Arno J. van Niekerk, Senior lecturer in Economics, University of the Free State 29 October 2023 South Africa must tread carefully in its economic relationships to avoid being caught in the escalating tension between east and west, and more specifically China and the US. The country’s hosting, and the outcome, of the 2023 Agoa Summit […]
FEATURED NEWS
South Africa’s 2022 census: has Joburg stopped growing or is the data questionable?
17 October 2023 South Africa’s census is a vital source of information for policy making, planning and research, and so the Census 2022 findings released last week were eagerly awaited. It offers many insights on everything from marriage rates to language distribution. But as urban scholars and planning practitioners with decades of interest and experience […]
Africa is being courted by China, Russia and the US. Why the continent shouldn’t pick sides
Bhaso Ndzendze, Associate Professor (International Relations), University of Johannesburg – 21 August 2022 Some three decades since the end of the Cold War, the world order is undergoing a structural transformation. At the heart of it is the challenge posed to the hegemony of the US. This is primarily being led by Russia and China […]
Oil drilling threatens the Okavango River Basin, putting water in Namibia and Botswana at risk
Surina Esterhuyse, Senior Lecturer Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State – 2 August 2023 The Namibian and Botswana governments may be risking their water resources for oil and gas revenue. They have licensed a Canadian firm, ReconAfrica, to prospect for oil in the Cubango Okavango River Basin, in an area covering 34,000km². […]
Declaration of the Second Russia–Africa Summit 2023
Confirming the shared responsibility of the Russian Federation and African States for shaping a just and stable world order based on the principles of sovereign equality of States, non-interference in their internal affairs, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and the right of all peoples to self-determination as provided, inter alia, by UN General Assembly Resolution […]
Sakeliga rejects Sahpra’s BEE conditions for medical products
“Such actions offer an alarming preview of the drastic consequences of an NHI system in which the state would have the entire medical supply chain under its control.” Sakeliga – 4 July 2023 Sakeliga rejects the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority’s (Sahpra) proposed BEE conditions for the manufacture, import, prescribing and trading of health […]
South Africa’s power blackouts: solutions lie in solar farms and battery storage at scale, and an end to state monopoly
It would be possible to solve the peak power problem in three steps. Unbundle Eskom and establish the market operator Use the bail-out funds to build connection capacity Use the market operator to build large-scale photovoltaic/battery capacity. David Richard Walwyn, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria 1 June 2023 Rolling blackouts are costing South […]
Race quotas ban ‘coloured population group’ from employment in certain provinces
The EEA is the most dangerous piece of racial engineering our country has seen since the dawn of democracy. Its effect will be to stunt social mobility and increase division as workers from certain communities are discouraged from moving to “no-go zones” where they are not welcome. John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance – […]
Ramaphosa lied to SA and the world over involvement in Russia-Ukraine war
As a country that once stood for safeguarding human rights, South Africa simply cannot get away with its non-alignment farce and Ramaphosa needs to come clean about his support for a dictatorial regime which is alleged to be actively funding the ANC ~ Herman Mashaba, ActionSA President President Ramaphosa can neither feign ignorance, nor attempt […]
South Africa’s power outages could reach critical levels this winter – likely scenarios
Hartmut Winkler, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg – 19 May 2023 Over the past 15 years South Africa has been experiencing a gradually worsening number of electricity cuts. This state of affairs has prompted frustration among citizens, negative international economic sentiment and financial hardship for many businesses. Public pressure has grown more intense, leading […]