AGOA curtain falls, but the South African trade story continues

Although the widely anticipated removal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) preferences for South Africa by the US on 1 January 2027 will have a minimal impact on the domestic economy as a whole, specific sectors like agriculture and the motor industry will inevitably be negatively affected. 

Who pays for South Africa’s AGOA standoff?

Governments can keep talking. Businesses cannot keep waiting. An AGOA agreement may come too late to protect some jobs and investments.

Losing AGOA would not close the American market, but particular exporters and workers could face substantial losses.

…

Seeing is no longer believing: AI and the ethics of deception

I attended a graduation session where students refused to come on stage when the photographer experienced a technical problem with his camera. We live in an era where photographic evidence is required to prove that something happened. However, it may merely be evidence that someone knows how to use an artificial…

South Africa has built the pathways to work. But where do they lead?

South Africa is helping young people become ready for work. But what happens when the economy has no work to offer them?

A year of workplace experience can change a young person’s life. Returning to unemployment can expose the limits of that promise.

An…

Prof. Bismark Tyobeka reappointed to help steer South Africa’s university funding priorities

A university’s ambitions can stretch far beyond its gates. Its finances determine how far those ambitions travel.

For South Africa’s public universities, the challenge is to open their doors to students, support them through their studies and produce research that serves the country.…

Dr Anna Mokgokong champions agriculture-led rural transformation

The chancellor of the North-West University (NWU) and professor of practice at the NWU Business School, Dr Anna Mokgokong, called for science, enterprise and partnership to convert rural potential into shared prosperity.

At an agriculture gathering outside Brits on 26 October 2026, Dr…

NWU honours Tim Modise for giving South Africa a voice through broadcasting

A career that began behind a microphone in Mahikeng more than four decades ago came full circle on Thursday, 22 October 2026, when North-West University (NWU) conferred an honorary doctorate in Communication Science on veteran broadcaster Tim Modise.

The university honoured Modise at…

Grapefruit waste shown to help purify polluted water

What if the peel from a grapefruit could help clean polluted water? Research by the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Dr Murendeni Ravele shows that this common fruit waste could offer a cheaper, greener alternative to conventional methods for removing harmful substances from wastewater.

Medium-Term Budget builds confidence amid economic headwinds

Prof. Raymond Parsons

The 2026 Medium-Term Budget is a realistic, positive and credible approach to a still challenging economic and fiscal situation given the changed global and domestic economic circumstances since the beginning of 2026.

Beyond the mine gate: A call to build Rustenburg's next chapter together

What if the establishment of an NWU School of Mines and Mining Engineering in Rustenburg became the beginning of something much larger?

What if it opened the door to broader access to university education, stronger healthcare training, executive development, thriving local enterprises…