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?
Mohamed Motala is the executive director of CASE, the Community Agency for Social Enquiry. He is a policy and research professional dedicated to social and economic justice. He has extensive experience in public policy formulation, management, monitoring and evaluation, supported by strong research and writing skills. Mohamed has worked at a senior level in both the public and development sectors.
Click on the picture for a larger image.
Mohamed Motala -
South African politicians have recently made strong statements regarding the use of consultants in government. In June this year the premier of Gauteng Nomvula Mokonyane said that the province would be reviewing its relationships with consultants. This sentiment was reiterated more recently at the local government indaba where the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka also made reference to the use of consultants in municipalities as one of the areas that...
Mohamed Motala -
There are a few high profile labour disputes currently taking place in South Africa. The public have entered the fray, influencing the labour debates by engaging with them via newspapers and talk radio programmes. At the same time, public sentiment is being influenced by the manner in which the media is presenting the various labour disputes.
Who is allowed to strike? Who has the right to decent pay? Who has the right to decent working conditions? Who has the right to a decent standard of...
Mohamed Motala -
Both the President’s State of the Nation address delivered on 8 February 2009 and the Finance Minister's Budget Speech, which followed a few days later have told us that South Africa's 'policies' are in place and that the main problem facing our nation is poor implementation.
The State of the Nation address and the Budget Speech are the two most important policy agenda-setting opportunities that the two most powerful men in the country have at their disposal. They present opportunities...
Mohamed Motala -
A recent review of the child support grant (CSG) concludes that while the grant is reaching poor households as intended, it could do better by developing better coordination with other social relief programmes.
This finding was supported by evidence collected in an extensive survey of 2 640 households. The survey revealed that households receiving the grant, exhibit characteristics of poverty in relation to access to basic services, education levels, employment opportunities and...
Mohamed Motala -
The emphasis being placed on Transnet and how well its current head has performed has been getting much attention. However, in the midst of all the year to date earnings, positive cash flows and balance sheets that we are being presented with in the press, one issue stands out: the inefficiency of the public train system is being drowned out in the noise of the accolades for the parastatal’s business and leadership performance.
There are no figures to gauge the performance of the...
Mohamed Motala -
These days we are faced with seemingly perplexing questions about South Africa.
After a decade and a half of democracy, poverty and underdevelopment continue to deepen in some areas. Open and direct racist behaviour is directed at black people. Violence against women takes on a very public presentation, as taxi drivers assault women for wearing skirts. And our columnists and newspaper editors are debating whether it is appropriate to discuss the native question.
On top of all this, the...
