August 03, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's New Vaping Tax Won't Deter Young Smokers
Throughout the world, governments impose excise taxes on products like alcohol and tobacco to reduce their demand. The South African government has implemented a tax on vaping… Read more »
August 02, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's New Marriage Bill Raises Many Thorny Issues - a Balancing Act Is Needed
South Africa is changing its marriage law to recognise all types of intimate partnerships - irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, or religious, cultural and other beliefs. Read more »
August 01, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's ANC Controls Eight of Nine Provinces - Why the Western Cape Will Remain Elusive in the 2024 Elections
The African National Congress (ANC), which governs South Africa, finally held its postponed Western Cape provincial elective congress in June. This was after painstaking years of… Read more »
July 27, 2023
South Africa: South Africa Is Failing to Live Up to Its Constitution. Gains Made Since Democracy Are Being Squandered - Report
The end of apartheid in 1994 and advent of constitutional democracy resulted in major societal changes in South Africa. The aim was to forge a "united and democratic" society. The… Read more »
July 26, 2023
South Africa: Essop Pahad - a Diligent Communist Driven By an Optimistic Vision of a Non-Racial South Africa
The death of South African freedom struggle stalwart Essop Pahad (84) on 6 July 2023 prompted tributes from his former comrades. There were also less respectful obituaries… Read more »
South Africa: Eskom and South Africa's Energy Crisis - De Ruyter Book Strikes a Chord but Falls Flat On Economic Fixes
The former chief executive of South Africa's power utility, Eskom, has written a scathing critique of the ruling party's practices that have seriously damaged the country's… Read more »
July 25, 2023
South Africa: Netball World Cup - an Untold Black Sport History of South Africa
Netball had become established in South Africa by 1917, much later than other sports that originated in the 1800s. South Africa, however, had a visible presence in the early years… Read more »
July 20, 2023
South Africa: Corruption in South Africa - Whistleblower Protection Law Is Being Reformed - but It May Not Go Far Enough
South Africa is on the path to reforming its law on whistleblowing to provide improved protection for individuals who expose corruption and illegal activity. Read more »
South Africa: Half of All South Africans Are Overweight or Obese. Warning Labels On Unhealthy Foods Help Change That
South Africa's national health department recently invited public comment on regulations for warning labels on food packaging. The regulations specify how pre-packaged food should… Read more »
July 21, 2023
South Africa: Zimbabwean Migrants - South Africa's Anti-Immigrant Sentiments Are Hindering Policy Reform
The South African Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, recently lost a court case that anyone could have anticipated was unwinnable. He probably expected to lose it too. He… Read more »
July 18, 2023
South Africa: Male Fertility Crisis - What Environmental Contaminants Have Got to Do With It
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently reported that around one in six couples globally are affected by infertility. For many years people tended to blame women for a… Read more »
South Africa: Nelson Mandela's Legacy Is Taking a Battering Because of the Dismal State of South Africa
The multiple concerns about the dismal state of South Africa - including a stagnant and failing economy, a seemingly incapable state, and massive corruption - have led to the… Read more »
Africa: Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Zambia Could Cause Upsets at Women's World Cup Football
Morocco and Zambia are making their Fifa Women's World Cup debut in 2023. South Africa must recover their morale after a pay dispute and Nigeria once again leads the charge for the… Read more »
South Africa: Malnutrition in South Africa - How One Community Wants Resources to Be Spent
South Africa has persistently high rates of hunger and malnutrition among mothers and children. More than a quarter - 27% - of children under five are stunted and 61% of children… Read more »
July 16, 2023
South Africa: Public Protector Has a Vital Watchdog Role. Researcher Offers Tips On How Selection Process Can Be Improved
The end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994 made it necessary to establish several institutions to underpin the country's new constitutional democracy. Read more »
July 10, 2023
South Africa: The True Origins of the World's Smallest and Weirdest Whale
The pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata, is the weirdest whale you've probably never heard of. Read more »
July 13, 2023
South Africa: Looking for Work? 3 Tips On How Social Media Can Help Young South Africans
South Africa has a growing unemployment rate. Statistics show the unemployment rate to be above 60% for those aged 15-24 and over 40% for those aged 25-34 years. Rankings from the… Read more »
South Africa: SAN and Khoe Skeletons - How a South African University Sought to Restore Dignity and Redress the Past
It has been nearly 100 years since the skeletonised remains of nine people were removed from their graves on a farm near the town of Sutherland in South Africa's Northern Cape… Read more »
South Africa: Street Gangs in South Africa and Canada Are Worlds Apart - but They Have a Great Deal in Common
At first glance, it would appear that there's little in common between the vast plains of the Canadian Prairies and the mountainous swells of South Africa's southernmost coastline.… Read more »
July 12, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's Land Bank Can Be Fixed - Change the Funding Model and Narrow the Focus
It is disheartening to see how many South Africans, including parliamentarians, have forgotten the simple and influential role the Land and Agricultural Development Bank (Land… Read more »
South Africa: Sindiwe Magona's New Book of Essays Tackles Issues South Africans Aren't Talking About
Sindiwe Magona - who turns 80 this year - is a celebrated South African writer, storyteller, speaker and activist. In 2022 Magona, once a domestic worker, received her PhD in… Read more »
July 07, 2023
South Africa: Tennis and Apartheid - How a South African Teenager Was Denied His Dream of Playing At Wimbledon
Today the All England Lawn Tennis Club, hosts of the famous Wimbledon Championships, pledges to be diverse and inclusive. But in 1971 an 18-year-old university student, Hoosen… Read more »
July 05, 2023
South Africa: Businesses That Address Social or Environmental Problems Often Struggle to Survive - 3 Things That Can Help Them
Social enterprises are organisations that promote social or environmental issues as their core business. They are useful to societies in lots of ways. They can help solve social… Read more »
July 04, 2023
South Africa: South African Universities Must Do More to Tackle Staffs' Race and Gender Imbalances
At the advent of South Africa's democracy in 1994, an overwhelming majority of academics in the country's public higher education institutions were white men. Black South Africans… Read more »
July 02, 2023
South Africa: Zondo At Your Fingertips - New Book Offers an Accessible and Condensed Version of South Africa's Ambitious Corruption Inquiry
Anti-corruption activist Paul Holden has done South Africa a great favour by summarising the work of the judicial commission that probed massive corruption under former president… Read more »