Prisons are very violent places and South Africa’s prisons are no exception. “Prisoners face a substantial risk of being coerced, assaulted, raped and even killed at the hands of prison officials and fellow prisoners. Officials also face a substantial risk of violent victimisation by prisoners. While the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 and case law are clear that it is the […]
On 4th January 2024 the Department of Minerals and Energy released the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public comment. The IRP is in effect an estimation of how much electricity the country will need at a given point, and how that electricity will be generated – from coal and other fossil fuels, from nuclear energy, and from […]
Several studies have reported a significant rise in human trafficking across the globe. It is estimated by the US State Department that some 27.6m people are trapped in this insidious cycle of exploitation. This is larger than the population of Australia, which stood at 25.6m in 2021. BP 583 A Continuing Curse – The 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report […]
In a recent Briefing Paper (No 578, Constitutional Delinquency2) we analyzed various ways in which the government has been deviating from its constitutional duties, noting that “some of its policy and legislative decisions suggest that it sees the Constitution as an obstacle to be circumvented or even to be ignored entirely.” BP 582 Section 59 – The Publics Parliament by […]
On 4th December the Constitutional Court handed down a unanimous judgement in what has colloquially become known as the ‘foreign parents battle’. The apex court delivered its judgment in a dispute over sections of the Immigration Act and its regulations that prevented foreign parents from remaining in South Africa to care for their children after separating from a […]
Efficient logistics has been causing headaches for centuries. Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese general, military strategist, author of The Art of War, and philosopher who lived in the 6th century BC, wrote, “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics”; a seemingly simple truth that has escaped our government and the management at Transnet. The National Logistics Roadmap, […]
Over the past days and weeks, the Department of Home Affairs has been at the centre of much activity with regard to mobile populations, especially in the area of documentation and in many cases the lack thereof; and indeed the lack of political will to deal timeously with issuing documents. It goes without saying that where there is […]
The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign is a United Nations campaign which is held annually from 25th November (International Day for No Violence Against Women) to 10th December (International Human Rights Day). The theme for 2023 is: “Accelerating actions to end gender-based violence & femicide: leaving no one behind”. The sub-theme […]
On 1st December 2023 (ironically the same date marked the emancipation of slaves in the Cape in 1834) Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced an extension of the validity of the Lesotho Exemption Permit and the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit. The Lesotho permits were due to expire at the end of 2023 and affect somewhere in the region of […]
Ask a politician, an economist, a labour unionist or just an ordinary South African citizen their thoughts on the currency manipulation saga and you will invariably hear very different answers – with the truth somewhere in-between. Is it a complex issue? Perhaps. Was it a storm in a tea cup? Perhaps. Were the implicated banking institutions colluding to […]
