Why consider the history of a hundred-year old law? Surely the Marikana massacre and farm-workers' strikes are more urgent? In fact, there are direct links between the Natives' Land Act of 1913 and current struggles. The Land Act and its consequences still shape rural...
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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,...
Embryos of working-class power and grassroots democracy in Marikana
The formation of a workers' committee is an act of power by the working class. It has shaken capital by advancing far beyond trade union bureaucracy. The workers' committee in Lonmin had only been in existence for a week when the Marikana massacre took place on the 16...
Michael Moseki, strike leader
Michael Moseki, an elected strike leader at Samancor Western Chrome Mine, sits inside his tin shack and talks about the challenges of raising his five children on R4,700 a month. Just like other mine workers, strike leaders at various mines in the North West province...
Mozambique: The cruel curse of coal | Amandla! Correspondent
Mozambique is emerging as the latest African frontier for extraction and the country has thrown open its rich resources: coal, gas, gold and even oil. Elite formation in the extractive industry between Frelimo (the ruling party) and multinationals is not new - the...
Mozambique: The cruel curse of coal | Amandla! Correspondent
Mozambique is emerging as the latest African frontier for extraction and the country has thrown open its rich resources: coal, gas, gold and even oil. Elite formation in the extractive industry between Frelimo (the ruling party) and multinationals is not new - the...
Canada’s `maple spring’: student strikers against austerity | by Chris Webb
The student strike wave that swept through the Canadian province of Quebec the past several months, now beginning to spark in other Canadian provinces and campuses, is a watershed moment in the struggle against neoliberal austerity in Canada. What began as a revolt...
The Triumph of King Coal: Hardening our coal addiction | by Fred Pearce
Despite all the talk about curbing greenhouse gas emissions, the world is burning more and more coal. The inconvenient truth is that coal remains a cheap and dirty fuel –and the idea of ‘clean’ coal remains a distant dream.This year’s UN climate negotiations are in...
Vox Pop with Simphiwe Dana | by Andre Marais
Andre Marais (AM): What does Simphiwe Dana stand for?Simphiwe Dana (SD): I stand for justice. I stand for peace.AM: What inspires your music?SD: The human condition. My roots are everything. I am passionate. I was born in Africa.AM: How did growing up in rural...







