News
SA state losing monopoly on force
5+ hour, 22+ min ago (321+ words) A state that loses control for one week and restores it is in crisis. A state that loses control repeatedly, in predictable and escalating ways, over five years, has a structural problem; the evidence points to the second. Consider who…...
Beyond bailouts: rethinking Denel and SA's defence future
2+ day, 52+ min ago (891+ words) South Africa needs a far more inclusive conversation about the future of its defence industry and the sovereign capabilities required to protect the country's national interests. For too long, the debate around Denel has centred on turnaround plans, recapitalisation proposals…...
Tobacco Bill progresses, but Parliament has more work to do
2+ day, 5+ hour ago (560+ words) The Portfolio Committee on Health on Wednesday adopted a motion of desirability on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. This procedural green light allows the committee to move into detailed, clause-by-clause deliberation. That work now matters enormously....
Who really pays for a boycott?
2+ day, 5+ hour ago (912+ words) South Africa is a constitutional democracy founded on rights, freedoms and the rule of law. Among the most important of these rights is the right to protest. It is a freedom earned through decades of struggle and sacrifice, and one…...
We keep having the wrong argument about safety in South Africa
1+ week, 2+ day ago (1125+ words) South Africans have spent years arguing about farm attacks. One side sees them as a national crisis demanding urgent intervention. The other argues that they are too often presented as evidence of a unique victimhood that obscures broader patterns of…...
Child Grants Should Be Scrapped Entirely
1+ week, 5+ day ago (625+ words) In April 2023, I penned an article published right here on The Daily Friend titled "It's High Time Taxpayers Protested About the Child Grant Programme." My argument then was that the programme should be capped to limit its growing burden on…...
US and Iran reach a deal, Cape Town port ranked world's worst, activist group demands constitutional reform
2+ week, 1+ hour ago (95+ words) Iran and US agree to halt conflict and reopen Strait of Hormuz Foreigners last, NGOs " and nuclear energy " on a leash, demands activist group Cape Town ranked world's worst port as Durban improves Government increases support for SA firms facing…...
South Africa cannot defend a constitutional mandate with an unfunded military
2+ week, 3+ hour ago (1006+ words) South Africa has reached a point where the public conversation about defence must become honest and more transparent. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is still expected to fulfil its constitutional mandate to defend the Republic, protect its territorial…...
Lenacapavir: SA's biggest breakthrough in years in fight against HIV infection
2+ week, 1+ day ago (676+ words) President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the roll-out of a new HIV preventative medicine at the Lillian Ngoyi stadium in Mpumalanga earlier this month that stands to set the country on track to reducing new HIV infections to less than 0. 1% by 2032 and…...
News Focus: Ramaphosa, BEE and SA mining's collapse
2+ week, 2+ day ago (445+ words) Mining was once the mainstay of the South African economy, but has declined steadily under the burden of excessive regulation introduced by succeeding ANC administrations, and especially race-based ownership rules perpetuated by the government's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regime. This…...