Monday 9 May, 2011 - 11:08
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is investigating why about 1 600 toilets in a Free State municipality have been left without enclosures for the past eight years.
SAHRC spokesperson, Vincent Moaga confirmed that a complaint has been laid with the Commission.
The toilets are located in Rammulotsi, near Viljoenskroon, in the ANC-run Moqhaka municipality.
Wednesday 13 April, 2011 - 8:52
There is no doubt that the level of discontent around the world is rising to dangerous levels. Maybe that is what their leaders think, but it is clear, to use a contemporary term, revolution has gone viral. Not only are social networking and cellphone technology helping ordinary people, especially the youth, to arrange and coordinate protest movements and events, but these same technologies are spreading the word about what is happening in country after country. And discontent in one place tends to inspire discontent elsewhere.
Tuesday 29 March, 2011 - 10:06
On the 23rd February 2011, sixteen women from several Cape Town townships are said to have descended at the office of the Chief Whip of the African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament, Dr Mathole Motshekga, Member of Parliament (MP), to appeal for the intercession and intervention of the ANC in the deepening moral degeneration in the townships of Cape Town.
Wednesday 23 March, 2011 - 11:28
Very few social development practitioners would argue that one of the main obstacles to quality service delivery is the lack of staff skills and capacity within organisations. The reality we face is that there are currently not enough individuals with key knowledge, skills and competencies to staff all of South Africa’s nonprofit organisations, which means that many organisations are staffed by individuals who are not sufficiently qualified to perform their jobs effectively.
Thursday 17 March, 2011 - 11:30
Planning Minister, Trevor Manuel, says South Africa has failed to deliver quality services to the poor, despite adequate funding.
Manuel points out that, “We must accept that despite the adequate allocation of funding, we fail to deliver quality services, especially to the poor."
Manuel says legislators needed to recognise that the quality of democracy should be measured in a country's success in uprooting poverty, reducing inequality and broadening opportunities.
Tuesday 15 March, 2011 - 15:48
Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, has called on civil society to report service delivery failures as well as improper conduct by organs of state.
Speaking at the launch of the social justice NGO Khanya College's Setsi sa Mosadi in Johannesburg, Madonsela emphasises that her office does not only focus on matters involving high ranking government officials.
Monday 7 March, 2011 - 15:25
According to a survey by TNS Research Surveys, violence over service delivery is ‘almost a certainty’ with more than 51 percent of metropolitan residents unhappy.
TNS Research Surveys director, Neil Higgs, points out that this figure is high and indicates that violence over a lack of service delivery is almost a certainty.
Monday 28 February, 2011 - 13:00
The Community Law Centre at the University of the Western Cape says the violent service delivery protests which have been seen in some parts of the country recently cannot be considered a sign that South Africa is a failed state.
The Centre’s Derek Powell warns people of the tendency to label the country a 'failed' state because of poor performance of certain local councils.
Wednesday 4 August, 2010 - 11:56
People all over South Africa have been asking the leaders of Abahlali baseMjondolo why the government continues to ignore the demands of shack dwellers. They have been asking why, after all the marches, statements, reports and meetings, the Kennedy Road settlement continues to get burnt down through endless shack fires. They have been referring in particular to the recent Kennedy Road shack fire on 4 July 2010 that took four lives, leaving more than 3 000 people displaced and homeless.
Wednesday 7 July, 2010 - 11:36
Promises, promises! The South African voting public has been promised a great many things. Adequate housing, access to water, electricity, sanitation, education, health care, decent transportation, economic opportunities - in short, a ‘better life for all’. Large parts of the population suffer from unemployment, hunger, deprivation and fear (Bhorat and Kanbur, 2006). They lack access to the very basic necessities that will improve their lives and make it possible for them to create a better living environment for the next generation of citizens.
