More than 100 000 people in South Africa have turned to the waste-picking sector as a source of employment. This is according to Nonhlanhla Ngcobo, a PhD student and a researcher at the South African Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability in the Faculty of Law at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus.

“The slow economic growth rate in South Africa does not bring hope to the 31% of people currently unemployed, especially those with very low levels of education and skills,” she says.

One of the most challenging anxieties of the 21st century is safeguarding food security for the world’s exponential growing population, as stipulated by goal 2 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to projections, the global food demand is expected to rise between 60 to 98% by 2050, with a population of more than 9 billion.

South Africa’s freshwater sources are under pressure from various kinds of contaminants, and North-West University (NWU) researchers are searching for ways to keep track of some of the more elusive pollutants.

Prof Rialet Pieters, a researcher in the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, is an ecotoxicologist whose interests lie in organic chemical pollutants and their harmful effects on humans and wildlife.

“Against the background of difficult global and domestic economic circumstances Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana generally delivered a realistic and credible fiscal message in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) today.”

In commenting on the MTBPS, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the Business School of the North-West University (NWU), says South Africa’s public finances have now been put on a much more sustainable basis.

He points out that both expenditure and revenue are good-news stories that help to build economic resilience.

By Ontiretse Motingwa and Nolwazi Xulu

Prof Howard Chtimira, a professor of securities and financial markets law at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Law, delivered his inaugural lecture on 21 October 2022 at the Mahikeng Campus.

Titled “A legal conspectus of selected challenges affecting financial inclusion for the poor and low-income earners in South Africa”, the lecture advocated for better financial inclusion strategies in South Africa.

Like load-shedding, fuel price hikes in South Africa are so frequent that we have become desensitised to them. When a hike is announced, we hear of it and go about our daily lives. However, increases in fuel prices have an impact on more than just the ultimate delivery costs of products. Transport plays a crucial role in the supply chain. The concept of supply chain management refers to the comprehensive process of sourcing and transforming raw materials into a usable final product for retail sale.

Parasites may be viewed by many as pesky organisms,but understanding them and their impact on ecological systems is crucial in nature studies. The researchers and students at the North-West University (NWU) excel as experts in this field.

The NWU made history during the recent International Congress of Parasites of Wildlife by not only winning all the medals for postgraduates but also receiving the most coveted award for a researcher.

He is revered as one of the greatest human rights champions and spiritual leaders of all time. Mahatma Gandhi, who advocated non-violent resistance and influenced civil disobedience protests for generations after him, is an international icon with a special connection to Potchefstroom and indirectly to the North-West University (NWU).

This connection is a special collection of hand-written legal documents by Gandhi himself and owned by the NWU. These are on display at an exhibition by the NWU Library Services and shed light on Gandhi’s time as an attorney in Johannesburg.

North-West University (NWU) alumnus Keorapetse Mashimo has been selected as one of the 100 South African Shining Stars  by Inside Education for his contribution to sport in his community.

This was announced during a function hosted by Inside Education and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) on 20 October in Johannesburg. 

This annual event recognises young individuals – nominated by their peers and organisations – for giving their time and talent to make their communities, and also country, a better place to life.

NWU academics visit Utrecht University to explore integrating more digital humanities methods
The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Humanities management recently visited the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH) at Utrecht University, Amsterdam.

The main aim was to explore the possibility of integrating more digital humanities methods within several education tracks at the NWU.