Photos: YouTube Screenshots

Cape Town-based animation studio Triggerfish is partnering with UNESCO to train and create opportunities for African women in animation.

Triggerfish, behind productions including Disney+’s Kizazi Moto and Netflix’s Supa Team 4, will offer capacity-building programs for aspiring female directors and artists through its non-profit foundation.

The programs will include masterclasses with contributions from award-winning African directors and animators.

Training material will also be published online.

— Martin

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The University of Johannesburg has been ranked as sub-Saharan Africa’s best university, beating two historic rivals — the University of Pretoria and the University of the Witwatersrand — to the top spot.

The 2024 list by British magazine Times Higher Education (THE) places four South African universities in the top 10, two each from Rwanda and Ghana, and one each from Uganda and Somalia. Nigeria has 41 entries on the list, the most of any country.

Metrics used to compile the ranking included African research citations and co-authorship, accessibility for disabled people, and employability. These are metrics that “matter most to the development of nations south of the Sahara,” said the magazine’s chief global affairs officer, Phil Baty, in a statement.

THE’s ranking was based on a survey of 23,000 students, plus data from schools and Dutch academic analytics company Elsevier, the magazine said. The 129 universities are from 22 African countries, covering less than half of sub-Saharan Africa.

Despite its success, the University of Johannesburg is ranked in the 401-500 band in THE’s global list, where the top 10 are American and British universities.

— Alexander Onukwue

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South Africa’s Wits University is set to unveil its first dedicated artificial intelligence institute this week to help drive the technology’s development across the continent. It comes amid growing concerns that AI may widen the existing digital divide between wealthy countries and poorer nations.

Known as the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, the program aims to publish impactful research, develop talent, and help to foster innovative applications of AI. Its remit includes informing policy-making on the governance and ethics of AI in Africa.

It is backed by an initial 60 million rand ($3.3 million) investment from Wits, with further funding expected from various technology companies it is in talks with. Wits is also working with other African universities to develop a pan-African MIND fellowship to launch in 2025.

The institute will be inaugurated on Nov. 19, starting with a cohort of 34 research fellows selected in October. It aims to welcome academics from other African universities in 2025.

— Martin K.N. Siele

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JOHANNESBURG — A spate of deaths in South Africa following outbreaks of food poisoning have sparked violence directed at African migrant shopkeepers.

Armed mobs have in recent weeks looted migrant-owned shops mostly run by Somalis whom they accuse of selling products responsible for the outbreaks, forcing the closure of many stores, and killing at least one shopkeeper.

The anger threatens to spark broader xenophobic unrest in Africa’s most industrialized economy. The country was rocked by xenophobic riots in 2008 and 2015.

In a high profile outbreak, six children died from food poisoning after reportedly eating food bought from a migrant-owned, informal grocery store in Soweto, Johannesburg, on Oct. 6, 2024.

Just over two weeks later, seven children were hospitalized after falling ill from food allegedly bought from a migrant-owned spaza shop in KwaZulu-Natal province, more than 600 kilometers away from Johannesburg.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said toxicology reports “unequivocally” showed the children in Soweto died as a result of Terbufos ingestion, a chemical used in agricultural pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides.

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JOHANNESBURG/NEW YORK — Just over four months ago, South Africa seemed broken. The pre-election conversation focused on power blackouts, violent crime, and choked ports. Fast forward to today, and South Africa is enjoying a stock market rally while promoting its credentials as an investment destination.

When Cyril Ramaphosa met investors on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, he was all smiles as he announced that “the business community is responding very positively to our reforms.” South Africa’s stocks have had their strongest third quarter for 11 years, and a key sentiment index has returned to pre-COVID levels.

Investors are putting their faith in the Democratic Alliance, the center-right partner in the nascent coalition government, to give the administration a pro-business edge. But the African National Congress (ANC) also deserves credit for its skill in preparing for coalition politics through early talks with its opponents ahead of the election, write Sam Mkokeli, Alexis Akwagyiram, and Yinka Adegoke.

It’s increasingly clear that South Africa has simply underperformed for years. Africa’s most industrialized nation has the continent’s best infrastructure, its most developed financial market, and a strong judiciary.

Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala told Alexis at Semafor’s Next Three Billion summit last week that South Africa’s problems are “consistent entirely with what happens in a country that was run by a former liberation movement.” It’s too early to tell if this is just post-election euphoria, but South Africa could be entering a new phase.

READ MORE…

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Renowned Cape Town writer and poet James Matthews has passed away at 95, leaving a legacy of fearless resistance against oppression and a profound influence on South African literature and art, Cape {town} Etc reports.

This week, the Western Cape Government (WCG) extended its condolences to the friends and family of the late James Matthews.

Matthews was born in District Six in 1929 and published some of his first pieces when he was 17. He later worked as a journalist for several publications, including the Golden City Post, the Cape Times and Drum magazine.

His first poetry anthology, published in 1972, was banned under the apartheid regime. He was detained at Victor Verster prison in 1976. READ MORE…

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President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a thorough overhaul of his economic ministers on Sunday night. With the economy barely growing during his first five-year term, Ramaphosa needs his new set of economic ministers to rebuild a platform for economic growth. This means accelerated and expanded structural reforms, some of which are complex and require sophisticated and motivated leadership.

The story: The economic cluster is by far the most important for the success of the Government of National Unity.
What we know: Only Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe remain in their previous portfolios.
What’s more: While there are some good appointments, not all of them come from the A-team.

READ THE FULL STORY

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Negotiations between the ANC and the DA on the composition of Cabinet is headed for a confrontation after President Cyril Ramaphosa altered the terms of an earlier offer on Wednesday night, replacing a key performance ministry with a lesser portfolio that was never considered before.

The story: President Cyril Ramaphosa has made an alteration to the ANC’s offer to the DA.
What we know: The DA will still get six ministries, but will not be able to run a key ministry.
What’s next: The ANC wants to move ahead in finalising Cabinet and has given the DA until Sunday to decide.

READ THE FULL STORY

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Photos: News24\YouTube Screenshots

South Africa’s government of national unity (GNU) is floundering less than a week after parties signed on.

The ANC said on Wednesday the GNU had not officially kicked in and was still in the formation stages. However, the DA said the document of intent it signed last week entitled it to be consulted before new political parties were permitted to join, indicating that an agreement was already in effect for the official opposition.

The story: The GNU is on the ropes as Cabinet appointments loom.

What we know: Misunderstandings over a key document are at the heart of the disagreement.

What’s more: The DA says the ANC failed to consult it over the inclusion of Gayton McKenzie‘s PA. READ THE FULL STORY…

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South Africa, India, and Mexico just held general elections. Britain will hold a general election July 4. The US will hold one Nov. 5. Record-setting demonstrations in Israel may yet lead to a general election there. Five of these six elections reveal the precarious hold on power of the incumbents, and the threats to democracy posed by leaders and challengers.

South African voters dealt the ruling ANC, the party of Nelson Mandela, a “seismic blow,” according to CNN. For the first time in 30 years, the party failed to win a majority, falling to 41 percent. 

Official corruption is endemic in that party, but so too in the party of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s predecessor, Jacob Zuma. Having previously ruled for nine years, Zuma heads a new party that received about 14 percent of the vote. He now appears to be the kingmaker as the ANC will need partners in a coalition government. But it is doubtful Zuma will accept having Ramaphosa continue as president. If no coalition forms in coming weeks, then by law new elections will need to be held.

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been on the job for less than two years, yet decided to call an early election May 30, fully aware that the Tories are miles behind Labor in opinion polls. Sunak made some terrible decisions on the public health system and refugees from Rwanda that surely helped sink him.

In the US and Israel, the rule of law is critical to the survival of democratic governance. The Biden administration has received a huge shot in the arm with the conviction of Donald Trump on 34 counts of violations of federal law. From now on, he will be identified as convicted felon Trump. But he’s ahead in most polls. Unimaginable as it may seem, the next US president could be a criminal who has not only been convicted of multiple counts of fraud and rape, but also faces various conspiracy charges.

In Israel, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for two Israeli leaders—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant–as well as three Hamas leaders. Netanyahu’s authoritarian leadership is the subject of huge daily demonstrations calling for his resignation, but the arrest warrants are for war crimes committed in Gaza. 

Israel, however, is not a signatory to the Rome Treaty that established the ICC, thus the arrest warrants would not mean prosecution of Netanyahu and Gallant. Hamas, not being a nation-state and therefore not party to the treaty, also would be difficult to prosecute. But it might make it difficult for any of these people to travel abroad.

Lacking any enforcement mechanism for its decisions, the ICC is powerless in the face of ongoing Israeli military actions in Gaza. The Netanyahu government is clearly not disturbed by these warrants, which it denounced. So did the Biden administration. But make no mistake: the President is well aware of Netanyahu’s strategy for staying in power. In an interview with Time magazine, Biden, asked whether Netanyahu was prolonging the war in Gaza in an effort to hold on to office, said that he believes “there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

In India and Mexico, ruling parties won in these latest elections. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a third term, though his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, won far fewer seats in parliament than expected. Modi’s intolerance toward Muslims and the economic inequalities that are growing as India’s GDP rises evidently boosted the opposition Indian National Congress, the second-largest party. 

Dalits, the lowest caste formerly called untouchables, abandoned the BJP, contributing importantly to Modi’s low margin of victory.  Modi has institutionalized himself, becoming increasingly authoritarian and dominating all media while putting opposing politicians in jail. Now he will have to govern in a coalition with other parties.

Mexico is the exception in these elections. Claudia Sheinbaum, a leftist, won by a large margin to succeed her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She’s a climatologist and Mexico’s first female president. 

The vote was a mandate for Sheinbaum to continue Lopez-Obrador’s anti-poverty programs, though according to the New York Times, he was “a deeply polarizing president, criticized for failing to control rampant cartel violence, for hobbling the nation’s health system and for persistently undercutting democratic institutions.” The cartels in particular are going to be a major challenge for Sheinbaum, both for the role they play in Mexican politics as well as the complications they create in Mexico’s relations with the US.

Can we draw any general conclusions from these elections? Probably the most important is the authoritarian tendencies of leaders and challengers in these democracies. We keep learning that winning elections is not the same thing as governing democratically. 

Official corruption, violence against critics, disrespect for domestic and international law, and disregard for public opinion are often features of democratically elected rulers as they are of rulers who are not elected.

Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University and blogs at In the Human Interest.

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