Ronnie Kasrils, author and former government minister, was blown away by Two Minutes to Midnight: Will Ramaphosa’s ANC Survive? by Oscar van Heerden.

The book is out now from Jacana Media.

• Buy the ebook here

Read his recommendation below:

There have been many bestsellers and articles galore about state capture, the Guptas and corruption, a failing economy, state dysfunction, the factional war within the ANC, the enigma of Zuma, Ramaphosa and what lies in store for us all.

The chronicle in the main is told by outsiders with their tally of undisclosed informants. To most in our country, including its membership, the ANC is that Churchillian view of Russia constituting ‘a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma’.

None dissects this mystery about our governing party with the mastery and insight of Oscar van Heerden, activist and academic, a fearlessly independent ANC thinker, who has experience from within the belly of the beast.

In his book, Van Heerden’s Doomsday Clock places South Africa at two minutes to midnight. The hands of the clock are appropriately depicted as daggers on the book’s cover. These may be viewed as the rival factions, daggers drawn, within the country’s governing party. The author does not pull his punches about the existential threat to a country on the edge of the abyss. If we are to avert an impending Armageddon, we need to understand the grim reality both within an ANC and repercussions for the country in order to push back those hands on the clock face. Van Heerden strips to the bone the dangers we face, their cause, and, most importantly, the possibility of a solution.

This is a riveting read that offers an analysis and hope of averting catastrophe we dare not ignore. Buckle your seatbelts and prepare for a rollercoaster ride. Yes, we could come off the tracks, yet Van Heerden’s analysis does point to a hopeful fork in the road ahead.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Jacana Media Oscar van Heerden Ronnie Kasrils Two Minutes to Midnight