PORFOLIO OF WORKS

Here you will find the pieces our consortium of specialists and consultants have written.

We have written papers for leading pharmaceutical companies titled:

Understanding the Pervasiveness of Counterfeit Drug Activities in Africa

Health Policy Report: Legislative Frameworks in South Africa for the regulation of Cell and Gene Therapy and Rare Diseases.

​Below you will find longer-form analytical pieces written on countries across Africa focusing on their political, socio-economic and security environments.

WORLD BANK

South Africa Country Climate and Development Report

Synergy Global Consulting Ltd is pleased to have contributed to the South Africa Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) launched by the World Bank Group in October.

Our team members Holle Linnea Wlokas, Peta Wolpe, Teboho Mosuoe-Tsietsi, PhD, Fowzia Davids, Yakhuluntu Dubazana, Yaowen Deng, and Andy Spitz contributed to the latest thinking on the social dimensions of #climatechange and #justenergytransition, with a detailed case study of the Emalahleni municipal area for exploring #climateresilience.

Due to its heavy reliance on the coal economy, Emalahleni is one of the regions where the social costs of the low-energy transition will be greatly felt. This report, together with our current work on assessing the #socialimpact of the #energytransition in the Mpumalanga Province, confirms the urgent need to take care of marginalised, vulnerable populations in a widely expected #justtransition.

This requires targeted interventions to mitigate negative impacts and better corporate #socialperformance to unlock potential socio-economic benefits for local communities, a topic that Synergy aspires to continue engaging with through our exciting portfolio of project work including social closure impact assessments for ESKOM and our partnership with the Initiative for Social Performance in Renewable Energy.

The report can be found here.

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BRIEFS

MALAWI | A TALE OF CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

By Fowzia Davids, Ineke Stemmet and Louis Whaley for the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) – November 2020

SALO has worked with civil society and human rights defenders in Malawi during the period of the re-run of the presidential election of May 2019. SALO has more recently engaged several of the civil society leaders and human rights defenders for critical analysis and discussion on the post-electoral environment in Malawi, particularly focusing on the new government and the position of the country concerning its regional and international standing. This report reflects on the participant’s views and news reports centering on the post-electoral environment in the country and provides a critical reflection on decisions taken by the incumbent administration.

SALO SITUATION BRIEF ON ZIMBABWE

By Fowzia Davids and Lwazi Somya for the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) – September 2020

In a meeting that sat between the 28th – 30th of August 2020, the African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) amongst other things, deliberated on the situation in Zimbabwe. In their statement, the ANC NEC welcomed the South African government’s efforts to engage in the situation in Zimbabwe, especially noting the deployment of the special envoys to Zimbabwe. They emphasised the importance of the envoys meeting all parties and relevant stakeholders in the country, and intended to do so during their visit. The ANC NEC further emphasised the need for the party process to be complementary to the government process, while fostering greater party-to-party interaction in order to understand how the ANC and the South African Government may assist the people of Zimbabwe.

MOZAMBIQUE TERRORIST INSURGENCY: AN UNCOORDINATED RESPONSE TO A LOOMING REGIONAL CRISIS?

By Fowzia Davids and Lindiwe Mthembu for the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) – September 2020

An Islamist insurgency in Mozambique’s gas-rich northern Cabo Delgado province has been ongoing since October 2017 by the terrorist group commonly known as Al-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa (ASWJ), Ansar al-Sunna, or by locals as Al-Shabaab (unaffiliated to the Somali-based terrorist group). Militant activity in the region has so far killed more than 1300 civilians and soldiers, displacing approximately 220,000 civilians, and their attacks have increased in scope and frequency over the last year. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has done nothing to deter the Islamist militants operating in Mozambique’s north-eastern Cabo Delgado province. ASWJ have increased their attacks against state security forces and infrastructure and continue with violent attacks against civilians.

MALAWI | ANALYSIS ON THE POST-ELECTION ENVIRONMENT IN MALAWI

By Fowzia Davids and Ineke Stemmet for the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) – August 2020

The Southern African Liaison Office (SALO), in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), held a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the political developments in Malawi before the election of the 23rd of June. This was a re-run of the presidential election held in May 2019 and has been heralded as a historic event as it was the second overturned election in Africa (the first being in Kenya). In Malawi, the judiciary overturned the results of the election due to fraudulent processes. This brief aims to provide an update of the events in Malawi since the election. 1 This brief aims to provide an update of the events in Malawi since the election.

MALAWI | BRIEF ON POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MALAWI AHEAD OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

By Fowzia Davids, Ineke Stemmet and Louis Whaley for the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) – June 2020

The Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), held a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the political developments in Malawi, especially in the context of the upcoming presidential election scheduled for 23 June 2020. To have a greater understanding of the political dynamic in Malawi, we interviewed several pro-democracy leaders ahead of the presidential election, namely Beatrice Mateyo, Gift Trapence, Timothy Mtambo, Billy Mayaya, and Happy Mbango.

ZAMBIA | PRESIDENT ADVANCING POLITICALLY RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT UNLIKELY TO FOMENT SHORT-TERM INSTABILITY

By Fowzia Davids for WorldAware/Crisis24 – October 2019

Zambia is likely to remain stable over the next 30 to 90 days, despite recent decisions by President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) administration. The Lungu administration will continue to push the highly contested Constitutional Amendment Bill, which opposition groups have significantly criticized and challenged Lungu is likely to continue to crack down on critical voices, which may increase amid a declining economic environment. President Lungu’s approach is likely to foment popular discontent and raise concern among investors.

ON-AIR WITH WORLDAWARE: XENOPHOBIA IN SOUTH AFRICA SPARKS VIOLENT PROTESTS – SEPTEMBER 2019

By Fowzia Davids and Amanosi Ekenimoh on WorldAware/Crisis24 – September 2019

Xenophobia, or negative feelings towards people from other countries, has been a prevalent issue in South Africa. Anti-immigrant protests began in early September 2019, with concentrated violent action on Sept. 1 and 2, primarily on the outskirts and in central Johannesburg. Sporadic protests have also taken place in Pretoria’s central business district in Gauteng Province, and in Samora Machel informal settlement in the Philippi area of Cape Town. The protests have since declined, but small-scale incidents have been occurring in recent days.

Listen as former WorldAware (now Crisis24) intelligence analysts Fowzia Davids and Amanosi Ekenimoh discuss the recent violent protests in South Africa and shed light on the effects these have on surrounding regions.

MOZAMBIQUE | POLITICAL TENSIONS LIKELY TO INCREASE AHEAD OF OCTOBER GENERAL ELECTIONS, OVERALL POLITICAL STABILITY TO REMAIN INTACT

By Fowzia Davids for WorldAware/Crisis24 – July 2019

Political tensions are likely to increase between the ruling Mozambique National Front (FRELIMO) and main opposition Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) in the lead-up to the Oct. 15 general elections due to allegations of electoral fraud. Evidence of electoral irregularities could derail a recently renewed peace process and lead to a resumption of conflict between the two parties; these concerns, along with continued militant activity in Cabo Delgado Province, present significant challenges to the country ahead of the polls. However, challenges to the electoral process are unlikely to affect the overall political stability of the country, as FRELIMO appears poised to win a working majority in the National Assembly and secure the presidency.

SOUTH AFRICA | INCREASED CIVIL UNREST AHEAD OF GENERAL ELECTIONS UNLIKELY TO AFFECT OVERALL STABILITY

By Fowzia Davids for WorldAware/Crisis24 – February 2019

General elections will be held in South Africa, May 8. Voters will elect a new National Assembly (parliament) and nine provincial legislatures. The National Assembly will, in turn, elect the president. Political rallies and service delivery protests have increased in recent weeks and will continue ahead of the polls. Major changes to policy or political stability are unlikely as the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party is projected to retain a working majority in the National Assembly and in at least in eight of the country’s nine provinces.

SUDAN | POLITICAL UNREST LIKELY TO CONTINUE AS GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS PERSISTS

By Fowzia Davids for WorldAware/Crisis24 – February 2019

Anti-government and anti-austerity protests will persist over the next 30 to 90 days in Sudan, particularly as economic conditions continue to deteriorate and the government remains unwilling to accept protesters’ demands. Protests by civil society, labor, and political opposition groups will likely continue to take the form of pre-planned demonstrations and spontaneous localized protests nationwide. In the face of President Omar Al-Bashir’s apparent unwillingness to give in to protesters’ calls for his resignation, the government will likely continue to use repressive tactics to disperse protests, which may strengthen the protest movement. Although foreign travelers and businesses are unlikely to be targeted, they could be affected in areas where violence erupts.

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