The SADC region which is currently emerging from the strict measures to contain COVID-19, continues to grapple and be plagued by challenges of governance, democracy consolidation, security challenges and nation-building in its various states. The maturation of democracy in the region has been neither uniform nor straightforward with a mix of false starts, stalled transitions […]
ITI supporting peacebuilding in Myanmar
The In Transformation Initiative’s (ITI) s work in the Rakhine state of Myanmar stretches back to 2018 when a number of fact-finding missions established the viability of supporting inter-community dialogue in the wake of events that had caught the attention of the world. The initial aim was to start in Maungdaw, Rakhine State, which in […]
WATERBERG – Conservation on a Grand Scale
As the world searches for environmental success stories, the Waterberg stands out because of its scale and potential to be a benchmark for modern conservation initiatives. The 1 600 000-acre Waterberg plateau northwest of Gauteng was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2001. Pasture and farmland, once suffering from poor soil and overgrazing, is increasingly […]
Statement by In Transformation Initiative (ITI) on the passing of Ebrahim Ebrahim
This morning, the ITI board was extremely saddened by the news of the demise of our colleague, friend, and mentor, Ebrahim (Ebie) Ebrahim. Over the past few months, his illness made us aware of his declining heath, but his passing still came as a shock. Ebie, ITI was privileged to have shared you with your […]
Clanwilliam Development Partnership brings community closer
“If people take hands, they cannot point a finger.” These were some of the words by Jan Oosthuizen, Convenor of the Clanwilliam Development Partnership, in an interview with ITI about the recent activities undertaken by the partnership. The Clanwilliam Development Partnership is a non-partisan cross-sectoral platform, created to mobilise joint action around development projects in […]
ITI mourns the loss of Dr Johan van Zyl
Dr Johan van Zyl, the initiator of the Public-Private Growth Initiative (PPGI), an ITI project focussing on growth and investment in the South African economy, sadly passed away on Friday, 30 July, at the age of 63. During the last three years his leadership in the PPGI project was visionary and dynamic. Johan at the time of his death was […]
Myanmar: Baseline Study
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYOn 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, launched a coup, unseating the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government, alleging fraud in November 2020 elections that saw the NLD defeat the military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). In reality though it seems that a second NLD term, with no […]
Visionary leadership needed in South Africa to reduce inequality
Despite the huge problems of the last few months and South Africa’s inherent vulnerabilities, the country has so far been spared an Arab Spring-type popular uprising. Covid-19, economic decline and the strife within the ruling party have not led to the kind of mass protests that North Africa saw a decade ago.This is partly due […]
Can local government be fixed by seeing the problem differently?
The late Frederik van Zyl Slabbert is famous for saying that he achieved more in 18 months dealing with ‘real issues’ in local government than in 12 years in Parliament. In his new book about the former opposition leader, Slabbert: Man on a Mission, writer Albert Grundlingh describes Slabbert’s experience as head of the Central […]
Can a new national dialogue save South Africa?
Due to Covid-19, as well as the mismanagement and stagnation that were present well before the pandemic, South Africa has shed millions of jobs. Poverty has increased dramatically and there is a clear failure of leadership at various levels – in politics, business and civil society. Can this crisis be a catalyst for change? Could […]