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An outreach programme aimed at boosting participation in STEM subjects in Limpopo has highlighted the concerns and dreams of the next generation

Are schools giving learners false hope about careers in Stem?

Many matriculants find their career ambitions thwarted by subject pairings that limit their options for higher education, particularly in STEM fields. This article argues for…

GNU tensions: Fikile Mbalula, Cyril Ramaphosa, Helen Zille, John Steenhuisen.

Building government relations that withstand political change

South Africa's political landscape has entered an era of heightened political competition, fundamentally changing how government, business, and stakeholders operate. This article…

Climate change is costing lives across Southern Africa. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G

From the Vaal to Victoria Falls: Africa must design resilience, not merely discuss it

Africa's climate crisis is a lived reality, affecting millions and demanding a shift from mere discussion to designing resilient systems. This article highlights the urgent need…

Does the friction around coalitions signal what’s to come in 2024 – politicians say no (Photo by Gallo Images/Papi Morake)

Legacy Foundations Impact

As South Africa's political landscape faces challenges from declining party leadership and a lack of evidence-based policy, legacy political foundations are emerging as critical…

Matoti Buthelezi

At an age when many are still finding their footing, Matoti Buthelezi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/matoti-buthelezi-87ab44270/), 23, is influencing conversations about South…

ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MKP) joined the group March on March in a march through central Durban on 26 March 2026. Photo: Action SA

While South Africa debates borders, it is losing its breadbasket

South Africa is deeply engrossed in the debate over illegal immigration, but this article argues that a larger economic transformation, particularly concerning the nation's vital…

One kilogram gold bars.

Ghana's gold gamble: Can resource sovereignty coexist with investor confidence?

As gold prices soar and Ghana enjoys record revenues from its vast mineral wealth, the country's government is pursuing an ambitious strategy to ensure more of that wealth…

Bright future: Wind energy projects in Mpumalanga have the advantage of using existing infrastructure from coal plants. Photo: GKR Falcon / Flickr

1.5 trillion reasons to back SA's youth in the Just Energy Transition

South Africa's Just Energy Transition is poised to be one of the nation's largest investment opportunities, estimated at R1.5 trillion. However, the focus has largely been on…

Broad-based BEE at a crossroad: Time for reform, with a focus on the youth

South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy is under intense debate. While it has fostered a black middle class and diversified boardrooms, 70% of…

As anti-immigrant protests gather momentum, a clause in the NHI Act could deny many refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants HIV treatment — despite Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi saying that would "work in reverse" in the fight against HIV. Would the health minister be prepared to change that if the Constitutional Court rules the Act can go ahead? (Delwyn Verasamy)
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Could the NHI fuel anti-immigrant sentiment?

Amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment and violence in South Africa, a clause in the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act threatens to deny HIV treatment to refugees, asylum…

Reconfiguring South Africa's Education System for Meaningful Participation in an AI-Driven World

South Africa's education system faces scrutiny for its inability to equip graduates with industry-aligned skills, contributing to youth unemployment. As AI and digital…

Foreign academics are not the problem South African universities need to solve

A parliamentary briefing by Minister Buti Manamela has reignited the debate around foreign academics in South African universities. While public concern about employment is…

Hiv Aids Treatment by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free.org

Why the HLM matters: Civil society will not be a footnote in New York

The 2026 UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/Aids presents a crucial opportunity, but its success hinges on governments partnering with civil society, not just using them for optics.…

The solar panels are going up. The wind farms are being commissioned. The investment is flowing. The problem? The wires to carry all that electricity don't exist yet and the unit deciding who gets access to them still sits inside the organisation most conflicted by the answer

Africa's clean energy future is stuck in grid traffic

South Africa, rich in solar and wind resources with billions ready for investment, faces a critical bottleneck: a severe lack of power lines and an opaque grid access queue. This…

Why the HLM matters: The world cannot afford to lose this moment

The UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on HIV/Aids is set to address the alarming decline in political will and funding, which threatens to unravel decades of progress in HIV…

Effective border management relies on both strong infrastructure and intelligence-driven cooperation with neighbouring states. Photo: Supplied

Border management is not development policy: Why enforcement alone cannot solve migration pressures

Effective border management is a public consensus in South Africa, but this article questions whether enforcement alone can solve migration pressures. It argues that migration is…

Economic transformation in the country is unfolding at a snail’s pace

South Africa faces slow economic transformation, highlighted by a 32.7% unemployment rate and just 6.9% black ownership in its 60 largest listed companies. Speakers at the Top…

Broad-based BEE compliance fatigue and unclear outcomes dominate transformation debate

Business leaders at the Nedbank Top Empowerment Conference have highlighted compliance fatigue and unclear outcomes under South Africa's broad-based black economic empowerment…

Academic agenda: University of Cape Town students express their views about fees. File Photo

RESET@50: Youth cannot build a future they are excluded from

Fifty years after the 1976 Soweto Uprising, South Africa's "born-free" generation faces high unemployment and limited access to opportunities. This Youth Month, the call for a…

South Africa has normalised heavy drinking and policy alone won’t change that – it has to be a cultural shift. Photo: File

Stop ignoring the heavy drinking red flags

It will take more than policy to change South Africans’ excessive use of alcohol; we all need to take part in the Sober Curious movement