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        <title>Engineering News | Opinion</title>
        <description><![CDATA[Regular columnists and guest writers offer their commentary and opinions as well as analysis of current events in the energy, transport and economy sector to name but a few.]]></description>
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            <title>Bridge﻿, not destination</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/bridge-not-destination-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[How do people in Gauteng know when motorists are driving under the influence? They are driving straight! It is to this type of sardonic humour that residents in all three of Gauteng’s metros have turned as a coping mechanism against the proliferation of potholes, the near absence of road markings, and the reality that all too many streetlights and traffic signals are simply not working.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Davids fight third-country deportation Goliaths</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/davids-fight-third-country-deportation-goliaths-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Every so often, Africa surprises its critics. Just when one begins to despair that the continent’s human rights institutions are little more than expensive talk shops, along comes a legal challenge to Donald Trump’s third-country deportation arrangement with Equatorial Guinea at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR).]]></description>
            <author>Martin Zhuwakinyu</author>
            <category>AFRICA BEAT</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>723108</a_id>
        <updated>1782118570</updated>
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        <editor>Creamer Media Reporter  </editor>
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            <title>Political settlements and the just transition</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/political-settlements-and-the-just-transition-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Political settlements theory helps us understand the drivers of systemic change, holding that the ambition of elites who control a country’s political and economic apparatus to decarbonise economies is as deep as the extent to which they see changes benefiting themselves. Another way to think of political settlements is to draw on Luke Kemp’s seminal book, Goliath’s Curse, which takes a close look at the reasons why States flourish or collapse. Kemp suggests that most States and empires arose because someone figured out how to extract surplus from the rest of the populace. It may be suggested that if all States are extractive, what makes them stand out is their degree of humanity or lack thereof.]]></description>
            <author>Saliem Fakir</author>
            <category> LOW-CARBON FUTURE</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722981</a_id>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Where tariff ﻿investigations really stall  </title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/where-tariff-probes-really-stall-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[A tariff investigation that should have taken the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) four to six months lasted 644 days (more than one-and-a-half years) from initiation to implementation. The most striking finding about it is not that Itac exceeded its own timeline, but that more than half that delay occurred after Itac had finished its work. Let’s look a bit deeper into how the 644 days were accumulated. Itac published a tariff application for an “Increase in the ‘General’ rate of customs duty applicable to rails … from 5% to 10% ad valorem” in the Government Gazette of August 23, 2024. A period of four weeks (28 days) was allowed for comments, which were due by September 20, 2024.]]></description>
            <author>Riaan de Lange</author>
            <category>TRADE@WORK </category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>723050</a_id>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>South Africa must go all out to get the  very best out of its rich natural resources</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/south-africa-must-go-all-out-to-get-the-very-best-out-of-its-rich-natural-resources-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[While South Africa is well-endowed with minerals, the full potential of these minerals is no longer being achieved. At best, their contribution is flat, which makes the call by the far-thinking PyroFuZA initiative something that needs to be heeded. PyroFuZA spells out that all South Africans will benefit significantly if distinctive steps are taken to get the very best out of our natural resources. PyroFuZA is correct to be insistent that South Africa's minerals energy complex can be effectively reformed if there is a strong collective will to do so. Proper public-private partnership will provide an enduring outcome and it is incumbent on all of us to push for effective value addition and competitive reindustrialisation. ]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>FIRST WORD</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>723103</a_id>
        <updated>1781513924</updated>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Distribution dilemma</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/distribution-dilemma-2026-06-12</link>
            <description><![CDATA[During a recent joint meeting of the portfolio committees on electricity and energy and cooperative governance and traditional affairs it became clear there is some sympathy for Eskom when it comes to the issues of nonpayment by municipalities. The problem is large, with Eskom confirming that the backlog now stands at more than R114-billion, while warning that it could exceed R300-billion by 2030 if left unchecked and will threaten its financial turnaround.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ELECTRICITY</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722839</a_id>
        <updated>1780989982</updated>
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        <editor>Terence Creamer</editor>
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            <title>Britain’s costly Rwanda misadventure</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/britains-costly-rwanda-misadventure-2026-06-12</link>
            <description><![CDATA[In the annals of public procurement, few projects rival one that cost £290-million, resulted in the relocation of just four unwanted immigrants to a faraway country and survived three Prime Ministers and numerous court challenges. This description perfectly fits Britain’s scheme to offload would-be asylum seekers arriving on small boats from across the English Channel onto Rwanda, a policy hatched by Boris Johnson’s administration in 2022 and activated through the passage of the Safety of Rwanda Act in 2023 when Rishi Sunak, a Conservative like Johnson, was at the helm. Liz Truss also supported the deal during her very short-lived stint as Johnson's successor as both Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader. ]]></description>
            <author>Martin Zhuwakinyu</author>
            <category>AFRICA BEAT</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <updated>1780988423</updated>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Trade tensions confirmed</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/trade-tensions-confirmed-2026-06-12</link>
            <description><![CDATA[There is “growing strain on the rules-based trading system” – as outlined by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – “amid escalating trade tensions and compliance challenges”. These words were expressed by WTO members at the WTO Council for Trade in Goods meeting held on May 20 and 21. This might well be confirmation of what you already know.]]></description>
            <author>Riaan de Lange</author>
            <category>TRADE@WORK </category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722704</a_id>
        <updated>1780988422</updated>
        <published>1781215200</published>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Public-private collaboration is proving worthwhile</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/public-private-collaboration-is-proving-worthwhile-2026-06-12</link>
            <description><![CDATA[An important step towards stabilising the operations of important value-adding South African companies, preserving the jobs that go with them, and promoting a more sustainable future for them, has been masterfully achieved through admirable public-private collaboration. As a consequence of Eskom, the Department of Electricity and Energy, and the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa putting their heads together with private-sector producers, a pricing framework has been approved that enables the many smelting operations of two major ferrochrome companies to grasp commercial continuity in the immediate term while they continue to hunt down a more sustainable future. What South Africans are witnessing is conscientious public-private collaboration that is proving very worthwhile.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>FIRST WORD</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Virtue of necessity</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/virtue-of-necessity-2026-06-05</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Following an embarrassing false start, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has set a deadline of early next year for the finalisation of a new draft of the national AI policy. In April, the department officially withdrew the initial draft after News24 reported that AI-hallucinated sources had been included in the list of references. Minister Solly Malatsi told lawmakers last week that generative AI had been “used irresponsibly during the drafting process” and confirmed that two department officials had been placed on precautionary suspension.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722221</a_id>
        <updated>1780384417</updated>
        <published>1780610400</published>
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        <editor>Terence Creamer</editor>
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            <title>Thabo Mbeki’s broken African dream</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/thabo-mbekis-broken-african-dream-2026-06-05</link>
            <description><![CDATA[When former South African President Thabo Mbeki spoke at a recent event marking the sixty-third anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – which morphed into the African Union (AU) in 2002 – he sounded less like a retired statesman and more like a distressed custodian of a fading dream of a united Africa. Mbeki may not have been among the generation of leaders who gathered in Addis Ababa in May 1963 to establish the OAU, but his pan-African credentials are not in doubt. Through his central role in the transformation of the OAU into the AU and his championing of the African Renaissance and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, he has been one of the continent’s most articulate and consistent advocates of African unity, self-reliance and a collective destiny.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Zhuwakinyu</author>
            <category>AFRICA BEAT</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722276</a_id>
        <updated>1780382599</updated>
        <published>1780610400</published>
        <expires>99999999999</expires>
        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Trade remedy reviews</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/trade-remedy-reviews-2026-06-05</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Diarise it. Diarise June 22, or circle it on your calendar if you are old school. Why should you diarise it? Well, the day is celebrated as World Rainforest Day, International Being You Day, and National Chocolate Éclair Day in the US. I am sure they will not mind you joining in. If you are a Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) manufacturer of cement, float glass, frozen bone-in chicken portions, garlic, pasta, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and unframed glass mirrors, you might want to put the sweet treat aside for a moment, as you have a deadline.]]></description>
            <author>Riaan de Lange</author>
            <category>TRADE@WORK</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>722018</a_id>
        <updated>1780382596</updated>
        <published>1780610400</published>
        <expires>99999999999</expires>
        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Deviant financial behaviour must be ruthlessly rooted out</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/treasurys-reform-of-errant-municipal-financial-behaviour-cannot-come-soon-enough-2026-06-05</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Deeply infuriating is the unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of a very large number of South Africa’s municipalities. National Treasury’s steps to reform the local government funding model and redesign the local government fiscal framework cannot come soon enough. Introducing digital systems to quickly expose the errant behaviour of culprits for all to see would do the world of good and Treasury’s intention on go beyond local government level when it comes to provinces and national government departments not paying municipal debts is also crucial.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Creamer</author>
            <category>FIRST WORD</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>721949</a_id>
        <updated>1780384493</updated>
        <published>1780610400</published>
        <expires>99999999999</expires>
        <editor>Martin Zhuwakinyu</editor>
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            <title>Big and small pictures</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/big-and-small-pictures-2026-05-29</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Much has been written in recent weeks about the geopolitical factors now driving the energy transition. Particular attention has been given to how the attack on Iran by the US and Israel, which precipitated yet another energy crisis when the Strait of Hormuz was inevitably choked, is amplifying the benefits of the ongoing shift to renewables-led electrification.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ENERGY TRANSITION</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>721682</a_id>
        <updated>1779785239</updated>
        <published>1780005600</published>
        <expires>99999999999</expires>
        <editor>Terence Creamer</editor>
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            <title>How corruption is powering Nigeria’s darkness</title>
            <link>https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/how-corruption-is-powering-nigerias-darkness-2026-05-29</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Weeks before disappearing from public view, Saleh Mamman announced his intention to run for governor of the Nigerian state of Taraba in 2027. Earlier this month, the former federal Power Minister was sentenced in absentia to 75 years in prison for laundering billions of naira – equivalent to about R450-million – meant for electricity infrastructure. In many countries, such a sentence would signal a decisive anti-corruption breakthrough, but in Nigeria it raises the more troubling question of why convictions of powerful political figures are so extraordinary that they feel historic.]]></description>
            <author>Martin Zhuwakinyu</author>
            <category>AFRICA BEAT</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <updated>1779779169</updated>
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