South African Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Ronnie Kasrils recently launched an attack on “startling” claims that up to 10 million people in South Africa had suffered water disconnections after failing to pay their bills due to the government's cost-recovery approach to the sector. Click on the link below for the response by Municipal Services Project co-director David McDonald to the attack and the original article by Kasrils.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Durban City Hall for a march to protest against the World Economic Forum's Africa Summit last week. The protests were organised by the Ethekwini Social Forum in conjunction with the Treatment Action Campaign, other NGO's and various community organisations.

The South African government will play a critical role next week in ensuring the conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Government representatives say they will support a controversial proposal at the highly charged yearly meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to strengthen the group's conservation mandate. The IWC is the global forum that regulates whaling issues.

Sharp new questions over conflicts of interest have emerged about the controversial private company that secured a "government-to-government" deal to buy Nigerian crude oil. Two weeks ago the Mail & Guardian reported that "South African Oil Company" (SAOC), a private company registered in the offshore tax-haven Cayman Islands, was still benefiting from a Nigerian state oil contract allocated in 1999 to "the Republic of South Africa" - though neither oil nor income flowed to this country.

The Western Cape was the first province to defy South African government policy by providing AIDS drugs to HIV-positive pregnant women in the public health sector. Two years later, the rollout campaign has achieved universal coverage and now babies and children living with HIV/AIDS are also to get access to treatment. Meanwhile, the South African cabinet is expected to discuss a national ARV costing report this week, ahead of a meeting between AIDS lobby group the Treatment Action Campaign and the National AIDS Council on 14 June. AIDS activists hope recommendations handed down by the report will end months of a bitter stand-off between them and the department of health over its refusal to implement a treatment policy.

A Dutch theatre group called The Lunatics have come to South Africa to perform at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown. On their way to Grahamstown they will perform in Newtown, Johannesburg.

Education Minister Kader Asmal has announced that government is looking at the possibility of exempting 40% of South Africa's poorest from having to pay for education. The announcement comes at a time when scores of parents are facing legal action for non-payment of school fees and some pupils are forced to drop out of school.

Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi's passionate and emotive speech at the Growth and Development Summit spared no one from criticism. The speech embodied the frustrations felt by the federation and organised labour in general about many things, such as the absence of a deal on the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, high unemployment and the deepening poverty levels, as well as the relatively low commitment on the part of business to invest in job-creation projects.

A group of girls from the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) in Grahamstown will swim across the English Channel to raise funds for the fight against Aids. The girls have already received funds and pledges totalling R800 000. The proceeds of this fundraiser will be used to buy and renovate an Aids day care, testing and counselling centre in Grahamstown.

The world-renowned rock singer, Carlos Santana, has pledged to donate proceeds from an upcoming concert to fight HIV/Aids in South Africa, according to Daily Dispatch. The tour is organised under the auspice of Artists for a New SA (Ansa) Amandla Aids Fund.

Charities' dissatisfaction with Lotto funding will be one of the items on the agenda for the meeting of the United Community Chests of South Africa, being held in Pretoria. Despite dwindling income for Community Chests due to the scrapping of scratch cards after the introduction of the National Lottery, applications for compensatory funding from the Lottery have been turned down.

South Africa said on Sunday it will provide troops for the international peacekeeping force set to deploy in turbulent northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where ethnic violence has killed hundreds in recent weeks.

The treason trial of 22 alleged members of the rightwing Boeremag organisation was postponed once again in the Pretoria High Court on Monday. Judge Eben Jordaan postponed the trial until next week Tuesday while talks about legal aid for the accused were set to continue.

The people of South Africa bear a double burden of environmental threats to their health, says Dr Anthony Mbewu, Executive Director for Research Development at the Medical Research Council. According to Dr Mbewu industry as well as under-development in informal and inner city settlements causes environmental pollution. He added that it is estimated that one-third of the burden of disease in the world is cause by environmental factors.

Some R145-billion has been earmarked for investment in a range of projects around the country and many unemployed South Africans stand to benefit not only from the jobs but from new skills that they will acquire. This emerged on Saturday when the much anticipated Growth and Development Summit saw about 300 people descend on Gallagher Estate in Midrand to witness the signing of an historic agreement for all parties to work together to revitalise South Africa's economy and to create jobs. Meanwhile a number of groups gathered outside the convention centre to voice concerns about the plight of the landless poor, those living with HIV/Aids and the inability of the unemployed in Soweto to pay up-front for electricity.

Government has a contractual link with a sub-contractor in the R60bn arms deal, Business Day has learned, despite repeated assurances that it dealt directly only with the four prime contractors in the weapons programme.

Attention all NGOs and CBOs! Come and join us at SANGONeT on Wednesday 25 June, 1pm to 4pm, for Thusanang's first focus group discussion. During this discussion: the Thusanang team will give you a detailed tour of the Thusanang portal, including a sneak preview of our Grantmaker Database; the Thusanang team wants to hear what you think of our services so far. Give us feedback, good or bad; and have your say: what should we focus on in future? What are the main challenges for your organisation when it comes to funding and fundraising?

Six million rand in funding from the Canadian government for a skills development project in the Eastern Cape will focus first on the tourism industry. Announcing the project between the Eastern Cape Technikon and the Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, the director of education and development at the college, Jos Nolle, said it would develop industry-based training strategies at the technikon which will link training to work.

The department of social development is expected to submit the draft Social Relief Fund bill to cabinet at the end of the month. The Bill seeks to consolidate five existing relief funds into one centrally managed fund, to be known as the Social Relief Fund. The Social Relief Fund will act through a board which will be the accounting authority thereof. It will consist of 11 members appointed by the Minister of Social Development - and is envisaged to provide social relief to asylum seekers and refugees who, according to the board, are in dire need of such relief.

According to SABCnews, the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre Trust has received R8.1m from the National Lottery. The money will be spent on establishing a marine rehabilitation centre in Port Elizabeth. The centre will focus on the rehabilitation and treatment of injured gannets, seals and seabirds and conservation of endangered species found in the region. The centre will also play a significant role in averting environmental hazards that could result from the imminent Eastern Cape industrial development zone, Coega.