On Mhlaba Street in Soweto there is some trepidation this particular morning. All week, summer storms have blown down trees and flooded roads around the small cement houses that line the potholed road. More are expected and Magadelene Maranele at No 118 is far from confident her roof will resist another downpour. There are metaphorical as well as literal storm clouds on the horizon. Just a mile or so away, a cavernous conference centre is being prepared for the elective conference of the African National Congress (ANC) party and the political forecasts are as bad as the meteorological ones. The...