Opinion and Analysis

Marking “Black Wednesday”: how to ensure media freedom

Sunday October 19 marks the commemoration of ‘Black Wednesday’, the day in 1977 that the apartheid government banned a range of publications sympathetic to the Black Consciousness Movement, and arrested a group of journalists and editors.

Mark Weinberg

Opinion | 17 October 2014

Responding rationally to Ebola

Tightening border controls is not the way to prevent an outbreak of Ebola in South Africa, writes Nathan Geffen.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 16 October 2014

A deadly disease that demands huge investment

No doubt you’ve heard there’s a disease about that is infectious, difficult to treat and that has an extremely high death rate.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 15 October 2014

Dookoom: screaming about injustice

Daars a nuwe hond in die omgewing en hy raas soos ‘n baas! Kak gevaarlik and here to claim back the throne as the original Afrikaans gangsters, Dookoom have dropped a 4-track EP, A Gangster Called Big Times, and with the controversy caused by the debut single ‘Larney Jou Poes’, there are no sorry’s here.

Zethu Gqola

Opinion | 15 October 2014

Getting community service for lawyers right

A new law is intended to make it easier for poor people to get decent legal representation. But there is much to be done to make it work, writes Liat Davis.

Liat Davis

Opinion | 13 October 2014

How an Ebola clinic works

“So just think of the one who is about to die, trapped behind hundreds of walls sizzling with heat, while at the same time, there are all those people, on the telephone or in cafes …” - The Plague by Albert Camus.

Kathryn Stinson

Opinion | 13 October 2014

Of social class and door mats

The question of class came to the fore this week with that arch free marketeer Ann Bernstein and the Centre for Democracy and Enterprise (CDE) hailing the potential growth of a global middle class, among them teachers. At the same time, the Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) concluded its conference, declaring teachers to be “revolutionary professionals, agents of change...in pursuit of socialism”.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 13 October 2014

Why judges matter: beyond the Dewani case

Not far from the High Court where Shrien Dewani is on trial for murder, the Judicial Service Commission is interviewing candidate judges. The Dewani trial is getting all the attention, but the selection of judges affects us all.

Rudo Chitapi

Opinion | 8 October 2014

The potential for economic change

Once again we are having calls from a number of trade unions for the private sector to exercise “social responsibility” in order to help build “a developmental state”. It is a far cry from 1996 when the combined labour movement presented alternative economic policy proposals.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 6 October 2014

Activists to Sonnenberg: City must engage constructively on sanitation

Yesterday the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) published a social audit of the state of municipal public toilets in Khayelitsha. Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg responded. This is a reply by the SJC's Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer to Councillor Sonnenberg.

Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer

Opinion | 2 October 2014

Media reports on protest action lack depth and context — media monitor

Palls of thick smoke hung over the N2 mid-September 2014, after protesters from the farming town of Grabouw, some 20 kilometres from Gordon’s Bay, barricaded the national highway with burning tyres. Rubber bullets flew and canisters of teargas exploded as the police met protesters head on.

Mandy de Waal

Analysis | 30 September 2014

Apartheid geography and murder in Cape Town

Building a socially and racially integrated Cape Town will decrease our murder rate and other violent crime, writes Zackie Achmat.

Zackie Achmat

Opinion | 30 September 2014

How heritage got roasted

Wednesday was a public holiday: Heritage Day. And carnivore commercialism seems largely to have claimed it. For many — if not most — South Africans who could afford it, this was a day to indulge in and enjoy chisa nyama, the ubiquitous braai.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 29 September 2014

SANDF court ruling victory for rule of law

When the high court upheld an application by Andiswe Dwenga against the defence force last week, it wasn’t just a victory for HIV activists: it was also a victory for the rule of law.

Carmel Rickard

Analysis | 29 September 2014

How Nedbank took the Radebes’ house and how they won it back again

On Thursday in the Gauteng High Court, judgment was given in a matter dealing with reverse mortgage schemes. These schemes have proliferated over the last few years as people with poor credit records seek out companies that are willing to lend them money regardless of their blacklisted status.

Claire Martens

Analysis | 26 September 2014

Braaing on Heritage Day: you may want to ask how that beef got to your plate

You probably wouldn't sprinkle antibiotics like sugar all over your breakfast cereal every morning, even if you were sick. There is, though, a good chance that you are in effect doing something similar today on Heritage Day. The steaks you are braaing, or the chicken being grilled is likely to contain traces of antibiotics.

Nicholas Ashby

Opinion | 24 September 2014