are creating increasing risks to its sustainability.
It is essential that all parties in the GNU, including the ANC, present it as the best option for all of South Africa. Voter confidence in the GNU is crucial in countering populist resistance, which is also stoking division within the GNU. However, it is also necessary that the ANC should not view the GNU merely as a short-term project during which the party’s majority position must be restored. The way in which various left-wing policies have been forcefully pushed through in recent months indicates that ideology and party unity are too often more important to Ramaphosa and the ANC’s national leadership than the success of the GNU. This urgently needs to change.
Divisions within the ANC and Ramaphosa leadership
The ANC has been losing support for a decade. The bulk of this loss of support is simply due to voters not going to vote. In 2014, more than 73% of registered voters voted. This dropped to 66% in 2019 and to 58% in 2024. If one takes into account that many young people who become eligible to vote simply do not register to vote, the total participation rate of eligible voters is as low as 40%.
In many ways the ANC is following a similar path to other so-called liberation movements in Africa, such as Swapo in Namibia, Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe and Frelimo in Mozambique. In all of these cases, political power has often been accompanied by growing corruption, cadre deployment, ideological clamour and ultimately a growing rift with voters.
For the ANC, there should be only one solution to its problems and that is the establishment of a better, cleaner government that delivers services, develops infrastructure, deals effectively with the crime situation and promotes economic growth.
Seven years after Cyril Ramaphosa became president of the ANC, he is still failing to effectively control the party. Even after Zuma formed his new party, the MK Party, and took a portion of the ANC’s Zulu wing with him, the party remains deeply divided with various factions constantly undermining each other. However, in the run-up to the party’s next National Conference in December 2027, where a new president will also be elected, it seems increasingly likely that the faction fighting will intensify.
Ramaphosa’s inability to leverage his political capital and consolidate his support within the party is unfortunately also playing out within the government with constant indecision or concessions to the party’s more left-wing factions, often resulting in poor policy.
Ramaphosa is convinced that the GNU, and the levels of trust that voters continue to place in it, coupled with his international standing, especially now as chair of the 2025 G20 Summit, will carry him through the next year or so. However, at a time when the ANC needs a firm leader with the ability to admonish political bullies within the party, such as Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Ramaphosa is not displaying the necessary strength of character. The consequence will probably be a deepening of divisions in the run-up to the 2026 municipal elections.
Global power struggle, Trump’s America, G20 Summit and foreign relations
It is often clear that President Ramaphosa enjoys being active on the international stage more than he does dealing with enormous domestic challenges. When he attends international summits and meetings and can meet with world leaders, he is clearly more comfortable than when he has to help steer a complex government in a complex country with vast challenges in a better direction.
Since 1994, South Africa’s foreign policy has been strongly based on non-alignment. During the Mandela and Mbeki years, efforts were made to achieve exactly that. On 26 March 1998, Bill Clinton was not only the first US president to visit South Africa; he was also the first US president to address the South African parliament. In his speech, he particularly referred to “America’s profound and pragmatic stake in South Africa’s success”. In his speech, Clinton emphasised the USA’s economic and strategic need to work with South Africa.
Directly arising from Clinton’s 1998 visit to Africa, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was drafted in the US Congress and passed by Republicans and Democrats in May 2000, shortly before Clinton’s departure from the White House. Many of the Congressmen were present in the South African parliament when Clinton delivered his speech on 26 March 1998.
After AGOA, huge efforts and billions of US dollars were also invested in Africa in the fight against HIV, in peacekeeping operations and in countering terrorism in the Sahel region and in East Africa.
However, the goodwill between the US and South Africa in the first 15 years after 1994 gave way to increasing American scepticism, weak South African foreign policy, growing influence in South African politics from China, Russia and Iran, and ultimately a complete loss of trust in South Africa over the next 15 years.
Several events of the past three years are well known, as is the fact that South Africa’s words of non-alignment and deeds of friendship with Russia, China, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela, to name just a few problematic friendships, have led to challenges in the country’s relationship with the West.
AGOA is due to be renewed or replaced in 2025. Will South Africa still be able to benefit from this by January 2026? Will foreign investors’ confidence in South Africa be restored, which could lead to renewed investment in South Africa’s economy? Will South Africa take advantage of the opportunities that hosting the G20 Summit presents for the country?
The last state visit by a US president to South Africa was Barack Obama’s visit in 2013. Twelve years later, Donald Trump is expected to attend the G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November 2025. This holds huge risks and opportunities. Will Ramaphosa be able to manage the risks and seize the opportunities?
In recent years, South Africa has too often found itself caught in the global power struggle between parties from the developed West and parties from the developing Global South. The ANC’s ideological bias has been evident in its refusal to condemn Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, by conducting a joint naval exercise with China and Russia off South Africa’s east coast, by accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinians at the International Court of Justice and by constantly courting countries like Iran. These kinds of missteps simply cannot be repeated in 2025.
South Africa remains in an excellent position to take a truly non-aligned position. The country’s geographical distance from conflict areas in the global power struggle and its status as a democracy and the most industrialised and best developed country in Africa, still hold a wealth of opportunities.
Unfortunately, for the past six months South Africa’s foreign policy has been controlled exclusively by the ANC, with no concessions to other parties in the GNU. The ANC views the conduct of foreign policy as its sole prerogative. This likely means that the words and actions of Ramaphosa and the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ronald Lamola, on non-alignment will continue to leave too much room for interpretation.
Conclusions
After a disastrous 15 years of almost no economic growth, a loss of social cohesion in a diverse and complex country, widespread corruption, the decay of infrastructure and service delivery, a loss of global influence and credibility, some of the highest crime rates in the world and a country heading towards an abyss of government failure and anarchy, 2024 surprisingly was a year of new hope. The ANC’s loss of political support and the birth of the GNU, the end of load shedding, renewed government success at provincial and local levels in the Western Cape, and numerous community initiatives across South Africa that, on their own, have attempted to tackle problems with crime, decaying infrastructure and other challenges, all indicate that South Africa can still be steered into a new and better direction.
This requires a greater devolution of powers to provincial and local governments. Greater private initiatives and even the privatisation of many state-owned enterprises become necessary in a time of fiscal crisis. The national government must be reduced, corruption must be eradicated and efficiency in all government departments must be a priority.
Greater respect for and involvement of minorities is essential. Although 11% of South Africans have Afrikaans as their mother tongue, only 5% of public schools are still Afrikaans-language schools. The government’s current attempt to make these schools multilingual and eventually English must be stopped. The language and cultural rights of all ethnic groups in South Africa must be respected.
Specialist units must be established to investigate the ongoing crime crisis, including farm attacks and farm murders, cash-in-transit robberies and gang violence, to highlight just three of the most serious crises. The fact that South Africa has the highest rate of rapes per capita in the world must be declared a national disgrace. The enormous challenges involved in prosecuting criminals must be resolved.
In terms of foreign policy, South Africa will need to seize the opportunities presented in 2025. While the relationship with the US urgently needs to be restored, a healthy balance must be found between ties with the West and fast-growing economies in the Global South. It does not have to be one or the other.
South Africa cannot condemn Israel for its actions in Gaza and, at the same time, refuse to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. South Africa’s silence on human rights violations in Sudan, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is disgraceful. Selective morality has never been a sustainable foreign policy.
The South African economy is highly dependent on exports and foreign investment and is strongly affected by international events due to factors such as the volatility of the South African currency, South Africa’s dependence on oil and gas imports and the important role mineral exports continue to play in the South African economy. As an open economy with high global exposure, it is important for South Africa to inspire global trust, build credibility and project an image of stability. In this, the country has increasingly failed over the past fifteen years. Substantial progress will need to be made in 2025.
Afrikaners as a minority in South Africa in 2025
Afrikaners are deeply committed to South Africa and the future of the country. Two Afrikaners currently serve as ministers in the Government of National Unity, namely in the portfolios of Correctional Services (Pieter Groenewald) and Home Affairs (Leon Schreiber).
Afrikaners are very strongly connected to the land, communities, towns, cities, institutions, colours, flavours, languages and cultures of South Africa. Afrikaners as a minority of less than 5% of the population contribute overwhelmingly to creating solutions to economic challenges (through small businesses), food security (through commercial agriculture), rural safety (through hundreds of neighbourhood watches staffed by thousands of trained volunteers), educational issues (through their own, private training institutions) and many other daily problems in South Africa.
Today, there are 142 laws in South Africa that require racial classification, prescribe racial discrimination, prescribe racial quotas, or in some way enable discrimination against minorities. The consequence is that people who should be helping to build South Africa are emigrating to other countries. Around 20% of Afrikaners already live permanently or temporarily abroad. The loss of businesses closing down, farms no longer being farmed, investments leaving the country, skills being lost, and especially people with a love for South Africa turning their backs on the country is enormous and poses many risks for South Africa.
The Solidarity Movement is the largest civil society group of organisations in South Africa, representing mainly, but not exclusively, Afrikaner families across South Africa. The Movement is committed to working with other communities in South Africa and is already working in cooperation with many other ethnic groups in the development of projects in agriculture, education and training, security and economic development.
Ultimately, the future of South Africa will be determined by the people of South Africa, but better governance, an informed international community, and sympathetic individuals and organisations can all contribute to crafting a new, better roadmap for the South Africa of the future. This process must be accelerated in 2025. If this does not happen, the risks for South Africa will simply be too great.
Solidarity is warning the South African government about the serious consequences of its ongoing campaign against Israel in which it is using taxpayers’ money to advance a case in the International Court of Justice.
According to reports, Pres. Ramaphosa can now sign a special Appropriations Bill into law after it has been approved by the National Council of Provinces. This Bill makes it possible to allocate more than R95 million to the court case in which South Africa is taking Israel on over the war in Gaza.
According to Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), this costly campaign can still cost South Africans dearly if SA forfeits its participation in the agreement under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the US because of the court case against Israel.
“This R95 million spent on legal costs is just a drop in the ocean compared to what we stand to lose if South Africa were kicked out of AGOA, or even if our relations with Western countries were to deteriorate further.
“The ANC’s continued efforts to align South Africa with enemies of the US are damaging our reputation as an investment destination at a time when we can ill afford it,” Du Buisson said.
He emphasised how US interests will be prioritised when the administration changes in January when it will fall under the leadership of president-elect Donald Trump.
“When the US gets a new government, it is likely that there will be no more mercy for the ANC’s shenanigans. If Trump does indeed impose a general tariff on all imports to the USA from countries such China and Mexico, we cannot afford to be kicked out of AGOA.
“If AGOA exempts our exports from the general tariff, it will give us a major competitive advantage, and this is something South Africa simply cannot relinquish,” Du Buisson said.
In November Solidarity called on president-elect Trump to allow South Africa’s participation in AGOA to continue, as approximately 20% of South African households are directly dependent on exports to the US.
Approximately 30 000 of Solidarity’s members also work in industries that benefit from tariff-free exports to the US, as made possible by AGOA.
Du Buisson says that if ever the South African government should now tread ligthly with managing its relations.
“Yet, it is as if the ANC is making taxpayers pay more so that they can further impoverish themselves. Moreover, his case against Israel does not enjoy significant support. We simply cannot afford to stand by and watch how ordinary South Africans become impoverished for the sake of the ANC’s moral agenda.
“We should indeed seek rapprochement with the US and other countries that will put South Africa on the winning path economically, and we should abandon these ideological disputes immediately,” Du Buisson said.
In 2023, approximately 32 000 people attended service on the Day of the Vow held at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. 186 years after the historical events of 16 December 1838, this day is still observed by thousands of Afrikaners around the world.
On numerous occasions in the past, it has been assumed that observation of this day would end. However, it seems that the number of people attending these services continue to grow.
What is the Day of the Vow? Why is it still widely observed across the world, even after centuries, and why do Afrikaners seem to be morally so committed to observing it? This article attempts to answer these questions and to provide the historical context for this day.
Historical context
The Bloukrans Massacre
During the Great Trek in 1838 the Voortrekkers, having left the Cape Colony, were looking for land to farm again and to govern themselves independently from the British government in the Cape Colony. The Great Trek leader, Piet Retief, wanted a tract of land in the then Natal, strategically near a harbour, to facilitate trade. The land he had in mind belonged to the Zulu King, Dingane.
Retief advised his people to stay on the plateau of the Drakensberg Mountains, while he and a delegation of his men set out on horseback to the Zulu capital uMgungundlovu to negotiate with Dingane about the transfer of the land. King Dingane’s condition for the transaction was simple enough: Retief and his party had to recapture some of Dingane’s cattle taken by a rival chief. Upon returning the cattle the land would be transferred to the Trekkers.
Retief and his men returned the king’s cattle as promised, and Retief and King Dingane subsequently signed a treaty. Word reached the Voortrekkers on the plateau that the land had been transferred and they started to make their way down the mountain to the land they had hoped to occupy.
However, before Retief and his men could leave uMgungundlovu, Dingane asked if his warriors could dance for them. Naively, Retief agreed, but unbeknown to him the Zulu warriors performed a war dance inciting the warriors to kill Retief and his men once the dancing stopped.
On Dingane’s command, Retief and his men were taken to a nearby hill where they were brutally killed by the Zulu warriors. Retief came to his fate last, having to watch all of his men, including his son, being tortured to death.
After these brutal murders, Dingane gave the command to his warriors to attack and kill the rest of the Voortrekkers who were still camping in their wagon lager, waiting for Retief’s return, oblivious to what had happened. The Zulu warriors attacked in the early morning hours of 18 February 1838, slaying hundreds of innocent women and children. In one night, 185 children were killed. To date, this is the most children to have died in one night in the history of South Africa. This attack is known as the Massacre of Bloukrans.
Preparations for a penal expedition
Retief’s people were devastated by the killing of almost half of them. With help arriving for the stranded survivors the men decided to undertake a penal expedition to avenge the lost lives of their loved ones in December 1838. The women and children were left behind at a safe location.
The expedition was led by Commandant Andries Pretorius. While scouting the area for an appropriate battleground, the Voortrekker men circled their wagons in a lager at night. This way, they could be protected from all angles. Sarel Cilliers, a religious leader, who travelled with the men, realised the risk and the small chance of victory over the mighty Zulu impis. Led by Cilliers, the men took a vow to God: If victory in this battle could be theirs, they would henceforth celebrate the day as a sabbath, build a church, and teach future generations to keep commemorating the victory in remembrance:
We stand here before the Holy God of heaven and earth, to make a vow to Him that, if He will protect us and give our enemy into our hand, we shall keep this day and date every year as a day of thanksgiving like a sabbath, and that we shall build a house to His honour wherever it should please Him, and that we will also tell our children that they should share in that with us in memory for future generations. For the honour of His name will be glorified by giving Him the fame and honour for the victory.
From 13 December Cilliers affirmed the vow along with the Voortrekker men during their evening prayers and in worship at dawn. It was important for Cilliers that all the men understood the solemnity and consequences of the Vow. Therefore, those who did not want to participate were given the option to not participate.
The Battle of Blood River
On the evening of 15 December, the Voortrekker men sensed the Zulu warriors were approaching. They could hear their footsteps and smell their bodies covered in oil (a Zulu war tradition) from afar. It was a misty night and the men’s concerns grew that their gunpowder would be too damp to fire, should the attack come during the night.
The Zulu did not attack during the night of 15 December. At sunrise on the morning of the 16th, the Zulu and Voortrekker men were equally surprised to find that they were only a few hundred feet away from each other. The mist had protected the lager from sight. The Voortrekker men also realised that they were only 400 against 16 000 Zulu impis.
The Voortrekker men’s prayers were answered as they engaged in the battle and prevailed Many factors contributed to the victory. Some of the Zulu impis tried to cross the river to escape but drowned in the process, or were shot by the Voortrekker men. Lore has it that the river’s water had turned red from the blood of the Zulu impis – hence the name Blood River.
The significance of this day
Afrikaners look back on the victory on this day with gratitude and in awe of the miracles God had performed to save their ancestors. As part of the religious service on the Day of the Vow we recall the miracles and praise God for his saving grace.
Historians often approach these claims of a miracle with scepticism, attributing the outcome to superior strategy, weaponry and defensive tactics. However, for many Afrikaners, the events remain a potent symbol of faith and resilience.
The weather and geographical location
KwaZulu-Natal is known for its wet Decembers. It had been raining for a week and the rivers were swollen and difficult to cross. When Pretorius and his men crossed the Ncome River they found the perfect location for battle. To the south, the strong-flowing river with its deep hippo pool; to the west, a deep donga, also filled with muddy water – with the Zulu impi approaching from the north, it created natural defence barriers that hindered the Zulu forces.
Commandant Andries Pretorius said: “God himself chose the location.”
Dry gunpowder and the sun rising in a cloudless sky on the morning of 16 December
If it had rained, and it was a damp and cloudy day, they would not have been able to use the gunpowder.
The lager was covered in mist on the night of 15 December
Commandant Pretorius was afraid of a night attack, so he commanded his men to hang lanterns out on sticks outside their wagons. When the lager was covered in mist, the superstitious Zulu only saw strange lights floating in the air and decided to wait until the morning before they made a move.
The horses and cattle remained calm
Hundreds of horses and cattle were kept inside the lager. During the night of 15 December not a sound came from the animals that would have given away the location. In the midst of the commotion and chaos of the battle, and no one being able to look after the animals during the battle, the animals did not try to break out – not a normal reaction from nervous animals.
There were no deaths among the Voortrekker men and only three men were wounded.
There was no loss of life among the Voortrekker men, nor were there serious or life-threatening injuries. Only three men out of the 400 suffered minor wounds.
The weapons did not overheat or explode.
Front loader guns are known to overheat and explode if fired too often in succession. As the Zulu impi kept coming at the men and had to be fended off, there was a concern that the weapons would explode or fail to fire. By God’s grace, the weapons did not overheat and the men could keep firing.
Only one shot from a cannon, Grietjie, positioned 3 kilometres away, made a telling blow.
It is not usual for a cannon to fire accurately over a long distance, but Commandant Pretorius took his chances and loaded the one cannon they had to its maximum and aimed it at the hill from where the Zulu leaders were observing the battle three kilometres away. The shot from the cannon hit King Dingane’s successor. This was a telling blow that startled the Zulu impis greatly.
The mighty Zulu army fled.
A mighty and widely feared army, one trained by the famous King Shaka himself, halted and took flight. The king did not tolerate cowards. It was a known fact that if a Zulu warrior surrendered in battle, he would die by the spear of one of his own. But during the Battle of Blood River, experienced Zulu impis turned around as one and fled. King Dingane also fled and razed uMgungundlovu to the ground when he learnt of his army’s defeat.
The Voortrekkers knew that had it not been for the hand of God that day, they would have lost the battle, and that they would have faced the same fate as their fellow Voortrekkers at Bloukrans. Since then, 16 December is observed as a day of thanksgiving and worship.
The Day of the Vow or Reconciliation Day?
After the end of apartheid in 1994, 16 December has remained a public holiday in South Africa, but it was officially renamed to “Reconciliation Day” to encourage reconciliation between all nations and cultures in South Africa. Yet, for many South Africans, it remains the “Day of the Vow,” and it is still observed as such, mainly for religious reasons.
Reconciliation in practice
Two years after the Battle of Blood River, King Dingane was killed by his half-brother, Mpande, who took the throne. The Voortrekker men who fought at the Battle of Blood River attended the new king’s coronation ceremony, attended the new king’s coronation and buried the hatchet, and promised peace between the Zulu and Voortrekkers. Since the Battle of Blood River, there has been no further conflict between the Afrikaner and the Zulu.
The late Zulu Prince, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, used his position as a politician to advocate a good relationship between the Afrikaner and the Zulu nation. After his death in 2023, a memorial service was held in honour of Buthelezi at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. The service was attended by people from both the Afrikaner and Zulu heritage.
In 2016, former president Jacob Zuma built a bridge over the Blood River Heritage Site to the Ncome traditional community’s ground. In 2022, the management of the Blood River Heritage Site donated Zulu Bibles to each child and family of the local school in Ncome .
Each year, hundreds of schools take children from various backgrounds to visit the Voortrekker Monument to learn about the history and relationship between the Afrikaners and other traditional African groups.
Reconciliation is a daily practice for South Africans, and it shows in small gestures and in an overall attitude of living in peace with all cultures.
Day of the Vow
For Afrikaners 16 December is not about celebrating a victory that lies far back in the past, nor is it a matter of reconciliation, – it is about honouring a vow their ancestors had pledged to God.
Many Afrikaners feel they owe the reason for their existence to the fact that God had saved their ancestors at the Battle of Blood River. They also feel bound to the Vow in religious and moral terms.
Church services on the Day of the Vow are held across the country where attendees praise God for the miracles He had performed on that day, and they repeat the Vow to keep observing this day as a sabbath and teach their children to do the same.
In South Africa, the main service on the Day of the Vow is held at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. The Monument was designed in such a way that a ray of sunlight shines through a hole in the roof at exactly 12 pm on 16 December. This is the only day in the year this happens.
Day of the Vow: The sunbeam at 12 pm at the Voortrekker Monument
Worldwide observance
In 2023, estimated statistics showed that roughly 185 000 people across the world attended a service on the Day of the Vow. The Day of the Vow is celebrated in 24 countries across six of the seven continents. Apart from South Africa, this day is also observed in Australia, Botswana, China, Germany, England, Japan, Canada, Luxemburg, Mozambique, Namibia, The Netherlands, Nieu-Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.
The nationality of the participants is not known, but it can be safely assumed that the widespread attendance can be ascribed to Afrikaners who have emigrated to other parts of the world and continue to observe the Day of the Vow with their families in their newly-found communities. This shows a deep commitment to the Vow, even when the individual is thousands of kilometres away from the country of their roots.
Conclusion
When Sarel Cilliers had pledged the Vow, he was concerned that the men would forget the Vow after the battle and that their children would not keep the promise. This was unfounded concern as the victory has profoundly touched those involved in the battle as well as the future generations who still continue to observe this day as a Sabbath.
For Afrikaners, the Day of the Vow is not a celebration of a victory over the Zulus, but it is rather a day to honour their ancestors’ promise to God and to thank Him for saving them in a time of need. If the current trend is to continue, the Day of the Vow will be observed for many years to come across continents.
South Africa has become an insightful case study for especially two reasons. First, it is a prime example of prolonged, consistent government failure and capacity deterioration. Second, it is an example of how order and stability can emerge out of this chaos, through communities who organise themselves. In his articleThe disintegration of the South African order, Prof. Koos Malan writes that the future of South Africa is a “desert of disorder” containing “oases of order”.
Almost every government service (except tax collection) is in a state of decay – and has been for decades. Examples include rolling blackouts due to an ineffective, failing government monopoly, the South African Police Service dropping millions of calls for help over three years, rampant corruption, and an ever-increasing unemployment rate of more than 35%. Furthermore, more than 50% of the population is dependent on some form of government welfare grant, and infrastructure in every sector is deteriorating, from water and electricity to sewerage and roads. I discuss these matter in more detail in my 2023 article for The American Conservative.
Building a future from the ground up
One of the cultural communities at the forefront of creating “oases of order” in this context of de-development are the Afrikaners. Through community-based organisations such as AfriForum we are pioneering a new model, which requires a major shift in thinking about solution-building. AfriForum is developing an answer to the question: How should communities react in the face of continued government capacity decay, a growing list of racially discriminatory policies and laws that target you, and a political environment in which you are the target of demonisation and violent rhetoric by high profile politicians? Additionally, AfriForum is confronting the following question: How do you build a future as one of the first people with a fundamentally Western heritage living as a minority in one of the world’s post-Western countries?
AfriForum’s answer, built on a foundation of Christian values and an Afrikaner cultural identity, is the pursuit of becoming state-proof at every level by embracing a do-it-ourselves philosophy that prioritises autonomy and pragmatism. Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, describes this approach as follows: “To ensure a bright, free future for our children, our communities must get organised. We must ensure a devolution of power through taking up as many responsibilities as possible on grassroots level. We will get the future we build.” In 2023 AfriForum released a documentary with English subtitles unpacking its philosophy and model.
AfriForum’s model
AfriForum forms part of the Solidarity Movement, which comprises over 50 institutions and organisations, all working together towards ensuring that Afrikaners have a future in Southern Africa where we can be free, safe and prosperous.
AfriForum is the largest civil rights organisation in the Southern Hemisphere and unites more than 315 000 members behind a common cause. AfriForum has established more than 175 neighbourhood and farm watches, has developed emergency support services and even has a private firefighting unit. AfriForum’s more than 170 branches across the country do everything from cleaning up neighbourhoods and rivers, planting community vegetable gardens and trees, to painting street signs and repairing thousands of potholes. AfriForum has also established AfriForumTV, its own streaming service, film and documentary production company, and has its own arts theatre. AfriForum also manages a number of intercommunity and intercultural cooperation projects.
This all is made possible not through state funding or the goodwill of billionaires, but by thousands of everyday people who donate monthly. If you consider that there is usually only one AfriForum member per household, the 315 000 number can be considered as 315 000 families.
Conclusion
AfriForum and the wider Solidarity Movement have declared that we are building to stay and staying to build. AfriForum does not seek to isolate communities, but rather to help create resilient, healthy communities that cooperate with other communities on the basis of mutual recognition and respect. In the field of community-based, decentralised and state-proof solutions, AfriForum has pioneered the way, and we have only begun. The more members AfriForum gains, the more we can do. Become a member today.
The Solidarity Movement announced on November 29, 2024, that a settlement had been reached with the government at Nedlac regarding BELA. Since then, there have been many reports in the media and statements from the government causing confusion among the public about the BELA agreement, the role of the President, and the NEDLAC. Here is a complete breakdown of Solidarity’s agreement with the government (including the minister and the Presidency).
The Solidarity Movement, with Solidarity and AfriForum counting among its institutions, is involved in a comprehensive process with various role players on the BELA Act.
1. The consultation process, announced by President Ramaphosa on 13 September, was initiated following telephone calls from President Ramaphosa to AfriForum and Solidarity, in light of the fact that these institutions had voiced vehement objections to certain provisions in section 4 and section 5 of the BELA Act.
2. The commencement of the consultation process was not limited to the GNU Clearing House Committee finding a resolution, nor was a fixed format set which all concerned parties had to adhere to.
3. The consultation process was announced as an open process in which AfriForum and Solidarity, as the primary objectors to the BELA Act, were to play a key role.
To this extent, AfriForum and Solidarity reached out to political parties both within and outside the GNU, and in particular to the ANC, as the ANC is the strongest proponent of retaining section 4 and section 5 of the BELA Act.
4. As part of the attempts to highlight the consequences of the BELA Act, Solidarity referred a dispute over BELA to Nedlac in terms of section 77 of the Labour Relations Act for the purposes of obtaining a section 77 certificate, allowing its members to participate in protest action.
The notice to this effect was lodged in October with Solidarity as the applicant, and the President of South Africa and the Minister of Basic Education being cited as the respondents.
According to Nedlac’s rules, Nedlac must attempt to mediate such a dispute.
5. After an extensive process, two agreements were reached.
6. The first framework agreement was concluded between Solidarity, the Presidency and the Ministry of Basic Education. Both the respondents were duly authorised by the Minister of Basic Education and the President, respectively, to undertake the process and find a resolution to the impasse created by section 4 and section 5 of the BELA Act.
7. This agreement outlines the role of the President and that of the Minister in relation to the commencement and implementation of the BELA Act.
The President must proclaim the commencement arrangements for the BELA Act, and the Minister must make recommendations in this regard. The Minister is also responsible for developing national norms and standards, regulations and policy to support the implementation of the Act, where necessary and appropriate.
The agreement does not erode the President’s final responsibility to proclaim the commencement arrangements for the Act, but acknowledges the Minister’s role to make recommendations to the President in this regard.
It must be emphasised that whilst the President’s powers to proclaim an Act or certain provisions of an Act are upheld, he cannot ignore the recommendations from a Cabinet Minister – in this case, the Minister of Basic Education. He needs to apply his mind to them, together with any other recommendations he receives via any other process, and he needs to ensure the commencement arrangements are rational.
The agreement also recognises that national norms and standards, regulations and policy regarding the BELA Act have not been completed.
The agreement affirms that the Office of the President has confirmed that 13 December is not the commencement date for the Act but rather the end of the GNU consultation process.
The agreement stipulates that the Minister will make recommendations to the President in terms of her legal duty.
All three parties have signed the agreement. The signatories on behalf of all three parties were all duly authorised to sign the agreement. All parties are bound to the agreement.
The President mandated his team, and the Minister mandated her team to participatetake part in the process.
8. Within this framework, a second bilateral agreement was signed between Solidarity and the Minister of Basic Education.
9. This agreement stipulates that the Minister would recommend to the President to implement the controversial sections of BELA only once national norms and standards, policies and regulations have been developed to support the implementation of these sections.
This is also, even without the agreement, her legal duty. No process can erode that. This agreement does not override the legal duty of either the President or the Minister, but acknowledges it.
The bilateral agreement describes the recommended national norms and standards, policy and regulations to be developed in more detail. These are aimed at providing greater legal clarity and stronger consultation mechanisms to support the sections in question.
This agreement does not exclude the possibility of future legislative amendments should the need for these arise.
The agreement also emphasises the development of mother tongue education in general.
10. The Nedlac process and the process that is underway within the Government of National Unity (GNU) stand on their own feet, are not mutually exclusive and are even complementary.
However, the GNU process would have great difficulty to reach a different conclusion because the settlement in the Nedlac process was reached within the existing legal framework.
In fact, the settlement only stipulates the logical legal process the President and the Minister are required to follow. The best outcome for the GNU is to acknowledge the roles of the President and the Minister in this matter and to encourage them to do their work.
11. The GNU may have difficulties coming to another political agreement when a clear legal framework and process are in place. The Nedlac settlements are located within that framework.
The solution to the BELA Act dispute clearly lies within the law.
Die Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK) is reeds in 1929 gestig. Vandag is die FAK steeds dié organisasie wat jou toelaat om kreatief te wees in jou taal en kultuur. Die FAK is ’n toekomsgerigte kultuurorganisasie wat ’n tuiste vir die Afrikaanse taal en kultuur bied en die trotse Afrikanergeskiedenis positief bevorder.
Solidariteit Helpende Hand fokus op maatskaplike welstand en dié organisasie se groter visie is om oplossings vir die hantering van Afrikanerarmoede te vind.
Solidariteit Helpende Hand se roeping is om armoede deur middel van gemeenskapsontwikkeling op te los. Solidariteit Helpende Hand glo dat mense ʼn verantwoordelikheid teenoor mekaar en teenoor die gemeenskap het.
Solidariteit Helpende Hand is geskoei op die idees van die Afrikaner-Helpmekaarbeweging van 1949 met ʼn besondere fokus op “help”, “saam” en “ons.”
AfriForumTV is ʼn digitale platform wat aanlyn en gratis is en visuele inhoud aan lede en nielede bied. Intekenaars kan verskeie kanale in die gemak van hul eie huis op hul televisiestel, rekenaar of selfoon verken deur van die AfriForumTV-app gebruik te maak. AfriForumTV is nóg ʼn kommunikasiestrategie om die publiek bewus te maak van AfriForum se nuus en gebeure, maar ook om vermaak deur films en fiksie- en realiteitsreekse te bied. Hierdie inhoud gaan verskaf word deur AfriForumTV self, instellings binne die Solidariteit Beweging en eksterne inhoudverskaffers.
AfriForum Uitgewers (voorheen bekend as Kraal Uitgewers) is die trotse uitgewershuis van die Solidariteit Beweging en is die tuiste van Afrikaanse niefiksie-, Afrikanergeskiedenis- én prima Afrikaanse produkte. Dié uitgewer het onlangs sy fokus verskuif en gaan voortaan slegs interne publikasies van die Solidariteit Beweging publiseer.
AfriForum Jeug is die amptelike jeugafdeling van AfriForum, die burgerregte-inisiatief wat deel van die Solidariteit Beweging vorm. AfriForum Jeug berus op Christelike beginsels en ons doel is om selfstandigheid onder jong Afrikaners te bevorder en die realiteite in Suid-Afrika te beïnvloed deur veldtogte aan te pak en aktief vir jongmense se burgerregte standpunt in te neem.
De Goede Hoop is ʼn moderne, privaat Afrikaanse studentekoshuis met hoë standaarde. Dit is in Pretoria geleë.
De Goede Hoop bied ʼn tuiste vir dinamiese studente met Christelike waardes en ʼn passie vir Afrikaans; ʼn tuiste waar jy as jongmens in gesonde studentetradisies kan deel en jou studentwees met selfvertroue in Afrikaans kan uitleef.
DIE HELPENDE HAND STUDIETRUST (HHST) is ʼn inisiatief van Solidariteit Helpende Hand en is ʼn geregistreerde openbare weldaadsorganisasie wat behoeftige Afrikaanse studente se studie moontlik maak deur middel van rentevrye studielenings.
Die HHST administreer tans meer as 200 onafhanklike studiefondse namens verskeie donateurs en het reeds meer as 6 300 behoeftige studente se studie moontlik gemaak met ʼn totaal van R238 miljoen se studiehulp wat verleen is.
Solidariteit se sentrum vir voortgesette leer is ʼn opleidingsinstelling wat voortgesette professionele ontwikkeling vir professionele persone aanbied. S-leer het ten doel om werkendes met die bereiking van hul loopbaandoelwitte by te staan deur die aanbieding van seminare, kortkursusse, gespreksgeleenthede en e-leer waarin relevante temas aangebied en bespreek word.
Solidariteit Jeug berei jongmense voor vir die arbeidsmark, staan op vir hul belange en skakel hulle in by die Netwerk van Werk. Solidariteit Jeug is ʼn instrument om jongmense te help met loopbaankeuses en is ʼn tuiskomplek vir jongmense.
Solidariteit Regsfonds
ʼn Fonds om die onregmatige toepassing van regstellende aksie teen te staan.
Solidariteit Boufonds
ʼn Fonds wat spesifiek ten doel het om Solidariteit se opleidingsinstellings te bou.
SFD is ʼn gemagtigde finansiëledienstemaatskappy wat deel is van die Solidariteit Beweging. Die instelling se visie is om die toekomstige finansiële welstand, finansiële sekerheid en volhoubaarheid van Afrikaanse individue en ondernemings te bevorder. SFD doen dit deur middel van mededingende finansiële dienste en produkte, in Afrikaans en met uitnemende diens vir ʼn groter doel aan te bied.
Die Gemeenskapstrukture-afdeling bestaan tans uit twee mediese ondersteuningsprojekte en drie gemeenskapsentrums, naamlik Ons Plek in die Strand, Derdepoort en Volksrust. Die drie gemeenskapsentrums is gestig om veilige kleuter- en/of naskoolversorging in die onderskeie gemeenskappe beskikbaar te stel. Tans akkommodeer die gemeenskapsentrums altesaam 158 kinders in die onderskeie naskoolsentrums, terwyl Ons Plek in die Strand 9 kleuters en Ons Plek in Volksrust 16 kleuters in die kleuterskool het.
Die Solidariteit Skoleondersteuningsentrum (SOS) se visie is om die toekoms van Christelike, Afrikaanse onderwys te (help) verseker deur gehalte onderrig wat reeds bestaan in stand te (help) hou, én waar nodig nuut te (help) bou.
Die SOS se doel is om elke skool in ons land waar onderrig in Afrikaans aangebied word, by te staan om in die toekoms steeds onderrig van wêreldgehalte te bly bied en wat tred hou met die nuutste navorsing en internasionale beste praktyke.
Sol-Tech is ʼn geakkrediteerde, privaat beroepsopleidingskollege wat op Christelike waardes gefundeer is en Afrikaans as onderrigmedium gebruik.
Sol-Tech fokus op beroepsopleiding wat tot die verwerwing van nasionaal erkende, bruikbare kwalifikasies lei. Sol-Tech het dus ten doel om jongmense se toekomsdrome met betrekking tot loopbaanontwikkeling deur doelspesifieke opleiding te verwesenlik.
Akademia is ’n Christelike hoëronderwysinstelling wat op ’n oop, onbevange en kritiese wyse ’n leidinggewende rol binne die hedendaagse universiteitswese speel.
Akademia streef daarna om ʼn akademiese tuiste te bied waar sowel die denke as die hart gevorm word met die oog op ʼn betekenisvolle en vrye toekoms.
AfriForum Uitgewers (previously known as Kraal Uitgewers) is the proud publishing house of the Solidarity Movement and is the home of Afrikaans non-fiction, products related to the Afrikaner’s history, as well as other prime Afrikaans products. The publisher recently shifted its focus and will only publish internal publications of the Solidarity Movement from now on.
Maroela Media is ʼn Afrikaanse internetkuierplek waar jy alles kan lees oor dit wat in jou wêreld saak maak – of jy nou in Suid-Afrika bly of iewers anders woon en deel van die Afrikaanse Maroela-gemeenskap wil wees. Maroela Media se Christelike karakter vorm die kern van sy redaksionele beleid.
Kanton Beleggingsmaatskappy
Kanton is ʼn beleggingsmaatskappy vir eiendom wat deur die Solidariteit Beweging gestig is. Die eiendomme van die Solidariteit Beweging dien as basis van die portefeulje wat verder deur ontwikkeling uitgebrei sal word.
Kanton is ʼn vennootskap tussen kultuur en kapitaal en fokus daarop om volhoubare eiendomsoplossings aan instellings in die Afrikaanse gemeenskap teen ʼn goeie opbrengs te voorsien sodat hulle hul doelwitte kan bereik.
Wolkskool is ʼn produk van die Skoleondersteuningsentrum (SOS), ʼn niewinsgewende organisasie met ʼn span onderwyskundiges wat ten doel het om gehalte- Afrikaanse onderrig te help verseker. Wolkskool bied ʼn platform waar leerders 24-uur toegang tot video-lesse, vraestelle, werkkaarte met memorandums en aanlyn assessering kan kry.
Die Begrond Instituut is ʼn Christelike navorsingsinstituut wat die Afrikaanse taal en kultuur gemeenskap bystaan om Bybelse antwoorde op belangrike lewensvrae te kry.
Ons Winkels is Solidariteit Helpende Hand se skenkingswinkels. Daar is bykans 120 winkels landwyd waar lede van die publiek skenkings van tweedehandse goedere – meubels, kombuisware, linne en klere – kan maak. Die winkels ontvang die skenkings en verkoop goeie kwaliteit items teen bekostigbare pryse aan die publiek.
AfriForum is ʼn burgerregte-organisasie wat Afrikaners, Afrikaanssprekende mense en ander minderheidsgroepe in Suid-Afrika mobiliseer en hul regte beskerm.
AfriForum is ʼn nieregeringsorganisasie wat as ʼn niewinsgewende onderneming geregistreer is met die doel om minderhede se regte te beskerm. Terwyl die organisasie volgens die internasionaal erkende beginsel van minderheidsbeskerming funksioneer, fokus AfriForum spesifiek op die regte van Afrikaners as ʼn gemeenskap wat aan die suidpunt van die vasteland woon. Lidmaatskap is nie eksklusief nie en enige persoon wat hom of haar met die inhoud van die organisasies se Burgerregte-manifes vereenselwig, kan by AfriForum aansluit.
