The need for grit – industrialism in Africa

Extractive industries offer no long-term solution for countries that continue to rely on their natural resources as levers for an economic boost; when a commodity boom end, the countries will slide... 

Of insurrection, malls and hunger

We have been made to believe the narrative that things were under control When, in July, looting and rioting broke out in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, we were told that the country was in... 

Intersectional issues in renewables: the race debate in the energy sector

We must guard against the idea that green means socially responsible and equitable. Green and optimum social outcomes are not synonymous; therefore, a debate about intersectional issues relating to... 

The private versus the public: living within the hierarchical system

Societies that are most vulnerable to economic piracy need countervailing forces to protect them from those who deliberately pursue actions intended to maximise their own gain at the expense of the... 

Gas-exporting countries in Africa and the problem of a displacement equivalent

The public discourse around gas is intensifying. Climate activists have now made gas – which has been touted as being better than coal and a necessary transitional fuel –  the target of their next... 

Climate finance and the political economy of finance

In his book, Feline Philosophy, which is about what cats can teach humans, John Gray points us to a few lessons. One of these is pertinent to what I discuss in this article: beware of anyone who... 

The tragedy of abundant resources

The coming into being of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) is giving momentum to an idea that has been very long in the making – a unified position around trade, whose importance will... 

The politics of knowledge production

It has been an interest of mine for a long time – this question concerning the production of knowledge systems. The part that I will not focus on is the epistemological process of knowledge... 

Political economy of the just transitions in Africa

The term ‘just transition’ may seem a neologism, but in reality it is not so new. It originated from the depths of US labour movement struggles in response to the impacts of new environmental laws... 

The framing problem and judgment– how to be aware of how not to frame

For the human mind to cope with the world, it has to develop a set of frames of the world, or what can also be called heuristics. These sets of frames are not all innate; many are a product of... 

Liberty, environmentalism and corporate power

Individual utilitarianism is seen as primordial in conventional Western economic tradition. However, individualism does not always lead to better public outcomes. Extreme forms of individualism are... 

Climate resilience: optimising strategies against uncertainty

Climate resilience in Africa can only be optimised if other forms of social protection work in concert. This means you may not achieve success, entirely, with the scaffold of climate resilience... 

Industrial development in Africa – from theory to practice

I recently participated in a panel discussion on industrial development in Central and West Africa, organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The panellists, drawn from... 

When facts matter and when they don’t

It is common wisdom that, if you have evidence, that evidence should speak for itself. But the history of knowledge and ‘factfulness’ shows that the causal relation between evidence and good... 

Social engineering is not just a socialist thing

‘Social engineering’ is seen in some circles as a swear phrase and associated with socialism – meaning surrendering individual sovereignty into State control. In a recent heated interview with Redi... 

The Michael Moore view of the world

Michael Moore’s documentary, Planet of the Humans (a play on the Anthropocene age), following his namesake, Roger Moore, in the James Bond 007 movie, goes after the evil enemy, the Greens, and... 

Economic lessons from Covid-19

The current pandemic is not a black swan. Those who have been warning about it call it a white swan. Human history is replete with episodes of terrifying pandemics or plagues. London, for instance,... 

Economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic

There is a lot to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic for climate change, both in terms of how systemic disruption in one part of the world can transmit to other parts of the world. Secondly, the... 

Why I don’t aspire to be a Twitterati

Somebody asked me the other day if I had a Twitter accounT. I have never fancied myself as a serious fan of Twitter. I am quite cautious about social media. I have a Facebook account but never drop... 

Securing the electricity grid from attack

As the intensity of global geopolitics increases in what is fast becoming a multipolar world, different risks within an energy system have to be taken into account that were previously not... 

Climate crisis – there is no safe place anymore

There is a certain irony that, while the Paris Agreement was being debated in Madrid and going through its slow motion of nonaction towards the end of 2019, apocalyptic scenes were playing... 

The circular economy movement and its place in South Africa

The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) hosted a circular economy colloquium in partnership with the European Union from November 19 to 20. The notion of a circular economy may seem like a... 

Climate finance must be a mainstream economic issue

If climate change is a risk to economies, then it has to be placed in the mainstream of economic mainstream, rather than on the periphery. Economic debates are starting to move in the direction of... 

Can AfCFTA help stimulate Africa’s industrialisation?

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was signed last year by the majority of the countries in Africa to create a common market and remove barriers that hinder growth and opportunity... 

Why SA should not install new nuclear capacity

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has reopened the debate on whether or not South Africa requires nuclear power or not. He has suggested that, slowly but surely, a new plant... 

How science has lost its touch

These days, feelings matter more than facts, despite Hans Roslings’ plea for 'factfulness'. It is not the reasonableness of the argument or evidence presented that matters, but whether the facts or... 

Climate change and the future of food production in Africa

The International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) is the highest scientific body on climate change  that provides perhaps the best scientific insight and overview on climate change, variability and... 

Acclimatising physical infrastructure to extreme weather events

Acclimatising conventional infrastructure to extreme weather Climate change and extreme weather patterns are already a factor in infrastructure and shaping future models of the design, placement,... 

Conservation as cost

The conservation movement has been around for a long time. In its modern version, it can be traced to the curiosity of early explorers like Darwin, Russell, Humboldt and many others. That we think... 

Independent power producers and Weet-Bix

There is a vociferous attack on independent power producers (IPPs) and renewables in South Africa, despite the energy crisis that the country is experiencing and the fact that the long-term... 

Reflection on proposed splitting of Eskom

The mere mention of the splitting of State-owned  electricity utility Eskom into three parts invikes the conclusion that it is a Trojan horse for privatisation. There may be some validity in this... 

Building sustainable economies through good governance of extractives industry

A pertinent question remains unanswered: Can mining economies lead to sustainable economies? This is an appropriate question to ask in the context of the yearly parade in Cape Town. I am referring... 

The Eskom quagmire

As we enter the year 2019, State-owned electricity utility Eskom, once a success story of South Africa's industrialisation programme, is now an albatros around the neck of the National Treasury and... 

Reflections on global conventions in a postliberal order

I was in Sharm-El Shaik, Egypt, in November at a gathering of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the Conference of the Parties (COP). This enclave of holiday resorts is characterised... 

Africa’s infrastructure and recent climate report

It was my first attendance at the yearly Africa Infrastructure conference, held in Sandton this year on October 9 and 10. Infrastructure has always been an interest of mine but this year it has... 

Strategic economics in times of uncertainty

In his excellent three-volume work titled Wheels of Commerce, Fernand Braudel describes countries or city states as islands in a world economy. This is a reference to the interconnectedness of the... 

The industrialisation debate in SA – what are the lessons?

Manufacturing has been in slow decline in the past decade or so. The sector has always been treated as a useful link between mining and higher-value beneficiation. Light and heavy industrialisation... 

Using Douglas North’s institutional economics to understand State capture

Douglas North remains an influential institutional economist and his work on institutional economics can help us understand economic development and long-run growth. North was awarded the Nobel... 

SA’s bioeconomy should be multipronged

The fact that South Africa does not have a White Paper or a holistic bio-economy strategy is the biggest of ironies, given that a vast variety of biological life and biodiversity can be found... 

Will the SDGs help us rewire the economy?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the new mantra, and everybody is trying to figure out the best way to leverage them; the question is whether to follow the same old path or to beat a...