Thursday, 23 September 2021
Anna Majavu is a trade unionist and journalist currently completing a PhD in journalism.
After being chased away for asking for minimum wage, Gqeberha bakers who endured racism turned first to the CCMA, then to a political party, then to a union. None helped.
Musicians struggle to make a living, but despite the many problems they routinely face, Joburg band Azuri Street Symphony carry on ‘looking for simple things that make life matter’.
After years of staying in ramshackle accommodation, the Mbundana family were moved to temporary units that have no electricity and are as fragile as their old abode. They want a permanent home.
The Makana Citizens’ Front aims to unite communities, listen to their grievances and make the dysfunctional municipality in Makhanda accountable to residents.
Communal gardens and farming enterprises are the beginning of sustainable food sovereignty in South Africa, but a basic income grant is essential to address hunger in the shorter term.
Thobeka Jantjies was left paralysed after an alleged botched dental procedure at a state hospital. With no wheelchair or compensation 19 years later, she’s attempted suicide several times.
The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers is fighting for recognition at the university currently known as Rhodes, which refuses to engage with it.
Funani George Nqoko has left big paralegal shoes to fill in the rural Eastern Cape town where he set up and ran the Elliot Advice Office. His colleagues say they will continue his good work.
Durban’s Muslim community has been shaken by physical and verbal racist attacks in its midst that pitted Africans against Indians and went against many of the religion’s principles.
Members of the Unemployed People’s Movement in Makhanda have taken matters into their own hands to ensure their town does not fall victim to the battles instigated by factions in the ANC.
As rioters target supermarkets, activists call on the government to help those who cannot survive amid rising prices and mass unemployment.
A new citizens’ front in Makhanda is democratising participation in governance by shunning concepts such as ‘political leaders’ who take decisions on behalf of residents and rarely keep promises.
A group of workers who were dismissed in their 40s never found permanent work again. Now in their retirement years and struggling with failing health, they face gruelling poverty.
An interdict that basically outlaws disruptive forms of protest is a dangerous tool used to muzzle capable leaders and represses legitimate grassroots opposition to the ruling party.
The Makana municipality continues to fail the town and shutting it down has drawn the attention of those in power, but not the desired outcome. Another meeting will determine what action residents take next.
Farm owners and agricultural companies continue to illegally destroy the graves of dispossessed residents to make way for planting and deny relatives access to pay their respects and perform rituals.
Three exponents of Arabic script reflect on the meaning, spirituality and activism of their craft and how they use it to celebrate faith and practise everyday compassion.
Families such as the Mapapas have been surviving on the special Covid-19 grant, which has come to an end. How they will survive moving forward is a question many in South Africa now face.
The shop steward has faced death threats from corrupt union members and fought bids to privatise water and sanitation across the country, all the while educating workers on their rights.
A state-owned enterprise from China bought a huge stake in the Rössing Uranium Mine and immediately began downgrading working conditions before dismissing union leaders.
Buyiswa Dayi lives on the Eastern Cape citrus farm where she was born, but now faces eviction by her employers despite seeming to have legal security of tenure.