THE GOVERNANCE REPORT
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The Wicked Conversation
Governance Performance Index – South Africa 2024
South Africa’s system of local government is presently undergoing its most widespread sequence of changes since the introduction of a new system shortly after our transition to democracy. Politically, the 2021 local government elections produced a record number of...
Expert analysis
South Africa 2024 Elections Tracker
By 3 May 2024 Electoral process: The IEC has issued reminders and clarifications regarding special voting and election procedures for the upcoming national and provincial elections, which include: The deadline for special voting applications is Friday, 3 May 2024. It...
Improving water governance in South Africa to ensure a water-secure country
South Africa is a dry country with limited water resources. According to the 2030 Water Resources Group Annual Report, the country’s demand for water is expected to rise by 17.7 billion m³ in 2030, while water supply is projected to amount to 15 billion m³, signalling...
Enhancing Integrated Development Plans to Improve Governance
Local government in South Africa plays a vital role in the functioning of the state. Often seen as the implementation arm of the South African government, it is also the governmental sphere that most commonly operates as the interface between the citizen and the...
Is the Southern African Development Community (SADC) afflicted by premature deindustrialisation?
This paper, by Dr Ross Harvey and Pranish Desai, quantitatively examines SADC's industrialisation trends, considering factors like South Africa's weak performance and the impact of oil and mineral rents. It takes as its starting point economist Dani Rodrik’s (2016)...
Navigating digital sovereignty in Africa: A review of key challenges and constraints
This paper, by Tyler Venske, explores the African perspective on the evolving global digital landscape, focusing on the concept of "digital sovereignty." It discusses how investments by the United States and China in digital infrastructure have benefited Africa but...
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Election tracker
South Africa 2024 Elections Tracker
By 3 May 2024 Electoral process: The IEC has issued reminders and clarifications regarding special voting and election procedures for the upcoming national and provincial elections, which include: The deadline for special voting applications is Friday, 3 May 2024. It...
Zimbabwe – an urgent call to restore justice and confidence
Post 23 August – Zimbabwe needs to do more to restore trust and confidence With the inauguration, cabinet announcement and swearing-in of new Ministers well out of the way, on 18 September, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa left for the 78th session of the...
Eswatini Elections Weekly Tracker
SADC deploys Electoral Observation Mission On 19 September 2023, the President of the Republic of Zambia, and Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation announced that SADC will deploy its...
Zimbabwe Elections Weekly Tracker – 4 to 15 August 2023
Nomination Court Issues  Presidential Candidates On August 7, presidential aspirant Saviour Kasukuwere, filed an urgent High Court application challenging the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) over Statutory Instrument (SI) 140A of 2023, which extends the submission...
Zimbabwe Elections Weekly Tracker – 20 July to 3 August 2023
Nomination Court Appeals  Presidential Candidates issues On Wednesday 19 July 2023, Elisabeth Valerio of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) successfully appealed the decision that had initially excluded her from the presidential race when her nomination papers were...
Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections: Who votes and why?
Zimbabwe is preparing for its 23 August 2023 Harmonised Elections. It does so against the backdrop of a complex past, where the struggle for democracy and inclusivity has been marred by political instability, hardships, lack of meaningful electoral reforms, and a...
Podcasts
GGA’s Pranish Desai appears on The Citizen’s podcast
On 15 February 2023, GGA’s Pranish Desai appeared on the podcast The Citizen’s...
GGA’s Pranish Desai on coalition issues in municipal councils
On 14 February 2023, GGA's Pranish Desai spoke to SAfm's Songezo Mabece about...
GGA’s Pranish Desai on corruption in local government
On 12 January 2023, GGA's Pranish Desai spoke to Radio 702's Thabo...
News feed
Towards the second decade of Agenda 2063: Embracing a resilient social contract with African citizens
Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want was adopted during the 24th Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, January 2013. The agenda advocates for stronger socio-economic and political integration among African countries and sets out...
SONA must reflect Ramaphosa’s ultimate duty
A somewhat perplexing disconnect lies at the heart of South African democracy today. On the one hand, the country continues to perform relatively well, particularly within the African context, on the global indices of democratic quality and political rights which are...
Maximising the impact of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)
This briefing assesses South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). It acknowledges programme achievements while addressing challenges, including delays to the procurement process and financial issues facing REIPPPP...
Combatting fake news and disinformation is a civil duty
As electioneering ramps up ahead of the national election later this year, we can expect a marked increase in the proliferation of disinformation, misinformation, and fake news, aided by evolving artificial intelligence (AI) tools that make the discernment between...
