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 -
In 2005, early in her in her first term as Minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu announced that the state had resolved to ‘eradicate slums’ by 2014. This was a time when the technocratic ideal had more credibility than it does now and officials and politicians often spoke, with genuine conviction, as if it were an established fact that this aspiration would translate into reality. It was not unusual for people trying to engage the state around questions of urban land and housing to...
Technology allows us to give cash directly to the poorest people on the planet. Should we do it? In this thought-provoking TED talk, veteran aid worker Joy Sun talks about unconditional cash transfers highlighting an innovative project that makes once off cash donations to poor individuals with no strings attached. Watch this talk to learn what difference a thousand dollar direct cash transfer can make to the life of a poor person who is able to spend the money as he or she pleases. The...
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen -
How do we measure the performance of the South African budget? The message from Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s inaugural Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement suggests dual objectives.
Minister Nene has cut the expenditure ceiling and capped spending on items such as advertising, travel expenses, catering and consultants. Balancing the books sensibly and attempting to ensure effective use of public monies will encourage investor confidence and also pay for the salaries and equipment...
Anna Majavu -
The imminent screening of the new look Generations TV series, which has been off the air since its producer fired the cast last month, should sound an ominous knell for every Black creative in South Africa.
The 16 fired actors held talks at the CCMA last week with MMSV, the production house owned by Mfundi Vundla who axed the actors after they went on strike for residual payments (which they should have been getting all along), and for three year contracts (which were promised to them by...
As the November 24, deadline approaches for the end of the Iran and P5+1 negotiations, analysts are speculating about the state of negotiations and what it would mean if a deal is signed. The circumstances and tone of the negotiations have changed since Iran is currently being viewed as a potentially valuable partner in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS). Negotiations have reached a level where there is the possibility of the U.S. lifting sanctions against Iran and allowing it to...
Jamie Stern-Weiner -
On October 13, 2014, British MPs voted 274 to 12 to recognise the State of Palestine. The abstention rate was high—just 286 of 650 MPs voted—in part because in accordance with convention government ministers abstained, in part because the Labour leadership demanded that those of its MPs who showed up vote ‘yes’ (and thus, a substantial minority did not show up), and in part because most Tory MPs were absent.
By my count, the vote broke down as follows.1 Of 56...
