Located on the slopes of Devil’s Peak in Cape Town, the University of Cape Town is a leading, research-intensive university in South Africa and on the continent, known for its academic excellence and pioneering scholarship. The university is home to a third of South Africa’s A-rated researchers (acknowledged by the Department of Science and Technology as international leaders in their field) and a fifth of the country’s national research chairs. UCT encourages students and staff to use their expertise to speed up social change and economic development across the country and continent, while pursuing the highest standards of excellence in academic knowledge and research: developing African solutions to African challenges that are also shared by developing nations around the world.
UCT, like the city of Cape Town, has a vibrant, cosmopolitan community drawn from all corners of South Africa. It also attracts students and staff from more than 100 countries in Africa and the rest of the world. The university has strong partnerships and networks with leading African and other international institutions - helping to enrich the academic, social and cultural diversity of the campus as well as to extend the reach of UCT’s academic work.
The ideas about the Fourth Industrial Revolution being punted by the World Economic Forum will fail to contribute to economic growth and job creation, and will amplify existing inequalities.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation, like South Africa itself, is a symbol of contradictions. While there are bad people who work for it, there are also many good ones.
More and more evidence has accumulated which shows that changes in global and regional climate over the last 50 years are almost entirely due to human influence.
The informal sector represents an opportunity to improve the lives of a large part of the workforce. Government should desist from harming livelihoods and broaden the scope of policy measures.
Of all the planets in the solar system, there’s a reason we call Earth home. It’s made of just the right stuff. It’s not too small, or too big, or too hot or too cold. It’s just right.
Oil spills from a project that’s designed to harness the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans are threatening the world’s largest remaining African Penguin colony.
How South African manages the fallout from its likely downgrade by Moody’s in November will determine whether the country will be forced to turn to the IMF for a bailout.
As a branch of government, the courts must naturally be accountable for the exercise of their power. The means of achieving their accountability must be balanced against their necessary independence.
Even a cursory glance at earlier industrial revolutions will show that they have not been associated with the interests of the working or underclasses.
A lesson from the 2012 massacre of mineworkers is the need for government to retain its role as primary governance agent, enforcing clear rules and ensuring the provision of public goods and services.
South Africa’s introducing coding as a school subject but until teacher education, IT infrastructure and internet connectivity issues, among others are addressed, the country has a long way to go.