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Articles by Fatima Mphahlele
Putin courts African markets as trade stakes rise at summit
Moscow is betting diplomatic capital on commercial returns this week, as more than 20 African leaders gather in the Russian capital for a two-day summit, the third such gathering since 2019. A total of 48 African countries have sent delegations, including 22 heads of state, and President Vladimir Putin has planned one-on-one meetings with most of them, an investment in securing markets and partners at a moment when sanctions over the war in Ukraine are weighing on the Russian economy.
Years overseas? Sars may still see you as a tax resident
For many South Africans who have spent years abroad, the assumption is that distance settles everything: the new country is home, the salary is earned and taxed there, and the old tax affairs have quietly closed behind them. A growing number of expatriates are discovering otherwise.
Trust, Not Just Technology, Will Win Over Africa's Digital Skeptics
Tahiry Rakotoheriniaina put the trust problem plainly at a panel in Yaoundé this October. Simply moving government services online, the International Telecommunication Union’s Regional Representative for Central Africa and Madagascar argued, is not enough. People will only abandon traditional offices if they have confidence in digital platforms, algorithms, and the way their data is handled.
Why Cashflow Lending Matters for South African Small Firms
Small businesses are the backbone of everyday economic life in South Africa, and for years the people who run them have faced the same wall when they approach a bank for funding. The complaint is familiar: lenders pay lip service to supporting entrepreneurs, and loan applications are rejected because the business lacks collateral. That rejection reaches well beyond the individual owner.
Wife of UK security adviser cleared over Palestine Action post
Sarah Helm learned on Saturday that she will not face a criminal investigation over a social media post that appeared to endorse Palestine Action, the group the UK has proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation. Helm, an author and journalist married to National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, had faced a day of uncertainty after the Metropolitan Police said the post was “being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required.” That assessment is now closed.
ANC fights IEC's "Submit as Final" button in top court
The Constitutional Court has become the arena where the meaning of a single software button will be decided, with the African National Congress arguing that the Electoral Commission of South Africa attached legal force to a feature that no legislation or regulation actually prescribes.
Who Answers When Well-Resourced Clubs Underperform?
The accountability question hanging over this week’s sport is a simple one: who, exactly, is responsible when well-resourced institutions keep underperforming? Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur offered the latest case study. United held the lead, the home advantage and, after Spurs were reduced to ten men, a numerical advantage as well. Dominic Solanke’s late equaliser still arrived.
When rains fail, South Africa's farmers and traders pay first
For the smallholder farmer waiting on rains that may not come, for the informal trader whose stock depends on harvests she does not control, and for the working-class woman stretching a household budget against rising prices, South Africa’s summer forecast carries real weight. A particularly strong El Niño is expected, and in southern Africa the phenomenon is associated with hotter and drier conditions. For farmers, that means delayed rains, greater water stress and lower crop yields.
Suspended top cop in the dock: a test of accountability
The bail hearing of a suspended deputy national police commissioner has become an uncomfortable test of whether South Africa’s justice institutions can hold their own leadership to account, arriving as the country grapples with a surge of violence against women. Shadrack Sibiya, until his suspension one of the country’s most senior crime-detection officials, faces charges including rape, human trafficking and the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl.
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