The South African Catholic Bishops' Conference has criticized a Catholics For a Free Choice advertising campaign that takes issue with the church's stand on condoms, saying that condoms are "as likely to promote promiscuity as anything else," the South African Press Association reports. The ads -- which read, "Banning Condoms Kills" and "Catholic People Care, Do Our Bishops?" -- are running in a Cape Town newspaper and will be featured on highway billboards near Cape Town and Johannesburg.

An independent evaluation of the South African government's test project to reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission through the use of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine, endorses nationwide expansion of the project but acknowledges that the government has "valid concerns" about how the drug is administered, the Associated Press reports.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Sunday said that AIDS drugs should be made available to all South Africans who desire them, but stressed that his position was not in conflict with the government's policy on the drugs, the Associated Press reports.

South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, in a "dramatic turnaround," has broken rank with the central government, withdrawing from its appeal of a December High Court ruling that requires the government to provide the antiretroviral drug nevirapine to all HIV-positive pregnant women to prevent vertical HIV transmission. The province is now publicly siding with the Treatment Action Campaign, the AIDS advocacy group that brought the lawsuit, Health-e News reports.

Wholesale merging of tertiary institutions is far too blunt an instrument to create optimum efficiency, equity and quality in higher education. And there is rage in some quarters at recent merger proposals that leave a few privileged institutions untouched while targeting numerous others.

Trade union MWU-Solidarity on Tuesday welcomed three more labour unions into its ranks, a move that made it the biggest independent labour union in South Africa, MWU-Solidarity said.

The Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP) is hosting an international conference on women's representation in government in Cape Town on 7 & 8 March 2002.

Conservation Legislation in South Africa is comprehensive and decrees that many activities require Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and Integrated Environmental Management controls. Mountains are not seen as a separate category of land over which specific legislation would apply. Recently new unrelated legislation has created legislative loopholes that allow the indiscriminate construction of roads into the Cape's important mountain catchments for the use of recreational vehicles for tourism.

he Congress of South African Trade Unions welcomes the Mesebetsi Labour Force Survey Report, by Fafo, the Norwegian Institute for Applied Social Science. The survey confirms many of COSATU’s own findings about the levels of unemployment, poverty, inequality and racism in South Africa and flatly contradicts government ministers’ claims that the country’s economic fundamentals are ‘sound’.

The National Clearinghouse on Youth Employment (NCYE) is seeking a qualified Library Support Specialist.

When Microsoft promised 32 000 schools computers and 90% discounts for private schools and universities, it opened a can of worms.

The recently launched Aids orphanes trust received a kickstart by funds made available by First National Bank and TP Electrical. The trust fund aims at bettering the future for the thousands of children.

Fasset initiated the Education Upliftment Project Eastern Cape (Eupec)which is a R35-million skills initiative and social upliftment project. The project is funded via National Skills Trust. The aim of the project is to uplift maths and accounting skills at matric level.

Solani & Sutton Communications wishes to appoint a Programme Assistant to work with one of its main customers, Talent Consortium, on the launch of the Global Conservation Trust during the forthcoming World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD).

The Centre is committing a series of small research grants to encourage new and innovative research on civil society. We would thus like to invite researchers to submit proposals in the following thematic areas: The state, shape & size of civil society in South Africa, Civil society in Contemporary democratic era, Civil society and Development, Africa and International.

The course will provide a comprehensive training in facilitation methods and skills based on the Technology of Participation developed over 35 years by the Institute of Cultural Affairs.

This IT Networking training programme is being offered in partnership with International Youth Foundation (IYF), Cisco Learning Institute/Cisco Systems United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Youth Development Trust (YDT)

Police, bankers, auditors and diplomats were on Tuesday gathered in Johannesburg to address the growing problem of money laundering in Southern Africa. The first Southern African Regional Conference on Money Laundering kicked off in Morningside, Sandton. It continues until Thursday.

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is closing its doors. Although formally dissolved, a skeleton staff is putting the finishing touches to a report that is meant to sum up the apartheid years. The commission, headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was a unique device designed to help South Africa to deal with its past and in so doing reconcile white and black. But has it done so?

The Peoples Budget coalition, with a claimed support base of 25 million people, is arguably the real opposition budget. First tabled last year, trade unions, churches and non-governmental organisations have repeated the act, putting an alternative 53-page spending plan on the table. Molefe Tsele, general-secretary of the South African Council of Churches, says his organisation represents churches with a membership of over 12 million worshippers, while Cosatu has 1,8 million signed-up members. Supporters of community-based organisations make up the rest.