The Anc Billionaires

'We were talking about the rise of Japan, about Ronald Reagan's Star Wars ... globalisation, technology. And they were still banging on about the Freedom Charter.' – Anglo American's Michael Spicer on the ANC in the mid-1980s. In 1985, a group of white South African business leaders, led by Gavin Relly, the executive chairperson of Anglo American, travelled to a game lodge in Zambia to meet with the exiled ANC leadership under Oliver Tambo and Thabo Mbeki. This visit set in motion a coordinated and well-resourced plan by big business to influence and direct political change in South Africa. In The ANC Billionaires, top-selling author Pieter du Toit draws on first-hand accounts by major roleplayers about the contentious relationship between capital and the ANC before, during and after the country's transition to democracy, and shows how the liberation organisation was completely unprepared to navigate the intersection between business and politics. He also ties the rise of the new elite – including Cyril Ramaphosa, Patrice Motsepe and Saki Macozoma – to the ANC, a party of government and patronage.

About 50km outside of Cape Town lies the beautiful town of Stellenbosch, nestled against vineyards and blue mountains that stretch to the sky. Here reside some of South Africa's wealthiest individuals: all male, all Afrikaans – and all stinking rich. Johann Rupert, Jannie Mouton, Markus Jooste and Christo Weise, to name a few. Julius Malema refers to them scathingly as 'The Stellenbosch Mafia', the very worst example of white monopoly capital. But who really are these mega-wealthy individuals, and what influence do they exert not only on Stellenbosch but more broadly on South African society? Author Pieter du Toit begins by exploring the roots of Stellenbosch, one of the wealthiest towns in South Africa and arguably the cradle of Afrikanerdom. This is the birthplace of apartheid leaders, intellectuals, newspaper empires and more. He then closely examines this 'club' of billionaires. Who are they and, crucially, how are they connected? What network of boardroom membership, alliances and family connections exist? Who are the 'old guard' and who are the 'inkommers', and what about the youngsters desperate to make their mark? He looks at the collapse of Steinhoff: what went wrong, and whether there are other companies at risk of a similar fate. He examines the control these men have over cultural life, including pulling the strings in South Africa rugby.

Favouring manoeuvre over attrition and often punching above their weight, South African soldiers have become known for their tenacity, dash and ability to defy the odds. Their unique directive command style has also helped them to excel in defining battles and operations, from the campaign in German South West Africa in 1915 to the cross-border operations in Angola during the Border War. In 20 Battles, military historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz investigate the evolution of South Africa's armed forces over a century from 1913 to 2013. They track the evolution of the doctrine and structure of the defence force, uncovering historical continuity and the lessons learned from past battles and operations. What is clear is that when South African soldiers have the freedom to operate according to their manoeuvre doctrine, as they had in East Africa in 1916 and southern Ethiopia in 1941, they can achieve stunning results. But when hemmed in by rigid doctrine and a top-down command style, as at Delville Wood in 1916 and Tobruk in 1942, the results can be tragic. 20 Battles combines both battlefield drama and crisp analysis and in the process provides a much-needed perspective on the South African way of war.

'How did a bullied, introverted Pretoria schoolboy become the world's richest person and arguably humanity's greatest change agent? Vlismas's extensively researched biography does a great job of unwrapping Elon Musk's remarkable life story.'– TOBY SHAPSHAK. Often in the news for his entrepreneurial exploits and his controversial tweets, Elon Musk is one of the richest and best-known people on earth. In 2022 he made headlines worldwide with his bid to buy Twitter. Who is this boundary-pushing billionaire with grand plans of inhabiting Mars, and what lies at the heart of his vision? Why is he so utterly unafraid of risk? As an awkward Pretoria schoolboy who loved comics and science fiction, Musk's early years and singular family background were crucial in forming his stellar ambitions. Journalist and author Michael Vlismas, who attended the same high school as Musk, knows well the environment that shaped him and offers new insights into Musk's development, including his troubled relationship with his father. Tracing his remarkable life, from his South African childhood to his move to Canada at 17 and then to the US – where Musk made millions out of PayPal and built Tesla and SpaceX into two of the world's most famous companies – this is the story of a man driven to preserve the optimism he sees in humanity and find a future for humans 'out there among the stars'.

'This is a South African story of an unsung hero, a man forgotten by history – though not by me, nor by the people who knew and respected him ...' When his grandfather gave sermons, he was 'capable of shaking mountains', a church leader tells journalist and author Lesley Mofokeng. 'Ntate Mofokeng pulled people towards God with the great and rare talent of a motivator.' In this revealing book, Mofokeng investigates the life of his grandfather, Mongangane Wilfred Mofokeng, a prominent Dutch Reformed Church evangelist. In the 1950s, as Black South Africans were being evicted from the cities to live in reserves and homelands, Mongangane set out to build a community at a dusty cattle post in the far North West province. There he managed to establish a resilient community that mostly lived outside the repressions of the apartheid regime. The journey takes the author from Johannesburg's Marabi-soaked townships of the 1930s to his childhood home of Gelukspan near Lichtenburg and then to rural Free State and the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. In what becomes a spiritual quest, he traces the inspirational footsteps of his ancestors and the legendary King Moshoeshoe. Mofokeng also explores the politics and history of the Dutch Reformed Church's Black constituency and uncovers why to this day it is called Kereke ya Fora – or 'Church of the French' – and its hymns are sung across denominations and in social spaces outside the church.

After the Party burst onto the South African political scene when it was published in 2006, becoming an instant bestseller. Detailing ex-ANC MP Andrew Feinstein's involvement with the ruling party - his euphoria at being part of the new South Africa followed by a growing disillusionment over the ANC's handling of HIV/AIDS and in particular the notorious Arms Deal. Now, in a new edition, Feinstein brings his fascinating story up to date following the watershed ANC Conference at Polokwane and the shift of power within the party. He writes an insider account of developments in the Arms Deal investigations, including the allegations against President Thabo Mbeki, and the German and British inquiries. He details the rise of Jacob Zuma and sets out the overwhelming case that Zuma faces on charges of corruption.

In the aftermath of the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, 31 of South Africa's top analysts, economists, academics and journalists – including Adriaan Basson, Koos Bekker, Pieter du Toit, Adam Habib and Thuli Madonsela – try to chart a way forward, identify our biggest stumbling blocks, and offer solutions for when the virus subsides. When reports emerged from China in December 2019 about a seemingly incurable virus, few South Africans took notice. But less than three months after those reports, in March 2020, South Africa went into a full lockdown. Life as we knew it ground to a halt. Schools were closed, businesses were shuttered, a curfew imposed, freedom of movement curtailed and hospitals prepared for an unprecedented health storm. The spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has forced the world and South Africa to reconsider how society works. Can the economy continue to function as it has for the past century, and how can it be reconfigured to be more inclusive? In a post-state-capture country, what must citizens expect and demand from their government? And how can we bridge societal cleavages – many caused by our unjust past – so that we emerge a stronger nation beyond Covid-19? Contributors: Pieter du Toit, Haroon Bhorat, Servaas van der Berg, Imraan Valodia, Alex van den Heever, Louis Reynolds, Kuku Voyi, James Arens, Ron Derby, Thabi Leoka, Koos Bekker, Ann Bernstein, Dawie Roodt, Norman Mbazima, Isaah Mhlanga, Qaanitah Hunter, Thuli Madonsela, Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, Mcebisi Ndletyana, Nicole Fritz, Mpumelelo Mkhabela, William Gumede, Judith February, Darias Jonker, Theo Venter, Leon Wessels, Elmien du Plessis, Ralph Mathekga, Adriaan Basson, Adam Habib, Wilmot James.

Buckle up for a tour of South Africa – your guide the inimitable Sihle Khumalo. Born in South Africa, and having lived here for almost fifty years, Khumalo reflects on the past and ponders the future of this captivating yet complex country. He delves into the history of the names given to our towns and cities (from Graaff-Reinet to Schweizer-Reneke to Zastron) and in the process raises issues we might not have interrogated fully.