Welcome to Mind Matters week of 2 May 2022

Global and local news 

In shift, Germany gets behind immediate EU ban on Russian oil

KYIV, May 2 (Reuters) - Germany said on Monday it was prepared to back an immediate European Union embargo on Russian oil, a major shift from Moscow's biggest energy customer that could let Europe impose such a ban within days.

Russia’s energy exports – by far its biggest source of income – have so far largely been exempt from international sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Kyiv says that loophole means European countries are funding the Kremlin war effort, sending Moscow hundreds of millions of euros every day.

The above two paragraphs are important when it comes to assessing the wide reaching impact of sanctions - who stands to win and who to lose. Do you see any winners?  The entire article is not centred around the title but goes into more detail on the suffering on the ground. 4 min read

‘An undebatable political decision’: Why China refuses to end its harsh lockdowns

Still not fully prepared for living with the virus, the government is sticking to “zero COVID”

China’s devotion to “zero COVID” reflects a fear of an explosion of serious illness and death if Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, now largely one called BA.2, escape control. More than 2 years into the pandemic, the country is still not fully prepared; China's leadership has squandered the grace period it earned with the zero COVID strategy, Huang says. “Until November last year, there was no serious effort to prioritize the vaccination of the elderly,” he says. Nor did the country use the time to improve the health infrastructure in rural areas.

A reminder that every country has had its challenges in dealing with the epidemic and looking from the outside one can easily see where others have gone wrong.  Reflection point: Have we learned anything or changed any systems as a result of the experience?  6 min read

Beijing goes to extreme lengths to avoid Shanghai Covid woes

China’s capital is deploying an increasingly hardcore playbook to contain its nascent Covid-19 outbreak, from repeat testing of most residents to barring access to public places without a negative result as it seeks to avoid the chaos seen in Shanghai.

The financial hub’s experience is a cautionary tale for Beijing officials seeking to maintain China’s Covid Zero strategy, an approach that’s leaving the country increasingly isolated as the rest of the world opens up.

3min 30 sec read

Unions demand 10% increase in public sector wages, setting the stage for a bitter battle

Trade unions representing public servants formally tabled their wage demands and other remuneration benefits on Wednesday at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). The PSCBC is where trade unions and the government negotiate the conditions of employment in the public sector. 

More pressure on government! 2 min 30 sec read, keeping you abreast of where the latest tensions may come from.

One of South Africa’s biggest cities faces a water ‘day zero’ this month

The opposition Democratic Alliance has warned that two of Nelson Mandela Bay’s main supply dams, the Churchill and Impofu, are set to be depleted by the end of May, leaving large parts of the metro with no reticulated water.

As a budding actuary how would you have advised the city of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to mitigate the risk of running out of water two years ago?  2 min read

Industry news

How intermediaries can overcome client objections

When it comes to finance, we assume people are rational, so we give people more information and longer documents and explain the actuarial principles in the hope that they will result in their making more rational decisions. However, from an insurance perspective, people do not make decisions that we would regard as rational, so giving them more information does not always help; in fact, in may only confuse them.

I hope that this opening paragraph has got you sufficiently interested to read the article. Even as an actuary you will need to understand the way your clients think and from there adjust your approach if necessary.  5 min read. 

Life insurers ‘need to rethink their underwriting’ to cope with increase in non-communicable diseases

The growing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), coupled with an increase in the life expectancy of South Africans, means that life insurers need to rethink or innovate their underwriting processes. This is one of the findings in a series of recently published research briefs, each exploring a different aspect of managing NCDs in South Africa.

A must read. Last week we had an article which addressed these issues from a different angle, now the same data is being used to alert insurers to rethink their underwriting.  Did the thought occur to you last week that an increase in NCDs would have an impact on underwriting? 8 min read

You can download the 14 NCD research briefs from ASSA’s website, www.actuarialsociety.org.za. Go to the News & Insights page and then click on the Public Interest section.

Pension fund’s decision to permit withholding of withdrawal benefit upheld

A former Nedbank employee whose withdrawal benefit was withheld has failed to convince the Financial Services Tribunal (FST) to have the Pension Funds Adjudicator reconsider her decision to dismiss his complaint.

This article holds your interest because you are reading to find out just why the employee is at fault when they were overpaid by their employer.  3 min read

The new standard for insurance claims

In this podcast, three claims experts discuss what insurers should consider as they update their technology, ways of working, and workforces to bring forth the future of claims.

This is a satisfying listen or read. Immerse yourself in your field and one of its major pillars - claims and witness the integration of the elements that comprise this ecosystem. SA Insurers compare well currently, but how will they handle the future? 20 min podcast or 10 min read

Investments 

Digitalisation = embracing digital technologies

Digitalisation has been a key topic for many years. The Covid-19 pandemic intensified the focus on digitalisation as the world’s interactions had to move online to survive. Still, we argue a huge divide persists between the digital leaders and the digital laggards in the corporate world and that understanding is key for investors’ decisions and corporates’ future growth and returns.

"Digital prowess" is demonstrated in this article as the competitive edge to maintaining market dominance. A very interesting article sponsored by Stanlib. 3 min 30 sec read

Not so fast, Rand Pessimists

It is January 1986. It is four months after PW Botha’s Rubicon speech and South Africa is under a State of Emergency. A South African investor decides to take cash out of the country. The investor transfers his rand-based deposits into a US dollar bank account. Would this have proved to be a wise decision?

An article which highlights major moments at home and abroad over time to show how the "interest differential" works. Interest differential refers to the impact of the difference between the SA and the US interest rates on the Rand. 2 min 30 sec read 

Tech firms mark Earth Day with eco-friendly investments

As environmental sustainability increasingly becomes a key priority for companies across the globe, tech firms Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, Oppo, Google and Apple are among the organisations that have announced initiatives to help preserve and protect Earth.

Earth Day is an annual event that takes place on 22 April to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held in 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org. The official theme for 2022 is “Invest in our planet”, with more than one billion people in over 193 countries expected to observe the day today.

Read how big tech firms are working on protecting the planet. This may make them attractive to investors. 5 min read

Challenges facing Africa

Innovative Africa

Speaker makes the case for seeking tech talent in overlooked regions

If constraints drive innovation, then Africa is blessed with plenty of fuel for creative problem solving.

“In Africa we have a lot of constraints," says Fred Swaniker. "We don't have time, we don't have billions of dollars, we don't have lots of investors, so we have to reimagine everything and that will allow us to create new models that the rest of the world can learn from.”

In his remarks, Swaniker made the case for why Africa could soon become a major source of well-trained tech talent.

Please read more about Fred Swaniker and the African Leadership Group he founded. Inspiring! 5 min read

The rising risk of a global food crisis

The instability from the Ukraine–Russia conflict starts to create a whiplash effect in the food supply chain. It’s hard to fully project the implications, but this crisis will have clear secondary effects on other breadbaskets.  Daniel Aminetzah

Such a direct hit to the most important global supply hub of wheat has a clear link to food security. And bread is an important factor in social unrest in many emerging markets. Over a decade ago, for example, wheat prices were considered one of the main sources for the Arab Spring.

This is a podcast an abbreviated transcript of which is available on the site. What does it mean to be a breadbasket? Africa has had many countries called breadbaskets over the years. We could and should get back up there.  23 min podcast and 8 min read

Africa faces huge food-supply obstacles – and time is running out

Climate change requires rapid, major and systemic economic changes at the local, national and global levels. Food supply is estimated to account for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. African countries, however, are responsible for negligible emissions, yet face urgent challenges of adaptation to global warming and extreme weather events which threaten production.

This essay is part of a series that explores challenges and opportunities relating to a just transition in South Africa, with a specific focus on enhancing resilience in ways that improve lives and livelihoods. 15 min read

How Africa can respond to the seismic changes in the world: lessons from history

Fundamental changes are taking place in the world: what are the implications for Africa?

A generation ago, newly appointed Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Dr Salim Ahmed Salim posed that question under circumstances different from today, but of comparable significance.

Two strategic shifts marked the early 1990s. The first was the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, with implications for Africa. The second was the winding down of colonialism as white-minority rule came to an end in southern Africa.

This article provides perspective on how Africa has addressed issues as a continent and which 

Today, Africa faces sudden changes in renewed tensions. This has been crystalised by a number of developments. These include the war in Ukraine, a new Cold War and the rise of China as a global power. These are unfolding against the backdrop of changes in global economics and society resulting from the COVID pandemic, climate change and the fourth industrial revolution.

This article provides perspective on how Africa has addressed issues as a continent in the past few decades and provides some ideas of how to handle the changing landscape of the future. 4 min read also available below.  

Health 

City of Joburg to deploy e-health, digitise health records

The City of Johannesburg is set to digitise patient records through an e-health solution to be rolled out in the coming year.

This is according to executive mayor Mpho Phalatse, who outlined plans to use digital technologies in anchoring service delivery during her State of the City Address last week.

This is more about digitisation than it is about health, but the message is positive creating a smart city using the latest technology. 2 min 30 sec read

Quest for antibiotics – new Cape Town centre to tackle antimicrobial resistance through drug discovery

The new Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Satellite Center for Global Health Discovery at the University of Cape Town’s Holistic Drug Discovery and Development (H3D) Centre is the first of its kind in Africa. Launched on Monday, 25 April, the centre is intended to advance discovery research and development in South Africa, particularly the early-stage science needed to address antimicrobial resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance

In 2019, almost five million people died of a drug-resistant infection, according to Marc Mendelson, professor of infectious diseases and head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at Groote Schuur Hospital. Antimicrobial resistance, particularly antibiotic resistance, is affecting human health and the ability to deliver universal health coverage. There is an urgent need for new antibiotics for certain infections.

Good news for South Africa and Africa. Note the potential that this type of initiative has for attracting and nurturing talent in Africa. 4 min read

Increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection associated with emergence of Omicron in South Africa

Globally, there have been more than 404 million cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with 5.8 million confirmed deaths as of February 2022. South Africa has experienced four waves of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, with the second, third, and fourth waves being driven by the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants, respectively. A key question with the emergence of new variants is the extent to which they are able to reinfect those who have had a prior natural infection.

This is a paper published in Science and available to read on their site. If you are interested in HealthCare or are busy with an honours project or writing a paper yourself, you will find this article well laid out, informative and interesting. Note the scope and limitations section at the end. 30 min read

About you

Author Talks: Actor Terry Crews wants you to open up

The Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor and former NFL player tackles the issue of toxic masculinity and explores how “tough guys” can find strength in vulnerability.

Success is not about getting back at people; it’s about finding a new way to live, about finding new areas and new things so that it doesn’t even matter what someone else does to you, because you’re already gone, you’re already in a new place. Terry Crews

Yes please, you must watch this video or else read the interview - it's wonderful and it's liberating! 10 min read