March 29
South Africa: South Africa's New Parental Leave Policy Is Designed for Equality - but It Could Do Better
South Africa introduced a new amendment to the parental leave policy in October 2025. The aim was to provide equitable rights for all parents. Noreth Muller-Kluits, a disability… Read more »
March 26
South Africa: South Africa's Power Utility Eskom Wants to Cut Electricity to Municipalities That Haven't Paid - Households May Pay the Price
South Africa's state-owned electricity provider, Eskom, announced in early March 2026 that it would cut off the power to 14 municipalities that collectively owe it more than R110… Read more »
Sudan: The Sudanese Revolution Seven Years On - Undone But Not Defeated
In 2019, a popular uprising in Sudan ended 30 years of Omar al-Bashir's Islamist military dictatorship. Protesting masses brought down the regime and imposed a return to civilian… Read more »
March 25
Congo-Kinshasa: Mini-Grids Can Supply Electricity, but What About Demand? a Private DR Congo Project Shows How It Can Work
More than 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity. About 384 million live in countries classified by the World Bank as conflict-affected, where poverty,… Read more »
March 24
South Africa: South Africa Needs R250 Billion Just to Meet Basic Climate Adaptation Needs Over the Next Decade
South Africa needs investments worth R250 billion (US$15.64 billion) over the next 10 years to adapt to climate change. This amount would get the country to just a minimal level of… Read more »
March 22
South Africa: South Africa's Gig Economy Workers Set to Get More Protection Under Planned Labour Law Reforms
South Africa's minister of employment and labour has published a sweeping set of proposed amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Employment Equity Act and the… Read more »
March 18
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's National Dialogue Was Meant to Heal the Nation, but Divisions Are Deepening
Ethiopia launched a national dialogue process in 2022 to address deep political divisions and help steer the country towards stability. Read more »
March 17
South Africa: South Africa Will Run Out of Industrial Gas By 2028 and 70,000 Jobs Could Be Lost - Why Government Fixes Are Lacking
South Africa is about to have a gas supply crisis. Read more »
March 16
Senegal: Senegal's Crisis - Why Debt Restructuring May Be the Least Bad Option
Senegal is facing a serious debt crisis. The IMF estimated the country's debt at 132% of GDP at the end of 2024. Debt servicing costs are projected at 5.5 trillion CFA francs… Read more »
March 13
Congo-Brazzaville: Congo-Brazzaville Election - Sassou Nguesso Set to Extend His Rule
Congolese will go to the polls on 15 March 2026 to elect their president, with a fractured opposition unable to present a single candidate. The Congolese Labor Party (PCT), in… Read more »
March 11
Kenya: Power Cuts Are the New Normal in Kenya - What Went Wrong and How to Fix It
Millions of Kenyan households and businesses have been subjected to interruptions of electricity supply since late 2024 owing to production shortfalls. President William Ruto… Read more »
March 09
Kenya: Mau Mau - How Kenya's History of Colonial Violence Speaks Through Living Bodies and Graves
Between 1952 and 1963, Kenya experienced one of the most violent chapters in its modern history. The Mau Mau uprising, rooted in land dispossession and political repression under… Read more »
March 04
Africa: Colonialism in Africa - Archaeology Offers a Deeper View
Colonialism has been a central part of history around the world, differing only in form over time and space. After all, whenever people have moved from one place to another, they… Read more »
Africa: Iran War Fallout for the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa - Political Analyst Weighs Up the Risks
The death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, in March 2026 marks the end of a political era in the Middle Eastern country. Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli… Read more »
March 03
Africa: What Is Happiness? a Philosopher Looks for Answers
When we seek happiness, what exactly are we searching for? And when we wish happiness on someone else, what is it that we truly desire for them? Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Economy Is Picking Up, but Hasn't Reached a Turning Point Yet - Economist
In presenting the 2026 national budget to South Africa's parliament on 25 February, finance minister Enoch Godongwana characterised this as the turning point in South Africa's… Read more »
March 02
South Africa: South Africa's Minibus Taxi Industry Runs On Social Bonds - Reform Must Accept This
South Africa's minibus taxi industry is the backbone of the country's public transport system. Every day, millions of commuters rely on it. In many low-income and peri-urban… Read more »
South Sudan: South Sudan Has Never Had an Election to Hand Over Presidential Power - So What Are the Rules of Succession?
South Sudan has not held an election since it gained independence 15 years ago, and progress towards a new constitution has stalled. Election dates have been set and postponed at… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Move to Greener Energy Is Creating New Jobs, but Benefits Aren't Evenly Spread
South Africa's green transition is creating jobs. But not for everyone. Read more »
February 28
Africa: Trump's Tariffs Have Gutted AGOA's Duty-Free Promise - Our Model Shows How
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was introduced in 2000 as the cornerstone of US development-oriented trade policy towards sub-Saharan Africa. It was designed to grant… Read more »
February 26
Morocco: Ancient Fossils Shed Light On a Key Period in Human Evolution
Could a Moroccan cave hold a crucial piece of the puzzle of human origins? Hominin fossils dating back 773,000 years discovered in the country are bringing new evidence to the… Read more »
Malawi: Solar Power Is Taking Off in Malawi - but Poor Households Need Financial Help to Make It Work for Them
Access to electricity is widely seen as a cornerstone of sustainable development. It improves quality of life, enables household income generation, and raises living standards.… Read more »
February 25
Botswana: Botswana's Hike of Old Age Pensions Hasn't Fixed the Problem of Who Cares for Them - New Study
The government of Botswana in southern Africa dramatically increased the universal old age pension for all citizens aged 65 and above from P830 (about US$63) to P1,400 (about… Read more »
February 24
Africa: Africa's Militaries Have Always Relied On Imported Weapons - Why a Shift to Homegrown Defence Is Now Under Way
Africa's militaries are built on imported power. Foreign countries such as China, Russia, the United States, Turkey and France dominate Africa's weapons market. Between them they… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Carbon Tax Should Stay - Climate Scientists Explain Why
The South African minister of electricity and energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is proposing to suspend the country's carbon tax after experiencing pressure from fossil fuel lobbies. Read more »
