{"id":652,"date":"2025-02-12T15:59:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T13:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/?page_id=652"},"modified":"2025-08-22T10:08:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T08:08:29","slug":"exclusive-blog","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/exclusive-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Articles"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"652\" class=\"elementor elementor-652\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-53126baf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"53126baf\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-no\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6465016d\" data-id=\"6465016d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2fd910ca elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2fd910ca\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Articles<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e8ee53e elementor-icon-list--layout-inline elementor-align-center elementor-list-item-link-full_width elementor-widget elementor-widget-icon-list\" data-id=\"2e8ee53e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"icon-list.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-icon-list-items elementor-inline-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-inline-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/welcome\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">HOME<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-inline-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span 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data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"tfposts.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"tf-posts-2f1f3705\" class=\"tf-posts-2f1f3705 tf-posts-wrap column-3 tablet-column-3 mobile-column-1 has-carousel has-arrow no-bullets grid-styles-3 featured-post-middle  has-underline-button\" data-tabid=\"2f1f3705\" data-class_id=\"tf-posts-2f1f3705\" data-loop=\"\" data-auto=\"yes\" data-column=\"2\" data-column2=\"1\" data-column3=\"1\" data-spacer=\"30\" data-prev_icon=\"fas fa-chevron-left\" data-next_icon=\"fas fa-chevron-right\" >\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-posts owl-carousel owl-theme grid\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"column\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry blog-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/fire\/\" class=\"overlay\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-category\"><i class=\"far fa-folder\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/category\/by-mike-sham\/\" rel=\"category tag\">By Mike Sham<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/fire\/\" title=\"Mashatile Under Fire!\">Mashatile Under Fire!<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-author\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fas fa-user-circle\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/author\/state-of-the-nation\/\">State Of The Nation<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-date\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-calendar-alt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/\">4 August 2025<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-post\">Weekly Update \u2013 1st August 2025Mashatile Under Fire You know that the succession race in the ANC has begun because current Deputy President Paul Mashatile is in the cross hairs for his dodgy dealings. Let\u2019s be clear, the ANC never leaks corruption information until they want to use it to get rid of someone. What we are seeing now is the same playbook that Thabo Mbeki used unsuccessfully against Jacob Zuma in the build up to the ANC\u2019s infamous 2007 elective congress held in Polokwane. This playbook was dusted off and used by Cyril Ramaphosa once again, in the build&hellip;<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-button-container \">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/fire\/\" class=\"tf-button bt_icon_after\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD Full Article<i class=\"icon icon-right-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"column\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry blog-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/serious\/\" class=\"overlay\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-category\"><i class=\"far fa-folder\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/category\/by-mike-sham\/\" rel=\"category tag\">By Mike Sham<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/serious\/\" title=\"These Are Not Serious People!\">These Are Not Serious People!<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-author\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fas fa-user-circle\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/author\/state-of-the-nation\/\">State Of The Nation<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-date\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-calendar-alt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/\">17 July 2025<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-post\">These Are Not Serious People! \u201cThese are not serious people\u201d, this phrase was made popular in the TV show Succession. It is time for us to admit that the ANC are not serious people. They are not serious about governance, they are not serious about the economy, they are not serious about accountability, they are not serious about service delivery, they are not serious about law and order. They are only serious about clinging to power and stealing money. For the other 65 million citizens, they couldn\u2019t give a damn. The latest proof of the ANC\u2019s lack of seriousness has&hellip;<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-button-container \">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/serious\/\" class=\"tf-button bt_icon_after\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD Full Article<i class=\"icon icon-right-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"column\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry blog-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"image\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/national\/\" class=\"overlay\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-category\"><i class=\"far fa-folder\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/category\/by-mike-sham\/\" rel=\"category tag\">By Mike Sham<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/national\/\" title=\"Why The National Dialogue Matters\">Why The National Dialogue Matters<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-author\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fas fa-user-circle\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/author\/state-of-the-nation\/\">State Of The Nation<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-date\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-calendar-alt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/\">1 July 2025<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-post\">Why The National Dialogue Matters The announcement by John Steenhuisen, that the Democratic Alliance will not be participating in the so called \u201cNational Dialogue\u201d was met with two responses. Many commentators gave it a big \u201cso what?\u201d, as this National Dialogue seems like an overpriced talk-shop which will not achieve anything as all the country\u2019s problems are very well known.&nbsp; It has been the second response that has interested me. President Cyril Ramaphosa who usually takes weeks to make any decisions on anything, interrupted a press briefing with the President of Austria to attack the DA\u2019s decision.&nbsp; \u2022 He accused&hellip;<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-button-container \">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/national\/\" class=\"tf-button bt_icon_after\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD Full Article<i class=\"icon icon-right-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"column\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry blog-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"featured-post\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/maxresdefault-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"image\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/south-africas-choice-asia-or-south-america\/\" class=\"overlay\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-category\"><i class=\"far fa-folder\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/category\/by-mike-sham\/\" rel=\"category tag\">By Mike Sham<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/south-africas-choice-asia-or-south-america\/\" title=\"SOUTH AFRICA\u2019S CHOICE: ASIA OR SOUTH AMERICA\">SOUTH AFRICA\u2019S CHOICE: ASIA OR SOUTH AMERICA<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-meta\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-author\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"fas fa-user-circle\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/author\/state-of-the-nation\/\">State Of The Nation<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-date\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i class=\"far fa-calendar-alt\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/\">18 June 2025<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-post\">SOUTH AFRICA\u2019S CHOICE: ASIA OR SOUTH AMERICA The general election of 2024 was South Africa\u2019s true Rubicon moment. I am not sure that we realise how important the outcome was for the future of the country. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, it was the \u201cend of the beginning\u201d of the New South Africa. The majority of South African voters said, loud and clear, that they had had enough of the liberation movement and that they would no longer vote on emotion. This was a massive statement by the people. Perhaps the gravity of the moment was hidden by the formation of&hellip;<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-button-container \">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/2025\/06\/18\/south-africas-choice-asia-or-south-america\/\" class=\"tf-button bt_icon_after\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD Full Article<i class=\"icon icon-right-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i> \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"owl-nav\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-prev\"><i class=\"fas fa-chevron-left\"><\/i><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"tf-next\"><i class=\"fas fa-chevron-right\"><\/i><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Articles HOME BLOG By Mike Sham Mashatile Under Fire! State Of The Nation 4 August 2025 Weekly Update \u2013 1st August 2025Mashatile Under Fire You know that the succession race in the ANC has begun because current Deputy President Paul Mashatile is in the cross hairs for his dodgy dealings. Let\u2019s be clear, the ANC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-652","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1770,"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/652\/revisions\/1770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sona.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}