South Africa - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

South Africa’s laws aren’t geared to protecting against climate change: judges are trying to fill the gap

SOUTH Africa has plenty of environmental laws but none that specifically oblige government officials to consider the risks and impacts of climate change when they approve new developments. In their research, environmental law experts Clive Vinti and Melanie Jean Murcott set out how judges are dealing with this gap in the law. What are the gaps in the law? The main gap is that no law specifically obliges companies establishing mines or building new developments like power stations to do a climate change assessment before they start construction. A climate change assessment would look at how a proposed development would…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa? A new podcast series marks 30 years of post-apartheid democracy

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS, EDITORS CHOICE

WHEN Nelson Mandela stood in front of the Union Buildings in Pretoria in May 1994 as South Africa’s first democratically elected president, my country was brimming with optimism for its post-apartheid future. I was there and relieved at the prospect of an end to bloodshed. I had seen far too much violence and death in my five-year career as a journalist, covering the deadly political violence that characterised the dying moments of apartheid. But was the negotiated settlement real freedom? The sceptic in me wondered. How could it be when we did not really defeat the white settler colonialists who’d…

Apr

2024

By NEIL D’CRUZE, ANGIE ELWIN and JENNAH GREEN

South Africa is to shut down captive lion farms. Experts warn the plan needs a deadline

ENVIRONMENT

THE South African government has officially confirmed that captive lion farms will be shut down. A new ministerial task team report just released has cemented the government’s intention, first made public in 2021, to put an end to African lions being legally sold and traded live, both internationally and domestically. It also heralds the end of “canned” trophy hunting, where lions are confined to an enclosed space and hunted down, with no chance of escape. We are wildlife researchers who have studied lion farming in South Africa. We believe that this latest development is a significant milestone in ending this…

Apr

2024

By IFEDOTUN AINA,

South Africa’s crucial water supplies from Lesotho: what the six-month shutdown means for industry, farming and residents

NEWS

THE main water supply to South Africa’s economic hub, greater Johannesburg in the Gauteng province, and to the country’s breadbasket in the Free State, is scheduled to be cut off for six months. Maintenance work on the 37-kilometre Lesotho Highlands Water Project tunnel is due to begin in October 2024. Ifedotun Victor Aina, a senior researcher at the Water and Production Economics Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, takes a critical look at who could be affected by the shutdown and what might happen. What is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project? Why is it so important? It is…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

South Africa to investigate Microsoft over cloud computing licensing practices

NEWS

A South African antitrust agency is set to investigate Microsoft over its cloud computing licensing practices, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The South African case against Microsoft is likely to mirror the European Union antitrust case, according to the source. Microsoft is not aware of any complaint filed by the South African competition authority, the company said in an emailed statement. South Africa's competition agency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The U.S. software giant faces an EU complaint by rivals over its cloud computing licensing practices in the region. Industry group…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Consumer spending growth in South Africa steadied in 2023

BUSINESS

CONSUMERS spending growth in South Africa steadied in 2023 after the previous year's post-pandemic surge, but expected interest rate cuts will encourage more purchases in 2024, executives from Visa and Discovery Bank said. Recent retail results show that consumers are under financial pressure as high interest rates increase the cost of debt and inflation pushes food prices higher. Releasing their latest SpendTrend24 report, Discovery's banking unit and Visa said that while consumer spending in South Africa outpaced inflation by 19 percentage points in 2022, the two measures were closely matched last year. Spending on food, including groceries, takeout and dining out, increased in most…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

South African parliament speaker resigns amid corruption probe

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said that she was resigning from her position amid an investigation into alleged corruption during her tenure as defence minister. Mapisa-Nqakula's home was raided last month by investigators as part of the corruption inquiry, who did not provide details on the investigation or the allegations. "My resignation is in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations being levelled against me," she said in a statement. The resignation, which is effective immediately, also sees her stepping down as a member of the parliament. Mapisa-Nqakula was defence minister from 2012 to 2021. South…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Wind energy to help clean South Africa’s dirty carbon “hotspot”

ENVIRONMENT

PRIVATE wind energy projects for commercial and industrial purposes are ramping up the uptake of wind energy in South Africa while complementing clean energy's solar dominance to provide power for industries. Construction recently commenced on three wind sites to power Sasol’s Secunda industrial complex in Mpumalanga. The project is led by a consortium that includes Italian renewable energy developer Enel Green Power. The Secunda complex, which started commercial operations in 1990, is reportedly the biggest single-site carbon emitter globally, according to a 2020 Bloomberg report. “At 56.5 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, Secunda's emissions exceed the individual totals…

Apr

2024

By STEVEN MATHETSA

South Africa’s new energy plan needs a mix of nuclear, gas, renewables and coal – expert

ENVIRONMENT

SOUTH Africa’s economy has been hard hit by 15 years of load-shedding (rolling blackouts). The country’s coal-fired power plants have a maintenance backlog and frequently experience unexpected technical failures. On the other hand, South Africa has committed, under the Paris Agreement, to transition to low-carbon energy generation technologies by 2050. This puts South Africa at an energy crossroads where it needs well-thought-out policy development and implementation to make the transition possible. South Africa’s reliance on coal-fired power to supply about 72% of its energy needs is catching up with it as coal plants fail. But switching to renewable energy technologies…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Ireland to intervene in South Africa genocide case against Israel

NEWS

IRELAND said it would intervene in South Africa's genocide case against Israel, in the strongest signal to date of Dublin's concern about Israeli operations in Gaza since October 7. Announcing the move, Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said that while it was for the World Court to decide whether genocide is being committed, he wanted to be clear that Hamas' October 7 attack and what is happening in Gaza now "represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale." "The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The…