Hands-on Learning Issue 35
Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences. Starving the fuel to its fire: Why curbing heavy drinking can help lower gender-based […]
Learning Brief – Starving the fuel to its fire: Why curbing heavy drinking can help lower gender-based violence in South Africa
About a third of South African women over 18 have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Add to that the fact that about seven women are killed in the country every day — in about 90% of cases at the hand of an intimate partner or family member. Gender-based violence (GBV) is not […]
We care about men. Here’s why you should too
It should not be controversial to say we must care about boys and men. But in today’s culture wars, this statement risks being read as an endorsement of the argument that men are the victims of progress and gender equity policies — and feminism has gone too far. It is not. Caring about boys and […]
MetroFM Interview: Networks have until January to drop the data wall. Are they ready?
Imagine needing information about a social grant, looking for a job, trying to access healthcare advice or simply trying to educate yourself online — but you cannot afford the data required to get For millions of South Africans, the cost of mobile data remains a barrier to accessing information and services that many of us […]
News24 Article: ‘I don’t trust any of you’. Joburg’s youth aren’t buying the politics
A hush fell over the conference centre as a teenager rebuked a panel of politicians and civil society leaders who had gathered to debate how to put young people at the centre of urban renewal in Johannesburg. Hope Ramalobela, 18, a student leader from Kensington Secondary School in Johannesburg East, stood up on Monday night […]
Daily Maverick Article: Metro Lives panel explores why Johannesburg’s renewal will fail without its young people
If Johannesburg is to rebuild itself, its young people cannot remain on the sidelines. The city’s renewal depends on treating them not as beneficiaries, but as co-authors of its future, said Matshidiso Lencoasa, a budget analyst at SECTION27. “Johannesburg has these problems, but we also have ideas, we also have solutions. We just need to […]
Business Day Article: Concern over slow rollout of free data for public benefit sites
Communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi has acknowledged the slow pace in ensuring South Africa’s mobile network operators make the digital content of public benefit organisations available data-free but is still confident about meeting a January 2027 deadline. According to the DG Murray Trust, only about 40 out of thousands of public benefit organisations […]
Geekhub Article: Zero-rating in South Africa – The networks already paid for it, so where is it?
Whenever there’s a suggestion that mobile operators should give something away for free, most South Africans respond with “nice idea, but never going to happen.” Except this time it is not a suggestion. Zero-rating in South Africa is a licence condition, it has a deadline, and the deadline is 15 January 2027. On that date, […]
MEDIA STATEMENT: Deadline looms for mobile network operators to implement their zero-rating obligations
The clock is ticking for South Africa’s major mobile network operators to fulfil their legal obligation of zero-rating information and services that carry social value. Companies like MTN, Vodacom and Cell C have been given until 15 January 2027 to make the digital content of public benefit organisations (PBOs) data-free for users. The zero-rating requirement […]
eNCA Interview: Calls to protect South Africa’s health and wealth
The National Treasury wants to increase alcohol excise taxes and introduce a minimum unit price. But the proposal has drawn criticism from the alcohol industry. DG Murray Trust CEO David Harrison spoke to eNCA. He argued that South Africa cannot continue to frame economic growth and public health as opposing goals, noting that heavy drinking […]