Democracy & Social Justice

Equal Education and pupils frustrated by the long wait for better school infrastructure picketed outside the basic education department's office.

Over the past 3 years, Corruption Watch has worked to tackle corruption at schools.  Their work has included educating students on the problems of corruption and how to address it, developing tools that principals, teachers, parents or school governing body members could refer to in order to understand how to detect and tackle corruption, as well as provided support to those who suspected the misuse of funds in their schools.

This was initially prepared on the eve of the opening of parliament’s 2015 session.  At the time, our consciousness had been bombarded with phrases like ‘paralysis of parliament’ a ‘disgraceful moment in South African democracy’ and the need to restore the ‘dignity’ or ‘decorum’ of parliament.  These expressions and many more were a reaction to disruptions in parliament in 2014, unprecedented in South African parliamentary history, whether in the post-1994 era or in pre-democratic parliaments.

Despite making all the right noises, South Africa has done little to correct its legacy of dispossession....on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The debate is sponsored by the Centre for Law and Society and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Nomboniso Gasa

HBF partner, the Right2Know Campaign invites everyone concerned by the recent attacks on democracy in parliament to a candle light vigil on Thursday 19 February at 18h00 in the Central Methodist Church,Longmarket Street, Cape Town.

OPINIONThis year, Equal Education is running a campaign on School Governing Board (SGB) Elections in South African public schools. Functional, inclusive SGBs are a key component of fixing schools, writes Raphael Chaskalson.

Corruption Watch and up-and-coming artist Fiesta Black have collaborated to release an anti-corruption song - Hayi Basile, which means "they are wicked". The song profiles profile those in positions of power who lead lavish lifestyles at the expense of others, and expresses the frustration of ordinary hard-working people who bear the brunt of this.

IF WE want local government to work — and citizens to talk to councils instead of demonstrating against them — we need municipalities that do not respond to citizens as Cape Town is responding now.

In July the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), together with Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) held a social audit into Cape Town's janitorial services for shared communal flush toilets in Khayelitsha.  Their findings were dire. Despite costing the public almost R60 million, and havingthe potential for a major impact on the lives of informal settlement residents, the service is failing. Those living in informal settlements are being left without access to safe and dignified toilets, workers face life threatening risks, and public money is being wasted.