June 30
South Africa: Why Liberation Movements Fail When They Come to Power
Decreased support for the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa's elections on 29 May was expected. But a decline from 57% to 40% marked a turning point in the country's… Read more »
June 27
South Africa: T20 World Cup - South Africa Reached Its First Final Ever - but Staying At the Top Will Take a Rethink of Junior Cricket
For the first time ever, South Africa reached the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. They lost to India in Barbados on 29 June. T20 (Twenty20) cricket is a shortened version of… Read more »
June 28
South Africa: Ordinary White South Africans and Apartheid - Bound to a Racist System They Helped Prop Up
In South Africa, apartheid was a divisive political system entrenched by a white minority who regarded other ethnic groups as inferior, creating townships on the outskirts of… Read more »
June 27
South Africa: T20 World Cup - South Africa Celebrates Its First Final - but Staying At the Top Will Take a Rethink of Junior Cricket
For the first time ever, South Africa has reached the finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, to be played on Saturday in Barbados. T20 (Twenty20) cricket is a shortened version of… Read more »
South Africa: Peter Randall - a Pioneering Publisher Who Established the Radical Ravan Press in South Africa
Peter Randall, a pioneering South African activist publisher and educator, passed away on 5 June 2024 in Johannesburg. He was the co-founder of Ravan Press, which published books… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Political Monopoly Has Been Broken - Could It Help the Economy?
Over the last decade or so there has been something of a revolution in economics. The long held belief that unfettered markets deliver good outcomes for all is now overwhelmingly… Read more »
June 26
South Africa: Shell Didn't Consult Communities Properly About Mining the Wild Coast - but How Much Legal Protection Do South Africans Have?
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal by Shell, Impact Africa and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to overturn a High Court judgment… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Coalition Govt - Making the Case for Hope
In the aftermath of South Africa's recent election, renewed hope has made an unexpected appearance. In difficult times, even small gains can be valuable. But, on occasion, much… Read more »
June 25
South Africa: Technology Makes It Possible to Diagnose Diseases On the Spot
Digital technology has hugely improved healthcare in many ways. Read more »
South Africa: Mining Needs More Regulation, According to South Africans - Survey
South Africa has large reserves of coal, gold, manganese and platinum. Read more »
June 20
South Africa: South Africa's Foreign Policy - a Unity Government Must Be Practical in a Turbulent World
As South Africa navigates fundamental political change, it faces stark choices on foreign policy posture and priorities. The change has been brought about by the African National… Read more »
South Africa: Goema Superstar - How Composer Mac Mckenzie Reshaped the Sound of Cape Town
Gerald "Mac" McKenzie passed away on 29 April 2024. He will be remembered as a renegade spirit and innovator in South African music. The composer and bassist changed Cape Town's… Read more »
June 18
South Africa: South Africa's Unity Government - 4 Crucial Factors for It to Work
Governments of national unity built on power-sharing arrangements are common in Africa and elsewhere in the world. Now South Africa also has a unity government, following the 2024… Read more »
South Africa: Mother City - a Tough, Passionate Film About the Battle for Affordable Housing in Cape Town
A third of the way into Mother City there's a scene that characterises this tough, passionate film about Cape Town and its paradoxes of beauty and hardship, wealth and poverty, and… Read more »
June 16
South Africa: World's Oldest Termite Mounds Discovered in South Africa
The landscape along the Buffels River in South Africa's Namaqualand region is dotted with thousands of sandy mounds that occupy about 20% of the surface area. These heuweltjies, as… Read more »
June 13
South Africa: Searching for a Female Partner for the World's 'Loneliest' Plant
"Surely this is the most solitary organism in the world," wrote palaeontologist Richard Fortey in his book about the evolution of life. Read more »
June 14
South Africa: South Africa and the U.S. Share a History of Protest Against White Supremacy
Every year on 16 June, South Africa commemorates the revolt of black school children against the inferior "bantu education" system on that day in 1976. The horror of police… Read more »
June 13
Africa: June 16 Uprising - How a Massacre in South Africa Led to Africa's Boycott of the 1976 Olympics
As the world prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, can we maintain faith in the nonpolitical ethos of the event? The Montreal Olympics Games in 1976 stands out, among others,… Read more »
South Africa: Jacob Zuma - South Africans Have Five Theories About Why He's Still Popular
A number of theories are being touted in South Africa about why and how former president Jacob Zuma retains his appeal as a leader. And why the party he formed - uMkhonto we Sizwe… Read more »
June 12
South Africa: South Africa's Biggest Arts Festival Turns 50 - We Assess Its Impact
The National Arts Festival was established in 1974 in Grahamstown (now Makhanda) in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. Each year, in winter, the rural town transforms into a… Read more »
June 11
South Africa: Cyril Ramaphosa's Leadership Style Didn't Impress Voters - but Seeking Consensus May Be What South Africa's Unity Government Needs
South Africa's 2024 general election, with its devastating loss of a majority for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), is also damaging for President Cyril Ramaphosa (71).… Read more »
June 10
South Africa: South Africa's Unity Govt - 5 Parties That Need to Find Common Ground
Following South Africa's historic 2024 general election, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has started a process to establish a government of national unity. This, after… Read more »
June 07
South Africa: Home Solar Systems in South Africa - More Will Be Installed If Households Are Given Loans, Free Maintenance and Security
South Africa is making efforts to increase the use of solar photovoltaic energy. But it's happening at a very slow pace. Read more »
June 06
South Africa: How South Africa's ANC Became Just a Regular Political Party
The African National Congress (ANC), the party that's led South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994, has long considered itself a "liberation movement" -… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Largest Oil Refinery Sold for a Few Cents - Will BP and Shell Be Held Accountable for Environmental Damage?
The sale of the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref), jointly owned by multinational energy companies BP and Shell, to the state-owned Central Energy Fund for R1 (five US… Read more »