A changed world requires ditching dogma

Trade unions the world over are embattled and apparently finding difficulty adapting to the changed circumstances of this century. To varying degrees they react to challenges in the manner of decades past, without apparently realising the potential they have to influence the way forward in what is a changed world.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 6 November 2013

Genetically modified foods: let the science speak

Genetically modified food has become a highly politicised, emotional issue with heated arguments and accusations between those for and against their use.

Kerry Gordon

Opinion | 6 November 2013

Was South Africa sold out in 1994?

Ronnie Kasrils argued in the Guardian in June that the ANC in 1994 accepted a "devil's pact ... " that tied South Africa's economy "to the neoliberal global formula and market fundamentalism ...". Here Rob Petersen explains why he thinks Kasrils is mistaken. This is the text of a speech given at an Equal Education event on 31 October.

Rob Petersen

Opinion | 6 November 2013

Problems with Home Affairs program to make it easier for Zimbabweans to work

In 2010, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) formulated an easier and quicker way for Zimbabweans to obtain their work permits and stay in the country legally. But it has not gone smoothly.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 6 November 2013

Angolan who grew up in SA risks being sent back

Jesus Espirito Do Santos has lived in South Africa since he was three. He is at risk of being sent back to Angola where he was born. Yet he only speaks English and Afrikaans and can’t speak Portuguese.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 5 November 2013

Over R1 billion in fund - yet apartheid victims still await compensation

The President’s Fund was established in 2003 under President Thabo Mbeki to compensate apartheid victims. It has accumulated over a billion rands. Nevertheless, many apartheid victims who were identified by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to receive compensation from this fund, have still received nothing. Some have died waiting.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 5 November 2013

Planet Savage: an extract from Tuelo Gabonewe’s book

Tuelo Gabonewe's is an exciting, new young voice in South African literature. His first novel, Planet Savage, is narrated by Leungo, a nine-year old with an unusual, often sacrosanct, outlook on life.

Tuelo Gabonewe

News | 4 November 2013

Ambrosini is wrong about cancer

Receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis in your early 50s is frightening. It is difficult to imagine what Mario Ambrosini is going through. That he wishes to beat cancer and that he is disappointed with medical science because it offers him so little hope is entirely understandable.

Nathan Geffen, GroundUp Editor

Opinion | 4 November 2013

Health Professions Council tried to stop exposure of Eastern Cape health crisis

Instead of fulfilling its vision to “enhance the quality of health”, the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) tried to stop details of the health crisis in the Eastern Cape being made public.

GroundUp Staff

News | 4 November 2013

The week in political activism

This is our new, hopefully regular, feature with the latest news from civil society.

Delphine Pedeboy

News | 1 November 2013

Hipster left

News | 30 October 2013

Amber lives her dream behind the scenes of the Phantom

Not every parent would be pleased to hear their child is determined to make a life in the theatre. But Amber Mgushelwa’s family has been supportive of her career choice. Her father reassured her all the way; her mother had some concerns.

Nwabisa Pondoyi

News | 30 October 2013

Slow, unresponsive and unconcerned: How the Health Professions Council hurts patients

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is a statutory body that regulates health workers. It registers doctors and disciplines them if they do something wrong. If it had to perform its tasks properly, patients would benefit. Instead, according to several organisations and doctors, the HPCSA’s inefficiency hurts patients.

Delphine Pedeboy and GroundUp Staff

News | 30 October 2013

Daily grind of a Zimbabwean mother

Nancy Muzembe, originally from Zimbabwe, struggles against all the odds to give her son a good education.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 29 October 2013

School was key to Mandla Khusela escaping poverty

Mandla Khusela was born in Guguletu and grew up in Langa.

Pharie Sefali

News | 29 October 2013

Having a different HIV status to your partner

Lindiwe Kameni was ill in 2004. “I was in Jo’burg when I fell sick, and I tested HIV-positive”, she says. She told her husband her HIV status and things started to change.

Odwa Funeka

News | 28 October 2013