by Jeremy Vearey The mission of 'people's policing' in Mitchells plain, and the notion of community policing in general, seeks to correspond to community needs and priorities mandated by grassroots community structures such as street committees, neighbourhood watches...
committees
Commemorating Marikana: The Spirit of Mambush Lives on
Luke Sinwell and Siphiwe Mbatha On 16 August 2013, exactly one year after the Marikana Massacre, 20,000 workers peacefully commemorated that fateful day. Church leaders, political parties, progressives and the workers themselves addressed the crowd – including...
The state of the struggle:Lonmin workers’ organising one year later
by Benjamin Fogel The Lonmin Worker's Council was birthed by last year's wildcat strike at the London Mining (Formerly London Rhodesian mining) mines in Marikana. The strike itself emanated from a long-running dispute between workers and management stemming both from...
The Amplats workers’ committee dilemma | by Benjamin Fogel
The Amplats workers' committee formed during last year's Marikana wildcat strike on the platinum belt. The Amplats strike did not begin because of the events at Lonmin; it arose out of a long-running dispute between workers, NUM and Amplats. Since June 2012 workers at...
After Marikana: what way forward?
The crisis of profitability in the platinum industry is a misleading phrase to describe the current situation. Platinum companies are still in fact making a profit. The issue is rather that they are no longer making the huge profits they did during the boom years of...
David and Goliath
The story of farm workers and farm bosses in the Breede River Valley| by Mercia Andrews On Wednesday 6 March 2013 in Ashton, 180 km from Cape Town, people started gathering for a meeting early in the morning. Outside the library, one could observe the expensive...
The strike committees: Organising against all odds | by Amandla! correspondants
Whether the aftermath of Marikana will spell the downright end of the National Union of Mineworkers, the resentment against the traditional structures of bargaining and the union leadership is palpable in the platinum belt, sometimes bordering on murderous anger. The...
The Dynamics of the Uprising in Syria | by Hassan Abbas
Most people interested in Syrian affairs used to believe that the country was extremely stable. The regime’s media fed this belief, constantly reiterating the assertion that Syria was the most secure and stable country in the world. In fact, however, this stability...


