Strike tearing alliance apart
By admin | August 27, 2010
Mail and Guardian 27 August 2010
The two-week strike by hundreds of thousands of state employees marks the lowest point in relations between the ANC and its alliance partner Cosatu since President Jacob Zuma took leadership of the ruling party, with Cosatu making the unprecedented threat that it will refuse to support some ANC candidates in next year’s municipal elections. Read the rest of this entry »
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Zuma’s media censorship ‘is like going back to Apartheid era’
By Laura | August 25, 2010
Daniel Howden, the Independent, 24 August 2010
The South African government has been accused of resorting to censorship policies reminiscent of the Apartheid era in a bid to silence its critics in the media.
The ruling African National Congress is pushing a series of measures which would, opponents say, undermine freedom of speech, criminalise investigative reporting and threaten whistleblowers in the civil service with lengthy prison sentences. Read the rest of this entry »
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Swazi anger at prince’s HIV exaggeration claim
By Laura | August 24, 2010
BBC News, 20 August 2010
Aids activists in Swaziland have criticised a top adviser to King Mswati III for saying the country’s HIV epidemic is being exaggerated for the benefit of pharmaceutical firms.
Prince Mangaliso said public awareness campaigns against HIV amounted to little more than scare tactics. Read the rest of this entry »
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ZCTU saddened by the death of Gibson Jama Sibanda
By Laura | August 24, 2010
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, condolence message, 24 August 2010
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has been saddened by the death of its former President, Gibson Jama Sibanda after an illness. Read the rest of this entry »
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South African public sector strike ‘endangering lives’
By Laura | August 24, 2010
David Smith, the Guardian, 23 August 2010
A public sector strike has bitterly divided South Africa as protesting workers are accused of deliberately endangering the lives of hospital patients.
The crippling stoppage, now in its sixth day, has seen the army deployed to hospitals and the government health minister forced to return to his previous job as a doctor. Read the rest of this entry »
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Reclaiming and reuniting: Declaration of the people’s summit
By Laura | August 23, 2010
SADC Summit Declaration, Southern Africa People’s Solidarity Network, 16 August 2010
More than 350 representatives of grassroots movements, community-based organizations, and faith based organizations, women’s organizations, labor, students, youth, economic justice and human rights networks and other social movements met in Windhoek, Namibia on 15-16 August at the sixth SADC People’s Summit organised by the Southern Africa Peoples’ Solidarity Network (SAPSN), supported by the local host organization NANGOF Trust. Read the rest of this entry »
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South Africa striking out
By Laura | August 20, 2010
IRIN News, 19 August 2010
Over a million teachers, nurses and other government workers have downed tools across South Africa, suspending public education and healthcare while their demands for better pay go head-to-head with government’s reluctance to accede.
“We have embarked on an indefinite strike … all public schools are reporting zero presence – that means 100 percent absenteeism of teachers, so [the strike] is a success,” Mugwena Maluleke, General Secretary of South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), told IRIN. Read the rest of this entry »
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Zimbabwe diaspora can also discuss new constitution
By Laura | August 20, 2010
IRIN News, 17 August 2010
The parliamentary committee in charge of reviewing Zimbabwe’s constitution is actively inviting feedback and recommendations from the millions of Zimbabweans living abroad.
“Our resources could not permit us to travel all over the world to solicit the views of Zimbabweans on the contents of the draft constitution; this meant that we could only conduct outreach programmes in Zimbabwe,” a co-chair of the Select Committee of Parliament on the New Constitution, Edward Mkhosi, told IRIN. Read the rest of this entry »
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Leaders commit to deepening economic integration
By Laura | August 19, 2010
The two-day SADC Summit ended in Windhoek yesterday with regional leaders reaffirming their commitment to deepening economic integration and speedy implementation of the bloc’s programmes.
A communiqué issued at the end of the Summit attended by heads of state and government from 14 member countries renewed SADC leaders’ calls for integration placing emphasis on the urgency of implementing agreed programmes. Read the rest of this entry »
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South African workers begin strike
By Laura | August 18, 2010
BBC News, 18 August 2010
Public sector workers in South Africa have begun an open-ended strike, having rejected the government’s offer of a pay rise.
Unions affiliated with Cosatu, South Africa’s main union federation, have been holding out for an 8.6% rise, more than the latest government offer of 7%. The strike was reported to have got off to a slow start, though unions say more than a million people could take part. Read the rest of this entry »
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