South Africa: Declaration of Civil Society Conference
By Mark | November 2, 2010
29th October, 2010, COSATU
Declaration of the Civil Society Conference held on 27-28 October 2010, Boksburg
The Civil Society Conference held on 27-28 October 2010 was a historic turning point in the history of South Africa. Over 300 delegates from 56 mass-based civil society organisations, with a combined membership of millions of South Africans, came together to rebuild a strong, mass democratic movement which will work with the people and the government to tackle the massive social problems with which we are confronted. Read the rest of this entry »
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MOZAMBIQUE: Hoping to reach the MDG on water
By Info | September 28, 2010
IRIN News, 21 September 2010
Every day Ster Mamboza, 37, covers 19 km on a bicycle over sand and gravel roads to the well at Machaze, in the southern Mozambican province of Manica, carrying two 20-litre plastic water containers and a two-month-old baby. It’s quite a balancing act.
The better part of her day is spent fetching water from this well, the nearest safe source in the area, “even when I am sick”, because “we need water for everything we do in life. I only leave the baby at home when it is really hot, but I get anxious because sometimes it takes me more than six hours to get back,” she told IRIN. Read the rest of this entry »
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Kalahari Bushmen to appeal against court ban on well in game reserve
By Info | July 26, 2010
Guardian.co.uk, July 22 2010
The Kalahari Bushmen are to appeal against a decision by the Botswana high court forbidding them to use a well in the central Kalahari game reserve, one of the driest regions in the world, a spokesman announced today.
The Bushmen, Africa’s oldest inhabitants, won a ruling in 2006 against eviction from the game park, hailed as a victory for indigenous peoples around the world. Hundreds returned to their home villages but they have been prevented from reopening the well or drilling a new one. Read the rest of this entry »
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Drinking the fog
By Laura | April 14, 2010
Article by IRIN, 13 April 2010
Gcinikaya Mpumza, mayor of a small municipality perched high in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa, was saddled with a huge problem: more than half the residents did not have access to water. It was a question of money.
“We are a rural municipality with insufficient revenue, and providing water with conventional systems [piping it] in most of the areas cost a lot of money,” he told IRIN. Read the rest of this entry »
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