The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Richard Pithouse -
There is an extraordinary degree of popular protest in South Africa. It is diverse, dynamic and unstable and it includes elements that are emancipatory, contradictory and reactionary. This degree of sustained popular dissent – long organised and expressed outside of liberal frameworks, and increasingly also organised and expressed at a distance from the ruling party – provides fertile ground for building popular organisations. But, with important exceptions, the vast bulk of the...
Many in the West believe that the destiny of the human race is to embrace Western liberal democratic values. This may or may not be true, but it partially explains why Washington and its allies are so willing to overthrow governments around the world, even if they are democratically elected -- and their favourite tool is the NGO. Peter Lavelle of RT's Cross Talk hosts a discussion on how NGOs are used to encourage regime change in countries that Western powers deem problematic. He is joined...
Most people working in NGOs are driven by passion and a sense of mission. But good motives don’t guarantee good outcomes, argues Dan Corry, chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital in a seminar about non-profits, innovation, productivity and ‘theories of change’ in the UK charity sector. The discussion parallels debates about the effectiveness of South African NGOs. Corry calls for creative destruction to improve productivity and fast track social change. But Vicky...
Frank Meintjies -
Some parts of South African civil society are very weak. Faced with various problems, quite a few civil society organisations live with the constant threat of closure and many have been forced to cut back on programme work.
Other parts of civil society are vibrant. There is strength at the local level. Although many community organisations, including advice offices, are limping along, there is also vibrancy and assertiveness as expressed, for example, in the form of the daily service...
Dale T. McKinley -
If you blinked you probably missed it.
Seemingly unbeknownst to the vast majority of South Africa’s over 120 000 non-profit organisations (NPOs), the Department of Social Development (DSD) undertook a series of ‘partnership’ meetings and summits across the country in June and July last year with selected NPOs. In the words of DSD Minister Bathabile Dlamini, these were designed to discuss “the work and challenges of government and civil society organisations...
Jenny O'Connor -
In December Egyptian prosecutors and police raided 17 offices of 10 groups identifying themselves as “pro-democracy” NGOs, including 4 US based agencies. Fourty three people, including 16 US citizens, were accused of failing to register with the government and financing the April 6th protest movement with illicit funds in a manner that detracted from the sovereignty of the Egyptian state.
The US applied massive pressure on Egypt to drop the case, sending high-level officials to...
