South Africa must examine how science funding is allocated to universities. It also needs to acknowledge that not all universities should be focusing on research and development.
Controversy dogs South Africa’s nuclear energy plans.
Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
South Africa’s Parliamentary Budget Office had 10 months to prepare its findings about the cost of a nuclear programme. Its final report was little more than a summary of other institutions’ work.
South African President Nelson Mandela forged a powerful cabinet of national unity.
Reuters
South Africa’s ruling party has lost its moral and intellectual capacity to claim the mantle of leadership. The country’s economy won’t recover unless new political alignments emerge.
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan. He left the job after concerted political attacks.
Reuters/Shailesh Andrade
Attacks on the South African Reserve Bank and events in India that led to the exit of the governor of the country’s central bank are a warning that banks aren’t immune from political meddling.
The apartheid government built universities for black students far from major cities or safe routes.
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The system of apartheid is long gone. But its legacy of poor funding for historically black universities - and of planning that banished black universities to cities’ margins - remains.
Many South African business leaders blame economic exclusion on the government and unionists.
Reuters/Rogan Ward
A change of attitude which comes with some deep introspection by South African business leaders can help address some of the country’s key socioeconomic challenges.
South Africa is one of the top ten wine producing countries in the world.
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Schools and universities in post-colonial contexts still operate within the logic of coloniality. This is starkly illustrated by their language policies.
Hair speaks of the past, and of cultural heritage.
Steve Evans/Flickr
Hair has long been modified for aesthetic and other ends. But skewed power structures have meant that women, particularly women of colour, have borne the brunt of stereotyping and prejudice.
South Africa’s former finance minister Pravin Gordhan chats with Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the country’s Reserve Bank.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
E-hailing services have vowed to revolutionise the transportation industry. But they’ve also left city officials scratching their heads about regulations and traditional metered taxi drivers fuming.
Johannesburg skyline: the challenge is to create a city that is liveable, safe and resource efficient.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Populations revolt when lives are improving but not fast enough to meet their rising expectations.
The financial safety net for South African children is better than in most countries. But other vulnerabilities aren’t taken care of adequately.
Reuters
The lack of service integration and the paucity of welfare services make poor people’s task of caring for their familes much harder. A small monthly cash transfer can’t solve all their challenges.
Robert Mugabe isn’t going anywhere. Or is he?
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli
When it comes to black hair, “common sense” is the least reliable tool for decision making since even black people are constantly changing their minds about what they want to do with their hair.
President Jacob Zuma is accused of using the Hawks to target his finance minister, Pravin Gordhan.
GCIS/Flickr
The battle between South Africa’s finance minister Pravin Gordhan and the country’s elite police unit is once more grabbing headlines. What are the points of law around the matter?
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