Mining communities bear the burden of disease
Despite a court order, residents near mines were ignored when Covid-19 guidelines were drawn up. Now the virus devastates the very people made vulnerable by their operations.
Linton Kwesi Johnson gave poetry back to the people
The 2020 winner of the PEN Pinter Prize, LKJ’s poetry puts the ignominy and hardship of the black experience in Britain front and centre in words that echo across the decades.
Ignoring the coronavirus to play football
Men and boys carry on playing football in the Mpumalanga highveld, as if there were no Covid-19 and lockdown. To most, the pandemic is but a distant tale.
George Hallett’s camera was a political instrument
A photojournalist reflects on the life’s work of George Hallett, a narrative of thousands of lives, spanning decades, through one man’s lens and held in a single archive.
Double-edged sword if Israel annexes more land
If the Israeli state’s planned annexation of Palestinian land goes ahead, it could force global powers into publicly acknowledging the farce of a ‘two-state solution’.
Editor's Pick
UN watchdog joins SA air pollution case
The government is facing a court battle about big industry’s emissions and their link to poor health. This is a public health concern and government must take action to save lives.
Workers still can’t access Covid-19 relief
Despite promised amendments, workers are still unable to apply directly for financial relief from the government’s temporary relief scheme. Employers must do it on their behalf, but many refuse.
How Covid-19 is impacting on public transport
Most people in South Africa rely on public transport and the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown regulations have exacerbated an already overcrowded and run-down system.
Sport must dismantle systematic racism in its ranks
Various sporting codes have rallied behind Black Lives Matter. But instead of flashy public relations exercises, they should show their support by addressing the racism rife in their midst.
A glimpse into the uprising in America’s ‘black mecca’
From police killings and gentrification to Covid-19, activists in Atlanta, Georgia, discuss the frustrations of being black in America amid mass protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd.
Austerity to trigger worst depression in a century
Government plans to pull the economy out of crisis will worsen our abysmal employment figures and plunge us into crippling levels of debt.
Podcasts
Mixtape 14: Station to station
All on board for this week’s mixtape with Charles Leonard. “Station to station” features great songs about trains.
S2 Episode 5: Jobs bloodbath | Basic income grants
Lockdown job losses are soaring. A union organiser tells us about their battles. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted fundamental questions, such as whether a basic income grant could work for everyone.
Mixtape 13: Roots
In this week’s mixtape we go digging for our musical roots, attempting to find some sense in these uncertain times.
COVID-19
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News
India and China conflict intensifies
A frontier dispute between the two Asian giants turned deadly for the first time in 45 years. Observers argue the skirmish was exacerbated by Delhi’s annexation of Kashmir and Ladakh.
Teachers’ fears are real and they need a willing ear
The reopening of schools in South Africa is continuing apace amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With many teachers falling ill and some dying, support for them is crucial.
Shack settlement left without power or medicine
Creating a road blockade from felled trees was the only way Zweledinga residents in Port Elizabeth felt they could draw attention to their plight after the municipality disconnected their electricity.
Covid-19 Roundup | Evictions and raids
As the court finds raids in inner-city Joburg unconstitutional, the City of Cape Town has again violated the lockdown eviction moratorium, beating a naked man and destroying his shack.
LGBTQIA+ Covid-funds project rooted in community
Multiple organisations have come together to raise funds to help LGBTQIA+ migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who have been shunned by the state during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pietermaritzburg prisoners fear Covid-19
Inmates serving lengthy sentences for serious and violent crimes say basic regulations to combat the spread of the coronavirus are being flouted, putting their lives at risk.
Long Read | Covid-19 further delays TRC justice
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown has once again delayed the quest for justice and closure by families whose loved ones died in police custody during apartheid.
Port Elizabeth hospitals flooded as clinics close
There are not enough medical personnel in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro to keep all its public health facilities open – even as patient numbers spike due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Superspreaders: Why Covid-19 is difficult to curb
Asymptomatic patients who infect large numbers of people derail government efforts to flatten the curve. For those without resources, preventative measures are impractical.
Features
Long Read | eSwatini’s history of forced evictions
Companies and the government have been evicting small-scale farmers off the land they have lived on and worked for years. Many have lost homes – and more are on the line.
New Books | Tell Our Story
While considering media freedom in South Africa, the authors ask how regulatory bodies can ensure open and fair access to news without flattening ideological positions.
Cartoon | No leg to stand on
The human settlements and police ministers have been extremely vocal about the brutal evictions in the Western Cape but have no problem with similar violence exerted by authorities in ANC-led provinces.
Covid-19 adds to coffee’s brewing crisis
Smallholder coffee farmers around the world were already battling tough conditions such as poverty and drought when the coronavirus pandemic struck and worsened their situation.
Book Review | Finding Common Ground
Wandile Sihlobo’s words about his passion for agricultural development in rural areas ring hollow at a close reading of his new book. It is a bidding for Big Agriculture and its supposed land reform answers.
Culture
Album Review | Inganekwane by Zoë Modiga
With her second album, a marvel that has been three years in the making, the singer-songwriter takes her place in a storytelling tradition in which black women are the vanguard.
Film Review | Cook Off
Made on a tiny budget, Zimbabwe’s first feature film in a while – the feel-good Cook Off now on Netflix – was a dicey affair, with actors and crew not sure they would get paid.
Neo Muyanga navigates the ‘maze in grace’
Making Grace Amazing, on offer at the National Arts Festival, engages the memory inside liberation songs, revealing difficult conversations and imagining expansive possibilities.
The cultural impact of The Eusebius McKaiser Show
McKaiser’s show at Radio 702 became a home for many, a place to question and deeply engage with difficult aspects of South African society while shaping public culture.
Text Messages | An 18th-century lesson in power
Women and the working class would do well to draw on Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais’ work to subvert social hierarchies, as did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte.
Afropolitan Comics tell of Africa, frame by frame
The comics genre in Africa takes centre stage at the Afropolitan Comics exhibition that is in the line-up of this year’s online-hosted National Arts Festival.
Book Review | An Eternal Audience of One
Set primarily in Windhoek, Rémy Ngamije’s debut novel is a story of family, friendship and migration. Across six countries, it questions the idea and experience of home.
Sport
Tennis players tackle social issues in lockdown
A number of players not only found their voices during Covid-19 lockdown but also realised how much power and influence they wield as professional sportspeople.
2010 World Cup was an African Renaissance project
The first Fifa World Cup on African soil was more than just a sporting exercise, it was an opportunity to align Brand Africa and show the world what the continent is capable of.
Klopp and his Beatles move on from ‘Yesterday’
The wait was long and painful, from the endless jokes to that Steven Gerrard slip. But after 30 years Liverpool are finally Premier League champions of England.
Sundowns Ladies win the league in low-key fashion
Covid-19 was the only thing that could slow Sundowns Ladies’ dominance in the first season of the Safa National Women’s League. Coach and players tell how they took the title with a 100% win record.
Asamoah Gyan: 2010 changed my life
Ghana’s all-time goalscorer, and the African with the most goals in the Fifa World Cup, achieved many things in his glorious career. But he may always be remembered for one penalty miss.
The vuvuzela: Did we blow it by blowing it?
The metre-long plastic instrument was the signature sound of the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa. What the hell were we thinking?
In defence of Luis Suarez’s handball
When the shady Uruguayan robbed Ghana exactly a decade ago, he showed a ruthlessness that too many African World Cup contenders have lacked.
Returning athletes face health and safety concerns
Sport has been gradually returning to action in some parts of the world. Without fans, it is not the same. However, there is more to be worried about than the threat of the virus.
Sport supports the fight against police brutality
The senseless killing of George Floyd has once again highlighted the danger of being black in the supposed land of the free. Sports stars are speaking out as waves of protest spread around the world.
Editorial and Analysis
Could Covid-19 change how cities view their streets?
Joburg residents – and those in other urban centres in South Africa – have been experiencing their streets in a novel and gratifying way during the Covid-19 lockdown. Could it become a way of life?
Why it took a pandemic to get water tankers moving
Hammanskraal is just one community that has fought years for decent water. In the wake of Covid-19, the true nature of South Africa’s water infrastructure crisis has become more clear.
Palestine: heaven and hell
With the latest annexation of the West Bank, Israel is aggressively executing its plan to kill or push out all remaining Palestinians into Syria or Jordan.