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?
Visit the archives.
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen -
Current debates on the motor industry rescue plan remind me of the origins of the term "Hobson’s choice". The phrase draws from a Mr. Hobson that rented out horses, and gave his customers no choice as to which horse they would rent. By limiting the choices available to customers, Mr. Hobson ensured that he both managed his stock, and ensured a rotation of horses.
South African motor industries, through skilful lobbying, are arguing that the rescue plan is the only option...
Frances Moore Lappe -
In writing Diet for a Small Planet, I learned one simple truth: Hunger is not caused by a scarcity of food but a scarcity of democracy. But that realization was only the beginning, for then I had to ask: What does a democracy look like that enables citizens to have a real voice in securing life’s essentials? Does it exist anywhere? Is it possible or a pipe dream? With hunger on the rise here in the United States - one in 10 of us is now turning to food stamps - these questions take on...
On Saturday, 14 March 2009, President Evo Morales gave away 34 land titles in Bolivia's Santa Cruz province. This was state owned land that was not being used. The government has also confiscated thousands of hectares of land that belonged to five powerful ranchers. Morales promised to redistribute the land to those he says are its rightful owners. Indigenous Bolivians are celebrating the fact that for the first time since the country was invaded by Spain, all the people of the country have...
Saliem Fakir -
There is no better illustration of how muddled the implementation of national energy policy is than the recent gaffe by the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs (DME) when it put out regulations calling for a tender process to beef-up renewable energy supply.
This was diametrically opposed to the feed-in-tariff (FiT) process set in motion by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), which is going through another round of consultation and finalisation. It seems like the...
Fazila Farouk -
The global financial crisis has exploded onto the scene, bringing with it job losses, home losses and family murder-suicides. This crisis may be financial, but its costs are human.
The culprit, ‘capitalism’ has been named and shamed and the casino they call Wall Street, exposed. Under the disapproving gaze of the world’s ordinary people, elites appear confounded.
How did they get it so wrong? Why didn’t they see the writing on the wall? What were the predictions of...
Responding to a question about the importance of education and water in developing countries and their significance for women, Stephen Lewis, Director of AIDS-Free World speaks about the impact of the global financial crisis on MDGs. Stephen Lewis: (There is a) need to engage women in a way which isn't prejudicial to them. To keep girls in secondary school. One of the things we do at AIDS-Free World is to focus people on secondary education, because although now primary education is...
