South Africa’s richly plural civil society was forged in the struggle for liberation, but over the past five years its impact on policy and legislation has become less effective than it should be. The African National Congress has made the shift from liberation movement to governing party, but civil society has not quite figured out how to move beyond its old, oppositional role, writes Yasmin Sooka of the Black Sash.
The government is set to climb down on black economic empowerment (BEE) funding requirements when it unveils the final draft of the BEE Codes of Good Practice this week. A source privy to the drafting process said that the contentious requirements will be loosened. The Codes of Good Practice were unveiled in December, and have since been through an intensive consultation process.
The wheels have definitely come off this thing. This week I have had to report to a bunch of youth-like characters who have temporarily taken over the editorship of this newspaper – all in the name of Youth Day. I suppose things could have been worse. And I guess you have to remember that we were all youths once, sometime way back in the mists of time.
Burundians had bigger things to think about this week than their peace
broker Jacob Zuma getting the sack. With parliamentary elections less than three weeks away, Burundians are preoccupied with herding the last rebel group still at arms into the peace fold. They are also dealing with the human rights implications of maintaining good relations with their tough Rwandan neighbour.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will warn his European partners in the final two weeks before the crucial Gleneagles G8 summit that unless they dismantle the R350-billion Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Africa will never free itself from poverty.
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz ”took his hat off” to President Thabo Mbeki on Saturday for acting against corruption. Wolfowitz, who took charge of the World Bank two weeks ago, met with Mbeki and Manuel to discuss ways fighting poverty on the continent.
The Zimbabwean government has started targeting rural areas in a sweeping blitz on crime and shanties that has already left tens of thousands homeless and destitute in the country’s major towns. Bands of armed police have gone on the rampage, demolishing and torching backyard shacks and makeshift shop stalls in a campaign that has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Islamic militant networks are on a recruiting drive across Europe for potential suicide bombers in Iraq, according to US and European police and security sources. The claim comes amid evidence that the high number of recent attacks is forcing terrorist leaders into a drive for new volunteers.
A controversial documentary, Living with Aids, will be aired in the UK next week that explores ”sexual attitudes” in Africa and their role in the Aids pandemic on the continent. The Sierra Leone director of the documentary says he made the programme to try and find out why Aids was destroying Africa.