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News & Views by Terry Bell
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ANC faces a turbulent post-election period
May 29, 2011
The government as employer, together with the governing ANC, could be sailing into some turbulent post-election waters. A series of meetings, some of which started this week, will determine quite how turbulent, but the prospects for smooth sailing look remote. On May 26 representatives of the 14 unions in the public service were in Cape […]
Wal-Mart and the nature of the system
May 25, 2011
We live in a world system known as capitalism. About that there seems to be no disagreement. But what this means seems to create considerable confusion. And the rows surrounding the intended incursion into South Africa by Wal-Mart illustrate this clearly. Amid all the arguments and the blowing of vuvuzelas, only a few trade union […]
Africa, nuclear power and earthquakes
May 13, 2011
The massive earthquake off the coast of Japan in March triggered a ten-metre tsunami wave that swept up to 10km inland, devastating whole towns and villages. It also smashed into the Fukushima nuclear power plant causing widespread — and still ongoing — concern about the safety of such plants. This tragedy gave anti-nuclear power advocates […]
An SA winter of industrial discontent looms
May 13, 2011
Promises and appeals to political loyalty secured industrial peace in the run-up to South Africa's May 18 local government elections. But it could be a lull before the storm if the government, as employer, cannot honour all its promises.
The Concourt, the military and arson
May 7, 2011
A 12-year-old case of arson in the SA Navy, based on the controversial doctrine of common purpose, finally makes its way to South Africa's Constitutional Court. The result should have considerable impact, both within and outside the military.
A critical — largely ignored — wage battle looms
April 22, 2011
South Africa's annual battle over wages and conditions has this year been all but obscured by reports of political infighting focussed largely on the May 18 local government elections. Troubling news from Swaziland, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire has also tended to push this yearly tussle between bosses and unions into the background. Yet the 2011 wage round is arguably more critical than any in recent years — and will almost certainly have a direct bearing on the outcome of the May 18 poll.
A tale of two funerals
April 8, 2011
Both funerals were conducted with military pomp and included the flag of the African National Congress draped over the coffins. One was for a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, the other for a reputed racketeer killed in a gangland drive-by shooting. Media publicity concentrated on the latter.
Terry Bell Writes 
The secrets we do not need
June 7, 2011
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Notes for a discussion on secrets held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in February, 2011 in which I argued against the notion of state secrets.