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Multinational corporations play a big role in African economies, making them a key player in local government efforts to increase economic participation by Africans. But there’s a catch. By their nature, government policies impose a uniform approach to empowerment. Approaches by multinationals to corporate social responsibility and empowerment, on the other hand, vary, depending on each company’s history and corporate culture. One solution, write Colin David Reddy and Ralph Hamman, is for policy makers to clarify the objectives and legal expectations of empowerment policies to help avoid harmful grey areas in the definition of business and state responsibilities.
The hogging of COVID-19 vaccines by developed countries has highlighted Africa’s vulnerability in times of crisis because of its over-reliance on imported medicine. This has opened debate about the need for African countries to develop local vaccine manufacturing. But what would be needed to localise vaccine manufacturing in Africa, asks Klaus Meyer? The main constraints, he argues, are not patents but time, knowledge transfer and
capital. A broad co-operation of many partners is needed to overcome these.
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Caroline Southey
Founding Editor
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Miners fit a ventilation pipe in an underground platinum mine in South Africa.
Shutterstock
Colin David Reddy, University of Johannesburg; Ralph Hamann, University of Cape Town
There's a significant variation in how companies, including multinationals, respond to South Africa's black economic empowerment policies.
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Staff members work at a COVID-19 vaccine-producing plant of Sinovac in Beijing.
Zhang Yuwei/Xinhua via Getty
Klaus Meyer, Western University
Local companies in Africa would find it very challenging to be cost-competitive in the longer run when the current worldwide scarcity of COVID-19 vaccines is overcome.
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Education
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Vijay Reddy, Human Sciences Research Council
While the loss of contact learning time can be quantified, it's more difficult to quantify the effect of school closures on learning outcomes.
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Katijah Khoza-Shangase, University of the Witwatersrand
Unidentified or late identified hearing impairment has significant implications for the speech-language, cognitive and scholastic development of the child.
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From our international editions
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Bill Laurance, James Cook University
As an economic superpower, China has far more left to do to ensure our planet remains liveable for vulnerable wildlife.
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Tracy Epton, University of Manchester
Psychologists have identified three potential barriers to vaccination: capability, opportunity and motivation.
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Matthew Shillito, University of Liverpool
Operators like BlockFi and Nexo offer rates that are north of 9%.
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Javeed Sukhera, Western University
Racial trauma in society has been challenging for all of us, especially children and teens. There are practical steps we can all take to help ourselves and our kids heal.
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Featured events
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University Road, Hatfield, Gauteng, 0083, South Africa — University of Pretoria
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52 Ryneveld Street Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Western Cape, 8000, South Africa — Stellenbosch University
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Wits University, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2050, South Africa — University of the Witwatersrand
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4th Floor, Johannesburg Business School, Cnr Barry Hertzog Ave and Empire Road, Milpark, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2092, South Africa — University of Johannesburg
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