Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection

ABSTRACTThe Just Energy Transition (JET) in South Africa is underway, and the country has plans to make the transition a reality. South Africa planned to decommission nine coal power plants by 2035 in an effort to transition its economy away from fossil fuels; however, the ongoing energy shortages and policy incoherence in the country threaten to delay these plans. Coal regions are vulnerable to job losses as the power plants are shut down. The energy transition is faced with a number of competing priorities, which include addressing socio‐economic challenges and economic development. This paper reviews Komati decommissioning, one of the first coal power plants to shut down in South Africa as part of the JET. The paper makes critical proposals for the effective implementation of the just energy transition at Komati power station as a learning curve for the next power plants facing earliest decommissioning. The paper underscores the need for integrated energy planning that looks beyond energy supply and demand, but one that seamlessly phasesout fossil fuels and phases in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and the phase‐in socioeconomic development that is responsive in time and geographic location. Based on an advanced review of South Africa's research and planning for a new energy economy, two urgent needs are identified, and these are (i) the need for systematic research for low‐cost programs in energy efficiency, and (ii) systematic research on the timing and location of the emerging opportunities.

When South Africa originally joined BRICS, it had no palpable strategy towards this new-fangled constellation; it initially responded to the BRICS invitation as a boost to its international ‘prestige’. As time went on, we saw a bit by bit, almost frantic search for a strategy. As it unfolded South Africa started to stress domestic, regional and international rationales which underscored its BRICS participation. It highlighted the potential for massive economic spin-off to be had from BRICS that could boost its ailing economy at home. It further viewed BRICS as a boost to its African leadership aspirations. BRIC members singled out South Africa as a ‘gateway’ to Africa that could help to secure access to the African market during a time of ‘Africa rising’. From the perspectives of geoeconomic, geopolitical and geostrategic calculations, South Africa developed rather bold and ambitious goals vis-a-vis BRICS, viewing BRICS as both a countervailing force in a western-dominated world order, and even regarded BRICS as a potential alternative to the capitalist order that was dominated by the western powers.

ABSTRACTThe global rollout of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV is one of the largest public health interventions ever undertaken. As the rollout expands, a growing body of research has focused on adherence to ART: how is it measured, what are the flaws of these metrics, and how may these be improved? We provide an overview of current, critical developments in adherence research among adolescents, and of how research on adherence to ART among adolescents within hyper-epidemic contexts has challenged definitions and measurements of adherence. We then explore the development of adherence metrics within an interdisciplinary study about HIV-positive adolescents: the Mzantsi Wakho study. Tracing the conceptualisation and adaptation of adherence metrics within this study, we examine how qualitative and quantitative approaches may be combined to establish more comprehensive adherence metrics. Findings highlight the challenges and the imperatives of synthesising numerous methods, data points, and temporalities. They also point to the need for researchers to establish direct and continued participation by adolescents themselves to better conceptualise and measure adherence, as well as other health behaviours.

This paper analyses the question why the South African government intends to procure nuclear energy technology, despite affordable and accessible fossil and renewable energy alternatives. We analyse the social shaping of nuclear energy technology based on the statements of political actors in the public media. We combine a discourse network analysis with qualitative analysis to establish the coalitions in support and opposition of the programme. The central arguments in the debate are cost, safety, job creation, the appropriateness of nuclear energy, emissions reductions, transparency, risks for corruption, and geopolitical influences. The analysis concludes that the nuclear programme is not primarily about generating electricity, as it creates tangible benefits for the coalition of supporters.