Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
industry and competitionlatest news & developments
Ghost towns: The mills in Tongaat, Maidstone and Felixton have fallen silent. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy

Allowing liquidation of Tongaat Hulett will roll back the gains of the Sugar Value Chain Master Plan  

Flexibility in the sugar value chain is essential to ensure its long-term sustainability

Exhibition: The talent on display at SA Innovation Week 2026 is truly inspiring. Photo: Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

Why brilliant ideas aren’t enough

The country has the talent. It has ideas. It has institutions. What it needs is the connective tissue to turn potential into performance — and the patience to accept that…

The genocidal mentality of the US and Israel is a supremacist nexus of settler colonialism and endless wars. With Trump and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu presiding, the logic replicates with renewed force.
 (X)

How the US government sabotaged the genocide convention orders against Israel

South Africa can move to get more emergency orders from the International Court of Justice. The UN General Assembly’s Uniting for Peace power can overcome the US government’s…

President Cyril Ramaphosa.
(GovernmentZA)

Artists call for urgent action at Sona 2026

Amid the crisis in South Africa’s creative sector, artists and film crews march to demand funding, spaces and government accountability before Sona 2026

The Draft Block Exemption for the Promotion of Exports under the Competition Act aims to enable exporters to collaborate legally. Photo: File

South Africa’s competition law pivots to turn US tariffs into strategy

A draft export exemption aims to enable exporters to collaborate legally

Alcohol causes many social problems, requiring the revival of the Liquor Amendment Bill.

Profits before people: How the liquor industry undermines reforms

The Liquor Amendment Bill needs to be revived to tackle the social problems created by alcohol

Vodacom demonstrates that anchoring identity in the physical world still matters. Photo: File

Trade, industry and competition department sells out to telecoms big business

Last year, the Competition Tribunal prohibited Vodacom’s purchase of a stake in Remgro’s fibre businesses — Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA). But then, South Africa’s minister…

Imported goods are subject to customs duties and a 15% VAT rate based on their value, which must be paid to Sars. (Oupa Nkosi)

All you need to know about Sars’ increase on customs duties for online clothing orders 

The adjustments will affect consumers and the South African fashion industry

The maize imports are limited and exports to various destinations in the world continue. Photo: File

SA’s agricultural export growth cools slightly in second quarter of 2024

Despite this drop, trade figures remain encouraging, but various departments need to address policy and other issues to boost exports

Graphic: John McCann

Copyright Bill feeds into Big Tech’s agenda to grab creative content

The bill in its current form creates a safe haven in South Africa for machine learning

A mans walks past a burning barricade during a protest against Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry calling for his resignation, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2022. (Photo by RICHARD PIERRIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Haiti in turmoil – and the US must shoulder the blame

As the situation in Haiti escalates we need to look beyond US-backed narratives to better understand a complex situation

Stuck: The department of forestry, fisheries and the environment does not support establishing a new multilateral environmental agreement on plastics, according to a leaked document, and to the dismay of environmentalists. Photo: Paul Botes

Plastic: South Africa is 11th-biggest litterbug

The country risks ‘pariah status’ for approach to global plastic waste crisis

The first round of plastic treaty negotiations saw positive outcomes but oil producing countries, at the behest of big oil and petrochemical companies, could dominate the treaty discussions. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

South Africa won’t support proposed global plastic ban treaty, draft document reveals

Critics say the environment department’s argument that the treaty would be a duplication of existing agreements is flawed

The pandemic is testing the resilience of most economies, especially those of developing countries. (Madelene Cronjé)

All hands on deck, we’re trying to revive the economy

Existing government aid schemes must persist, and new ones created, at the same speed as Ters was set up, if we are to survive and thrive after the crisis