Green Shoots: Innovation and the imperative of action
In case you missed it on the socials, the organisation I work for is one of five recipients of the Nelson Mandela - Graça Machel Innovation Awards for 2024/25. The Awards recognise individuals and organisations around the world who are developing creative and impactful solutions to achieve a more just world. It is run by CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists working to strengthen citizen action throughout the world. It's been great to be part of a convening this week that has been exploring what innovation looks like in our work, and how we can use the power of the awards to deepen the impact of these interventions wherever we are in the world.
The idea of innovation is often used in technology and in business settings. We love new gadgets that are supposed to make our lives easier, or entrepreneurs who conjure up new solutions to business problems. The Oxford definition describes innovation as the process through which new products, concepts, services, or techniques are developed. It's a word that originates from Latin references to renewal or to change. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, it was associated with science and the manufacturing of machines and industrial products. There's even an equation for it that I quite like: Innovation = Creativity +Implementation.
In the conversations at the meeting this week, there's been lots of talk of technological and other innovations in responding to social problems. There are various apps that support communities at risk, or that collate and aggregate information that people might need to access services. There is even the exploration of using artificial intelligence in ways that are for the benefit of society.
I have found great stimulation in learning about new approaches to engagement with local communities and the issues they face. People involved in the meeting are from all over the world, and it's been fascinating to hear about the challenges that are faced in Indonesia and Philippines, Pakistan and India, Colombia and Brazil. There are struggles for identity in Uganda, and struggles for health in Kenya. South Africa has plenty in common with these countries, and it's been an excellent opportunity to learn about other innovations that could influence and enhance our own practice.
My organisation is currently in the process of making small grants to over fifty community organisations doing social justice work in Southern Africa. Many of the actions that will be supported are similar across these organisations. Most have asked for support to run workshops to raise awareness on a variety of issues that communities are battling with.
Climate change, domestic violence, human rights, and a host of other themes will be covered, but the type of action will be quite similar in different locations. Most of these interventions will not fit the definition of innovation mentioned above. But they do respond to a problem. They are an expression of agency – the preparedness of people to get up and do something. These people may not be creating something brand new, but they are creating new opportunities for affected people to become active in changing their conditions. And I've learnt a great lesson in processing these applications, that we cannot let the search for the elusive silver bullet that will solve all problems stop us from getting active. That is the innovation for me – the continued commitment to action and the refusal to simply accept injustice.
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IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Green Shoots: Innovation and the imperative of action
In case you missed it on the socials, the organisation I work for is one of five recipients of the Nelson Mandela - Graça Machel Innovation Awards for 2024/25. The Awards recognise individuals and organisations around the world who are developing creative and impactful solutions to achieve a more just world. It is run by CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists working to strengthen citizen action throughout the world. It's been great to be part of a convening this week that has been exploring what innovation looks like in our work, and how we can use the power of the awards to deepen the impact of these interventions wherever we are in the world. The idea of innovation is often used in technology and in business settings. We love new gadgets that are supposed to make our lives easier, or entrepreneurs who conjure up new solutions to business problems. The Oxford definition describes innovation as the process through which new products, concepts, services, or techniques are developed. It's a word that originates from Latin references to renewal or to change. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, it was associated with science and the manufacturing of machines and industrial products. There's even an equation for it that I quite like: Innovation = Creativity +Implementation. In the conversations at the meeting this week, there's been lots of talk of technological and other innovations in responding to social problems. There are various apps that support communities at risk, or that collate and aggregate information that people might need to access services. There is even the exploration of using artificial intelligence in ways that are for the benefit of society. I have found great stimulation in learning about new approaches to engagement with local communities and the issues they face. People involved in the meeting are from all over the world, and it's been fascinating to hear about the challenges that are faced in Indonesia and Philippines, Pakistan and India, Colombia and Brazil. There are struggles for identity in Uganda, and struggles for health in Kenya. South Africa has plenty in common with these countries, and it's been an excellent opportunity to learn about other innovations that could influence and enhance our own practice. My organisation is currently in the process of making small grants to over fifty community organisations doing social justice work in Southern Africa. Many of the actions that will be supported are similar across these organisations. Most have asked for support to run workshops to raise awareness on a variety of issues that communities are battling with. Climate change, domestic violence, human rights, and a host of other themes will be covered, but the type of action will be quite similar in different locations. Most of these interventions will not fit the definition of innovation mentioned above. But they do respond to a problem. They are an expression of agency – the preparedness of people to get up and do something. These people may not be creating something brand new, but they are creating new opportunities for affected people to become active in changing their conditions. And I've learnt a great lesson in processing these applications, that we cannot let the search for the elusive silver bullet that will solve all problems stop us from getting active. That is the innovation for me – the continued commitment to action and the refusal to simply accept injustice.
Daily Maverick
10-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
62% white. 73% male. When will SA's top management jobs move beyond the pale?
Despite decades of transformation policy, South Africa's corporate leadership remains overwhelmingly white and male. As the ANC and DA clash in court over the Employment Equity Act, the deeper question remains: why is real change still so elusive? At the dawn of democracy, economic power in South Africa remained firmly in white hands, despite the fall of apartheid. The ruling ANC adopted black economic empowerment (BEE) as a policy to change that. Initially focused on ownership, often via high-stakes equity deals in established companies, the early BEE framework faced criticism for favouring a politically connected elite and often collapsing under financial stress. The path to BEE was shaped by significant ideological shifts in the ANC. Although the Freedom Charter had called for sharing the nation's wealth, some perspectives suggest that BEE ultimately emerged as a 'consolation prize' for the ANC's abandonment of more radical socialist policies such as nationalisation. These shifts followed Nelson Mandela's pivotal 1992 visit to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, where the future South African leadership was exposed to market-oriented global economic thinking, and warned to avoid the fate of isolated economies such as Cuba and North Korea. Oddly, while the policy is maligned by business now, BEE has its roots in corporate South Africa, with Anglo American pioneering early empowerment deals. These initiatives later evolved into a cornerstone policy instrument, initially focused on 'deracialising business ownership and control', as outlined in the ANC's Reconstruction and Development Programme. The early iterations primarily targeted increasing black ownership stakes in established white-owned companies through equity transactions, often using complex, leveraged financing structures that proved vulnerable during financial downturns. A long and winding road By 2003, the government had introduced the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act. The shift from narrow BEE (focused on ownership deals) to broad-based BEE aligned with Thabo Mbeki's economic policy agenda, which was shaped by market-friendly, growth-oriented reforms, with the accompanying B-BBEE scorecard adding dimensions such as employment equity, skills development and preferential procurement. Despite these frameworks, progress in transforming South Africa's labour market has been uneven. Although overall employment rose significantly from 1994 to 2024, with black South Africans accounting for the largest increase in total employment (from about 63% in 1994 to about 73% in 2014), their advancement into higher-skill occupations has been 'frustratingly limited'. Their representation in skilled occupations increased only marginally from 15% in 1994 to 18% by 2014, while skilled employment among white and Indian/Asian groups expanded significantly – a 26% increase – during the same period. This trend continued into the 2023 data, where the Indian population group's representation in skilled occupations and top or senior management exceeded their proportion of the economically active population (EAP), which is 2.6%. They have disproportionate representation in top management (11.6%) and senior management (12.4%). The public sector has been a beacon of the potential effectiveness of aggressively enforced BEE policies with more than 80% of public sector employees, including senior management, being black. The private sector has lagged behind significantly, suggesting that without strong enforcement mechanisms and clear incentives, transformation remains superficial – a pattern that has persisted during the 26 years since the Employment Equity Act was put into effect. Sharper teeth and harder targets The Employment Equity Amendment Act of 2022, which came into effect with accompanying regulations on 15 April 2025, is the ANC government's latest attempt to accelerate this stalled transformation. The amendments empower the Minister of Employment and Labour to set numerical targets for equitable representation of designated groups across all occupational levels after consulting relevant sectors and with advice from the Commission for Employment Equity. Lara Jansen van Rensburg, partner at Eversheds Sutherland, explained: 'The Employment Equity Amendment Act is designed to drive meaningful transformation by enforcing sector-specific numerical targets. These quotas ensure that designated groups are adequately represented, moving beyond voluntary compliance.' However, she warned that the conflicting draft regulations filed in May 2023 and February 2024 have created uncertainty and that 'businesses must remain flexible in their employment equity planning'. This uncertainty was addressed in the final regulations, but the early confusion did reduce confidence. Slow transformation Despite decades of employment equity efforts, the 24th annual report of the Commission for Employment Equity revealed that transformation in corporate South Africa remains slow, and white men still dominate top management. The data shows that 62.1% of these management roles are occupied by white individuals, despite them making up a much smaller proportion of the EAP (7.7% of all working-age South Africans). Additionally, 73.1% of top management positions are held by men, which points to persistent gender imbalance in leadership. Although there has been some progress in increasing representation of designated groups, the pace remains slow in the private sector. To remedy this, the Employment Equity Regulations, 2025, which replaced the 2014 regulations, introduce what analysts describe as 'a significantly more prescriptive and compliance-driven framework' for designated employers – those with 50 or more employees. Central to these reforms is the accompanying sectoral numerical targets, which introduce prescriptive goals for 18 key sectors over the next five years. 'The new Employment Equity Regulations … introduce sector-specific numerical targets for designated groups in South Africa, including the construction sector,' Thembeka Mnisi, president of South African Women in Construction, explained to Daily Maverick. 'These targets aim to increase the representation of black people, women and individuals with disabilities in the workforce, particularly in upper occupational levels.' One major shift is the elevation of targets for people with disabilities from 2% to 3%. In construction, the goal is that 65.2% of professionally qualified employees will be African by 2030. Designated employers will have to align their employment equity (EE) plans with these sectoral targets or face potential fines, compliance orders and exclusion from doing business with the state. Importantly, the legislation insists these are not rigid quotas. 'Designated employers can set their own targets in their EE plans and justify failure to meet them on reasonable grounds,' said Nomakhosazana Meth, the minister of employment and labour. Technical skills, not degrees The implementation of these policies continues to face substantial challenges. Deep structural inequalities, economic sluggishness and deficiencies in the education system sustain a difficult environment for meaningful transformation. Despite the increased overall employment of black South Africans, their movement into higher-skilled occupations remains limited, and the private sector is particularly resistant to change compared with the public sector. High youth unemployment, especially among young black South Africans, persists as a significant concern. Transformation, though, is not only a numbers game – and in the real economy, skills shortages may matter more than demographics. 'Degrees alone won't save South Africa's economy,' warned Yershen Pillay, CEO of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (Chieta). 'Skills will.' Pillay laments the 'mismatch between the skills our economy needs and the qualifications we continue to produce'. In a nation hurtling into a future defined by artificial intelligence, green energy and advanced manufacturing, technical competence is the missing link. Chieta's model, which includes decentralised trade test sites and Smart Skills Centres, is trying to close the gap. 'We are preparing South Africa's youth for the industries of tomorrow,' Pillay said, advocating a national pivot towards artisanship and innovation over outdated academic credentials. While industry leaders call for agility, the DA is challenging the new framework in court, arguing that the targets constitute rigid quotas and threaten both fairness and constitutional order. The DA's lawyer, Ismail Jamie, described the regulations as 'totalitarian' and creating 'an absolute barrier' to employment based on birth. The party maintains that the previous version of the act was preferable: employer-led, context-sensitive and explicitly against quotas. Quotas by another name? There is a critical mismatch between the skills the economy needs and the qualifications being produced, highlighting the urgent need for investment in skills development aligned with market requirements. The regulatory framework has also raised concerns among businesses about compliance burdens, although smaller companies employing fewer than 50 people were ultimately excluded from reporting requirements, in the wake of opposition. Critics have also pointed to instances where BEE implementation has facilitated 'elite capture' rather than broad-based empowerment, with practices such as 'fronting' and 'tenderpreneurship' undermining genuine transformation and fostering public cynicism. A key element of the DA's challenge focuses on the potential impact of applying national targets at the provincial level. The party's federal executive chair, Helen Zille, has argued that imposing national demographic targets without considering provincial variations would be 'manifestly unfair' to minority groups, citing examples such as Indians in KwaZulu-Natal and coloured people in the Western Cape, who might face reduced access to employment. There is also an insistence that the legislation should have followed the Section 76 process of the Constitution, which is designed to safeguard provincial interests. In response, advocate Fana Nalane, representing the minister, has countered that the court's focus should be on whether Section 15A of the act itself is constitutional, not on hypothetical implementation scenarios or the potential impact on individuals moving between provinces. The minister also rebuffed these claims in a statement given to Daily Maverick: 'The DA's challenge seeks to disrupt efforts aimed at achieving equitable representation and maintaining the inherently unfair status quo,' said Meth. 'By opposing these amendments, the DA is actively sabotaging the transformation goals that have been pursued since the end of the apartheid era, effectively hindering progress towards equality and fairness inthe workplace. 'This stance is not only anti-transformation, but also a step backward in the fight for equality and fairness in the workplace.' Meth defended her authority to set numerical targets, emphasising that this power is exercised only after consulting relevant sectors and the Commission for Employment Equity, ensuring she does not act arbitrarily and remains within the act's framework. A dose of reality What emerges from this policy clash is a tension between two competing visions of fairness: one grounded in redress for historical injustice, the other in procedural equity and individual rights. But even beyond the ideological divide, transformation is slowed by deeper challenges – a sluggish economy, a broken education system and systemic inequality. What remains clear is that despite three decades of policy interventions, the transformation of South Africa's economic landscape remains incomplete. For advocates of the new rules, the hope is that clear targets – if implemented flexibly and fairly – can finally break the inertia. For opponents, the fear is that rigid state intervention may simply replace one injustice with another. In the meantime, young South Africans wait – many unemployed, most under-skilled, all looking for something the law alone can't deliver: a future that works. As the legal challenge moves through the courts, policymakers and business leaders alike face the challenge of better integrating B-BBEE policy with broader economic stra-tegies to ensure truly inclusive, broad-based economic growth. It's a goal that remains as urgent today as it was at the dawn of South Africa's democracy. DM
The Herald
08-05-2025
- The Herald
The heady days of The Herald's most successful era
Message from Ric Wilson, editor-in-chief of the Eastern Province Herald from 1993 to 2004 I was fortunate to be the editor of the Eastern Province Herald in 1995 when we celebrated the paper ' s 150th anniversary. Which we did in great style at the newly refurbished Feather Market Hall with a banquet for the city ' s VIPs, and later a civic reception attended by President Nelson Mandela and hosted by mayor Nceba Faku, who years before and in years to come would call for the paper to be burned or boycotted. Such is the fluctuation of fortunes in the newspaper world — a world that has changed beyond recognition with modern technology. I was also fortunate to be editor of The Herald during its most successful era, selling on average between 30,000 and 40,000 papers a day, compared with today's 10,000. It was also a challenging era of political and social change, during which we at The Herald pioneered transformation in the newspaper industry by forming, in 1996, SA ' s first black empowerment partnership in a new company, Times Media Eastern Cape, 30% owned by local black businessmen. It was ironically a process that culminated with my own 'transformation' in 2004 when I made way for the paper ' s first black editor. I was fortunate too as editor of SA ' s oldest daily newspaper to cover some of the big events that shook the world. The attack of 9/11 in 2001 is the obvious one, but surprisingly it didn ' t sell as many papers as the death in 1997 of Princess Diana, which was The Herald's biggest ever sale, more than 60,000 copies the next day. Another landmark occasion was the 1995 Royal Tour. Mayor Faku and I were unlikely allies in working behind the scenes to make that happen, ensuring that PE and not East London, favoured by a powerful ANC faction, was nominated by the government to be the Eastern Cape host to Queen Elizabeth. Back then The Herald (along with the Evening Post and Weekend Post before they closed) was printed in the basement of the former Newspaper House in Baakens Street. Two editions of the Herald were printed by presses which thundered through the night, shaking the building and spewing out thousands of papers that were loaded onto a fleet of waiting trucks and delivered up and down the coast from Knysna to Port Alfred and deep into the Eastern Cape to the Free State border. There were more than 40 journalists on The Herald alone and a further 30 or more on the two Posts, plus scores of admin, advertising and printing staff, so it was a busy building back in the day. Now abandoned and derelict awaiting an uncertain future. The internet revolution and the explosion of social media have been a calamity for newspapers worldwide and they ' ve had to adapt to survive. So we find The Herald today a shadow of its former self, an editorial staff of 24, many of whom work remotely from home, with a rented office HQ in The Atrium at Greenacres, printed by contract at a press outside the city, and with a daily sale of 10,000 newspapers. But with a feisty online website which gives hope for the paper ' s future. The Herald
