10 June 2022 - A great deal has been said and written in recent years about the world’s democratic recession. Many democracies suffered from the weakening or suborning of the institutions on which their political and civic processes depend, while other have seen authoritarian impulses essentially destroy a tenuous democratic veneer. But more than that, authoritarianism itself is on the march.
Media
8 June 2022 - However they are sugar-coated, Stats SA’s latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures bring more bad news to South Africa. The average person’s ability to add value in the pursuit of happiness is flatlining or even shrinking.
7 June 2022 - It’s now almost an article of faith among energy writers in the bulk of the media that “renewables” are the best form of energy from an environmental point of view. After all, they spew forth no noxious gases. They are also cheap and getting cheaper. Some journalists even argue that they are free: you do not have to pay for sunshine or wind.
6 June 2022 - It’s pleasing to see Agri SA president Jaco Minnaar come out forthrightly about the damaging affect on the agricultural sector of policy and governance missteps. (“SA farmers quitting because of policy uncertainty, says Agri SA’s Jaco Minnaar”, June 5).
3 June 2022 - There is little to celebrate about the results of Stats SA’s latest quarterly labour force survey (QLFS). Perhaps the most disturbing result is an increase in the “not in employment, education or training (Neet) rate for people aged 15-34.
2 June 2022 - Every opinion poll commissioned by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) indicates that unemployment is the No 1 problem in SA.
1 June 2022 - Just over 23 000 South Africans have registered their opposition to the race-based Employment Equity Amendment Bill (EEB) in a petition which the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is delivering to the Union Buildings at midday today.
31 May 2022 - The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) challenges President Cyril Ramaphosa to include an expert capable of analyzing the damage BEE is doing to poor South Africans when he appoints the new B-BBEE advisory council this week.
31 May 2022 - The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) cautions that any overhaul of South Africa’s electoral system must be done properly and that every concern must be adequately addressed before a new electoral system is proposed.
30 May 2022 - The petrol price is expected to rise above R25 per litre on Wednesday, adding to the mounting burden on commuters, motorists, and consumers.
29 May 2022 - One evening about three decades ago — in what seems another world, and probably was — a friend joined me and my wife-to-be for a supper that, despite the gulf of time that has opened between then and now, retains its simple delight in my mind.
27 May 2022 - Former senior Treasury official Andrew Donaldson has called on the government to create more public make-work programmes (“‘Think big’ about jobs projects, says former Treasury official Andrew Donaldson,” May 25).