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Wandile Sihlobo

Visiting Research Fellow, Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand
Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and the author of "Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture." He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University. Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council in 2019 after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture between 2018 and 2019. He is also a member of the Council of Statistics of South Africa (Stats SA). He is a Commissioner at the International Trade Commission of South Africa (ITAC).

Unlocking China: South Africa's Agricultural Trade Opportunities

Sep 16, 2024 08:36 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

South Africas agricultural sector has more than doubled in value and volume terms since 1994. This success has been linked to international trade. Exports now account for roughly half (in value terms) of the annual...

This is how President Ramaphosa got to the 25% figure of progress in land reform in South Africa

Mar 22, 2024 11:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Law Economy

Nearly three decades into democracy, land reform remains central to South Africas transformation policies and agricultural policy. We have over the years pointed out that the progress on land reform has been incorrectly...

South Africa’s farm exports are an economic lifeline – with weak spots

Sep 20, 2022 06:20 am UTC| Economy

International trade has been at the core of South Africas agricultural progress since the early 2000s. Since 1994, the country has excelled in opening up new markets, as evidenced by several free trade agreements with...

The EU's Green Deal: opportunities, threats and risks for South African agriculture

Oct 31, 2021 23:34 pm UTC| Politics Economy

The European Union among a host of other countries is seeking to implement urgent policy measures to combat the effects of climate change. In its 2030 climate target plan, the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Small towns are collapsing across South Africa. How it's starting to affect farming

Jun 20, 2021 12:13 pm UTC| Economy

Farming and agribusiness play a crucial role in sustaining the economies of small towns and rural areas. There is a lot of evidence of this in the economic literature and in the popular media. This dependency has its...

Economy

EA's $15B Debt Offering Draws $25B in Investor Demand Amid Credit Market Turmoil

Investor appetite for large-scale leveraged buyouts remains surprisingly robust, as demand for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) nearly $15 billion debt package has surged to approximately $25 billion. The offering, led by...

Federal Reserve Crisis: DOJ Standoff Threatens Powell's Succession and Rate Stability

A deepening legal battle between the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice is rattling financial markets and raising serious questions about the future of U.S. monetary policy leadership. At the center of the...

U.S.-Iran War Escalates: Marines Deploy, Strait of Hormuz Closure Drives Global Oil Crisis

The United States is sending an additional 2,500 Marines to the Middle East as the ongoing war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran enters its third week with no clear end in sight. The deployment includes the USS Boxer...

Gold Prices Extend Losing Streak, On Track for Worst Weekly Loss Since 1983

Gold prices continued their downward trend on Friday, marking eight consecutive days of losses and heading toward their steepest weekly decline in over four decades. Spot gold dropped 3.4% to $4,494.44 per ounce, while...

Iran War Fears Send Oil Prices Surging as U.S. Weighs Ground Troop Deployment

Oil prices climbed sharply on Friday despite a volatile trading session, as alarming reports of potential U.S. ground troop deployment into Iran rattled energy markets already under significant stress. Brent crude futures...

Politics

Trump's Shifting War Goals Against Iran: A Timeline of Contradictions

Since launching joint military operations with Israel against Iran on February 28, President Donald Trump and his administration have struggled to maintain a consistent narrative around the conflicts objectives, duration,...

Cuba Rejects U.S. Demands to Remove President Diaz-Canel Amid Ongoing Negotiations

Cuba has firmly pushed back against reports that its political leadership or governmental structure could be part of any negotiation with the United States. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio made clear at...

U.S. Prosecutors Scrutinize Colombian President Petro in Drug Trafficking Probes

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has emerged as a peripheral figure in two separate U.S. federal criminal investigations tied to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, according to a source familiar with the matter who...

Trump Signals U.S. Nearing End of Military Goals in Iran War, Shifts Hormuz Responsibility to Regional Nations

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States is close to achieving its military objectives in the Iran war, signaling a potential drawdown of American forces. In a post on Truth Social, Trump also...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Restrictive Press Access Policy

A federal judge has struck down the Trump administrations controversial Pentagon press policy, delivering a significant victory for press freedom advocates and independent journalism across the United States. U.S. District...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Palantir's Maven AI Earns Pentagon "Program of Record" Status, Reshaping Military AI Strategy

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is drawing renewed investor and industry attention after the U.S. Department of Defense officially designated its Maven Smart System as a program of record, a classification that...

Amazon's "Transformer" Phone: Can It Succeed Where Fire Phone Failed?

Amazon is quietly developing a new smartphone, codenamed Transformer, marking the companys return to mobile hardware more than a decade after its Fire Phone disaster. According to sources familiar with the initiative, the...

Judge Dismisses Sam Altman Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, But Sister Can Refile

A federal judge has dismissed a sexual abuse lawsuit filed against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by his sister Annie Altman, ruling that the claims were too old to pursue under current law. However, U.S. District Judge Zachary...

Trump White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework for Congress

The Trump administration released a sweeping artificial intelligence policy framework on Friday, urging Congress to establish unified federal legislation that would override fragmented state-level AI regulations across the...

Jeff Bezos Eyes $100 Billion Fund to Transform Manufacturing With AI

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is in early-stage discussions to raise a massive $100 billion investment fund focused on acquiring manufacturing companies and accelerating their automation through artificial intelligence. The...