Controlling quackery: will new regulations help?

Untested nonsense medicines and adverts to buy them are prolific. But after years of chaos in the alternative medicine market, it seems the Department of Health (DOH) is intent on fixing the mess.

Kevin Charleston

Opinion | 26 November 2013

Where politics gets really smelly

Politics stinks. These days in South Africa, this is a fairly common view. But, in the North West province in recent months, the expression has had a very real resonance.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 November 2013

“How do you expect 550 boys to share six toilets?”

The bell rings for break time, triggering a mad rush for the toilet. Many learners won’t make it in time. After all, “how do you expect 550 boys to share six toilets … when there is only one break?”

Brad Brockman

Opinion | 26 November 2013

Black Widow Society: an extract from Angela Makholwa’s latest book

Starting with her first novel, Red Ink (2007), a psychological thriller,
Angela Makholwa occupies an interesting space in South African writing - a
black woman writing crime fiction.

Angela Makholwa

News | 25 November 2013

Party politics dominates Cosatu crisis

Fudging and delay. That was what emerged from last week’s eagerly awaited Cosatu press conference. As a result, the questions about the future of suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and the prospect of a Special National Congress (SNC) remained unanswered.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 25 November 2013

“We’ve lost hope in our government”

Several houses in Gugulethu were damaged by the heavy rainfall this weekend. Hombazi Fiphaza, a resident from Kanana Square informal settlement, said, “We go through the same thing everytime there is heavy rainfall … What pains me the most is watching the children suffer because of it, and there is nothing you can do to protect them from it.”

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 21 November 2013

Muizenberg shack-dwellers flooded out of their homes

44-year-old Nomfundo (not her real name) says for the past 20 years she has lived in the informal settlement outside Capricorn, Muizenberg. She always dreads rain as it comes with the possibility of floods.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 21 November 2013

Toward a more realistic NDP - start with education and jobs

It is two years since the first authoring of the National Development Plan (NDP), and over a year since the delivery of the revised plan by the National Planning Commission (NPC). To speed up progress, we must stop squabbling over which parts of it to implement and focus initially on education and labour-intensive industries.

Ayal Belling

Opinion | 21 November 2013

Flooding in RR Section

News | 20 November 2013

No-show in RR Section by Disaster Management after flooding?

“When we called Disaster Risk Management on Saturday, they sent one man … He said he would be back in a couple of hours, with provisions for a hundred people, including sand bags and stones to protect houses from further water damage, as well as food. They never came back,” says Luthando Tokota a community advocate with the Social Justice Coalition.

Delphine Pedeboy

News | 20 November 2013

The week in political activism

This week we have reports from Abahlali baseMjondolo, People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty, Treatment Action Campaign, Women’s Legal Centre and Democratic Left Front.

Delphine Pedeboy

News | 20 November 2013

Khayelitsha Development Forum boycotts policing inquiry

The Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) says there is no need for the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing.

Pharie Sefali

News | 20 November 2013

Parow soup kitchen offers vital service to hungry and homeless

Louis Titus, a 60-year-old married man from Elsies River, was introduced to the Vineyard soup kitchen in Parow four months ago by a friend. Titus worked for the City of Cape Town for 20 years. He currently receives a R1,500 monthly pension. His wife is unemployed. Titus takes the food he receives home to his four children.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 20 November 2013

Can urban upgrading create safer communities?

The third lecture of this year’s Grootboom Memorial Dialogue Series took place at the Woodstock Town hall last night. Hosted by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), the dialogue explored the impact of urban design interventions on the safety and security of people living in informal settlements.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 20 November 2013

Poverty and waste - the other side of Grahamstown

On the edge of the university hamlet of Grahamstown, there’s a municipal dump where people discard trash. It’s far enough out of town to not smell the stench – or for most locals not to be reminded of the haunting plight of the poor who subsist off the waste.

Mandy de Waal

Feature | 20 November 2013