Politics

Bitter background to stalled pay talks

Unless bridges are built between competing sides, legacies of bitterness, hatred and fear, often distorted by prejudice and myth, can persist for decades, even generations. And when there are are fairly recent incidents, especially those involving bloodshed and human loss, feelings, particularly among those who identify as victims, are all the more acute.

Terry Bell

News | 17 March 2014

They came for Malema

At a rally in Mfuleni on Thursday 13 March, residents booed local leaders of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). They said they had been promised EFF leader Julius Malema would address them.

Pharie Sefali

News | 14 March 2014

The week in political activism

This week we cover the campaign to fix our patent laws, concern over changes to the new Public Administration Bill that may make it easier for corrupt officials, and the Israeli Apartheid week.

Brent Meersman

News | 12 March 2014

A tale of three policies

The ANC is increasingly accused of breaking the promises it has made to the South African public. What is less widely discussed is how their promises contradict one another.

Gilad Isaacs

Opinion | 4 March 2014

Voting every five years is not enough - direct democracy is possible

Capitalism is not dead. But it is severely ill and its chronic contagion is spreading through the economic and social fibres of the world.

Terry Bell

News | 3 March 2014

The week in political activism

This week we have reports on civil society’s response to the budget and a documentary hosted by Sonke Gender Justice.

Compiled by Brent Meersman

News | 26 February 2014

Back to the land: an interview with Constance Mogale

“This is my passion -- what I’ve known half my life,” fulminates Constance Mogale, the director the Land Action Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA), from her fifth floor office in Khotso House, Johannesburg.

Joshua Maserow

News | 25 February 2014

How to hold provincial government accountable

The 2014 national and provincial elections are around the corner. You will have the chance to vote for the national assembly and your provincial legislature. What is a provincial legislature and how does it work? In this sequel to our article on holding local government accountable, Fergus Turner explains.

Fergus Turner

News | 19 February 2014

City committed to promoting small businesses

It is with disappointment that I read your piece ‘Red tape blocks Khayelitsha small businesses’.

Garreth Bloor

Opinion | 18 February 2014

We should write for our readers, not the owner ““ an interview with Ann Crotty

Seasoned financial journalist Ann Crotty has resigned from the Independent Group’s financial daily, the Business Report , after 18 years at the paper. Crotty, the author of award-winning work on executive pay and other issues, spoke to GroundUp about her resignation from Business Report, her views on editorial independence and media ownership.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 11 February 2014

The Transformative Farce of Davos

Vague ideas of transformation are all the rage these days. Take the latest bun fight in Davos, for example. The annual gathering of the grandly named World Economic Forum (WEF) that ended last weekend met under the heading: “The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.”

Terry Bell

Opinion | 31 January 2014

Terry Bell “honoured and humbled” by support

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has condemned the suspension of Terry Bell's Inside Labour column that ran in Business Report for about 18 years.

GroundUp Staff, Terry Bell and COSATU

News | 29 January 2014

Business Report puts Terry Bell on “indefinite hold”

Terry Bell is a regular contributor to GroundUp. In addition to occasionally writing original material for first publication on GroundUp, he also kindly allows us to republish his Business Report column.

GroundUp Editor

News | 22 January 2014

Understanding the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

The Commission of Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha starts today. Here’s a quick and simple guide to it.

Adam Armstrong

News | 21 January 2014

The need for real media transformation

Transformation of the media in South Africa is essential. But we should be very clear about what we mean by such transformation.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 14 January 2014

Clarity, Kriel and the Cape Times

A lack of adequate resources and asset-stripping by the Irish carpetbagger Tony — now Sir Anthony — O'Reilly are the real problems with the Cape Times, not the undeniable quality, let alone pigmentation, of the staff. But there are other issues too that require examination.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 29 December 2013