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Mail & Guardian
Seán Mfundza Muller

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Seán Mfundza Muller

Seán Mfundza Muller is a lecturer in economics at the University of Johannesburg, with an interest in issues pertaining to institutional integrity and social justice.

South Africa could channel sustained, coordinated support into fields such as green energy, agro-processing, tourism and mineral beneficiation by developing skills pipelines, investment in infrastructure and policy consistency.

Renewable energy’s dark side

As countries expand investment in decentralised renewable energy, its worth keeping an eye on who’s profiting.

Rather than marching on the JSE to ask companies to contribute money to fighting gender-based violence, it would arguably be better to hold companies to account for how they fail to address these issues internally. (David Harrison/M&G)

Use the workplace to stop socially embedded violence

The judicial system alone and appealing to miscreants has not stopped attacks on women

“Rethinking economics for Africa is an imperative, but the duty is to invest in understanding what that means.” (John McCann/M&G)

Just what is ‘economics for Africa’?

A relevant economics curriculum should include different schools of thought and students must learn to engage with these in a critical way

The universities in the South must stop pandering to complacency. They must restore their commitment to academic excellence and welcome the best minds and those who carry with them the potential to be the best regardless of origin. (Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

The university is not a factory

University managers try to churn out as many products as possible at as low a quality as they can get away with

Resolution: Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said governance at the power utility had to improve

Budget 2018: First steps towards a recovery, but at what cost?

Whether measures announced by Gigaba will stave off a downgrade by the remaining credit rating agency remains to be seen.

The fight for free university education in South Africa is entering its fourth year.

Free higher education in South Africa: Cutting through the lies and statistics

Zuma’s free higher education proposal is the worst kind of populism. It’s been sold as a radically progressive policy with no negative consequences.

Ill-considered: The writer argues that spending more on basic education and early childhood development may lead to a greater reduction in poverty than allocating billions to tertiary education.

JZ’s fees plan ‘reckless, regressive’

The president’s proposed policy for 2018 lacks the critical foresight to truly lay the groundwork to improve access to education

State capture represents a particularly pernicious form of corruption, wherein private actors exert undue influence over public policy and state mechanisms to serve their own interests, thereby severely undermining democratic governance. (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)

What the hijacking of treasury means for the economy

The Conversation Africa’s Sibonelo Radebe asked Seán Muller to weigh up the implications.

Minister Malusi Gigaba described the Gupta family as ‘strangers’ when he first attended the infamous Sun City wedding in 2013.

What the hijacking of South Africa’s Treasury means for the economy

The imposition of the fee-free higher education proposal on National Treasury without due consideration represents an escalation of state capture

Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe is expected to give evidence before the Zondo commission. (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)

SA needs to sober up to save itself from sickly SEOs

There is no good case for bailing out South African Airways, it’s simply a matter of avoiding a potentially catastrophic debt default.

Malusi Gigaba says Standard & Poor’s downgrade of South Africa to junk status is a setback.

Explainer: Why amendments to SA’s ‘Money Bills Act’ matter

The amendments to South Africa’s Money Bills Act don’t go far enough – for one, they do not address incoherence in Parliament’s oversight of taxes.

The European Union exports half of its collected and sorted plastics

Why Brian Molefe’s return to Eskom can’t be justified

A closer look at the supposed successes of Brian Molefe at the power utility, Eskom, shows that they are not what they have been made out to be.

The controversy over the Guptas’ citizenship arose when home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba publicly said that Atul Gupta is not a South African citizen, only to correct himself and say that Atul is a citizen. (Gallo)

South Africa has lost a key line of defence against corruption. What now?

It’s no exaggeration to say that the removal of Pravin Gordhan in South Africa, says Sean Mfundza Muller.

MPs spoke to reporters on the steps of the National Assembly

Explainer: the nitty-gritty of the annual budget

A lot more goes into the making of the final national budget than many realise. The process involves extensive legalities to ensure public oversight.

It remains to be seen whether Zuma will be a better tactician than Mbeki

Why Parliament’s public finance watchdog failed its mandate on nuclear

The Parliamentary Budget Office’s final report was little more than a summary of other institutions’ work.