SMWX

South Africa’s social grants are a lifeline—but they’re under pressure. Treasury is pushing cuts and tighter verification, while millions face hunger and unemployment. Is it time to go beyond targeted grants and implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI)? In today's episode of Economic Justice Matters in collaboration with the Institute for Economic Justice, we sit down with: Kelle Howson (Institute for Economic Justice), Thandi Henkeman (Black Sash) and Leandro Ferreira (Brazilian Expert).

Unlocking South Africa’s next wave of growth—through tech, policy, and bold execution. In this episode of In This Economy? (in collaboration with Standard Bank Private), Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh sits down with Melvyn Lubega—entrepreneur, investor, and public-sector advisor—best known as co-founder of Go1, the learning platform that scaled to unicorn status (including the Blinkist acquisition). From boarding school and Oxford to Y Combinator, Melvyn shares the mindset, systems, and failures behind building at scale—plus his mission to help create 100,000 sustainable jobs. He unpacks why execution beats ideas, why your speed of learning matters more than your speed of doing, and why “it takes the same energy to do something big as it does to do something small—so do something big.

What is the legacy of OR Tambo. In this panel discussion following the OR Tambo Lecture, some of South Africa's key intellectuals and journalists debate the state of the nation.

In this lecture, Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh reflects on the life and legacy of Oliver Reginald Tambo and what it demands of leaders today. Drawing from Tambo’s words and archives, Sizwe unpacks three pillars of Tambo’s example—radical critic, lawgiver, and statesman—and argues that true leadership must both tell hard truths and do the hard work of rebuilding.

SACP’s General Secretary, Solly Mapaila, joins us for a wide-ranging, hard-hitting conversation on South Africa’s shifting political landscape. We unpack the SACP’s decision to prepare for independent contestation in 2026, the removal of Gwede Mantashe from the party’s structures, the ANC–SACP alliance “reconfiguration” saga, and whether the so-called GNU has already failed. We also dig into Lt Gen Mkhwanazi's explosive allegations, docket interference, and what the coming commission and Parliament inquiries could reveal.

This week, China became the center of global politics. From hosting Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, and Erdogan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, to staging its largest-ever military parade, Beijing sent a powerful message about the future of world order. 

In today's episode, we unpack the recent developments with the 121 dockets that were moved back to the KZN Politicial Killings Task Team. The moving of these dockets caused anger and frustration for both the Acting Police Minister and President Ramaphosa. The dockets have since been moved to the Madlanga Commission. Gen Sibiya also claimed that he was summoned to Parliament's Adhoc Committee, and Ian Cameron, David Sikhosana and others rubbished these claims. We unpack all of this and more!

Lungelo KM, host and founder of Engineer Your Life podcast, joins us for a conversation on a wide-range of issues. From his journey as an electrical engineer to building one of South Africa’s fastest-growing shows.

In this conversation, Professor Zhang Weiwei — one of China’s most influential public intellectuals — sits down with us to unpack how China sees the world, and how the world sees China. From Donald Trump’s failed trade war to the rise of BRICS, from the Russia–Ukraine conflict to the future of Africa’s development, Zhang Weiwei offers unfiltered insights that global leaders and ordinary citizens can’t afford to ignore.

South Africa’s Equality Court found EFF leader Julius Malema guilty of hate speech for a 2022 political rally speech. We’ll unpack the Equality Act (PEPUDA), which underpins the ruling and draws a delicate line between free expression and incitement, and place this verdict within the broader history of South Africa’s struggle to balance dignity, equality, and speech rights.