ANC & DA battle over an SMS: How legal is it to claim Zuma stole money?
By Greg Nicolson Nkandla: Did Zuma steal? That’s the question posed in the South Gauteng High Court two weeks after Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released her report on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s private Nkandla home. The ANC says the DA violated the Electoral Act by sending an SMS to 1.6 million people saying […]
HANNIBAL ELECTOR: The e-tolls are bigger than your election. Much bigger
By Richard Poplak E-tolling was supposed to be the issue that brought the ANC to its knees in Gauteng, thereby ushering in a new era of coalition governance that would change the balance of power in this country forever. Has the hated road supertax changed the election, or has it merely changed the country forever? […]
German cabinet gives nod to minimum wage
By Fin24: Berlin – Germany’s cabinet gave the green light on Wednesday to a national minimum wage of €8.50 per hour in Europe’s biggest economy – a flagship project for the Social Democrats (SPD) who share power with Angela Merkel’s conservatives. The minimum wage is due to apply from 2015 but will not cover minors, […]
SA has highest number of new HIV infections worldwide
By Mia Malan 400 000 new HIV infections occurred in 2012 ranking South Africa first in HIV incidence in the world. According to the survey, the increased infection rate is “largely due to the combined effects of new infections and a successfully expanded antiretroviral treatment [ART] programme” – ART allow people with HIV to live significantly […]
Letter to Political Parties 31 March 2014
This letter is sent to you by a collective of mass based organisations, civil society organisations and individuals committed to democracy in South Africa. We believe that all South Africans should actively ensure that the constitutional principles of accountability, transparency and openness become shared values. This is applicable not only to public officials but also to […]
PRESS RELEASE 1 April 2014
Civil society takes a stand against secretive political party funding A wide range of mass-based organisations and NGOs concerned with the current lack of transparency and accountability has written to 14 political parties demanding them to reveal who has been funding them. The letter requests, ‘As you campaign in the elections we call on you […]
Marikana Commission: Phase Two, the big picture
By Greg Nicolson The Marikana Commission of Inquiry, which has been running for almost 18 months, has so far focused on the week leading up to 16 August 2012, during which 44 people were killed, with many more injured and arrested. On Monday, the public saw the first event relating to phase two of the investigation, […]
Welcome to Bangui International: Reflections of a psychologist in the CAR
GAIL WOMERSLEY is a South African psychologist who just returned from six months in the Central African Republic, where she worked primarily with Doctors Without Borders staff members to help them deal with the trauma and devastation they were witnessing on a daily basis. This is her account of arriving in Bangui, and of an […]
Op-Ed: Building unity to restore democratic rule
By Raymond Suttner Nkandla has left the country in crisis. Now, we need to draw in a range of actors who have an interest in restoring clean government, non-violence and peace, addressing inequalities and rebuilding our democracy. “When people elect a president, they don’t look for angels. They look for somebody they think will be […]
Unisa: An election debate to forget
By Greg Nicolson As elections near, political parties are rolling out leaders on an endless cycle of public debates (not President Zuma, of course). GREG NICOLSON went to see the ANC, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Democratic Alliance (DA), United Democratic Movement (UDM), Cope and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) at Unisa, Pretoria, on Monday […]
