Tuesday, 14 July 2020
Originally from Pietermaritzburg, Musawenkosi Cabe’s areas of interest include bottom-up social mobilisation, social movements and unions, as well as football, social justice, spatial justice and constitutionalism.
Released just weeks apart in June, Zoë Modiga and Buhlebendalo Mda’s new albums speak to the political realities of our time and can be listened to in tandem.
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.
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.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, police officers and soldiers have been using violence against the public. Why do they believe they have free rein? Also, we celebrate Busi Mhlongo, the woman who wrestled maskandi from the macho men.
Activists argue that the Australian company suing them is using the courts to silence criticism and so abusing the legal system. The law should change to stop these types of suits.
In declaring some of the lockdown regulations unconstitutional and irrational, the court has ruled that the government needs to follow a more human-centred approach.
Distressed workers not registered with the UIF can now apply for special Covid-19 relief benefits, and they no longer have to depend on their employers to do it on their behalf.
Following Collins Khosa’s death, the high court has ordered the government to fast-track investigations into state brutality during its Covid-19 state of disaster and halt assaults by law enforcement.
As the number of infected prisoners and officers spikes – causing the public to shun prison officials – the government heeds the call for inmates to be discharged from overcrowded prisons.
Achille Mbembe warns that the global Covid-19 pandemic shouldn’t be used as a laboratory to experiment with ideas that will diminish our freedoms. Also, Raymond Suttner pays a moving tribute to his fallen comrade, Denis Goldberg.
The residents of Phola Park are struggling with intermittent electricity supply as the presence of soldiers in the area causes old apartheid traumas to resurface.
In responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa can draw on how it tackled HIV and Aids. Also, a Chicago musician pays tribute to the doctors and nurses of his city with a beautiful song.
After the first coronavirus case in South African prisons, activists want the state to minimise overcrowding by releasing prisoners awaiting trial on non-violent charges, children and the elderly.
At the mercy of their employers, domestic workers in South Africa have little legal recourse in cases of unfair and inhumane treatment.
Former South African spy boss, Moe Shaik, has just published an amazingly frank account of his life. Also, anti-colonial thinker Frantz Fanon not only loved football, he was a fine player too.
More than 2 000 inner-city dwellers have challenged the constitutionality of the act that authorises the police to conduct searches of their homes without warrants.
Many see South African minibus taxi drivers as untouchable, but they are some of the most exploited workers in the country. Left-wing street theatre is huge in India – we hear how a performance on New Year’s Day 1989 ended in tragedy.
An intrepid journalist experiences the thrill of the biggest sporting event in South Africa’s calendar live for the first time – and is blown away by the antics on and off the field
Economists and unions have criticised the government for its 3.8% increase to the national minimum wage, saying it condemns workers to poverty and is a missed opportunity to grow the economy.
A coalition of workers and worker rights groups wants the discriminatory tier system scrapped as some earn less than the national minimum wage, which is already insufficient as a living wage.
The Constitutional Court has extended the application of the doctrine of common purpose to gang rape cases. If members of a group intend to exert power over women, they are equally guilty.