Most SA students choose English at school

More than 60% of South African pupils choose English for learning and teaching, the South African Institute of Race Relations has revealed.

SA adults lag behind in global literacy stakes

South Africa's adult literacy level is lagging behind other emerging markets even though it spends more on it, the Institute of Race Relations says.

Job creation needs radical turnaround to reach target

South Africa aims to create five million jobs by 2020 but has only created 624 000 in the last decade, according to a survey released on Monday.

Government can't continue driving job growth

Researchers say an increase in public sector jobs is not sustainable to drive job growth in SA, adding a 40% growth is needed to reach the target.

Zuma's arms deal probe: A 'tactical manoeuvre'?

Was Zuma's ordering of the inquiry into the arms deal the start of a serious investigation or a move to avoid judicial scrutiny?

New index shows SA development improving

South Africa's overall development has improved, according to a new index released by the South African Institute of Race Relations.

ANC's job targets 'not realistic'

The ANC earmarked sectors for creating employment that have been shedding jobs for years, the South African Institute of Race Relations said on Monday

SAIRR: SA development index improving

SA's human development index is rising after declining for more than a decade, the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday.

Private security industry rockets in SA, study shows

The number of active private security officers increased 167% between 1997 and 2007, the SA Institute of Race Relations said on Wednesday.

White South Africans still top of the income pile

A recent survey shows that white people still sit comfortably atop the pile of income earners in South Africa.

SA life expectancy decreases

International comparisons show that the average South African will not live longer than 50 years, the SA Institute of Race Relations said on Thursday.

Lack of values opens cultural vacuum

Nikiwe Bikitsha follows up on the responses received to her M&G column on single parenting two weeks ago.

Expropriation Bill shelved 'for fear of backlash'

The committee cited insufficient public consultation as the reason for setting aside the Bill, which was intended to accelerate land reform.

Mbeki's rule in limbo as townships burn

President Thabo Mbeki faces an uphill battle to remain politically relevant in his last year in office after his failure to contain an eruption of violence that has killed dozens of foreign workers in South Africa. Mbeki was already under fire for failing to prevent a crippling power shortage when mobs went on the rampage this month.

'What kind of nation are we building?'

The South African government is under growing pressure to send troops into Johannesburg's townships for the first time since the apartheid era as African immigrants continued to flee a wave of killings and violence against foreigners. Several people were killed overnight including two men, believed to be Mozambican miners, who were beaten to death as mobs moved through townships.

Govt blamed for violence 'tinderbox'

As police announced the launch of "specialised units" to combat the deadly xenophobic violence in Gauteng and the National Intelligence Agency confirmed that it was probing the violence, the government on Tuesday stood accused of serious policy failures that "created a tinderbox of unmet expectations which exploded in Alexandra".

SA moves to quell xenophobic attacks

South Africa's police and the African National Congress (ANC) intensified efforts on Tuesday to quell anti-foreigner violence that has killed at least 24 people and sent thousands of African immigrants into refugee shelters. Police have struggled for over a week to end the violent attacks on foreigners.

'No campaign to repel foreigners'

There is no campaign to drive foreigners out of Alexandra, said African National Congress provincial chairperson Paul Mashatile on Wednesday outside the home of a victim of this week's alleged xenophobic attacks in the Johannesburg township that have claimed three lives. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela also visited the township on Wednesday.

Opposition grows to arms shipment for Zimbabwe

Opposition to a shipment of arms being offloaded in Durban and transported to Zimbabwe increased on Thursday when South Africa's largest transport workers' union announced that its members would not unload the ship. A government spokesperson said the country could not stop the shipment from getting to its destination.

Zuma stakes claim as president for the poor

Outside Luthuli House, yellow posters beg South Africans to save power. In the lobby of the African National Congress headquarters, a veteran of the struggle against apartheid is asking to see "Baba". The old man does not have electricity and would like to put his case to the party president. A receptionist shakes her head: "He comes often."

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