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.
The American city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy. Thousands of public workers are now fighting to protect their pensions and medical benefits as the city threatens massive cuts to overcome an estimated $18 billion in debt. Detroit’s bankruptcy "is an example of a failed economic system," says economist Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics at University of Massachusetts. "There are so many other cities in Detroit’s situation, that if the courts decide...
Frank Meintjies -
It’s much too early to start election predictions; but it is opportune to discuss the content and quality of electioneering. How parties conduct elections leaves deep marks, for better or worse, on our democracy. It can either highlight or neglect the pertinent issues facing major social groups. It can help grow a democratic culture or weaken it.
We need an electioneering process with as much light as heat. We need a lead-up to the actual elections that includes good debate, quality...
Arturo Lopez-Levy -
Nelson Mandela has long enjoyed the support of Fidel Castro, and many right-wing Cuban Americans have never forgiven the anti-apartheid leader for it.
Ethics has never been a forte of the pro-embargo Cuban-American lobby. But the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC has reached a new low.
Capitalizing on South African president Nelson Mandela’s health problems, embargo supporters have constructed a false parallel between the multilateral sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid regime...
Glenn Ashton -
There is widespread outrage at the exposure of collusion by South Africa’s largest construction companies, including the so-called “big six,” by our competition authorities. What is really interesting is that anyone is surprised about these revelations. After all, is this not how business is done?
The primary prerogative of any corporation is to return a profit on investment; everything is subordinate to that objective. We can have as many King III’s, as many...
World-renowned educationalist Sir Ken Robinson delivers the long-awaited follow-up to his now legendary "Changing Education Paradigms" talk. He addresses the fundamental economic, cultural, social and personal purposes of education, and argues that education should be personalised to every student's talent, passion, and learning styles -- and that creativity should be embedded in the culture of every single school.
Teaching is an art form says Robinson, and it occurs at the point...
Richard Pithouse -
Last week Inigo Gilmore’s documentary, South Africa’s Dirty Cops, was screened on British television. It deals with the torture and murder that have become common at the hands of the South African police and includes an examination of the two most high profile cases of political violence on the part of our police in recent years – the murder of Andries Tatane in Ficksburg in April 2011 and the Marikana Massacre in August last year.
The scale of the Marikana Massacre, in...
