Zambia: COP30 - Zambia's Forest Communities Need Finance for Solar Power - So They Don't Have to Cut Down Trees to Pay for It

Across rural Zambia, small solar home systems and lanterns have transformed daily life. Between 2018 and 2022, more than one million small solar devices were sold across the… 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 »

Zimbabwe: COP30 - Zimbabwe's Forest and Energy Projects Reveal the Downside of Carbon Credits

Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to "cancel out" some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or… 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 »

Zimbabwe: Harare's Street Traders Create Their Own System to Survive in the City

The informal sector has become a dominant source of livelihoods for urban residents in African cities. Within this sector, street trading is one of the most visible and vital… 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 »

Africa: Where Did the First People Come From? the Case for a Coastal Migration From Southern Africa

The origins and migrations of modern humans around the world are a hot topic of debate. Genetic analyses have pointed to Africa as the continent from which our ancestors dispersed… 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 »

Rwanda: Luxury Tourism Is a Risky Strategy for African Economies - New Study of Botswana, Mauritius, Rwanda

How successful is luxury tourism in Africa? What happens if it fails to produce higher tourism revenues: can it be reversed? And does it depend on what kind of government is in… Read more »

South Africa: Ethiopian Quarter - How Migrants Have Shaped a Thriving Shopping District in South Africa's City of Gold

Since its founding in 1886, Johannesburg, has been a city of migrants, internal and international. But the economic capital of South Africa has undergone big changes since 1994… Read more »

South Africa: Ancient Antelope Teeth Offer Surprise Insights Into How Early Humans Lived

Understanding what the environment looked like millions of years ago is essential for piecing together how our earliest ancestors lived and survived. Habitat shapes everything,… Read more »

South Africa: Black Coffee and Enhle Ruling Sends a Clear Message - Customary and White Weddings Are Equal in South Africa

South African actress and businesswoman Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa has won a victory in the Johannesburg High Court. It ruled that her customary marriage to music star Nkosinathi "Black… Read more »

Africa: Cannabis Boom in South Africa and Zimbabwe Is Good for Wealthy Investors, Bad for Small Farmers

Cannabis is booming as an ingredient in everything from supplementary oils, inflammation-reducing skin creams, lip balms to health drinks and gummy sweets that promise to reduce… Read more »