The North-West University’s (NWU’s) principal and vice-chancellor, Prof Bismark Tyobeka, has been reappointed as a member of the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction for a period of five years from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2030.

This announcement was made by Mr Mpho Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, on 31 March 2025.

There is a small brick building on Watauga Club Drive here in Raleigh, North Carolina. There is something different about it, something that distinguishes it from the other academic structures on the campus of the North Carolina State University (NCSU). It is old, very old. Primrose Hall was originally opened in 1896 and now houses the Office of Global Engagement.

Uncertainty springs eternal in the South African political landscape, or so it would seem. The Government of National Unity (GNU) has yet to find its feet, and cohesion has not been one of its hallmarks.

According to Professor Kedibone Phago, Director of the School for Government Studies at the North-West University (NWU), there is much to be done if the country is to be defined by its successes rather than its failures.

The state of SOEs: A broken backbone

South Africa is at a breaking point. The political landscape is shifting, economic pressures are mounting, and trust in government is waning. Dr Sysman Motloung, a political analyst and academic at North-West University (NWU), has spent years studying the nation’s fractures: how power is won, wielded, and too often squandered. His research spans electoral behaviour, constitutionalism, and the politics of water, an issue he argues is central to the country’s long-term stability.

The fourth quarter (4Q) gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures that were released on 4 March are positive, but the mild recovery in the GDP in the 4Q of 2024 again confirms that the Government of National Unity (GNU) is right to have set much higher inclusive growth and stronger job creation as South Africa’s key overarching economic priorities.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s wide-ranging State of the Nation Address (SONA) agenda that confirms the tangible commitment of the Government of National Unity (GNU) to faster and higher job-rich growth is positive.

In commenting on the SONA, which was delivered on 7 February, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist of the NWU Business School, says the South African economy is indeed eventually capable of even much higher economic growth than 3% if the right choices are made.

Although it is still painful for business and consumers, the decision by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to allow a much lower increase of 12,7% in Eskom tariffs, instead of the 36% previously sought by Eskom, is a significant outcome.

Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the North-West University (NWU) Business School, says Nersa has acknowledged the critical inputs it received last year from extensive public hearings on Eskom’s original massive application and its potential socio-economic impact.

The better news on the inflation front is gradually being translated into lower interest rates, thus modestly easing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. At its latest meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) again – by a four to two vote – cut interest rates by another 25 basis points (bps).

In commenting on the latest decision by the MPC to once more reduce the repo rate by 25 bps, Prof Raymond Parsons, economist from the NWU Business School, says it was widely expected.

He is back and South Africa’s economic welfare – like that of most other global economies – is not on his list of priorities. On Monday, 20 January, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States of America (USA) and wasted no time in making the same waves that were hallmarks of his first presidency.

He signed orders to remove the USA from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris climate agreement. Trump has never shied away from his rhetoric of America first, second and third.

On Thursday, 28 November the North-West University (NWU) conferred an honorary doctorate on the renowned economist Prof Raymond Parsons.

The honorary doctorate was awarded in recognition of the exceptional contribution Prof Parsons has made to the country throughout his distinguished career as an organised business leader, academic, media personality, economic commentator and author. Among his many achievements is the groundbreaking work he has done on the development and refinement of the NWU Policy Uncertainty Index, the first of its kind in South Africa.