MONSTROUS CURVE

South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased to a terrifying 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021, the highest level since the report was introduced 13 years ago. On the expanded definition... 

MUSCULAR EFFORT

South Africa’s phased mass vaccination effort is finally under way, with health workers and people over 60 receiving priority under the initial stage of Phase 2. Success in scaling up the campaign... 

PRICE GYRATIONS

The iron-ore price has come under the spotlight this month with both sharp daily gains and steep declines recorded. The volatility has led to questions about whether the iron-ore price is... 

WAVE WARNING

As South Africa faces a third Covid-19 wave, it’s crucial that we don’t let down our guard, despite the fact that we are all extremely tired of the living under ongoing restrictions. For now, mask... 

WEIGHED DOWN

Opposition to the South African government’s awarding of preferred-bidder status to power ships as part of a recent electricity procurement bidding round continues to grow. Besides ongoing... 

OWN GOAL

While football fans, especially in England, were angrily protesting a fatally flawed plan to create a closed-shop super league for a handful of elite European clubs, anger was growing in South... 

ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

South Africa is big on shiny new things, including mega infrastructure projects. The country is less big, however, when it comes to maintaining that infrastructure across its full life cycle. While... 

HIKES & LEVIES

The fuel price and power tariff hikes implemented at the start of this month bring back painful memories of surging energy prices ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic. They have also placed the spotlight... 

END OF THE BEGINNING

There is no question that South Africa has been sluggish in its preparations for a mass vaccination campaign to combat the Covid-19 virus. Nevertheless, the ‘end of the beginning’ is at last in... 

DEBT SHEDDING

The unsustainable nature of Eskom’s debt profile is well known. Less clear, however, is what should be done about it. The State-owned utility has indicated on several occasions that it would be... 

ROCK & HARD PLACE

The ‘Rockman’ statue at the entrance to Eskom’s Megawatt Park head office in Johannesburg exemplifies the current difficult reality facing the State-owned utility. While its maintenance efforts are... 

(LOCK)DOWN MEMORY LANE

“From midnight on Thursday 26 March until midnight on Thursday 16 April, all South Africans will have to stay at home,” President Cyril Ramaphosa declared on March 23 in the first of what... 

SPILLING THE TEA

The world was captivated, earlier this month, by Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, during which some piping hot Earl Grey was most definitely spilled. In South Africa,... 

CLIFF-HANGER

The credibility of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2021 Budget hangs largely on the outcome of upcoming wage negotiations with public sector unions. There are serious doubts as to whether the... 

WATER WORRIES

The South African Human Rights Commission’s scathing findings on Emfuleni’s dismal mismanagement of water infrastructure, which has resulted in serious pollution of the Vaal river, Gauteng's most... 

HEROIC EFFORT

Following the AstraZeneca vaccine setback, the arrival of the first batch of 80 000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week was a significant development. Equally significant was the speed... 

PAINFUL JAB

South Africans should probably brace for pain when Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivers his 2021 Budget speech later this month. If he holds to the consolidation path outlined in the Medium-Term... 

DAUNTING PROSPECT

South Africans were naturally hoping that 2021 would be better than 2020. Unfortunately, it’s becoming clearer by the day that the obstacles to an economic recovery are even more daunting than... 

INCLEMENT OUTLOOK

Although Cyclone Eloise did not disrupt South Africa’s already load-shedding-prone electricity network as much as initially feared, it nevertheless left serious destruction and death in its wake.... 

AWFUL START

Warnings of a severe Covid-19 second wave could not prevent it from crashing with deadly force onto South Africa in January. The virus spread rapidly partly because of a lack of strict adherence to... 

KEY TO ESCAPE

The Covid-19 vaccine is the only realistic tool for escaping the deadly stranglehold the virus now has over us. Many South Africans are, thus, right to be concerned at the slow pace of vaccine... 

BEYOND THE WAVE

South Africa begins 2021 amid the genuine risk of the Covid-19 virus surfing a second deadly wave. In the first half of the year, at least, diligent adherence to the normal nonpharmaceutical... 

ESSENTIAL ACCESSORY

All of us are experiencing pandemic fatigue and are more than ready for a much-needed summer holiday. Despite indications that a vaccine is on the way, it is still not the time to let our guard... 

WE HAVE A PROBLEM

During the early days of television, the South African Broadcasting Corporation would react to signal interruptions by displaying the test pattern and running a voiceover stating: “We have a... 

DEEP HOLE

South Africa’s official unemployment rate hit a record high of 30.8% in the third quarter, with the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged work seekers, rising to a... 

OUT OF RUNWAY

It’s now painfully clear that the controversial decision to allocate a further R10.5-billion to South African Airways (SAA) will not be sufficient to get the grounded national carrier flying again.... 

WAVE WARNING

Although many more South Africans may well have contracted Covid-19, absent any symptoms, than the official statistics suggest, we are not out of the woods. Indeed, the holiday season holds perils... 

RADICAL REALIGNMENT

Transnet CEO Portia Derby has promised that the State-owned group will overhaul its approach to the concessioning of port and rail opportunities. Its current model has been deemed far to slow and... 

PLUGGING IN

The Gazette notice amending electricity regulations to allow municipalities in good financial standing to develop or buy their own power could be a game changer. There are concerns, though, that... 

MISSING INGREDIENTS

Despite moonlighting as a Twitter chef, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni simply lacks the key ingredients of growth and revenue to make South Africa’s fiscal position appear hearty and healthy. The... 

CONVICTIONS NEEDED

The recent spate of arrests related to various instances of alleged corruption has been treated with a mixture of delight and circumspection. Despite most of these arrest coming far too late, many... 

THE OTHER LOCKDOWN

The move to a Level 1 Covid-19 lockdown, including the opening up of borders, will help the South African economy to begin its painful recovery from the pandemic. The ongoing threat of... 

WALKING A TIGHTROPE

South Africa has, correctly, transitioned to a Level 1 Covid-19 lockdown, with its healthcare system showing little sign of being overwhelmed and its economy in dire need of a jumpstart. It should... 

HOSTILE CLIMATE

There have been several signs this year, the most recent being the California wildfires, that the climate crisis is not a mere distant threat, but a clear and present danger. While many factors... 

DRAMATIC DROP

The steep contraction in South Africa’s second quarter gross domestic product – 51.2% when annualised and seasonally adjusted and 16.4% quarter on quarter – was not entirely unexpected in light of... 

READY TO SPRING

In a recent interview with Sunday Times, Hermione Cronje, who heads the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate, said that the first charges against high-profile individuals... 

HACKING PANDEMIC

South Africa was hit by a massive data breach in August after Experian, one of the country’s biggest credit bureaus, was hacked. Experian said the personal information details of as many as... 

WAVES OF DESTRUCTION

There may be much talk about a possible Covid-19 second wave, but there is now little doubt that we are in for wave upon wave of confidence-sapping load-shedding. With this scourge having been... 

VACCINE RACE

By naming its Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, Russia did not even attempt to disguise the fact that it views the race for a vaccine as integral to its broader efforts to secure international prestige... 

DEADLY PANDEMIC

South Africa’s murder rate remains at pandemic-like levels. During the 2019/20 period covered by the latest crime statistics, murders in South Africa rose by 1.4% to 21 325, which translates to 36...