February 11
South Africa: Medicinal Plants Help Keep Children Healthy in South Africa - 61 Species Were Recorded
In 2021, almost 33 of every 1,000 South African children under five years old died. Read more »
February 09
South Africa: Ramaphosa Aims for Upbeat Tone in Annual Address, but Fails to Impress a Jaundiced Electorate
This year's State of the Nation Address - delivered annually in February by South Africa's president - was bound to be stuffed with electioneering messages and slogans. The country… Read more »
February 08
Zimbabwe: Books - Folklore and Fantasy Combine in Langabi, a Supernatural Historical Epic From Zimbabwe
In 2023, award-winning Zimbabwean author Christopher Mlalazi published a new book, Langabi: Season of the Beast. He's the author of novels like Running with Mother (2012), Dancing… Read more »
February 06
Africa: Money Helps People Live Longer - Study
Nearly half of South Africa's 60 million people receive social grants, ranging from child support to pensions. The grants are designed to provide financial assistance to people… Read more »
South Africa: Zuleikha Mayat - South African Activist Who Led a Life of Courage
Few Indian South African women have achieved wider public recognition than author, human rights and cultural activist Zuleikha Mayat, who passed away on 2 February 2024. An… Read more »
February 05
South Africa: Thirty Years of Rural Health Research - South Africa's Agincourt Studies Offer Unique Insights
In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and… Read more »
South Africa: Surveillance and the State - South Africa's Proposed New Spying Law Is Open for Comment - an Expert Points Out Its Flaws
In early 2021, the South African Constitutional Court found that the country's State Security Agency, through its signals intelligence agency, the National Communication Centre,… Read more »
February 04
Africa: Hage Geingob - Namibian President Who Played a Modernising Role
Hage Gottfried Geingob served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death on February 4 2024. He was Namibia's first prime minister from 1990 to 2002, and served as… Read more »
Africa: South Africa's Military Is Expected to Do More Than Ever With Tighter Budgets - How the Force Has Declined Over 30 Years
The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994. It's as old as the country's constitutional democracy, the result of a… Read more »
February 02
South Africa: South Africa Needs to Manage Migrants Better. That Requires Cleaning Up the Department of Home Affairs
Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a… Read more »
February 01
South Africa: South Africans Are Opting to Go Off-Grid - How They're Being Helped, and Hindered, in Their Efforts
Eskom, South Africa's state-owned power utility, struggles to generate and supply a stable flow of electricity to meet demand. In 2023, there were times when households and… Read more »
January 31
South Africa: Wetlands Are Superheroes - Expert Sets Out How They Protect People and Places
In the past, wetlands were often seen as undesirable landscapes - waterlogged areas that were difficult to navigate, impossible to build on or farm, and a source of pests such as… Read more »
South Africa: South African Marriage Ruling Is a Win for Divorcees and Surviving Spouses
South Africa's Constitutional Court has fundamentally changed the country's marriage law, making it fairer to people who are married "out of community of property" when their… Read more »
January 30
South Africa: Nelson Mandela's Personal Items Under the Hammer in New York? Why It Outraged Some, and What's At Stake
An identity document, a pair of reading glasses, a hearing aid and a pair of worn shoes. These are just some of Nelson Mandela's personal items that were due to go on auction on 22… Read more »
January 29
South Africa: South Africa Is Failing People Who Aren't Poor, but Aren't Middle Class Either
Many South African households are trapped. They are neither poor nor middle class. As a demographic they hover above the indigence threshold financially. But they are not yet… Read more »
January 27
South Africa: Matric Results - South Africa's Record School Pass Rates Aren't What They Seem - What's Really Happening in the Education System
South Africa's matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the country's minister of basic education for achieving… Read more »
South Africa: Jacob Zuma, the Monster South Africa's Ruling ANC Created, Continues to Haunt It
Former South African president Jacob Zuma is endorsing the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, the latest rival to the governing African National Congress (ANC) for the upcoming national… Read more »
January 28
Malawi: El Niño - Malawi's Harvest of Maize - Its Staple Food - May Fall By 22.5 Percent This Year
Maize is the preferred staple of most of southern Africa. In Malawi it supplies two-thirds of national calorie intake. Nine out of 10 farming households produce maize and devote… Read more »
January 26
South Africa: The Two Faces of Jacob Zuma - Former South African President Campaigns to Unseat the ANC He Once Led. Who Supports Him and Why?
Former South African president Jacob Zuma's political comeback builds on support from marginalised and angry constituencies within or close to the governing African National… Read more »
January 23
South Africa: Three South African Universities Have New Approaches to Assessing Students
South African higher education faces many complex challenges rooted in the legacy of apartheid. They include the fact that many students are unprepared for or excluded from higher… Read more »
January 24
South Africa: South Africa's Genocide Case Against Israel Is the Country's Proudest Foreign Policy Moment in Three Decades
On 11 January 2024, South Africa hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the charge of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. This was for Israel's… Read more »
Namibia: Learning to Read in Another Language Is Tough - How Namibian Teachers Can Help Kids
In a classroom in Namibia's northern Oshikoto region, a teacher has written English vocabulary words on the chalkboard. She asks her learners to read them aloud. When they stumble… Read more »
January 23
South Africa: Albatrosses Are Threatened With Extinction - and Climate Change Could Put Their Nesting Sites At Risk
The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the world's largest flying bird, with a wingspan reaching an incredible 3.5 metres. These birds are oceanic nomads: they spend most of… Read more »
January 22
South Africa: South Africa's Agulhas Long-Billed Lark - Adapting and Surviving Despite Farming Taking Over Their Nesting Grounds
The Agulhas long-billed lark (Certhilauda brevirostris) is only found in South Africa. It builds nests on the ground mainly in Renosterveld fynbos, a type of vegetation filled with… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Weaver Press Is Closing - How One Small, Brave Zimbabwean Publisher Made a Difference
With the news that it is to halt operations it's a fitting time to take stock of Weaver Press in Zimbabwe. Read more »