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On the right page: Children’s book author and executive director of Nal’ibali, Lorato Trok. Photo: Supplied

Lorato Trok: Writing our languages back into the story

Author speaks of her dedication to keeping indigenous languages alive through children’s books and her hopes for the growth of South African languages

Certification and social investment awards hide the harms that farmworkers suffer. Photo: File

Ecosystem of injustice: The hidden system that keeps rural South Africa unequal

Behind the facade of certification and social investment, inequality stems from an arrangement designed to protect corporate profits and maintain elite land ownership

City of Ekurhuleni, Mayor Mzwandile Masina campaigns on October 03, 2021 in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. South Africa’s municipal elections will be held on 01 November 2021 to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country’s nine provinces. (Photo by OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

Khaya Koko: Katlehong is Mzwandile Masina’s ‘Animal Farm’

The Ekurhuleni mayor’s family home and the Katlehong section in which it is situated are spared the debilitating five-hour blackouts from powerless Eskom

And as South Africa marks Human Rights Day, thirty years after human dignity was written into law, this is the reckoning we cannot postpone.

Recommendations for a nation in crisis

South Africa lacks rigorous implementation of its many, well-designed policies and plans

Nowhere are the effects of the environmental, health, governance and energy crises more manifest than in our cities.

Manage urban transformation to avoid infrastructure blockages

It is possible to urbanise without congestion and the attendant ills through emphasis on better institutions, writes Eddie Rakabe

Rural people are dispossessed and displaced by companies that collect awards for ESG credentials, corporate social investment and sector excellence.
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Rural retreat: Allowing people to return home during lockdown could turn a tide

It is important to note that the phenomena of translocality and circular migration in Africa have often served as a strategy of resilience in tough times

Disadvantaged: Students who live in rural areas with inadequate or no network coverage will struggle to keep up. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

‘Online push sets us up for failure’

With on-campus teaching possibly starting only in September, varsities turn to the internet

Transport, which has previously been the largest contributor to the headline rate, increased by 11.1% year-on-year and contributed 1.6 percentage points. Photo: (Delwyn Verasamy, M&G)

Public transport inequality

The Competition Commission’s market inquiry reveals that South Africa’s public transport system remains skewed by class, advantaging middle- and high-income earners

South to North: The Noor solar power plant near the Moroccan town of Ouarzazate was developed with the Spanish consortium, TSK, Acciona and Sener. (Fadel Senna/AFP)

Energy sector is the new colonial project

Renewable energy funding from the North must take local ownership and participation seriously