South Africa

Artisanal Miners Face Onerous Obstacles to Become Legal

By Fawzia Moodley
Greed, poverty, irresponsible legal mining giants which exploited and then abandoned South Africa's mines, together with the government's failure to enforce regulations on the mining giants to rehabilitate mines before closing them, have created fertile ground for a thriving illegal artisanal mining sector called Zama Zama, many of them run by criminal syndicates.

Rising Food Prices, Ongoing Energy Crisis Place South Africa at Risk

By Lyse Comins
South Africa’s almost record level food price inflation, load shedding, rising energy costs, and further fuel and interest rate hike forecast have eroded workers’ disposable incomes and further disadvantaging the poor – leaving analysts predicting that the country was at heightened risk, including civil unrest.

We Want to Be Legal; We’re Not ‘Zama Zama’ Criminals Say South African Artisanal Miners

By Fawzia Moodley
Mining towns across South Africa have become hostage to a booming but bloody illegal mining economy.

Inequitable Global Health Responses Underscore Need for More Self-Sufficiency in Developing Countries

By Juliet Morrison
With the outbreak of Monkeypox in non-endemic countries leading to a scramble for vaccines, global health advocates are again calling for equity to be prioritized in the international response.

COVID-19: Scientists Warn That It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

By Fawzia Moodley
After two years of economic and social upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries, including South Africa, have lifted the tough protocols such as lockdowns, the mandatory wearing of masks and social distancing.

Myths Fuel Xenophobic Sentiment in South Africa

By Fawzia Moodley
Around the world, from Syria to Libya, from Bangladesh to Ukraine, millions have become refugees in foreign lands due to war, famine, or political and economic instability in their countries.

Violence Casts Shadow Over South Africa’s Post-Apartheid Democratic Gains

By Kevin Humphrey
Twenty-seven years after South Africa’s first democratic elections, the country finds itself reflecting on the catalysts of a week of looting and destruction of property resulting in more than 200 deaths and US$ 1.3 billion in damage.

What Research Reveals about Drivers of Anti-immigrant Hate Crime in South Africa

By Steven Gordon
Mobs have attacked foreign-owned businesses on the streets of at least three South African cities in recent days. This has caused outrage across Africa. There have even been retaliatory attacks. The South African government, under pressure to protect her large international migrant community, quickly defused the attacks.

South Africans Look to Re-elected Government to Rebuild a Stagnant Economy

By Crystal Orderson
Millions of South Africans headed out in large numbers, some braving cold and wet weather to cast their ballot in the country's sixth democratic elections this week. The 2019 election was one of the most competitive and contested elections that also saw a whopping 48 parties on the national ballot—up 300 percent from a mere 10 years ago.

Billions of Swedish Krona Supported the Struggle against Apartheid

By Ida Karlsson
Between 1982 and 1988 Birgitta Karlström Dorph was on a secret mission in South Africa. "Why didn't they stop us? Probably they were not aware of the scope of the operation. The money was transferred through so many different channels. We were clever, " Karlström Dorph says. 

Making Tourism More Responsible

By Ida Karlsson
Long before Joy Daniels became the manager of a travel company she was cleaning rooms at a guesthouse. But after joining a Fair Trade-certified business, a place that valued its staff, in a few years she was soon promoted to manager. 

South African Lawsuit Could Bring Sweeping Changes to Land and Mining Rights

By Mark Olalde
South Africans await judgement to be handed down in a court case that could set a sweeping precedent by empowering communities on communal land with the right to reject new mining projects.

High and Dry: Can We Fix the World’s Water Crisis?

By Mxolisi Ncube
April 12 is expected to be the infamous “Day Zero” in South Africa’s second largest city of Cape Town, a tourist hub which attracts millions of visitors every year.

Migrant Promoters and Musicians Spread Message of “One Africa”

By Mxolisi Ncube
The crowd in the park gave out roars of approval as the next act was announced:  Mothusi Bashimane Ndlovu, one of Zimbabwe’s most popular singers and actors, who took to the stage with a small axe in hand.

Zimbabwe’s Diaspora Could Help Revive Ailing Economy

By Sally Nyakanyanga
At the dawn of the millennium, Sheila Mponda, 60, waved goodbye to her four children, who were leaving Zimbabwe for the United Kingdom in search of greener pastures. Mponda had just lost her husband and had been a housewife all her life.

Southern Africa’s Marshall Plan to Stop Voracious Crop Worm

By Busani Bafana
Southern African countries have agreed on a multi-pronged plan to increase surveillance and research to contain the fall army worm, which has cut forecast regional maize harvests by up to ten percent, according to a senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) official.

U.S. “Dumping” Dark Meat Chicken on African Markets

By Friday Phiri
The United States and Europe’s preference for white meat is hurting Africa’s poultry industry, says Luc Smalle, manager at the agro firm Rossgro in South Africa’s Mpumalanga area.

Alternative Mining Indaba Makes Its Voice Heard

By Mark Olalde
“Comrades, we have arrived. This cherry is eight years awaited. We have made it to this place,” Bishop Jo Seoka told the crowd, pausing to allow for the whistles and cheers.

Bringing South Africa’s Small-Scale Miners Out of the Shadows

By Mark Olalde
In a country with unemployment rising above 25 percent, South Africans are increasingly looking for job creation in small-scale mining, an often-informal industry that provides a living for millions across the continent.

Gambia May Not Join African Withdrawals from ICC

By Lindah Mogeni
The International Criminal Court (ICC) may have had a small reprieve this week from a string of African withdrawals, with Gambia’s newly elected President Adama Barrow telling various media outlets that there is no need for Gambia to leave the court.

Phosphate Mining Firms Set Sights on Southern Africa’s Sea Floor

By Mark Olalde
A persistent fear of diminishing phosphorus reserves has pushed mining companies to search far and wide for new sources. Companies identified phosphate deposits on the ocean floor and are fighting for mining rights around the world.
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