The great Victorian novelist Charles Dickens was born 200 years ago this year. Andre Marais looks back on his life and work and his relevance for us today. What would Dickens have made of South Africa in this year of his bicentenary? Despite all obvious differences...
people
A beautiful human being: James Claassen | by Amandla! editorial staff
The Amandla collective brings our readers the tragic news of the passing of Jamie Claassen. Jamie was a founding member of the Amandla Project and Editorial Collective and was dedicated to the struggle for a democratic socialist alternative. Jamie was a person of...
Editorial – With friends like these who needs enemies?
AMANDLA ISSUE 25 | EDITORIAL: It is unfortunate that the incorporation of important days in the struggle for liberation as public holidays often results in the ritualization and hollowing out of their significance and meaning. The June 16 uprisings of 1976 marked a...
Letters – Working conditions on South African mines
Working conditions on South African mines Dear Amandla! There is an urgent need for intervention in the way in which mine workers continue to operate in South Africa, despite the presence of unions. The three existing unions seem to grapple with the nature of their...
Humour – Letters to Msholozi
Dear Msholozi, Just to let you know that now that e-tolling has been put on hold and we won't be able to contribute to the ANC's election coffers that way, we are working on new ideas to generate income and, of course, the party will get its 15%. One of the ideas...
Brothers in Arms – Q & A with James Ngculu
James Ngculu joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) after the 1976 uprising of Soweto. He occupied a variety of posts within MK and spent most of his time abroad in exile, where he became one of Chris Hani's closest companions. After 1994, he acted as the Provincial Secretary...
The “second phase of the transition”: another dead end? | by Vishwas Satgar
The ANC held a policy conference in June, after being South Africa's ruling party for almost two decades. There are many ideas and policy perspectives up for discussion but the `big idea' framing the discussion is captured in a 47-page long document entitled: `The...
The party doesn’t have a hold on the class line!
Amandla! interviewed two SACP members from the Eastern Cape where contestation ahead of this year's conferences is heating up. They responded by email. Amandla! (A!): What are the major issues and debates at stake at this Congress of the SACP? SACP Activists (SA): I...
Classrooms in crisis
Questions to Salim Vally on June 16th and the Educational System Amandla! (A!): At the heart of the June 16 uprising that changed the political situation in SA was the crisis of education. What has changed in 18 years? Salim Vally (SV): What has changed is that we now...








