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?
Fazila Farouk -
The anniversary of South Africa’s decade of democracy signalled a turning point in the way many South Africans view this country.
Since then we’ve been treated to a gaggle of critiques measuring the gains of our democracy.
The overall conclusion has been that it was a decade of poor gains. A decade of missed opportunities. A decade marked by a paucity of ideas about how to achieve real transformation, and most alarming of all, a decade of denial.
Extreme denial...
Karen Peters -
According to the 2008 Budget Speech, currently there are 12.4 million grant beneficiaries in South Africa, with national expenditure on social assistance to the tune of 75.3 billion Rand.
However, despite spending on social security remaining a significant proportion of our GDP, an important segment of the population still slips through the social security net.
What's wrong with the social grants system in South Africa?
To start with, the targeted nature of our social...
Russell Wildeman -
Idasa believes that the time has come for the development and implementation of free quality basic education for all. However, we remain committed to researching key aspects of current education policy and its implementation in order to encourage policy initiatives that will result in better opportunities for poor children in the future.
A major piece of research that Idasa recently undertook was an inquiry into the reforms to the school funding policy. We enquire into whether the...
Danny Schechter -
Everyone has a memorable moment or special date that marked their political lives. For me, it was April 27, 1994, the day of South Africa’s first democratic election when a disenfranchised majority chose Nelson Mandela as its new president. To those that fought so many years against apartheid, it was a political miracle, seen almost a biblical moment ushering in a new Rainbow nation.
I had a front row seat 14 years ago inside the Mandela campaign, making an insider film that...
