Our People
Ray Hartley
Research Director, The Brenthurst Foundation
Ray Hartley is the Research Director of the Brenthurst Foundation. Ray has a postgraduate honours degree from Rhodes University where he studied African politics and journalism.
Ray was an anti-apartheid activist in the United Democratic Front while serving on the executive of the National Union of South African Students. He later worked for the Human Awareness Programme, an NGO which provided training and advice to activists. He then worked as an administrator in the Codesa constitutional negotiations that ended apartheid. After a stint as the boxing correspondent of the then Weekly Mail, he joined Business Day and then the Sunday Times. He covered the Nelson Mandela presidency, travelling the world with him and witnessing the birth of the new, democratic South Africa.
He has edited several prominent South African newspapers and online publications, including the Sunday Times, The Times, Rand Daily Mail and BusinessLIVE.
Ray is the author of Ragged Glory: The rainbow nation in black and white, which tells the story of the first two turbulent decades of democracy in South Africa. He wrote The Big Fix: How South Africa stole the 2010 World Cup and more recently _Ramaphosa: The Man Who Would be King. Ray also authored chapters in Better Choices and In The Name of the People
Content by Ray Hartley
NEWS
Show Xi the Money – the Chinese Maths of State Capture 2.0
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Oct 2023
NEWS
Why we Should Worry about the Lady R — and the United States
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 Sep 2023
NEWS
South Africa’s Perilous Journey — our Nation’s Future is Either Good, Bad or Downright Ugly
Greg Mills, Mills Soko, Ray Hartley
22 Sep 2023
NEWS
Warfare State — why Zimbabwe Under Zanu-PF will not Progress
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley, Tendai Biti
20 Sep 2023
NEWS
The Truth? It’s Been Downhill for South Africa Since we Joined BRICS
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
7 Sep 2023
NEWS
‘Unfree, Unfair’: The Post-Election Danger of Harare’s Unchecked Course
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 Aug 2023
NEWS
South Africa’s Strange Obsession with China is Proof That it’s a Cheap Date
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 Aug 2023
VIDEOS
Moneyweb: Ray Hartley on the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg
Ray Hartley
26 Aug 2023
NEWS
All in All, It's Just Another BRICS in the Mall
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
25 Aug 2023
NEWS
South Africa’s Moment of Political Hope has Finally Arrived
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
22 Aug 2023
NEWS
"We Don't Need no Thought Control” – The Problem with the BRICS Summit
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
21 Aug 2023
BOOKS
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Greg Mills, Mills Soko, Ray Hartley
NEWS
Zuma, Ramaphosa, Mashatile: SA Business Must Finally Accept the Problem is the ANC Itself
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
31 Jul 2023
NEWS
Courtus Interruptus? Don’t be Fooled, Putin’s Absence From SA May Only be Temporary
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
25 Jul 2023
NEWS
From Friendship to Fiendship? SA’s Foreign Policy Since Mandela
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
24 Jul 2023
NEWS
Dead Ideology Fights Back – But Ad Hominem Attacks Won’t Make SA’s Foreign Policy Rational, or Right
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
10 Jul 2023
NEWS
It’s Time to Remove the Wagner Killers from Africa
Greg Mills, John Gowing , Ray Hartley
30 Jun 2023
NEWS
Second Nobel Laureate Signs Gdańsk Declaration
Ray Hartley
28 Jun 2023
NEWS
Punching Below our Diplomatic Weight – Why SA Foreign Policy Fails on Ukraine
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
19 Jun 2023
VIDEOS
Ray Hartley on SA's Russia Relations | Carte Blanche | M-Net
Ray Hartley
30 May 2023
NEWS
A New Blight Befouls South Africa — Truth Shedding
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
19 May 2023
NEWS
Eight Reasons Why it’s in Africa’s Interests to Support Ukraine
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
18 May 2023
VIDEOS
Position of African Countries on Russia's War Against Ukraine : Russia's soft power in Africa Today
Ray Hartley
18 May 2023
NEWS
The Return of History? No Future Guaranteed, No State a Spectator
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
12 May 2023
NEWS
Feeble Smear Campaign Against Brenthurst Foundation has Troubling Dimensions
Ray Hartley
8 May 2023
NEWS
China, India and Brazil in favour of UN Resolution Describing Russia as Aggressor – SA Abstains – What Now?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 May 2023
NEWS
Why Mo Shaik’s Rattle and Roll Just Doesn’t Rock
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
2 May 2023
NEWS
A Confederacy of Dunces: Ramaphosa is Drowning in a Sea of Morbid Symptoms
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
28 Apr 2023
NEWS
In Apparent Effort not to Upset Putin’s Russia, ANC Government Bans Arms Sales to Poland
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Apr 2023
NEWS
Zimbabwe Needs a Second Liberation – From the Liberators Themselves
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
27 Mar 2023
NEWS
Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, You Have the Power to Take us Back Into the Light — Here’s how to do it
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
15 Mar 2023
NEWS
The Shocking True Cost of Rolling Blackouts — Trillions, not Billions
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Mar 2023
NEWS
Murder we Vote? Arresting South Africa’s Slide into a Failed State Anarchy
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
20 Feb 2023
NEWS
What Could — and Should — the Ukraine War Cost South Africa?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
13 Feb 2023
NEWS
Zimbabwe’s voters favour Nelson Chamisa over President Mnangagwa, survey shows
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
7 Feb 2023
SURVEYS
Survey of Voter Opinion: Zimbabwe
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
7 Feb 2023
NEWS
The Defence of Russia Risks Taking South Africa Down a Dark and Authoritarian Road
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Feb 2023
NEWS
Friendship or Fiendship? South Africa’s Weird Love for Russia Poses Serious Questions
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
27 Jan 2023
NEWS
South Africa’s Fawning at the Feet of the Russians will Carry High Costs
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
24 Jan 2023
NEWS
The Smoke that Blunders — Russia, China and SA Navy Exercise is Immoral, Stupid and Impractical
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
17 Jan 2023
NEWS
The ANC is Not Fit for Purpose in an Open Democratic Society — and Most South Africans Now Agree
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
11 Jan 2023
VIDEOS
ANC conference, a defining moment for South Africa's future
Ray Hartley
16 Dec 2022
NEWS
De Ruyter Resignation — Tripping the Light Fantastic
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
15 Dec 2022
VIDEOS
Video Launch - South Africa’s Future: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley, Roelf Meyer
14 Dec 2022
NEWS
The Night Simon’s Town Became Vladimir Putin’s Town
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
9 Dec 2022
NEWS
Dr Jackal, Mr Hyena and the Two Faces of ANC Politics
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 Nov 2022
NEWS
South Africans Overwhelmingly Favour a National Coalition to Govern the Country – Electoral Survey
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
23 Nov 2022
NEWS
Brenthurst Survey Shows Vast Majority of South Africans Condemn Russia
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
21 Nov 2022
NEWS
Defence Minister Thandi Modise’s Dangerous Dance with Putin
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
31 Oct 2022
EVENTS
How Populism is Rewiring the World - In the Name of the People Virtual Book Launch
with Ray Hartley, Tendai Biti
VIDEOS
Where to Next?: Inside Lesotho's 2022 Election
Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley, Richard Morrow
25 Oct 2022
NEWS
Ramaphosa's Weak Government Dangerously out of Touch with Africa
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
14 Oct 2022
BOOKS
In the Name of the People: How Populism is Rewiring the World
Christopher Clapham, Greg Mills, Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno, Lyal White, Ray Hartley, Tendai Biti
NEWS
Dirco and the Ukraine War — The Department of Whataboutism
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
6 Oct 2022
NEWS
The Grim Prospect of the EFF Governing SA Looms
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
4 Oct 2022
NEWS
Memories of Mother, Mandela and the Queen
Ray Hartley
14 Sep 2022
EVENTS
Ethical Leadership in Conflict
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
The World has Changed, but South Africa's Foreign Policy has Failed to Change With it
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
8 Sep 2022
NEWS
Lessons from Kenya's Knife-Edge Presidential Election
Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley
6 Sep 2022
BOOKS
Better Choices: Ensuring South Africa's Future
Greg Mills, Mcebisi Jonas, Ray Hartley
NEWS
Flying Circus — Thandi Modise's Shocking Trip to Russian Security Conference
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
15 Aug 2022
NEWS
South Africa's favouritism towards autocratic nations poisons its recipe for democracy
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
8 Aug 2022
NEWS
In the Darkness of Rolling Blackouts, Ramaphosa's Fate is Being Decided
Ray Hartley
22 Jul 2022
NEWS
South Africa and the Russian Federation — Pause Before Engaging
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
14 Jul 2022
VIDEOS
Somaliland: How to Get onto the Right Side of History
Bobi Wine, Greg Mills, John Steenhuisen, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley, Richard Harper, Richard Morrow, Tendai Biti
29 Jun 2022
NEWS
Better Choices: Can South Africa Avoid the Perfect and Potentially Violent Gathering Storm?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
26 May 2022
VIDEOS
The War in Ukraine and Food Security in Africa and the Middle East
Ray Hartley
27 Apr 2022
NEWS
On Russia and Ukraine, the Opposition, not the ANC, Speaks for SA
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
23 Mar 2022
NEWS
Et tu Cyril? Your Russian Petticoat Has Been Exposed
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
18 Mar 2022
NEWS
Cries of Pain and Anguish — Why the ANC is on the Wrong Side of History over Ukraine
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
7 Mar 2022
NEWS
South Africa Cannot Pivot to Prosperity Without Truly Brave Leaders
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
17 Jan 2022
NEWS
Apartheid-Era's Last President, FW de Klerk, Was a Man at War With His History
Ray Hartley
12 Nov 2021
NEWS
Ramaphosa's Choice: Lead or Be Led
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
1 Nov 2021
NEWS
Morocco's Essaouira: The Tolerant City Where Things Have Always Been Done Differently
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
22 Oct 2021
VIDEOS
Newzroom Afrika Interview with Ray Hartley
Ray Hartley
1 Sep 2021
NEWS
Three Things President Ramaphosa Can Do Now to Kickstart a New Trajectory Scenario
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
10 Aug 2021
PUBLICATIONS
A Special Economic Zone Masterplan for Gauteng
Ray Hartley, Richard Morrow
5 Aug 2021
NEWS
After the Looting: A Snap Survey Reveals What South Africans Think — And Fear
Greg Mills, Henry Sands, Ray Hartley
2 Aug 2021
VIDEOS
The Asian Roundabout: Afghanistan After the West's Withdrawal
Greg Mills, Johnny Clegg, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ray Hartley, Richard Harper, Robin Auld
26 Jul 2021
NEWS
It's Time for the Law-Abiding Middle to Take Ownership of South Africa
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
16 Jul 2021
NEWS
Ramaphosa Holds Our Future in His Hands, but Can He Do the Right Thing?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
14 Jul 2021
PUBLICATIONS
Can Eskom Perform the Power Pivot?
Ray Hartley
22 Jun 2021
NEWS
Ramaphosa Needs to Move from Tinkering to Reforming
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
9 May 2021
NEWS
South Africa's Vaccine Roll-Out Failings Expose the Hollowing Out of the State
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
9 Apr 2021
EVENTS
GAP: A Pandemic, Post State Capture Budget: Has Tito Delivered?
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
A Pandemic, Post-State Capture Budget: Has Tito Delivered?
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
South Africa and Democracy in Africa - A webinar in partnership with RUSI
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
Outplaying the populists: A playbook for competitive African politics
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
16 Feb 2021
NEWS
Dealing with Zuma: It's a choice between a political and constitutional crisis
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
2 Feb 2021
EVENTS
GAP: Efficiency of Fiscal Spending, Political Economy of Reform
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
Debt and Taxes: What Does South Africa's Future Hold? A Webinar Series
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
GAP: Revenue management: What Is To Be Done?
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
Uganda: Keeping a Democratic Dream — and a Candidate — Alive
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
16 Jan 2021
EVENTS
GAP: Our Fiscal Consolidation Path: Is it Feasible?
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
The Careless State: Using 'easy money' to retain power, pursue vanity projects and cushion the elite
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
6 Jan 2021
EVENTS
Watch The Webinar: Tanzania's Lurch Backwards
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
Watch the Webinar: A Special Case: Zambia's Economic Meltdown
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
Ramaphosa's recovery plan: A tipping point for energy and infrastructure — or another missed opportunity?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Nov 2020
EVENTS
Watch The Webinar: Lockdown Economics: Will the Economic Recovery Plan Work?
with Ray Hartley
VIDEOS
A Aspiração Asiática
Bobi Wine, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Hailemariam Desalegn, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ray Hartley
14 Oct 2020
VIDEOS
L'aspiration asiatique
Bobi Wine, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Hailemariam Desalegn, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ray Hartley
14 Oct 2020
VIDEOS
The Asian Aspiration Documentary
Bobi Wine, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Greg Mills, Hailemariam Desalegn, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ray Hartley
12 Oct 2020
EVENTS
Watch The Webinar: Turning SA Around Province by Province
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
Watch The Webinar: Can South African Tourism Be Saved?
with Ray Hartley
EVENTS
Watch the Webinar: Easing the Costs of Doing Business in Lesotho
with Ray Hartley
NEWS
How Covid-19 changed the way the world works
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
27 Aug 2020
NEWS
Why the ANC should back 'all-inclusive dialogue' on Zimbabwe's future
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
24 Aug 2020
NEWS
Steps towards a Smarter Lockdown: Game-Lodges
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 Jul 2020
PUBLICATIONS
South Africa's Greatest Economic Adversary...Itself - Finding Common Ground for Growth
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
23 Jul 2020
NEWS
South Africa at a Fork in the Road
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
22 Jul 2020
NEWS
Ten Years of Change in Three Months
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
22 Jul 2020
NEWS
Malawi: Will they come or will they go?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Jul 2020
NEWS
It's time that Ramaphosa owned the wasted 26 years
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
28 Jun 2020
NEWS
Malawi's remarkable election — and fresh opportunity
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
26 Jun 2020
NEWS
Identifying one quick win for the government
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
22 Jun 2020
NEWS
Will you have to fill Eskom's R30bn Covid hole?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
18 Jun 2020
NEWS
Zimbabwe crumbles while SA looks on in 'solidarity'
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
18 Jun 2020
NEWS
How South Africa in 2020 compares with Singapore in 1995
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
17 Jun 2020
NEWS
ANC rhetoric bodes ill for SA's post-Covid economy
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Jun 2020
NEWS
Ramaphosa's lockdown lesson: Trust is hard to build and easily broken
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
29 May 2020
NEWS
Electric cars? Stand aside (and in line) for Patel's Trabant
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
15 May 2020
NEWS
Five clear markers for the ANC on the road to recovery
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
12 May 2020
NEWS
No, President Ramaphosa, this is not an intellectual exercise
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
5 May 2020
NEWS
An Iron Curtain Is Falling On Our Freedom
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
1 May 2020
NEWS
After the virus: What are Africa's chances of recovery?
Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley
30 Apr 2020
PUBLICATIONS
How to Turn Crisis into Opportunity: After COVID-19 — Choices for a Better South African Future
Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley
23 Apr 2020
NEWS
Handing over authority to securocrats has made Ramaphosa's 'heavy cross' impossible to bear
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
13 Apr 2020
NEWS
How much could Coronavirus cost the SA economy? A preliminary estimate
Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley
30 Mar 2020
NEWS
Malawi court's landmark ruling puts spotlight on foreign observers
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
7 Feb 2020
VIDEOS
The Future of African Cities - Crucibles of Change
Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Nchimunya Hamukoma, Ray Hartley
30 Jan 2020
PUBLICATIONS
Where the Rubber Hits the Road - The Future Of African Cities
Archimedes Muzenda, David Kilcullen, Dianna Games, Dickie Davis, Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno, Nchimunya Hamukoma, Nicola Doyle, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ray Hartley, Sarah Calburn
27 Jan 2020
NEWS
Dam It! Ethiopia's game-changing project — and its regional problem
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
14 Jan 2020
NEWS
A Tip for African Governments on Attracting Investment
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
5 Dec 2019
NEWS
Beyond hooking up: Attracting long-term investment requires a different approach
Emily van der Merwe, Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
18 Oct 2019
NEWS
Fixing Eskom: Home Truths and Unavoidable Actions
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
11 Oct 2019
PUBLICATIONS
Somaliland - New Ways Of Doing Things In A Tough Neighbourhood
Greg Mills, Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, Ray Hartley
10 Sep 2019
NEWS
Eskom - Too big to fail, or too big to save?
Greg Mills, Ray Hartley
3 Jun 2019