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 -
Is the media from Mars and are social justice activists from Venus? If this question were put to me a year ago when the South African Civil Society Information Service (SACSIS) was launched, I probably would have answered, "yes" without hesitation.
However, having spent a year trying to purposefully influence a social justice agenda in the media, the answer to that question has become less clear-cut.
Consider the following titles: "Markets Follow Money and Nothing...
Brian Cloughly -
Britain is in a sad state. Sure, the Taliban are not swarming at the gates of London, nor is there famine (although there are too many hungry families), volcanic eruptions or plague (at least, so far). But the United Kingdom is suffering from a crippling sickness, socially and morally.
In London, in what used to be known as the Mother of Parliaments, 646 grubby bumptious politicians whoop it up in a handout regime of unstinted financial generosity, designed and monitored by themselves and...
Fazila Farouk -
Election 2009 has turned out to be a landmark event for the ANC. The party faced some of its stiffest competition and still came out tops, despite a dismal 15-year delivery record.
In an ironic twist, the people whom the ANC has failed most turned out en masse to keep it in power, while those that it’s been bending over backwards for appear to have voted for the opposition.
The actions of both groups defy belief, but in a world where perception trumps reality, perhaps one...
John Reynolds -
It would be amusing if it were not so tragic to watch some of our self-styled 'public intellectuals' outdo each other in their efforts to find a place for themselves in 'Zuma’s Brave New World'. Integrity is readily exchanged for expediency and principle easily substituted by opportunism.
Public intellectuals, especially of the craven type, live for recognition and adoration. Like the court jesters of lore, they cannot conceive of an existence independent of a benefactor. What is the...
Glenn Ashton -
When we vote in South Africa we enter the voting booth burdened by the weight of history and by our responsibility to the future. We weigh up some increasingly obscure choices and make our mark. But is this then the total sum of our democratic interaction? Are we fulfilling our social obligations by voting? Or is there more to it than this?
The world is not in particularly good shape. There is an economic hurricane building and we don't yet know how hard the winds will blow. The world...
Glenn Ashton -
A strong case can be made that the most important tier of government is that of local government. Local communities are the most acutely aware of their own unique needs and how these can best be met. If participatory democracy is to be truly participatory it can be argued that we need to shift away, at least at local level, from political delineations and instead shift toward co-operative local governance based on common local interests. Party politics is a demonstrably poor mechanism to...
