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Patrick Bond

Patrick Bond is professor of political economy at the Wits School of Governance and from 2004-16, directed the University of KwaZulu-Natal Centre for Civil Society. His PhD studies were at Johns Hopkins University (1985-93) under the supervision of David Harvey, and he also studied at Swarthmore College, the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Pennsylvania. He has lived in Southern Africa since 1989, and was editor or author of more than a dozen policy papers in the Mandela government. His books include BRICS (edited with Ana Garcia, 2015), Elite Transition (2014), South Africa - The Present as History (with John Saul, 2014), Politics of Climate Justice (2012), Durban's Climate Gamble (2011) and a dozen others.

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Steering the budget between excess patronage and prudence

Feb 25, 2017 12:28 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

After investigating the massacre (as termed by both the opposition Democratic Alliance and African National Congress Youth League) of more than 100 mental health patients under the guise of cutting costs, South Africas...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

South Africa needs tougher exchange controls before junk status hits

Nov 10, 2016 22:35 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy

During this interminable period of economic stagnation, with no prospects of an upturn in sight thanks in part to Donald Trumps victory, South Africa desperately needs the radical economic transformation repeatedly...

Why military and market responses are no way to save species from extinction

Sep 26, 2016 05:34 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The arrival of climate change brings with it large-scale habitat loss and unprecedented species extinctions. The booming black and grey markets in already-threatened animals, including the rhino, elephant, and pangolin,...

Economy

What should you do if you can’t pay your rent or mortgage?

The cost of living crisis is making it difficult for many people to pay their bills, including housing costs. Private sector rents have increased by an average 9% over the year to February 2024, and rising interest rates...

Reducing energy demand and improving efficiency will help prevent the next gas crisis

Gas prices have relaxed, Europe has come out of the winter with record gas storage levels and a surfeit of liquefied natural gas is set to reach the shores of Europe over the coming years. Many commentators are hopeful...

Minimum wage for South African farm workers: study shows 2013 hike helped reduce poverty even though compliance was poor

Minimum wage policies are typically aimed at reducing poverty. Yet there is little direct evidence of this effect, especially in developing countries. And none for South Africa. In a recent paper, we consider the...

Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy

The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...

South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed

The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...

Politics

Donald Trump Allegedly Offers Oil Execs a Deal to Scrap EV Incentives for $1B Donation

Former President Donald Trump reportedly proposed a $1 billion deal to oil executives, offering to end electric vehicle (EV) subsidies in return for campaign funding, according to The Washington Post. This move underscores...

US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first

For the 2022 midterm elections, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Alabama to use congressional districts that violated the law and diluted the voting power of Black citizens. A 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court in February...

Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections

Ahead of the European parliament elections in June, Germany has lowered the age limit on participation to 16. This makes it the largest of just a handful of states in the EU to allow people under the age of 18 to vote....

South Africa will be president of the G20 in 2025: two much-needed reforms it should drive

South Africa will play an important international role in 2025 as president of the G20. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the African Union and the European Union. Between them they represent 85% of global...

What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP

By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...

Science

Is dark matter’s main rival theory dead? There’s bad news from the Cassini spacecraft and other recent tests

One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newtons law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those...

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without...

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

Technology

Shanghai's Data Policy Shift Could Propel Tesla's Local Data Center Efforts

Shanghais new data-export policy could accelerate Teslas plans to build a local data center, enhancing its artificial intelligence (AI) development for autonomous driving. Chinas Regulatory Update As China attempts...

CPI Report Spurs Optimism, BlackRock CIO Forecasts Fixed Income Growth

The release of the U.S. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report provided a wave of relief to the financial markets. This signaled a possible reduction in inflationary pressures. Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer of...

Over 50 Million USDT Blacklisted by Tether Amid Regulatory Scrutiny, Details Inside

Tether has blacklisted five wallets holding 54.1 million USDT, amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny and past enforcement actions. Tether Blacklists Five Wallets Holding 54.1 Million USDT Amid Ongoing Regulatory...

Altcoins Expected to Yield 2x-5x Gains by May End: Fetch.AI, Floki, AAVE, ENA

The latest climb in Bitcoins price beyond $65,000 on Wednesday sparked a new relief rally in the cryptocurrency market. Top altcoins are also profiting from the upward momentum, recovering from recent downturn tendencies....

US Orthodontic Leader Accepts Shiba Inu, Embracing Cryptocurrency for Payments

Shiba Inu, the popular meme coin, is experiencing a period of growth and increased utility. Amoré Orthodontic Aligners, a company that specializes in orthodontic care, recently announced that it will now accept SHIB...