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Refugee Digest 103 – Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Persons by Peter-John Pearson

It is now just over two months since the unofficial deadline, imposed by some organisations with a xenophobic agenda, for ridding South Africa of all undocumented persons. Vestiges of the campaigns still linger, and outbursts of xenophobic activities and divisive narratives continue to surface in the public domain. It is also clear that enough time […]

Economic Digest 58 – Waiting for Work by Kenny Pasensie

For many South Africans, the prospects of finding a job are diminishing every quarter – even more so for black women and the youth. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa, points to an unemployment crisis that will only deepen further unless something drastic changes. The following articles highlight some of […]

Briefing Paper 656 – Mainstreaming Disability by Lois Law

Disability is an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions, denoting the negative aspects of the interaction between an individual and the context in which they find themselves.1 The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a World Health Organization (WHO) framework which, rather than classifying people solely by their medical […]

Democracy Digest 18 –The SANDF: Who’s Really in Charge? by Mike Pothier

Section 199 of the Constitution provides that the security services, including the SA National Defence Force, must act in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and in general be subject to civilian control and the oversight of Parliament. This is typical of a democracy – the armed forces are expected to refrain from political […]

Environment Digest 48 – Data Centres: The New Gold Rush by Kenny Pasensie

If you’re reading this, the words on your screen have already travelled from a data centre halfway across the world through thousands of kilometres of fibre-optic or undersea cables, in just a fraction of a second. Whether you’re streaming a movie, using cloud storage or chatting with AI, your data is being stored, processed and […]

Briefing Paper 655 – Fast Fashion and the Environment by Lois Law

The rise of the fast fashion industry in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has had enormous social, economic and environmental consequences. It is a huge industry built on over-production, overconsumption, and the excessive use of natural resources to the detriment of the environment; and it engages in exploitative labour practices in rampant pursuit […]