Helen Zille 3 September 2021 “All Truth passes through three phases, first it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, third it is accepted as being self-evident.” This profound insight comes from German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, and is as true today as it was in the 19th Century. South Africa is a living testament to this […]
FEATURED NEWS
SA health experts have identified a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2: what’s known
1 September 2021 As a team of South African researchers we have identified a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. A lineage represents a genetically distinct virus population with a common ancestor. This virus may be designated as a variant in future, based on significantly altered properties, but first we need to understand […]
Ronapreve for COVID-19 treatment – everything you need to know
Lara Marks, Visiting Research Fellow, History of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cambridge – 26 August 2021 The UK medicines regulator has just approved a new COVID-19 treatment. Branded Ronapreve in the UK and REGEN-COV in the US, the drug was developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals with Roche. It first grabbed headlines in October 2020 when President […]
Modise proposes ‘intermediary force’ to deal with riots, unrest
defenceWeb – 25 August 2021 Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise told a sitting of the National Assembly that there is a need to consider deploying a special “intermediary force” that will be trained and equipped to deal with domestic violence and unrest situations. Modise said this when the National Assembly considered reports of […]
Same old funding model can’t keep South African cities going or serve residents
Theo Covary, Energy policy expert / researcher, University of Cape Town 13 August 2021 Local government, neglected under apartheid in South Africa, was elevated in the 1996 constitution so as to strengthen democracy and help redress past inequities. The idea was that by making services (water, electricity, and refuse) accessible and affordable, national government would […]
How does COVID affect the brain? Two neuroscientists explain
Trevor Kilpatrick, Professor, Neurologist and Clinical Director, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Steven Petrou, Professor and Director, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health – 11 August 2021 Scientists are becoming more and more concerned with the emergence of a syndrome termed “long COVID”, where a significant percentage of sufferers of COVID-19 […]
A land reform agency could break South Africa’s land redistribution deadlock
What’s being proposed is a form of “self-expropriation without compensation” but on the terms of the existing land owner with no legal processes “to get land for free”. The current landowner will automatically transfer land to the beneficiary of choice. Johann Kirsten, Professor of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University and Wandile Sihlobo, Visiting Research Fellow, Wits […]
Section 25: not the end of a long game, but the beginning of a tough one
Terence Corrigan, Daily Friend – 30 July 2021 The failure of the ANC and EFF to agree on the form of the proposed amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution has led some optimists to conclude that this is the moment in which the EFF is isolated and abandoned. The ANC under President Ramaphosa, so […]
South Africa since 1994: a mixed bag of presidents and patchy
There is a severe challenge to the “normative core” – the underlying values and ethical principles that hold a society together Richard Calland, Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town and Mabel Dzinouya Sithole, Programme Officer – Building Bridges, University of Cape Town 22 July 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has placed the leadership […]
Ivermectin: balance of evidence shows no benefit against Covid-19
By Nathan Geffen and Elsabé Brits, GroundUp – 5 July 2021 Ivermectin has been touted as the wonder drug solution to the Covid-19 crisis. Several trials have suggested it may have some benefit. But the largest trial yet comparing ivermectin to placebo was published on Friday. It found no statistically significant benefit from ivermectin but possible harm from […]