Podcasts · Just Access: The Real Democracy

Just Access: The Real Transition - Bonus Episode

5 May 2026 · 17 min · Bonus

Just Access: The Real Transition is a 10-part podcast series from PARI (the Public Affairs Research Institute) exploring what a truly just transition means for South Africa, not only in energy policy, but in access to land, water, power, decision-making and economic opportunity.

This bonus episode steps slightly outside the main series structure to bring forward two conversations that deepen and ground the themes explored throughout.

In the first conversation, researcher Nonhlanhla Mathibela reflects on how unreliable and unaffordable basic services shape the realities of women-led households. Access to electricity and water is not only about infrastructure, it is directly tied to livelihoods, caregiving, and the ability to run small home-based businesses. When services fail, the burden falls disproportionately on women, through lost income, increased unpaid labour, and what researchers describe as “time poverty.”

The second conversation shifts to young people navigating the transition in practice. Murial Kwena’s research highlights how opportunities linked to the transition are often short-term, poorly structured, and disconnected from meaningful long-term employment. Training programmes may offer limited skills without certification, while participation processes often exclude youth in practice, despite being open on paper.

Together, these accounts point to a consistent pattern. The transition may promise inclusion and opportunity, but without structural change, it risks reproducing existing inequalities.

Subscribe to follow the full series, and to learn more about PARI and their research, visit www.pari.org.za