As South Africa's new government braces itself for the task of extending clean water supplies to more people, environmentalists are warning there may soon be little water to distribute if conservation efforts are not stepped up. They believe the country will run out of water by 2030 unless current water resources are better maintained. A key part of this challenge involves reclaiming areas known as wetlands. Wetlands act as sponges in preventing the evaporation and flow of water especially during summer.

More than 700,000 South African children aged 14 years and younger are HIV-positive, according to figures reported last week. A survey by the Human Sciences Research Council found that the Aids epidemic was as widespread among the country's young as in the population at large. An estimated 5.7 million of South Africa's 45 million people are infected with the virus, giving it the largest HIV-positive population in the world. The survey found that 5.4% of two to 14-year-olds were HIV-positive, compared with 5.3% of the total population. Among two to nine-year-olds the infection rate was 6.7%.

This book shares the story of Tsoaledi Daniel Thobejane, an activist who was part of the South African liberation struggle and who suffered at the hands of the Nationalist Party regime. It is a book that is interesting because it examines the struggle through the eyes of the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO), a much smaller liberation organisation compared to the African National Congress (ANC) that supported the philosophy of black consciousness. This is of value because “struggle discourse” post 1994 has been dominated by the view of the African National Congress (ANC). Thobejane’s book does make a small contribution to the realisation that there were others who opposed the full force of apartheid.

Thobejane takes the reader back in time to a world of hooded informers, traitorous policeman, consumer boycotts, vicious beatings, lives spent in and out of jail, detention without trial and police shootings – the kind of horror that characterised the struggle against apartheid.

Personal memories contain some interesting insights and stories about the struggle against apartheid. For example, Thobejane recounts how activists would cross-dress to escape detection by the police. In the case of one particularly astute cross-dresser, Thobejane recounts that it would take some time before even his own mother would recognise him and allow him into her house.

Sometimes it does feel that Thobejane falls into the trap of rhetorical political speech and the language used to describe the apartheid regime such as ‘beasts of the illegitimate regime’ becomes repetitive, while also obscuring the nuances of allegiances and loyalties that might have existed. Somehow though, the use of this language is excusable, given that the example quoted preceded his description of a vicious police beating and that in the turmoil of the 1980’s “beasts of the illegitimate regime” was probably exactly how a vast majority of people saw the security apparatus of the state.

The book is interspersed with discussions and suggestions about how the lives of ordinary South Africans can be improved, with a particular emphasis on education. While these are interesting and necessary, there is a sense in the latter stages of the book that it risks becoming a political manual rather than a personal insight into the struggle.

Perhaps this is merely a personal observation, but I felt that the strength of the book lay in Thobejane’s personal engagement with his experiences and that the book needed to separate this from the political reflections that he engages in. However, given his strong political background, it is understandable why this was not the case.

That criticism aside, this is an interesting book that highlights the unsung heroes of the struggle and strongly conveys how ordinary people gave so much for the cause of freedom.

* Reviewed by Patrick Burnett, Fahamu

* Published by: Dorrance Publishing Co., Pittsburgh
To place an order email: [email][email protected]

The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) has invited applications from registered NPOs for funding from the proceeds of the National Lottery. Funding applications focussing on under-resourced areas and underprivileged communities will be considered favourably.

An appeal by former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni against a four-year prison sentence for fraud was postponed in the Pretoria High Court to July. Yengeni sought the delay to enable him to obtain a full copy of the record of his trial on charges related to his acceptance of a near 50% discount on a luxury 4X4 Mercedes Benz.

Mpho, the dramatist, says the play is driven by ambition, cultural ethics, tradition, need and revenge. He says the play also attempts to portray the family politics in a dynamic way. “ It goes beyond that,” he added. He highlighted that it talks of integral issues in marriage situations, and creatively it encourages communication between marriages and family institutions.

South African Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth and his foundation have launched an R18 million campaign to promote open source software (OSS) to the masses.

Trash is political. That's the conclusion of a growing number of communities around the world that are examining conventional notions of waste. They are demanding - and winning - rules to reduce waste creation and to mandate safer handling of waste that is generated. A growing global network of activists is opposing incineration of waste, pointing out that incineration releases dioxin, mercury, lead, PCBs and other pollutants that endanger public health. Advocates for non-incineration approaches also emphasize the high cost of incinerators when compared to waste prevention, composting and recycling.

By the time Mandela made way for Thabo Mbeki, the ‘swart gevaar’ of the apartheid government had been transformed into the ‘roi gevaar’ of a capital-friendly ANC government. The spectre of the 'ultra left' all of a sudden loomed large on the horizon of South Africa's new democracy. After an initial spurt of expulsions, a climate of hostility towards any radical critique of ANC policy both within the ANC and the Alliance more generally took hold. A veil of silence and fear descended. As a result of the political crackdown and the accompanying demobilisation of South Africa's previously dynamic civic movement a political vacuum was created. The space was quickly filled by the formation of new social movements as the cumulative effects of neo-liberalism forced the regrouping of poor communities alongside those political activists who remained faithful to the tenets and imagination of the liberation movement.

The type of foreign direct investment (FDI) South Africa has received since 1995 has not been of the kind that would stimulate economic development. Rather, South Africa's FDI flows appear to be more likely either to have no impact on employment or to lead to short term job losses. Meanwhile, both trade and technology have served to reinforce a trend of increasing demand for highly skilled labour, generally at the expense of those with few skills. “So far, the ability of trade and new technologies to create employment for the lower skilled and very poor seems exceptionally limited. Thus, unskilled workers and those in poor households undoubtedly bear the brunt of any adjustment costs associated with greater openness.” These are some of the findings from a paper by Gapresearch.org that attempts to gauge the responses, specifically the labour market responses, to economic globalisation and secondly to consider the impact of globalisation, trade and technology on poverty.

The annual Investing in the Future Awards honour companies and organisations that are contributing to the well-being of South African society as a whole. Winning projects have to demonstrate sustainability, partnership building between the government, business and communities, and integration into the development of South Africa. The awards are designed to heighten public, government and business awareness of corporate social investment.

The Reproductive Rights Alliance is looking for an Advocacy and Training Officer. The duties include implementing RRA's advocacy program with individuals and organisations in various sectors.

Over 350 social researchers, doctors, representatives of national and international organisations, NGOs and donor agencies are attending the Second African Conference on Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research (SAHARA) in Cape Town, South Africa. The four-day conference, themed "Promoting an African Alliance to Mitigate the Effects of HIV/AIDS on a Sustainable Basis", was organised by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to share ideas among scientists working on the social impact of HIV/AIDS treatment and care programmes across sub-Saharan Africa. It is anticipated that the sharing of expertise, experience and research will help inform policy and programme implementation.

I agree with Tadjudeen (Pambazuka News 154: Great Expectations on South Africa). For the vast majority of Africans in South Africa, the poor are getting poorer. The ANC promised to return 30% of stolen land to landless people. Unfortunately, the ANC has only returned 2.5%. In the meantime, water has been privatised, making it difficult for poor people to access bugfree pipeborne water. This privatisation is already causing a rise in water born diseases such as cholera.

Families are unable to educate their children in a cultural setting, with a syllabuses which can meet their cultural and employment needs. Yet, South Africa is up for sale. Many rich Europeans can find land and or property for 1 million rand, in the midst of starvation, increasing HIV sufferers and unemployment. The expropriation of land, opportunities and resources from the many to service the few "indigenous middle class/elites" is a reflection that, as always, capitalism always serves the interests of the few.

How can the ANC continue to fail the vast majority with shallow rhetoric? One of these days, the disgruntled masses will get very fed up and turn on the very leadership which used to sound so radical and who was so in favour of addressing 400 years of injustice, suffering and servitude. Now, they talk and talk and talk and do not deliver!

It is becoming increasingly expensive to be racist, as a Lephalale, Limpopo, man has discovered. The Equality Court has ordered Andrew van der Westhuizen to pay his colleague Elliot Senwamadi, at Nashua in Lephalale (formerly known as Ellisrus), R10 000 after Van der Westhuizen shared an offensive email with colleagues.

According to research, one in six women are regularly beaten by their partners in South Africa, with another study suggesting that one woman was killed every six days by her partner. But a cathartic process is currently underway, with a Limpopo pilot project a first step in reflecting on the role and contribution of men the past decade in helping stop gender-based violence.

The haggling between the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress over KwaZulu-Natal cabinet posts has ended, with Premier S'bu Ndebele set to announce his full cabinet - which will include three IFP ministers - in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday. After two weeks of intense talks, the parties announced that an agreement had been reached on the formation of a "broad-based" provincial government. "The IFP has accepted three provincial cabinet positions, as initially offered by the ANC. The ANC also gave the IFP the position of deputy Speaker of the legislature," ANC provincial secretary Sipho Gcabashe said.

South Africa needs major economic policy changes to overcome entrenched inequality and persistent poverty, according to its new National Human Development Report launched in Johannesburg, as the country celebrates a decade of democratic freedom following the end of apartheid rule. The report - The Challenge of Sustainable Development in South Africa: Unlocking People's Creativity - is the most comprehensive assessment of the country's sustainable development challenges. The task of changing South African society does not rest with the Government alone, says the report; the private sector and civil society have key roles to play. The country has the resources to reverse inequalities but needs leadership to adopt new polices to do so, it adds.

While students continued their demonstrations at the Mafikeng campus of the North-West University, large numbers of staff members marched to the department of education to present a memorandum. The only connection between the two protests is their exasperation with the management of the University.

A landmark case in the Supreme Court of Appeal that may have a bearing on all future land issues in South Africa has started in Bloemfontein. Forty thousand people living at Modderklip, a piece of land next to Daveyton near the border between Gauteng and Mpumalanga could be evicted if their case fails. However, the direction the government would take is at present the main issue and the topic of international interest. Three years ago the Johannesburg High Court agreed to the request for an eviction order by Abraham Duvenhage, the owner of the farm. However, according to the Modderklip residents Duvenhage could not pay the sheriff the R1.8 million to carry out the eviction. He requested the Pretoria High Court to force the State to implement the laws and provide suitable accommodation for the 40 000 or compensate the land owner.