From R50,000 a month to R10,000. From stable jobs to casual contracts. Coal retrenchments are reshaping life in Mpumalanga, long before transition support arrives. 👉 bit.ly/49MjiC3

Coal built Middelburg. Now coal’s decline is breaking it. A new #PowerTracker investigation tracks how job losses are hollowing out Mpumalanga’s coal belt ⬇️ bit.ly/49MjiC3

“How do we know if the just energy transition is really happening on the ground?” ⚡ Dr Gilad Isaacs (Institute for Economic Justice) explains how our digital mapping tool, #PowerTracker, helps track where energy projects are happening, and how communities are affected. 👉 bit.ly/4aw6lLf

Public land, corporate profit? Our #PowerTracker investigation exposes how renewable energy land deals are structured - and if communities are truly benefiting 👉 oxpeckers.org/2025/11/power-land-secrecy #LandDeals #Greenwashing

People power triumphs! Local organisations are pioneering off-grid solutions, lighting up rural homes left in the dark by Eskom 👉 bit.ly/3V14s3E #OffGridSA #EnergyDemocracy #Solutions

1/ 🧵 Politics meets trophy hunting in Botswana. A dispute over the NG13 hunting concession - worth millions - exposes contested leases, political influence and community frustration.

Critical minerals mining and a new harbour threaten KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism-heavy South Coast. @Andee_Mat tracks the growing "red flags" ➡️ bit.ly/4lwNTax

The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to release the full record behind local content exemptions in REIPPPP & RMIPPPP Bid Windows 5 and 6. Transparency wins 🙌 #renewableenergy

Nama people become gatekeepers of the Orange Oil Basin! A landmark ConCourt ruling grants this small tribe the key to the Northern Cape’s energy future ➡️ bit.ly/44TvT3U #NamaRights #EnergyHub #Boegoeberg

Inside Kruger’s betrayal: Rangers, sworn to protect, are turning rogue and colluding with rhino poaching syndicates. Insiders speak out ➡️ bit.ly/4mOr5VH #Kruger #PoachersPartners #RhinoCrisis

Zimbabwe's "Cyanide Queen" remains a mystery. Police are keeping mum on the extradition of Li Song, wanted for poisoning wildlife. Where is she? ➡️ ➡️ bit.ly/4m5tQS3 #Zimbabwe #IllegalWildlifeTrade

Boom in lithium exports from Southern Africa to Chinese markets! Our multi-award-winning #PowerTracker investigation exposes the hidden routes and sources used by lithium smugglers ➡️ bit.ly/3R9rIdL #CriticalMinerals #LithiumSmuggling

HOLIDAY READ: Insiders reveal official complicity in rhino horn smuggling Corrupt law enforcement are the "open doors" for cross-border wildlife crime syndicates ➡️ bit.ly/4iyTtbM #Rhinos #WildlifeTrafficking #Exposed

The critical question facing Namibia’s GH2 plans: Where’s the water? 💧 John Grobler investigates the Daures Green Hydrogen Village pilot project in the arid Namib Desert ➡️ bit.ly/3u4yY2A #WaterCrisis #GH2 #Namibia

European packaging demand fuelling environmental damage in Mozambique 🇲🇿 A Portuguese eucalyptus project is spreading harmful exotic species, disrupting rural areas ➡️ bit.ly/3C0uA8V #PulpFiction #Mozambique #ExoticSpecies 🤝 @journalismfund.bsky.social

HOLIDAY READ 📢 🇿🇦💎 SA holds the key to the green energy future with vast mineral deposits. But what do locals want? #PowerTracker journalist Andiswa Matikinca investigates the critical futures stakeholders envision ➡️ bit.ly/3ZiLqqW #TransitionMinerals #SA #Mining

Bureaucracy over development: The struggle of Namibia's GH2 projects continues. Why are 14 vital programmes moving so slowly? Find out what’s causing the delays ➡️ bit.ly/4h2Nqvv #Namibia #GH2 #SlowGrowth

Namibia's Green Hydrogen boom? Not quite. Our investigation found 14 GH2 projects moving slowly, plagued by bureaucracy. Are elections taking the shine off vital energy programmes? ➡️ bit.ly/4h2Nqvv #GH2 #Namibia #PowerTracker

ICYMI: Oxpeckers associates and #PowerTracker journalists Andiswa Matikinca and Tatenda Chitagu were awarded the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Excellent Award, in Innovation / Investigative Journalism, for their ground-breaking investigations on cross-border lithium smuggling ➡️ bit.ly/3R9rIdL

HOLIDAY READ: Catch up on our latest investigation into Fairtrade wines, 'Broken promises: Why South Africa’s Fairtrade farm workers feel short-changed' Read the full investigation by @rossimarcello.bsky.social and Stephan Hofstatter, with support from @journalismfund.bsky.social ➡️ bit.ly/4qoZfAn

Huge 👏👏 to Andiswa Matikinca and Tatenda Chitagu: joint winners of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award for Innovation / Investigative Journalism! Recognised for their groundbreaking exposé on lithium smuggling across southern Africa. Read the investigation ➡️ bit.ly/3R9rIdL

SA produces 80% of the world’s Fairtrade wine - but workers say the system meant to protect them is failing. Read the full story: bit.ly/4qoZfAn 🤝 @journalismfund.bsky.social ✍️ @rossimarcello.bsky.social & Stephan Hofstatter

#TBT 2025: The year marine environments were threatened and conservation corruption was exposed. Offshore oil/gas exploration threatens to collapse the Orange Basin marine environment. Corrupt officials enable cross-border rhino horn smuggling.

💡 Who controls the land behind SA’s clean-energy boom - and who profits? Over 9 months, the #PowerTracker team filed PAIA requests for renewable-energy land leases across the country. What we got back: partial info, refusals and silence. Read all about our experience here ➡️ bit.ly/486l5ke

🌍 For the first time, @wcsj2025.bsky.social landed on African soil - and Oxpeckers showed up strong 💪 Our global associates united to share insights on climate, lithium mining, new media survival, constructive journalism, and data-led investigations into endangered species 👏

Join us at 15:00 SAST today, either in-person at @wcsj2025.bsky.social or virtually (wcsj.online), where we'll be talking about using #WildEye data in your work 🤝 @journalismfund.bsky.social

#TBT 2024: The energy transition isn't cheap • DRC’s cobalt rush is destroying reserves • Namibia’s GH2 progress hampered by bureaucracy • Zimbabwean communities face lithium liability hazards • Kruger faces surge in snaring • Municipalities struggling to finance JET ➡️ oxpeckers.org/investigations

Join us at @wcsj2025.bsky.social for a deep-dive session on turning scientific datasets into compelling, cross-border environmental investigations. We'll be showcasing our #WildEye tool, supported by @journalismfund.bsky.social, which maps more than 5,500 incidents of wildlife crime across the globe

🌍 Want to level up your environmental data journalism? The Oxpeckers Learning Kit offers practical tools + tutorials for investigating wildlife, climate & environmental crime. Start learning today: oxpeckers.org/learning @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

Next week we'll be at @wcsj2025.bsky.social talking about how data can kickstart investigations into endangered species, alongside Tadeusz Michrowski, Alexandra Talty (@alexandratalty.bsky.social) and Rob Spaull. If you can't make it in person, you can attend virtually. Register today ➡️ wcsj.online

#TBT 2023: Where is the US$8.5-billion pledged for SA's JET? Is the coal lobby still pushing back against green investments? Why are seized DRC ivory stockpiles fueling illegal trade? Namibia's GH2 plans are criticised as flawed and opaque. Get the facts: oxpeckers.org

1/6 Oxpeckers assistant editor Thabo Molelekwa spoke with energy experts at this past weekend's #G20SouthAfrica. Here's what they had to say:

Our new investigation, 'Deep threats of drilling the Orange Basin, is here. 🌊⛴️ Through #PowerTracker, we’ve unlocked oil-spill data that was previously out of public reach, revealing the real risks behind offshore drilling plans. Download the data: oxpeckers.org/get-the-data 👀 @gijn.org

Oxpeckers was on the ground at the #G20 this weekend. 🌍 Assistant editor Thabo Molelekwa attended in person, bringing us first-hand insight into key climate + accountability commitments. We’ll be tracking every pledge made - for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. Stay tuned.

On 21 Nov, #WomenShutdown: Women & LGBTQI+ folks in SA are asked to refrain from all work, stop spending, and lie down for 15 min at 12pm - one minute for each woman murdered daily.

Power. Land. Secrecy. What nine months of PAIA requests told us about SA’s renewable energy transition 🧵 #PowerTracker set out to uncover the land lease deals behind renewable energy projects. Who owns the land? Who benefits? Who gets left out?

We partnered with ReNew2030 and the African Climate Foundation's New Economy Hub to spotlight how #PowerTracker empowers journalists to track South Africa’s energy transition 🎥 Watch the video to see how it’s transforming climate reporting

IMPACT: Our team won at yesterday's regional @vodacomsa.bsky.social Journalist of the Year Awards, for their work on lithium 🏆 Congratulations to Andiswa Matikinca, Fiona Macleod, Dianah Chiyangwa, Aphiwe Moyo and Tatenda Chitagu for their work on this important issue 👏

When the MV Ultra Galaxy spill hit the West Coast, 40km of coastline was blanketed in thick fuel oil. Read our latest investigation into how oil spills are eroding one of the world’s most unique coastal ecosystems ➡️ bit.ly/4qYYzCx @gijn.org @coveringclimatenow.org @cop30brazil.bsky.social

🛢️ A coastline under oil From Doringbaai to the Cape of Good Hope, oil spills are suffocating South Africa’s marine ecosystems - and it’s getting worse. 🔗 Deep threats of drilling the Orange Basin, by John Grobler ➡️ bit.ly/4qYYzCx @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

TBT 2022: A Year of Exposing Transnational Crime & Energy Shifts 1. Wildlife Kingpin Down: September 2022 saw the arrest of notorious rhino kingpin 'Navara' in Mozambique, following years of tracking. Uganda’s special court also clamped down on wildlife crimes @gijn.org

⚖️ NOVEMBER 28: A court case that could reshape SA's industrial policy ARTsolar is asking the court to: ✓ Compel respondents to prove they complied with local content rules ✓ Declare conduct unlawful if they can't ✓ Order corrective action ➡️ bit.ly/47sWc3n @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

⚠️ The human cost of broken promises When ARTsolar's market collapsed, it wasn't just 1 company that suffered: - 500+ workers lost their jobs - Suppliers shut down - Years of skills development and training erased Read the full investigation ➡️ bit.ly/47sWc3n @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

🏭 BREAKING: A Durban solar manufacturer is taking the government and 20 major energy companies to court over alleged violations of local content rules. Read the full investigation ➡️ bit.ly/47sWc3n 👀 @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social #RenewableEnergy #SouthAfrica #LocalContent #GreenJobs

#TBT: 2021 Accountability Drop! Wildlife crimes and energy crises defined 2021. Our investigations exposed: • Snow Leopard Smuggling: Networks exposed across Nepal, China, & India. • Dirty Air Lawsuits: SA government sued in landmark 'Deadly Air' case. @gijn.org

Investigative journalist Andiswa Matikinca t is bringing hard truths to #AIJC2025: lithium’s role in the energy transition, the smuggling of raw ore, mining applications & community impacts @gijn.org

SA solar milestone 🌞 The Springbok Solar Project (195 MW) near Virginia, Free State, is online ahead of schedule! 💡 100% SA-owned & financed 🌍 Powers ~150 000 homes 🤝 13 buyers 👩‍🔧 26% women workforce We’ve tracked it from day 1 via #PowerTracker: bit.ly/4aw6lLf @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

For our latest investigation, we built a dataset of land leases linked to renewable energy projects across SA. It provides details on their impacts on landowners and surrounding communities. Download the dataset via our Get the Data page: oxpeckers.org/get-the-data @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social

#TBT 2020: Relentless investigative journalism exposing environmental crime 🦏 Global conservation organisation infiltrated by trophy hunters. ⚖️ Lenient punishments for pangolin offences in China. 🚢 Seahorse black market devastates Italy’s coast ➡️ oxpeckers.org

In October '25, the R5.2-bn Red Rocket solar park became the first and only project to move forward as part of Eskom's land lease scheme - which we've been following since '22. Read our latest investigation to learn more about what we discovered: bit.ly/48vSGpT @gijn.org @mobilize-za.bsky.social