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?
Dale T. McKinley -
It wasn’t that long ago, just after the 1994 elections to be precise, when it seemed almost every other South African wanted to became a public servant. For the vast majority, this was not simply because there was a job on offer but because there was a very real sense that becoming part of the newly democratic public service, in whatever capacity was the right thing to do. It was not about the self-interested or political party-centred occupation of positions of power or about using...
Touted as the definitive biography of reggae legend Bob Marley, the documentary, "Marley", directed by Kevin MacDonald opened in international cinemas on April 20th. South African audiences are in for a wait, as local distributor Nu Metro is yet to announce a release date.
In the meantime, enjoy the trailer and a wonderful review by Yuri Prasad who reminds us that Marley “was not the first to take the poverty of Jamaica into pop but that his songs were different to most -...
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen -
Whilst it is early days in the costing of our government’s infrastructure investment programme, ballpark figures suggest R800bn will be spent over the next 20 years. The numbers are still to be tallied, but it appears that the proposed nuclear power stations will be the biggest beneficiaries of government investment since 1994.
Government’s second Integrated Resource Plan indicates that nuclear energy will contribute to approximately one quarter of all power generated in South...
Rebecca Solnit -
Sending Debt Peonage, Poverty, and Freaky Weather Into the Arena
When I was growing up, I ate books for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and since I was constantly running out of reading material, I read everyone else’s -- which for a girl with older brothers meant science fiction. The books were supposed to be about the future, but they always turned out to be very much about this very moment.
Some of them -- Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land -- were comically of...
It was only a matter of time before someone produced a spoof of the video Kony 2012, the Internet sensation that went viral despite its misrepresentation of issues in Uganda.
Juice Media have stepped up to the plate to produce a rap news segment that speaks truth to power with flair. From Africom to the International Criminal Court, there are no sacred cows for the penetrating wit of Robert Foster who raps about America's quest for a new dark skinned villain -- Africa with its boundless...
Conn Hallinan -
On one level, April’s hemispheric summit meeting was an old-fashioned butt kicking for Washington’s policies in the region. The White House found itself virtually alone—Dudley Do-Right Canada its sole ally—on everything from Cuba to the war on drugs. But the differences go deeper than the exclusion of Havana and the growing body count in Washington’s failed anti-narcotics strategy. They reflect profound disagreements on how to build economies, confront inequity,...
