Democracy & Social Justice

Who are the board members and executives at Prasa who enabled the looting of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa)? This week we turn to Sfiso Buthelezi, a former deputy minister of finance and current member of Parliament, whose six years as Prasa’s first board chairperson saw the parastatal procurement process systematically undermined and its coffers drained.

In the first of a series of webinars examining the crisis in local government ahead of the elections on 1 November, activists said there was no doubt that many municipalities were on the verge of collapse. They said the system to deliver services needs a redesign to benefit residents and not politicians.

It remains to be seen whether the steady uptick in voter turnout for local government elections will maintain the upward trajectory seen over the past two decades, given the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many impoverished communities have been condemned to the political wasteland of service non-delivery, while deployment and tenders to politically connected companies remain the order of the day in many municipalities. Political parties’ graving for power has come at an impossibly high cost for the poorest South Africans.

National Homeless Network presents manifesto to ANC, DA, IFP, and Action SA in Durban meeting

In the run-up to the 2021 local government elections, activists Phindile Kunene and Ayanda Kota explored the reasons why local government is so broken in South Africa in a webinar hosted by Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood in collaboration with My Vote Counts.

In 2016, 144 people with mental illness, lost their lives. They died in the care of the South African public health system, from neglect and starvation. They died at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them. We must not forget. We must hold government to account so that mental health is not forgotten. We must remember to ensure it never happens again.