Warren Foster
Guest Author
No image available
/ 16 May 2008

Artists shed their load

Artists exhibiting at Johannesburg’s Kaross gallery have expressed what the new South African phenomenon of load-shedding means to them. And in some cases, it’s darkly (or electrifyingly) personal. Close your eyes as you pass Damien Grivas’s interpretation of the shedding of a load. The subject of the photograph is literally him taking the power crisis into his own hands.

No image available
/ 12 May 2008

Water wars move to Cape

In the same week that the Johannesburg High Court declared prepaid water meters to be ”unconstitutional and unlawful”, the City of Cape Town indicated it intends to roll out more than 20 000 water meters within the next year. Last week Judge Moroa Tsoka found the City of Johannesburg’s imposition of meters that cut off residents’ water supplies once they reach the free basic monthly limit to be ”unlawful and unreasonable”.

No image available
/ 22 April 2008

‘More black lawyers needed’

Increasing the number of black — specifically female — lawyers is the aim of newly appointed co-chairperson of the Law Society of South Africa Vincent Saldanha. Saldanha was appointed co-chair of the LSSA with Pretoria attorney CP Fourie. He said co-chairs were appointed to accommodate for equity in the system. "Invariably there is one black and one white chair."

No image available
/ 4 April 2008

Mbalula dodges plagiarism claims

Outgoing ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula denies to the Mail & Guardian that he plagiarised a six-year-old Oxfam document in an article he wrote for the ANC’s newsletter, Umrambulo, as recently as a few months ago. Oxfam, on the other hand, seems unperturbed.

No image available
/ 20 March 2008

Showing off your faith with pride

Living religion entails significantly more than daily ritual and occasional observances. Many believers like to show their faith by adorning their homes — and their bodies — with ornaments and trinkets. A short journey around the religious paraphernalia shops of Johannesburg offers insights into the belief systems of various groups.

No image available
/ 14 March 2008

From the shadows, riding into the limelight

While Robbie Hunter was first across the line at Sunday’s Pick n Pay Cape Argus cycle tour, the next face of South African cycling may well be the slightly obscured young development rider we saw flanking Hunter’s right at the finish. If he had his way, Nolan Hoffman (22) would have been born with a bicycle between his legs.

No image available
/ 11 March 2008

Top of the agenda

Poverty is one of the biggest challenges Southern Africa faces. Here many people still live on less than $1 a day. Last August, the Southern African Development Community summit decided to hold an International Conference on Poverty and Development to develop new policies and mobilise stakeholders in the fight against poverty.

No image available
/ 10 March 2008

Basic food more expensive in rural areas

While it is no secret that South Africa’s poor are the hardest hit by inflation, it seems that people in rural areas are suffering the most. Looking at a rural shopping basket, a study has found that basic food items have increased between January last year and January this year by 23% in the case of maize meal.