December 07, 2022
South Africa: What Is RET and What Does It Want? The Radical Economic Transformation Faction Explained
It has been standard for some years, in any analysis of South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), to refer to the "radical economic transformation" (RET)… Read more »
December 06, 2022
South Africa: Music Streaming in South Africa - New Survey Reveals Musicians Get a Raw Deal
Musicians worldwide have been placing their tracks with global streaming platforms such as Spotify for many years. South African musicians, however, have reported only sparse… Read more »
December 04, 2022
South Africa: Street Food Keeps Johannesburg Going - but Working Conditions of Vendors Are Unhealthy
Informal vendors are a common feature in urban areas. Also known as street vendors, they sell products or provide services on a public road, in a regulated market or in other… Read more »
December 02, 2022
Africa: New Book Lifts the Lid On Who Profits from Corruption in South Africa
The new book The Unaccountables: The Powerful Politicians and Corporations who Profit from Impunity is welcome for the way it contextualises corruption. It shows how politicians… Read more »
December 01, 2022
South Africa: Mini Bio-Devices Could Help TB Patients Stick to Their Treatments
Imagine the scenario: you've been told you have a disease that will kill you. But, the doctor adds, your life can be saved if you diligently take your medication. Don't skip a day,… Read more »
South Africa: Pit Bull Attacks in South Africa - A Historian Sheds Light On the Issues
Pit bulls have been in the news in South Africa after a series of deadly attacks on humans by the dogs. There have been revenge attacks on the dogs and politicians have called for… Read more »
November 29, 2022
South Africa: White Butterflies Are Filling Johannesburg's Skies Earlier Than Usual. Climate Change Is to Blame
Each year around mid-summer, somewhere between December and mid-January, the skies of South Africa's Gauteng province, including the city of Johannesburg, fill with small white… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Prisons Are a Breeding Ground for the Spread of TB. Our Model Shows How
South African prisons are famously overcrowded. Prison populations are believed to exceed capacity by an overall 33%, although that number jumps to over 200% at some facilities,… Read more »
December 01, 2022
Africa: 'Historic Moment' as Ramaphosa Faces Possible Impeachment
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has an impeachment case to answer. This was the finding of the independent parliamentary panel probing the scandal over the theft of… Read more »
November 30, 2022
Africa: South Africa's Intelligence Watchdog Is Failing Civil Society. How to Restore Its Credibility
In October, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet committed to a range of reforms to the country's intelligence services. He based these reforms on… Read more »
South Africa: Covid Affected Access to HIV Treatment - the Stories of Migrant Women in South Africa Show How
South Africa has made massive strides in the fight against HIV. One of the country's flagship interventions has been the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV.… Read more »
South Africa: Ending HIV As a Public Health Threat - 3 Essential Reads
In 2014 the United Nations set an ambitious goal: to end the AIDS pandemic by the year 2030. Read more »
South Africa: Janusz Walus and Parole for Prisoners Serving Life Sentences - The Weaknesses of the Court's Decision
The murder of Chris Hani, a South African liberation struggle hero, by Janusz Walus on 10 April 1993 almost derailed the country's transition from apartheid to democracy. Now,… Read more »
November 29, 2022
South Africa: Injectable HIV Prevention Drug Shows Promise - We Worked Out How Much South Africa Should Pay for It
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an HIV prevention method. It is taken by people who are HIV negative, so that if they are unknowingly exposed to HIV, the drug will prevent the… Read more »
South Africa: Violence Against Women Is Staggeringly High - A Different Way of Thinking About It Is Needed
South Africa has notoriously high levels of violence against women. The latest police figures show that 10,818 rape cases were reported in the first quarter of 2022. The country… Read more »
November 28, 2022
South Africa: Koos Prinsloo - the Cult Afrikaans Writer Has Been Translated to English - Here's a Review
There are some writers you wish you had encountered years ago. There are some authors you only discover - for many reasons - years after their death. Read more »
November 26, 2022
Africa: Land Reform in South Africa - 5 Myths About Farming Debunked
South Africa's land reform policy remains highly contested. But, in our view, a number of persistent myths about farmland statistics and the structure of commercial agriculture… Read more »
Africa: Rock Art - How South Africa's Coat of Arms Got to Feature an Ancient SAN Painting
A new exhibition in Johannesburg titled !ke e: xarra ke - People who are Different: Come Together celebrates the rock art of the San people, the first inhabitants of southern… Read more »
November 25, 2022
South Africa: How to Impeach a President - Ramaphosa Case Puts New Rules to the Test in South Africa
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa faces possible impeachment in the country's parliament over the illegal stashing of thousands of US dollars at his farm in 2020. This is… Read more »
November 24, 2022
South Africa: Simon Nkoli's Fight for Queer Rights Is Finally Being Celebrated - 24 Years After He Died
Born in 1957, Simon Tseko Nkoli had just turned 41 when he died, in 1998, of an AIDS-related illness. In his short life, the South African activist fought against different forms… Read more »
November 23, 2022
South Africa: Black Panther in the Classroom - How Afrofuturism in a Film Helped Trainee Teachers
Back in 2018 I joined the millions of people who flocked to cinemas worldwide to watch Ryan Coogler's Black Panther. The story of an ultra modern African society not shaped by… Read more »
South Africa: Small-Scale Fishers Have Been Marginalised Since Apartheid - What Needs to Change
South Africa is home to tens of thousands of small-scale fishers and fishing households. Some fish purely for consumption and subsistence, while others make up a small commercial… Read more »
November 24, 2022
South Africa: Time for South Africa to Improve Its Intelligence Sharing Channels With the U.S.
The announcement in October 2022 by the US embassy in South Africa of a possible terror attack caused a lot of confusion, concern and, in some cases, anger in the country. The… Read more »
November 22, 2022
South Africa: Exquisite New Fossils From South Africa Offer a Glimpse Into a Thriving Ecosystem 266 Million Years Ago
South Africa is famous for its amazingly rich and diverse fossil record. The country's rocks document more than 3.5 billion years of life on Earth: ancient forms of bacterial life,… Read more »
November 21, 2022
South Africa: 16 Days of Activism - How South Africa's TV News Gets It Wrong
South Africa is a country that experiences a very high level of gender-based violence. During the UN's annual international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence… Read more »