Keyword: South Africa

What's Wrong With the Social Grants System in South Africa?

Picture: Julia Cumes 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...

On the Anniversary of Nelson Mandela's Election: Why Political Campaigns Are Only One Road to Social Change

Picture: www.writespirit.net 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...