Talks in the public service will continue in the shadow of the strike on the basis of a working document adopted by the bargaining council on Wednesday. Earlier this week, a joint technical team developed the document, which outlines areas of agreement and disagreement. The proposals are not concrete offers or demands because they were not mandated.
Defining the middle strata in one of the most unequal countries in the world is a tricky but unavoidable challenge that Businessmap Foundation researchers Khehla Shubane and Colin Reddy tackle in their report on black economic empowerment and the black middle class. The authors ultimately understand that the middle class includes people who live a lifestyle that is socially defined as "middle class".
The unfolding story of Pakistani national Saud Memon, who was released from more than four years of detention, two of which he spent in Guantanamo shortly before his death this month, suggests that the South African government gave United States intelligence agencies carte blanche to pursue their “war on terror” on South African soil.
The National Prosecuting Authority has defended its decision to separate Schabir Shaik’s trial from that of his co-conspirators, the former deputy president Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thint, saying Zuma could have testified as a witness during Shaik’s trial.
Tumi Makgetla speaks to publisher Solomon Solani Ngobeni about scouting for new African voices.
Retailers and agro-processing companies are under investigation by the National Agriculture Marketing Council, which is concerned that these groups may use their "excessive" market power to the detriment of consumers and farmers. These concerns are described in the council’s report on food price trends released last week.
A newly released 300-page report on policing in South Africa has shed new light on the strengths and weaknesses of the South African Police Service (SAPS), highlighting, among other things, racially skewed service provision, uneven responses to crime and the lack of internal police corruption-busting mechanisms.
The police response time to crime calls ranges from 30 minutes — in two-thirds of cases according to some studies — to five hours. The findings in the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation’s policing report highlight the extreme variations between police stations. Response times greatly affect public perceptions of police performance, the report finds.
White cops are a dwindling group in South Africa, but more and more women are donning the blue. South Africa now has 45 000 policewomen, or 30% of the total number of police, compared to 25 000 in 1994, says a Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation report. The number of African policewomen is sharply up, to about 17% of the total.
The transport department is throwing more money at the new traffic management system, announcing recently that it will be forced to extend the completion deadline for the new electronic National Traffic Information System at an increased cost to the state. Motorists will also have to shell out R30 per licensing transaction from July, which will go towards maintenance and upgrading costs.