Warren Foster

While South Africa reeled in shock this week and the cumbersome machinery of international organisations creaked to life, the most effective responses to the xenophobic attacks came from municipalities, ordinary citizens and faith groups.

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."

Warren Foster looks at music videos that objectify women and asks what the point of it all is, since it is not only reserved to male artists’ videos only anymore.

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.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) is reviewing alternative energy sources to keep the city’s traffic lights operating and intersections flowing during blackouts. The use of solar-powered lights and lights running on ordinary UPS batteries are being considered. Johannesburg already has 15 intersections that use battery power on a pilot basis, while one site uses solar power.

The campaign against Aids in South Africa has suffered several blows in recent years — from confusion about whether Aids is a virus or a syndrome to the infamous post-coital anti-Aids shower and by way of several job lots of dodgy condoms — which are key to the fight against the spread of the virus, writes Warren Foster.

While the United Nations Millennium Development Goals aim to empower women and eradicate poverty, Southern African inheritance practices are having the opposite effect — leaving widows impoverished, maligned and separated from their own children, says a recent study out of Mozambique.

Taking inspiration from the seasons, Metropolitan Holdings has developed an innovative strategy to battle HIV/Aids at grassroots level. Using the Doyle model — an actuarial tool developed by MD Peter Doyle to project the demographic effect of HIV/Aids in Southern Africa — Metropolitan has created "seasonal" scenarios that predict South Africa’s HIV/Aids future.

A new report on South Africa’s energy future warns that if the nation does not rethink its development strategy it could herald ruin for local farmers and the poor. It calls for a long, hard look at the accelerated and shared growth initiative for South Africa. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas’s South African chapter released its report on the country’s energy future last month.

Gauteng’s department of local government has ceded 13 of its functions to various local governments in the province. These include the delivery of basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity, which the department has identified as "absolute necessities" for alleviating poverty and improving people’s welfare.

Gauteng safety and liaison minister Firoz Cachalia has called on sporting formations to put their shoulders to the wheel in the fight against crime. Speaking in Mogale City on the West Rand, Cachalia said the province’s anti-crime campaign focused on mobilising grassroots communities and creating a social movement against lawlessness.