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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »politics«
New SA labour fed: a new wheel or a retread?
April 9, 2017
Will the launch in two weeks of a new labour federation in South Africa herald a new era for local trade unionism or will it merely signal the arrival of just another federation in the existing mould? Time alone will tell.
Showing up the farce of SA democracy
April 4, 2017
South Africa’s constitutional democracy has, over the past week been shown up for the farce that it is. And the call now must be for a system that will extend democracy and grant real power to the people “on the ground”,
A tweet too far on Singapore
March 23, 2017
Helen Zille, former leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance and premier of South Africa's Western Cape province, tweets that we should look for inspiration to Singapore. Yet this is an authoritarian city state that does not tolerate opposition.
Political interference and the unions
February 11, 2017
The attempt by labour minister Mildred Oliphant — including a couple of lengthy and costly court battles — to interfere in trade union administration was slapped down hard on January 26. The labour appeal court ruled that her instruction to the registrar of labour relations to withdraw action against a defaulting Cosatu union and her […]
Time to seek the real state of nations
February 11, 2017
This week brought us, in South Africa, another State of the Nation address (SONA) and, like its predecessors, it will probably be best remembered for the fashion parade on parliament’s red carpet and the punch up on the floor of paliament. There was also the usual post speech analysis of what was seen generally as […]
Davos: a far cry from responsive & responsible leadership
January 22, 2017
The world’s most expensive and probably most successful public relations exercise concluded in Switzerland this week: the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos. But this private club of some of the richest men in the world is responsible for the very ills they claim to be trying to remedy.
A week of dashed expectations
November 26, 2016
There were hopes in South Africa over the past week that the growing disgruntlement with President Jacob Zuma would result in positive moves for his removal. And there were also hopes, especially among the low paid, that a minimum wage declaration would result in quite prompt relief. But such hopes were dashed.
Terry Bell Writes 
How ‘the people’ can capture the state
April 9, 2017
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Direct democracy, a system where the citizens as a whole have control over their lives and welfare is not only desirable, it is possible, given the very technology that is now destroying jobs. But it requires education and organisation.