SPECIAL FEATURES - The African Mirror

Mar

22

2025

South Africa hasn’t given individuals access to the African Court – this needs to be fixed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

US President Donald Trump’s second term has brought South Africa’s domestic human rights record into stark international prominence. Based on misinformation, Trump’s anti-South African campaign seems designed to weaken South Africa’s image as an international torchbearer for human rights. At the heart of the issue lies American resentment about South Africa’s submission in December 2023 to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of a case alleging that Israel has violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. South Africa has won accolades for its principled and courageous submission of the ICJ case. Nevertheless, its role in advancing human rights on the African continent…

Mar

21

2025

By TRACY-LYNN FIELD

South Africa’s unsafe water supplies: licensing service providers won’t solve the issue

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN many cities and towns across South Africa, water shortages and supply disruptions have become more frequent. Most recent figures show that 33% of all urban water users and 65% of rural users face regular water cut-offs. Nearly half of urban residents now boil or treat their water before drinking it. South Africa’s water law says everyone has the right to access sufficient water. But 12% of rural people have no access to improved water sources. The most recent Blue Drop report into the state of South Africa’s water supply systems revealed that 46% were unable to guarantee that their…

Mar

19

2025

By OMANO EDIGHEJI

Rescuing Nigeria: how to break the cycle of decline and bring progress

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

NIGERIA has abundant human and natural resources but remains mired in underdevelopment. There are high levels of poverty, corruption, unemployment and inequality. The country is currently witnessing a rise in ethnic militias and terrorism, adding to the threats posed by armed herdsmen’s deadly clashes with rural communities over land. The nation suffers from poor economic management and political leadership that has failed to promote structural transformation of the economy and politics. I am a political scientist with a research specialisation in the political economy of development. In my view, Nigeria’s social, economic and political crises stem from the absence of…

Mar

18

2025

By FEDERICO DONELLI

Middle Eastern monarchies in Sudan’s war: what’s driving their interests

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE civil war in Sudan that began in April 2023 involves several external actors. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in a quest for political and economic power. The situation has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Various foreign states have picked a side to support. They include Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are providing financial and military support to the warring parties, although they have denied it. Political scientist Federico Donelli, who has studied…

Mar

14

2025

By GIULIO LUCARINI

Ancient DNA reveals Maghreb communities preserved their culture and genes, even in a time of human migration

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE Neolithic period began in southwest Asia around 12,000 years ago. It marked a major shift in human history as societies transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming. This sparked migrations across Europe and dramatically reshaped the continent’s gene pool. For a long time, North Africa was seen as a passive participant in this transformation. The dominant narrative suggested that farming economies never fully took root there. Some studies proposed that North African communities actively resisted agriculture, except perhaps in the Nile Delta and the western Maghreb (modern-day Morocco). They continued to rely on land snails, wild plants, and hunting…

Mar

11

2025

By The African Mirror

Moving graves and people for coal mines: the devastating costs of mining in South Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

ABOUT 80% of South Africa’s electricity still comes from burning coal. The country’s 108 coal mines have resulted in many communities being forced off their land from the 1970s to date. They have not only lost their homes and land but have suffered the trauma of their ancestral graves being exhumed and relocated. This is the subject of No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa by coal mining researcher Dineo Skosana. We spoke to her about her new book. How has coal mining dispossessed South African communities? Coal mining affects communities in the Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal…

Mar

09

2025

By DANNY BRADLOW

The G20: how it works, why it matters and what would be lost if it failed

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa took over the presidency of the G20 at the end of 2024. Since then the world has become a more complex, unpredictable and dangerous place. The most powerful state in the world, the US, seems intent on undermining the existing order that it created and on demonstrating its power over weaker nations. Other influential countries are turning inward. These developments raise concerns about how well mechanisms for global cooperation, such as the G20, can continue to operate, particularly those that work on the basis of consensual decision-making. Danny Bradlow sets out how the G20 works, and what’s at…

Mar

08

2025

By SINAZO NTSONGE

South Africa’s ‘working for water’ programme is meant to lead to skills and jobs: why it’s failing

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

SOUTH Africa’s Expanded Public Works Programme is part of its social safety net. It complements the country’s social grants system, which has over 28 million recipients. The public works programme helps fill a gap for people who fall outside the grant system, especially those who need work experience and skills training if they’re to get a job. These include unemployed young people, women and people with disabilities. One of the programmes under its umbrella is the Working for Water programme, which was launched in 1995. It was intended to control invasive alien plants so as to conserve water resources and…

Mar

06

2025

By BRENDON J. CANNON

Maps showing China’s growing influence in Africa distort reality – but some risks are real

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

GLOBAL power dynamics in Africa are shifting, with China eclipsing the influence of the US and France. China has become Africa’s single largest trading partner. In response, media and policymakers in traditionally dominant states are increasingly using maps drenched in red or stamped with Chinese flags to depict Beijing’s expanding footprint. One map reproduced by a US congressional committee, for instance, showed Beijing’s influence and reach across the continent in red stripes. But these visuals oversimplify a complex reality. This is an issue I explored in a new study. For over a decade, I have researched the interactions of sub-Saharan…

Mar

05

2025

By TINA LÜDECKE and DOMINIC STRATFORD

When did our ancestors start to eat meat regularly? Fossilised teeth get us closer to the answer

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR decades, scientists have been learning more about the diets of early hominins, particularly their reliance on plants. Yet we still don’t know when these ancestors of humans started eating meat. This is a frustrating gap in our understanding of human evolution. We think regular meat consumption was one of the main drivers of brain growth and evolution in hominins because animal products are calorie-dense and easier to digest than unprocessed plant foods. They also contain all the essential amino acids and are rich in biologically important nutrients, minerals and vitamins. What we do know is that by the time…