In the three Western outposts of the eastern part of Africa – Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya – the opposition had either been totally smashed or is rotting in jail. Alternatively, it has 'ceased to exist'. In East Africa, those who are in power and those who want to be...
Africa
“The World Social Forum: Still Meeting Its Challenge” | by Immanuel Wallerstein
The World Social Forum (WSF) has just ended its now biennial meeting, held this time in Tunis. It was very largely ignored by the world's mainstream press. It was attended by many skeptics who pronounced its irrelevance, something that has occurred at every meeting...
Africa: Future Trajectories for BRICS
Despite much optimism, there are clear indications that BRICS [1] lacks the capacity to function as a powerful and innovative new force in the realm of global politics and governance. Can BRICS emerge as a collective that will reject the current neoliberal order and...
From the World Social Forum to the Arab revolts | by Esther Vivas
Tunisia, cradle of the revolts in the Arab world, hosts from today [26 March] and until Saturday the World Social Forum (WSF), the most important international meeting of social movements and organizations. And this is not by chance. The promoters of the WSF chose...
Knowledge. The final frontier
Some suggest that unemployment rates are high because of laziness or a dependency effect created by social grants, but numerous studies have failed to find empirical support for these claims. The one drum of this kind that continues to be beaten is the claim that...
South Africa’s New Apartheid | by Sabine Cessou
A group of building workers relaxed on the pavement in central Cape Town, enjoying their lunch break. Every minute was precious; nobody was in a hurry to get back to work. "They pay us peanuts," said a bricklayer with a gold tooth. On the equivalent of $1,470 a month,...
The Warning: South Africa Is An Angry And Frustrated Nation And On The Brink | by Danny Schechter
Durban, South Africa: These are not the best of times in South Africa. It seems clear that there is fear and loathing everywhere as the press is packed with fresh allegations of corruption, and a restive mood spreads even as the country prepares to host the economic...
End rural slavery in South Africa!
During the month of November last year, the world watched farm workers strikes, particularly those working in vineyards in the Western Cape Province, in South Africa. They were protesting against exploitation and poor working and living conditions on farms, demanding...
The Weirdness Closes In
On the face of it, Mamphela Ramphele's long political Calvary has not seemed so strange. It has been clear ever since she returned to South Africa, flushed with neoliberal propaganda and plugging effortlessly into the right-wing smear campaign against President Mbeki,...