In April 2012, the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDoH) put in place a moratorium on the appointment of healthcare workers to vacant posts at facilities throughout the province. This moratorium was instituted in an attempt to control the chronic overspending that was pushing the department deeper into financial crisis each year.
Daygan Eagar
Opinion | 11 September 2013
A demonstration framed ‘as a silent protest against racism’ held at Wits University on 28 August turned out to be anything but an embodiment of the principles of the anti-racism it espoused when a small group of the protesters sang ‘dubula e juda’ (shoot the Jew).
Heidi-Jane Esakov
Opinion | 4 September 2013
It is now 20 days since Toronto filmmaker John Greyson and London, Ontario, doctor Tarek Loubani were arrested by Egyptian police while on their way to Gaza.
Jack Lewis
News | 2 September 2013
A fed-up Khayelitsha resident is anxious to know why the City of Cape Town is not making any provision for water and sanitation on her street.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 28 August 2013
Shaul and Yuli Novak are two Israeli Defence Force veterans with the organisation Breaking the Silence. They are currently visiting South Africa, giving talks and promoting a book. Breaking the Silence publishes testimonies by Israeli soldiers of their actions, many of them human rights violations, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Nathan Geffen
Opinion | 22 August 2013
I enjoy lawyer jokes, but in my time with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) the lawyers I worked with didn't fit the stereotype. They often represented TAC pro bono or at reduced fees. They put money aside to fight for justice, especially for poor people. They were also modest. In our high profile cases, the TAC's lawyers were not the centre of attention. Nevertheless, TAC won most of its cases and all the key ones. We were very ably represented.
Nathan Geffen
Opinion | 21 August 2013
Teenage pregnancy and the stigmatisation that accompanies it continue to expose deep seated prejudices that exist in our society. Given the prevailing attitude of vilifying pregnant girls it should come with little surprise that many schools opt for a punitive response by banishing pregnant girls from school.
Lisa Andrews and Lisa Draga
Opinion | 14 August 2013
Three months ago we told the story of Patricia who raises her autistic son, Teko, in a shack in Khayelitsha. Patricia sometimes ties Teko to a couch for his own safety to prevent him wandering off. We followed up to see if life has become easier for them. [Patricia’s and Teko’s names have been changed.]
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 7 August 2013
89-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, is set to lead the country for yet another five years.
Tariro Washinyira, Mpho Mabhena and GroundUp Staff
News | 6 August 2013
Nelson Mandela may not be aware of it but he has got us talking about death; something we have never had the courage to do before. This is certainly a discussion he wanted us to have. As President of the country he appointed the South African Law Commission to write a report on end-of life issues, and it was Nelson Mandela himself who tabled this in parliament.
Sean Davison
Opinion | 6 August 2013
A process has begun in Turkey which has the potential to find solutions to the Kurdish question.
Mansoor Jaffer
Opinion | 5 August 2013
South Africa and Brazil have quite a few things in common. Both are economic powerhouses and members of BRICS. They both play an important role in regional and global affairs acting as political advisors to their nearby countries.
Fabio da Graca
Opinion | 5 August 2013
It is election day in Zimbabwe. This is a good day to reconsider the Zimbabwean land reform experience and what to make of it, especially as we consider what should be done about land reform in South Africa.
Jack Lewis
Opinion | 31 July 2013
Five years after violence marred the last elections, Zimbabweans are to take to the polls on the 31 July. The question is: will it be a free and fair election?
Nwabisa Pondoyi
Brief | 31 July 2013
Jabulani Murire is a 38-year-old, married Zimbabwean man with three children. His family is struggling to survive after he became bedridden following a car accident while on duty.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 30 July 2013
On 19 July 2013, the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) hosted the Sisonke Open University Seminar on sex workers and people with disabilities. Ntokozo Yingwana, an Advocacy Officer at SWEAT, said that the seminar dealt with disability in the sex industry. She said she hoped the conference would help lift the stigma on this topic.
Jonathan Dockney
News | 24 July 2013