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Richard Calland

Associate Professor in Public Law, University of Cape Town

Richard Calland has for 20 years been working in the fields of democratic governance and sustainable development in South Africa and beyond. Based at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he is Associate Professor in Public Law, Calland heads its Democratic Governance & Rights Unit. Calland is also a Fellow of the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), working as a member of faculty on a range of customised leadership and strategy programmes for amongst others the World Bank, PWC, the African Development Bank, Nedbank, Namdeb, Network Rail and Tata, and is now leading its Africa Initiative, which is focused on investment choices in sustainable infrastructure. He is also the co-director of the African Climate Finance Hub and the governance advisor to the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), an international initiative directed towards information disclosure in large public infrastructure projects. Amongst other corporate clients, he is a long-time retained consultant to Massmart, Africa’s largest retailer that was recently acquired by Walmart, advising on issues of politics, sustainability and governance, as well as providing regular political risk briefings to the investor clients of UBS, Ernst & Young and Citi, and has recently established a new advisory organisation – The Paternoster Group: African Political Insight. His most recent book, The Zuma Years, was published in 2013. Before moving to South Africa in 1994, Calland practiced law for seven years at the London Bar.

Why South Africa’s Constitution is under attack

Mar 18, 2017 07:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Law

South Africas Constitution, greatly lauded around the world and the product of Nelson Mandelas democratic transition of the mid-1990s, is under attack. Its being blamed in some quarters for the slow pace of socio-economic...

Emerging Market Crisis Series

Prexit: as South Africa looks over the abyss who will blink?

Oct 13, 2016 08:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics Economy

Like the lemming that is about to throw itself off the proverbial cliff, South Africa appears unable to stop itself from preventing a self-inflicted act of such monumental folly that it could easily send Africas second...

Economy

Wall Street Slips as Tech Stocks Slide on AI Spending Fears and Earnings Concerns

U.S. stock markets ended mostly lower on Thursday as investors reacted cautiously to a fresh round of corporate earnings and growing concerns over whether massive artificial intelligence investments will generate...

Gold Prices Pull Back After Record Highs as January Rally Remains Strong

Gold prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Friday, retreating from recent record highs as a mix of profit-taking and shifting safe-haven demand weighed on the market. Despite the pullback, gold remains on track for...

U.S. Dollar Slides for Second Week as Tariff Threats and Iran Tensions Shake Markets

The U.S. dollar headed for a second consecutive weekly decline as escalating geopolitical tensions and renewed tariff threats weighed on investor confidence and reduced demand for U.S. assets. The dollar index (DXY), a key...

Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on Canadian Aircraft Amid Escalating U.S.-Canada Trade Dispute

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated tensions with Canada by announcing plans to impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian-made aircraft sold in the United States, citing Canadas refusal to certify several jets...

U.S. and El Salvador Sign Landmark Critical Minerals Agreement to Boost Investment and Trade

The United States and El Salvador have signed a new bilateral agreement aimed at encouraging investment in the exploration, development, and export of critical minerals, a sector U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly...

Politics

Faith Leaders Arrested on Capitol Hill During Protest Against Trump Immigration Policies and ICE Funding

Dozens of faith leaders were arrested on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., after staging a protest against President Donald Trumps immigration policies and calling for funding restrictions on U.S. Immigration and Customs...

Democrats Question Intelligence Chief’s Role in FBI Georgia Election Raid

Top Democrats on the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees are demanding answers after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was present during a recent FBI raid on an election facility in Georgia, an...

Trump Family Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Over IRS Tax Disclosure

U.S. President Donald Trump and several members of his family have filed a sweeping $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department, alleging unlawful disclosure of their...

Trump to Announce New Federal Reserve Chair Pick as Powell Replacement Looms

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will reveal his choice to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday morning, a move that is expected to draw significant attention from financial markets, economists, and...

Trump Administration Expands Global Gag Rule, Restricting U.S. Foreign Aid to Diversity and Gender Programs

The U.S. State Department has ordered American missions worldwide to review all foreign aid programs to ensure compliance with newly expanded rules under the Trump administration that restrict funding related to family...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Apple Earnings Beat Expectations as iPhone Sales Surge to Four-Year High

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) delivered a strong fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report, comfortably beating Wall Street expectations on both profit and revenue, driven by its strongest iPhone sales growth in more than four...

OpenAI Reportedly Eyes Late-2026 IPO Amid Rising Competition and Massive Funding Needs

OpenAI is reportedly accelerating preparations for a potential initial public offering (IPO), with plans to go public by the fourth quarter of 2026, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the...

Sandisk Stock Soars After Blowout Earnings and AI-Driven Outlook

Sandisk shares surged more than 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the data storage and memory solutions company delivered a fiscal second-quarter earnings report that significantly exceeded Wall Street...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Explores Merger Options With Tesla or xAI, Reports Say

Elon Musks SpaceX is reportedly exploring potential merger and consolidation options with Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) or artificial intelligence startup xAI, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the...

Amazon Stock Dips as Reports Link Company to Potential $50B OpenAI Investment

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares trimmed losses to around 0.8% on Thursday afternoon, even as the broader technology sector faced notable selling pressure. The stock movement followed a Wall Street Journal report...