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...
structures
South Africa: Snubbing quotas for women, snubs transformation
by Katherine Robinson Johannesburg, 7 February: While South Africa celebrates 20 years of democracy this year, the country will also be holding its national election, the first since 1994, without Madiba. If the last two months are anything to go by, we will surely...
Policing gangs by building working-class power
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...
Q & A with Jeremy Vearey
A!: Maybe you'd like to introduce yourself and your capacity. JV: I am Jeremy Vearey. I am also a Major-General in the police service. I am responsible for the gangster activity in this province. I'll go into what that distinctly is, different from the way where we...
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...
The Antinomies of Democracy in Durban | by Richard Pithouse
Originally published at The South African Civil Society Information Service (SACSIS) In the last days of June, Nkululeko Gwala was assassinated in Cato Crest - a shack settlement in Durban that is in the process of being upgraded with formal housing. Just over three...
City of Cape Town makes up law to justify eviction of the poor by Jared Sacks
The City of Cape Town has been caught red-handed using a fraudulent legal pretext to justify the eviction of shack dwellers who had occupied a vacant piece of City-owned land, by citing a non-existent law they claim is called the "Protection of the Possession of...

