“Feel it, it is here!” This slogan somewhat incredulously reminds us that South Africa hosted the 2011 World Cup. A year on, the slogan still resonates in our conversations. However, another catchphrase, the “ticking time bomb,” has emerged to underscore…
Analysis of the 2011 local government election has focussed on detailed analysis of voter patterns with various interpretations attached to their exact meanings. Some of the outcomes have left us gobsmacked. For instance, why would communities being evicted in the…
Has the campaign for a Basic Income Grant (BIG) been successful? This question requires reflection, as in any democracy, assessing advocacy objectives can never be as simple as ticking boxes. The answer to the question is mostly answered in the…
As workers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the whisper of “back to basics” is gaining momentum. This is reassuring, as the celebrations by COSATU suggest a lull in its political programme and…
Enjoyed engaging with fellow columnists and newspaper editors on the role of press in shaping public policy challenges. The organisers made one clip available. They summarised my input as follows: SACSIS columnist, Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen, argues that progressive activists should be…
Sixteen Rand is not much. It’s what a single shot of espresso at an upmarket hotel in Cape Town might cost. However, poverty estimates reveal that over 20% of the population attempt to meet not only their food needs, but…
A reminder to the ANC that it needed to deepen democracy in society arrived at the ANC’s Polokwane conference, where one major gripe against President Mbeki was that he had failed to create “policy coherence” amongst the ANC and its…
About a decade ago, there was a fashionable rebuttal for developmental alternatives within the broader configuration of power called the ANC. That rebuttal was simply that alternatives were “intellectual gymnastics.” The criticism was at once soft and devastating. In a…
If a day were a long time in politics, then a decade would be akin to an eternity. As Cosatu members gather for their 10th national congress, they will cast their minds back to 1999, when the labour federation hosted…