Amandla

Report of the Public protector on an investigation into complaints of maladministration against the Midvaal Local Municipality

DBSA Development Report 2011

 

Download DBSA Development Report.pdf (3.2 Mb)

(The full report will be available at the end of November)

Affordable health care for all South Africans/ Written by Katherine Austin-Evelyn

South Africa has formally opened discussion and debate on the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) plan, the primary goal of which is to “ensure that everyone has access to a defined comprehensive package of healthcare services.”(2) This plan is one step towards achieving universal health coverage in post-apartheid South Africa where the majority of South Africans do not have access to the available, expensive health care. Universal coverage means that all citizens would enjoy financial protection from the costly burden of ill health. The idea of the NHI has been present in the public sphere for decades and the release of the Green Paper by the Deparment of Health on 12 August 2011 signaled the beginning of the policy debate in official government capacity.

The 60 page document includes a variety of commitments ranging from broad policy statements on equity to specific plans to build new facilities, upgrade existing ones and plans to introduce community-based teams of health workers to take services to people’s homes. Whilst many experts and organisations hailed the release of the Green Paper, it has also been met with fierce criticism from a variety of actors. Many stakeholders see the NHI as a costly, unachievable pipe dream, destined to fail, while others believe it is necessary to reduce the inequities of the past and provide the much needed, long overdue health care for previously disadvantaged South Africans. This CAI brief explores the background of the NHI Green Paper and its relevance to the future of health care financing in South Africa... [More]

Katherine Austin-Evelyn works for Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s Rights in Focus unit

• Constructive Dismissal
• Courses & Workshops
• Leave Guide
• Alcoholism in the workplace
• Bonuses
• Employee Status
• Desertion
• Medical certificates
• Warnings
• Procedural Fairness
• Public Holidays
• Newsletter
• Dismissals
• Contracts of employment
• Insubordination
• Unilateral Changes
• Poor Perfor

http://www.treasury.gov.za/documents/mtbps/2011/mtbps/ISBN%20page.pdf

Update

Immediate Response to the 2011 MTBPS by Idasa

Job Opportunities and Unemployment in the South African Labour Market 2011.pdf

South Africa. Department of Labour

...This paper addresses the challenges of transporting water to people, within South Africa and Malawi, and offers a description of leadership initiatives with regard to accessing water, in these southern African countries. The discussion also evaluates the water privatisation model. In addition, the environmental impacts associated with not having access to water, along with the sustainable practices in development and interventions that can be introduced with regards to service delivery, will be discussed...[more]

Sarah Kiggundu works for Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s Enviro Africa Unit

From Consultancy Intelligence Africa

 

The good, the bad and the ugly by Micaela Flores-Arraoz and Vas Musca

In one of its historically largest purchase operations, American retail giant Walmart bought 51% of South African retailer Massmart in May 2011 by paying US$ 2.4 billion. Massmart sells in 14 African countries, but the majority of its operations are in South Africa (265 retail stores in South Africa versus 25 in the other 13 countries. The Massmart group is based in Johannesburg and includes Game, Dion Wired, Makro, Builder’s Warehouse and Masscash. Walmart’s revenues stand above the US$ 400 billion mark, over South Africa’s GDP of approximately US$ 350 billion. They operate in 14 countries apart from the US, have a procurement division that employs 1,400 individuals, and work with 6,000 factories all over the world but mainly from China.  The transaction reflects Walmart’s clear intention of profiting from the opportunities of a country with a sharp increase in consumer spending power and where the supermarket buying experience reaches almost all socio-economic levels of the population...[more]

Contact through Micaela Florez-Arraoz and Vas Musca through  ’s Industry and Business Unit  industry.business@consultancyafrica.com.

http://www.saps.gov.za/saps_profile/strategic_framework/annual_report/index.htm

Archived Annual Reports

Report No 11 of 2011/12 of the Public Protector on an investigation into allegations of a breach of the Executive Ethics Code by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka, MP.

http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/35534_shiceka_report-_final_version_7-signed.pdf

South Africa’s National Climate Change Response Policy, which was approved by Cabinet this week, would help the country map out a socioeconomic transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy and society, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said on Friday.

The policy would seek to balance the objectives of job creation, economic growth, environmental sustainability and reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions...

From Polity.org.za

Link to full white paper:

http://www.parliament.gov.za/content/2011-10-12%20The%20National%20Climate%20Change%20Response%20White%20Paper~1.pdf

The third quarterly release of the South African Development Index (SADI) for 2011 showed that development trends in the country continued to improve.

Third update report.pdf — PDF document, 465Kb

The South African LED Network is an association for Local Economic Development (LED) practitioners in South Africa.

 

The South African LED Network strives to improve the understanding of local economies by promoting discussion and exchange between the various kinds of LED practitioners to build a body of knowledge on effective strategies and measures.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Business, Democracy and Development

Cities, Towns and Local Government

Education

Jobs, Growth and Entrepreneurship

Land Reform

Markets, Globalisation and Culture

Migration

VALUE IN THE CLASSROOM: The quantity and quality of South Africa's teachers

JOBS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: Is a wage subsidy a good idea?

A FRESH LOOK AT UNEMPLOYMENT: A conversation among experts

TRANSFORMATION: A series of op-eds in Business Day

The changes I have witnessed in South Africa over my life

In the five part series 'A Remarkable Life' apartheid struggle icon and human rights advocate George Bizos speaks to Creamer Media's Polity on:

1. The changes I have witnessed in South Africa over my life

2. The lessons and values I have drawn from my court experiences

3. 'Don't blame the Constitution'

4. 'Sloganeers'
5. 
What the ancient Greeks can teach us.

 

Click on the links below to view the rest of the series

PART 1:

Click here to watch Part 1:  George Bizos talks to Creamer Media's Polity about the changes that he has witnessed in South Africa over the past 17 years.

 

---

Click here to watch Part 2: George Bizos talks to Creamer Media's Polity about the lessons and values that he has drawn from his personal and professional experiences.

 

Click here to watch Part 3: George Bizos talks to Creamer Media about the Freedom Charter and South Africa’s Constitution.

 

Click here to watch Part 4: George Bizos talks to Creamer Media about ‘sloganeers’, ‘serious minded people’, and the importance of dialogue.

 

Click here to watch Part 5: George Bizos talks to Creamer Media about what the ancient Greeks can teach us about democracy.

South Africa’s massive unemployment crisis is directly or indirectly at the root of all the country’s most serious social, economic and political challenges. The causes of the crisis – and what to do about it – are controversial subjects. In October 2010, CDE hosted a meeting of experts to identify what we know and don’t know about the causes and cures of the employment crisis. The outcomes of this meeting, and subsequent conversations with other local and international experts, are summarised in CDE Workshop no. 9, A fresh look at unemployment: A conversation among experts.

Jobs for young people.pdf

Jobs for young people exec summary.pdf

From Centre for Development and Enterprise

Podcast: Thursday 8th September - 2011

Thursday 8th September - 2011

Written by Dr M Weideman

Literature and news related to land reform in South Africa focuses on stark estimates, such as the 90% of land redistribution projects that were deemed to have failed according to the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform in 2010. Successful or innovative cases, however, are seldom reported or discussed...[More]

From: Consultancy Africa Intelligence

Click on the link to open the document.

78 Afriforum v Malema ANC Another.doc

Thanks to my colleague, Dilshaad Brey for this.

The respondent, cde Julius Malema, instituted an application on 30 August 2011 for the quashing of all charges. He advanced 22 arguments in support of the application...

Link to full-text on news24

 

(Cape Town) – Workers in Western Cape province who help produce South Africa’s renowned wines and fruit are denied adequate housing, proper safety equipment, and basic labor rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government of South Africa, along with the industries that employ these laborers, should take immediate steps to improve their working and housing conditions, Human Rights Watch said.

The 96-page report, “Ripe with Abuse: Human Rights Conditions in South Africa’s Fruit and Wine Industries,” documents conditions that include on-site housing that is unfit for living, exposure to pesticides without proper safety equipment, lack of access to toilets or drinking water while working, and efforts to block workers from forming unions. While the Western Cape’s fruit and wine industries contribute billions of rand to the country’s economy, support tourism, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world, their farmworkers earn among the lowest wages in South Africa. The report also describes insecure tenure rights and threats of eviction for longtime residents on farms.

“The wealth and well-being these workers produce shouldn’t be rooted in human misery,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government, and the industries and farmers themselves, need to do a lot more to protect people who live and work on farms.”

The report is based on more than 260 interviews with farmworkers, farm owners, civil society members, industry representatives, government officials, lawyers, union officials, and academic experts.

 

Child Survival

Emergency Response

Protection of orphans and other vulnerable children

Early Childhood Development

Child Friendly Schools

Sport for development

Young people's development

Social transformation and strategic leveraging

Children and media

Government Notice - Policy on National Health Insurance - Section 1 [pdf]

Government Notice - Policy on National Health Insurance - Section 2 [pdf]

The issue includes:
- "This place restored my dignity": Stories of the Solms-Delta farm workers by Crystal Orderson
- Struggle songs, heritage and reconciliation by Cecyl Esau
- Employment Equity: Ticking Boxes or True Transformation?
- Are we democratic citizens? by Ayanda Nyoka
- South Africa documents the undocumented by Caroline Ruetsch.  
From: http://sabarometerblog.wordpress.com/

Full-text: http://sabarometerblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/sarb-vol-9-iss-2.pdf

By Ayanda Kota of the Unemployed People's Movement (UPM)

South Africa’s ANC Youth League ‘might speak in the name of the poor to advance its agenda but everyone knows that it is not a poor people’s organisation’ despite media portrayals of Julius Malema as a champion of the country’s oppressed, writes Ayanda Kota. Click on link for full-text of the article Pambazuka: Letters and Opinions

The ad hoc committee on the Protection of Information Bill (the “Secrecy Bill”) entered the final stages of deliberations on Tuesday.

As the committee resumed its clause-by-clause deliberations, the chairman of the committee, Cecil Burgess, tabled a previously unseen version of the bill and ruled that any clauses on which consensus could not be reached would be taken to the vote, meaning that the ANC would be able to use its majority to force through contentious clauses... [More]

The sudden unseemly haste, and the withdrawal of proposed concessions, can only raise suspicions about motives. State secrecy is a highly sensitive matter worldwide, precisely because of its susceptibility to abuse. In South Africa, with its past history and recent experiences of the abuse of state institutions for political ends, these concerns deserve respectful and deliberate attention.

This bill’s safeguards are inadequate. A blanket of secrecy looms, underpinned by harsh sanctions. Is this the country we are to become?
By Gary Pienaar and Sithembile Mbete

Pienaar is senior researcher, governance and ethics, and Mbete political researcher in Idasa’s Political Information and Monitoring Service.

This article first appeared in the Cape Times, Friday, 27th May 2011.

Amnesty International's 2011 report reveals a world in which people continue to challenge oppression despite the powerful array of repressive measures used against them. It shows that the communities most affected by human rights abuses are the real driving force behind the human rights struggle.

The year 2010 may well be remembered as a watershed year when activists and journalists used new technology to speak truth to power and, in so doing, pushed for greater respect for human rights. It is also the year when repressive governments faced the real possibility that their days were numbered

Complete Annual Report

Regional  Report: Africa

 A-Z Country Reports

South Africa

Contents:

 

Latest facts and figures

This paper summarises some of the main findings from a large research project undertaken by the Social Policy Research Group in the Department of Economics at Stellenbosch University.

http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/32695_low-quality-educ-as-poverty-trap-report.pdf

If you're interested in how your ministers can and cannot spend your money, you can download and view the document.

Ministerial Handbook: A handbook for Members of the Executive.... South Africa Ministry of Public Service

http://mg.co.za/uploads/2011/04/13/Ministerial-Handbook-2007.pdf

Saice’s second infrastructure report card, published on Tuesday, rated infrastructure development in ten sectors, namely drinking water systems, sanitation, roads, railways, airports, ports, electricity reticulation, hospitals, clinics and schools during the past five years at a “satisfactory for now” C-, marginally up from the “less than satisfactory” D+ that was awarded by the previous report card of 2006.

Infrastructure maintenance could account for many of the much-needed five-million jobs that South Africa is looking to create in the next ten years. From Polity.org.za

Concise version of report

Full report

Creamer Media's Dimakatso Motau speaks to political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi about the upcoming local government elections.Camera work and Editing: Darlene Creamer (08/03/2011) Click on the Link to get to the video:

 http://www.polity.org.za/article/views-on-the-upcoming-local-government-election-2011-03-09

Broken Blue Line (11.02.2011).pdf — PDF document, 392Kb

South Africans have become accustomed to media reports alleging the involvement of policemen or ‘people dressed in police uniforms’ in serious crimes. The South African Institute of Race Relations and its Unit for Risk Analysis have become increasingly concerned at the number and nature of these reports. To try and determine the scale of the problem, the Institute assigned a researcher to source as much information as possible on the involvement of police officers in committing crime.

The results were alarming. The Institute consulted journalists, media reports, and information from the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) . Within a week, a list of over 100 separate incidents alleging and/or confirming the police’s involvement in serious crimes was drawn up.

The Institute’s researchers stopped looking for more incidents after compiling this list of the initial 100. The 100 incidents do not include reports of petty crimes, poor service delivery, or the soliciting of small bribes by officials. Without exception, the 100 incidents identified in this report are related to very serious and often violent and pre-mediated criminal behaviour. These included ATM bombings, armed robberies, house robberies, rapes, murders, and serious assaults.

Draft regulations have been published under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act No. 68 of 2008 (CPA).The draft regulations (the General Regulations) appeared for comment in the Government Gazette as General Notice 1099 on November 23, 2010. The period within which the public has been afforded the opportunity to comment on the General Regulations expires on 31 January 31, 2011. This period is an important part of the exercise of rights by the public pursuant to Section 33 of the Constitution, which guarantees everybody the right to procedurally fair administrative justice.

The General Regulations focus primarily on four areas: franchise agreements; certain advertising practices; auctions; and the labelling of products. There are, in addition to the four focus areas, a number of other minor areas that are visited including: the keeping of records; the rights of hawkers; and the notices and languages to be used by the National Consumer Commission.  http://us-cdn.creamermedia.co.za/assets/articles/attachments/31487_cparegulations_nk.pdf

Written by Neil Kirby, Director at Werksmans Attorneys  From Polity.org.za

20 - 23 January 2011, Wits University, South Africa

Declaration

- BUILDING THE SOLIDARITY ECONOMY FROM BELOW
http://bit.ly/g7zDfA
The ecological and economic crisis of South Africa’s transnationalising capitalist economy is also reflected in increasing hunger, increasing food prices, unhealthy diets and polluting agro-processing food production. Advancing an Anti-Hunger and Food Sovereignty Campaign challenges this reality and politicises the food question in a more consistent way. Such a campaign has to be advanced bottom up, through a participatory democratic logic for democratic left politics. These campaign notes, presented at a Conference of the Democratic Left in South Africa, intend to promote such a process and emerge out of the Gauteng Democratic Left conference held in March 2010.

- SOUTH AFRICA: DEMOCRATIC LEFT DEMANDS ON HOUSING
http://bit.ly/dXO3tc
There is a need to outline a programme of demands in the area of housing. Through struggle in the Western Cape some demands have come to the fore, and they might be considered to be elements of a programme in the area of housing. The discussion available through the link provided, from the Conference of the Democratic Left, held recently, may not even include all the demands that have been raised by different communities in the Western Cape, so should not in any way be regarded as definitive even of recent Western Cape experience.

- SOUTH AFRICA: TIME FOR A NEW DEMOCRATIC LEFT POLITICS
http://bit.ly/gt1YFH
It is time that the people take their destiny into their own hands, writes Mazibuko Jara. 'Can poor and working people, working with middle class people committed to social change, open the path to a new politics that can change this country? Can a modest national conference under an umbrella of democratic left politics offer any hope for the majority and those interested in social change in this country? This 1st National Conference of the Democratic Left, which will follow two weeks after the celebration of the ANC’s 99th anniversary in January 2011, is a milestone in a maturing long-term political process.'

- SOUTH AFRICA: TOWARDS A UNITED DEMOCRATIC LEFT FRONT
http://bit.ly/dREBVQ
This paper, from the just-concluded Conference of the Democratic Left, presents a perspective and argument for organising the democratic left initiative as an anti-capitalist political front. It is anchored in the premise of maximising the unity of social and ideological forces against post-apartheid and global capitalism. To stimulate debate, discussion and resolution on the political form question for the democratic left initiative this document covers the following themes:
- A strategic approach to fronts;
- Learning lessons from the history of political fronts;
- The case for a United Democratic Left Front for South Africa;
- Key issues for a Democratic Left approach to building a political front through struggle.

From  Pambazuka News: 2011-01-26, Issue 514

 

 

CHAIR	Dr Adekeye Adebajo Executive Director, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town
SPEAKER AND EDITOR	Professor Daryl Glaser Department of Political Studies, University of Witwatersrand
SPEAKER	Professor Chris Landsberg Department of Politics, University of Johannesburg
DATE	Tuesday, 22 February 2011
TIME	17h30 to 19h00
VENUE	Centre for the Book, 62 Queen Victoria Street, Gardens, Cape Town
RSVP	Lavenia Benjamin
TEL	(021) 689 1005
E-MAIL	lavenia@ccr.uct.ac.za
WEBSITE	www.ccr.org.za

All are welcome and entry is free. Kindly RSVP for seating purposes

in this edition of Fast Facts provide as concise an overview as can be published of where South Africa has come from and where it may be headed. It is a story of mixed success...

 

The successes e.g.

significant progress in service delivery, proportion of households with access to improved sanitation services, has increased from 50% in 1994 to 77% in 2009

South Africa’s murder rate has come down from close on 70 murders per 100 000 people in 1994 to some 35 last year

Investment levels have increased from the lows of 15% of GDP in the mid 1990s to just under 25% of GDP in 2009

private investors contributed 74% of that investment in 2009

However, too many trends run contrary to these positive examples specially when international comparisons are made.

Our challenge as a country therefore remains to capitalise on the positive trends while seeking to reverse those that retard our progress in becoming  more prosperous society. Here the Government faces a formidable  challenge which it will not be
able to meet on its own...

Link to full text: 

http://www.sairr.org.za/services/publications/fast-facts/fast-facts-2011/files/FF2011%20-%2001.pdf

 

 

 




 

Will economic interest take precedence over democracy?

In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, Africa is one of the regions of the world that are experiencing better-than-expected levels of economic growth.

While this growth may be off a low base, it is not insignificant in relation to the continent’s developmental and economic needs. If the growth continues, it will assist regional integration efforts in different parts of the continent. But the most important challenge this growth presents is with regard to the relationship between economic growth, on the one hand, and democracy and social justice, on the other.

It is in the challenge of linking growth to democracy that South Africa’s role on the continent will be tested. In other words, will South Africa pursue growth and investment opportunities at the expense of democracy and development? Are we going to commit ourselves to an understanding of respect for national sovereignty which is based on the need to deepen democracy in South Africa, while avoiding an insistence on the same elsewhere in Africa if such an insistence poses a threat to economic opportunities? Is South Africa going to hide behind multilateral approaches to avoid taking positions that may alienate powerful leaders who are not committed to good governance and democracy?...[More]

Video clip

From Polity.org.za

 

African migrants in South Africa often get a bad rap. The reasons that people migrate and the situations they face as they try to build their lives in a new country are not well-understood, leading to negative misconceptions: "they're stealing our jobs", "they're all criminals", etc.

The Treasures We Bring aims to challenge those misconceptions and celebrate what migrants bring to their adopted countries. It also aims to explore the challenges of migration, as well the skills, ingenuity and resourcefulness of people who migrate.

The stories on this channel focus on "what we bring" - both the physical objects that tell the story of our journey, as well as the strengths we bring to our adopted homes.

If you like what you see here, post your own video. Tell us about the treasures you brought with you when you left home, and what they mean to you in your journey. Tell us what you bring to your new country. Just be sure to title the video "The Treasures We Bring - YourName" so we can link it to this channel.

The Treasures We Bring is a project of CMFD (Community Media for Development) Productions. The original story workshop was held in collaboration with the African Diaspora Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Street people in South Africa: Studies towards understanding the homeless, [an issue of ] Development Southern Africa, Volume 27, Issue 1 2010

[Link to issue  with access to full-text articles: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=g919112925~db=all]

 

Contents:

	Editorial Catherine Cross; John R. Seager Pages 1 – 2
	Editorial Marié Kirsten Page 3
ARTICLES
	Towards a demographic profile of the street homeless in South Africa Pieter Kok; Catherine Cross; Niël Roux Pages 21 – 37
	Homeless individuals, families and communities: The societal origins of homelessness Monde Makiwane; Tsiliso Tamasane; Marguerite Schneider Pages 39 – 49
	The homeless in historical context Seán Morrow Pages 51 – 62
	Health and well-being of the homeless in South African cities and towns John R. Seager; Tsiliso Tamasane Pages 63 – 83
	South African street children: A survey and recommendations for services Catherine L. Ward; John R. Seager Pages 85 – 100
	Civil society responses to homelessness Diana Sanchez Pages 101 – 110
	Local metropolitan government responses to homelessness in South Africa Jacques Louis du Toit Pages 111 – 128
	Government responses to street homelessness in South Africa Vinothan Naidoo Pages 129 – 141
	Towards identifying the causes of South Africa's street homelessness: Some policy recommendations Catherine Cross; John R. Seager Pages 143 – 158

 

 

 

303.380968 SOUT

BA 303.38 SOUT

G 68 E.HSRC.10.SOUT

South African social attitudes, 2nd report : reflections on the age of hope / edited by Benjamin Roberts, Mbithi wa Kivilu & Yul Derek Davids. --    Cape Town : HSRC Press ;   Chicago : Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group, 2010. Free download:

Description

Since the transition to democracy in 1994, South Africa has become a well documented nation. A multitude of national and sub-national studies have been conducted, yielding a wealth of information about the characteristics of South African society, and how these have evolved over time. However, less is known about how South Africans feel about their world and themselves. There remains much scope for deepening our understanding of the public’s values, chronicling how these have been changing, and determining the extent to which different segments of the population vary in their attitudes and beliefs. South African Social Attitudes: Reflections on the Age of Hope is the second in the HSRC series that aims to monitor the evolving dynamics of South African social values in relation to broader societal developments. It is based primarily on the findings of the 2004 and 2005 rounds of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), which involved interviewing a nationally representative sample of more than 5000 individuals aged 16 years and older. Like its predecessor, South African Social Attitudes: Changing Times, Diverse Voices, this volume is structured according to three thematic sections. The first section on race, class and politics examines the public’s views on issues such as national priorities, racial redress, local government, and includes an in-depth examination of youth attitudes. The second section addresses perceptions about poverty, inequality and service delivery. The final section on societal values focuses on attitudes in relation to religion, the environment, employment, and the fear of crime. South African Social Attitudes is essential reading for anyone seeking a guide to contemporary social or political issues and debates.

Contents

Introduction Benjamin Roberts, Mbithi wa Kivilu and Yul Derek Davids Part I: Race, class and politics South Africans’ views about national priorities and the trustworthiness of institutions Stephen Rule and Zakes Langa Attitdues towards racial redress in South Africa Kevin Durrheim Public perceptions of local government Marlene Roefs and Doreen Atkinson Demand governance versus democractic citizens: What do South Africans think? Yul Derek Davids Youth voices in South Africa: Echoes in the age of hope Gerard Boyce Part II: Poverty, inequality and service delivery Winters of discontent? Attitudes towards service delivery David Hemson South Africans' attitude to social integration in schools Mbithi wa Kivilu, Mandla Diko and Ronnie Mmotlane Towards a democratic definition of poverty: Socially perceived necessities in South Africa Gemma Wright, Michael Noble and Wiseman Magasela Child poverty and social exclusion in South Africa Jonathan Bradshaw and John Holmes Part III: Societal values Christianity in South Africa: Theory and practice Stephen Rule and Bongiwe Mncwango South Africans’ attitudes towards the environment Jaré Struwig What do South Africans think about work, their jobs and organisations? Carly Steyn Fear factor: perceptions of safety in South Africa Benjamin Roberts

About the Author/s

Benjamin Roberts is a research specialist in the Child, Youth, Family and Social Development research programme at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Before joining the HSRC, he was research fellow in the Population and Poverty Studies Programme at the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Dr Mbithi wa Kivilu is the director and head of the Centre for Socio-Economic Surveys section of the Knowledge Systems unit at the HSRC. Before joining the HSRC, Dr Kivilu worked as a lecturer at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr Kivilu also worked as a research consultant as part of a post-graduate fellowship for the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation based in the University of Alberta. He has undertaken projects for organisations such as the South African National Department of Education, Gauteng Department of Education, USAID, DANIDA, UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank. Yul Derek Davids is a research manager in the Centre for Socio-Economic Surveys section of the Knowledge Systems unit at the HSRC. Before joining the HSRC, he was manager of the Public Opinion Service at the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA). He has also managed the Afrobarometer project at IDASA, which conducts periodic public opinion surveys across Africa.

 

Listen to Ben Roberts, co-editor of South African Social Attitudes – 2nd Report: Reflections on the Age of Hope discuss some of the key findings in this highly anticipated new book.

In its rigorous and detailed analysis, South African Social Attitudes - 2nd Report: Reflections on the Age of Hope provides an in-depth and often fascinating exploration of how South Africans are feeling about a wide range of issues including crime, education, poverty, the environment, racial redress, service delivery, trust in public institutions and various other social issues.

Duration: 7 mins 49 sec

Press Release: Economic insecurity threatens 2010 World Cup gains, survey finds

 South Africans are increasingly worried about their economic security putting at risk gains that have been made and leading to significant stress, a major reconciliation survey has found. 

 “Human security concerns have been amongst the country’s biggest challenges,” said the Institute of Justice’s Kate Lefko-Everett and “one could argue one of the areas in which progress has been the slowest”.

On the positive side there has been a moderate overall improvement in perceptions of physical security and safety which “goes some way to offset the negative social consequences of physical insecurity”, said Lefko-Everett.

An important trend reversal in this year’s Institute of Justice and Reconciliation’s 10^th South African Reconciliation Barometer (SARB) is South Africans’ confidence in public institutions. There was a marked decline in trust in public institutions between 2006 and 2009 across all spheres of government. However, in 2010 this trend has reversed with a reported increase in confidence in most institutions.

Lefko-Everett said the concern felt about the economy and unemployment had likely been influenced by the global recession. In 2010 the third-quarter unemployment rate stood at 25.3 percent.

“Research has confirmed links between economic hardship and insecurity, leading to significant personal stress and even health risks. This also heightens the possibility of social conflict,” said Lefko-Everett.

In 2010 South Africans view political party membership and socio economic inequality as the things that divide them the most. A slightly lower percentage of 21% of respondents view race as the biggest division in the country in 2010.

“This survey shows a shift since 2004 with respondents feeling less economically secure. They also feel that their personal and economic situations have declined. South Africans are more pessimistic about employment prospects and are not convinced that their personal financial situations will improve. They feel that their living conditions have declined,” said Lefko-Everett.  They are also uncomfortable about the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor in South Africa, with South Africa’s Gini Coefficient (the global measurement of the gap between rich and poor in countries) being amongst the highest in the world.

According to the survey most South Africans believe that all language groups and religious groups are treated equally, however just over half of all respondents feel other social or cultural groups are treated more favourably than their own. “This raises questions about changes that have to take place in South Africa in order for citizens to believe in equality of treatment and for it to take root,” said Lefko-Everett.

The improvement in faith in public institutions is probably due to greater political stability at the executive level of government between 2006 and 2009, and the boost the country received from the successful hosting of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup.

“This is a very positive sign,” said Lefko-Everett, “however it is important that public institutions are able to weather and withstand political turbulence, without losing substantial confidence by citizens.”

In terms of how South Africans identify themselves and identify with each other after 16 years of democracy the survey found:

• Most of us identify ourselves primarily by language, ethnic group or race;
• There is a high level of agreement that primary identity is a source of positive identity making people feel important and good about themselves;
• 47% of all South Africans believe race relations have improved since 1994, 30% think they have stayed the same and 21% think they have deteriorated;
• On a typical workday 38% of all South Africans say they often or always speak to someone from another race group, 20% say they sometimes do, while 42% rarely or never do. However, 30% say they would like to talk to people from other race groups more than they do at the moment;
• Twenty-one percent of South Africans often or always socialise with people of other races in their homes or with friends, 18% say they sometimes do, while 60% rarely or never do;
• Contact and socialisation between South Africans is highest in wealthy households with a dramatic decrease among poorer households;
• Since 2003 there has been a slight increase in the percentage of respondents who find people of other races hard to understand, but this should be balanced against an increased approval for greater integration in terms of inter-racial marriages, schools, being employed by someone of a another race, and neighbourhoods.

Issued by on behalf of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation by HWB Communications

Full report

 

In this video clip, Peter Harris, author of the book 'Birth: The Conspiracy to Stop the '94 Election', speaks with Polity's Christy van der Merwe about his January 1994 appointment as the head of the monitoring division for the independent electoral commission. His book details this subject.

To download video clip, click on this link: http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=31050

 

This book is in the UCT Main Library:

324.968 HARR

Harris, Peter, 1956-

Birth : the conspiracy to stop the '94 election / Peter Harris. --    Cape Town : Umuzi, 2010.

 

The Crime and Justice Hub aims to be the single most comprehensive source of information and analysis on crime, criminal justice and crime prevention in South Africa.

 

The purpose is to contribute towards, transparency, accountability, good governance and public awareness in relation to crime, its prevention and criminal justice.

This website also seeks to be of value to communities, government policy makers, researchers, academics, the media and the general public by providing:

• Up-to-date and historical quality information and analysis on crime, its prevention and the performance of the criminal justice system
• User friendly access to statistical data in different formats including tables and graphs
• Interactive crime maps for each police precinct in South Africa
• Community safety tips and information

http://www.crimehub.co.za/

The World Health Organizaton (WHO) has issued its most comprehensive report ever on the progress being made in combating the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2010 contains the very latest data, and for the first time also includes online profiles from 212 countries and territories. Visit the website to download the report (full report, pdf), access country profiles and the global TB database.

Report on South Africa

From UN Pulse Permanent Link: Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2010

• CSVR Press Statement: The Study on the Violent Nature of Crime

• Project statement: Why South Africa is so violent and what we should be doing about it

• Background document: An overview of the study on the violent nature of crime

• Final report: Tackling Armed Violence – Key findings and recommendations of the study on the violent nature of crime in South Africa.

• All seven project reports are available here.