Opinion
Turning our backs on girl learners
Last week, it was reported with a sense of accomplishment that 38 teachers have been struck off the roll since 2010 for sexual abuse of their learners. I am a lawyer currently working on six cases of sexual violence in schools in three provinces.
Nikki Stein
Opinion | 14 November 2012
The unseemly hat of opposition: A time for self-reflection?
When I saw the TimesLIVE photograph of Premier Zille leading the Democratic Alliance in a march to President Zuma’s Nkandla homestead, I had a visceral reaction. To some, outrage might have been caused by Zille’s finger-pointing, or the gross abuse of state resources symbolised by the police line blocking her delegation’s access to a public road.
Dustin Kramer
Opinion | 7 November 2012
Still dealing with symptoms rather than causes
By tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, October 20) it should become clear whether
Britain is about to join the growing tide of European rebellion against economic
austerity that has become particularly vociferous and violent in Greece and Spain.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 24 October 2012
Why is the Public Investment Corporation bankrolling private education for the rich?
Next month young activists will attempt to make Bhisho the centre of the world. Members of Equal Education (EE) will be present throughout the duration of a court case aimed at securing infrastructure standards for every school in South Africa.
Doron Isaacs
Opinion | 17 October 2012
Understanding the Simelane judgment
The Constitutional Court is proving that there is life after Chaskalson, Langa, O’Regan and Ngcobo. Many feared that new Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng would usher in an era of slavish Executive-mindedness – and that may still come true – but recent judgments of the Court are quite the opposite.
Doron Isaacs
Opinion | 10 October 2012
The mining industry strike wave: what are the causes and what are the solutions?
In this important paper, Gavin Hartford analyses the root causes of the mining industry strikes and proposes solutions.
Gavin Hartford
Opinion | 10 October 2012
Tougher times ahead as tensions ratchet up in Europe
In a world wracked by ongoing economic crises, what is the role of trade unions? And if they focus
solely on “bread and butter issues”, are they, as National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba
Seshoka says, doomed to fail because “broader policies are shaped at a political level”.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 10 October 2012
The immense danger and opportunity of climate change
There’s an astonishing blind spot that afflicts most of South Africa’s elites and intelligentsia, and indeed, our civilisation. It’s particularly tragic that South Africa, which suffered nearly 10 years of HIV denialism, should now also be afflicted by climate change denial.
David Le Page
Opinion | 10 October 2012
Better politics is essential to fix education
The Limpopo textbooks debacle has exposed the staggering incompetence of Angie Motshekga, the Minister of Basic Education, and Bobby Soobrayan, her Director-General. But a recent incident indicates that they or their colleagues in the Department of Basic Education are also very nasty.
Nathan Geffen
Opinion | 3 October 2012