Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
ZambiaIn the news
Power lines in Midrand transfer electricity from fossil fuel-powered stations.

The missing link in Southern Africa’s energy future

Southern Africa possesses a significant surplus of generating capacity, yet millions struggle with unreliable power due to inadequate transmission infrastructure. This article…

Khanyisela Dayi

Khanyisela Dayi, 34, believes leadership begins long before a title. For her, it starts by showing up where decisions are made, asking difficult questions and creating space for…

Icon: Nelson Mandela was no saint

South Africa's debt to Africa

South Africa's freedom was never a purely South African achievement. The country liberated by African solidarity should not allow anger over migration to become an alibi for…

Malawian nationals are gathered to board bases home.

South Africa’s crisis of state authority and when citizens begin deporting people

South Africa is grappling with a crisis that extends beyond immigration, questioning the very essence of governance. Anti-immigration groups like Operation Dudula and March and…

As demand for copper, cobalt and other minerals needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy surges, a new report warns that allegations of human rights abuses linked to mining in Africa are rising even faster

Africa bears growing human cost of the world's rush for critical minerals

A new report by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre reveals that allegations of human rights abuses linked to transition mineral mining in Africa more than doubled in…

As renewable investment scales across the continent, conventional risk tools will need to be complemented by market-responsive strategies that reflect the institutional and financial realities of each context.

The risk problem with investors treating African energy as one market

The 2024 El Niño drought severely impacted Southern Africa's energy infrastructure, notably Lake Kariba, exposing the diverse and complex risks investors face across the…

External demand: Minerals must do more than leave the continent as raw materials. They must also support industrialisation, technology transfer, skills development, energy access and economic transformation.
 Photo: Open Society

The problem is not China; it’s Africa

A Zimbabwean expert argues that Africa's approach to China regarding critical minerals is outdated, rooted in Cold War politics and anti-colonial solidarity. The article contends…