Government

SAPS accused of being disrespectful to Commission

Hearings and submissions of oral evidence started at the Commission of Inquiry in Khayelitsha today. The hall at Lookout Hill was packed with member of the Social Justice Coalition, residents of Khayelitsha, academics and journalists.

Adam Armstrong

News | 23 January 2014

Opening statement on behalf of the complainant organisations at the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

Opening statement on behalf of the complainant organisations at the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha and a breakdown in relations between the community and police in Khayelitsha.

Peter Hathorn, Ncumisa Mayosi, Michael Bishop

Opinion | 23 January 2014

Fixing the civil service is vital

Civil servants are failing poor people like Cassiem Mahommed and many others. The decline of our civil service is one of the most important political problems facing South Africa.

GroundUp Editor

News | 14 January 2014

When the ANC jeered Madiba

Do any of the members of the ANC's 1997-2002 NEC now regret the way they heckled and jeered Madiba at an NEC meeting in March 2002?

Roy Jobson

Opinion | 12 December 2013

If the boo fits …

In his 2004 Nelson Mandela lecture Desmond Tutu bravely suggested that an “uncritical, sycophantic, obsequious conformity” constituted a threat to democracy in South Africa. He said that “too many are foolhardy and opt for silence to become voting cattle for the party.”

Doron Isaacs

Opinion | 12 December 2013

AIDS medicine stockouts put thousands at risk

South Africa’s anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment programme is often hailed as one of the most important public health successes. It is the world’s largest ARV programme, with over two million patients initiated on treatment. But it has serious problems: many patients often go without medicines because of stockouts.

Koketso Moeti

News | 28 November 2013

Improving teaching and schools: an interview with the leaders of Equal Education

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, is expected to adopt minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure at the end of this week.

GroundUp Staff

News | 27 November 2013

Controlling quackery: will new regulations help?

Untested nonsense medicines and adverts to buy them are prolific. But after years of chaos in the alternative medicine market, it seems the Department of Health (DOH) is intent on fixing the mess.

Kevin Charleston

Opinion | 26 November 2013

Where politics gets really smelly

Politics stinks. These days in South Africa, this is a fairly common view. But, in the North West province in recent months, the expression has had a very real resonance.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 November 2013

“We’ve lost hope in our government”

Several houses in Gugulethu were damaged by the heavy rainfall this weekend. Hombazi Fiphaza, a resident from Kanana Square informal settlement, said, “We go through the same thing everytime there is heavy rainfall … What pains me the most is watching the children suffer because of it, and there is nothing you can do to protect them from it.”

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 21 November 2013

Khayelitsha Development Forum boycotts policing inquiry

The Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) says there is no need for the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing.

Pharie Sefali

News | 20 November 2013

Where’s Wally? Liberals in the DA

Leaders, former leaders and the main cheerleaders of the Democratic Alliance have publicly debated these last weeks about whether or not the party has betrayed its liberal tradition with its stance on black economic empowerment.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 18 November 2013

Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha starts

Yesterday marked the official start of the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Police Inefficiency in Khayelitsha. It took place at Lookout Hill in the township. Dozens of members of the community, civil society organisations, and the media gathered to witness the first proceedings.

Delphine Pedeboy

News | 14 November 2013

Over R1 billion in fund - yet apartheid victims still await compensation

The President’s Fund was established in 2003 under President Thabo Mbeki to compensate apartheid victims. It has accumulated over a billion rands. Nevertheless, many apartheid victims who were identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to receive compensation from this fund, have still received nothing. Some have died waiting.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 5 November 2013

Khayelitsha residents on the O’Regan/Pikoli Commission

The O'Regan/Pikoli Commision of Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha is to go ahead after a Constitutional Court ruling last week. GroundUp went to the streets of Khayelitsha to gauge people’s reaction to the ruling.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

Opinion | 9 October 2013

Responsible investment in the wake of Marikana

For the first time since its inception in 2006, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) conference was held on the African continent during the first week of October. This event brought together a wide variety of stakeholders, from banking groups to mining giants, as well as consultancy and investment firms from around the globe.

Delphine Pedeboy

Opinion | 9 October 2013