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Could AI create a new form of inequality in South Africa?

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Rennie Naidoo, Professor of Information Systems, University of the Witwatersrand

Generative artificial intelligence (AI), and especially large language models deployed as chatbots and digital assistants, are now part of everyday digital life.

These models are being framed as a helpful assistant, a patient tutor, a customer service agent and even a source of emotional support. But what happens when even more human encounters are mediated by machines?

This question matters especially in South Africa, where apartheid not only separated people by law, but also shaped who was seen, heard and recognised as fully human. Its legacy still lives in unequal access to education, healthcare, work, technology and public services.

This is also why ubuntu has become such an important part of South African debates about social life. Ubuntu is a way of thinking about personhood. It sees personhood as relational. It reminds us that dignity is not only individual. It is also formed through mutual belonging.

Ubuntu is expressed through the idea that “a person is a person through other persons”. People become themselves fully through relationships of recognition, care, responsibility and shared life.

As a scholar of technology and society, I have been exploring how AI is reshaping human relationships.

In my research on ubuntu and generative AI, I set about asking what this means in practice. What happens when machines begin to replace the human relationships through which people experience care, recognition and dignity? To answer this question, I used ubuntu as a lens to examine whether AI-mediated interactions can support the kinds of relationships through which human dignity is affirmed.

I argue that the rise of generative AI is more than a technical issue in two ways. Firstly, it is a relational one. Secondly, it’s about who gets access to human beings. In my paper, I describe this risk as a form of “relational apartheid”. By this I mean a social and technological pattern in which access to meaningful human engagement becomes unequally distributed. Some people are met by persons. Others are managed by systems.

This is not apartheid in the legal sense of the past. It is a warning about how old inequalities can reappear in new digital forms.

Simulated care is not the same as shared life

Large language models can now produce fluent and emotionally sensitive responses. They can apologise, encourage, advise and offer language that sounds consoling. They can remember details within a conversation and adjust their tone to the user. For many people, this can feel surprisingly human.

Yet the appearance of a relationship is not the same as a relationship.

A chatbot may respond warmly to a lonely student, a frustrated customer or a patient seeking reassurance. But it does not share in that person’s life. It cannot be vulnerable in return. It cannot be held accountable as a person. It cannot forgive, be forgiven, carry a moral burden or be transformed by the encounter.

Human relationships are difficult because they involve more than responsiveness. They involve mutual risk. We disappoint one another. We misunderstand one another. We apologise, repair and try again. These imperfect processes are part of what makes human relationships morally meaningful.

AI often offers a form of responsiveness without the mutual resistance found in human relationships. It can always be available, endlessly polite, and easily reset. That convenience is attractive. But it may also train us to expect relationships without the hard work of relationship.

The concern is not that every interaction with AI is harmful. AI tools can help people find information, write better, learn faster and access services. Used carefully, AI can create more space for human care rather than replace it.

The danger comes when AI is used as a substitute for human presence in areas where recognition matters.

Inequality is also about who receives human attention

Customer service offers one example. As organisations automate front-line support, people are increasingly routed through chatbots before they can reach a human being. This may reduce costs. It may also improve speed for simple queries. But it can create a tiered system in which some customers receive human attention while others are left with automated interaction.

The labour implications are also becoming visible. Salesforce, one of the world’s largest providers of customer service and business software, has reported that AI agents now handle a growing share of customer interactions. The company has also reduced thousands of support roles in recent years, although it would be simplistic to attribute all of these changes solely to AI. This does not mean all customer service work will disappear. But it does show how quickly routine service work can be reorganised once AI becomes the default front line.

Something similar could happen in healthcare, education and social support. Where human professionals are scarce, AI counselling tools, tutoring systems and advice bots may appear to offer a practical solution. In some cases they may help. But they also risk normalising a situation in which those who are already underserved are increasingly spoken to by machines rather than people.

In a society that the World Bank describes as among the most unequal in the world, old differences in income, education, language, geography and institutional power could reappear in new digital forms.

The problem is not only whether machines give accurate or inaccurate answers. The deeper problem is that some people may be denied the kind of encounter through which dignity is affirmed. A person does not only need a response. A person often needs to be recognised by another person.

Building ubuntu into AI

What about efforts to build ubuntu-aligned AI?

Scholars have explored how ubuntu might inform AI design, ethics and governance.

There is value in designing AI systems that are more sensitive to African languages, local histories and communal values. There is value in involving communities in decisions about how AI is built and used. There is also value in ensuring that technology does not simply import the assumptions of powerful companies and distant markets.

But can ubuntu simply be programmed into a machine?

Ubuntu is not only a set of polite phrases or cultural preferences. It is a way of thinking about persons in a relationship. It depends on shared life, mutual vulnerability and accountability. A system can be designed to support these values, but current AI systems cannot live them in the way people do.

This distinction is important for policy and design.

AI systems should be presented clearly as tools, not companions. They should not blur the difference between simulated care and real care, especially when used by children, elderly people, patients or socially isolated users. In sensitive settings, AI should support human professionals rather than replace them.

It may help South Africa improve public services, widen access to knowledge and support overburdened institutions. But it may also deepen the distance between people if efficiency becomes the main measure of progress.

– Could AI create a new form of inequality in South Africa?
– https://theconversation.com/could-ai-create-a-new-form-of-inequality-in-south-africa-283725

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Kenyans living in towns are farmers too: what this means for rural landscapes

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Mwangi Chege, Lecturer, American University

More and more of Kenya’s farmlands are coming under the control of people who live and work in urban centres. Over the past two decades, the proportion they control has grown to nearly a third of Kenya’s total agricultural land.

This trend has also been recorded in Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. Urban residents acquire rural farmlands because they see land as an attractive investment. They think of farming as potentially rewarding because of rising food prices, liberalised agricultural markets and the growing demand for food in rapidly urbanising areas.

The rural, small-scale farmer has long been the focus of agricultural transformation efforts on the continent. But some researchers and policymakers regard urban residents engaged in farming from afar as more innovative and entrepreneurial – capable of advancing commercial agriculture. These urban residents have better access to financial capital as well as information on markets and commodities.

Other researchers have pointed out that the impacts of urban-based farmers are either ambiguous or negligible.

For my PhD in Geography I investigated whether and how Kenyan urban residents engaged in farming from afar were shaping the development of commercial agriculture in the country. I also looked into the relations that these urban residents have with the rural people and places where they are active.

I found that the increasing control of rural farmlands by urban residents is reshaping the agricultural profiles of rural areas. This happens through the decisions they make about what to grow on their farms. They also influence the livelihood opportunities that are available to rural residents as well as prevailing regimes of labour, expertise and food systems.

Their impact has also been felt through farming practices which prioritise profit over sound land stewardship. My research points to the need to pay closer attention to the impacts of these farmers on rural agricultural landscapes.

Focus on financial returns

A popular term for people who farm from afar in Kenya is “telephone farmers”. Sometimes they’re called “weekend farmers” or “briefcase farmers”. I use the term “translocal farmers”.

The concept of translocality draws attention to how this type of farmer straddles rural and urban settings.

Over 14 months, I interviewed 50 translocal farmers, their farm managers, and county agricultural officials. I focused on the counties of Nakuru and Narok in Kenya’s Rift Valley region. These two counties have highly productive rural farmlands which jointly contribute about 9% of Kenya’s total agricultural production.

These farmlands attract urban residents who are interested in commercial farming, partly because they are close to the cities of Nairobi and Nakuru, and because land is available.

With the permission of the translocal farmers, I visited the farms to observe and record the activities there, including interactions between labourers and managers. The visits also enabled me to verify information obtained from the interviews.

This research revealed that translocal farmers were shaping the agricultural landscape through their decisions on types of crops to plant.

Translocal farmers said they preferred crops that promised decent financial returns and did not require a lot of attention. They chose to cultivate tree crops such as avocados, or grass varieties which could be used as fodder or hay. Vegetable crops such as cabbage, tomatoes and potatoes, or cereals like wheat require regular applications of pesticides and fertilisers. But tree crops and grasses typically only require close attention during planting and harvesting.

That makes them less costly in terms of labour and agricultural inputs, as well as time spent in supervision of farm activities. Vegetables have shorter growth cycles than tree crops or grasses and so can provide faster financial returns, but that means farmers have to source buyers on a regular basis. And vegetables perish fast, which might compel farmers to sell their produce at low prices.

This trend of translocal farmers choosing to plant trees or crops that require less intensive care has also been seen in areas of Tanzania and Uganda where urban residents have expanded their control of rural agricultural land.

Viewed against the reality of increasing control of rural agricultural land by urban residents, these choices shape the agricultural profiles of rural spaces.

Translocal farmers and soil degradation

Farming from afar may also have negative impacts on soil conservation and land degradation because translocal farmers are often absent from their land.

Agricultural officials pointed out to me that translocal farmers were frequently unavailable when the county was undertaking land and soil conservation initiatives that required farmer participation.

In Narok especially, farmers largely gained access to rural agricultural land by leasing from local land owners. County agricultural officers pointed to the high turnover of translocal farmers who would farm for a period and then disappear at the end of the lease period or if their enterprise failed.

As a result, county agricultural officials often did not know who was farming where. Further, translocal farmers felt greater pressure to maximise the returns from their farming so as to recover the funds spent in obtaining access to the land.

Sometimes they would farm in ways that degraded the land – like ploughing along the length of a slope instead of across it to conserve tractor fuel, or neglecting terracing and cover-cropping. Those soil conservation measures would reduce the ground area available for planting crops.

Agricultural policy often takes it for granted that farmers live where they farm. This research has shown that the increasing control of rural agricultural land by urban residents demands greater attention from Kenya’s government. At the national level, policymakers must understand what changing agricultural profiles mean for food security and rural livelihoods. And local government officials need to put more effort into engaging with the people who farm in their respective counties, whether or not they reside there.

– Kenyans living in towns are farmers too: what this means for rural landscapes
– https://theconversation.com/kenyans-living-in-towns-are-farmers-too-what-this-means-for-rural-landscapes-281901

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Tshwane Metro warns of road closures ahead of march

Source: Government of South Africa

Tshwane Metro warns of road closures ahead of march

The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) has issued a public advisory warning motorists and residents of planned road closures and traffic disruptions during a march scheduled for Tuesday, 30 June 2026.

According to the metro police, the march is being organised by March & March and is aimed at protesting against illegal immigrants.

Participants are expected to gather at Church Square in Pretoria’s city centre from 10:00 before marching to Sunnyside Police Station.

The procession is expected to conclude at approximately 15:00.

The planned route will begin at Church Square before proceeding along Paul Kruger Street, Francis Baard Street, Lilian Ngoyi Street, Madiba Street, Nelson Mandela Drive, Kotze Street, Van Boeschoten Avenue, Robert Sobukwe Street and Leyds Street, ending at Sunnyside Police Station.

The TMPD has advised motorists to avoid the affected areas and make use of alternative routes, including Nana Sita Street, Visagie Street, Justice Mahomed Street, Jeff Masemola Street, Bosman Street, Johannes Ramokhoase Street, Struben Street, Bloed Street, Kgosi Mampuru Street and Eskia Mphahlele Drive.

Authorities also announced that no private vehicles will be permitted at the gathering point at Church Square.

A designated drop-off zone for buses will be located at the corner of WF Nkomo and Bosman streets, after which buses will proceed to the Old Putco Depot in Marabastad for parking.

Private vehicles will be directed to an open parking area at the corner of Kgosi Mampuru and Madiba streets.

The TMPD said officers, together with members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), will be deployed throughout the march to monitor the event and manage traffic along the affected routes.

Residents and commuters are encouraged to plan their journeys in advance and expect delays in and around Pretoria’s central business district during the march. – SAnews.gov.za
 

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A healthy environment for a prosperous South Africa

Source: Government of South Africa

A healthy environment for a prosperous South Africa

By Narend Singh

South Africans often face a false choice, that we must either protect the environment or grow the economy. Our future depends on doing both.

The health of our rivers, wetlands, oceans, forests and protected areas is not separate from the wellbeing of our people. These natural systems provide water, support agriculture, sustain tourism, create jobs and protect communities from the growing impacts of climate change. When they are degraded, the consequences are felt not only by conservationists, but by ordinary citizens through water shortages, lost livelihoods, rising food insecurity and increased vulnerability to floods, droughts and extreme weather events.

This is why environmental protection cannot be viewed as a luxury or an afterthought. It is a fundamental investment in South Africa’s economic future and social wellbeing.

As government, we recognise that many of our conservation institutions face serious challenges. Years of financial pressure, ageing infrastructure, vacancies and rising operational costs have placed enormous strain on conservation authorities across the country. Rangers and environmental officials often work under difficult circumstances, confronting organised wildlife crime, illegal activities and the growing impacts of climate change.

These realities demand honesty and decisive action, hence, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has initiated a focused assessment of protected areas to identify weaknesses, strengthen governance and improve conservation management. We cannot afford complacency when it comes to safeguarding South Africa’s natural heritage.

At the same time, conservation in a democratic South Africa must be about people as much as it is about nature.

Communities living alongside protected areas must see tangible benefits from conservation efforts. Environmental protection must create opportunities, support livelihoods and contribute to local development. This is why government continues to expand benefit sharing initiatives, support previously disadvantaged businesses in the biodiversity economy and strengthen partnerships that ensure communities participate meaningfully in conservation outcomes.

The biodiversity economy represents one of South Africa’s most significant untapped opportunities. Through targeted interventions and the implementation of the revised Biodiversity Economy Strategy, we aim to unlock hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next decade. These opportunities are particularly important for young people, women, rural communities and persons with disabilities who are often excluded from mainstream economic activity.

Environmental programmes already demonstrate what is possible when ecological restoration and job creation work hand in hand. Programmes such as Working for Water, Working for Wetlands, Working on Fire and Working for Coast continue to create employment while protecting critical natural resources.

These initiatives show that environmental investment is not a cost to society; it is an investment that delivers social, economic and ecological returns and climate change further reinforces the urgency of this approach.

South Africa is already experiencing the effects of a warming planet through more frequent droughts, devastating floods, increased wildfire risks and pressure on water resources. Climate change is not a distant threat. It is a present reality affecting communities, businesses and municipalities across the country.

The implementation of the Climate Change Act marks a significant step forward in strengthening South Africa’s response to both mitigation and adaptation. Building resilience requires investment in ecological infrastructure, improved planning and access to climate finance that enables developing countries to respond effectively to a crisis they did little to create.

Climate finance should never be viewed as charity. It is an instrument of global justice and shared responsibility. Developing countries must have the resources necessary to pursue sustainable development while adapting to the impacts of climate change.

Equally important is ensuring that environmental laws are enforced fairly and consistently. Communities have a right to clean air, safe water and healthy ecosystems. Municipalities, institutions and companies that fail to comply with environmental legislation must be held accountable. Environmental degradation cannot become normalised simply because it occurs gradually or because those responsible possess significant resources.

South Africa has made meaningful progress in strengthening environmental enforcement through improved training, intelligence led operations and closer collaboration between government agencies. However, continued vigilance will be required as environmental crimes become increasingly sophisticated and transnational in nature.

Ultimately, budgets alone do not solve problems, they are translated into measurable outcomes, stronger institutions, greater public trust and meaningful improvements in people’s lives.

The choices we make today will shape the South Africa inherited by future generations. Protecting biodiversity, restoring ecosystems, combating climate change and creating sustainable livelihoods are not separate objectives. They are interconnected pillars of a prosperous, resilient and inclusive society.

Our environment is not a barrier to development. It is one of our greatest national assets. If we protect it wisely, it will continue to sustain our economy, strengthen our communities and secure our future for generations to come.

*Singh is the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

 

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Reimaging our relationship with the Ocean from Source to Sea

Source: Government of South Africa

Reimaging our relationship with the Ocean from Source to Sea

By Narend Singh

Each year, World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to reflect on humanity’s relationship with the sea. This year, the theme, “Reimagine: Beyond the world we know, a new relationship with our ocean”, challenges us to think differently about the future we wish to create.

For South Africa, a nation blessed with more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline and an ocean economy that supports livelihoods, trade, tourism and food security, this challenge could not be more urgent.

The ocean is often viewed as something distant from our daily lives a vast expanse beyond our cities and communities. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The ocean produces much of the oxygen we breathe, regulates our climate, supports biodiversity and sustains millions of livelihoods. Every South African is connected to the ocean, whether they live on the coast or hundreds of kilometres inland.

Reimagining our relationship with the ocean begins by recognising a simple but profound truth, what happens upstream ultimately affects what happens downstream.

The health of our oceans is determined long before rivers reach the coast. The decisions we make in our homes, businesses, municipalities and industries shape the quality of our rivers, estuaries and coastal waters. Pollution entering a river in the interior does not disappear. It travels through catchments and estuaries before eventually reaching the sea.

This Source to Sea perspective is central to South Africa’s environmental governance framework. It recognises that protecting our oceans requires protecting the entire ecological system that feeds into them.

One of the clearest examples of this interconnectedness is plastic pollution.

For too long, plastic pollution has been viewed solely as a waste management issue, while effective waste collection and recycling remain essential, the challenge extends far beyond litter. Plastic pollution affects ecosystems, biodiversity, human health, tourism, fisheries and economic productivity. It undermines the resilience of communities and threatens the natural systems upon which we depend.

Recent scientific studies undertaken in South Africa continue to deepen our understanding of how microplastics and other pollutants move through our river systems and into our oceans. The evidence is increasingly translucent plastic pollution is not a single sector problem and cannot be solved through isolated interventions. It demands coordinated action across government, industry, academia, civil society and communities, and this is why partnerships matter.

Addressing complex environmental challenges requires all spheres of government and all sectors of society to work together. It requires evidence-based policymaking, investment in scientific research, and collaboration that transcends institutional boundaries. When researchers, municipalities, state owned entities, environmental organisations and communities unite around a common purpose, meaningful progress becomes possible.

South Africa is also contributing to international efforts to confront plastic pollution. As negotiations continue towards a legally binding global agreement on plastic pollution, countries around the world are recognising that this challenge knows no borders. Pollution released into one ecosystem can affect another thousands of kilometres away. 

Collective action is therefore not simply desirable, it is essential.
As we commemorate World Oceans Day during Youth Month, we must also recognise the opportunities that a healthier ocean can create for future generations.

The transition to a greener and more sustainable economy offers significant prospects for young South Africans. Environmental restoration, recycling, waste management, marine science, conservation, maritime industries, and broader ocean-based economic activities all hold the potential to create jobs, stimulate entrepreneurship and foster innovation.

Our young people are not merely beneficiaries of environmental protection; they are its future leaders. By investing in environmental skills, research, technology and sustainable industries, we can equip a new generation to participate meaningfully in the blue economy while safeguarding our natural heritage.

Ultimately, reimagining our relationship with the ocean requires more than policy change. It requires a shift in mindset.

We must move away from seeing nature as separate from ourselves and instead recognise our deep interdependence with the ecosystems that sustain life. We must rethink how we produce, consume and dispose of resources. We must strengthen cooperation between institutions and communities. And we must acknowledge that every action taken upstream has consequences downstream.

The renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle once observed; “With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea.”

World Oceans Day reminds us that this connection carries both responsibility and opportunity.

If we are prepared to reimagine our relationship with the ocean, we can build a future where rivers flow free from pollution, where coastal ecosystems are resilient, where sustainable development creates opportunities for our youth, and where our oceans continue to sustain life and prosperity for generations to come.

The future of our ocean begins with the choices we make today.

*Singh is the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment

 

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Lagos Governor Commissions the Arridex Omnifactory, West Africa’s First Multi-Technology Industrial Additive Manufacturing Facility

Source: APO

Arridex (https://Arridex.com) has formally commissioned its Omnifactory, West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility, at a ceremony in Lagos commissioned by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, and attended by senior government officials, industry leaders, and members of the diplomatic corps and investment delegation attending the Invest Lagos 3.0 forum.

The Invest Lagos delegation included participants from the forum’s panel session on The Future of Technology and Innovation, at which Kayode Adeleke, Group Chief Executive Officer of Arridex, spoke to the role of technology and innovation in the industrialisation of Africa, drawing directly on Arridex’s operational experience across oil and gas, maritime, aerospace, defence, construction, and manufacturing.

The Arridex Omnifactory integrates multiple additive manufacturing technologies under a single roof, including Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Cold Spray, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), enabling on-demand production of industrial components, spares, and improved part designs for critical industries. Its large-format capabilities extend to full-size marine components and other large-scale industrial structures.

The Omnifactory’s commissioning is the point at which two decades of accumulated capability become infrastructure. Arridex began operations in 2005 as an asset integrity practice in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and grew sector by sector into maritime, defence, construction, technology, and aerospace. The organisation has recorded zero lost-time incidents across more than seven million man hours of operations.

For Nigeria and West Africa, the Arridex Omnifactory addresses a structural dependency that has long affected operational continuity across critical industries. Asset owners managing ageing infrastructure have routinely contended with extended procurement lead times, supply chains spanning multiple jurisdictions, and the increasing obsolescence of legacy parts whose original manufacturers may no longer exist. The Omnifactory manufactures those components on demand in Lagos.

Arridex holds Pioneer Status in additive manufacturing, granted by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), it is the first company qualified by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for additive manufacturing deployment in the oil and gas sector, and has a joint venture partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) for the local production of military-grade additive manufactured components, a set of recognitions that collectively signal the institutional grounding of what the Omnifactory represents.

Arridex is also the first African member of the Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA), and a Designated Strategic Partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), with Kayode Adeleke serving on the CWEIC Global Advisory Council.

Today, I opened West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility in Lagos. By producing industrial components and spare parts here in Lagos, Arridex is helping to reduce our dependence on imports, strengthening critical industries and supporting economic growth. I commend the Arridex team for their vision and commitment to building solutions that serve not only Nigeria but the wider African continent. Lagos will continue to support investments that create opportunities, grow local capacity and position our state as a hub for innovation and industry. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State

“We did not set out to build the biggest company, but a resilient one. For over two decades, we have chosen the harder path, and that is to make in Africa what others import, to meet global standards without exception, and to put purpose before profit. The Arridex Omnifactory is where that conviction becomes infrastructure. The name on the door is new, but the work behind it is not. We are not stopping here. By the first quarter of 2027, we will commission the Arridex Mega Omnifactory, which will stand among the largest single-site industrial additive manufacturing facilities in the world. The next chapter of global manufacturing can be written from Lagos. We are building it.” Kayode Adeleke, Group Chief Executive Officer, Arridex

With the Omnifactory now commissioned, Arridex advances into its next phase: a group whose capabilities, infrastructure, and ambition are pointed in the same direction.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Arridex.

NOTES TO EDITORS: 
1. Arridex is the company previously known as RusselSmith Group. The new identity is effective from 19 May 2026.
2. The Arridex Omnifactory commissioning ceremony took place in Lagos in June 2026.
3. Kayode Adeleke, Group Chief Executive Officer of Arridex, is available for interview. Requests should be directed to Mediacraft.
4. Arridex holds Pioneer Status in additive manufacturing, granted by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and is the first company qualified by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for additive manufacturing deployment in the oil and gas sector.
5. High-resolution logo assets and approved facility photography are available from Mediacraft on request.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: 
All media enquiries should be directed to Mediacraft Associates.
Amina Omoike
08033954069
amina.o@mediacraft.ng

ABOUT ARRIDEX: 
Arridex is an African industrial technology group with over twenty years of continuous operational delivery across oil and gas, maritime, aerospace, defence, construction, and manufacturing. Through the Arridex Omnifactory, West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility, Arridex produces on-demand industrial components, spares, and improved part designs for critical industries. Through its subsidiaries, the company designs and manufactures autonomous systems, delivers engineering and construction projects, and builds advanced technology products. Arridex is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.

Website: https://Arridex.com

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National Science Month to showcase SA’s scientific capabilities

Source: Government of South Africa

National Science Month to showcase SA’s scientific capabilities

South Africa’s science and technology capabilities will be on display this month when the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) launches National Science Month on Saturday.

The inaugural event represents a major transition from the traditional National Science Week, which has run since 2000.

The theme for the historic month is: “Science, Technology and Innovation Are for Everyone” and is aimed at deeply entrenching scientific literacy into everyday society.

“The transition to National Science Month is therefore more than an expansion of National Science Week. It is an opportunity to deepen public appreciation of science, technology and innovation by demonstrating how science helps us understand the natural and social world, create and apply new technological and social innovations, solve pressing real-world problems, and build the capacity of the State and economic actors to better serve the needs of our people,” Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Professor Blade Nzimande told a media briefing on Monday.

The formal launch of National Science Month is pencilled in for this Saturday at the Vaal University of Technology in Sebokeng and will kick off the month-long programme of “meaningful public engagement with science”.

The event on Saturday will feature an expansive exhibition boasting 132 stands with more than 100 exhibitors including major national entities like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as well as universities.

“National Science Month targets every sector of society, including learners, educators, students, scientists, researchers, innovators, industry players, indigenous knowledge holders, science interpreters, journalists, STEM professionals, government departments, research institutions, knowledge intermediary institutions, think tanks, tourists and the general public. 

“During July, over 31 days and across various provinces, these target groups, participating institutions, and partners will take part in an exciting range of interactive activities curated around 14 thematic areas,” Nzimande said.

These thematic areas include:

  • Technology and innovation;
  • Science in human health;
  • Environmental conservation and management;
  • Science in service delivery, and
  • Science in education and others.

Scientific success

The Minister noted that beyond public awareness, the National Science Month serves as a powerful platform to reaffirm national pride by spotlighting the country’s formidable scientific achievements.

These achievements include:

  • South Africa is cohost of the Square Kilometre Array, the world’s largest radio astronomy project, as well as another major scientific project, the Southern African Large Telescope
  • The country built the Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure at Steve Biko Academic Hospital which advances drug development and clinical research, and provides cutting-edge diagnostics and treatment for cancer, tuberculosis, and other major diseases
  • Biovac received approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to begin clinical trials of its oral cholera vaccine

“Historically, and still to a considerable extent today, South Africa possess one of the largest and most advanced public science systems on the African continent.

“But we must ensure funding and social participation in the development does not lag behind the pressing needs of the present and future,” Nzimande emphasised.

National Science Month is an opportunity to demonstrate how science to contribute to resolving every day challenges.

“It is also about using South Africa’s science, technology, and innovation capabilities to develop evidence-based solutions to everyday challenges such as unemployment, poverty, education, health care, water provision, energy security, crime, violence, and migration.

“We therefore wish to use this historic announcement to make a strong call to every citizen and every family, in every town and village to please find out which institution in your province will be participating in National Science Month activities and get involved,” Nzimande concluded. – SAnews.gov.za

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Operation Shanela II nets 15 000 suspects for various offences

Source: Government of South Africa

Operation Shanela II nets 15 000 suspects for various offences

The South African Police Service (SAPS) arrested 15 384 suspects for various offences during nationwide Operation Shanela II operations conducted last week.  

The suspects, arrested between 22 and 28 June 2026, are facing charges including murder, attempted murder, rape, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and drug trafficking.

Among those arrested were 2 884 foreign nationals of different nationalities, apprehended in various parts of the country for contravening the Immigration Act. 

“South Africans can rest assured that law enforcement agencies are fully prepared to safeguard the country, protect lives and property, and maintain law and order,” the SAPS said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, police have reiterated their commitment to protecting citizens’ constitutional right to protest ahead of demonstrations taking place across the country on Tuesday against illegal migration.

“The SAPS’ role is to maintain public order, protect lives and property, and act decisively against any criminality that threatens public safety,” the Acting National Commissioner, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, said.

Protesters have been urged to demonstrate peacefully while ensuring the safety and security of all South Africans. – SAnews.gov.za

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IMC visits Beitbridge border post

Source: Government of South Africa

IMC visits Beitbridge border post

Ahead of planned repatriation operations, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Migration on Monday conducted a site inspection at the Beitbridge border post in Limpopo. 

The IMC is chaired by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi.

“The inspection forms part of government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen border management and enhance migration governance,” the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development said in a post on social media platform, X.

The department said Kubayi was accompanied by Deputy Minister Andries Nel; the Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi; Minister of Public Works, Dean Macpherson; Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia and the Deputy Minister of Police, Polly Boshielo.

The department said the delegation is assessing the operational readiness of the temporary processing centre ahead of planned repatriation operations. 

Last week, the Commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Michael Masiapato, said the BMA continues to facilitate the lawful and orderly repatriation of foreign nationals through the Beitbridge port of entry, with over 8 000 persons having been processed at the time.

READ | More than 8 000 foreign nationals processed at Beitbridge

At a media briefing on Friday, Kubayi said government is making “substantial progress” in the deportation and repatriation of undocumented foreign nationals in South Africa, reflecting the five-point comprehensive approach for managing migration through lawful, coordinated, and constitutionally sound mechanisms.

This as government has ramped up its work to clamp down on illegal immigration through the Comprehensive Approach for Migration Management announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this month.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to exercise their constitutional right to protest peacefully and responsibly, while warning that acts of violence, intimidation and vigilantism have no place in the country’s constitutional democracy. 

In his weekly newsletter on Monday, ahead of planned demonstrations against undocumented immigration on Tuesday, the President acknowledged that South Africans have raised legitimate concerns about illegal immigration, border management, pressure on public services and criminal syndicates that exploit the country’s immigration system. –SAnews.gov.za

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Nzimande sets stage for South Africa’s inaugural National Science Month

Source: Government of South Africa

Nzimande sets stage for South Africa’s inaugural National Science Month

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande, is this afternoon hosting the pre-launch of the inaugural edition of National Science Month (NSM).

Monday’s briefing at the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) offices in Pretoria comes ahead of the launch of the inaugural edition, which will be held at the Vaal University of Technology Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park in Sebokeng on Saturday, 4 July.

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation said National Science Month is South Africa’s first month-long science engagement event of its kind and marks an important milestone in advancing public engagement with science, technology and innovation (ST&I).

“National Science Month represents a significant expansion of National Science Week, one of the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation’s flagship science engagement initiatives, which has been implemented since 2000.”

Like National Science Week, National Science Month forms part of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s (DSTI) Science Engagement Strategy.

The strategy seeks to build a science-aware and science-literate society in which citizens can form independent opinions on ST&I issues and have confidence in science, scientists and science institutions.

In contrast to National Science Week — in which grant-funded activities were carried out by the DSTI funded organisers — National Science Month is a nationwide science observance during which all sectors of society are encouraged to use any means available to demonstrate their connection to science, technology, and innovation.

“National Science Month provides an opportunity for all sectors across society to mobilise and organise their own theme-related initiatives.

“These activities will demonstrate the value and impact of science in society while significantly scaling up the promotion of careers in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and innovation among learners and students,” said the ministry.

National Science Month is aimed at encouraging all South Africans to recognise the role of science, technology and innovation in everyday life. This includes learners, educators, students, scientists and researchers and indigenous knowledge-holders among others.

The launch programme later this week will include media engagements, an exhibition tour by dignitaries, the formal launch ceremony and a public science exhibition featuring 132 exhibition stands from 105 organisations representing universities, science councils, government institutions, the private sector, innovation organisations, science centres and civil society.

Fifteen universities, together with all DSTI entities, have confirmed their participation in the exhibition including Vaal University, the University of Johannesburg and Stellenbosch University among others. –SAnews.gov.za

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