Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Socioeconomic Rights

latest news & developments
South Africa is widely recognised as the most unequal society in the world, with a startling 71% of the country’s wealth concentrated in the hands of a mere 10% elite
AUSTERITY

Civil society coalition condemns South Africa’s report to the UN on inequality

Critics argue that South Africa’s latest submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is a unilateral and fraught exercise

  • Luke Feltham
3 min read
False: Mxolisi Nxasana challenges Jacob Zuma’s version of his sudden departure as NPA head that startled the nation.
FARM WORKERS

​JZ court antics dominate headlines while the destitute remain ignored

Cases about the rights of the vulnerable are overshadowed by his legal-political games.

  • Karyn Maughan
  • Karyn Maughan Guest Author
8 min read
While anecdotal evidence pointed towards low rates of registration of ECD services, it was confirmed by the 2021 department of basic education’s ECD census, which found that only 40% of centres were registered, while a third of programmes receive a subsidy.
ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS

Poor children ‘doomed’ in early grades

The gap between haves and have-nots is already set in stone for life in primary school, a study says.

  • Prega Govender
6 min read
May 1996: Members of the Constitutional Assembly. The signing of the Constitution ushered in a new era of constitutional democracy.
CONSTITUTION

New South African identity must emerge

Nuanced debates are needed to have meaningful conversations about South Africa, 20 years into our democracy.

  • Serjeant At The
  • Bar Author
5 min read
‘Politicians will continue cashing in on the desperation of the victims of the impersonal forces of neoliberalism and the markets.’
BLACK FIRST LAND FIRST MOVEMENT

Politicians and pastors preach a false gospel

Pastors and politicians will continue to feed off the desperation of the poor, until their material and spiritual needs are met, and oppression ends.

  • Comment Author
8 min read
A lack of service delivery and housing
CHANTELLE BENJAMIN 1

Know your rights, says new government programme

The justice department’s Amarightza programme aims to educate the public and officials about the socioeconomic rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

  • Chantelle Benjamin 1
3 min read
South Africa may have attained political emancipation but economically the chains largely remain. (File photo)
ECONOMY

Soapbox: Only ANC can drive socioeconomic transformation

The ANC is pushing to change the material conditions in which the majority of South Africans live

  • Comment Author
6 min read
Sitting still: The report called for disciplinary action to be taken against the director of the Commission for Conciliation
ECONOMIC FREEDOM

We need a new social contract to bridge divisions of labour and living

The Marikana case is a major indicator of the challenge facing South Africa in the area of socioeconomic rights.

  • Staff Reporter
3 min read