Bongumusa Greaves is captain of the under-15 team from Leifo Iziko Combined School in Petsana, Reitz in the Free State. They won third place at their first international tournament held in Singapore. Photo: Tladi Moloi

Grade 10 learner Bongumusa Greaves says determination and consistent teamwork led their netball team from Petsana in Reitz in the Free State to win third place at an international tournament in Singapore.

“It was frustrating to lose in the semi-finals to a team we have beaten before. However, we were happy to come home with a bronze medal for our first international tournament,” Bongumusa told GroundUp.

It was the first time captain Bongumusa and the rest of the under-15 team from Leifo Iziko Combined School competed abroad and for many it was the first time traveling overseas.

The 13th annual International Youth Netball Challenge, organised by the Singapore Sports School Netball Academy, was held from 23 to 29 November. Another South African team — Paarl Gimnasium from the Western Cape — won the top spot. They beat Bukit Jalil Sports School from Malaysia 46-16 in the final.

The two SA teams were among ten schools from across the globe. Other countries represented included Hong Kong, Australia and Malaysia.

The SA teams scored an all-expenses-paid trip to the games in August after clinching the top spots at the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Championship in Rustenburg, North West.

Bongumusa says her team was extremely motivated this time around after missing out last year when they lost in the semi-finals of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Championship.

“I want to thank our parents, the school and the Department of Education for their support, it drove us all the way. To my teammates and the coach, let’s keep the same fighting spirit. We have registered our school’s name internationally, and for that we will not be forgotten,” she said.

Leifo Iziko team coach, Molebatsi ‘Marco’ Mofokeng, expressed his pride for his team and said they never dreamt of bringing home the bronze medal.

“Our plan was to go there and learn how other countries play because it was the first time we took part in an international tournament. I thought we were very motivated in the first game when we beat Australia, which we thought was the best team, by a big margin.”

The under-15 team from Leifo Iziko Combined School. Photo supplied by the team.

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this post was first published by Centre for Environmental Rights

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Court Victory – No new coal fired power

The North Gauteng High Court, on 4 December, handed down judgment in the landmark constitutional litigation against the South African government’s decision to procure 1 500 MW of new coal-fired power. The court declared the decision unlawful and invalid, on the basis that there was insufficient consultation with, and consideration of, the harms and limitation of rights of present and future generations that could follow from building new coal electricity generation.

Dubbed the Cancel Coal case, it was launched by three civil society organisations – the youth-led  African Climate Alliance (ACA), the community-based Highveld group, the Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (VEM) and groundWork (gW), represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), against the former Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (the Minister) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA).

In addition to declaring the Minister’s 2020 determination to procure the new-build coal power, and NERSA’s concurrence thereto, unlawful and invalid, the court also held that the portion of the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that provides for this new coal generation is unlawful and invalid. This is because this section of the IRP does not pass the test of legality, there being no evidence that the Minister adequately considered the limitation of rights of children due to health and environmental harms of coal combustion for electricity.

The court further found no evidence that the rights of children [and future generations] had been adequately considered when the Minister and NERSA made the decision to procure coal-fired power. This was in contravention of their constitutional obligation to consider  the best interests of the child – as defined in section 28 of the Constitution.

The review application, launched in November 2021, highlights the findings of international research, such as the recently published Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, which confirms the need to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions in light of the precarious state of our climate, as well as a series of in-depth expert analyses of the consequences of new coal-fired power specific to South Africa local expert reports document the unnecessary cost and job losses, climate harms and impacts on social, physical and mental health and well-being for people living in South Africa, now and in the future.

The burning of coal is one of the biggest contributors to global climate change, in addition to unacceptable health impacts caused by air and water pollution. Given the nature of the climate crisis with its intensifying impacts, it is children and future generations who will bear the brunt of the climate harms caused by the ongoing burning of fossil fuels.

[ENDS]

For further information contact: babdinor@cer.org.za 

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The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s outreach programme is likely to reach 100,000 children this year. Photo: Renée Bonorchis

The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s outreach programme is likely to reach 100,000 children this year.
The Foundation, which has about 3,000 schools on its database, teaches children about the ocean and what they can do to preserve it.
One of its goals is to reach schools inland, where children may never have seen the sea.

On weekday mornings, staff from the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation often head to schools in Cape Town’s poorer areas to teach learners about the ocean and what they can do to preserve it.

In the financial year to February 2024, the education department of the Foundation, now named Ocean Campus, reached 70,000 children in the Western Cape. This financial year, the staff expect to reach 100,000 children, says Ocean Campus head Leigh Meinert.

From early childhood development puppet shows, online courses, and teaching in classrooms, the staff are pulling back the surface of the ocean and helping young people to understand a little about what lies beneath and why it’s important.

Some of the children they meet will find their passion and make protecting the sea their life, like Anzio Abels. Abels, who was a course participant at the aquarium when he was at school, has been a critical part of the outreach programme for a decade.

This year, he says, he’s covered about 12,000 kilometres and done around 85 school visits. His main message when he’s out in the field is about how people can “make sustainable choices in their everyday lives to protect the environment for our own future”.

Abels, who this year launched his own online course for the Ocean Campus, called Climate Action Now, says there are some common questions from learners across the board. When he’s teaching about the environment or biodiversity, the kids most often want to know if megalodons and mermaids exist.

The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, under which Ocean Campus falls, has about 3,000 schools on its database. One of its challenges is to reach people inland where children may never have seen the sea.

This is important because much of the damage to the ocean is done inland. From chemical leaching and discharge flowing into rivers to prolific amounts of single-use plastic and typically large carbon footprints, big cities far away from the ocean can have an outsized impact on the sea.

“To reach inland provinces, we have our online videos – it was one of the reasons to launch our Ocean Campus Studios and we now have our own YouTube channel,” Meinert says, referring to the Foundation’s audiovisual department. “More and more we’re filming our lessons and making them available freely on our YouTube channel. That’s one way to have an impact. Online courses are another.”

With adult education another area of expansion, the Foundation is also working on influencing parents so that they’re equipped to share that knowledge with their children.

“We’ve analysed what people know when they come in, and then we ask what do they know when they leave? Oh, they know more: great, we’ve done a good job.”

“But that doesn’t really speak to the impact,” Meinert says.

Often the results are anecdotal, she says, citing one example where one of the children in an outreach class in Lavender Hill years ago now has her doctorate in oceanography.

“And that’s just from one visit,” says Meinert. “What we’re really now focusing on is tracking our courses, letting school children know about marine sciences as a matric course, the new kind of subject choices they can make, and consolidating everyone who has come through our courses into an ocean champion community, helping them with what they want to do and supporting their activism.”

Meinert sees the Ocean Campus collaborating with all kinds of institutions from corporates to universities to activist groups. There are also plans to invite former students who have gone on to work in the marine field to give master classes. The future, she says, is going to be about upskilling, community events, and things like giving students who have completed courses aquarium membership.

Getting the Ocean Campus to where it is now and the number of children whose lives it can touch is a significant achievement, says Ann Lamont, executive chairperson of the Foundation. “But we can’t stop at just a lesson or a course. We’re moving toward sustaining relationships with people who’ve been through our programmes and supporting them and starting to tell their stories.”

As for funding, Meinert says it’s difficult.

“There are just so many worthy causes out there. Being a funder must be a nightmare because there are so many issues. We’ve done very well to build long-term relationships. But I’m also surprised by how little funding we sometimes receive, given how significant our reach is and how impactful our work is,” she says.

Nonetheless, with expansion underway, the Foundation has taken on a new stakeholder relationship manager and is ramping up its fundraising efforts.

According to a report released earlier this year, only about 1% of philanthropic giving worldwide goes to the marine conservation sector. Yet the ocean is vital for sustaining life on earth.

But that’s not to say there isn’t hope; Abels says he sees the impact the Foundation’s outreach visits have, especially in schools that are revisited regularly.

He says when young people understand how they can affect the environment in their everyday lives, they are willing to make decisions to preserve and protect it for the future.

“Young people are eager to learn about how the world works,” he says.

The post The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is bringing the sea to the classroom appeared first on Vuka News.

Mampondo Primary School learners pose in front of their new toilets with school principal Goodness Nokulunga Manci-Mvulana. To the right, some elders from the community look in on the celebration. Photo: Yamkela Nntshongwana

Mampondo Primary School received 12 new aerobic sanitation system toilets

 By Yamkela Ntshongwana – this post was first published on GroundUp

Children at Mampondo Primary School in Sicwenza outside Flagstaff need no longer fear falling into a pit toilet.

In October GroundUp reported that a six-year-old had to be rescued after falling into one of the old pit toilets in August, and how in June an eight-year-old had also fallen in.

Now the school has received a dozen low flush aerobic sanitation system toilets – five for girls, five for boys and two for teachers.

The toilets were donated and delivered by Save Our Schools Non-Profit Organization (SOSNOP) in partnership with Amalooloo and Concor infrastructure.

SOSNOP CEO Shelly Humphreys said that after reading the GroundUp article, she contacted the school principal and asked if they could help.

Inspectors were sent to check the condition of the old toilets and that’s when they knew that they definitely needed to help.

“We are so thankful that we were able to bring help before a learner dies from these toilets, though it must have been a terrible trauma for those who were rescued in these pits before,” said Humphreys.

At the handover ceremony, school principal Goodness Nokulunga Manci-Mvulana said, “We really appreciate the work that you have done for the community of Mampondo and bringing back the dignity of our school from the teachers to the learners.”

She said the conditions of the old toilets had disrupted teaching and learning as teachers had to supervise use of the toilets.

School governing body member Feziwe Boko said they will now sleep peacefully.

Boko said she hopes that now that they have new toilets, more parents will enrol their children at the school as this had been an issue in the past.

The post School pit toilet nightmare solved thanks to civil society appeared first on Vuka News.

“Braille is no crime” read a poster held by a protester outside the Constitutional Court where lawyers for Blind SA were requesting that a court-crafted copyright exception for braille and other accessible formats be extended. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee.

Blind SA led a picket outside the Constitutional Court on Thursday. Inside, the court was considering a matter relating to copyright in South Africa that affects the rights of blind people to convert copyright protected works into accessible formats.

Protesters held up posters reading: “Braille is not a crime” and “End the book famine”.

“The essence is that there really should be equal access to books,” said Pearl Nicodemus from SECTION27.

In 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that certain sections of the current Copyright Act are unconstitutional because they deny blind people the ability to convert books without the consent of the copyright holder to formats like braille and audio.

The court ordered Parliament to amend the Act by 21 September 2024 to allow for this. In the interim, the court crafted its own exception for people who are visually impaired and had it read immediately into the Copyright Act, awaiting Parliament to amend the Act.

But the Copyright Amendment Bill, which would address the unconstitutional elements of the current Copyright Act, although approved by Parliament in February and sent to President Ramaphosa, has not been signed into law. As a result, the court-crafted exception has now lapsed.

“We are here to demand our rights as blind and partially sighted people of South Africa. We want the judges to do what is right as they did two years ago,” said Ofentse Manyane, head of braille printing at Blind SA.

“Being blind does not mean we are second class citizens. We just want the right to read books like every other person who has that right,” said Manyane.

Inside the court, lawyers from SECTION27, acting for Blind SA, were requesting that the court-crafted exception be resuscitated until the President signs the Copyright Amendment Bill. This would then allow for the continued legal production of material in accessible formats for blind and visually impaired people.

“Because of the President’s failure to sign the bill there is now a gap in the law, so we are hoping that the court resuscitates this exception that allowed us to convert books legally. Reading cannot be criminalised,” said Manyane.

Blind SA was not opposed except by the President on the matter of court costs.

The Constitutional Court reserved judgment.

GroundUp will write a report explaining the judgment when it is handed down.

The post End book famine for blind people, demand protesters appeared first on Vuka News.

the post PETITION!!! RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: HOLD SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO ACCOUNT FOR DEATHS AND SERIOUS ILLNESSES FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES ON THE FARM AND IN FOOD appeared first on groundWork.

Vuka.news SUMMARY – SIGN PETITON here by 4 December 2024:

South Africa is dealing with a serious problem involving food poisoning and toxic pesticides, which has led to children tragically dying. Critics believe the government’s response blames the wrong people and fails to address the real issues. Here are the main points:

• Tragic Deaths: Children have died due to food contaminated with deadly pesticides like Terbufos, which is banned in other countries but still used in South Africa.
• Government Response: A national disaster has been declared, and spaza shops must re-register. Activists argue this unfairly shifts blame onto shop owners rather than addressing the root causes.
• Outdated Laws: Pesticide regulations in South Africa are 75 years old and fail to protect public health effectively.
• Industry Influence: Powerful chemical companies, like CropLife, are accused of blocking reforms and prioritizing profits over safety.
• Activists’ Demands:
  1. Ban highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) like Terbufos immediately.
  2. Create stricter regulations and stop allowing the pesticide industry to self-regulate.
  3. Provide better healthcare for victims of poisoning and support for their families.
  4. Transition to safer, chemical-free methods of farming.
• Call for Action: Experts and activists are urging the government to take responsibility, fix weak regulations, and protect people’s health and the environment.

PETITION

RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: HOLD SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO ACCOUNT FOR DEATHS AND SERIOUS ILLNESSES FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES ON THE FARM AND IN FOOD

Ban Terbufos with immediate effect, institute mechanisms for banning all highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) within three months

Please click here to sign on.

Please spread the word by sharing this petition with others: https://t2m.io/PesticideTribunal_BanTerbufos 

Signatures open until 4 December 2024.

22 November 2024

To:

The President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa
Portfolio Committees on Agriculture and Rural Development; Labour and Employment; Health; and Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries John Steenhuisen
Minister of Labour and Employment Nomakhosazana Meth
Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi
Minister of Environment Dion George
Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso

South Africans have been alarmed to learn of multiple instances of children rushed to emergency due to foodborne illnesses and poisoning, some with tragically fatal consequences. As a result, President Ramaphosa has declared a national disaster and decreed that all spaza shops must re-register within 21 days.

We note that these solutions do nothing to deal with the source of the issue: the unacceptable presence of HHPs on the South African market, and the failure of the relevant Departments to carry out their duty to effectively regulate agrotoxins.

We are alarmed that the chemical industry, CropLife, immediately created a narrative in the media to place the blame on spaza shops, the lifeblood of most communities in South Africa (SA), fanning xenophobic flames. All in a bid to deflect attention from their responsibility for these historic and continuing tragedies. We are alarmed that our government has supported them in this endeavour. This injustice must be remedied.

PETITION DEMANDS

We call on the government to cease conflating incidences of food poisoning by highly toxic pesticides and food contaminated by food-borne illness. This has led to the inappropriate solution of blaming spazas for the government’s failure.

We urge the government to release in an open and transparent matter, the exact cause of each food-related emergency, as was done with the Naledi tragedy.

We call on the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) to ban Terbufos with immediate effect and to overhaul the entire pesticide registration system within 12 months.

We call on the government to ban aerial spraying of pesticides, as recommended by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Dr Marcus Orellana, following his visit to SA in 2023.

We call on the government to establish an open and transparent process towards the banning of the category of Highly Hazardous Pesticides within the next three months.

We urge the government to ensure adequate funding for government Poison Information Centres.

We call on the government to establish an independent inquiry into the structural causes and the role of industry in the cases of pesticide poisoning.

We call on the government to implement its 2010 pesticide policy and to integrate this with a food security plan that reduces reliance on chemicals for pest control.

We urge the government to establish a Compensation Fund within one year that will compensate pesticide poisoning victims fairly and equitably.

We urge the Department of Health to ensure access to quality health care for survivors of pesticide poisoning – particularly children – whose long-term development and health may be at risk from the poisoning.

“Everyone wants to assign blame for this tragedy but spaza shop owners are not the culprits. If we don’t tackle the upstream causes, we will almost certainly see more poisonings in the future.” 

Profs Leslie London & Andrea Rother, UCT School of Public Health

 THE LONG READ

 Tragic deaths in Naledi highlight the scourge of street pesticides

In October 2024, South Africa was shocked, outraged, and dismayed to learn that six children had died after eating snacks bought at a spaza shop in Naledi, Soweto. The families of these young children will never be the same. The Department of Health soon confirmed that the deaths were caused by an HHP called Terbufos.

Soon, the media machine was picking up scores of other instances of hospital emergencies related to children eating from school feeding schemes and spaza shops. The pesticide industry, under the auspices of CropLife, aided by the South African government, used this tragedy to conflate the incidences of food contaminated by deadly toxins with food-borne illnesses caused by expired or otherwise spoiled or rotten foods. These are separate occurrences that need discreet and systemic solutions.

In the panic to identify a culprit, attention has focused on spaza shop owners and they have been scapegoated for a much bigger and complex problem. This has firstly allowed industry to wash their hands of any responsibility for failing to ensure product stewardship of their toxic chemicals through the lifetime, as required by the National Environmental Management Act. Secondly, it has opened the door to the scourge of xenophobia, which must be stopped immediately.

We, the undersigned, know who the real culprits are in this avoidable tragedy, and we demand radical and expedited changes in the approval, use, and regulation of agricultural poisons

Terbufos – HHP that should have been banned ages ago

Terbufos is an HHP from the organophosphate family. It was listed as a “restricted agricultural remedy” in 2023, requiring specific labelling. Terbufos has been banned in the European Union since 2009 and there is no reason for it not to have been banned here – European bodies and African bodies react to poisons just the same. Further and given that it is banned elsewhere, there are alternatives available.

The South African government was warned about deaths from pesticides freely available on the street, in 2023 and 2024, by the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, Dr Marcus Orellana. He even mentioned Terbufos by name in his report on toxins in SA released in July 2024. He found that deaths are caused by lapses in regulations and enforcement. He also warned of the outsize power the chemical industry has in regulatory decision-making. Although the state responded to his report, they did not acknowledge his findings in this regard or show any urgency to remedy the regulatory problems he identified.

Scientists have persistently raised the alarm over decades about the deaths and impacts of street pesticides, as well as pesticides used in agricultural settings. Research at a large Cape Town mortuary, published in 2023, showed that Terbufos was confirmed as the causative agent for more than 50% of child deaths in a 10-year review of child fatalities in which pesticide poisoning was suspected.

The DALRRD is primarily responsible for failing to modernise its regulatory control over toxic pesticides and this failure is the underlying reason for these deaths. The DALRRD issued two discussion papers on pesticide legislation that indicates knowledge that the current legislation – which is 75 years old – must be replaced to be fit for purpose. However, nothing has been done to advance this legislative reform and, under this antiquated Act 36 of 1947, six preventable child deaths have occurred in a terrible tragedy. The Departments of Labour and Employment, Health, and Environment must also take responsibility where they have failed to act. These incidents of death are not new, not surprising.

Our government has been warned many times by experts and activists but has chosen to prioritise the corporate profits of the chemical industry over Constitutional rights to our health and the right to a clean and healthy environment. We reject their attempt to scapegoat spaza shops and foreigners on this matter.

Terbufos and thousands of other pesticides poison farm workers daily

Terbufos is registered for agricultural, not domestic use. It is one of over 9,000 toxic chemical compounds registered for use in SA, in varying categories of toxicity, used extensively on wine, maize and citrus farms. Farm workers are exposed to these daily. While men often do the spraying, women farmworkers are also vulnerable to pesticide exposure, which occurs in multiple ways, including when pesticides are applied while they are working without proper protective clothing and when they are forced to re-enter vineyards soon after pesticides have been sprayed.

Farm bosses often ignore regulations regarding training, access to information, protective gear, wash stations, etc., and no one is monitoring them. Local clinics lack knowledge of pesticides in use in their vicinity, how to diagnose and treat poisoning, or their obligations to report pesticide poisoning. Farm workers live under extremely vulnerable and precarious working conditions where they have little to no bargaining power. They receive the barest minimum wage, with little access to health services. No amount of traceability and labelling will make a substance designed to kill safe, and there is no ideal real-life situation where these toxins can be deployed safely.

Farm workers and their children, farm dwellers, and people living adjacent to farms are also exposed to these toxins regularly. Spraying season has just begun (November) and those living on and adjacent to farms are experiencing the familiar symptoms of exposure to cocktails of toxic pesticides drifting in the air – asthma, sinus, streaming eyes, mood swings, headaches – and many will know the long-term impacts in their bodies in years to come.

This toxic mode of food production is not inevitable. We reject the well-worn narrative that we cannot achieve food security if we do not spray our food with numerous cocktails of poisons from seed to production to storage. Minister Steenhuisen recently declared in the media that these toxins are beneficial to society. How long will we allow the chemical industry to sell us this bizarre notion? What will it take for our government to take a serious look into alternative, safe methods of food production if the death of children from Terbufos poisoning has been an opportunity to deflect blame and responsibility?

The fox is in charge of the hen house – CropLife regulates itself

The multi-billion-dollar industry that produces these highly hazardous chemicals has a hold over the South African government, as noted by the UN Special Rapporteur in his July 2024 report. This industry, spearheaded by CropLife, has hindered every attempt to reduce the use of agrotoxins and to properly regulate and ban HHPs. Government is complicit, as they have enabled the self-regulation by industry to continue and consistently make decisions in favour of industry over the people and environmental health and safety. Here are some examples of industry audacity and impunity:

In 2006, the draft pesticide management policy contained strong safety measures, but the industry successfully lobbied to remove these and restrict the scope of the policy.
Industry stopped plans to replace the Committee to Protect Man against Poisons with a new department structure because the new members included scientists who were too critical of industry interests.
In 2020, it was revealed that CropLife members pay ‘independent consultants’ embedded in the office of the Registrar to do their bidding.
CropLife lobbied to set up a committee of their members to act as an ‘independent certification body’ when the government introduced new regulations governing regulatory trials for pesticides.
In 2021, the Department of Environment withdrew regulations to implement SA’s obligations under the Rotterdam Convention, arguing that time for adjustment was needed –17 years after SA ratified the Convention. Terbufos was one of the agents imported by UPL at its Cornubia store that went up in flames in 2021, and would have been notifiable under these regulations.
The South African registrar of hazardous substances promised to phase out 116 HHPs by June 2024 (Terbufos is one of these). Ultimately, only 28 were identified for phasing out, but not Terbufos, and to add insult to injury, regulations were even passed to allow industry to apply for exemptions to continue to use these chemicals under certain circumstances.
There is no publicly available database of pesticide registrations. This responsibility was handed by the DALRRD to industry and access to information on what pesticides are registered for use in SA is under the control of CropLife.

We the undersigned demand an end to the self-regulation of this industry as being a clear case of gross conflict of interests. We demand that our government takes responsibility for pesticide poisoning on the farm and in the street, and holds Croplife and its members to account. The government is under a Constitutional duty to take up the regulatory reins to ensure our Constitutional rights to health and the right to a healthy environment.

Issued by the South African People’s Tribunal on AgroToxins (SAPToA).

SAPToA is a coalition of vulnerable and affected peoples, civil society organisations, trade unions, academics and individuals working together to expose the harmful reality of pesticides in South Africa and support those who work with agricultural toxins in their daily lives.

Our growing affiliates currently include:

Commercial Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU); Women on Farms Project (WFP); African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB); groundWork, Friends of the Earth SA, South Durban Community Environmental Alliance; affected peoples of the Blackburn Community; Surplus People Project (SPP); Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement; Trust for Community Outreach and Education (TCOE); UCT School of Public Health.

You can sign the petition here.

Spread the word by sharing this link: https://t2m.io/PesticideTribunal_BanTerbufos 

Signatures open until 4 December 2024.

Further reading

Visit to South Africa – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Marcos Orellana. July 2024. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5752add1-visit-south-africa-report-special-rapporteur-implications

Comments by the State: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes on his visit to South Africa. September 2024. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/149/14/pdf/g2414914.pdf 

Pesticide Action Network list of HHPs. https://pan-international.org/wp-content/uploads/PAN_HHP_List.pdf

Terbufos information sheet: https://echa.europa.eu/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.032.679

End notes

HHPs are pesticides that have been identified as posing a high and unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. They are typically characterised by:

acute toxicity,
potential to cause chronic health effects, or
persistence in the environment, and
commonly being highly restricted or banned in other regions for this reason.

192 HHPs are registered and legally in use in SA and of these over a third (57/192) are banned in the European Union (EU) because of unacceptable human health and environmental risks, and 36 belong to the most hazardous class known as the World Health Organisation (WHO) Group 1a and 1b. These are substances known to have carcinogenic potential for humans, based on human health evidence and, in acute poisonings, can cause death. Examples of HHPs in this class still legally registered and used in South Africa include:

Carbofuran: This pesticide used on many crops is toxic by inhalation or dermal absorption. Farmers and farmworkers are most at risk as it is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) and reproductive and developmental toxicant. It is also highly toxic to aquatic organisms.

Mevinphos: Exposure can result in long-term neurological effects. It is also a groundwater contaminant and farmworkers and farmers are at great exposure risk as it is also an EDC.

Terbufos: This agricultural insecticide with neurotoxic effects is often sold as a street pesticide in SA – a pesticide that is decanted and sold for use in informal markets without the correct label or warnings. Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable group and high incidences of poisonings are recorded every year.

The post PETITION!!! RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT: HOLD SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRY TO ACCOUNT FOR DEATHS AND SERIOUS ILLNESSES FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES ON THE FARM AND IN FOOD appeared first on Vuka News.

History and Purpose of School Uniforms 

Uniforms were first used to encourage equality by making all students look the same, no matter their economic background. But today, these rules often cause more problems than they solve, especially in public and rural schools. While uniforms aim to promote safety, discipline, and unity, they often create financial and social barriers for many families. 

The Financial Burden of School Uniforms 

One of the biggest problems with school uniforms in South Africa is their cost. For many low-income families, buying uniforms is a heavy financial burden. Reports show that some families spend up to 20% of their income on uniforms alone. To make matters worse, many schools force parents to buy from specific suppliers at high prices, leaving families with fewer affordable options. 

A sad example of this issue involved a student in East London who was turned away from school because he couldn’t afford shoes. Although learners cannot be denied access to education for non-compliance with school uniform policies, the reality is that it does happen. While uniforms are meant to create a sense of equality, they often become obstacles to education. Schools need to find cheaper options, such as second-hand uniform programs, to help struggling families. 

Gendered and Non-Inclusive Policies 

Another major issue is the gender-specific rules around school uniforms. In many schools, boys are expected to wear trousers, while girls must wear skirts. This approach reinforces outdated gender roles and does not support the rights of transgender and non-binary students. While hair policies apply to both boys and girls, boys are often faced with less strict rules about their appearance, while girls appear to be more closely monitored – sometimes even down to the colour of underwear under skirts or dresses. 

Some schools have started to offer more inclusive options which allows learners to choose from a list of uniform items without prescribing any item to boys or girls exclusively. Hair can be long or short – long hair should be neatly tied back, and short hair should not touch the ears; earrings can be worn but must be studs or small hoops in either silver or gold. However, these positive changes are mainly seen in former Model C schools, while poorer schools struggle to implement similar policies due to limited resources. This shows the need for national policy changes that ensure all learners are treated equally and with respect. 

Legal and Constitutional Rights 

The South African Constitution guarantees all learners the right to equality, dignity, and freedom of expression. Current uniform policies sometimes clash with these values. The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA) emphasises that schools should avoid any form of discrimination. The 2006 National Guidelines on School Uniforms were a good step toward reducing costs and ensuring equal access to education. However, in terms of costs, the decade-long stream of complaints from parents regarding anti-competitive practices between schools and school uniform suppliers show that there is still much to be done. Although the Competition Commission have adopted a number of interventions which, according to a 2024 report, have had a significant impact in reducing school uniform costs, many parents still spend a significant portion of their income on school uniforms. At the same time, experiences of discrimination against transgender and gender diverse learners are increasingly publicised, with school uniforms being one of the many barriers to education. Enforceable laws are needed to protect the rights of all learners.  

To create a more fair and inclusive school uniform system in South Africa, several changes are necessary: 

Adopt a national school uniform regulations: focus on affordability, inclusivity and giving effect to the rights of all learners. 
Provide gender-neutral or “choice of attire” school uniforms: offer flexible dress codes that respect diverse gender identities and reduce discrimination.  
Trial flexible uniform policies: allow students to wear generic items like plain shirts and trousers that meet a school’s color code, rather than requiring specific branded items. 
Enforce the Competition Competition’s guidelines on the procurement of school uniform and other learning-related goods: address anti-competitive practices amongst suppliers. 
Involve parents and learners in reviewing school uniform rules ensures relevant policies that accord with the communities’ needs. 
Transitional support: provide grace periods for new learners to obtain school uniforms, support second-hand uniform programmes and encourage learners to donate school uniforms when leaving school. 

Conclusion: Moving Toward Fairness and Equality 

South Africa’s school uniform policies need to change to reflect values of equality, dignity, and inclusivity. Financial burdens, outdated gender rules, and inconsistent enforcement are major challenges. By creating policies that respect and support every learner, schools can become places where all children can learn without fear or discrimination. Schools, communities, and the government must work together to make school uniforms a tool for unity and equality, not division. 

The post Reforming SA School Uniforms: Tackling Cost, Gender, & Inclusion appeared first on Vuka News.

Tshepo Mantje, from the Real Reform for ECD Movement, addresses the crowd gathered outside the Department of Basic Education offices in Pretoria on Wednesday. Photo: Silver Sibiya

More than 100 early childhood development centre (ECD) practitioners picketed outside the Department of Basic Education offices in Pretoria on Wednesday. They want urgent action on funding for early childhood development centres in vulnerable communities. They especially want money for nutrition.

The protesters, wearing black, stood under the blazing sun, and submitted a memorandum calling for significant changes to current ECD funding mechanisms.

They argue that adequate nutrition in early childhood (up to the age of six) is crucial for child development and future educational outcomes.

They want the R197-million that has been allocated for a national nutrition programme pilot to be spent before the end of the financial year.

They also want the Children’s Amendment Bill tabled in Parliament as a matter of urgency, as they say it will reduce regulatory barriers for funding ECD centres.

Zoë Postman from the Equality Collective explained the inadequacy of the current subsidy. The R17 per child subsidy is “next to nothing in this economy” to cover food, run a facility and pay teachers.

The subsidy has been frozen at R17 since 2019. Of that, only R6.80 is ring-fenced for nutrition.

“It’s totally unacceptable and unrealistic,” she said.

Mpho Mokoto, who runs Little Bright Champs Day Care in Finetown, which has 20 children, said her crèche charges only 250 a month.

“This is not even enough for the monthly food we provide for them because of inflation which keeps increasing.”

She said she has adopted four children whose parents cannot afford the fees.

“It’s heartbreaking to see children in the streets,” said Mokoto. “When the year starts, we usually have more than 30 kids, but as it progresses many drop out. Parents say they can’t afford Christmas clothes and fees for their children, and we understand, because many don’t [have regular] work or receive child grants. They rely on menial jobs.”

Tshepo Mantje, from the Real Reform for ECD Movement, said, “We see supporting ECD as having potential to address poverty and inequality.”

Education department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department would study the memorandum and prepare responses “in a matter of days”.

GroundUp experimented with AI Claude 3.5 Sonnet in the editing of this article.

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Former Expanded Public Works Programme worker Ntsoaki Tautona has been living with other protesting workers in the gardens near the City Hall in Durban for about a month. They want the City to reinstate them. Photos: Tsoanelo Sefoloko

By Tsoanelo Sefoloko – the original post appeared on GroundUp – summary here by Vuka.news

Workers Sleeping Outside: Former workers from the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) have been camping outside Durban City Hall for a month, demanding their jobs back.

Contracts Terminated: Their contracts ended in July. Many had been working on temporary contracts for over a decade.

Budget Cuts: The eThekwini Municipality reduced EPWP hires due to a major budget cut. Only 1,276 workers will be hired for the 2024/25 year, compared to over 4,000 previously.

Age Restriction: New job applications are limited to people aged 18–35, leaving older workers excluded.

Failed Legal Action: The workers’ union, MATUSA, has taken the municipality to the Labour Court several times without success.

Homelessness: Many workers cannot afford rent and are living in the garden with their belongings.

Personal Struggles:

• Nokukhanya Fakude, 52, a worker for nine years, cannot pay R3,000 in rent. “The landlord has decided to lock me outside and I don’t have any family here in Durban. I have asked the neighbour to allow my children to stay in her room while they are writing exams.”
• Zethembe Dlamini sent his family back to Greytown, causing his children to drop out of school. He feels helpless about providing for his family. “I was shocked to hear that our contract ended. I see myself as a man who cannot take care of his own family now.”
• Living Conditions: The workers endure harsh weather, using plastic sheets for cover when it rains.

Dozens of former municipal workers employed on contracts through the Expanded Public Works Programme picketed outside City Hall on Friday.

The post Public Works workers have slept outside City Hall for a month, hoping to get jobs back appeared first on Vuka News.

the original post was published by © Legal Resources Centre – summary by Vuka.news:

 LRC Demands Action

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is calling for urgent action after the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Basic Education failed to pay Early Childhood Development (ECD) stipends since August 2023. This has left over 130 ECD centres in financial trouble. Despite many attempts by the LRC, Friends of South Africa ECD Forum (FOSA), and the KZN ECD Alliance, the issue remains unresolved. On 29 October, the LRC sent a letter asking for a clear payment plan by 15 November and full payments by 29 November. If these deadlines are missed, the LRC plans to take legal action.

Background – When the responsibility for ECD shifted from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, the National Treasury provided funds to support ECD centres. But irregular payments have left many centres struggling, especially in poor communities.

How This Affects ECD Centres – The missed payments have forced ECD centres to make difficult decisions:

• Centre Closures: Many centres have closed or are thinking about closing because of money problems, especially in areas where ECD services are limited.
• Higher Fees: Some centres increased fees, causing parents to withdraw their children.
• No Free Meals: Centres are asking parents to send lunchboxes, but this pushes parents to remove children as they rely on the free meals.
• Unpaid Staff: Workers are not paid regularly, making them lose motivation.
• Poor Nutrition: Centres cannot afford healthy food and must buy cheaper options.

This situation harms children’s learning, safety, and health.

What’s Happening Now

The KZN Department has made some payments but has not explained the delays. The LRC, part of the Real Reform Campaign, asks everyone to join a sit-in on 20 November to demand answers and long-term solutions.

• For media inquiries, please contact: Puleng Mosia  063 011 4333 puleng@lrc.org.za  

The post Immediate Action needed on Unpaid ECD Stipends in KZN appeared first on Vuka News.

“Youth unemployment is one of the most devastating economic issues affecting the country. We spoke to community members in the neighbourhood of Phola Park, in Thokoza, east of Johannesburg. And, from those interviews, at least 70% of the respondents were…”

The post Unemployment Devastating Youth of Thokoza appeared first on Karibu – A Working Class News.

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Staff at Kutsakeni Primary say these boreholes at the school dried up in 2021. Now the school has asked learners to contribute R150 annually to fill their water tanks. Photos: Thembi Siaga

Each year, parents at a school in Gandlanani village, outside Giyani, Limpopo are asked to contribute R150 towards refilling the school’s water tanks.

There are two boreholes at Kutsakeni Primary, but staff say they dried up in 2021.

Parent Randzu Macebe told GroundUp, “We are worried because the classrooms are in bad condition, except for the administration block. The school does not have [running] water, and learners have to pay R150 a year to assist the school to buy water.”

The school has just under 400 learners and is overcrowded.

SGB chair, January Baloyi, said the school spends about R4,000 each month to refill the water tanks. He acknowledged that some parents cannot afford to, especially those relying on social grants.

Beside their water troubles, Kutsakeni Primary was badly damaged during a storm that hit Giyani in October. It damaged the school’s already dilapidated and old buildings. The walls of most classrooms have cracks, and floors have holes in them. As a result, meals are now cooked in an informal zinc structure on the premises.

Classrooms at Kutsakeni Primary were badly damaged during the storm that hit Giyani in October.

Members of the SGB say they have written to the Limpopo Department of Education about these issues numerous times for more than ten years. The members we spoke to said over the years they have tried, but failed, to access underground water by drilling at different spots.

A letter pleading for urgent intervention from the education department dated 24 October 2024 was signed by the principal, two SGB members and the village’s Chief Mkhacani Nhlaniki.

They urged the department to address the situation and for officials to visit the school as soon as possible, citing the safety of learners and staff as a concern.

Limpopo education department spokesperson, Mosebjane Kgaffe said that after the school first complained about the conditions, they provided three mobile classrooms in 2019.

Asked about the recent damage caused by the October storm, Kgaffe said only one roof had been severely damaged and that Public Works had been contacted to assist with repairs. But we saw more damaged infrastructure during our visit to the school.

Kgaffe said that the school is on the department’s priority list for upgrades in order to meet national norms and standards.

Published in partnership with Limpopo Mirror.

Two classrooms at Kutsakeni Primary previously used as a kitchen, were blown away during a recent storm. Now the learners’ meals are cooked in this shack.

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the post BLACK SASH COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA INTERN appeared first on © Black Sash.

The post BLACK SASH COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA INTERN appeared first on Vuka News.

Early childhood development centres in KwaZulu-Natal, like this one in KwaNdengezi, west of Durban, have been battling because of irregular subsidy payments by the provincial department of education. Photo: Tsoanelo Sefoloko

Lawyers representing hundreds of early childhood development centres in KwaZulu-Natal say the provincial education department is failing to pay the centres their subsidies.
As a result, the centres cannot pay staff or feed children properly, they say.
The Legal Resources Centre has written to the provincial and national education departments demanding confirmation by Friday 15 November that all outstanding payments will be made by the end of the month.
The provincial education department confirmed the backlog but declined to give details.

Hundreds of early childhood development centres (ECDC) in KwaZulu-Natal have sent a lawyer’s letter to the provincial department of education demanding their subsidies. The centres have been battling for months to get their subsidies of R17 per child per day.

Jurisdiction over the centres was moved from the department of social development to the department of education in 2022.

At the end of October the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), representing the Friends of South Africa ECD Forum and the KwaZulu-Natal ECD Alliance, wrote to the KZN Department of Education (KZNDoE), the national Minister of Basic Education, the provincial and national treasury, complaining that centres had been paid irregularly since 2023 and that many were still owed money.

The Forum has 500 members and the Alliance 600.

The LRC said the two organisations had complained several times and the KZN education department had acknowledged the problem and even apologised, but it had not given reasons or fixed the problem.

As a result of the failure to pay, principals of some ECD centres had been threatened by staff who had not been paid their salaries, the LRC said. Some principals had taken out personal loans to feed the children, and some had asked parents to send food.

“In cases where the parents are unemployed and living on social grants this is often not feasible, leaving many children to go hungry,” the LRC said.

“The exchange of correspondence demonstrates that the KZNDoE is aware that ECD centres are operating without receiving the stipends that are due to them. Despite this, the KZN DoE has failed to offer substantiated reasons for the non-payment.”

On behalf of the two organisations, the LRC asked for a list of all ECD centres which had not been fully paid, and confirmation by 15 November that outstanding money would be paid by 29 November. They also demanded reasons for the non-payment and steps which would be taken to make sure it did not happen again.

LRC attorney Sheniece Linderboom told GroundUp the LRC had not yet received a response.

Zandile Hlongwa says she has been running an early childhood development centre in Umkomazi, south of Durban, for 12 years. She says the number of children in her centre has decreased from over 100 in 2023 to 39, because she has had to increase her fees in the absence of a regular stipend.

She said the department still owes her two months’ stipends.

“Since we have been moved to the department of education, I have been struggling to pay teachers and to stick to the menu, because I couldn’t afford to buy groceries … I just buy something which is enough to last for the whole month.

“The parents didn’t understand when I increased the fees from R200 to R300. I now have only two teachers at the centre because the number of children has decreased after I increased the school fees,” said Hlongwa.

Mandulo Khuzwayo, who runs a centre in KwaNdengezi, west of Durban, said the department of education pays a grant of R17 per day per child, but when payments are late they sometimes have to borrow from loan sharks to keep operating and to pay staff.

“It is not easy to survive under these financial challenges. We are facing non-payment from the department of education. From the R17 grant per child, 40% goes to nutrition and the 40% teachers’ stipend and 20% for the administration and the municipal bills,” said Khuzwayo.

“I am forced to give them whatever food is available. I can’t send them home because some of them come from disadvantaged homes where they can’t afford to have a proper breakfast.”

KwaZulu-Natal department of education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said, “We can confirm that we started paying ECD centres. But from where I am sitting I can’t tell you how many have been paid and how many still need to be paid, because it’s an on going process.”

Linderboom said the LRC was preparing for litigation if necessary.

The post KwaZulu-Natal education department fails to pay crèches appeared first on Vuka News.

the post Families Devastated by Tiger Brands Listeriosis Outbreak Petition for Justice appeared first on © Karibu – A Working Class News.

By Listeriosis Families Support Campaign

We, the Listeriosis Families Support Campaign – a collection of families devastated by the 2017/2018 Tiger Brands listeriosis outbreak, the largest listeriosis outbreak in history – call for immediate action.

If we come together to demand justice for those harmed by Tiger Brands, we can ensure they take accountability.  Let’s stand in solidarity with victims systematically failed by corporate negligence. #TigerBrandsMustPay

It has been more than six years since the gross negligence of Tiger Brands led to over 200 deaths and more than 1,000 people falling seriously ill with a disease that continues to cause harm, pain and disability. While the listeriosis victims suffer, Tiger Brands has failed to take responsibility for the harm that they have perpetrated. We demand action now!

This isn’t just a legal battle—it’s a fight for social justice, for safe food and for the rights of women and children. Six years on, victims from poor and marginalised communities (mostly Black women and children) are denied the compensation needed for medical care. Many have had their lives shattered and endure insurmountable pain, suffering and ongoing hardship while Tiger Brands and their insurers exploit their vulnerability.

Please join us now to demand justice for the families and particularly the children harmed by the Tiger Brands listeriosis outbreak! We ask you to stand in solidarity with victims suffering under gross corporate abuse. Please spread the word about the actions of Tiger Brands. The nature of this company needs to be understood and we need your help to state firmly that their actions will not be tolerated.

We demand:

1. Immediate Accountability: Tiger Brands must publicly apologise to the people it harmed, admit liability, and provide immediate relief to the affected families. Many of them have already lost everything and require urgent medical intervention.
2. Social Justice and Compensation: Tiger Brands must compensate victims fairly and swiftly. This case should remind corporations that lives cannot be sacrificed for profit.
3. Insurers’ Responsibility: Tiger Brands’ insurers must cease leveraging delays for financial gain. We demand settlement and compensation before the end of 2024. They must indicate what funds they hold to pay victims and the interest they have earned on these funds while sitting on them for 6 years! They need to know that we, too, hold them accountable.

Why is this important?

Of the approximately 1,000 confirmed cases of listeriosis associated with this outbreak, at least 465 were pregnant women who suffered miscarriages, stillbirths or gave birth to children who contracted listeriosis in their mother’s womb. Most of the children born with listeriosis suffer from developmental delays and face lifetime health complications, including hydrocephalus, which is the build-up of fluid in the brain that leads to severe pain and progressive brain damage. As the majority of these children come from low to middle-income Black families who cannot afford the support required for special needs children, these children are suffering each day without the help that they desperately need.

Despite overwhelming evidence, and over six years since the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) linked Tiger Brands to the outbreak, Tiger Brands has failed to take accountability for the harm they caused, prolonging the suffering of their customers, the children born with listeriosis, the mothers who lost children and the families devastated by the outbreak. Tiger Brands insurers, likewise, remain unaccountable. Stalker Hutchison Admiral (SHA Risk Specialists) – owned by one of South Africa’s largest insurers, Santam, a subsidiary of Sanlam – and the QBE Insurance Group continue to delay a settlement. Rather, these insurers are profiting from the funds held to compensate the affected families.

Attached is a link to a short documentary by Daily Maverick on the listeriosis crisis:

To add your signature to the petition, type the link on your browser: Demand Justice for Listeriosis Victims: #TigerBrandsMustPay | Awethu.mobi

The post Families Devastated by Tiger Brands Listeriosis Outbreak Petition for Justice appeared first on Vuka News.

read the original post The Fight for Universal Consultation in Disake: A Community’s Ongoing Struggle which first appeared on MACUA.

By Senthati Katlego Zasekhaya – summary below by Vuka.news

• Disake Village in Moses Kotane Local Municipality, North West, faces harsh living conditions and limited input on issues affecting them. The village is surrounded by six major mines: PPC Dwaalboom Cement Mine, Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine, Anglo (Amandelbult), Northam Platinum Mine, Kalaka Mining, and Andelusite Mine.
• The community has not benefited from the mining activities, facing issues like limited job opportunities, no business or skills development and exclusion from decision-making processes
• Frustration over these issues led to a community protest on March 12, 2024, demanding action from PPC Dwaalboom Cement Mine, which has not followed through on promised consultations. This issue extends beyond PPC, as other nearby mines also fail to consult with the community, despite the direct impact of their operations.
• Economic hardships are worsened by lack of local employment opportunities in the mines, denied opportunities for skills training and business partnerships for youth and health risks from pollution, such as dust from mining trucks.
• The community is excluded from discussions about how these issues will be managed or how mines will support community development.
• South African law requires that communities be consulted on mining activities, as outlined in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), but mines often ignore these regulations. This situation reflects a national issue, as many South African communities affected by mining face similar challenges.
• For progress to occur, mining companies must fulfill their obligations, not just legally but also for social justice and sustainable development.

The post The Fight for Universal Consultation in Disake: A Community’s Ongoing Struggle appeared first on Vuka News.

Wheelchair users and other people with disabilities picketed at the Civic Centre in Cape Town on Monday to demand better access to public transport. Photo: Mary-Anne Gontsana

The Disability Revolution group wants the City of Cape Town to include specific measures for people with disabilities in its transport planning

 By Mary-Anne Gontsana for GroundUp

“Public transport for people with disabilities is a nightmare,” said Phakama Zembeta, mother of a disabled teenager.

“It’s so bad that we have resorted to using e-hailing vehicles each time he needs to go to the clinic which are costly and are sometimes unreliable,” said the mother from Eerste River.

She was among about 50 people who, despite the cold and rain, came out to a picket led by the Disability Revolution organisation in Cape Town’s Civic Centre. They say the City of Cape Town’s Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan 2023-2028 (CITP) does not include a specific plan for people with disabilities, especially from poor communities and informal settlements.

Zembeta and other protesters say the plan fails “to mention people living with disabilities in informal settlements, who are among the most vulnerable people in the city”. They want the City to update the CITP to include a specific transport access plan for disabled people in informal settlements. They also say they were not adequately consulted about the new Dial-A-Ride business plan.

“It shouldn’t be this difficult for people with disabilities to use public transport. The government is not doing enough,” said Zembeta.

As the group entered the Civic Centre, the City’s Oversight Committee chairperson for Urban Mobility, Mikhail Manuel, came to meet them briefly.

Wheelchair user Siyabonga Majozi from Lower Crossroads told Manuel that there was no dignity in taking public transport as a disabled person. “You can be standing at the side of the road, and gesture for a taxi, but it will pass you like you’re invisible.

“When one eventually stops and picks me up, the driver is rude. One time a driver told me that my wheelchair takes up the space of another passenger.”

Majozi said a trip by train isn’t even an option for him because many stations still don’t have proper ramps or working lifts. “Imagine having to be carried around by strangers like you are a sack of potatoes to access public transport,” said Majozi.

The group’s submissions were accepted and signed by Manuel.

The post People with disabilities demand better access to public transport appeared first on Vuka News.

By Yonela Gebengu – the post Tuning into Tunes: The Music Tastes of SA Youth appeared first on Karibu – A Working Class News.

As we have just concluded Heritage Month, which is celebrated in September, we delve into music preferences of South African youth, which genres resonate with them and what draws them into specific tunes. Music serves as an emotional outlet allowing individuals to connect with melodies that reflect their emotions, experiences, and how they feel at a specific time. South Africa is a diverse country with a wide range of sounds and its music has a rainbow of different styles.

In this article, the present writer engages with musicians and poets to explore the motivations behind the music they produce and what inspires them to produce their unique sounds, he also engages with listeners about what kind of benefit or any connection they feel towards the content and art of particular music style and how it contributes to their personal growth.

Simphiwe Sim Mabuya, a ‘Jazz-Hop’ artist said that his music is a mix of jazz and hip-hop that blends together and fits with boom-baap hip hop flow. This in turn best compliments his music and content which is relevant to our times and involves content about what’s taking place on the ground, in communities we live in, and also issues that arise daily, so they can towards included in his music to create a more historical experience which invites every individual to reflect on the story and feel part of it.

Mabuya notices that there is a mixing of young and older people who relate to his music and love the content he produces because they are also touched. Mabuya also explained that his writings are inspired by issues reported on the news, as well as community surroundings and also listening to other artists.

Meanwhile, a maskandi guitarist who asked not to be mentioned said, “The majority of my support comes from Zulu listeners’ hence they understand more of the content and it also blends more with their culture,” and he likes to sing more about stories from around his community and also what is currently trending in the view of young people – for example, what they like to talk about and what’s currently trending at the moment.

Grade 12 learners from Jeppe High School also gave views in terms of what music they tend to listen to.

“I like music which speaks about current affairs, music from the past that talks about our history and where we come from,” said Athini Dlamini, while Emihle Hlanjwa said he listens to any kind of music that just reflects what he’s feeling at the certain moment when he might be feeling down or happy then chooses music that will uplift his mood.

The post Tuning into Tunes: The Music Tastes of SA Youth appeared first on Vuka News.

The post Media Statement on the 2024 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) Education spending decreases, despite the education crisis. #MTBPS2024 #SifunaUkufunda appeared first on Equal Education.

For Immediate Release: 31 October 2024

IN SUMMARY – Equal Education states that:

Austerity Budgeting & Inequality: The 2024 budget focuses on austerity, limiting spending to less than revenue, impacting public services and socio-economic rights, particularly in education.

Education Funding Shortfall: The Department of Basic Education reports a R32 billion shortfall this year, projected to grow to R176 billion by 2027/28. This is due to rising student enrollment, new mandates like mandatory Grade R, and historical funding gaps.

Lack of Additional Funding: Despite these needs, no extra funds were provided for the increase in Grade R students under the Basic Education Amendment Laws Act (BELA). Education spending overall was reduced by R1.2 billion for the year.

School Infrastructure Issues: Infrastructure backlogs remain unaddressed, with the budget failing to meet school building targets (only one new school and no new water facilities created). The Education Infrastructure Grant will also see a 3% decrease each year through 2026/27.

Western Cape Education Cuts: R321 million was allocated for new schools and disaster relief in the Western Cape, but funding cuts have led to a reduction of 2,407 teaching positions next year.

Teacher Shortage & Bursary Cuts: Cuts to the Funza Lushaka bursary mean fewer young teachers are joining the workforce. Early retirement incentives for public workers and a tight wage bill make the teacher shortage worse.

Impact on Learning: Larger class sizes and fewer teachers hurt learning quality and students’ motivation to pursue teaching. The situation echoes the impact of Bantu education, with long-term effects on poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

Call for Public Investment: Investing in education and public services is essential for economic growth and equality. Cuts to social grants, lack of funding for public jobs, and outdated poverty data further affect vulnerable South Africans.

Appeal to Parliament: Parliament is urged to review the budget to ensure it aligns with South Africa’s constitutional commitment to socio-economic rights. There’s a call to prioritize human development and inclusive economic growth in budget decisions.

Importance of Public Services: Education, healthcare, social protection, and employment programs are essential for a fairer South Africa and should receive adequate funding.

[END]

To arrange a media interview, contact: Ayanda Sishi-Wigzell, Communications Manager. 

Email: ayanda@equaleducation.org.za

Phone: 076 879 3017

The post Media Statement on the 2024 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) Education spending decreases, despite the education crisis. #MTBPS2024 #SifunaUkufunda appeared first on Vuka News.

The Western Cape’s plan to cut teacher posts came under scrutiny in Parliament on Tuesday. Graphic: Lisa Nelson – This post was first published on GroundUp

By Tori Newby “We’re not retrenching teachers. We’re reducing posts,” says WCED head

IN SUMMARY:

• Western Cape Education Department (WCED) faces criticism: The WCED’s plan to reduce teaching posts was scrutinized in Parliament, especially by the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education.
• Reason for reduction:
  • The WCED announced a 2,407 teacher post reduction for 2025 due to a R3.8-billion budget shortfall over the next three years.
• Clarification on reduction:
  • WCED Head of Department Brent Walters clarified that this is a reduction, not retrenchment.
  • Quote: “We’re not retrenching teachers. We’re reducing posts. I think that’s a very big difference between these two things.”
  • Temporary teacher contracts expiring in December will not be renewed.
• Notification to schools:
  • Affected schools have been informed of their post losses and have until 15 November to choose which posts they will forfeit.
• Budget considerations:
  • Walters explained that the WCED reviewed all expenditure items and that salary costs had to be adjusted to avoid overspending.
  • Quote: “When you have large cuts to your budget, you’re going to have to go to your salaries, otherwise you’re going to overspend.”
• Criticism from committee chairperson:
  • Chairperson Khomotjo Maimela questioned why the Western Cape is the only province reducing teacher posts, despite budget cuts in other provinces.
  • Maimela expressed concern that township schools, already overcrowded, would suffer most, implying the WCED’s approach is not “pro-poor”.
  • Quote: “I’m saying, you are literally now compromising the provision of quality of education for the poor learners in the province. And you are doing it deliberately.”
• Written response requested: Maimela requested a detailed written response from the WCED within seven days, explaining how the post reductions would be implemented.
• Northern Cape’s approach:
  • Despite a R358-million shortfall, the Northern Cape Education Department has decided not to reduce teacher posts.
  • MEC Abraham Vosloo stated that 663 teachers’ posts are at risk but that the department is exploring other budget cuts.
  • Quote: “For us to retrench these teachers would be devastating to the Northern Cape.”
• Awaiting additional funding:
  • The medium-term budget is expected to be tabled on Wednesday.
  • Western Cape Minister of Education David Maynier hopes the Minister of Finance will announce additional support for education during this session.

The post Teacher posts: Western Cape education department quizzed in Parliament appeared first on Vuka News.