Month: August 2016

Poor state of sport facilities in Mdantsane

11th August 2016 Yamkela Sifingo 0

Mdantsane is known for its love of sport, especially boxing and rugby, but a small audit of the facilities proves that they are in a poor state.
Mdantsane, the second biggest township in South Africa, is located between East London and King William’s town. “MDA” as it’s referred to by those who live in it, was established in the late 1960’s as a result of the East Bank/West Bank forced removal of residents, who were separated by the Buffalo River. Under the reign of white dominance, the native people fought a number of battles protecting their land, but they were defeated and driven off the river banks. Mdantsane was built as a concentration camp, where white industries draw labour, and enslave black people to keep their businesses running at low cost.

Separate prisons a victory for LGBTI inmates in Thailand

11th August 2016 Equal Times 0

Nachacha Kongudom was detained on account of her political activities, having taken part in a protest rally marking the first anniversary of the 2014 coup d’état. This student activist was sent to a male prison, despite her plea to be sent to a women’s prison, for fear of being harassed for being transsexual. In response to her petition, the authorities stated that, by law, she was still a man, and there is no document in Thailand identifying trans women as female.

Civil society movements vows to keep pressure on SABC

11th August 2016 Ramatamo wa Matamong 0

After the public broadcaster decided to ban the footage of violent protests and the destruction of properties, there has been growing pressure from various interest groups that say the move has threatened media freedom and will take the public broadcaster back to the Apartheid era of becoming a state broadcaster.

Protestors vow to continue to put pressure on Mugabe

11th August 2016 Bernard Chiguvare 0

Two recent protests at the Zimbabwe Consulate have given a political voice to Zimbabweans based in South Africa.
Zimbabweans that include students from the University of Cape Town, University of Western Cape, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Stellenbosch University marched twice this month to the Zimbabwe consulate to handover petition to the Consulate General.

Study links wage increase to job losses on farms

11th August 2016 GroundUp 0

The 2013 increase in the minimum wage for farm workers did cause a drop in employment, new research by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town suggests.
However, the researchers were unable to determine exactly how many jobs the wage increase cost. The study also found that the average wage for rural farm workers increased, meaning that the legislation was being followed.

Man accused of assault in Xolobeni is ANC election candidate

11th August 2016 GroundUp 0

An ANC candidate in the Xolobeni area has been accused of assaulting four people at the funeral of activist Sikhosiphi ‘Bazooka’ Rhadebe. Ntethelelo Madikizela, accused of assaulting two journalists and two activists in April, is the ANC candidate for the Xolobeni area.
He has denied any involvement in the attacks. Nigel Sibanda and Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni from The Citizen, and Moses Mbuthuma and Luthando Ndovela from the Amadiba Crisis Committee, were attacked during the 2 April funeral of murdered Sikhosiphi ‘Bazooka’ Rhadebe, chair of the Amadiba Crisis Committee, an organisation that is strongly opposed to the titanium mining project in the area. An affidavit from Mbuthuma and a statement from Ndovela, together with supporting affidavits from people who arrived on the scene following the attack, were given to the police at a stand the SAPS had set up on 19 July at an imbizo in Xolobeni.