The Harrier is a bold statement from Tata but pricing lets it down:
Tata made its return to South Africa late last year, launching four models that cater to different segments but ultimately trying to capitalise on the country’s shift towards affordable vehicles that are tech-heavy.
At the forefront of Tata’s resurgence was its flagship model, the Harrier, a mid-sized, stylish SUV. It comes with technology that seems to keep South Africans happy.
At first glance, the Harrier is an attractive vehicle. Developed on the OMEGARC platform — derived from Land Rover’s D8 architecture — it combines rugged SUV proportions with modern, high-tech styling.
I love that Tata has kept the design language consistent from front to back. From thin LED lights in the front to a lightbar that stretches across the back, everything on the outside of the Harrier feels well thought out.
The interior
Inside, Tata has made a comfortable cabin. From comfortable leather seats that are heated and ventilated to a fully digital instrument cluster, a 12.3 inch infotainment system and a panoramic sunroof, it’s difficult to find fault with the cabin.
That is, until you notice the use of hard plastics around the dash and steering wheel that throw you off slightly. Another thing is that the infotainment screen is more angled towards the passenger than the driver. While I did not find this completely inconvenient, it could be if you are driving alone.
One thing I will give Tata props for is the badge that lights up on the steering wheel when the car is switched on. It might seem insignificant but I like that it gives the interior a sense of uniqueness.
The drive
The Tata Harrier has a two-litre turbocharged diesel engine that delivers 125kW of power and 350Nm of torque.
When I had the Hyundai Tucson, which also has a two-litre turbocharged diesel, on test, I enjoyed the drive and found it refreshing.
I felt the same with the Tata Harrier. The diesel engine is pleasant and offers great torque without big revs, making the Harrier a pleasure to drive.
The suspension is firm, so the car handles road imperfections with little fuss.
Overall, the Harrier provides a smooth, comfortable and stable drive.
Safety
The Tata Harrier earned a five-star Global NCAP rating for both adult and child protection.
Key safety features include seven airbags, Level 2 advance driver assistance safety features, a 360-degree camera and an electronic stability programme.
Pricing and verdict
The Tata Harrier comes in three variants: Pure (priced at R549 900), Adventure (R649 900) and Fearless+ (R699 900).
While the Harrier does its best to offer luxury, the price at which the two higher-end variants are doing it is too much for a brand re-entering the market.
The entry-level variant is in a good price bracket but just under R700 000 is a bit high for the top-of-the-range one.
Engineering the next 50 years:
South Africa is gearing up for one of the most significant overhauls of its post-school education and training system since democracy.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela is seeking to expand the role of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges to tackle massification pressures.
But first he has his eye on modernising higher education law, which he said had barely shifted since the late 1990s.
Manamela said the country must “engineer the system for the next 30 to 50 years”, noting that the country’s National Development Plan (NDP) extended to only 2030.
He warned that the post-school model, which was heavily weighted towards universities, was no longer aligned with the skills demands of a rapidly changing economy.
“South Africa cannot continue producing graduates for a labour market that has already moved on,” he said.
“TVET colleges offer so much potential and it’s not being tapped. Universities are overloaded and we need alternative pathways that are credible, high-quality and linked to real work opportunities.”
The shift is not rhetorical. South Africa has expanded occupational programmes from 15 to nearly 800 in just a few years, with colleges now expected to integrate classroom learning, workshop training and workplace experience — a model inspired by the German, Austrian and Swiss dual training systems — which Manamela believes could help change the narrative.
The minister said the reforms were reshaping student behaviour.
“We’re seeing more students choosing occupational trades and the quality of programmes is improving. The dual system is becoming a reality.”
Yet the numbers reveal the scale of the challenge. The NDP set a target of 2.5 million TVET students by 2030. The system peaked at about 700 000 before sliding to just under 450 000.
However, the minister said momentum was returning, with a target of 580 000 students by the end of the current academic year, helped by hybrid delivery models that gained traction during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reaching the NDP target, he said, would require more than enthusiasm. Infrastructure, staffing and programme quality had to expand
in tandem.
“We want to increase the number of programmes, the infrastructure, the lecturers and the students. The energy is there — from industry, from government, from young people — and we must harness it.”
One of the most urgent concerns was the decline in enrolments in mathematics, physical science and medicine, a trend that threatened the country’s long-term competitiveness, especially as artificial intelligence became ubiquitous.
“It’s worrying, the numbers we received last year,” Manamela said. “We cannot build a modern economy without strong foundations in science and technology.”
The departments of basic education and science and innovation have been tasked with developing a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) pipeline strategy, starting from early childhood and extending through to university.
The plan includes strengthening teacher capacity, expanding foundation-phase science programmes and shifting the national narrative away from the social sciences as the default option.
Private higher education, the minister said, had largely focused on business and social science programmes, leaving the state to fill the STEM gap.
“The state must intervene where the market does not.”
Despite the renewed focus on vocational training, Manamela said universities remained the backbone of the system.
“Our universities are some of the strongest in the world … We’re not leaving them behind,” he said.
The NDP’s target of 1.6 million university students by 2030 was “within reach” but institutions would be expected to ensure their programmes remained relevant and did not produce unemployed graduates. Research, innovation and postgraduate training remained core priorities.
The minister also emphasised the need for universities to support TVET colleges through capacity-building, curriculum development and shared expertise.
“We must transfer the strengths of our universities into the college sector. That partnership is essential.”
No discussion of South Africa’s higher education system would be complete without addressing the government-funded National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which has faced failures, payment delays and public criticism.
Manamela distanced himself from being the “minister of NSFAS” but has taken firm oversight responsibility. “I am ensuring that the commitments made to me — paying allowances on time, clearing appeals, stabilising governance — are met.”
He praised the interim leadership for “working around the clock” to prepare for the academic year but acknowledged that the NSFAS remained a pressure point that required sustained attention.
Perhaps the most far-reaching element of the minister’s agenda is legislative reform. The Higher Education Act, the Continuing Education and Training Act and the Skills Development Act are being updated to reflect a world of online universities, hybrid learning, microcredentials and global competition.
“We never imagined that the University of South Africa could compete with online universities from other countries,” Manamela said. “The system must adapt to a world where learning is borderless.”
Colleges have argued for greater autonomy. The minister said he was “persuaded” by the case for devolving more powers — a shift that could reshape governance across
the sector.
South Africa’s post-school system is vast, fragmented and under pressure. The department oversees more entities than any other in the country, from universities and TVET colleges to sector education and training authorities) and community colleges. Governance failures have been costly.
“We need good leaders, not just vice-chancellors and principals but [also for] councils and boards,” Manamela said.
The minister’s agenda is ambitious but he said the stakes were too high for incrementalism. “We must stabilise the present but design for a future that is already arriving.”
Asked whether the pressure had been high since his appointment and reflected in the grey hairs in his beard, Manamela laughed, saying working around the clock to address various challenges had been a roller-coaster ride.
Edwin Naidu is the head of Higher Education Media Services. This interview was published on the University World News Africa site.
SA produces first foot-and-mouth disease vaccines in 21 years:
South Africa’s first locally-produced foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines in 21 years were formally handed over at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Research facility of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) on Friday.
The initial batch of 12 900 doses – produced at pilot scale using modern bioreactor technology – will be distributed across six provinces, with the Eastern Cape and Free State receiving the largest allocations.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, on site to witness the finalisation of the doses, framed the breakthrough as a “shift from reactive disease control to a proactive, science-led campaign” to reclaim South Africa’s FMD-free status — lost in 2019 — with the World Organisation for Animal Health.
From March, the ARC is expected to produce 20 000 doses per week, scaling up to 200 000 weekly doses from 2027, while imported vaccines from Botswana, Argentina and Turkey are intended to bridge the gap during the rollout.
Steenhuisen paired the technical announcement with an emotive appeal to farmers, acknowledging the “severe emotional and financial toll” caused by repeated outbreaks, movement restrictions and lost livelihoods.
“To our farmers who have watched their livelihoods disappear before their eyes, I hear you,” he said, promising that the government would “stop at nothing” to eradicate the disease and urging producers not to lose faith as a 10-year strategy moves “from defence to offence”.
Central to that plan, the agriculture department argued, is a tightly controlled, state-led vaccination programme – a requirement to prove at least 12 months of zero virus transmission and protect export markets.
The department pushed back against criticism of the government’s vaccine strategy, stressing that Steenhuisen and the department do not oppose the use of designated private agents to import vaccines – such as Design Biologix for Argentina’s Biogénesis Bagó and Dunevax for Turkey’s Dollvet – but rejects calls for a “vaccine free-for-all”.
Such proposals, it said, are “short-sighted and reckless” and risk undermining biosecurity, citing the dangers posed by illegally imported vaccines already detected in KwaZulu-Natal.
The department insisted that private veterinarians, industry bodies and agricultural organisations have been consulted throughout, from the initial FMD Lekgotla to the establishment of a ministerial task team and industry coordination council. “The priority is the consistent arrival of vaccines, not the specific procurement channel.”
That defence, however, has done little to quell growing resistance from parts of the farming and business community.
Sakeliga, which is part of a group threatening imminent legal action, has accused the minister of refusing to clearly state the legal basis for restricting private vaccine procurement and distribution, arguing that the department’s stance may be unlawful and economically damaging.
Farmers have also warned that the newly-unveiled 10-year FMD plan risks repeating past failures if governance weaknesses, compensation delays and limited state capacity are not addressed alongside vaccination.
The department, meanwhile, maintains that without centralised monitoring and state-led control over the vaccination process, the country will fail to achieve its goal of FMD-free status, causing long term damage to agricultural exports and negating the entire vaccination strategy.
South Africa ceased local production of FMD vaccines in 2005 because of ageing technology and infrastructure that was non-compliant with international good manufacturing practice standards.
The ARC’s breakthrough involved identifying circulating regional strains and ensuring the vaccines provide high potency, long-lasting immunity that meets strict international biosafety standards, the agriculture ministry said.
This was an intensive process that required compliance with strict biosafety and biosecurity, safety, and good manufacturing practices, as well as regulatory compliance in terms of the Fertilisers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947.
The initial distribution of this batch will see the Eastern Cape receive 2 600 doses, Free State 2 300 doses, North West 2 000 doses, Gauteng 2 000 doses, Limpopo 2 000 doses and Mpumalanga 2 000 doses.
From March 2026, the ARC will be able to supply 20 000 doses per week of its monovalent SAT1, SAT 2, or SAT 3 vaccine and subsequently 200 000 monovalent doses per week from 2027.
The agriculture department said it has now finalised a memorandum to declare a national state of disaster, which will be tabled soon in Cabinet. This will unlock emergency funding for mass vaccination across affected provinces.
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