Ecotourism outfits based in one of South Africa’s most fragile ecosystems are discovering that coal mining and prospecting permits have been granted on their land without their knowledge or participation. Landowners in the Mpumalanga highveld have gone to court to stop the miners. Some have vowed to deny the miners access to their properties.
SACP Gauteng chairperson Nkosiphendule Kolisile has stepped down from his administrative post as assistant organiser, throwing the SACP into a fresh controversy. Kolisile’s resignation came in a week when SACP leaders tried to fend off allegations by its national treasurer, Phillip Dexter, of ”Stalinist” tendencies in the party.
As the African National Congress reflects on the state of our nation in the coming months, and reviews policy and direction, it must be evident that the government’s substantially punitive response to crime and violence has not been successful. If anything, this stance has exacerbated an over-reliance on criminal justice processes in responding to the social ills of the nation.
Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders returned to their supporters eager to report some progress after their first direct talks with the ruling Zanu-PF recently, but found fresh evidence of widespread concern that infighting in the ruling party poses a threat to dialogue. The first round of formal talks has been overshadowed by the story of how four travel agents planned a military coup to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
Click on image for full-size view.
ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma would not alter the broad parameters of South Africa’s economic policy, but believes the national treasury has usurped the people "as the driver of economic change" and that "participatory democracy" has foundered under President Thabo Mbeki.
The Johannesburg Labour Court on Thursday reserved judgement on whether South African Police Service (SAPS) members could join the public-service strike. Arguments by the lawyers for the police and the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union centred largely on whether SAPS administration and support staff were essential-service workers or not.
A court application for the reinstatement of health workers dismissed during the public-service strike sought to punish a government that was trying to restore order, the state argued in the Cape High Court on Thursday. ”We have been berated for taking action in a chaotic situation,” said an advocate for the Western Cape government, Dumisa Ntsebeza.
On paper, Proudly South African probably seemed like a good idea. In practice, it’s turned out rather differently.
South Africa has embarked on the construction of 2,3-million subsidised houses since 1994, the Presidency said on Thursday. Releasing a set of 72 indicators of development, it said the number of households had increased because of population growth and a shift to smaller households.