Can South Africa leverage its mineral wealth and manufacturing expertise to secure a meaningful position in Africa’s mobility revolution? The answer requires an honest assessment of our strengths, our limitations and the strategic role the country can realistically play. South Africa’s manufacturing strengths: A world-class foundation South Africa boasts the most advanced automotive industry in […]
A vision for social justice in South Africa is a vision of repair, dignity and shared power.
A gregarious man with a mission, a complex personality, hard-nosed politician, he strode from the pulpits of politics to the precipice of the Oval Office, paving the way along Pennsylvania Avenue for Barack Obama
Not long ago, it was unthinkable that the leader of the DA would ever walk up the steps to the Union Buildings
The liberalisation loosens the colonial grip on African life. It allows states to maintain sovereignty while refusing to let colonial lines dictate connectivity
We are working to expand the sector and ensure we provide high-quality products to new markets. It remains key that the sector’s “knowledge infrastructure” is up to date and, importantly, that new entrant farmers are supported
Rebuilding a just system recognises that enduring solutions might lie in combining modern tools with older ethical frameworks grounded in reciprocity and collective responsibility
In Limpopo’s villages, being waterless has become so normalised that people seem to have accepted that this is just how life should be — spending hours a day queuing to fill a 200 litre drum
When someone is defamed, particularly online, speed matters
It is critical that municipalities prioritise the routine maintenance and upgrading of stormwater systems, bridges, roads and essential services
Over a decade after the Glenister judgments, it remains an indictment of the so-called post-state capture moment that we are not further along as a country in settling the institutional architecture required to reverse endemic corruption
In his 2026 State of the Nation Address (Sona), President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “If every small and medium-sized business in South Africa could employ one additional person, we would create three million new jobs.” On its own, the maths seems to add up until you reckon with the fact that slogans do not hire people. […]
For many, Sona feels less like a turning point and more like a reminder of how far removed political speeches are from daily life
Wars unfold in full view of the world with little consequence for the powerful and overwhelming punishment for the weak. To describe this order as functional requires a suspension of reality. The system is not reforming. It is decomposing
Lesufi’s remark about resorting to hotel showers during water shortages was not an isolated lapse of judgment but a revealing window into this broader political environment
For reindustrialisation to take off, statements by politicians must be turned into practical, measurable policy steps.
South Africa can move to get more emergency orders from the International Court of Justice. The UN General Assembly’s Uniting for Peace power can overcome the US government’s veto and obstruction
Beyond the noise: A sober and rigorous assessment of criticism of the Sona
The president should address this
He fought tooth and nail so that the transatlantic slave trade should not repeat itself anywhere, where our people faced brutal conditions and many lost their lives
For many matriculants, a gap year can be a practical decision for their specific circumstances or even health and mental well-being. However, there are many who may have their hearts set on pursuing tertiary qualifications straight after school, but who face the same placement hurdles that so many other South African matrics are experiencing. Delayed […]
In the early years of South Africa’s democracy, as the country confronted one of the most devastating public health emergencies in its history, the government turned to an unconventional yet powerful solution: mobilising ordinary citizens to save lives. Community Health Workers (CHWs), also known as Lay Counsellors, were introduced under the leadership of former Health […]
The presence of the UN does not signal transformation on its own
The benefits of lower grain prices, ample fruit and vegetable supplies, and potentially sideways meat prices will continue to be the major drivers of the deceleration in food price inflation in 2026
Many of them buy for control over their own lives and protection rather than prestige. That’s worrying
For weary citizens, the president’s address has become a ritual of promises rather than a moment of reckoning. If it is to regain its dignity, it must strip away the gloss and return to its core purpose
The implosion of parties such as the ANC and Zanu PF must serve as a cautionary tale for those that fought to liberate the continent
Perhaps the most tangible area of progress since SONA 2025 has been energy stabilisation. The marked reduction in the frequency and severity of load-shedding, including extended periods without outages, reflects the cumulative impact of the Energy Action Plan and improved maintenance discipline at Eskom
For decades, South Africans have longed for a deeper expression of popular agency, not just through protests but by choosing the person who occupies the country’s highest office
The Blue Book explicitly warned that the production of food by African people in excess of their own requirements was undesirable, ‘as it diminishes their incentive to labour’
If it cannot defend electoral integrity, condemn repression or set minimum democratic standards for its members, then its legitimacy must be reassessed
In Venezuela, international sanctions, while framed as tools to defend democracy, have similarly deepened economic pain, blurring the line between moral pressure and collective punishment