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Richard Calland

Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town

Richard Calland has for over 20 years been working in the fields of democratic governance and sustainable development in South Africa and beyond. Based at the University of Cape Town (UCT), Calland is also a Fellow of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), working as a member of faculty on a range of customised leadership and strategy programmes for amongst others the World Bank, PWC, the African Development Bank, Nedbank, Namdeb, Network Rail and Tata. He is also the co-director of the African Climate Finance Hub and the governance advisor to the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), an international initiative directed towards information disclosure in large public infrastructure projects. Amongst other corporate clients, he is a long-time retained consultant to Massmart, Africa’s largest retailer that was acquired by Walmart in 2011, advising on issues of politics, sustainability and governance, as well as providing regular political risk briefings to the investor clients of UBS and Citi Bank, and has recently established a new advisory organisation – The Paternoster Group: African Political Insight. His most recent book, Make of Break: How the next three years will shape South Africa's next three decades, was published in late 2016. He is also the author of Anatomy of South Africa (2006) and The Zuma Years (2013). His political column, Contretemps, has appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper since 2001. Before moving to South Africa in 1994, Calland practiced law for seven years at the London Bar.

Future of Coal Series

Gas isn’t a good alternative to coal – South Africa should focus on solar, wind and green hydrogen

Oct 08, 2024 07:23 am UTC| Economy

South Africa is immersed in a just energy transition from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a cleaner, low-carbon energy system. This new system will be based primarily on renewable energy, such as solar, wind and green...

Ramaphosa left with tricky choices as South Africa bungles Chief Justice appointment

Feb 08, 2022 03:38 am UTC| Politics

After a fraught and fractious week of public interviews that shed heat but little light on the four candidates eligible to become the next Chief Justice, South Africas Judicial Service Commission has recommended that...

The six mega challenges testing leaders at a time of national and global crisis

Mar 26, 2020 16:04 pm UTC| Politics Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic is an extreme crisis that puts government under severe pressure. It puts the political judgement of the president or prime minister under the most intense spotlight. Not since the height of the Cold...

Economy

Asian Stocks Slide Ahead of Nvidia Earnings as Tech Shares Tumble

Asian stock markets declined sharply on Wednesday as investors pulled back from technology and semiconductor stocks ahead of Nvidias highly anticipated quarterly earnings report. The cautious mood followed another weak...

Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Dollar Holds Near Six-Week High Amid Iran War Concerns

Asian currencies traded within a narrow range on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar remained close to a six-week high, supported by growing expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike and ongoing uncertainty surrounding...

Rubio to Push NATO Defense Spending, Strengthen India Ties During Key Diplomatic Tour

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Sweden and India this week for high-level diplomatic talks focused on NATO defense spending, regional security, trade cooperation, and energy stability. The trip comes as...

Fed’s Anna Paulson Signals Rates Could Stay Higher Longer Amid Inflation Risks

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson said Tuesday that financial markets are right to consider the possibility of future U.S. interest rate hikes as inflation pressures continue to linger. Speaking...

Nvidia Earnings in Focus as U.S. Stock Futures Hold Steady Amid Rising Treasury Yields

U.S. stock futures traded mostly flat Tuesday night as investors turned cautious ahead of Nvidias highly anticipated quarterly earnings report. Concerns over rising Treasury yields, stubborn inflation, and geopolitical...

Politics

Georgia GOP Senate Primary Heads to Runoff as Collins and Dooley Advance

Georgias Republican Senate primary will move to a runoff after U.S. Representative Mike Collins and former college football coach Derek Dooley emerged as the top candidates in Tuesdays election. With about 80% of votes...

US Expands Criminal Investigation Into Nicolas Maduro With New Florida Probe

The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly pursuing a second criminal investigation into former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, increasing the likelihood that he could face additional federal charges in the United...

Kast Reshuffles Cabinet as Chile Pushes Tougher Security Agenda

Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast has announced major cabinet changes as his administration intensifies its focus on public security, migration control, and economic reform. The reshuffle comes just two months after Kast...

UK Diplomat James Roscoe Leaves Washington Embassy Role Amid Leadership Changes

James Roscoe, Britains second most senior diplomat in Washington, has stepped down from his position at the British Embassy in the United States, according to a statement released by the UK Foreign Office on Wednesday. The...

Venezuela to Release 300 Prisoners Amid Ongoing Human Rights Debate

Venezuelas National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced Tuesday that the government will release 300 prisoners between Monday and Friday, drawing renewed attention to the countrys prison system and human rights...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

SpaceX IPO Nears as Goldman Sachs Set to Lead Historic $75 Billion Offering

Goldman Sachs is expected to secure the prestigious lead-left position for SpaceXs highly anticipated initial public offering, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. Morgan Stanley will also play a major role...

Blackstone and Google Launch AI Cloud Venture, Pressuring CoreWeave and Nebius Shares

Shares of CoreWeave and Nebius fell nearly 4.5% on Tuesday after Blackstone and Google announced a major joint venture focused on building a new artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure company powered by Googles...

Mistral AI Acquires Emmi AI to Expand Industrial AI Solutions in Europe

French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI has acquired Austrian startup Emmi AI in a strategic move to strengthen its industrial AI capabilities across Europe. The deal, announced Tuesday, highlights the growing...

Tencent Shares Jump 4% as AI Models Move Toward Paid Commercial Services

Tencent Holdings (HK:0700) shares surged more than 4% on Tuesday after the Chinese tech giant announced plans to commercialize several of its artificial intelligence models, signaling a stronger push into monetizing AI...

Analog Devices Nears $1.5B Acquisition of AI Chip Firm Empower Semiconductor

U.S. semiconductor giant Analog Devices is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire AI-focused chipmaker Empower Semiconductor in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion in cash, according to a Bloomberg News...