Give small business opportunities

Pierre Mpapele Government has created great expectation for small businesses to afford them opportunities to supply Covid-19 supplies. We were invited to register on the government portal and on the central database, but that was the end of the engagement. People who do not have clothing businesses are at the forefront of opportunities to supply Read more >

OGP more of a necessity than ever in SA

By Anna-Sophie Hobi The Covid-19 pandemic is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis. Efforts to contain the virus and support those directly impacted are of utmost importance. Around the world, governments are taking unprecedented actions to limit the spread of the virus—adopting measures aimed at protecting the lives of their populations and the viability of Read more >

Journalists pay dearly for reporting on corruption

First published on Transparency International Sunday 3 May was World Press Freedom Day, an important opportunity to highlight the critical role investigative journalists play in identifying and exposing corruption. It’s also a good moment to recognise the increasingly dangerous environment that journalists and independent media face across the globe, particularly when reporting about corruption linked Read more >

CW warns of opacity in emergency procurement measures

Corruption Watch, in fulfilling its commitment to ensuring accountability and the integrity of public finances, sent a letter to National Treasury (NT) on Thursday, 7 May 2020, expressing its concern regarding the repeal and release of different instruction notes relating to emergency procurement under COVID-19. The release of successive instruction notes has created legal uncertainty Read more >

Court’s decision gives mining communities a chance to be heard

• Platinum Mining. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. A decision handed down at the beginning of May by the Johannesburg labour court will force the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to consult mining-affected communities on issues that affect them. The matter related specifically to new amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, published by the Read more >

Busting the curfew to get home

Guest contributor The seven-day grace period for people to move from one province to another during lockdown came to an end at midnight on Thursday, 7 May 2020. Thousands of people took up the opportunity to either return to their places of work or go home. Before lockdown I had travelled from Johannesburg to Durban Read more >

Load shedding blues for some communities

Betsie du Plooy Since lockdown started, the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) started their own load shedding. From day one, Bethal and the townships of Embalenhle and Emzinoni had load shedding, at times for three or four hours per day, and other times for up to seven or eight hours. They created a so-called schedule, but Read more >

“The people are starving, many families are out of food”

Guest contributors These are some of the experiences shared with us: Monica de KockStrange how to keep oxygen in your blood, you must essentially be outdoors, exercising or taking in sunlight, otherwise your oxygen levels drop. The Corona virus, however, affects oxygen levels in your red blood cells. We have a huge open space, but Read more >

Over 60 CANs set up to address COVID-19 impact in Gauteng

Gauteng Together applauds the establishment of over 60 community action networks (CANs) across the province, addressing the COVID-19 crisis by providing food and social support to those in need. Among the major areas where CANs have been set up are Diepsloot, Zandspruit, Fourways, Sandton, Observatory, Johannesburg Inner City, Moroka, Naledi, Lenasia, Ennerdale, Thokoza, Vosloorus, Stretford Read more >