Civil society wants Zuma to discuss…
By SHANTI ABOOBAKER — Cape Town – Much of the focus on President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address tonight has been on whether it will be disrupted by the EFF. But what about the contents of the speech? Zuma needs to show vision – and perhaps win the support of civil society by […]
Zuma to deliver State of the Nation address amid threats
Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma will deliver his eighth State of the Nation address on Thursday amid tight security following threats of disruptions. The EFF on Tuesday repeated its threat to interrupt his annual address by asking him questions about his Nkandla homestead. “The EFF will ask questions to Zuma during the Sona [State […]
Massive boost for SA civil society as $25 million long-term fund to advance Constitution announced
By Marianne Thamm — South African civil society has received a substantial shot in the arm with the announcement on Thursday of a $25 million fund jointly established by the Open Society Foundation, the Ford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, which aims to “advance constitutionalism” for next 10 years. The announcement comes in the wake of […]
Alternative Mining Indaba calls for inclusion of communities
By Jo Seoka — Alternative Mining Indaba calls for inclusion of communities – City Press Change in mining is needed now or we risk environmental and economic devastation. It is time for civil society and communities to be meaningfully included in the Mining Indaba and to have at least a 50% […]
Fight against Ebola: After a year of darkness, some cautious optimism
By SIMON ALLISON — There’s good news in the fight against Ebola – or, at least, some cautious optimism. The spread of the virus is slowing, and healthcare workers are beginning to talk about how they might eradicate it entirely. For Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, however, this is only the very first step in […]
History, Distorted: Forgiving and airbrushing Apartheid’s protagonists
By RANJENI MUNUSAMY — The granting of parole to Apartheid killer Eugene de Kock and the renaming of a Cape Town street after FW de Klerk has provoked high emotion and debate. Rightly so. Dialogue and interrogation of issues is how the nation maintains its dynamism and ensures awareness and accountability. The problem is that […]
South Africa: Where 12 million live in extreme poverty
By GREG NICOLSON — Reducing poverty is seen as the world’s greatest challenge and in South Africa it is counted as one of the country’s triple threats, the other two being unemployment and inequality. Statistics South Africa has published a report that updates the national and provincial poverty lines, setting the minimum socially acceptable standard […]
Life during NPA Wartime (again)
By STEPHEN GROOTES We have all become so accustomed to fights around control of our justice system, the intelligence services and the police, that sometimes big announcements pass almost without notice. On Saturday afternoon, the Presidency announced that it would continue with the inquiry into the fitness for office of the National Director of Public […]
Op-Ed: No ‘dark sarcasm’ in the classroom
By ALEX ELISEEV — Today, Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, is due to visit the Curro private school in Roodeplaat, Pretoria. Despite denials from the school, parents there have accused management of dividing children into classes based on the colour of their skins. ALEX ELISEEV is the journalist who broke the story and who has now […]
Zuma urged to reject POBs’ pay hike
By Amy Musgrave — Johannesburg – Pressure is mounting on President Jacob Zuma to reject recommendations that public office-bearers (POBs), such as MPs and judges, get a minimum of a 5 percent pay rise. Last week, the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers suggested that POBs earning less than R1 million get […]
