February 22, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT Has Many Uses. Experts Explore What This Means for Healthcare and Medical Research
The sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship is the cornerstone of the healthcare profession. This protected space is steeped in tradition - the Hippocratic oath, medical… Read more »
February 23, 2023
Africa: South Africa's Bailout of Eskom Won't End Power Cuts
The announcement by the South African finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, of debt relief for the country's troubled power utility, Eskom, is a step forward. It will fix one… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Relief Grant - How It Can Be Used to Help Young People Into Jobs
The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the unemployment crisis in South Africa. In the second quarter of 2021, unemployment rates were the highest ever officially recorded. Many people who… Read more »
February 22, 2023
South Africa: Power Crisis - Going Off the Grid Works for the Wealthy But Could Deepen Injustice for the Poor
South Africa's current electricity crisis has been described as "a perfect storm". A number of factors have converged to reach this point: an ageing and inadequately maintained… Read more »
February 19, 2023
Africa: We Pitted ChatGPT Against Tools for Detecting AI-Written Text, and the Results Are Troubling
As the "chatbot wars" rage in Silicon Valley, the growing proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools specifically designed to generate human-like text has left many… Read more »
February 17, 2023
Africa: Africa's Agribusiness Sector Should Drive the Continent's Economic Development - Five Reasons Why
Africa's agriculture sector accounts for about 35% of the continent's gross domestic product, and provides the livelihood of more than 50% of the continent's population. These… Read more »
Africa: Installing a Backup Power Supply - Electrical Engineers Answer Your Questions
South Africa's electricity utility Eskom has made it clear that "loadshedding" - rolling scheduled power cuts - isn't going to end any time soon. This reality, and President Cyril… Read more »
February 15, 2023
Africa: Invisible Trillions Book Review - Global Capitalism Operates Beyond Rule of Law, Threatens Democracy
Secrecy has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible Trillions. Global… Read more »
South Africa: Hunger in South Africa - Study Shows One in Five Are At Risk
Everyone is vulnerable in some way, whether it's to natural disasters, chronic diseases or hunger. But some are more at risk than others because of what they are exposed to… Read more »
February 14, 2023
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's Budget Plans Open Door for Growth but Only If High Interest Rates Don't Derail Them
When Zimbabwe's finance minister Mthuli Ncube presented the national budget for 2023 to Parliament in November 2022, he placed high emphasis on a raft of initiatives designed to… Read more »
February 13, 2023
Senegal: Dakar's Clandestine Taxis Are Essential for Daily Travel - but They're Illegal
Africa's major cities are growing at a rapid pace. In Dakar, Senegal's capital, for instance, the population has almost doubled in 20 years, reaching 4 million inhabitants today. Read more »
February 12, 2023
South Sudan: South Sudan's Oil and Water Give It Bargaining Power - but Will It Benefit the People?
South Sudan has long been one of east Africa's most unstable states. But surging external interest in its resources and the diplomatic agility of its rulers are again underlining… Read more »
February 08, 2023
South Africa: Few of South Africa's Chartered Accountants Are Black - Hearing Their Stories Suggests What to Fix
Chartered accountants can be found in the upper echelons of organisations all over the world as CEOs, directors and senior managers. They are often responsible for an entity's… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's President Wants Taxes to Replace Foreign Debt - Seven Ways to Get There
In the run-up to Kenya's 2022 polls, economic issues, particularly public debt and joblessness, took centre stage. The Kenya Kwanza team led by William Ruto suggested that Kenya… Read more »
February 06, 2023
Africa: China's Demand for Africa's Donkeys Is Rising. Why It's Time to Control the Trade
In recent years, there's been a huge, rising demand for donkey hides in China, where they are used to make an ancient health-related product called ejiao. Ejiao is made from… Read more »
February 03, 2023
Africa: Nipple Ban On Instagram and Facebook Reveals How Bizarre Our Attitude Is Towards Different Genders
Some women consign themselves to breastfeeding in public toilets to prevent their apparently sexually explosive nipples causing offence. On hot days, meanwhile, males of all ages,… Read more »
February 01, 2023
Africa: City Planners Are Questioning the Point of Parking Garages
For the past century, the public and private sector appear to have agreed on one thing: the more parking, the better. Read more »
February 02, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT Is Great - You're Just Using It Wrong
It doesn't take much to get ChatGPT to make a factual mistake. My son is doing a report on U.S. presidents, so I figured I'd help him out by looking up a few biographies. I tried… Read more »
February 03, 2023
South Africa: South African Tourism Wants to Sponsor Football Club Tottenham Hotspur - Is It a Good Idea?
South African Tourism (SA Tourism) is reported to be planning to spend US$52 million (about R900 million) to sponsor UK football team Tottenham Hotspur over three years. The… Read more »
February 04, 2023
South Africa: Robberies Surge As Criminals Take Advantage of Power Outages
The acute energy crisis in South Africa has adversely affected all aspects of the society. Regular and lengthy power outages - which started in 2007 are also contributing to an… Read more »
February 02, 2023
South Africa: Remote Working Improves the Lives of Women Managers - But At a Cost
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a question that would have been unthinkable a few years ago: do we really need to be in the office all the time? Read more »
February 01, 2023
Zambia: Direct Support to Small Scale Farmers Reduces Poverty - What Zambia Is Doing Right
Over half of Zambia's population lived below the national poverty line in 2015. In rural areas, where 89% of households are engaged in agriculture, the poverty rate was even… Read more »
January 26, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT - Our Study Shows AI Can Produce Academic Papers Good Enough for Journals - Just As Some Ban It
Some of the world's biggest academic journal publishers have banned or curbed their authors from using the advanced chatbot, ChatGPT. Because the bot uses information from the… Read more »
January 30, 2023
Africa: Inequality in Access to Basic Services Is a Major Problem in Sub-Saharan Africa - but Progress Is Being Made
Economic activity and development are unevenly distributed across regions of the world and within any country. In other words, where someone lives can determine their economic and… Read more »
Uganda: Kampala, Kigali and Addis Ababa Are Changing Fast - New Book Follows Their Distinct Paths
Kampala, the Ugandan capital where I live, is naturally the city I have studied and worked on the most as an urban economist. Yet even with this background, reading Tom… Read more »