TIPS Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Rudi Dicks, Head of the Project Management Office in the Office of the President, about the role and future of South Africa’s Just Transition Labour Centre.

Rudi explains why evidence-based research, policy development, and worker representation are essential during complex climate and energy transitions. The conversation explores how the Labour Centre can support organised labour, shape industrial policy, and ensure that workers and communities are not left behind as South Africa decarbonises its economy.

In this episode, host Elize Hattingh speaks with Ms Nthuseng Rabohome from John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, based in Kuruman in the Northern Cape.

They discuss how a mining-dependent, rural district with nearly 300 villages is grappling with climate impacts such as heatwaves, droughts, floods and fires. Ntuseng reflects on challenges around waste management, limited infrastructure, traditional land allocation practices, and deep energy poverty – and how these all shape the pace and nature of the Just Transition.

About JUST SA
JUST SA is a five-year programme supporting South Africa’s transition toward an environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, low-carbon and socially just economy. At national level, the programme advances the implementation of the Just Transition Framework and facilitates meaningful dialogue. At provincial and local levels—particularly in Mpumalanga—JUST SA supports stakeholders to design inclusive development pathways and diversify local economies. The programme also advances research, policy, and community engagement on the rehabilitation of coal mining land and water.

JUST SA is implemented by GIZ in partnership with TIPS, NBI, and WWF South Africa, on behalf of the German Government through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), in close collaboration with Indalo Inclusive, the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, the JET PMU, the Presidential Climate Commission, and other partners.

In this episode, host Elize Hattingh speaks to Mzwandile Raymond Mene, a local government official from Kimberley, about the vital role municipalities play in climate action, decarbonisation, and building a just and inclusive economy.

Recorded during the JUST SA capacity-building workshop in Kimberley, the conversation explores how local government can turn policy into practice, why youth inclusion and fair access to opportunities are essential, and how collaborative governance (not siloed planning) can strengthen climate adaptation, service delivery, and economic diversification.

About JUST SA
JUST SA is a five-year programme supporting South Africa’s transition toward an environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, low-carbon and socially just economy. At national level, the programme advances the implementation of the Just Transition Framework and facilitates meaningful dialogue. At provincial and local levels—particularly in Mpumalanga—JUST SA supports stakeholders to design inclusive development pathways and diversify local economies. The programme also advances research, policy, and community engagement on the rehabilitation of coal mining land and water.

JUST SA is implemented by GIZ in partnership with TIPS, NBI, and WWF South Africa, on behalf of the German Government through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), in close collaboration with Indalo Inclusive, the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, the JET PMU, the Presidential Climate Commission, and other partners.

In this episode, we travel to Kimberley for a two-day JUST SA capacity-building workshop with provincial and local government officials. Host Nothembi Mahlangu speaks to Jessica Makgetla from the Northern Cape Economic Development, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (NEDA) and Kabelo Moremi from the Office of the Premier.

Together, they unpack why it is crucial for provincial and local government to understand climate impacts, decarbonisation imperatives, and the just transition. They reflect on the training experience, discuss investment opportunities in renewable energy, highlight policy and planning challenges, and explore how the Northern Cape can position itself as a leader in South Africa’s green economy.

About JUST SA
JUST SA is a five-year programme supporting South Africa’s transition toward an environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, low-carbon and socially just economy. At national level, the programme advances the implementation of the Just Transition Framework and facilitates meaningful dialogue. At provincial and local levels—particularly in Mpumalanga—JUST SA supports stakeholders to design inclusive development pathways and diversify local economies. The programme also advances research, policy, and community engagement on the rehabilitation of coal mining land and water.

JUST SA is implemented by GIZ in partnership with TIPS, NBI, and WWF South Africa, on behalf of the German Government through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), in close collaboration with Indalo Inclusive, the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, the JET PMU, the Presidential Climate Commission, and other partners.

In this episode of the TIPS Podcast, recorded at the Just Transition Labour Centre, host Thobani Khumalo speaks with Lebogang Mulaisi, Head of Research and Policy at the Presidential Climate Commission. Mulaisi explains why the JTLC was created by trade unions: to build a trusted, worker-led evidence base on South Africa’s transition, strengthen collective bargaining beyond wages, and ensure workers and communities are informed and protected as coal regions face disruption.

The discussion tackles core transition dilemmas: how a coal-dependent, ageing energy system shapes South Africa’s vulnerabilities; why green industrialisation offers real economic opportunity rather than a top-down agenda from the Global North; and what structural shifts are needed to create new sectors, jobs, and inclusive ownership models. Mulaisi also emphasises the importance of African regional coordination, arguing that the transition must deepen continental solidarity, technology sharing, and integrated industrial policy—rather than intensify national competition.

Looking ahead, she sees the JTLC becoming a model for the continent: a hub of worker-driven research, strategic insight, and policy influence that places employment, equity, and participation at the centre of a fair and prosperous green transition.

At the Reclaiming Industrial Policy for the People conference—convened by the TIDE Centre, Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), and the Transnational Institute (TNI)—host Thobani K speaks with filmmaker, futurist, and Princeton visiting lecturer Indrani Pal-Chaudri. From her early discovery by David Bowie to founding Open Origin and the Shakti Regeneration Institute, Indrani makes a powerful case that imagination is an essential but overlooked component of green structural transformation. She explores how storytelling, indigenous wisdom, and visual activism can challenge extractive “green growth” models and open space for regenerative, people-centred development.

Their discussion moves from art to action: rethinking film distribution outside the constraints of Hollywood, using creative narratives to mobilise civil society, and applying business-model discipline to scale practical climate solutions—from green energy for AI data centres to community-embedded models of decarbonisation. Anchored in the wider aims of the conference, Indrani argues that science, technology, and markets follow stories—and that by reclaiming narrative power, societies can accelerate inclusive industrial policy and imagine futures worth building.

Host Thobani K speaks with David Mparutsa, Head of Enterprise & Supply Chain Development at Absa Corporate & Investment Bank, on how Africa can move from exporting raw minerals to building competitive regional industries. Drawing on insights from the 2025 TIPS Forum, Mparutsa unpacks why intra-African trade remains low, the case for a hub-and-spoke model across SADC, and the fundamentals—energy, ports, roads, skills, and coordinated policy—needed to unlock beneficiation and manufacturing.

They also explore how finance can pull SMEs into these value chains: Absa’s ESD and supply-chain finance approaches that lend against future cash flows, sector marketplaces like Made in Africa, and practical trade missions that connect smaller suppliers to corporate demand. It’s a grounded roadmap for turning Africa’s critical minerals into inclusive growth through collaboration, specialization, and smarter financing.

In this episode of the TIPS Podcast Series, recorded at the 2025 TIPS Forum, host Dr. Michael Hector sits down with former Minister of Trade and Industry Dr. Rob Davies to unpack the opportunities and challenges of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for South Africa and the continent.

From trade rules to climate policy, and from industrial strategy to continental cooperation, this episode offers a candid, in-depth look at how Africa can leverage integration for sustainable, shared growth.

Visit www.tips.org.za for more research from Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies.

As South Africa moves towards a greener economy, the Just Transition agenda has become critical in ensuring that no one is left behind. In this special edition of the TIPS podcast series, Elize Hattingh speaks with participants from the Eastern Cape cohort of a recent TIPS training initiative. This program, part of the multi-year Just Transition to a Decarbonised Economy for South Africa (JUST SA) initiative, equips provincial and local government officials with the tools needed to drive an inclusive, sustainable future.

Tune in to hear first-hand insights from the training, reflections on the challenges and opportunities of the transition, and how South Africa is shaping a just and evidence-based approach to decarbonisation. 

This episode is the first part of the full selection of interviews from the Eastern Cape. You can find the second part here: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2340124/episodes/17574014

For more knowledge on the Just Transition, visit the TIPS open knowledge portal:

https://www.tips.org.za/just-transition

As South Africa moves towards a greener economy, the Just Transition agenda has become critical in ensuring that no one is left behind. In this special edition of the TIPS podcast series, Elize Hattingh speaks with participants from the Eastern Cape cohort of a recent TIPS training initiative. This program, part of the multi-year Just Transition to a Decarbonised Economy for South Africa (JUST SA) initiative, equips provincial and local government officials with the tools needed to drive an inclusive, sustainable future.

Tune in to hear first-hand insights from the training, reflections on the challenges and opportunities of the transition, and how South Africa is shaping a just and evidence-based approach to decarbonisation. 

This episode is the second part of the full selection of interviews from the Eastern Cape. You can find the first part here: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2340124/episodes/17574023

For more knowledge on the Just Transition, visit the TIPS open knowledge portal:

https://www.tips.org.za/just-transition