HANNIBAL ELECTOR: How Bekkersdal became a symbol of everything that’s wrong with South Africa
By Richard Poplak The contested location of Bekkersdal has become something of a shorthand for South Africa’s democratic-era failures. But what makes Bekkersdal special? Why has it become so emblematic? And when everyone is performing for the cameras, what is true, what is false, and what do we learn from the fray? RICHARD POPLAK drinks […]
Protests not always about municipalities’ ‘service delivery’
By Carol Paton PROTESTS sweeping South Africa are not always about “service delivery” failures but are driven by a range of political and government issues, some beyond the ambit of local government, Deputy Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Andries Nel said on Friday. Police statistics have recorded an average of 34 protests a day […]
India’s antipoverty battle not over
By Subir Gokarn and Anu Madgavkar AS INDIA prepares for its general election next month, it has some cause to celebrate: extreme poverty is finally in retreat. In 2012, two decades after the government launched a series of economic reforms aimed at opening up the economy, the official poverty rate reached 22%, less than half […]
Privileged South Africans join hands to help the poor
By Hugh Corder and Anton Fagan THIS marks the public launch of the Five Plus Project. Its goal is to get as many comparatively well-off South Africans as possible to give at least 5% of their taxable income to organisations and initiatives helping to reduce poverty in South Africa or to alleviate its effects. Read […]
Analysis: Landmark judgment – what constitutes a home?
By JARED SACKS. On Thursday, the Cape High Court ruled in favour of the Marikana occupiers and instructed the City of Cape Town to rebuild the homes they ‘unconstitutionally and unlawfully’ destroyed on 7 and 8 January. The importance of this landmark ruling, if it is upheld, cannot be overstated. Its impact will reverberate in […]
Problems facing ECD centres: report
By SAPA JOHANNESBURG:Early childhood development (ECD) centres face many problems, the social development department said on Thursday. “ECD centres are battling with issues of inadequate infrastructure, inadequate equipment and supplies, a lack of practitioners and poorly trained practitioners, as well as inadequate health and safety measures, among other issues,” spokeswoman Lumka Oliphant said in a […]
SPII Talk Newsletter, 1st Quarter, March 2014
The preamble to the South African Competition Act, No 89 of 1998 (“the Act”) stipulates that the economy “must be open to greater ownership by a greater number of South Africans” and that a development-focused competitive environment which balances the interests of workers, owners and consumers will benefit all South Africans.
SA hurtling towards poverty – ACDP
By BHEKI MBANJWA Durban – South Africa is fast heading towards a crisis of poverty and inequality, a senior African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader Jo-Ann Downs warned. Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of her party’s manifesto for KwaZulu-Natal, she said there remained pronounced inequalities while poverty levels were growing. The number of people […]
Why can’t Africa tackle poverty like Asia can?
By Luke Smolinski Sub-Saharan Africa has enjoyed rapid growth over the past 20 years but its citizens seem not to share the zeal of some frontier market watchers. The region’s levels of poverty have not sunk nearly as quickly as East Asia’s (see chart below). Africans routinely complain that wealth has not trickled down. Read […]
Marikana ‘shooter’ cop grilled at commission
By SAPA Counsel for Marikana miners wounded and arrested in August 2012 got the opportunity on Thursday to question a police officer who fired shots during the strike-related unrest. Dali Mpofu, SC, cross-examined North West deputy provincial commissioner Maj-Gen Ganasen Naidoo at the public hearings of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry. “The importance of your […]
