HAND IN HAND
By FM writers
When it comes to the private lives of SA's public figures, the media are remarkably restrained. SA has many couples who straddle key political and business positions, yet they are treated as one-dimensional - their relationships seem ...
TWIN ENGINES OF THE ECONOMY
By Sven Lünsche
For most South Africans, Trevor Manuel and Maria Ramos embody SA's power elite: one entrenched in politics and the other in business. Together with Wendy (Luhabe) and Mbhazima (Shilowa), Trevor and Maria are probably the first n...
KING & QUEEN BEE
By Prakash Naidoo
They were very much the glamorous couple of the struggle in the 1980s. Two decades later, they have emerged as a power couple to be reckoned with. Ever since her appointment as minister of minerals & energy affairs in 1999, P...
HOW FAR CAN THEY GO?
By Sibonelo Radebe
How would Wendy Luhabe - an accomplished entrepreneur and social activist - do as SA's first lady? Those in the know may dismiss this question as a bit far-fetched, but surely it has crossed many minds. That alone makes Wendy...
COMRADES IN ARMS
By Claire Bisseker
Public service & administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi and her husband, deputy finance minister Jabu Moleketi, are two peas in a pod. As well as being extremely loyal to the ANC, they are both serious, intellectua...
ASSETS AND ASSENT
By Themba Hlengani
Brian and Portia Molefe probably rank as the most powerful couple when you look at the value of assets they have influence over - R700bn. (Trevor Manuel and Maria Ramos may want to argue: he has the national budget of R450bn/year while...
THE MINISTERIAL FORCE
By Peter Honey
If one measured power purely by government position, then the Nqakulas would be SA's most powerful couple. It matters not that both preside over state departments many South Africans regard as dysfunctional and corrupt. The f...
WHEELS AND DEALS
By Brendan Ryan & Prakash Naidoo
Bridgette and Jeff Radebe are not necessarily a picture-perfect couple, with Bridgette the more energetic of the two. Jeff has been a government minister since 1994, after joining the ANC in 1976. After his tireless work for ...
MY REVOLUTIONARY FRIEND
By Prakash Naidoo
By definition, the Mbekis are SA's quintessential power couple and certainly its most unconventional. Throughout his life, Thabo Mbeki has never been far from the seat of power. He has held it personally for the past 12 years...
Ranking the Analysts 2009
