The Wicked Conversation
The July 2021 unrest a year later – have the lessons been learned?
On 7 July 2021, former President Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence. His arrest stemmed from an unprecedented judgment by the Constitutional Court, which called for his imprisonment for failing to appear before the State Capture Inquiry. The following...
Expert analysis
New local councils must prioritise indigent households
A key takeaway from the recently published Non-Financial Census of Municipalities (NFCM) is the need for the nation’s newly elected local government councils to prioritise service delivery provision for indigent households. Statistics South Africa publishes the report...
The precarious balance between development, human rights and protecting the environment
The impact of climate risk on investment portfolios is overblown, and investors should not worry. After all, some madman always screams about the world's end, which has not ended yet. Stuart Kirk, former Global Head of Responsible Investment at HSBC Asset Management,...
The July 2021 unrest a year later – have the lessons been learned?
On 7 July 2021, former President Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence. His arrest stemmed from an unprecedented judgment by the Constitutional Court, which called for his imprisonment for failing to appear before the State Capture Inquiry. The following...
José Eduardo dos Santos – a legacy of kleptocracy
After a brief two-year retirement in Barcelona, and a battle with ill health, Angola’s former president – José Eduardo dos Santos – has died at age 79. Dos Santos ruled with an iron fist for 38 years, treating one of Africa’s richest countries as his personal fiefdom....
Surviving childhood in Africa
Policymaking lessons we can learn from Africa’s experience with reducing child mortality A persistent theme within commentary on policymaking across Africa is an emphasis on the “negative lessons” we can draw from policymaking failures. Questions are asked about what...
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The Governance Report
Explore Africa’s 54 countries from the Governance Report
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COP26: What should be at the top of Africa’s agenda?
In November, the United Kingdom will host the 26th annual United Nations (UN) global climate summit – called COP – or “Conference of the Parties” in Glasgow. COP26 (delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic) has a unique urgency and could prove to be one of the most important conferences of our time. Most experts agree that the…
The Africa Governance Papers
Podcasts
ESG is good for everyone, including the extractive industries
Why is good Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) in fragile...
PODCAST: Africa’s divided response to the war in Ukraine
Ukraine: Africa's divided response We look at Africa's perceived lack of...
PODCAST: West Africa Coups
West Africa Coups In recent years, West Africa has seen a spate of coups and...
News feed
Russia in Ukraine: South Africa’s unprincipled stance
The South African government’s policy on Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine comes in the context of its record on human rights internationally, which is a sorry tale. In the pursuit of its own agenda internationally over the past 15 years, the ANC has conflated...
Glencore case: Are fines enough for real accountability?
Last month, Glencore, a multinational mining and commodity company, pleaded guilty to long-standing charges of systematic bribery, corruption, and market manipulation to authorities of the United States (US), Brazil, and the United Kingdom (UK). Glencore was...
Youth unemployment betrays the promise and sacrifice of 1976
Six years ago, Julian Brown wrote The Road to Soweto: Resistance and the Uprising of 16 June 1976. In a 2017 review of that book, Toivo Asheeke wrote that Brown “successfully expands our understanding of the Soweto uprising as an event marking the culmination of...
New patterns of political violence in SA
The nature of political violence in South Africa has changed over the decades since the first democratic election in 1994, becoming more intense and also concentrated in the local municipal landscape. The assassinations of counsellors in KZN last year show how those...
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