When read in connection with South Africa’s political history, Phaethon and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice narratives provide insight into how societies gain power and why the protection of human rights — celebrated annually on Human Rights Day (21 March) — depends on responsible, effective systems of governance.
Health economics research estimates that obesity cost South Africa approximately R33.2 billion in 2020, equivalent to about 15% of government health expenditure and roughly 0.67% of GDP
Through strikes, boycotts and solidarity, workers carried the struggle into factories, mines and communities. Their actions helped dismantle unjust laws and gave momentum to the fight for democracy. By 1994, organised labour had established itself as a key force for change, showing that collective action can shape the course of history.
Unlike economic deficits, it does not appear in numbers. It appears in people.
The Inaugural National Transport Conference signals a turning point. The plans are made. The commitments are real. Now comes the work
On 21 March 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, police opened fire on an unarmed crowd of people protesting the apartheid pass laws. 69 people were killed – but reports suggest that the actual death toll was higher. Many more were injured. Protesters shot in the back as they fled. The youngest was 12 years […]
Tongaat Hulett, once the pride of the sugar belt and a 134-year-old industrial icon, has collapsed under the weight of mismanagement, scandal and shifting global markets
It is easier to start wars than to end them
The party system is standing, while the bonds between political parties and citizens crumble
Africa’s liberation was built on the courage that our schools are failing to teach
The rise of darkness indeed splits the world … It divides us into those who believe in humanity and those who feel entitled to do whatever they want
We are doomed: Not by fate or lack of intelligence but because we insist on pretending that we live in a normal world
As Western donors pull back and food insecurity deepens in the landlocked south-eastern African nation, the rise of a UK-registered Islamic charity is exposing both the necessity and the governance risks of a changing humanitarian order
Business leaders have condemned the Bill, arguing that if enacted as is, it will effectively kill the tobacco industry.
Every Women’s Month, we talk about empowerment. We talk about inclusion. We talk about closing gaps. But perhaps the real question is: what if women had never been absent from the economy in the first place? What if we have simply been measuring economic power incorrectly? Traditional economic metrics tell us that women are underrepresented. […]
My father was born in the 1960s, in a period marked by intensified repression in occupied Azania. His birth came just three years after the banning of liberation movements and two years before the emergence of the Black Consciousness Movement — a historic force that would profoundly shape his political outlook and revolutionary path. He […]
Education represents one of our largest public investments, but it is the human capital, the children entering Grade 1 this year that will ultimately determine our sustained growth as a country
Wellington Muzengeza questions Zimbabwean opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume
The city landmark is not just a story about urban decay. It is also about what happens when a city loses control and what it takes to get that back
Around the world, women continue to face structural barriers in accessing justice systems that are often expensive, complex, slow and, at times, retraumatising
An interconnected world has rendered us interdependent but also vulnerable to shock across economic geographies, forcing distinct national responses
Africa’s mineral wealth is a strategic advantage only if it is converted into productive capacity.
This is a familiar pattern. International financial institutions socialise risk and privatise profit, while invoking development rhetoric to justify fossil fuel expansion in the Global South. Similar projects would be politically untenable in the Global North
This year’s Eid is not naïve. It does not pretend the world is at peace. It does not ignore the children buried under rubble, the families displaced, the cities reduced to ash
The public confrontation between senior officials, the establishment of inquiries and the intense public debate surrounding the allegations all indicate that accountability mechanisms, although imperfect, are still functioning
The story of the coming years will not be the binary of whether China ‘collapses’ or ‘surpasses’. It will be about how the rest of the world adapts to a China that has successfully moved from being a follower to a standard-setter
The 62nd Munich Security Conference provided a platform for three days of intensive debates on the world’s most pressing security challenges.
Data sovereignty refers to the principle that all data is subject to the laws and regulations of the nation state or jurisdiction in which it is collected. This concept gained prominence in the early 2010s following the Edward Snowden revelations about mass surveillance by the United States
The power to define risk, credibility and prudence remains concentrated in the Global North, while the costs are borne mainly by the Global South
More than three decades after apartheid ended, the land question remains one of the most unresolved and contentious issues
The Srila Roy controversy exposes the fragile balance between free inquiry, public accountability and institutional power in South African universities
It is urgent that Africa invests in adding value to its minerals. If it fails to seize this moment, it will be difficult to shake off its historical status as an exporter of cheap raw materials and importer of expensive finished products