HOW DID THE END OF APARTHEID affect South Africa’s white workers? An excellent question. And the answer can go a long way towards explaining some of the more virulent politics evident today. But the question is rarely asked because – so the assumption goes – there are...
white
Memoirs of a born-free | by Malaika Wa Azania
A review by Xoliswa Skomolo In 1990, South Africa crossed the rubicon of apartheid, and all babies born thereafter are referred to as "born-frees". One of them is the author of this book. It is an elaborate and rich narrative - a roller coaster of a journey that has...
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...
Where is the EFF?: A brief account of the EFF’s existence thus far
'A giant is born,' said Julius Malema, 'the Commander-in-Chief' of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at the confirmation of the party's registration in Pretoria on the 8th of October in 2013. There has been a veritable hurricane of responses following the birth of...
Stellenbosch: What they don’t tell you in the brochure
by Indira Govender Stellenbosch strikes me as one of those places that got put on the table by the National Partyduring the negotiated settlement pre-1994, something the ANC conceded in exchange for democracy. In fact, there's a joke with more than a single grain of...
Outcaste Cape Town give their opinions about living in the townships
I don't feel part of this country. It's for the whites and the darkies. And then they still want the Western Cape as well They are often racist towards me. The problem is Coloureds don't stick together, they think they can pick on us, because we don't stand together...
Marikana and the crisis of Migrancy | by Micah Reddy
The Marikana massacre and unrest on South Africa's mines in 2012 elicited a flurry of analysis, much of it superficial and too hastily produced to be of any real use. One of the more authoritative accounts, however, came from former trade unionist Gavin Hartford, now...
Howl Marikana
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Revelation. 6:10) Colours were simpler then. Meant less. At least it seemed that way. Before the burning. Millions of...
Selections from NUMSA’s scathing response to the SACP and ANC leadership
Some choice bits from NUMSA's response to COSATU The full text can be found here 13. We have boldly maintained that at the heart of the crisis in COSATU are two opposing forces: the forces of capitalism and the forces socialism. The capitalist forces within the...


