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IOL News
5 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Democracy on Life Support: Can South Africa's soul be salvaged?
Once elected, our leaders must remember that the freedom we attained in 1994 came with responsibilities. Image: Ron AI 'A democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.' — Pope John Paul II A STORY is told about a cross-country airline flight where one engine malfunctioned and was shut off. The pilot reassured the passengers that the plane could fly well with the remaining engines. Soon, a second engine failed. Again, the pilot turned it off and reassured the passengers. Then a third engine stopped. Silence from the cockpit. Eventually, the pilot entered the cabin wearing a parachute. 'Don't anyone panic!' he said. 'I'm going for help.' He then opened an emergency exit and jumped out. The moral of this anecdote is that help is not help unless it helps. Reassurances are comforting, but if the reality contradicts the message, a little panic may be warranted. The time has come for South Africans to indulge in a little panic. Things are not going well. The glue that once held us together has lost its power. The fabric of trust has been shredded. Dishonesty, corruption, crime, deceit, and maliciousness have infiltrated almost every aspect of our reality. Family breakdown, crime, moral and economic deficits, and other pathologies are incompatible with what we fought for. We measure questions in terms of political correctness rather than democratic inquiry. We trivialise our difficulties instead of addressing them. 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 ✕ If these trends continue, our republic will cease to exist. The current trajectory is dangerous and potentially catastrophic. There is an avalanche of negative self-images profoundly altering how South Africans view their government. Winston Churchill once said: 'It takes courage to stand up and speak, and it takes courage to sit down and listen.' Sadly, the second kind of courage seems scarce globally. We lack leaders with the courage to stand up and speak, as well as the courage to sit down and listen to what the people want. Our leaders need to listen because, as things stand, people view politics like leprosy — they want nothing to do with it. Our government no longer enjoys the overwhelming consent of the governed, from which it should derive its only just authority. This lack of sense threatens our freedom and fuels the current apathy among the governed. Freedom will not be secured, apathy will not end, and our government will not regain the moral authority it needs unless it earns the consent of the governed. Denial of this reality will not make it disappear. The erosion of government trust is staring us in the face. As Montesquieu pointed out, dictators fall when people no longer fear them. Monarchs fall when people no longer revere them. Republics fall when citizens no longer respect them. They lose respect because those republics no longer adhere to the human values and common goals on which they were founded. Personal integrity and civic responsibility are not options in a free society — they are requirements. These are hard truths, and I believe they need to be said. Democracy stands or falls on mutual trust between the government and its people. Yet democratic culture and politics have always existed in a strange blend of credulity and scepticism. Indeed, a certain degree of enduring scepticism about human nature lies at the foundation of our representative democracy. Democracy does not mean unity in the body politic. People have reasonable differences. Human ignorance, pride, and selfishness will always prompt divisions and conflicting ambitions. Having five slates for the KZN provincial conference should not be an issue. Even if there were ten, it would still be acceptable. This is what democracy is all about. There is a notion that should be discouraged — that if there are five candidates contesting for the position of chairperson, it indicates tensions and differences within the party. The opposite is true: it is a sign of a healthy and vibrant democracy. The day members of the ANC think alike, akin to cattle going to a dip, will be the day the ANC ceases to be a credible political party. Similarly, there is a wrong perception that if one avails himself or herself without the backing of a constituency, they are counterrevolutionary. It is time the slate approach is buried once and for all in the ANC. It robs the ANC of its talented cadres and opens the door for arrogant, shallow, and inexperienced ones. Once elected, our leaders must remember that the freedom we attained in 1994 came with responsibilities. We need leaders with ethical and moral qualities. Martin Luther King put it aptly: 'We shall have to create leaders who embody virtues we can respect, who have moral and ethical principles we can applaud with enthusiasm that enables us to rally support for them based on confidence and trust. We will have to demand high standards and give consistent, loyal support to those who merit it.' In his address, 'Leadership is about the exercise of judgment,' Brian Cowen noted that leadership can be a lonely and isolating place. While the intellectual pursuit of solutions is interesting, the practical application is supreme in politics: 'How will it work?' The cost to any politician is that when judgments must be made based on available information, there will always be those who second-guess them afterwards. It just comes with the territory, and we all know the rules of engagement. Those in power take the responsibility; those out of power can fall into the trap of expressing populist soft options that usually amount to non-options in a real crisis. Contrary to the view that there is a crisis in our country, I argue that what we have is not a crisis but a state of affairs. It may seem like a crisis now, given the skyrocketing prices of basic food items, rising interest rates, rampant crime, and a host of other challenges. But if a crisis drags on longer than expected, it becomes a state of affairs. A crisis has a timeframe, but a state of affairs does not. Equally, the scholarly language of South Africa sitting on a 'ticking bomb' is nothing but a hackneyed misnomer. Any political analyst advancing this view is either living in a fool's paradise or swimming in a pool of opulence. It has been years since our democracy began, and the bomb has already exploded. What ticking bomb are we sitting on when there are close to eight million unemployed South Africans? What ticking bomb are we sitting on when communities still lack clean water almost forty years into our democracy? What ticking bomb when inequality widens? What ticking bomb when poverty stares many in the face daily? Am I pessimistic? Do I think we can pull it out of the fire? The answer to both is yes. I am pessimistic; things are serious. But I also believe we have the men and women who can extricate the country from this quagmire. We have faced and overcome enormous challenges before, but this one is different — it is about the soul of the country. Yes, I believe we can overcome this challenge. It is the mindset of our leaders that must change to turn the situation around. If this country is to prevail, it will not be due to historical or deterministic forces, but because of the collective effort of everyone, especially our leaders executing the role they were elected for — to change lives. US Justice Holmes once said: 'The mode in which the inevitable comes to pass is effort.' It is through the efforts of trustworthy leaders that we will make a difference. A few years ago, the Czech leader Vaclav Havel wrote: 'They say a nation has the politicians it deserves. In some sense that is true: Politicians are truly a mirror of society and a kind of embodiment of its potential. At the same time, paradoxically, the opposite is also true. Society is a mirror of its politicians. It is largely up to the politicians which social forces they choose to liberate and which they choose to suppress, whether they choose to rely on the good in each citizen or on the bad.' The problems facing South Africa are bigger than Ramaphosa. They require a collective of diverse minds from diverse backgrounds. The African proverb brilliantly captures this idea: 'A single hand cannot cover the sky. It takes many hands to cover the sky.' We need eminent and diverse people with great action and thought to raise the torch and make the pathway of a better life free of load shedding smooth again. When the torch of Olympus is lit and passed from one to another, it creates warmth and brings light in the midst of darkness. Darkness covers the country, as if an archetypal case of a Sophoclean tragedy, and demands a meeting of bright minds. These are the minds that will ignite the Olympic torch without political favour or prejudice. These are the minds that will illuminate the country by taking a stand instead of a bribe or profit. The question is: If we were to let freedom slip through our fingers, who will pay the price again to restore the democracy for which many gave their lives? We need to elect leaders with moral integrity who can help the downtrodden rise to a new and better level. When that happens, it will align with the ideals of US President Teddy Roosevelt, who spoke of the nobility of those in public life — the ones who step up and make a difference. As the French poet said, 'Life is a hospital in which each patient believes he will be better if he is moved to another bed.' We need to elect leaders who will move the downtrodden from shacks to proper houses and provide them with necessities of life normally catered for in a democratic state like ours. Before I conclude, I find the following words from Pope John Paul II profound and relevant: 'We do not live in an irrational or meaningless world. On the contrary, there is a moral logic built into human life, making dialogue between individuals and people possible.' But a country that falls under the spell of moral relativism puts itself in peril. He warned that if there exists no ultimate truth to guide and direct political life, ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. 'As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.' After it has been said and done, we need to keep hope and faith alive. Interestingly, faith and social justice have long been deeply entwined for US Reverend Jesse Jackson: 'Vanity asks the question, 'is it popular?' Politics asks, 'would it work? Can I win?' Morality and conscience ask, 'is it right?' In the end, if an issue is morally right, politics and popularity must adjust to the unyielding power of the moral centre.' As posited by Chris Hedges in his address, *Hope, from Now On*: 'Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not about peace of mind. Hope is action. Hope is doing something. The more futile, the more useless, the more irrelevant and incomprehensible an act of rebellion is, the vaster and more potent hope becomes. Hope never makes sense. Hope is weak, unorganised, and absurd. Hope posits that people are drawn to the good by the good. This is the secret of hope's power. Hope demands for others what we demand for ourselves. Hope does not separate us from them. Hope sees our enemy as our own face. Hope is not for the practical and the sophisticated, the cynics and the complacent, the defeated and the fearful. Hope affirms that which we must affirm.' Indeed, hope is not just a source of comfort for the afflicted; it is a wellspring of energy to fight for a better tomorrow, no matter the odds. We hope the elected leadership will have the moral compass deep in their hearts to fight every day for the hope that tomorrow will be better, for all of us, not just some of us. Let them lead with humility and optimism, telling the truth, learning from history, and removing every obstacle to progress for all the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the country at large. Let their moral compass show us the way ahead. Every South African elected into a position of responsibility should heed the words of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson: 'There are extraordinary capabilities in ordinary people, given the opportunity.' This is true because the goal is not to turn South Africa into a welfare state but a developmental one. Opportunity is key. To the extent that each one of us can develop our capabilities to the fullest to seize opportunities, we will cause worth and work ethics to come true in our lives and in the work to which we might be dedicated. Allow me to share a parable about the tortoise and the leopard as told by the celebrated African writer, Chinua Achebe, in one of his novels. The leopard meets the tortoise on a lonely stretch of road. The leopard has been trying to catch the tortoise for a long time. The tortoise is a trickster and has been escaping. On this day, the leopard finally catches him and says, 'Ah-ha! Now I've got you. Prepare to die'. The tortoise says, 'Can I ask you one last favour?' The leopard replies, 'Yes, why not?' The tortoise says, 'Give me a short time to prepare myself for death'. The leopard looks around and says, 'I don't see why not. Go ahead.' Instead of standing still and thinking, as the leopard had expected, the tortoise begins to dig and scatter sand all over the road, throwing sand in all directions with his hands and feet. The leopard says, 'What's going on? Why are you doing that?' The tortoise says, 'I'm doing this because after I am dead, I want anyone passing by this spot and seeing all these signs of struggle on the road to say: A man and his match struggled here.' The moral of this is the importance of struggle. We cannot expect guaranteed outcomes. Nobody can promise that if you struggle, you will succeed. But even if we are unsure of the outcome, we still have the obligation to struggle. Let us keep hope alive!!! * Dr Vusi Shongwe works in the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal and writes in his personal capacity. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Science
- IOL News
Skills, not just Grades, will shape South Africa's Future
Are South African classrooms preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow's economy? As we celebrate World Youth Skills Day, Dumisani Tshabalala argues for the urgent need to prioritise skills development over traditional grading systems. Image: IOL / Ron AI Today, as South Africa celebrates World Youth Skills Day with speeches and hashtags, a persistent question echoes beneath the vuvuzelas: are our classrooms shaping the skills that tomorrow's economy will require, or merely polishing report cards for yesterday's tests? Certificates hang proudly on lounge walls, but too many of their owners feel lost at university, adrift in their first jobs, or stuck when facing problems no textbook predicted. If we keep mistaking grades for growth, we risk creating paper success and practical stagnation. Good schooling is not measured by how much content a learner can recall, but by how effectively that content becomes a foundation for skills. Ask a Grade 12 learner to quote Newton's laws, and many will oblige; ask the same learner to design a simple pulley and far fewer succeed. Mathematics, history, and life sciences should ignite curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. However, when facts are disconnected from purpose, the high marks they produce easily slip through opportunities and then collapse. Learning must ignite before teaching can guide it towards tangible competence. In the best classrooms, every subject sparks discovery before delivering instruction. Mathematics exemplifies this: instead of rehearsing predictable routines, teachers nurture curiosity to explore beyond worked examples, build vocabulary to pose precise questions, and develop reasoning to test ideas. A pupil who models a pattern or challenges a claim is already practising mathematics as a language of inquiry. 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 ✕ The consequences of neglecting skills are clear. Data from the Council on Higher Education's VitalStats Public Higher Education 2022 show that less than half of students who start university finish their degrees within six years, revealing weak analytical and academic-literacy foundations. Employers also notice this gap: the 2023 BankSETA and merSETA Employment Outlook survey found that nearly a third of firms view graduates' communication and collaboration skills as inadequate for the modern workplace. Graduates fluent in theory often go quiet in agile meetings; excellent with prescribed problems, they falter when the brief changes. Technology raises the stakes. Artificial intelligence now drafts legal briefs, manages supply chains, and edits film trailers. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs 2025 warns that roles like data-entry clerk and payroll officer are disappearing, while demand grows for AI prompt engineers, renewable energy technicians, and cybersecurity analysts. Those who can frame precise questions for machines will thrive; those who only consume algorithmic output will see opportunities diminish. Unless classrooms become training grounds for data literacy, complex problem-solving, and ethical judgment, digital prosperity will mainly benefit the already privileged. Policy makers repeat the mantra of STEM and urge young South Africans to create jobs rather than queue for them. Yet fewer than one in six matriculants enrols in STEM degrees, and many arrive with little practice in risk-taking or teamwork, the heartbeat of enterprise. Laboratories, incubators and solar farms will not fill themselves with drill-and-practice pedagogy. Where learning meets doing, the story transforms. Skills-focused lessons conclude with two silent questions: what did I practise, and where will I apply it next? An essay on Romeo and Juliet becomes training in persuasive rhetoric; a photosynthesis investigation turns into data-visualisation practice; coding a simple game introduces logic, debugging, and iteration. Learners who experience such teaching leave understanding not only that carbon has four valence electrons but also how to turn an idea into a prototype, and a prototype into a pitch. Evidence is mounting. Pupils from under-resourced schools who accessed skill-rich programmes have earned doctorates, launched renewable energy firms, and stood on podiums at international robotics Olympiads. Their journeys trace back to classrooms that refuse to teach content in isolation from cognitive skills and capabilities. If we are serious about change, the curriculum must treat knowledge as a gateway to skill: a history debate trains evidence‑based argument; a chemistry experiment teaches protocol design and teamwork; a coding project builds logic and resilience. Teacher preparation must shift from marking schemes to coaching inquiry and empathy. Without mentors who model collaboration, graduates will never lead diverse teams. Schools need industry partners, apprenticeships, maker spaces, and neighbourhood hackathons to keep learning relevant as sectors evolve. And accountability must shift from applause to analysis: celebrating record averages without asking whether pupils can write a project proposal or read a dataset is praise without purpose. South Africa's youth population will reach its peak within the decade. Invest this potential in developing skills, and the nation will have a generation ready to heal, build, and innovate. Waste it, and the cost will be measured in alienation and lost potential. Enter any classroom, pose a meaningful challenge, and guide learners until understanding emerges. Replace rote routines with the rhythm of skill, and watch dormant talent come alive. * Dumisani Tshabalala is Head of Academics at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
14-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Groundhog Day within A Bipolar World, But A New Economic World Order for Africa: A Crucial Opportunity To Propel the African Continental Free Trade Area
Dr Dawn Isabel Nagar discusses the challenges and opportunities facing Africa in a bipolar world, highlighting the potential for the African Continental Free Trade Area to drive economic growth and development. Image: IOL / Ron AI By Dr Dawn Isabel Nagar, University of Johannesburg, South Africa The world has become like Groundhog Day with the old issues infused with the new ones – a deja vu – an unfortunate reality, a serious hopelessness, which will certainly not reach the United Nations (UN) 2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda, fast becoming a pipe-dream. Amid the sea of chaos, is an emergence of a new economic world order, provided to Africa, a great opportunity to use Putman's two-level game theory to its advantage ; see also Nagar, 'UN-AU Relations: Towards Sustainable Peace and Economic Development: The Attainment of Agenda 2063' in, African Union and Agenda 2063: Past, Present and Future Matlosa and Adeola, eds., UJ Press, 2025. The world's ongoing wars clearly shows a pattern of economic deluge, particularly for least developed and developed states. The severity of economic impacts is continuing – with an ever-evolving amoeba effect – changing shapes –shape-shifters, but always the same issues at play. Currently: the world is facing a dangerous bipolar world order, where superpower rivalry of the world's largest economies: China and the US is competing for power. The US is determined to uphold its slogan of 'making America great again'. Greed and grievance are placing Israel and the US at the forefront of how global order ought to flow in defiance of multilateralism. Globally, multilateralism is to move states and societies across boundaries: criss-crossing trade, politics and security – the world is supposedly to be interconnected. But the UN 1945 Charter with all its critical organs is stifled and severely challenged. Several policies are closing borders while others display dangerous schizophrenic state behaviour. Geopolitics are displaying danger to world order. Such behaviours are demonstrated in great appetites to expand and gobble up countries, for example (the case of Canada against the US, 2025). Similarly, the same superpower is displaying double standards and shouting 'racism' and land-grabbers. Such are the false accusations made against South Africa, accusing the country of expelling their White farmers. A dangerous rhetoric promoted by a superpower's attempts to destroy a peaceful South Africa (the case of South Africa against the US, 2025). Africa must not be swayed by world chaos. Particularly with a country such as South Africa that has transitioned from a devastating apartheid past into a peaceful democracy and boast a government of national unity. Africa must unite against barbaric behaviours and hold fast to it its democratic principles and be determined not to import racism. These are all done in attempts to derail Africa's powerhouse: South Africa. This country has great leverage to elevate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with other strong industrialised Africa economies, such as the Seychelles, Mauritius, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and among others, particularly at the forthcoming Group of Twenty States (G20) November 2025 summit. Africa's key instrument is a crucial pillar – a contemporary club in hand –– the African Continental Free Trade Area: and can drive its own agenda of greater value-addition and industrialisation among its 55 member states. This new economic world order is coming as a great opportunity to Africa's advantage and challenge this international disorder and to oppose neo-colonialist, neo-mercantilist, neo-realist and racist policies of the superpowers such as the US, (which will soon turn realism to its own demise) and to Africa's advantage. 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 ✕ Africa's interdependency among and between states should become more and more reliant within the bloc. The fourth industrial revolution (4IR/4.0) and soon to enter Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR/5.0) era, where artificial intelligence and technological advancements is moving at a tumultuous pace offers great opportunity for a youthful Africa (60 percent of its 1.4 billion people are youth). However, in a bipolar world order, when power dynamics and greed work against the stream – and while the world is going forward the dictates of realism is moving the world into the opposite direction, which is having catastrophic effects (and are growing at an exponential pace) within the international relations systems. As realism dictates: within the international relations discipline: powerful states will use their economic and military muscle to achieve their parochial interests at all costs, and in-so-doing such actions have consequences. These consequences mean the pursuit of wars, humanitarian disasters, the loss of millions of lives, internally displaced persons, and the increased numbers of economies plummeting – regardless: the interests of the realist state in its entirety takes preference. On Africa's part, the continent with the most least developed and poverty-stricken states in the world, just minutes into President Trump's presidency, had to experience the wrath of the Trump Administration's tariff hikes. President Trump indeed fulfilled his campaign promises that brought him into power (see particularly, Dr Dawn Nagar, <"How President Donald Trump's cutting off of SA's US funding helps Africa fight 'begging bowl syndrome">, Independent Online, March 2025; and 30 years of South Africa's Regional Economic Integration Role in Southern Africa and Its Attempt to Improve SADC's Regional Political Economy: Progress, Problems and Prospects, 1994–2024', Dawn Nagar, 2025 research paper, SAIIA forthcoming]). The AfCFTA must be the priority and top the agenda at the forthcoming G20 summit – the body which was established in December 1999 at a Berlin Conference – a crucial intergovernmental economic forum comprising 19 countries and two regional unions – the European Union (EU) and the African Union, which South Africa will be hosting in November 2025. South Africa must address its comparative advantage initiatives to South Africa's G20 theme: Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainable Development aligned to the AfCFTA. Africa's issues must be pursued with the correct trading partners at the G20 November 2025 Summit meeting in South Africa. Within a new economic world order and to become the game-changer, the AfCFTA must accurately address pressing continental-wide sustainable development gaps and challenges important to its people. The bloc must consider clear rules of engagement with strategic international partners. Africa has great potential, for example, North, West, Southern and East Africa are all oil crude petroleum producing countries with Africa comprising 7 countries of the 15-member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) including: Algeria, Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria; these states must use their comparative advantage to build the AfCFTA. On South Africa's part, this country's automotive sector is not shallow and have the resources and research at hand to propel its automotive industry, .' To produce value-add industrialisation that considers climate change and the environment, require solid research and development knowledge that is clear and precise on how to capture and create carbon carriers and storage – and the University of Johannesburg has solid research-backing and leading on these issues. The AfCFTA must use academic muscle to propel Africa's continental goals at the 2025 G20 Summit. For example, the University of Johannesburg recently on 18 June 2025 ranked number one in South Africa and the African continent. UJ affirmed its global leadership in sustainable development, retaining a remarkable position #1 in South Africa and on the African continent. Also see 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings released on, 18 June 2025. UJ is a leader in green hydrogen renewable energy; education, electrical and chemical engineering, automobile industry; law; neurodiversity; chemical engineering; health sciences; chemical sciences, actuarial sciences, sport and a robust alumni-base globally, and among other critical research and development initiatives. Taking into account who to engage with in trade is crucial within a new economic world order and to be the game-changer for the AfCFTA to address pressing continental-wide sustainable development gaps and challenges. Trade agreements must inculcate a multiplier effect in building small and medium-sized businesses through building cooperatives that can access stock exchange markets. South Africa's President Honourable Cyril Ramaphosa will indeed be handing over well-established reins to the next G20 Trump Administration presidency chairmanship – and indeed it will not be an unceremonious occasion – in matching the dots for our country with the African continental member states by using the AfCFTA as the anchor. (Please note: that these views are those of the author and not those of the University of Johannesburg). ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
11-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
What is Sinology?
Explore how Sinology enriches our understanding of China-Africa cooperation and why it is crucial for future studies. Image: IOL / Ron AI Why is the Knowledge of Sinology Essential to Studies of China-Africa Cooperation? The present article aims to highlight the role and impact of China-Africa cooperation studies through the light of Sinology studies 汉学 (Hanxue). In essence the article aims to explicate differences in definitions between Sinology and China-Africa Studies. It argues that China-Africa Studies will remain limited and devoid of future based analysis. Sinology, the study of China by foreigners has since time immemorial been the foundation of observing, reading and researching Chinese history, culture, identity formation in both ancient and contemporary times. China-Africa studies have tended to take a perspective of events based analysis. Such a view has tended to limit China-Africa Studies to important high-level events between government leaders and institutions. The plethora of literature drawn from these studies tend to be limited as to the analysis of Chinese culture, history, philosophy, identities including other variables that inform the foundation of the Chinese society from ancient to contemporary era. At the least such studies tend to rely on the rosy-eyed explication of revolutionary ideological commonalities of the anti-colonial struggle. The present article aims to highlight reasons and showcase instances as to why knowledge and understanding of Sinology is imperative to current China-Africa cooperation studies. The First School of China-Africa Studies The nascence of China-Africa studies has contributed with new knowledge that help understand trade, politics, interactions, and various exchanges that take place between leaders and peoples from respective nations in the relationship. There have been two main schools of China-Africa cooperation. The first is that, which holds to the ethos that China-Africa relations emerged as early as the 15th century. These studies normally cite sea voyages by Admiral Zheng He to Mombasa, in Kenya and Sofala in Mozambique and other small localities on the eastern coast of the African continent. There has been ample evidence that indeed voyages by Admiral Zheng did touch ground in the vast coastal region of East Africa. These studies have of late advanced to inquiries that include academic studies including communication, media, culture, intercultural exchanges, People-to-People relations and cross-cultural communication strategies. 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 ✕ The second school of China-Africa Studies The second school tends to focus on trade and its development since the nascence of contemporary China-Africa cooperation. Scholars engaged in this school tend to focus on symmetries, synergies, trade-fairness or deficit and high-level political China-Africa cooperation. These studies may be regarded as a collective of China-Africa Trade Cooperation Studies. China-Africa studies rely on interdisciplinary perspectives to study China-Africa relations, focusing on economy, politics, social, and cultural interactions, cooperation, development, and global governance. Employed methodologies tend to be eclectic and include case studies, comparative analysis, statistical analysis, and field research. The main goal of these studies is to analyse the role and impact of China in the development of Africa, and assessesimplications China-Africa cooperation for global governance and impact on policy analysis and formulation on the African side. However, majority inquiries of China-Africa studies remain limited as they eventually hit a ceiling or a brick-wall. Such a limitation is caused by lack of or absence of in-depth Sinology skills and know-how. Lack of engagements with Sinology postulates that form foundational China knowledge limits inquiries into the subject of China-Africa relations and cooperation. There is a plethora of literature that points out that there can be no thorough understanding of a culture, people, identities, and foundational practices that inform and shape their everyday lives. In the case where one lacks instruments that allow an in-depth inquiries into a given people or a civilisation it is impossible to study, decipher, understand and form an opinion of without having at least a basic understanding of their historical trajectories, culture, identity formation and languages that form their existence since the beginning of time. Si duo dicunt idem non est idem. If two languages say the same thing, it is not the same thing. Translation: Stone, J. (2006) Closer to home, the struggle icon and former the first of a democratic South Africa, President Nelson Mandela is known to have stated that; "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language that goes to his heart." Similarly, 'traduttore, traditore' dictum, is a classic example that points to a need of using local language as 'translator' is referred to as a 'traitor'. Such a statement is made as an encouragement to use original language in most scenarios as to mitigate shortcomings and fallacies of translation and interpretation. Umberto Eco states that it's necessary to understand that translation is not always exactly the same, but 'almost'. These examples aim to demonstrate that engaging in China-Africa Studies devoid of Sinology is like speaking a foreign language that is neither understood by Africa nor by China. What is Sinology? "Sinology refers to the study of China by foreign scholars. Sinology consist studies of traditional Chinese language, writing, history, culture, thought, literature, art, religion, and institutions. Simply put, Sinology is the study of China by foreigners, which stands from an "outside" perspective and applies its own academic traditions and methods to understand and interpret Chinese civilization. Global Sinologists consist of Western scholars, scholars from East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, South American scholars and to a lesser extent, African scholars. The core features of Sinology include: the object of study is China: it focuses on the achievements of Chinese civilisation (both ancient and contemporary China). The researcher is a foreigner: researchers come from countries and regions beyond China. Three aspects that consist Sinology research variables are, 'outside and foreign perspective'; 'interdisciplinary'; and research of 'text based materials'. An "outside" perspective: providing a different perspective of observation and understanding from the local Chinese academic tradition, Chinese Studies 国学 (Guoxue). Interdisciplinary: Sinology covers a wide range of disciplinary fields such as linguistics, history, philosophy, religion, literature, art history, archaeology, anthropology, and political science. Text-based: traditional Sinology pays particular attention to the translation, verification, annotation and interpretation of classical Chinese texts (e.g., Confucian and Taoist texts, historical books, and literary works). Sinology World Council Definitions of Sinology by the Sinology World Council: Sinology is a multidisciplinary field of study that provides valuable insights into China's complex and dynamic society, fostering greater understanding and cooperation between China and the world. Sinology, also known as Chinese studies, is the academic study of China that makes inquiries into culture, language, history, politics, society, classic and contemporary literature, folklore, allegories found in the classics, and Chinese linguistics. Foundational feature of Sinology consist of examination of China's past, from ancient China to contemporary times. Subjects that are part and parcel of China's past consist of inquiries about pre-imperial China, imperial China and post imperial China that examine philosophy and religion, exploration of Chinese thought, from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and governance. The two last aspects of Sinology inquiries fall under the rubric of culture and society. The two focus on the investigation of Chinese culture, social structures, and daily life to include art and archaeology to include Chinese art, architecture, and material culture. The ultimate goal of Sinology is to help study and understand China's past, present and future. Sinology aims to promote cross-cultural communication strategies to include cultural exchanges and understanding between China and other nations. Sinology aims to inform policy formulation, decisions on implementation and broader international relations. The centrepiece of Sinology is founded in advancing teaching, learning and correct understanding and use of language. The Confucian subject of 证明 Zhengming and more contemporary 提法 tifa (correct formulation of words) refer to correct use of language as it refers to building of local identities and maintain social hierarchies in accordance the social Chines cultural realm. It also helps with understanding the social and national mood at any given time of interactions with national and individual Chinese entities. Dangers of Sinology Deficit in China-Africa Studies What are the key differences between Sinology and China-Africa Studies? In regards to geographic focus, Sinology encompasses various aspects of Chinese studies across the world. China-Africa Cooperation Studies is limited to relations between China and different individual African nations. In reference to methodologies Sinology employs more traditional humanities, social sciences, interdisciplinary approaches, while China-Africa Cooperation Studies tends to be eclectic in nature often dependent on the latest China-Africa event. In more simplistic terms, Sinology focuses on China and its position in the world including future trajectories. China-Africa Cooperation Studies on the other hand, explore China's presence and interactions on the African continent. The latter tends to limit itself to comparison and judgment of China on the African continent versus that manifest or promised by the West and its institutions. As a result of Sinology deficit in the continent, the verdict of these comparisons and judgments tend to favour Western narratives as benchmarks of standard conduct in cross-cultural communication and exchanges. The long-term, 'traditional partner' of the past half a millennia always wins by default of these judgments and comparisons, not as a voice of reason but for lack of 'other voices' among China-Africa scholars. Sinology deficit in China-Africa Studies may result in lack of deeper analysis on the impact contemporary China and its culture on the African continent. Such deficit may lead to shortcomings in both understanding of current events and on laying out future scenario conditions that aim to strengthen China-Africa relations and cooperation. These may also lead to cultural insensitivities on both sides of the China-Africa cooperation spectrums. Such circumstances may lead to potential conflicts and in the process posing danger to the long-term future of the China-Africa cooperation and relations. Events Based Analysis versus Future Based Scenario Analysis Events based analysis relate to analysis of conferences, forums, seminars and visits by leaders and dignitaries from either side of the China-Africa cooperation. These include signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards a particular agreement or intent to engage in a particular cooperation activity, be it educational, industrial or economical. The most vogue type of MoU in the past decade has that which involves cultural exchanges and People-to-People Relations. One would assume that there has been lots of benefits for Africa emanating from these agreements. However, records reveal that little to none has been implemented simple because lots is lost in translation. Between Chinese and African governments there exists lots of dormant agreement in the form of unsigned 'Agreement Frameworks'. An educated guess as to stagnation despite governmental agreements in place would there exist lack of understanding of offerings that are brought to the table and those that offer those products and services. Future scenarios for sustainable China-Africa cooperation are first determined by how cooperation manages to consolidate its successes into a 'Good China-Africa Story'. That is, instead of only receiving; the other party also has to reciprocate symbolically and in kind to goods that are offered. The two questions below ought to help us find a possible path towards identifying and then mapping a strategy to enhance those successful moments - be they tangible or simply symbolic instances of China-Africa cooperation. It is in such instances that knowledge of Sinology becomes an asset that helps in understanding and accessing low hanging fruits of the China-Africa cooperation. What are the measurable 'quantifiable' successes of the China-Africa Cooperation? How doChina-Africa cooperation parties consolidate, sustain and set in place long-term strategies aimed at enhancing cooperation between partners and the entire south-south cooperation in order to have a significant impact in the geopolitical spaces? An answer to the above questions lies within an understanding of respective cultures among member states of China-Africa cooperation. However, it is now apparent that China-Africa Studies lacks instruments that would help understand and engage in deeper and meaningful cultural engagements between China and different African nations. There is a need to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of Sinology that may offer a window into understanding of deeper foundations that sustain traditional Chinese culture that enjoys a continuum from ancient to present Chinese society. Overlaps and Differences The present article has delved into details regarding similarities and differences between Sinology and China-Africa Cooperation Studies. Scholars, analysts and observers ought to also pay attention existent differences and overlaps between Sinology and China-Africa Cooperation Studies. By understanding overlaps and differences between the two, researchers will be able to navigate these fields and contribute to meaningful scholarship and policy discussions that aim to inform a long-term China-Africa cooperation and relations. Overlaps between Sinology and China-Africa Studies consist of understanding China's foreign policy and its role in geopolitics. Second overlap is in the analysis of China's economic and political influence on the African continent. The third is that, which examines cultural exchange and people-to-people diplomacy. However, while China-Africa cooperation studies tends to focus on China's impact on the African continent, Sinology seeks to understand ancient and imperial salient patterns that inform China's current existence, development and rise to the global centre-stage since it nascence to the present day. China-Africa cooperation needs to urgently delve into Sinology in order to ensure a long-term partnership of equals and a successful building of a China-Africa community of a shared future along the principles of a Global Civilization Initiative. In conclusion, Sinology is the study of China by foreigners, which has undergone an evolution since the times of encounters with Marco Polo in the year 1275, Jesuit missionaries, like Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci in 1583. The discipline has evolved into a standard professional discipline that today incorporates modern social science methodologies. Today, Sinology provides an indispensable external perspective for the understanding of Chinese civilisation, and serves as an important bridge for Chinese-foreign cultural exchanges and academic research. In the modern context, it is often intertwined or integrated with the broader study of China. It is for such a reason that China-Africa cooperation Studies need to urgently engage Sinology as a sign and form of reciprocity to all China efforts to engageAfrica in its developmental quest through cross-cultural communication strategies in the form of People-to-People relations and People-to-People Exchange. * Professor Paul Zilungisele Tembe, Founder and Director of SELE Encounters. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL News
10-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Stubborn crypto rule costs SA half a billion in taxes
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin ETF in 2024, which swiftly amassed over $70 billion (R1.2 trillion) in investments, making it the fastest-growing ETF in BlackRock's history. Image: Sunday Independent/Ron AI SOUTH Africa could generate at least R540 million in additional tax revenue by updating a single element of its cryptocurrency regulations to align with global best practices, according to an analysis by Luno, one of the world's oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The findings, shared in a media statement by Marius Reitz, Luno's general manager for Africa and Europe, highlight the untapped potential of digital assets in bolstering the country's strained fiscus amid sluggish economic growth and mounting debt. Reitz emphasised that Bitcoin and other digital assets have vastly outperformed traditional investments such as stocks and bonds over the past decade, yet South African institutional investors are missing out due to regulatory hurdles. 'Recently, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of over R2 010 800, showing over 1 000% growth in five years,' Reitz said. 'But local asset managers are restricted from offering products like Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which could unlock significant returns — and tax revenue.' Luno's 'conservative' estimate of R540 million in additional tax assumes just 1% of institutional funds flowing into a digital asset product like a Bitcoin ETF, factoring in modest returns and applicable tax rates. Currently, South Africa does not classify digital currencies as either offshore or onshore assets, creating uncertainty for asset managers. 'This makes it difficult for asset managers to offer products such as ETFs that track the underlying value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin,' Reitz said. 'If digital assets were designated as 'onshore' — as seen in other global markets — South Africa could harness this growth, leading to higher investment, profits, and capital gains tax for the fiscus.' The global trend is already proving the potential. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, launched a Bitcoin ETF in 2024, which swiftly amassed over $70 billion (R1.2 trillion) in investments — making it the fastest-growing ETF in BlackRock's history. Reitz pointed to international examples where institutional investors were increasingly integrating digital assets into traditional portfolios. 'Late last year, the first UK pension fund allocated 3% of its portfolio to Bitcoin,' he said. 'This marks a fundamental shift in how finance experts view cryptocurrencies — not as speculative assets, but as strategic investments.'
