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Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd proposes 'downscaled and non-intrusive' surveys in Blocks 9 and 11B/12B, located between Mossel Bay and Gqeberha, to support potential oil and gas development in the Outeniqua region. The activities include seabed mapping, sampling, and the use of underwater robots, requiring a 500 m2 exclusion zone around survey vessels. The document warns of potential negative impacts on marine life, including whales and dolphins, and the livelihoods of local fishing and tourism sectors. It also notes that the project is unlikely to create significant local employment. Public comments on the Draft Scoping Report are requested by 3 April 2025, as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment process managed by SLR Consulting (South Africa).

Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd proposes 'downscaled and non-invasive' surveys in Licence Blocks 9 and 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin to inform future oil and gas production infrastructure. The surveys involve seafloor mapping, sampling, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), with a 500-metre exclusion zone around vessels. Potential impacts include disruption to marine life (specifically whales, dolphins, and migratory fish), noise and water pollution from vessel discharges, and negative effects on local livelihoods tied to fishing and tourism. The document also highlights risks to the cultural and spiritual heritage of indigenous groups who view the area as 'living' waters. Public comments on the Draft Scoping Report are requested by 3 April 2025.

TotalEnergies (TEEPSA) plans to drill up to seven exploration wells for oil and gas in the southern Deep Water Orange Basin (DWOB), approximately 211 km off the South African coast at depths between 500m and 3,900m. The project is currently in the second stage of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), with the public invited to submit comments on the ESIA draft report by 10 March 2025. Potential risks identified include noise and pollution affecting marine life—such as whales, dolphins, and African penguins—as well as negative impacts on local fishing livelihoods and the cultural and spiritual significance of the coastline from Port Nolloth to Cape Town. Additionally, fishers and environmental groups are expected to challenge TEEPSA's existing environmental authorisation for the western DWOB in the Cape High Court in February 2025.

Civil society organisations are protesting the handover of McDonald’s-branded ‘Mi Desk’ desks to Cape Town schools, facilitated by the Minister of Basic Education. The groups argue that such donations are not charity but junk food marketing targeting vulnerable children amidst a crisis of malnutrition and obesity. They contend that corporate philanthropy fills gaps created by state austerity and disinvestment, particularly in rural and working-class communities. The statement calls for the immediate recall of branded desks, the finalisation of regulations to restrict the marketing of harmful foods to children, and proper funding of education by the National Treasury to remove the need for corporate partnerships.

The paper examines the impact of colonial legacies and rapid urbanisation on African transportation, highlighting the contrast between South Africa's high-cost Gautrain and more inclusive BRT systems like Rea Vaya and MyCiTi. It identifies the dominance of informal paratransit, such as minibuses, as a critical gap in regulation and safety, noting high road fatality rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and Addis Ababa. The author advocates for a holistic approach combining infrastructure, travel subsidies, and the integration of informal networks, while cautioning against unchecked car ownership and conditional foreign aid.

The document outlines TEEPSA's plan to conduct exploration drilling in the southern part of the DWOB license block, located approximately 211 km from Saldanha. It details the environmental impact assessment process, the planned drilling activities—including the use of mobile offshore drilling units and support vessels—and the potential negative impacts on marine species, fishing livelihoods, and intangible cultural heritage. It urges affected parties to register and submit comments by February 19, 2025.

The document outlines TEEPSA's proposal to drill up to seven exploration and appraisal wells in a 15,000 km2 area of the Deep Water Orange Basin South, located approximately 211km from Saldanha. It details the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, the technical phases of drilling, and potential risks to marine life, fishing livelihoods, and the cultural heritage of coastal communities. The public is invited to submit comments on the draft Scoping Report by 19 February 2025.

The report finds significant disparities in climate progress across South Africa, with affluent cities and provinces leading in ambition while less wealthy regions lag. It highlights a one-directional influence where provincial strategies shape city policies, particularly in the Western Cape, and notes inconsistent just transition commitments within the private sector.

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the proposed 2024 regulations for unconventional hydrocarbon extraction in South Africa are insufficient to protect water resources and the climate. The CER highlights the extreme water intensity of fracking, the risk of groundwater contamination from toxic chemicals and radioactive materials, and the lack of state capacity for compliance monitoring. They specifically warn that fracking in the semi-arid Karoo region would violate constitutional rights to water and a healthy environment. The document calls for the adoption of the precautionary principle, the implementation of long-term monitoring (up to 300 years) for well integrity, and the requirement for meaningful public participation and community development provisions.

The report evaluates how national, provincial, city, and corporate entities in South Africa incorporate social justice into their net zero commitments. It finds significant disparities in ambition and implementation, with wealthy urban centres leading and less affluent provinces lagging. While the financial sector and some state-owned enterprises show strong just transition frameworks, many private companies and multinational corporations rely on vague offsetting strategies with limited socio-economic integration.

The document advocates for a 'deep' just transition in African food systems that prioritizes human rights, structural equity, and agroecology over industrialization. It highlights the vulnerabilities of African food systems to climate change and the risks of 'modernization' policies that favor agribusiness. Using South Africa's highly unequal, industrial food system as a cautionary example, the brief recommends that philanthropies shift toward long-term, flexible funding for multi-actor coalitions, grassroots initiatives, and participatory research to foster systemic change.

The Free State Environmental Justice Network (FSEJN) has filed an appeal to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to set aside an environmental authorisation (EA) granted on 23 June 2025 to Afro Energy (Pty) Ltd. The EA allows for the exploration of conventional natural gas across approximately 240,000 hectares in the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. FSEJN argues that the decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) was unlawful, irrational, and failed to adequately assess climate, air quality, geohydrological, and socio-economic impacts, while also neglecting meaningful public participation.

The 2025 City Profiling Report for Cape Town describes a city with strong institutional governance and high service delivery standards relative to other SADC cities, yet one plagued by deep structural inequality and chronic traffic congestion. While the city maintains a clean audit record and high human development indices, it faces significant challenges in youth unemployment, informal settlement growth, and climate vulnerability, particularly regarding water scarcity and fire risk.

Dar es Salaam is one of Africa's fastest-growing cities and Tanzania's economic hub, though it faces significant challenges in infrastructure and governance. While the city's GDP is growing and it leads the country in startups and telecommunications, it is characterized by high levels of informality, with 70% of the population living in informal settlements. Public services such as water, sanitation, and waste management are underperforming, and the city is highly vulnerable to flooding and urban heat. Governance is heavily centralized, with local authorities relying on the national government for approximately 75% to 90% of their revenue, severely limiting their fiscal autonomy and ability to address local needs.

The report compares 10 SADC cities, revealing stark disparities in economic wealth and infrastructure. While South African cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town are the wealthiest, they face high inequality and unemployment. Most other cities are characterized by high proportions of informal housing (60-86%) and a heavy reliance on national parastatals for engineered services. Sanitation remains the most critical service gap, with sewered sanitation being rare outside of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Local government finance varies wildly, with some cities relying heavily on national transfers while others, particularly in Zimbabwe, receive no transfers despite high service obligations.

The Harare City Profiling Report 2025 details the challenges facing Zimbabwe's capital, characterized by rapid informal urban growth, severe infrastructure decay, and a strained relationship between the opposition-led city council and the national government. While Harare serves as the country's economic hub, it suffers from critical gaps in water, sanitation, and waste management, with a significant portion of the population living in informal settlements. The report highlights a severe fiscal crisis where the city relies almost entirely on its own limited revenue sources while facing low payment compliance and high levels of non-revenue water.

The report provides a comprehensive profile of Luanda, highlighting its rapid population growth, extreme economic inequality, and a highly centralised governance structure. While the city has benefited from oil wealth, significant service delivery gaps persist, particularly in housing, water, and sanitation for those in informal settlements. The report notes that Luanda is one of the most congested cities globally and faces increasing climate risks, including flooding and sea-level rise.

The report highlights a growing energy services market in South Africa, shifting from a primary reliance on mitigating loadshedding to goals of cost stability and decarbonisation. Embedded solar PV for the commercial, industrial, and agricultural (CI&A) sectors is projected to grow by 3.8 GW (estimated at R53.2 billion) by 2030. Behind-the-meter (BTM) Li-ion storage is expected to reach 2GWh (estimated at R10 billion) by 2030, driven by value-stacking use cases like peak shaving and tariff arbitrage. Key barriers include ageing municipal distribution infrastructure, administrative capacity constraints in municipalities, and a heavy reliance on imported battery components, particularly from China.

The report details a two-day conference in Johannesburg that examined the 'Reimagining Developmental Local Government' theme. It highlights the COMPACT project's efforts to move public participation from 'tick-box exercises' to meaningful collaboration through a specialized 'Toolbox' and Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) pilots. Key discussions centered on the exclusion of youth and women, the need for interoperable digital infrastructure, and the role of 'invented' community spaces when formal 'invited' spaces fail. The event advocated for the institutionalization of these tools within municipal systems to ensure long-term sustainability beyond the project's January 2026 conclusion.

The document outlines research and proposals for reforming South African local government, emphasizing the need to move from neoliberal cost-recovery models to 'democratic decommodification' and fiscal justice. Key themes include the use of digital platforms like fixlocal and MyRepresentative to bridge the information gap between citizens and councillors, the role of 'invented spaces' for community action on water rights, and the implementation of data-driven tools like Cape Town's Ease of Doing Business Index to improve service delivery. It also highlights failures in Performance Management Systems (PMS) in municipalities such as Polokwane and the need for gender-inclusive political communication and youth civic education to ensure meaningful participation in governance.