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Sithembile Mbete

Lecturer, University of Pretoria
Sithembile is a lecturer in the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria where she lecturers international relations and South African politics. She is also an Associate Fellow of the Centre for Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria. She has a doctorate from the University of Pretoria on the subject of South Africa’s foreign policy during its two elected terms in the United Nations Security Council (2007-2008 and 2011-2012). Sithembile's doctoral research was funded by the National Institute for Humanities and Social Science (NIHSS), National Research Foundation (NRF), the American Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Mellon Foundation.

She has published on the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) and South African elections in accredited academic journals. She comments frequently in the media on topics related to South African and international politics.

She is a 2019 Open Society Foundation Democracy Fellow conducting research on the South African electoral system.

Sithembile joined the University of Pretoria from The Presidency of South Africa where she was a researcher in the secretariat of the National Planning Commission. Her work in this regard was focused on public service reform and anti-corruption policy. She contributed to the drafting of the National Development Plan. Prior to this she worked as a political researcher at IDASA (Institute for Democracy in Africa) where she was responsible for Parliamentary monitoring and political analysis. While at Idasa she monitored the parliamentary deliberations on the Protection of State Information Bill (POSIB), commenting on and writing about the bill in the media. She served on the provincial and national working groups of the Right2Know Campaign and helped coordinate activism against the legislation

Disrupted world order brings urgency to South Africa's seat on the Security Council

Jul 07, 2019 15:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views

South Africa is six months into its third elected term on the United Nations Security Council. Its conduct in its previous two terms has been criticised for the countrys controversial voting record. During its first term,...

Economy

Nigerians throw naira notes around to show love: but it could land you in jail

The legal implication of physically damaging the naira, Nigerias currency, came into focus recently with the prosecution of at least two celebrities by the countrys Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Nigeria has a...

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Politics

Sudan’s civil war is rooted in its historical favouritism of Arab and Islamic identity

The current civil war in Sudan goes beyond a simple power struggle between two generals. It reflects a deep-rooted crisis within the countrys governing structure thats been present since it gained independence from the...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

The politics stopping the UK from opening a youth mobility scheme with Europe

Earlier this week, it seemed possible that young people in the UK might soon be able to travel freely to work and live in Europe again. The European Commission laid out proposals to open mobility to millions of 18- to...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

Dark matter: our new experiment aims to turn the ghostly substance into actual light

A ghost is haunting our universe. This has been known in astronomy and cosmology for decades. Observations suggest that about 85% of all the matter in the universe is mysterious and invisible. These two qualities are...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Technology

Amazon Opens Online Shopping for South African Customers

Amazon has finally arrived in South Africa. With its launch in the region, Jeff Bezos e-commerce platform is expected to compete with the leading local online shopping player, Takealot.com. The American e-commerce giant...

Apple Embarks on AI Chip Development for Data Center Capabilities

Apple Inc. is set to transform the tech landscape with its newly developed AI chip, tailored specifically for data center operations. Dubbed Project ACDC, this initiative marks a significant leap in server technology,...

Kia Drops Images of Its New All-Electric EV3 Model Ahead of Release

Kia Motors announced that its latest electric car model called the EV3, is finally coming to the market this month. Ahead of the release, the South Korean automaker dropped images of the anticipated new EV to tease...

Switch Successor Announcement Expected Before Next April, Nintendo States

Nintendo has stated that it will officially introduce the Switch replacement system within this fiscal year before March 31, 2025. Upcoming Nintendo Direct Focuses on Current Switch Games Nintendo president Shuntaro...

Marathon Digital Soars 18% on News of S&P SmallCap 600 Inclusion

Marathon Digital, a leading Bitcoin miner, is set to join the SP SmallCap 600, propelling its shares up by 18%. Announced to replace Aaon in the index on May 8, the move reflects Marathons growing influence in the...