Opinion
By Marius Wessels, Manager: Professional Services at SYSPRO Africa. While enterprise resource planning (ERPs) are applications used by businesses to manage and integrate the essential and crucial parts of their structures to streamline processes, blockchain on the other hand, is a technology used for creating cryptographic encryption, validating, and distributing…
By Angie Motshekga. South Africa is poised to turn the corner in eradicating pit latrines in educational facilities before the UN-designated year of 2030, writes Minister of Basic Education. On World Toilet Day, 19 November 2023, it is imperative to reflect on the critical role of sanitation in educational and…
By Precious Nala. Every entrepreneur, solopreneur, and corporate leader is competing for attention in a competitive landscape. Who has the best product, the best solution, the best offering at the best price? But with this features-based mindset, it's easy for one’s messaging to miss the mark and fail to resonate…
By Faeeza Khan, Senior Specialist: Legal Marketing, Liberty. In the realm of personal finance, wills are often clouded by misconceptions that can jeopardise not only individual legacies but also a family’s well-being. The consequences of not having a will go beyond asset distribution; it can lead to complicated legal processes,…
By Johan du Toit, Strategic Sales Executive for SYSPRO Africa. As consumers, we tend to take packaging for granted, often discarding it without a second thought. However, behind the scenes, a great deal of thought has gone into developing embedded digital technologies to help manufacturers enhance efficiency, visibility, and control…
By Marius Wessels, Manager: Professional Services at SYSPRO Africa. The realm of mobile strategies is rapidly expanding in the small-to-medium business ERP space. While laptops and tablets brought the capability to work remotely, mobile devices now offer the opportunity to leverage ERP applications and harness the power of business insights…
By Benji Wright, Managing Director, New Lab Industries. Why Proper Consultation Is Key To Better Policymaking And Regulations. On World No-Tobacco Day, 31 May, the Department of Health gave a briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. The briefing addressed key…
By Myrna Sachs, head of Alexforbes Health Management Solutions. Mental health is a complex issue, one which many of us take for granted during times when all is going well in our lives. But anything can affect our mental wellbeing, including changes in one's financial or social circumstances, traumatic experiences,…
By Albert Makoeng, Head of Sales at The Salt. While it feels as if there are some things that have returned to normal since the pandemic hit just over two years ago, there are important learnings for brands and businesses that remain relevant – and will continue to be so…
By Richard Calland, Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town and Mabel Dzinouya Sithole, Programme Officer – Building Bridges, University of Cape Town. South Africa is in a state of crisis. Its current reality is necessarily shaped by historical events, not least the outcomes of the political settlement…
Speech by the Honourable Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, at the 20th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in eThekwini on 12 November 2022. Good afternoon, Mrs Graça Machel, or shall I say Mama Graça? Premier Nomusa, I feel as if I know you already. Leaders of government, all members of…
By Dirk Kotze, Professor in Political Science, University of South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa's business interests are threatening to derail his presidency and stall his economic and political reform agenda. Ramaphosa's reform agenda has two elements. The first is an economic reconstruction and recovery plan. This includes his latest energy…
By Khaya Sithole. @CoruscaKhaya. Until South Africa can find a way of easing market access barriers, the country will not reach the most optimal levels of trade. Speaking during a webinar on the impact of outbound trade shows on SMMES in South Africa, hosted by the Government Communication and Information…
By Cyril Ramaphosa. Programme Director, Deputy Judge President Thoba Poyo-Dlwati, President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and Deputy Chief Justice Designate, Justice Mandisa Maya, Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, Justice Raymond Zondo, Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities,…
By Thabo Mbeki. The founding conference of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concluded its work on 25 May 1963. One of its decisions was that from then onwards, 25 May should be observed, certainly throughout Africa, as African Liberation Day. It said that the…
By Jeff Radebe. Despite the geo-political tension in Eastern Europe, the global economy appears to be on a firm path to recovery after a period of turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While some of the hardest hit economies including ours remain vulnerable, emerging green shoots in our economy give…
By Shabir A. Madhi, Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand. Image Supplied. A recently published South African study set out to determine seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 before the fourth wave of Covid-19, in which the omicron variant was dominant. Sero-positivity measures the presence…
By Makhozi Khoza. Makhosi Khoza writes that she standing for the mayorship of eThekwini because she is committed to steering the city towards ethical and decisive leadership that implements real measures to rejuvenate the city. I was raised on the dusty streets of Sobantu in Pietermaritzburg, yet over the years,…
By Graça Machel. Nelson Mandela (L), helped by his wife Graca Machel, is pictured 18 July 2007 during the launching ceremony of the group known as The Elders, in Johannesburg. File photo. This week has been a torturous one for South Africa. Weary yet determined, we have been valiantly swimming…
By Kirsty Gibson, Associate, and Johan Botes, Partner and Head of the Employment & Compensation Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg. After months of speculation, the Department of Employment and Labour in South Africa has provided guidance in relation to vaccination policies within the workplace. On 11 June 2021, the Minister published…
Dear Fellow South African, In the last few months, we have had to bid a sad farewell to two of our country's most respected traditional monarchs. This week, the Zulu people will lay to rest His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu who reigned for half a century. In January,…
By Tendani Mantshimuli, Liberty Consumer Economist. The most pertinent question from the ordinary South African is, will the minister increase our taxes? The fear of the increase in tax is justified if one looks at the limited options that government has with the low economic output and resultant low revenue.…
Fellow Compatriots, The end of the year is a special time for everyone. It marks the pinnacle of individual and collective journeys we have traversed in the course of the year. It is a time to reflect on where we are, as we prepare for the beginning of a new…
Steven Friedman is Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg. He is a political scientist who has specialized in the study of democracy. He researched and wrote widely on the South African transition to democracy both before and after the…
Inadequacies within the African healthcare sector has been a critical area for concern for a long time, far preceding the global health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed weaknesses in African economies in managing emergency health hazards, and exponentially accentuated various healthcare deficiencies - from a lack of medical…
How Can African Governments Unlock Private Sector Financing To Help Address Infrastructure Deficits? By Solomon Asamoah A critical driver of economic and social progress for Africa is infrastructure development. It underscores virtually all other productivity and growth objectives. Regardless of advancements made in other GDP activities, poor infrastructure acts as…
File National Assembly. The rights of women are not only acknowledged and recognized by nations, they are rights mandated by our constitutions and a myriad international instruments and declarations such as the Beijing Platform for Action and the Maputo Protocol. The narratives about gender equality and social justice are not…
Photo Credit:Shutterstock. Author: Armand Mukenge is a digital marketing strategist. He advises companies and brands throughout Africa in digital strategy, content direction,insight analysis, strategic branding, and eCommerce. He is currently the head of digital marketing at the African Communications Media Group. In the digital space, the conversation about being authentic…
Photo Credit:Shutterstock. “COVID-19 has laid bare the structures which condemn millions of people in Africa to lives of what Frantz Fanon called many years ago ‘wretchedness’. “ This is how Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, opened yesterday’s panel discussion titled Governance and the Social Contract within…
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major crisis for Africa. To better understand the economic impact, we need to look at the three dimensions of this pandemic. First; is the impact of the disease itself on individuals, families, communities, nations and regions. The second is the economic and social impact of…
File Photo: Rahima Moosa,Lillian Ngoyi,Helen Joseph and Sophia Williams led 1956 march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Every day there is cause to celebrate women the world over, to acknowledge their sacrifices and their contributions to humanity, our countries’ freedoms, our community’s growth and development and ultimately, our families’…
Preventing COVID-19 from becoming a hunger crisis in Africa By Mimi Alemayehou, ONE Campaign Board Member In the last several months, COVID-19 has taken up nearly every news headline in nearly every country in the world. The health impact, testing, confinement, and trying to curb the pandemic have rightly been…
Africa does not need a Marshall Plan to ride out the ongoing coronavirus crisis. It has a more powerful tool in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to use in accelerating regional and economic integration and prepare for uncertain times. This was said Tuesday by Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive…
File Photo: Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni. Leadership in COVID-19 crisis management in Uganda By Daphne Balinda Ketter, Sociologist In every country, during a pandemic of the sort, the citizens look to their leaders for decisive action and hope they will be protected. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda rose to…
Photo Credit:AP. Mind Your Language By Rose Ssali I went to bed euphoric after a 4-hour discussion on Whatsapp with a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. Earlier on I had spoken to my dear friend who rose above the atrocities in the decade-long civil war in Liberia. My focus on…
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock. The decision to uphold the ban on the sale of cigarettes as the fight against COVID-19 continues, has many citizens fired up and wondering if government is not encroaching on civil liberties. Dr Catherine Egbe, a specialist scientist of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research…
According to the African Development Bank Group, of Africa’s nearly 420 million youth aged 15-35, one-third are unemployed, another third are vulnerably employed and only one in six is in waged employment (www.nepad.org). While skills development and policymaking play a vital role in long term transformation efforts, youth entrepreneurship serves…
Image:GCIS. One thing we have learnt about the coronavirus over the last three months is that it does not respect borders. It has spread across Asia, Europe, North, Central and South America and Africa. Distinctions of wealth, poverty, nationality, race and class have been rendered meaningless as infections grow in…
This handout illustration image obtained February 27, 2020 courtesy of the National Institutes of Health taken with a scanning electron microscope shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab, SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, is the virus that causes COVID-19, the virus shown…
[Photos: GCIS]. There comes a time in the affairs of a country when, in the face of the most formidable of challenges, its very existence as a nation is put to the test. The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread at a relentless pace across the globe. As nations of the…
There has never been a more exciting time to be African – we are finally seeing a very real shift towards a “one Africa” approach, particularly in terms of trade and economic goals. 2019 marked the establishment of the ground-breaking African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) aimed at boosting intra-African…
Author: Nonye Mpho Omotola The term “populism” usually brings to mind political ideologies where the citizens of a country or region tangibly influence decisions and socio-political landscapes. The extent of this is that the “will of the people” affects policy-making, government functions and even the way entire countries are being…
Image:GCIS. A few weeks ago we celebrated the start of a new year and a new decade. This gave us an opportunity to reflect on our plans for the year ahead but also to think deeply about the challenges that confront us. Of these challenges, and perhaps the most pressing,…
Constitutionalism as an Instrument for Transformation The 17th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng Hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation University of Johannesburg, Soweto Campus Saturday, 23 November 2019. Acknowledgements and expression of appreciation Programme Director; The Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Professor Ndebele; Trustees of the…
Photo Credit:GCIS. Dear Fellow South African, The three life sentences handed down to the rapist and killer of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana by the Cape High Court are befitting of this heinous crime. The life sentences serve the cause of justice and must act as a deterrent to men who…
Photo Credit:Thulani Mbele. In January 2018, the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government adopted the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in Africa, its implementation roadmap and the development of the African passport. The African Union Commission then embarked on a series of activities to promote the ratification…
©Goethe-Institut Johannesburg, South Africa. What challenges do South African and German journalism both face? And what do digital and global developments mean for the future of journalism? The Future of Journalism, a series by the Goethe-Institut South Africa. By Jonas Radunz and Judit Hoffkamp The fourth estate The role of…
~ Emeritus Professor Shadrack Gutto Institute of African Renaissance Studies University of South Africa (UNISA). The Media, TV and radio, have profiled me as a “Constitutional Law Expert” and “Political Analyst”. I respect the adulation, whether I am deserving of it or not. However, what compels me more to write…
The Nelson Mandela Foundation launched a new strategy for Nelson Mandela International Day, titled Mandela Day: the Next Chapter, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in May 2019. The new strategy charts a new path for the 10-year-old initiative, significantly changing the manner in which it will impact people’s lives. The…