The false binary at the heart of the grid ownership row
Busi Mavuso’s free-market case for an independent grid operator is excellent, and consistent with the president’s stated policy. The Eskom board’s objections are also legitimate. But this is not a binary choice.
South Africa’s next load-shedding is coming out of the tap
South Africa’s dams are almost full. According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), at the end of June they stood at 96.6% of capacity. By any normal measure, that should mean a good year for water security. Instead, the country is sliding into a water crisis that will eclipse load-shedding, and the dam levels prove the point rather than deny it. The problem, always, is whether the country can get water to a tap, treat what comes back out, and pay for the pipes in between.
GEM Bill provides template for thriving mining industry
It’s impossible to understand South Africa without reference to the trove of mineral wealth beneath its soil and the industry that grew up to extract it. The very borders of the country are in large part the outcome of conflict intimately bound up with resources in its soil.
Russia’s war in Ukraine: after, not yet
“If this was a war of machines, there would be no war.” Dmytro Kutovyi was speaking at the Kharkiv Media Hub located off the main square of the eastern Ukrainian city.
A tin of baked beans for the coloureds, a plate of biryani for our boy, and a fancy hotel room for a refugee
The numbers for June 30 are modest: 120 marches, surprisingly little violence, some pan-African blowback, and only 1% of foreigners leave the country. I sampled some more reflective podcast opinions, adding a human touch.
Hard choices SA’s defence leaders can no longer avoid
South Africa’s defence debate has reached the point where polite language is no longer useful.
Got to have the books, you know
“Why are you hoarding all these books?” This is what the millennial asked us, and he wasn’t the first to question our attachment to hard-copy reference material.
Burke versus Paine: does political progress mean taking political risks?
Last week I pondered whether we should err on the side of missing out on progress or avoiding harm. My conclusion was that we should be more open to chasing progress, and less to avoiding harm, than we are now. Here I look at the question as it applies to politics.
Austerity is not South Africa’s health problem
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi recently told South Africans that the public healthcare system’s failures stem from a decade of “austerity”. He repeated this word, deliberately, five times in one sentence. It is a memorable line. However, it’s not a claim the data support.
Reading between the lines: why learners need inferential thinking
In a world increasingly carved for speed and brevity, meaning making should be more than a curriculum objective. Learners are first human beings. And given their innate need for connectedness, personal relationship, and even humour, making meaning is something they actually love to do.