How a Russia-linked mine may keep the ANC in power
South Africa’s ruling party was broke a few months ago, but its fortunes are changing
JUST A FEW months ago the African National Congress (ANC) had the bailiff at its door. A court had ordered the seizure of assets from its headquarters over an unpaid 102m rand ($5.6m) bill for campaign posters produced for the previous election in 2019. It was not the first time of late that courts had been asked to force the ANC to pay up. In 2022 employees of the party, which has ruled South Africa for 30 years, sued over unpaid salaries. It was so broke that it said it was trying to find lawyers willing to work pro bono on its case.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Russia, money and South Africa’s election”
From the May 18th 2024 edition
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