Revolutions distinguish themselves as phenomena that change those who wield social power, replacing old ruling classes with new classes of rulers. In South Africa, the revolution that culminated in the 1994 April Democratic Breakthrough is always thought of as having...
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“Employ People As They Are”: Towards People-Centred Development
On June 4th, PowerFM 98.7 radio host Eusebius McKaiser interviewed AIDC Senior Researcher Dick Forslund regarding South Africa's current economic prospects and policy trajectory. Following is a partial transcript. PowerFM: Welcome, Dick. When we spoke yesterday, it...
Getting the energy mix right: towards a publicly driven, socially owned renewable energy sector | by Sandra van Niekerk
In his State of the Nation address of 26 June 2014, President Zuma called for "a radical transformation of the energy sector, to develop a sustainable energy mix that comprises coal, solar, wind, hydro, gas and nuclear energy ". Not content with building Medupi and...
Transnet: coughing canary in the climate coal mine | by Patrick Bond
Facing the most serious civilizational threat ever, what is the South African government doing? The new Infrastructure Development Act pushed into law by economic development minister Ebrahim Patel will fast-track carbon-intensive mega-projects on behalf of mainly...
Climate Justice Resurfaces Amidst New York’s Corporate Sharks
The world's largest ever march against climate change on Sunday (21 September) brought 400,000 people to the streets of New York, starting a lively parade at Central Park. On Tuesday, 120 of the world's political leaders -- notably not including the Chinese and...
What, really, did the ANC deliver? Tokenistic social policy
What has the South African government delivered in 20 years? A massive welfare state with 16 million grant recipients (nearly a third of the population); 95% of the people served with clean water access; a rising rate of matriculation by 12th graders; a dramatic...
Interview with Irvin Jim
At NUMSA's Special Congress in December you voted to hold socio-economic strikes, the first of which is coming up on 19 March to oppose the Employment Tax Incentive. Could you describe what a socio-economic strike is and why NUMSA is opposed to the tax incentive? I...
Why Did The Heaven’s Not Darken? Fear and Loathing in Girl Killer SA
The life and death of Rene by Andre Marias This newspaper headline refers to the rape and murder of my niece Rene, 28 years ago. She was four years old at the time of her death on Xmas Eve, 1986. As is so often the case, she knew her killer and he was known to the...
Entrepreneurship is a myth
Dear Amandla! One can't help but be sickened by the overuse of the term 'Entrepreneurship' among our rather dull chattering classes. If the government, opposition party, analysts, economists and talking heads are to be believed, the solutions to our sluggish growth...
