Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
national development planlatest news & developments
From Doringbaai to Port Nolloth, West Coast communities are pushing back against mining and offshore oil and gas expansion. (Liezl Human/Groundup)
ATLANTIC OCEAN

‘No one asked us’: West Coast fishers oppose offshore oil and gas development

From Doringbaai to Port Nolloth, West Coast communities are pushing back against mining and offshore oil and gas expansion. Residents, activists and fishers say consultation…

  • Milan Burnett
9 min read
Development statistics tell us what has happened. They show us how many children have dropped out of school, how many young people are unemployed and how many households remain trapped in poverty. (Oupa Nkosi)
COVID 19

If we cannot see the most vulnerable, our development plans will always fall short

Development statistics tell us what has happened. They show us how many children have dropped out of school, how many young people are unemployed and how many households remain…

  • Noluthando Qwelani
4 min read
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela says South Africa must urgently adapt its education and training system to artificial intelligence, automation and digital transformation as the country confronts a “workforce-transition capacity problem” Photo: Delwyn Verasamy
BUTI MANAMELA

Engineering the next 50 years

Inside Minister Manamela’s high-stakes plan to rewrite the rules of higher education

  • Edwin Naidu
5 min read
Well done: It is true that more learners are completing school, often under extremely difficult conditions. This is a welcome development that should not be taken lightly. It should be roundly celebrated.
2025 NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE NSC

Casting lens beyond the Matric pass rate

For every hundred learners entering the NSC system, only a handful leave with Mathematics or Physical Sciences marks that reliably support success in engineering, science, health…

  • Azwinndini Muronga
8 min read
Calling it as we see it: The M&G front page in December, 2025.
CABINET PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS

Lessons from M&G cabinet scores

It may be time for a leadership change

  • Malegapuru Makgoba
5 min read
For the many who rightly feel abandoned by the government, and are sick of the state’s failures, the private sector stepping in to solve problems with energy, water and logistics might appear rational and necessary. (John McCann/MG)
ACCELERATED AND SHARED GROWTH INITIATIVES FOR SOUTH AFRICA

The privatisation agenda will not save South Africa

The state has tried the neoliberalism model in various forms for 31 years, and it has not worked

  • Andile Zulu
10 min read
There is a sanitation crisis In numerous informal settlements around South Africa. Photo: Sewage waste. Delwyn Verasamy/M&G
EMFULENI MUNICIPALITY

Sanitation crisis in Ramaphosa informal settlement dehumanises people

Conditions in South Africa’s many informal settlements cause health and environmental problems too

  • Kabelo Motswagae & Nokuthula Pheza
3 min read
There has been nothing remarkable about the government of national unity’s first year in office, but the steadying of the ship has been invaluable. Photo: GCIS
BHEKI CELE

GNU cabinet: Too many chiefs, not enough service

South Africa needs to rethink its executive overload and trim the number of deputy ministers, saving R100 million a year

  • Lesedi Senamele Matlala
5 min read
Consumer inflation edged higher to April to 2.8% year-on-year from 2.7% in March, driven mainly by the housing and utilities as well as the alcoholic beverages and tobacco categories, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.
COVID 19

VAT hike: A tough choice or a risk to economic recovery?

There are alternatives which don’t add to the financial burden of citizens and which are better for fiscal sustainability

  • Noluthando Qwelani
5 min read
Luvuyo Masinda, CEO of Standard Bank Corporate & Investment Banking
ALSTOM

Working together, we can transform the South African railway  network for the better

  • Tristan le Masne
  • Luvuyo Masinda
It is important that a national dialogue be structured to allow for a protracted and open space for talking and listening.
CODESA PROCEEDINGS

Building a people-powered plan for South Africa through national dialogue

A national dialogue offers the opportunity to unite South Africans around a common vision, thereby giving rise to a people of national unity

  • Klaus Kotze
7 min read
The Institute for Security Studies launched its Prospects 2043 report on Tuesday, with strong leadership seen as key to long-term stability in South Africa. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
ALIZE LE ROUX

GNU has ‘rekindled hope’ that South Africa can prosper, says ISS

The Institute for Security Studies launched its Prospects 2043 report on Tuesday, with strong leadership seen as key to long-term stability in the country This content is…

  • Des Erasmus
1 min read
Developing countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change are angry about a new text released at COP29 on Friday, which says developed countries must pay $250 billion a year until 2035 for climate action.(Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ASIA

SA companies should focus on meeting the requirements for a ‘green economy’

The public and civil society taking action to ensure compliance with environmental sustainability local and international laws and treaties is likely to gather momentum

  • David Geral
4 min read
UFH Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Sakhela Buhlungu and President Cyril Ramaphasa recently concluded a MoU for the preservation of archival material through the University’s National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre (NAHECS).
A DECADE OF RENEWAL

Fort Hare embraces ‘A decade of renewal’

Modernised infrastructure, curriculum renewal and new research agenda driving UFH forward

  • Staff Writer
3 min read
The decision to form a unity government has been broadly welcomed by economists.
BUSINESS

National dialogue an opportunity for business to reset in favour of broader social good

The dialogue can only be meaningful if poor people, the unemployed and workers can genuinely participate in it

  • Mazibuko Kanyiso Jara
11 min read
“Much of South Africa’s economic future will depend on what happens in the next few years.” (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ARTICLE

SA needs economic transition 2.0

Thirty years since democracy, the country needs a radical shift to steer it out of stagnation

  • Sarah Smit
5 min read
As developed countries grapple with the effects of low births and ageing populations, many have pointed to Africa’s youth as a source of its future economic might. Photo by Robert Wallis/Corbis via Getty Images)
BIRTH RATES

Fertile ground: What fewer births mean for SA’s economic growth

The country’s changing demographics can be positive – but only if there are jobs for the still-growing, working-age population

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande.
BLADE NZIMANDE

Dreams deferred amid NSFAS disrepair

Access to the missing middle should be celebrated, but it is only one step in what looks to be a long journey for the higher education system This content is restricted to…

  • Editorial
1 min read
In the second quarter of 2025, unemployment edged up to 33.2% in the second quarter of 2025 from 32.9% in the previous quarter, while of the 10.1 million people aged 15 to 24, 35.2% were not in employment
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

2022 census: Growing concerns over South Africa’s development agenda

There are a number of employment dynamics which will hinder the country’s development if not addressed

  • Mxolisi Zondo
6 min read
The decision to form a unity government has been broadly welcomed by economists.
2008 GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

SA’s economic policymakers need a better compass

Policymakers at home and abroad failed to see the 2008 crisis as an opportunity to break from the past and imagine the world anew

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read