Posts

Min. McKenzie, your directives are morally repugnant and devoid of legal authority

Image: Wikimedia Commons By Civil Society OrganisationsFirst published on Daily Maverick We, the undersigned civil society organisations, write to express our deep concern and strong condemnation of the recent public statements and directives issued by Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr Gayton McKenzie. Speaking at a recent signing of stakeholder compacts with public entities Read more >

There is no true freedom without press freedom

Image: Voice of America Global freedom of information watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its 2025 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) on 2 May 2025, and the picture it paints is not a pretty one. The report describes a marked deterioration of press freedom around the world, with violations such as physical attacks, restricted public Read more >

Role of AI in media explored on World Press Freedom Day

Thirty-two years ago, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 3 May as an international day for press freedom, under the custodianship of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). Since then, says Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay, a lot has changed – including the way the information universe works. The theme of this year’s World Press Read more >

How can Parliament be better? Pari researches and advises

Effective parliamentary oversight is essential for a well-functioning democracy. Parliament is the body that exercises oversight over the workings and decisions of government’s executive branch, ensuring that service delivery takes place as promised and where this does not happen, that government is answerable to the people it serves – so that all citizens can live Read more >

CW submission on nominated candidates for DPP, SAHRC

Since 2016, Corruption Watch (CW) has conducted extensive public awareness and advocacy campaigns on leadership appointment processes of Chapter 9 and other related institutions. Furthermore, we have monitored several appointment processes and our proposals for transparent, participatory, and merit-based processes were previously endorsed and recommended by the State Capture Commission. We have conducted a screening Read more >

SA achieves respectable score on Freedom in the World index for 2024

South Africa’s highly-anticipated national and provincial elections went off smoothly for the most part on 29 May 2024, though the voter turnout of just over 58% was disappointing but not unexpected. Nevertheless, the country’s Independent Electoral Commission, as well as the South African Human Rights Commission, declared the event free and fair after several days Read more >

Parliament ready for first sittings of NA and NCOP

Parliament secretary Xolile George briefed the media and the country on Thursday 13 June on the state of readiness for the scheduled first sittings of the seventh parliament’s National Assembly (NA) and National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The sittings take place on 14 and 15 June 2024, respectively. “We are managing … a mammoth task Read more >

SA’s public service is dysfunctional – the 5 main reasons why

Image: EFE-EPA/Nic Bothma By Marcel NagarFirst published on The Conversation: Africa A public policy works well if it’s a good policy and if it’s carried out well. Politicians make policy and specialist bureaucrats in the public service carry it out. These appointed officials are supposed to follow a strict professional and ethical code of conduct. Read more >