Crippling Neglect! Over 2,000 South African Children Born with Clubfoot Each Year – And the System Still Fails Them!

Each year, more than 2,000 children in South Africa are born with clubfoot, a condition that is entirely treatable, yet remains a hidden disability due to diagnostic failures and systemic neglect. The Ponseti method, a proven, low-cost treatment with a 90% success rate, is not reaching the children who need it most. Geographic isolation, transport barriers, stigma, and the absence of a national birth defects registry compound the problem. As grassroots organisations step in, South Africa faces a pivotal choice: scale up equitable care or allow preventable disability to persist.

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Municipal Meltdown: Tsakani Maluleke Warns of South Africa’s Local Governance Failure

South Africa’s municipal governance is in systemic collapse. Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s 2022–2023 report reveals widespread corruption, service delivery failures, and ethical decay across municipalities. Only 13% achieved clean audits. Dysfunctional leadership, misused infrastructure grants, and unchecked patronage threaten public welfare. With Eskom debt surging and communities suffering, Maluleke’s call is clear: without ethical, professional leadership and enforcement, the country risks a constitutional crisis in service delivery.

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Growing Pains of BRICS: Expansion Tests Unity and Purpose

The recently convened BRICS foreign ministers' meeting in April 2025 failed to issue a joint statement on the bloc’s response to the United States’ protectionist trade policies under President Donald Trump. While the grouping has lofty ambitions to credibly represent the Global South, there are lingering doubts whether the organisation is wavering in establishing a unified direction and purpose with an expanded membership.

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South African President Ramaphosa Delivers His Annual State of the Nation Address | N18G

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took centre stage at Parliament in Cape Town to deliver his much-anticipated annual State of the Nation Address (SONA). This SONA, which marks nearly seven years of Ramaphosa’s presidency, addressed an array of issues, including South Africa’s pressing energy challenges, the country’s infrastructure push, critical social interventions, and the broader continental context of peace and security.

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Trump Threatens to Cut Off Funding to South Africa over Land Expropriation Policies

In a move that has reignited debate over South Africa’s land reform agenda, United States President Donald Trump recently threatened to halt future American funding to the country. Although South African officials have dismissed Trump’s claims as “inaccurate” and “politically motivated,” the threat has nonetheless thrust the nation’s expropriation debate back into the global spotlight.

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South Africa – Medical Technology Master Plan: A Pathway to Inclusive Growth and Industrialisation

The “Medical Technology (MEDTECH) Master Plan” is South Africa’s strategic roadmap for fostering a robust, competitive, and inclusive medical technology industry. Spearheaded by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and supported by key stakeholders, including industry bodies, labour…

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