South Africa’s Constitution enjoins government to act “reasonably” in ensuring that basic socioeconomic rights are progressively realised. But the government has limited resources.
Zimbabwean migrants’ journey to South Africa is fraught with danger. But the emptiness of life in their country makes it imperative to risk life and limb to seek a better life across the river.
The closure of bank accounts of companies in South Africa associated with the Gupta family in the country has raised questions.
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Through developing their technological skills, South Africa’s local municipalities can increase their capacity to compete with markets in neighbouring countries.
Ethiopians reading newspapers in the capital Addis Ababa. The country’s media is among the most repressed on the continent.
Reuters/Tiksa Negeri
Press freedom has changed little in the past decade. If the African Union is to commit to the principles of democracy, it needs to do more to uphold freedom of expression and protects its journalists.
Crowds cheer as Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe arrives to address the country’s Independence Day celebrations in Harare.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
Namibia’s new elite has used “affirmative action” for self-enrichment, while the majority of the population remains excluded from its the wealth. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s socio-economic woes continue.
The South African rand is the 18th most traded currency in the world.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
A violent attack on a female student at one of South Africa’s prominent universities was not an isolated incident. It told a universal tale of how patriarchy still rules.
Investment in science and innovation is needed to help build Africa.
Kate Holt/Africa Practice/Flickr
Successful economies are led by innovation and driven by knowledge. For Africa to advance, it needs to make more substantial investments in its research and development sector.
Sathima Bea Benjamin was seldom recognised during her lifetime as a performer.
Ian Bruce Huntley
Robin Kelley, University of California, Los Angeles
It took ages for one of African jazz’s hidden masterpieces to be reissued. Still today, four decades later, 1976’s ‘African Songbird’ tells volumes about the politics of the time.
Hip-hop artists do it differently in a town in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces. Eschewing the archetypal hip-hop lifestyle, Grahamstown’s rappers propose a surprising alternative.
King Mswati III of Swaziland. His word is law, above all other laws in the tiny kingdom.
Reuters/Carlo Allegri
In the words of US President Obama: Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions. In this light, the South African president’s acceptance of a court ruling against him is a good thing.
Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of South Africa’s governing party the African National Congress, holds the key to Jacob Zuma’s future.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
For the time being at least, South African President Jacob Zuma is not ready to relinquish power. But perhaps sooner rather than later he may have to face the inevitable.
Migrant children can feel left out and excluded in schools far from home.
Kim Ludbrook/EPA
Migrant children may feel uncomfortable or shy trying to verbally explain their experiences. Photography is a powerful medium through which to make their voices heard.
South Africa has a long way to go to make a fair contribution to the global goals set out under the Paris Agreement.
Reuters
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand