South Africa’s new plan to end power cuts is seriously flawed. Here’s why: South Africa experienced unprecedented electricity shortages in 2023 as ageing coal plants became increasingly prone to breakdowns. The country urgently needs to develop new electricity generation facilities and reduce reliance on coal power. In the first week of 2024, the South African …
Henry Kissinger was a global – and deeply flawed – foreign policy heavyweight: Declarations of the end of an era are made only in exceptional circumstances. Henry Kissinger’s death is one of them. Kissinger was born into a Jewish family in Germany, and fled to the US in 1938 after the Nazis seized power. He …
Rishi Sunak’s decision to bring back David Cameron has distracted us all for now, but the long-term strategy is flawed: Number 10/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND Former prime minister David Cameron’s return as foreign secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government was surprising, to say the least. Only four former prime ministers have gone on to serve again in …
Plan to ‘retain and explain’ controversial statues is flawed – the act of writing history is so often biased: The long-awaited government guidance on the official “retain and explain” policy suggests the UK’s contested statues and monuments be retained as long as additional context is provided. But given their controversial past, how do we go …
Degrowth: slowing down rich economies to deal with climate change is a flawed idea: Degrowth will result in industrialised countries having less income for climate change mitigation GettyImages The notion of “degrowth” is gaining traction among some politicians in Europe. It was given a platform recently at the European Parliament’s “Beyond Growth” conference. Jason Hickel, …
South Africa’s ruling party is performing dismally, but a flawed opposition keeps it in power: The African National Congress has lost electoral support but remains dominant. Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images. As power cuts continue, the economy falters, unemployment rises and the currency tumbles, South Africa’s political commentators tend to agree that support …
Tár – an exploration of the flawed musicians behind decadent music: Tár (2022) follows superstar conductor Lydia Tár, played by Cate Blanchett, as she conducts the Berlin Philharmonic (represented in the film by the Dresden Philharmonic) in a much-anticipated performance of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Conductors have only received relatively sporadic exposure on film. Among …
PFI at 30: it’s hard to say anything positive about this deeply flawed financing model: It was Norman Lamont who first announced a new way of paying for public buildings and infrastructure in November 1992. In a speech to the House of Commons, the then chancellor of the exchequer said he was looking to encourage …
Zondo Commission’s report on South Africa’s intelligence agency is important but flawed: President Cyril Ramaphosa, right, receives the final State Capture Report from Chief Juistice Raymond Zondo. GCIS/Flickr South Africa’s judicial probe into state capture and corruption, the Zondo Commission, has concluded that the State Security Agency was integral to the capture of the state …
UK work visa for elite graduates is exclusive and based on flawed assumptions: The UK's high potential individual visa demonstrates short-sightedness about the experience, insights and skills that graduates from the global South could bring to the UK. Shutterstock The UK government’s announcement of a new work visa option aimed at attracting top graduates has …
South Africa is in search of a fairer electoral system. But what’s been tabled is flawed: A woman votes in South Africa's November 2021 local elections. EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook South Africa is amending its electoral law to make it fairer by enabling citizens to contest provincial and national elections without being forced to join political parties. …
South Africa is proposing plans to manage diseases like COVID. Why they’re flawed: Countries face the reality of co-existing with COVID-19. Charday Penn /GettyImages At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the South African government published “special regulations” to contain the spread of the disease. These actions were taken under special powers granted by the …
Ukraine war: people are fighting and dying for Vladimir Putin’s flawed version of history: Vladimir Putin invoked history to justify his country’s invasion of Ukraine. To cement that message at home, his regime is feeding domestic audiences propaganda insisting that the Russian army fights “against Nazism” across the globe. In a bid to ensure this …
Why age verification is another flawed attempt to regulate online pornography in the UK: VALUA STUDIO/Shutterstock The UK government has announced that its forthcoming online safety bill will require websites that publish pornography to verify users are over 18. Sites will need to adopt a method of age verification, such as having users provide their …
COP26 agreed rules on trading carbon emissions – but they’re fatally flawed: Humphery/Shutterstock One surprise from COP26 – the latest UN climate change conference in Glasgow – was an agreement between world leaders on a new set of rules for regulating carbon markets. This would allow countries to trade the right to emit greenhouse gases. …
The World Bank and IMF are using flawed logic in their quest to do away with the informal sector: Informal head porter workers Percent Boatemaq (left) and Lusaka Fuseina (right) carrying goods on their heads at Agbogbloshie market in Accra, Ghana. Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images Many low and middle-income countries face a myriad of …
Nigeria has a plan to de-radicalise and reintegrate ex-terrorists. But it’s flawed and needs fixing: Freed inmates prepare for rehabilitation and integration. Audu Marte/AFP via Getty Images Studies have shown that terrorism does not end with only a military approach. A coercive counter-terrorism strategy has often produced negative outcomes by promoting more violence and creating …
A granular look at UK’s COVID-19 ‘red list’ shows why it’s deeply flawed: Over 40% of the countries on the UK's COVID-19 'red list' are in sub-Sahara Africa. Photo by Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images Earlier this year the UK introduced a “traffic light” system in yet another attempt to contain and mitigate the effects …