Black Sash

The Protection of Information Bill will give greater power to a smaller number of people. Our MPs must act for us, write Hennie van Vuuren, director of the Institute for Security Studies & Black Sash Advocacy Programme Manager Phelisa Nkomo.

In the historic setting of Cape Town's St George's Cathedral, more than 200 South African and international civil society organisations launched the Right2Know Campaign this week.
This broad-based campaign, which seeks to defend and advance constitutional rights to access information and freedom of speech, has the support of inter-faith groups, advocacy organisations and think-tanks alike.  Read the full article in the Mail and Guardian

INSIGHT by Nkosikhulule Nyembezi and Elroy Paulus

IT’S more than a year since President Jacob Zuma took office and 16 years since the ANC swept to victory . Yet, it is getting harder and harder for most South Africans to see their glass as “half full”. It appears there is still too little political will to do something substantial about the painful poverty overwhelming so many households. This despite various strategies for economic growth.

Although there is no single study or survey that provides proof of this painful realisation, a useful reference point is the latest figures from the National Credit Regulator (NCR) as well as the data in two recent reports by Statistics South Africa – the General Household Survey and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. 

Read the full article in the Cape Times

An opinion piece by Marcella Naidoo, Black Sash National Director

In May of this year, the Black Sash celebrated 55 years of working to secure human rights for all who live in South Africa. 20 years ago, Nelson Mandela recognised our work at his first public appearance in Cape Town's Grand Parade, calling the organisation "the conscience of white South Africa" during the apartheid years. Sadly, amid all the commemorative anniversaries we have marked and celebrated this year, the Black Sash suffered a significant loss. Our patron and veteran human rights activist, Sheena Duncan, passed away in the same week that we had planned to commemorate our founding.

Click here to read the article on the ANC website