Dear Amandla! At a time when the crisis in Cosatu has reached breaking point and we can expect the emergence of a new trade union movement or federation, it is critically important for left trade unionists to draw some lessons from the crisis. Cosatu’s demise is not...
social
Thoughtleader: Juju does Guy Fawkes?
Behold, the end of the world is nigh. The barbarians have breached the gates. Savages are redrawing maps without the superpowers. Journalists' heads are rolling - and not only at Independent Newspapers. Jihadists now speak with English accents. The Generations cast...
Marikana: Old Apartheid Social Power Relations meet Democratic South Africa | by Gunnett Kaaf
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...
“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...
“Sinkholes, Starvation and Suffering”: the Legacy of Coal Mining in South Africa? | by David Van Wyk
Even as South Africa marks the two-year anniversary of the Marikana massacre – which marked a decisive turning point for the country's platinum mining sector – extensive new research indicates that the coal mining industry poses a wide range of serious challenges of...
Voices from Women Leaders at the NUMSA International Symposium on Left Political Parties and Mass Movements
Following are excerpts from interviews by Amandla! staff of women activists in NUMSA, conducted during NUMSA's "International Symposium on Left Political Parties and Mass Movements", held August 7-10 in Johannesburg. Attended by international guests from around the...
Ukraine:Civil War or Revolution
Russsian bureaucrats have been honestly surprised at the reaction by the official West – they did not expect such anger or unanimous condemnation. European politicians are beside themselves with fury. The mainstream press is relating appalling stories to its readers...
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...
