‘‘Today we are here to say never again shall our people lose their land rights because they are black,'' said Lulama Xingwana, South Africa's minister of agriculture and land affairs. She was speaking at the handover of a section of land in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi National Park about one hour's drive from the mining and industrial town of Richards Bay. Richards Bay is about eight hours by car from South Africa's commercial hub of Johannesburg.

A section of the world heritage site the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, Africa's largest estuary, has been returned to its rightful owners, who have in turn undertaken to manage the land in accordance with the country's environmental laws. The park, situated in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province adjacent to the Indian Ocean, was proclaimed in 1999 as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Researchers have begun recruiting women in South Africa for the first trials worldwide of a vaginal gel containing an antiretroviral drug, which they hope will protect women from HIV infection. The trials of the microbicide — a gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir, a proven anti-HIV drug in its oral form — are being conducted in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.

From the very start, the recent Nigerian elections, which saw Olusegun Obasanjo placing his hand picked successor, Umaru Yar’ Adua, into the Presidential palace, were mired in controversy. The ballot papers for the election, which were printed in South Africa, contained no counter foils or serial numbers – features which would have made vote rigging difficult.

A prominent activist in empowerment organisations, Zanele Muholi (b. 1972) is concerned with the intimate portrayal of the lives of black lesbian women in South Africa. Of this new body of colour and black-and-white work, she writes, "Being is an exploration of both our existence and our resistance as lesbians/women loving women, as black women living our intersecting identities in a country that claims equality for all within the LGBTI community, and beyond."

In South Africa, black people are much more likely to migrate for work and to send remittances home than any other group. This paper published by the California Center for Population Research studies the effect of those remittances on black children’s schooling, using data from household and labour force surveys.

South Africa has crossed a Rubicon in the past few months in relation to HIV and the ball is now in civil society’s court to achieve progress, Mark Heywood of the AIDS Law Project told the closing session of the Third South African AIDS Conference in Durban on June 8.

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) welcomes the fact that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has decided to schedule the controversial documentary on President Thabo Mbeki for screening on Sunday 10 June at 9 pm on SABC 3. In marches, pickets and demonstrations held outside various SABC offices since last November, the FXI has repeatedly called for the screening of the documentary, and the Institute is pleased that this is finally going to take place.

The protracted provincial border dispute between the government and residents of Khutsong, a township outside the mining town of Carletonville, has blocked the funding of a care centre for mentally and physically challenged children.

Striking public servants will completely shut down all government services in the Western Cape by Friday 8 June, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) said. Provincial secretary Suraya Jawoodeen said Nehawu would intensify its strike action and re-mobilise all members to ensure a complete shut-down of services by Friday.

South Africa has had a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme since 2003, yet it is only reaching an estimated one-sixth of pregnant, HIV positive women. This means that thousands of babies are being infected each year as at least one in three pregnant women nationally was HIV positive by 2005 and around a third of HIV positive mothers transmit HIV to their babies.

Sexual behaviour is not changing in South Africa despite the massive energy and expertise that goes into research. This was the sobering message from Olive Shisana, CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council at the 3rd South African Aids Conference at Durban's International Convention Centre on Tuesday June 5.

South Africa's largest trade union federation will launch a campaign against "the Israeli occupation of Arab lands" this week, demanding that Pretoria impose a boycott on all Israeli goods and break diplomatic relations. South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, who is Jewish, told Haaretz that he actively supported the initiative - which contradicts the policy of his own cabinet.

The Mail & Guardian, FXI, the South African Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-SA) and the South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF) are delighted by a ruling in favour of open justice and media freedom in the Pretoria High Court today. This follows an effort by the State to gag a vital nuclear smuggling case in which two individuals and a linked company are charged with smuggling components to an international syndicate.

Gender activists across the country received last week’s news of the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill by parliament with jubilation. After ten long years in the making, this means that, if assented by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and the President of South Africa, the bill will finally become a reality – a much-needed step toward greater protection against sexual offences.

Many gay organisations are relieved after the South African National Assembly of parliament passed the Sexual Offences Bill on Tuesday this week. This comes weeks after the Constitutional Court in the country ruled out on the Bill against these organisations where non-consensual anal penetration of males in the legal definition of rape was excluded.

The University of Cape Town is seeking a Vice-Chancellor to succeed Professor Njabulo Ndebele, who completes his second term of office in mid-2008, and invites applications and nominations for the post. The Vice-Chancellor is the University’s Chief Executive Officer, responsible to Council and Senate, and should be a leader who is able to provide direction and inspire others. Closing date: 1, June 2007

Medecins Sans Frontieres’ (MSF) flagship antiretroviral programme in Khayelitsha is taking strain and has been forced to put patients on waiting lists as nurses and doctors struggle to cope with the growing demand. In a report titled “Help Wanted”, the humanitarian organization warns that efforts to further increase access to HIV treatment and maintain and improve quality of care are coming up against a wall due to the severe shortage of health workers.

"Information for Change: Generating, Publishing, and Applying Knowledge for Development," a workshop that will take place at the Cape Town Book Fair on Monday, 18 June, will address the following questions. What is the role of information in achieving development aims? How is knowledge generated, isseminated, and used? Where do you go to find information? What is the role of the researcher, the publisher, the librarian, and the NGO? How can publishing help make change happen? Admission is free.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/authors/Doreen-Lwanga.jpgAlthough there is much for Africans to celebrate in post apartheid South Africa, Doreen Lwanga is troubled by the 'psychological burden' of having to engage in the profiling of black youth when walking the streets of urban centres such as Johannesburg.

A while ago, I wrote about the psychological trauma that beggars on the New York City subway undergo, as they prepare to ask passengers for a dollar. Here, I would like to explore the psychological burden of profiling young black males in South Africa as a visitor to the country.

I recently travelled to South Africa. I had not been to South Africa since I left in 2001, following a year of working with the Lawyers for Human Rights Refugee Rights Project in Pretoria. I had promised myself never to return to South Africa because of the 'not-so-friendly' welcome I received when I was there. I had gone to South Africa assuming that I would be 'going home', but my inability to speak any of the eleven national languages prohibited me from freely enjoying the social scene.

South Africa provides hope to so many Africans on the continent. Its diversity of culture, landscape, vibrancy, peoples, history, leadership and resilience makes it the most admired and one of the most sought after destinations. It has become a favoured destination for many international Africans students and academics flock to pursue a world-class education, teaching or research experience outside their home countries. It is Africa’s economic capital.

Many Africans like me who visit or live in South Africa want to enjoy a part of it or be a part of it. We expect a 'home welcome' and a pat on the back, yet many of us, particularly from outside Southern African are profiled because we do not speak any of the South African black languages.

Amazingly, both South Africans and foreigners in the country are scared of street life and miss out on the most vibrant experience of any city. We are warned of walking in the city without clinging onto our handbag during the day and scared from enjoying the night life for fear of rape, murder or robbery in the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The tourists and immigrants claim crime is high in these cities because there are many unemployed young South Africans. While South Africans claim it is due to the high influx of immigrants.

I remember one evening in 2000 while I was walking home from work in Pretoria at about six o’clock, two young black males came running after me. When they approached me, one pulled my bag while the other struggled to break my necklace. As I fought back and yelled for help, none of the passer-bys stopped to rescue me from these attackers. If this had happened on the streets of Kampala, the mob would surely have meted out justice onto these two robbers.

Certainly, it is expected that we all take the necessary precaution while living in big cities. I realise that it is risky to park one’s Pajeros on some streets of Pretoria or Johannesburg in the night without guaranteed security. However, I am bothered that I can safely walk the streets of Kampala or New York without psychological fear of attack, rape or murder from young black males unlike in Johannesburg or Pretoria.

Then I wonder, am I, like many other foreigners and South Africans living in these cities, too paranoid? Are we too impatient with the recently acquired public space that the new South African transition ushered in for free enjoyment of all, including young black males? Is it just young black males clearly restricting our ability to move freely within Johannesburg and Pretoria, and are they all South Africans?

Clearly we have many reasons to celebrate that the new South Africa has extended to many of us from the rest of Africa easier access to its borders without the cruel apartheid system.

However, I do not want to live a stratified lifestyle where those who consider 'to have' live under key and lock from those who supposedly 'do not have'.

I enjoy street life, and the ability to interact with local people and observe the daily lives of ordinary people. I enjoy public transport and do not want to be chauffeured around in private car hire at seven times the cost of public transport.

I hate the fact that walking the streets of Pretoria and Johannesburg makes me paranoid, particularly when as a black person I participate in black-on-black profiling.

As a black person and a self-acclaimed black nationalist, I cannot bear the psychological burden of profiling young black males on the streets of South Africa nor deny myself the opportunity of opening my Luganda or English-speaking mouth for fear of attack from my own people.

* Doreen Lwanga is an Africa Scholar, Researcher and Activist working in the areas of African security, Pan-Africanism and Higher education in Africa.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/