By 
The year of 2025 has kicked off with some positives and negatives both globally and locally; an indication that this year will be an action filled year in the political eco-system.
Starting abroad, the incoming President of the United States of America (USA) Donald Trump has been very forceful scaring a number of nations across the globe, he is basically bullying everyone to bow down to his will or face the consequences of being disobedient towards the world super power.
Trump seems to be on a power trip and determined to make America greater than it is now. As the BRICS bloc is making moves towards de-dollarisation and use member state currencies in their trade, Trump has warned the bloc against such a move threatening them with a 100% tariff increase should they come up with a rival currency.
The president-elect is acting like a wild beast on the loose; he has threatened to withdraw America from NATO, a member of which they are the largest contributor. He is stepping on every toe he comes across. He even threatened Israel and Hamas to conclude the ceasefire deal before he assumes office otherwise ‘all hell will break loose’.
However, this led to a positive outcome as the two parties finally reached an agreement that will commence on Sunday, 19 January 2025, by releasing some of the hostages.
The world is watching in anticipation to see what is going to happen after his inauguration on 20 January 2025; the globe is currently going through an anxiety disorder attack as they do not know what to expect from this radical leader of the first world.
South Africa is also not immune to the Trump assault, since the country is an ally of America’s enemy, Russia, and South Africa is opposed to Israel, an ally of America, the two countries are at variance and the worry now is ‘what is going to happen to AGOA?’.
South Africa also has its political drama, starting with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the party has recovered a bit from the Shivambu exit, but drama and speculation still surrounds the party; during its NPA in December 2024, one of its founding members Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was a no show, which sparked a lot of debate.
This year opened with Ndlozi resigning a member of parliament for the EFF, but remains a member of the party, it is also reported that he has renewed his membership and will remain an ordinary member at branch level. The calibre of Ndlozi is not the kind you put on the bench, he still has a lot to contribute in the political landscape of our country.
The African National Congress (ANC) is circulating around Ndlozi trying to entice him to join the party, what he will decide is still to be seen.
On the other hand, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) seems to be self-distracting, it is a ticking bomb that is expected to implode at any given time. Members are fighting amongst themselves, to a point that they chant for one of their leaders to leave the stage during one of their gatherings. Now that the treasurer of the party has also resigned, just indicates the level of instability in the party.
An audio clip was leaked to the public of where the party Leader Jacob Zuma was heard pleading with the members to stop the infighting as it is discouraging to its members and paints a bad name for the party in public during a meeting.
Local elections are coming up next year, the race to win municipalities will begin this year and we are going to witness more political spats in public. This year is going to be one hectic year. Some are expecting the EFF to die following the departure of key people, some are expecting the MKP to self-distract and while some are expecting the ANC to lose more voter support and for the Democratic Alliance (DA) to gain momentum or remain the same.
It is still early days, but as the year progresses; we will see what shape our politics takes.
