The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
SACSIS promotes the fundamental right of the poor to services such as clean water, sanitation, waste management, affordable energy, public transport, health, education and social security.
Saliem Fakir -
Living with an electricity monopoly armed with a mandate to provide basic services can be a double-edged sword. If well run and efficient it can be a boon for consumers and the public in general. If poorly and inefficiently run, the aftershocks will hurt your pocket and eat at the tax base for a long time to come.
When a utility company holds a monopoly over power plants, the transmission of electricity and large parts of the distribution network, as South Africa's Eskom does, it pretty...
Glenn Ashton -
A metamorphosis is underway in making knowledge from institutions of higher learning accessible to all. This change is the open access (OA) revolution.
Most new knowledge emerges not from industrial research, but from within the hallowed halls of academia, from our universities, technological institutes and affiliated research organs. The breakthroughs and innovations made in these institutions benefit us in many ways beyond the narrow focus of commercial adoption.
In the USA, 58% of...
Dale T. McKinley -
If ever there was a classic example of the fundamental contradiction informing the raging debate about South Africa’s ‘developmental model’ (and thus the macro-framing for the delivery of public services), it is to be found in the ongoing ESKOM saga.
On the one hand, the ruling ANC recently emerged from its Mangaung conference with a clear resolution (on ‘economic transformation’) for “increased state ownership in strategic sectors, where deemed...
Dale T. McKinley -
An unsolicited R6.5 billion ‘urban renewal’ Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the ANC-run Emakhazeni Municipality in Mpumalanga (which incorporates the small town of eMgwenya) and a private consortium called WB Noka (a ‘proud member of the ANC Progressive Business Forum’), might be signed any day now. This could happen despite the fact that the vast majority of eMgwenya residents have no idea about most of those involved in the consortium or the details of the...
Anna Majavu -
South Africa continues to be a hazardous place for the Black poor. You don’t have to be a Marikana mineworker to die a death that is undignified, if not brutal and terrifying. The daily security concerns of the majority have never been further from the minds of politicians, who are either gripped with Mangaung mania, or – in the case of the DA - feverishly plotting the jingles and publicity stunts that they think will win them another metro city in the 2014 elections. COPE’s...
Glenn Ashton -
Recently government ministers were asked what schools their children attend. Only Angie Motshekga, Minister of Education, responded, admitting her children attended a private institution. Everyone else refused to answer, arguing that this was private information, which was not in the public interest. Their silence spoke volumes.
The state spends approximately R16 000 on each learner every year. The education budget devours more than 20% of our national budget as the biggest single budget...
