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IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Universities seek contingency plans amid US funding cuts
Univeristy of Cape Town. Image: File UCT and Stellenbosch University are developing contingency plans to mitigate the severe impact of the Trump administration's cuts to US grant funding, which threaten billions in research support. According to UCT Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation, Professor Jeff Murugan, without intervention, they stand to lose over R437 million in research funding in the next 12 months, and R1.67 billion over the period 2025–2027 if all 'currently contracted, active US federal-funded awards are terminated'. 'On 7 February 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order signalling the termination of aid and assistance to South Africa. As an immediate consequence, grants from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were discontinued. This abrupt action highlighted the vulnerability of UCT's US federally funded research. UCT currently holds a portfolio of 178 US federal funded awards comprising both direct awards to UCT and subawards from collaborating institutions in the US. Since February, UCT has received stop-work orders for sub-awardee grants funded by the NIH (National Institutes of Health ) which have halted 22 active projects (valued at R172 million). A further 93 multi-year projects have not received annual renewal notices (R265 million)," Murugan said last month. He said the funding cuts were significant and carried the potential of long-term consequences for researchers, patients and participants, the broader university community, as well as medical research and healthcare across the country. 'UCT's portfolio of US federal grants supports a variety of research projects, providing salaries and project running costs for hundreds of staff as well as stipends for over a hundred postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. A large-scale termination of US federal funding would thus have very significant consequences, directly impacting staff, fellows, students and the university's finances.' According to Murugan, the university was currently working to reduce reliance on US federal funding by identifying and securing alternative sources of support. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ On Monday, UCT spokesperson, Elijah Moholola said: 'UCT is in engagements with the appropriate stakeholders over the US federal funding matter. These engagements are ongoing, and some decisions are pending. In light of these ongoing discussions and pending outcomes, UCT wishes to not discuss the matter further at this time. The university has issued an update on the matter, and will issue further communication as and when there are new developments.' Stellenbosch University (SU) spokesperson, Martin Viljoen said: 'SU confirms that, like other research-intensive universities in South Africa, it is also affected by the geopolitical funding policy changes. The University is still in the process of finalising its contingency plans towards optimally mitigating the associated risks. As such the University is not in a position to provide further comment at this stage." The Department of Higher Education and Training did not respond to requests for comment by deadline. A Working Group is expected to provide the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande with a final report on the implications and impact of the recent withdrawal of funding by the US government from key research and development programmes in South Africa by June 30. Cape Times
IOL News
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Cheeky, stylish Suzuki Swift selling like hot cakes for a reason
The new Suzuki Swift Image: Motorpress Cheeky and stylish. Check. Fuel efficient. Check. Modern tech and comfort. Check. Affordability. Check. It's kinda easy to realize why the Suzuki Swift is now one of the fastest selling vehicles in South Africa. It's affordable, it's affordable, it's affordable, it's massively fuel efficient, it looks good and it's a little cheeky, with the daring LED lights and cute little curves. When you're not in a painful rush, the Suzuki Swift is an enjoyable little drive with all the bells and whistles, albeit on the low end of the market. I drove the car for about a week and for the most part it was a pleasant drive, except when I found myself having to put my foot quite hard on steep inclines. With a 1.2 litre three-cylinder petrol engine (60kW/83hp) with a 5-speed manual or CVT transmission, offering fuel efficiency (claimed at 4.4l/100km), it's not exactly a beast on the busy bustling streets of Johannesburg, but it is super fuel efficient and that will come in handy in these Trump tariffs era. The car is not perfect by any means, but for the price, you get a lot of bang for your buck. The car simply does everything it is supposed to, albeit, quite rudimentarily. I drove the GL CVT version - which is priced at about R265,500. New Suzuki Swift Image: Motorpress One peeve I noticed is that the car does not come with an automated central locking system, so it's quite annoying that you need to remember to manually lock the doors at every turn by pressing the button or else a sgebenga my easily gain access through the car doors. It took me quite a while to recognize this, which is quite dangerous in itself, but I was driving near my local McDonald's when I thought let me spoil myself with a burger and chips combo. Between myself and the McD staff, we dropped a straw and rather than letting bygones be, I opted to save the environment. I opened the door and rescue the thing. But as I drove off, I noticed the doors didn't lock themselves as I accelerated beyond the 40km/h mark, which is a quite standard feature in most cars. So I pressed the button and 'cling', they sealed shut. I own an older model of the same car myself, two versions prior, so I do know the feeling. I supposed I was a bit disappointed that between 2017 and 2025, Suzuki is still insisting on motorists manually looking their doors. Anyway, the rest of the car is as you'd expect, decent legroom for a smallish hatchback, but the seats are quite comfortable for smaller sized folk. The car is perfect as a starter pack for a university student or an even as a first car for young professionals. There's cool features like Apple Car Play and Android Auto, easy Bluetooth configuration and decent sound for when you're feeling jolly stuck in Joburg traffic on the N1 or the M1 highway. With the Suzuki Swift, the Japanese carmaker continues to make a compelling argument among the best budget buys for 2025. New Suzuki Swift. Image: Motorpress Fuel With a 42 litre fuel tank - that will cost you about R940 for a full tank in today's market, and when we drove the car, the average fuel consumption was around the 5 to 5.3 litre mark, so there's quite a lot of kilometres per litre there, almost 1:1 between the Rand and the Kilometre. It might not have the street cred of a VW Polo Vivo nor the swanky feel of a VW Polo Life, or the niftiness and aggression of a KIA Picanto, but it's pricing makes it a competitive and compelling car to consider. It's nor wonder, this little man is smashing all sorts of sales records. Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL manual: R219,900 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL+ manual: R239,900 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL+ CVT: R259,900 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX manual: R264,900 Suzuki Swift 1.2 GLX CVT: R284,900 Pricing includes a two-year/30,000km service plan and five-year/200,000km promotional warranty. IOL Motoring
