policylatest news & developments

JUSTICE MALALA: South Africans pay a high price for a ‘cold drink’

Business can’t replace the state

Chris Hatting.

Business-government bromance is failing South Africa

It’s time for business to put government under pressure to deliver

ANC. Picture: Rawpixel/Currency

STUART THEOBALD: The ANC’s new realism meets an old pledge

But will voters believe it?

Eskom’s recovery makes unbundling harder — and more necessary

The utility's recovery should not be an excuse for delay

Helen Zille

Real Politics: DA dare not forget Zille’s warning 

There are risks aplenty to a coalition with the ANC

South Africa risks unbundling public infrastructure know-how  

The state risks losing expertise as it hands public infrastructure to private players

Video

PODCAST: How SA’s competition authorities are throttling investment

Is South Africa’s unique anti-trust regime stifling investment and throttling business?

Financial Mail E-edition 3 September 2026

An in-depth look at why competition watchdogs and regulators are facing an escalating crisis of credibility

EDITORIAL: Business can’t fix what politics won’t

An economy growing at 1.1% cannot simply be willed to nearly treble its pace

Picture: Shawn Suttle/Pixabay

CHRIS ROPER: Survival in the time of AI

AI grows despite resentment. We must be prepared

TIM COHEN: If it doesn’t work, do we still need it?

Do we still need the Financial & Fiscal Commission?

WANDILE SIHLOBO: How South Africa boosts Zimbabwe farmers

Farmers have not yet recovered from Mugabe’s land grabs

Image: Siphiwe Sibeko

TIM COHEN: Eskom’s bog-standard revolution

South Africa’s electricity reform is neither novel nor ideological, but it does seem necessary.

A good week for Chad Le Clos

Olympic swimmer Chad le Clos, whose Sea Point flat was destroyed by fire, is using his foundation to help other victims. Meanwhile, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi faces…

Sunny oil rig. Rawpixel/Currency

From gold to gas: reclaiming South Africa’s resource advantage 

South Africa’s reluctance to embrace its mining sector as an engine for growth is both absurd and financially self-destructive

Monocle Banking podcast.
Audio

PODCAST: Analysing the effectiveness of BEE

Broad-based BEE is one of South Africa’s most contentious policy debates. Has it been undermined by unintended consequences?

Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images (Julius Malema); Ziyaad Douglas/Gallo Images via Getty Images (Jacob Zuma); Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images (Paul Mashatile); Laird Forbes/Gallo Images via Getty Images (Geordin Hill-Lewis); Rawpixel; Currency collage

A post-GNU nightmare: Mashatile, Malema and MK  

Where is South Africa headed politically? The good news is the GNU will hold until December 2027. After that, all bets are off

Car auto industry troubles. Rawpixel/Currency colalge

Some driving lessons for auto policymakers

South Africa’s vehicle industry is running on fumes as the government struggles to get out of neutral

Gwede Mantashe. Picture: Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo.

The canary in the mine: why South Africa’s exploration plunge matters

Mining exploration spend ebbed to R781m in 2024 from over R6bn in 2006. Only big changes to a contested new mining bill will break the slump

Gambling tax slot machine. Rawpixel/Currency collage

Gambling tax misses the point

Treasury’s 20% gambling tax won’t curb addiction. Without regulation and safeguards, it risks punishing vulnerable gamblers and deepening harm