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 principle of just economies. We are opposed to economic development that violates social and economic rights and increases inequalities in the pursuit of economic growth.
Frank Meintjies -
This has been a tough year as far as labour relations go. There have been numerous strikes and many of them have been characterised by violent clashes. The length of the strikes has also taken its toll. Companies, workers involved and members of the public have all faced the adverse effects of major labour conflicts.
The wave of strike action has triggered another round of the blame game. A huge segment of the public blames unions for strikes. Many go further and accuse unions of damaging...
Robin Broad & John Cavanagh -
With the help of Forbes magazine, we and colleagues at the Institute for Policy Studies have been tracking the world’s billionaires and rising inequality the world over for several decades. Just as a drop of water gives us a clue into the chemical composition of the sea, these billionaires offer fascinating clues into the changing face of global power and inequality.
After our initial gawking at the extravagance of this year’s list of 1,426, we looked...
Dale T. McKinley -
Given the just-concluded Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE ) Summit, it is a good time to take a critical look at this flag-bearer of government’s approach to post-apartheid racial and economic ‘transformation’. It is not a flattering picture.
To start with, the entire edifice of BBBEE is based on the notion of ‘transformation’ being realised through the gradual expansion of private involvement and ownership of business (whether that is through...
Frank Meintjies -
Some workers earn nothing – they survive on tips. Some earn a daily rate that barely covers the costs of commuting to work and a square meal for the day. Then there are those who earn in the region of the median wage – about R3033 a month – but who fall prey to loan sharks and other debt collectors.
For these and many other reasons, South Africa cannot but consider a single statutory minimum wage. The mechanism has the potential to help stitch together the frayed edges of...
Frank Meintjies -
Where is poverty located? What are its shapes and forms? What strategies do households use to cope?
Poor neighbourhoods are often opaque to outsiders, even to those making policies that have a direct impact on such communities. Government planners need to probe beneath the surface – they should see the complexity, understand the livelihood systems and appreciate the coping strategies used in marginalised communities. Often, in a bid to reorganise use of space or formalise the...
Frank Meintjies -
Many of the deep-seated social and developmental problems facing South Africa today link back to the transition processes of the early1990s.
The issue is not that we should not have had the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) or Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). Rather, the problem is that we saw these processes – adopted as political necessity – as “end points” rather than the beginnings of far reaching changes. And the concern is that we are...
