Just Share

Just Share’s Head of Social Impact, Kwanele Ngogela, has been recognised as one of the Mail and Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans for 2026. Kwanele joined Just Share in 2022 as a Senior Inequality Analyst, where his work contributes to broader governance and legislative discussions aimed at strengthening oversight of executive remuneration and advancing workplace equity.

South Africans should not have to go to Paris to get answers to about a major industrial facility in Secunda. Yet that is exactly what we had to do – and we still came back without clear answers. That matters because what happens at Secunda does not stay in Secunda.

This article was first published in the Daily Maverick on 17 July 2026. The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) increased its stake in Sasol from 15% to just over 20%, making it the company’s largest shareholder by a significant margin. Unsurprisingly, the move has prompted criticism. Why would a state-owned asset manager with a developmental mandate increase its investment in one of the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters? It is a fair question. But it is not the most important one.

An edited version of this article was published by News24 on 15 July 2026. Lobbying in South Africa is currently under public scrutiny – receiving renewed public interest. That is welcome. But the debate too often centres on access to politicians or the possibility of money changing hands. These are legitimate concerns, yet they risk obscuring the much bigger issue. Democracies need policymakers to hear from all stakeholders: labour, civil society as well as business.

This article was first published in the EBnet on 13 July 2026. Shareholder activism is often framed as a problem for boards to manage. Companies speak of “dealing with” activists. Directors prepare for difficult annual general meetings. Communications teams brace for uncomfortable headlines. That is the wrong way to think about it. Every well-functioning system depends on feedback. Pilots rely on cockpit instruments. Doctors rely on symptoms. Businesses rely on financial results. Boards are no different.

This article was first published in the Financial Mail on 09 July 2026. When we discuss the independence of financial regulators, we usually worry about political interference. We ask whether politicians are exerting undue influence over institutions such as the Reserve Bank, the Prudential Authority and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. But political interference is not the only threat to independence.

Salary in, debit orders out. Retail banking in a nutshell. In the background though, your bank account is doing far more than you think. The money in your account is not sitting idly under a mattress. Banks do not store money. They allocate it. Every rand deposited helps fund loans and investments that shape the real economy. That includes decisions that will determine the pace and direction of the energy transition.

This article was first published by African Energy Risk Signals on 29 June 2026. For more than a decade, Shell has argued in court that it did not control its Nigerian subsidiary and therefore could not be held responsible for the environmental damage caused there. Newly released internal documents tell a different story.

Every June, South Africa has the same conversation. Youth unemployment is too high. Young people need opportunities. Government must act. Business must invest. We honour the generation of 1976 and recommit ourselves to building a better future. Then the speeches end, the statistics are filed away, and millions of young people return to a labour market that has little place for them. Yes, this is one of those Youth Month articles about unemployment.

South African banks are increasingly keen to celebrate their role in financing renewable energy. They publish glossy reports. They highlight headline numbers. They position themselves as leaders in the transition. At one level, this is welcome. We need far more capital flowing into renewable energy. Banks have a critical role to play in that shift. But there is a growing problem. Many banks now treat increased investment in renewables as proof that they are decarbonising. It is not.