It is perhaps fitting that the new retirement savings rules kicked in on 1st September, considered to be the beginning of spring and heralding fresh beginnings of growth. For some, it may also be the mythical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The change means that South Africans will immediately be able to access a […]
World Mosquito Day, observed annually on 20th August, is a commemoration of British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that female Anopheline mosquitoes transmit malaria. This discovery provided the first evidence that mosquitoes transmit malaria to humans.1 The mosquito is the world’s deadliest animal, and it remains one of the biggest global health threats of the 21st […]
The tragic event of the death of a refugee and the number of injuries sustained by others in a stampede outside the Refugee Reception Centre in Pretoria is profoundly symptomatic of the wide range of maladies surrounding the realities of displaced persons in South Africa and, despite some recent improvements, the dysfunction that characterises the Department of Home […]
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was given a new Minister in the Government of National Unity, Dr Leon Schreiber, a member of the Democratic Alliance.1 It is of course not the first time that this portfolio has been held by a Minister outside of the ANC. For ten years Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the IFP was Minister of the same department.2 […]
As we head into times of possible realignment of politics and nuances in policy matters, the key issue in the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) regarding policy certainty is in the field of visas and status documents. This continues to be a highly contested issue that impacts the lives of tens, indeed, hundreds of thousands of people. Elsewhere, […]
So much of the continuing saga around refugees, migrants and asylum seekers continues to be played out in the courts. Much of the contestation centres on issues of access to documentation and interpretations of regulations. In the run-up to the recent elections especially, anti immigrant rhetoric took on a new intensity. Refugee Digest 84 – Migrants, Refugees and […]
South Africa’s achievement in contributing the term ‘load shedding’ to current English is not necessarily anything to be proud of, but the fact that we have gone without these rotational electricity cuts since late March probably is. It is significant enough, anyway, to have been the subject of a recent BBC report. Environment Digest 45 – Developments […]
Fathers play a critical role in the development and well-being of their children and have a lasting impact on their lives. However, there is no typical father in South Africa and the term father does not solely apply to biological relationships. There are social fathers, who in providing care and emotional support as well as teaching important life skills, are the father-figure […]
South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that explicitly recognises the right to sufficient water in its Constitution.1 Access to sufficient water is a gateway to the progressive realisation of other fundamental human rights such as the right to a clean environment, and ultimately, the right to living a dignified life. BP 603 Water Scarcity, Sanitation & […]
Earlier this year, on 26th March, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) released its first Migration Report. It needs to be acknowledged that this report is published in an environment where many myths about migration have gained the unjustified status of fact, where prejudice often trumps reliable data and research, and where, for political expediency, entire narratives about migration are twisted to provide a background supportive […]
