https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Receive our free daily newsletter:

Fakir is interim executive director of the African Climate Foundation – saliem@africanclimatefoundation.org

By Saliem Fakir

Climate resilience: optimising strategies against uncertainty

9th October 2020

Climate resilience in Africa can only be optimised if other forms of social protection work in concert. This means you may not achieve success, entirely, with the scaffold of climate resilience... 


Industrial development in Africa – from theory to practice

11th September 2020

I recently participated in a panel discussion on industrial development in Central and West Africa, organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The panellists, drawn from... 


When facts matter and when they don’t

7th August 2020

It is common wisdom that, if you have evidence, that evidence should speak for itself. But the history of knowledge and ‘factfulness’ shows that the causal relation between evidence and good... 


Social engineering is not just a socialist thing

10th July 2020

‘Social engineering’ is seen in some circles as a swear phrase and associated with socialism – meaning surrendering individual sovereignty into State control. In a recent heated interview with Redi... 


The Michael Moore view of the world

12th June 2020

Michael Moore’s documentary, Planet of the Humans (a play on the Anthropocene age), following his namesake, Roger Moore, in the James Bond 007 movie, goes after the evil enemy, the Greens, and... 


Economic lessons from Covid-19

8th May 2020

The current pandemic is not a black swan. Those who have been warning about it call it a white swan. Human history is replete with episodes of terrifying pandemics or plagues. London, for instance,... 


Economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic

10th April 2020

There is a lot to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic for climate change, both in terms of how systemic disruption in one part of the world can transmit to other parts of the world. Secondly, the... 


Why I don’t aspire to be a Twitterati

27th March 2020

Somebody asked me the other day if I had a Twitter accounT. I have never fancied myself as a serious fan of Twitter. I am quite cautious about social media. I have a Facebook account but never drop... 


Securing the electricity grid from attack

21st February 2020

As the intensity of global geopolitics increases in what is fast becoming a multipolar world, different risks within an energy system have to be taken into account that were previously not... 


Climate crisis – there is no safe place anymore

31st January 2020

There is a certain irony that, while the Paris Agreement was being debated in Madrid and going through its slow motion of nonaction towards the end of 2019, apocalyptic scenes were playing... 


The circular economy movement and its place in South Africa

13th December 2019

The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) hosted a circular economy colloquium in partnership with the European Union from November 19 to 20. The notion of a circular economy may seem like a... 


Climate finance must be a mainstream economic issue

22nd November 2019

If climate change is a risk to economies, then it has to be placed in the mainstream of economic mainstream, rather than on the periphery. Economic debates are starting to move in the direction of... 


Can AfCFTA help stimulate Africa’s industrialisation?

1st November 2019

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was signed last year by the majority of the countries in Africa to create a common market and remove barriers that hinder growth and opportunity... 


Why SA should not install new nuclear capacity

11th October 2019

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has reopened the debate on whether or not South Africa requires nuclear power or not. He has suggested that, slowly but surely, a new plant... 


How science has lost its touch

30th August 2019

These days, feelings matter more than facts, despite Hans Roslings’ plea for 'factfulness'. It is not the reasonableness of the argument or evidence presented that matters, but whether the facts or... 


Climate change and the future of food production in Africa

2nd August 2019

The International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) is the highest scientific body on climate change  that provides perhaps the best scientific insight and overview on climate change, variability and... 


Acclimatising physical infrastructure to extreme weather events

21st June 2019

Acclimatising conventional infrastructure to extreme weather Climate change and extreme weather patterns are already a factor in infrastructure and shaping future models of the design, placement,... 


Conservation as cost

7th June 2019

The conservation movement has been around for a long time. In its modern version, it can be traced to the curiosity of early explorers like Darwin, Russell, Humboldt and many others. That we think... 


Independent power producers and Weet-Bix

19th April 2019

There is a vociferous attack on independent power producers (IPPs) and renewables in South Africa, despite the energy crisis that the country is experiencing and the fact that the long-term... 


Reflection on proposed splitting of Eskom

15th March 2019

The mere mention of the splitting of State-owned  electricity utility Eskom into three parts invikes the conclusion that it is a Trojan horse for privatisation. There may be some validity in this... 


Building sustainable economies through good governance of extractives industry

1st March 2019

A pertinent question remains unanswered: Can mining economies lead to sustainable economies? This is an appropriate question to ask in the context of the yearly parade in Cape Town. I am referring... 


The Eskom quagmire

1st February 2019

As we enter the year 2019, State-owned electricity utility Eskom, once a success story of South Africa's industrialisation programme, is now an albatros around the neck of the National Treasury and... 


Reflections on global conventions in a postliberal order

18th January 2019

I was in Sharm-El Shaik, Egypt, in November at a gathering of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the Conference of the Parties (COP). This enclave of holiday resorts is characterised... 


Africa’s infrastructure and recent climate report

30th November 2018

It was my first attendance at the yearly Africa Infrastructure conference, held in Sandton this year on October 9 and 10. Infrastructure has always been an interest of mine but this year it has... 


Strategic economics in times of uncertainty

19th October 2018

In his excellent three-volume work titled Wheels of Commerce, Fernand Braudel describes countries or city states as islands in a world economy. This is a reference to the interconnectedness of the... 


The industrialisation debate in SA – what are the lessons?

21st September 2018

Manufacturing has been in slow decline in the past decade or so. The sector has always been treated as a useful link between mining and higher-value beneficiation. Light and heavy industrialisation... 


Using Douglas North’s institutional economics to understand State capture

24th August 2018

Douglas North remains an influential institutional economist and his work on institutional economics can help us understand economic development and long-run growth. North was awarded the Nobel... 


SA’s bioeconomy should be multipronged

3rd August 2018

The fact that South Africa does not have a White Paper or a holistic bio-economy strategy is the biggest of ironies, given that a vast variety of biological life and biodiversity can be found... 


Will the SDGs help us rewire the economy?

29th June 2018

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the new mantra, and everybody is trying to figure out the best way to leverage them; the question is whether to follow the same old path or to beat a... 


The Just Transition debate in South Africa

18th May 2018

South Africa is the only country that explicitly includes in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) a mention of the Just Transition – this is as far as I know.   The issue of a just... 


Tackling shipping sector’s carbon emissions

27th April 2018

Shipping emissions is an area that has not fallen under the rubric of United Nations Framework for Climate Change (UNFCCC). The shipping industry has, by and large, avoided scrutiny of its own... 


What we must undo in post-Zuma era

23rd March 2018

During Jacob Zuma’s Presidency, South African had to contend with racial parochialism, State inaptitude and a gloomy economy. Dystopia became the only legacy the former President would bequath the... 


Tackling inequality in South Africa – the great escape

23rd February 2018

There have been clarion calls to clean up corruption in South Africa, but the greater challenge will be clawing back the effects of structural poverty. Influential voices from business have... 


Will Ramaphosa be a transformational leader or preserve the status quo?

2nd February 2018

The election in December of Cyril Ramaphosa (CR) as African National Congress (ANC) president has brought a sigh of relief to many South Africans. There is both euphoria and trepidation. The sigh... 


Rigging the nuclear outcome?

15th December 2017

At the time of writing, it appeared nuclear would be ramped through before the African National Congress elective conference, which starts on December 16. New Energy Minister David Mahlobo says we... 


Inside the green economy

10th November 2017

It is often assumed that the green economy only relates to a specific type of technology or shifts in energy demand. The notion of the green economy has been in existence in South Africa for a long... 


New era of disruption

20th October 2017

Perhaps the recent multiple attacks of extreme weather – hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria – do not only tell us that fierce weather is the new normal, but changes in weather, together with other... 


Taking the green out of economy

22nd September 2017

There is only one economy, not two. The challenge all societies face today is leaving behind the legacy of an old system. How do we embark on a systems change – a shift from System A to System B?... 


Enviro rights entail more than just the environment

18th August 2017

It is important to review where we have come from over the past 20 years and how much has been achieved in that time. South Africa's Constitution makes provision for environmental protection in its... 


Decolonising the green economy

4th August 2017

On June 13, a good agent provocateur, former National Planning Commission member Mike Muller, proposed in a panel discussion at a Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) conference on... 


Is science losing its authority?

16th June 2017

Scientists have, for a long time, been held in high esteem. Yet scientist struggle to effectively mediate evidenced-based outcomes in highly politicised and contested public policy issues, such as... 


1
2
3 4

Research Reports

Projects

Latest Multimedia

Magazine video image
Magazine round up | 29 March 2024
Updated 7 hours ago

Latest News

Showroom

SABAT
SABAT

From batteries for boats and jet skis, to batteries for cars and quad bikes, SABAT Batteries has positioned itself as the lifestyle battery of...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Yale Lifting Solutions
Yale Lifting Solutions

Yale Lifting Solutions is a leading supplier of lifting and material handling equipment in Southern Africa. Yale offers a wide range of quality...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Environmental Assurance (Pty) Ltd.
Environmental Assurance (Pty) Ltd.

ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Multotec
Multotec

Multotec, recognised industry leaders in metallurgy and process engineering help mining houses across the world process minerals more efficiently,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







0.286s - 69pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now