South Africa: Thousands of Criminals Reoffend in South Africa - Better Data Would Show Where the Justice System Is Failing

In a recent statement, South Africa's minister of correctional services said more than 18,000 parolees had reoffended in the past three years. They included 209 committing murder… Read more »

Africa: India and South Africa Burn a Lot of Coal - What They Can Learn From Each Other About Ending the Dependency

India and South Africa are both navigating one of the toughest challenges of the 21st century: shifting their electricity systems away from ageing coal-fired power stations while… Read more »

Africa: South Africa's G20 Presidency - Diplomatic Victory, but a Weak Final Declaration

US president Donald Trump's efforts to derail a successful wrap-up of the G20 summit in Johannesburg failed. Trump boycotted the meeting and the US told other countries through… Read more »

South Africa: Long Covid's Hidden Toll - the South Africans Still Battling Fatigue, Anxiety and Memory Loss

"I feel better, but my mind isn't the same." Four years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, such comments are still heard regularly in many medical practices in South… Read more »

South Africa: Violence Against Women and Children Is Deeply Connected. Three Ways to Break the Patterns

In South Africa, intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women, and it is pervasive. According to the National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study,… Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Are Flourishing More Than You Might Expect - Here's Why

South Africa is often portrayed in the media as a country struggling with inequality, corruption, crime, infrastructure collapse and public health challenges. But this isn't the… Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Have Lost Trust in the Police, in Parliament and in Political Parties - What That Means

For democracies to function well, citizens have to trust their institutions. Every incidence of bad service delivery or corruption will influence how much citizens trust… Read more »

South Africa: G20 and the Civil Society Elite - Spectacle Instead of Meaningful Action

Behind the talk of fighting inequality at the group of 20 most powerful economies in the world, the G20, lies a carefully staged show - one that manages dissent rather than… Read more »

Africa: Africa Has a Debt Crisis - Momentum From G20 in South Africa Can Help Find Solutions

The end of South Africa's G20 presidency does not mean the end of its ability or responsibility to promote the issues it prioritised during 2025. It can still advocate for action… Read more »

South Africa: Darker Shade of Pale - Why I Wrote a Book About My Grandfather and How It Changed My View of Him

Deborah Posel, the founding director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences in South… Read more »

South Africa: We Studied the Walking Habits of Young Men in Cape Town and London - and Debunked a Myth

Being mobile means people can get access to opportunities and take part in economic and social life. Mobility, in all its forms, is critical for cities to thrive. Read more »

South Africa: South Africa Needs to Rethink Its Community Media Policy - 4 Ways to Close the Gaps

Community media have received support for around three decades, and yet South Africa's information landscape remains deeply unequal. Read more »

South Africa: Secret Electricity Price Hikes in South Africa to Be Curbed in a Game-Changing Court Ruling

A recent high court judgment could be a game changer for the setting of municipal electricity tariffs in South Africa. In late October 2025, the court ruled that the process used… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Flagship Telescope At 20 - an Eye On the Sky and On the Community

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) celebrates 20 years of observing the sky. SALT is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It's been steadily revealing… Read more »

South Africa: When Polluters Don't Pay - Still No Cleanup At South African Oil Refinery That's Caused Millions in Damage but Was Sold for 6 Cents

When BP and Shell sold the South African Petroleum Refinery (Sapref) in 2024 to the Central Energy Fund, a government entity, for R1 (or six US cents), environmental advocates… Read more »

South Africa: Access to Water Has a Long Racial History in Durban - I Followed the Story in the City's Archives

The water infrastructure politics of eThekwini, the municipality that includes the city of Durban, have been splashed across the digital pages of South Africa's news outlets in… Read more »

South Africa: Sex for Money - South African Study Reveals the Harm That 'Blessers' Can Do to Young Women

A "blesser" is typically an older, relatively wealthier man who provides a younger woman with money, gifts, school fees or lifestyle access in exchange for a relationship that… Read more »

South Africa: Can South Africa's Social Grants Help People Make a Better Life? Research Offers Hope

There is now a growing global consensus that additional measures are needed to support the agency of social protection beneficiaries. Such support will strengthen their… Read more »

South Africa: Social Work Is a Serious Profession - Why Not Youth Work? What South Africa Needs to Get Right

About 3.5 million South Africans aged 15-24 are disengaged from the formal economy and education system. In the first quarter of 2025, 37.1% of young people were not in employment,… Read more »

South Africa: Social Media Can Cause Stress in Real Life - Our 'Digital Thermometer' Helps Track It

Social media has reached more than half (63.9%) of the world's population since it got started in 1996. Social network platforms grew from 970 million users in 2010 to 5.41 billion… Read more »

South Africa: AI in the Courtroom - the Dangers of Using ChatGTP in Legal Practice in South Africa

A South African court case made headlines for all the wrong reasons in January 2025. The legal team in Mavundla v MEC: Department of Co-Operative Government and Traditional Affairs… Read more »

South Africa: Boys, Bullying and Belonging - Understanding Violent Initiation At a South African School

Violence among learners in South African schools is a pressing concern. The minister of basic education told parliament in 2025 that hundreds of bullying cases had been reported in… Read more »

South Africa: The Jew in King Shaka's Court - How a 19th-Century Castaway Shaped a Zulu Leader's Legacy

Gales tore at the Mary's sails, and surf crashed across the brig's deck. Seventeen-year-old Nathaniel Isaacs tied himself to a railing to avoid being washed overboard. The Mary's… Read more »

South Africa: South African Writer Zoë Wicomb Embraced Humanity in All Its Complexity

Zoë Wicomb's first book, You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town (1987), is a tour through episodes in the life of a writer-character, Frieda Shenton. She's not unlike but crucially… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Coal Mines Are Leaking Methane - and No One Knows How Much

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. It is released from natural sources (like wetlands) and human activities (coal mining, and oil and gas production). It is also emitted by… Read more »