Tag: SustainableDevelopment

South Africa’s mining sector has long been shaped by migrant labour systems. Employees travelled vast distances from rural homes to industrial centres. For decades, hostel accommodation supported this reality. Although functional in many respects, it ultimately proved undesirable and unsustainable for our social fabric.

We have released our new findings from the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Opportunity Leads Umbrella Program. The findings identify five critical and interconnected domains that drive women’s income growth among low-income micro-entrepreneurs. The insights emerged from a two-year collaboration with 11 enterprises in Kenya through the WEE Program.

South African environmental law is undergoing a decisive shift. This shift affects how climate change considerations are integrated into environmental authorisation (EA) decision-making. Courts increasingly recognise climate change as a material factor within the “need and desirability” assessment under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA).

When people discuss the Just Energy Transition (JET), they often focus on gigawatts, emissions targets, and investment flows. However, the Just Transition is not only about energy. At its core, it is about people and building a socially inclusive future. The decisions made in the next decade will shape the country’s trajectory.

Across the African continent, one topic increasingly dominates conversations in boardrooms, parliaments and everyday households - energy. When the grid fails, and the lights go out, the consequences cascade through industry, education, health services and family life. Energy has therefore moved beyond being a purely economic matter. 

South Africa stands at a crossroads. We are a nation of extraordinary potential, weighed down by entrenched poverty, youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability. For decades, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) has been part of our development landscape, often perceived as a peripheral act of charity. Increasingly, however, there is recognition that social investment be repositioned as a lever for long-term growth and resilience.

The need for us to work together with other nations in crucial, but how can we focus on building international relations when our own country is falling apart? Shouldn’t leaders fix their problems first, before showing off a ‘world class city’, that doesn’t exist.