On 8th June, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) announced that the validity of all Zimbabwean Exemption Permits would be extended for a further six months. They will now expire on 31st December this year. The reason for the latest extension is the high number of applications being received by the DHA from current ZEP holders seeking alternate […]
Ecological collapse and climate change exacerbate the struggles of poor people and the working class all over the world. Tackling these environmental injustices is seen as central to achieving development and upholding human rights. Yet those that fight for these rights are often seen as a threat to the powers that be and to vested interests that benefit […]
A deeply disturbing trend has developed over the past few years with regard to mobile communities in South Africa, more especially with regard to undocumented people. This manifests itself in officials making decisions that effectively exclude undocumented people or asylum seekers, and oftentimes even refugees with the requisite documentation, from accessing social benefits or legal protection to which they are entitled under either the […]
According to the World Health Organisation, “cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Typical at-risk areas include peri-urban slums, and camps for internally displaced persons or refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and sanitation are not been met.”1 Democracy Digest 9 – Cholera – A Symptom of Poor Governance […]
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Employment Equity Amendment Act 4 of 2022 into law in April of this year. The new law includes changes to the legislation governing workplace transformation, as well as stricter compliance measures for designated employers. Section 15A of the new law introduces sectoral numerical targets with the purpose of ensuring the equitable representation of […]
On 25th May this year, the Department of Home Affairs approached the Constitutional Court to request a ‘revival of the order’ that the Court had issued in 2017 and which expired in June 2019. In 2017 the court ordered the DHA to amend aspects of the Immigration Act dealing, firstly, with detention of undocumented foreigners beyond the maximum […]
Recent experience with coalition governance in some of South Africa’s largest cities has been anything but encouraging. Johannesburg, for example, is now on its fifth mayor since the municipal elections of November 2021. Tshwane (Pretoria), Ekhuruleni and Nelson Mandela Bay (Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth) have also had multiple mayors over the same period. BP 567 – Coalition Governance – Are We Ready by Mike […]
The title of this Briefing Paper comes from a brochure issued by the International Catholic Migration Commission, in which the importance of documentation for people on the move is emphasised. It raises the important issues of protection, access to support, and ultimately – theologically speaking – the opportunity to live a fully human life. BP 566 – Not Just a Piece of […]
With the expiration date for the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits drawing steadily closer, and a silence from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) about the possibility of a further extension, as well as the continued wait for the judgement in the High Court case on the same issue, there has been, amongst ZEP holders, a heightened anxiety, restiveness and […]
The 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), released last week, found that 81 per cent of South African Grade 4 pupils (10 – 11 years old) could not read for meaning. The Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga, noted that a lot of learning time had been lost over the last few years due to COVID-19. However, […]
