Amplifying community voices in South Africa’s green transition

The green transition towards renewable energy is about more than investments, Governments’ plans, rules and regulations. It is also about how these initiatives take root in communities and how citizens put them into practice. Semeyi Zake brings this aspect to light in a news feature on Business Day TV in South Africa.

By Vibeke Quaade

Semeyi Zake is a South African journalist and media executive and currently serves as Head of Channel at Business Day TV https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/, overseeing the channel’s programming and content strategy. Business Day TV is one of the premier platform for news, analysis and insights on South African and global markets.

A recent news story in South Africa caught Zake’s attention when the country’s electricity minister vowed to end load reduction, the targeted power cuts used to ease pressure on the grid. These outages often hit township communities the hardest. The minister’s promise, however, came with a caveat: success would depend on community co-operation with the government’s planned initiatives.

For Zake, something vital was missing from the coverage, namely the voices of the very people affected.

Although Zake heads the channel, he stays closely connected to the heart of journalism and occasionally steps in front of the camera to tackle issues of national and social importance. In this case, he decided to tell the township communities’ side of the story, listening to residents and small businesses living through daily power cuts, and exploring whether they were finding their own solutions, particularly through renewable energy. He wanted to produce a story focusing on the possibilities rather than the problems.

Finding examples proved challenging, however. This is simply because few township businesses have the resources to invest in renewable energy solutions, and the one business that had agreed to participate cancelled on the day of filming.

Zake therefore shifted his focus to small businesses in middle-income areas, showcasing how they were adapting to the crisis. The change reshaped the story but reinforced its core message. Township voices remain largely missing from South Africa’s broader energy conversation. The shift in the story left Zake even more determined to highlight this aspect, ensuring that the energy transition includes not only corporations, but the ordinary people who live with its consequences.

Semeyi Zake is a Danida fellow currently taking part in Danida Fellowship Centre’s learning programme “#2025. Reporting from the global frontline of theglobal climate crisis in an era of fake news”. Read about it here.

 

 

Go back to our stories