Today, 21st March 2007, marks Human Rights Day in South Africa. It is a day for both celebrating those human rights the majority of people have won through a long struggle and for demanding the realisation of human rights as enshrined in the South African Constitution. Our central demands include the right to housing, education, water & sanitation, unemployment grants, universal HIV-AIDS treatment, cancellation of the apartheid debt, access to public health care and land. For (...)

As the delegation of the South African Social Movements Indaba proceeds to Nairobi on January 19th to meet in Conference with social movements and other like-minded social actors coming from all over the globe, we wish to state categorically that we continue to stand foursquare on the platform presented to the world by the SMI in Mumbai in January 2004. On this occasion, we want to draw attention to the particular areas of deterioration which have occurred in the social and political (...)

The recent violence in the strike of security workers in South Africa was terrible. Many ordinary workers died at the hands of other workers like themselves. Why did this happen? How can we make sure it does not happen again? What causes violence in strikes? Who is to blame?

Millions of ordinary South African have to "steal" electricity. They cannot afford to pay for it. So they illegally connect themselves. This act has been praised and condemned by some depending on their politics. But in this article we ask the question of what it means when people must steal in order to get what they need. Enjoy.

Late last year, National Finance Minister Trevor Manuel unveiled his ‘Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS)’. The MTBPS is designed to provide a longer-term policy framework for the next several annual budgets. As part of the MTBPS, Manuel announced that the ANC government would be spending an extra R37 billion over the next few years, most of which is supposed to go towards social services and public works programmes. All the mainstream media and most political leaders and (...)

The lengthy letter by City of Johannesburg Media Liaison, Mbangwa Xaba (Phiri living conditions a cruel reminder of the past The Star September 16th) is more of a propaganda piece for the Council’s Operation Gcin’amanzi (‘conserve water’) than an honest assessment of the situation of Phiri residents. Besides ignoring the fact that the Council’s housing plan for Phiri residents has yet to see the light of day three years after being announced as a ‘special project’, Xaba uses the continued (...)