Opinion

Echoes of 1998 in the student protests

Time for a new economic policy

By

Opinion | 20 January 2016

Robots will replace most jobs

And our current economic system is not prepared for it.

By

Opinion | 11 January 2016

NHI white paper: the good and the bad

South Africa is one of the most unequal nations in the world, and despite having the highest GDP on the continent, it boasts poor health indicators and faces a high burden of disease, both communicable like HIV and non-communicable like diabetes; high rates of violence and injury and mortality.

Kathryn Stinson and the Writing Group for the People’s Health Movement South Africa

Opinion | 18 December 2015

Klipheuwel movement responds to City councillor

Andile Tumana, Executive Director: Kingdom Change Agents Movement, responds to statements made by Councillor Benedicta van Minnen, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, about who represents the residents of Klipheuwel.

Andile Tumana

Opinion | 15 December 2015

Recall President Zuma!

The South African Presidency should be a site to advance the struggle for social equality, for the righting of historic crimes against black people, for jobs, houses, healthcare and education, for human rights globally and at home. This struggle can no longer be lead by a person as compromised, divisive and ineffective as President Jacob Zuma. He must be recalled by the ANC.

Tshepo Motsepe

Opinion | 14 December 2015

Cosatu is not dying, but better leadership is needed

The American writer and humourist Mark Twain once wrote, following an erroneous report of his death, that it was an exaggeration. The same can be said about Cosatu.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 7 December 2015

Who is responsible for Blikkiesdorp?

Who is responsible for Blikkiesdorp? This question has been coming up in response to work in the community by the Open Democracy Advice Centre.

Alison Tilley

Opinion | 30 November 2015

Cosatu can learn from Corbyn to avoid slipping into irrelevance

“The ANC came before democracy.” This statement by President Jacob Zuma was obviously incorrect since the concept of democracy pre-dated the formation of the ANC in 1912 by about 2,500 years.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 30 November 2015

Socialism: myths, prejudices and reality

The global economic crisis continues and makes for a widespread and desperate need among the lowly paid, the poor and the hungry for something better to look forward to.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 November 2015

Textbooks matter: the state goes to court AGAIN

SECTION27 has been engaging with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) about the ongoing textbooks crisis in Limpopo since early 2012. There have been four high court orders saying that the state’s failure to give learners their full complement of textbooks is a violation of their right to education. Tuesday was the fifth time this matter has been in court.

Kate Paterson

Opinion | 25 November 2015

The rabbi, the president and the Palestinians

On 23 November, Geoff Sifrin's book Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris – How humanity, morality and humour helped lead a community was launched at the Great Synagogue in Johannesburg. Judge Edwin Cameron delivered this speech. He addressed Harris's commitment to reaching out across the divides in the South African Jewish community as well as perhaps the most vexing question facing many Jews: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Edwin Cameron

Opinion | 24 November 2015

Time to get tough with schools which discriminate against pregnant schoolgirls

A total of 20,833 school-going girls fell pregnant in South Africa in the 2013-14 year, according to official statistics. A staggering 717 of them were at primary school.

Chandre Stuurman and Demichelle Petherbridge

Opinion | 19 November 2015

Time to demand equal rights for blind people

Being blind or visually impaired means many things in life are simply much more difficult than what they are for other people. Some of these things we can do something about, others we can’t. There are two fundamentally different ways for society and governments to respond to this unpleasant reality. The one option is pity and non-integration - the other is to forget about pity and to take practical steps to make things as equal as possible so that blind people can integrate into society.

Marcus Low

Opinion | 18 November 2015

The debt machine and the politics of 0%

The current wave of student protests in South Africa has been mostly analysed from a national and local perspective.

Achille Mbembe

Opinion | 13 November 2015

DA’s shadow bill misses the key point

On Wednesday, the Democratic Alliance's (DA) new shadow minister of police, Zakhele Mbhele, will brief parliament's police committee on the DA's Bill to replace the National Key Points Act.

Murray Hunter

Opinion | 3 November 2015

Lessons from the student protests of the 1980s

Activist Mandy Sanger, who was part of student-led opposition to apartheid through the Committee of 81 in Cape Town, delivered the annual Ashley Kriel memorial lecture sponsored by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and the University of the Western Cape last night. Here is a brief extract from her speech.

Mandy Sanger

Opinion | 23 October 2015