More people have died in connection with the security guard strike than any other since 1994, prompting one prominent Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) leader to suggest that Cosatu’s South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) should consider calling off industrial action.
”For the strike, neh, we need money, of course. You see, you’re supposed to strike but it’s wrong [for strikers] to fight people like us. What’s your family going to eat? Nothing.” The Mail & Guardian‘s interview with Johannesburg security guard Roger highlights a paradox — many non-strikers appear to support the goals of the countrywide labour action by security guards, citing the dangers of the job and poor pay.
ANIMATION OF THE WEEK: It may look, smell and taste like last year’s Madagascar, but Disney’s latest release, The Wild is funnier, writes Tumi Makgetla.
Adoptions by same-sex couples are perfectly legal in South Africa — and heterosexual and homosexual couples undergo an identically rigorous screening and training process before they can adopt a child. The issue of same-sex households was thrown into lurid relief by the “lesbian murder case” splashed across the daily press recently.
The protesters outside court vouching for embattled Jacob Zuma were largely female. Women with his photo emblazoned across their chests. Women honking vuvuzelas in his support. Selling T-shirts to raise funds for his defence. Burning images of the woman who dared lay a rape charge against him.
Taboos on discussing sexual abuse combined with party loyalties to shroud in secrecy gender-based violence during the African National Congress’s exile years. But Jacob Zuma’s rape trial lifted the lid on the subject recently when Zuma’s accuser said she had been raped on three occasions while in exile.
In a corner of Joubert Park in Johannesburg’s inner city, a secret garden is blossoming. "GreenHouse’s vision is to become a demonstration of green living," says Dorah Lebelo, the executive director of the GreenHouse People’s Environmental Centre, an inner city environmental resource centre.
Women who are raped by someone they know are less likely to report and successfully convict their offenders, according to legal experts. This was despite the fact that the law does not distinguish between acquaintance and stranger rape. With stranger rape, if there is good identification, it can be fairly clear-cut,” said Lisa Vetten of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.
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/ 30 January 2006
The African National Congress’s controversial parliamentary chief whip, Mbulelo Goniwe, has been accused of using a march over land restitution in the Eastern Cape as a weapon in his battle with local party activists in Cradock. This follows a statement by six ANC branches in Cradock, Goniwe’s hometown, demanding his expulsion from the party.
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/ 25 January 2006
International companies operating in South Africa are gearing up for intense debate over codes governing the implementation of black economic empowerment (BEE). Multinational firms and foreign chambers of commerce informally surveyed last week identified a raft of problems, ranging from concerns around ownership requirements to costs and compliance issues.