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        <description><![CDATA[Terence Creamer is the Editor of Engineering News and a Deputy Editor for Mining Weekly.]]></description>
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            <title>Missed opportunity</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/missed-opportunity-2026-07-31</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The uptake of rooftop solar in South Africa has increased dramatically over the past five or so years, spurred initially by the extreme loadshedding from 2021 to 2024. Using satellite and other aerial photographic data, a new report by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) estimates that about 5.98-billion kWh of electricity was generated from the total installed rooftop capacity of 3 495 MWp over a one-year period.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ROOFTOP SOLAR</category>
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            <title>Distorted lens</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/distorted-lens-2026-07-24</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Transitions are never easy. They are disruptive and are often fiercely resisted. South Africa navigated its own grand political transition in 1994, following a period of intense uncertainty and resistance, which at times turned deadly. Were it not for courageous leaders, ongoing mobilisation in support of change, and the favourable geopolitical tailwinds of the period, the outcome could have been quite different.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ELECTRICITY POLICY</category>
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            <title>Think electricity</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/think-electricity-2026-07-17</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Global statistics continue to reaffirm the role of electricity as the future dominant energy carrier. More and more energy services are being electrified, including through electric vehicles, while new sources of large-scale demand, such as data centres, are emerging at pace. The International Energy Agency has already proclaimed this the ‘Age of Electricity’, as electricity demand outpaces overall energy demand. It is forecasting that global electricity demand will increase at a yearly rate of 3.6% from 2026 to 2030; at least 2.5 times faster than overall energy demand.]]></description>
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            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ENERGY POLICY</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Measured ambition</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/measured-ambition-2026-07-10</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa’s planned R1-trillion infrastructure programme is undoubtedly a chance to revive the struggling construction sector and to stimulate industrialisation. After more than a decade of weak demand and ongoing deindustrialisation, however, realising this potential will require a combination of ambition and pragmatism, together with a relentless focus on execution.]]></description>
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            <category>REAL ECONOMY: INDUSTRIAL POLICY</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Populist omen</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/populist-omen-2026-07-03</link>
            <description><![CDATA[South Africa is approaching the fifth anniversary of the deadly July 2021 riots and looting in an atmosphere that is again heavily laden with the threat of violence. It’s a fog made denser by the confluence of unemployment and poverty with conspiracy theories that lay the blame for those miserable conditions largely on foreign nationals.]]></description>
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            <category>REAL ECONOMY: SOUTH AFRICA</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Firm timetable needed</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/firm-timetable-needed-2026-06-26</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The deadline has arrived for the Eskom Restructuring Task Team (ERTT) to deliver its detailed proposal and implementation plan for establishing a new State-owned Transmission System Operator (TSO). The contents will be heavily scrutinised given the importance of the TSO to the transition to a competitive market where the playing field is level for all participants.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ELECTRICITY</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Bridge﻿, not destination</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/bridge-not-destination-2026-06-19</link>
            <description><![CDATA[How do people in Gauteng know when motorists are driving under the influence? They are driving straight! It is to this type of sardonic humour that residents in all three of Gauteng’s metros have turned as a coping mechanism against the proliferation of potholes, the near absence of road markings, and the reality that all too many streetlights and traffic signals are simply not working.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Distribution dilemma</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/distribution-dilemma-2026-06-12</link>
            <description><![CDATA[During a recent joint meeting of the portfolio committees on electricity and energy and cooperative governance and traditional affairs it became clear there is some sympathy for Eskom when it comes to the issues of nonpayment by municipalities. The problem is large, with Eskom confirming that the backlog now stands at more than R114-billion, while warning that it could exceed R300-billion by 2030 if left unchecked and will threaten its financial turnaround.]]></description>
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            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Virtue of necessity</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/virtue-of-necessity-2026-06-05</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Following an embarrassing false start, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has set a deadline of early next year for the finalisation of a new draft of the national AI policy. In April, the department officially withdrew the initial draft after News24 reported that AI-hallucinated sources had been included in the list of references. Minister Solly Malatsi told lawmakers last week that generative AI had been “used irresponsibly during the drafting process” and confirmed that two department officials had been placed on precautionary suspension.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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            <title>Big and small pictures</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/big-and-small-pictures-2026-05-29</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Much has been written in recent weeks about the geopolitical factors now driving the energy transition. Particular attention has been given to how the attack on Iran by the US and Israel, which precipitated yet another energy crisis when the Strait of Hormuz was inevitably choked, is amplifying the benefits of the ongoing shift to renewables-led electrification.]]></description>
            <author>Terence Creamer</author>
            <category>REAL ECONOMY: ENERGY TRANSITION</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0200</pubDate>
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