Spread over the weeks of March 2026, a number of interesting comments emerged in the public domain, centred on what Dr Naledi Pandor called “a more humane policy framework”2 with regard to migrants and foreign nationals, and a sharper critique of the closely allied area of xenophobia. Indeed, ‘humane’ is a word used frequently by […]
Online gambling has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors within South Africa’s digital economy, driven by increased smartphone penetration, internet ubiquity, and aggressive marketing by betting operators. South Africans spent a whopping R1.5 trillion in the2024/2025 financial year on gambling activities, often using grocery money, and NSFAS and social grants to gamble. BP 646 […]
To begin with a statement of global application: “Disaffected voters are blaming establishment political leaders for economic stagnation, unwanted immigration and perceived national decay. They are retreating into fierce nationalism encouraged by populist leaders who are challenging the status quo.”2 Such are the times we live in. BP 645 – Migrants and Refugees in 2026 […]
The sustained anti-foreigner protests that again accompanied the enrolment of undocumented or foreign born children at public schools, plus the window for submissions with regard to the Draft Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, have again occasioned robust debate on the contentious issue of mobile people, especially undocumented people’s status in South […]
World TB Day 2026’s theme is “Yes! We can end TB: Led by countries, powered by people” while Deputy President Paul Mashatile led South Africa’s World TB Day commemorations under the theme “Yes! You and I Can End TB”. TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers, and recent years have seen a worrying […]
In Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, Lady Bracknell famously admonishes the orphan Jack Worthing: “To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” Response – SAPS Corruption – Misfortune or Carelessness by Mike Pothier
Recent High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) rulings have introduced critical precedents regarding the payment and calculation of damages in Cerebral Palsy (CP) cases. A recent ruling by the SCA2 overturned a finding from the Eastern Cape High Court that the health department in that province could provide health services to a patient […]
This Digest focuses on the 2026 State of the Nation Address, with special regard to issues around foreign nationals, immigration, and undocumented persons, as mentioned by the President and in the various reactions by other political parties and groups to the framing of these contested issues. Refugee Digest 98 – Migrants, Refugees and Displaced Persons […]
In the State of the Nation Address on 12th February, President Ramaphosa announced: “To strengthen our fight against gang violence, I am deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police, as we did to great effect with illegal mining. I have directed the Minister of Police and the SANDF to develop a […]
As we wait to hear what Minister Enoch Godongwana has to say to us on Wednesday, a quote by Terry Pratchett, in his book The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, springs to mind: “A good plan isn’t one where someone wins, it’s where nobody thinks they’ve lost.” That’s essentially what a budget is – […]
