Institute for Economic Justice

16/10/2026

WORLD FOOD DAY | How do you see the food system?

A more extended picture of the Food system is that it begins long before the farm gate and continues long after food reaches our plates. Food system activities relate to production; agricultural practices; transport and storage; processing and manufacturing; formal and informal trade; household consumption; and waste management.
These activities are shaped by the socio-economic and environmental contexts in which they operate, while their effects in turn reshape those same contexts.

On World Food Day, we must look beyond what is on our plates and ask what it takes to produce, distribute and access food, who benefits from the system, and who is left behind.

Building a more just food system requires action across the entire chain. This includes supporting sustainable, climate-friendly production methods such as agroecology, investing in adequate infrastructure, strengthening institutional support for informal traders and addressing the structural inequalities that shape food access and affordability.

Food justice requires us to transform the whole system, not just what ends up on our plates

16/10/2026

The MTBPS must deliver decent employment for all.

The IEJ challenges a fiscal strategy that prioritises primary budget surpluses while unemployment remains high and public services are underfunded.

Read our statement and briefing note on growth, decent jobs, and structural transformation, alongside recent media commentary and new research opportunities.

Read the newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/iej.org.za/statement_mtbps-2026-expectations

14/10/2026

We’re in Bangkok, Thailand, for the 2026 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings and the International People’s Assembly.

IEJ’s Kelle Howson and Siyanda Baduza are joining civil society organisations and social movements from around the world at the International People’s Assembly on 12–13 October, held alongside the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings from 12–18 October.

The Assembly brings together organisations, networks and movements to strengthen collective action for economic, social and climate justice, while the Annual Meetings provide a key space for discussions on global economic policy and development finance.

Stay tuned as we share key moments, engagements and reflections from Bangkok.

13/10/2026

WEBINAR | Can social protection drive economic growth in South Africa?

Social protection is often framed as an unproductive cost to the state. But new research from the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) challenges this conventional understanding.

Using structural vector autoregression (SVAR) modelling for 2000 to 2025, the research estimates a GDP multiplier of 5.53 for social grants and a tax revenue multiplier of 2.99.

What do these findings tell us about the relationship between social grants, economic growth and public finances? How robust are the estimates, and what could they mean for social protection policy in South Africa?

Join the IEJ for a webinar to examine the findings, interrogate the modelling approach, and debate the implications for fiscal policy, social assistance and household welfare.
📅 Monday, 19 October 2026
🕒 15:30–17:00 SAST
💻 Online

Register here: https://ow.ly/rRnS50ZX4VC

South Africa’s social protection system is often framed as an unproductive cost to the state, particularly in debates about extending social assistance to working-age adults. New research from the Institute for Economic Justice presents a substantial challenge to this framing and raises important ...

12/10/2026

If you are in Bangkok for the International People’s Assembly, join the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) for a discussion on The macro-economic effects of social protection: evidence from South Africa.

The session will explore new research on the multiplier effect of social protection in South Africa and how economic evidence can strengthen advocacy for social protection, particularly in engagements with Ministries of Finance.

📅 13 October 2026
🕥 10:30 am–12:00 pm (ICT)
📍 Orchid 1, 3rd Floor, Ambassador Hotel, 171 Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok

The session will feature a presentation on IEJ’s research, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Kelle Howson, Siyanda Baduza, and Daniel Munevar.

Join us to discuss what the evidence tells us about the economic case for investing in social protection.

12/10/2026

UNDERWAY | Day 1 of the JET-IDRC Closing Workshop

Day 1 is underway.

Following the Making Africa’s Energy Transition Work conference, project partners from IEJ, COSATU, ACEP and ACTS have come together to reflect on three years of collaboration on renewable-energy localisation, decent work, SME development and sustainable livelihoods in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana.

Today’s programme opens with team building before moving into reflections on the project’s implementation, achievements and lessons learned.

09/10/2026

CONFERENCE CLOSING| After two days of research presentations, policy debate, and cross-country exchange, Making Africa’s Energy Transition Work has drawn to a close.

Participants from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and beyond examined how renewable-energy expansion can build domestic productive capacity, create decent work, support sustainable livelihoods, and strengthen the role of workers, communities, women, and local enterprises in shaping the transition.

Thank you to the speakers, facilitators, project partners, and participants who contributed to the discussions.

The work continues. Follow the project for research findings, publications, policy recommendations, and conference outputs.

09/10/2026

How can Africa’s renewable energy transition build local industries, create decent jobs, and advance gender equity?

In a new Daily Maverick opinion piece, researchers from South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya examine how unstable demand, weak localisation enforcement, and persistent gender barriers hold back these possibilities, and what policies could unlock them.

These questions are central to Making Africa’s Energy Transition Work: Local Manufacturing, Decent Work, and Sustainable Livelihoods, our conference taking place on 8–9 October in Johannesburg. Researchers, organised labour, manufacturers, policymakers, and civil society are discussing how to turn the continent’s energy transition into lasting benefits for workers and communities.

Join today’s final-day plenary sessions online.

The op-ed is authored by:
- Seutame Maimele and Basani Baloyi — Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), South Africa
- Charles G. Ofori — Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ghana
- Joan Adenga — African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), Kenya

Read the opinion piece: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-07-renewable-energy-hamstrung/

Register to join the conference plenaries online: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2I5riZodTcO_zS5JWr5uOw

Despite demand, the potential of the renewable energy sectors in these countries is being held back by unstable demand, limited localisation enforcement, deficits in decent job creation and persistent…

09/10/2026

Day 2 opening — all channels
Day 2 of Making Africa’s Energy Transition Work begins in Johannesburg.

Today’s discussions focus on coordinating energy and industrial policy, lessons from China’s renewable-energy manufacturing experience, and the advocacy and organising needed to turn research into action.

Follow for live updates.

Join the plenary sessions online: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/2I5riZodTcO_zS5JWr5uOw

08/10/2026

Day 1 of Making Africa’s Energy Transition Work brought together organised labour, researchers, industry representatives, and policy specialists from across Africa.

Discussions considered the role of trade unions in localisation; research on renewable-energy manufacturing in Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana; and the alliances needed between labour and industry to advance green industrial policy.

Tomorrow, the conference turns to policy coordination, international lessons, and advocacy and organising strategies.

Follow for Day 2 updates