All news items
16 March 2014
South Africa's tourism website describes the country as the "land of good times and friendly people". Sadly, Araya Y, a pregnant Somali refugee living in Port Elizabeth, did not experience this side of the country. Instead, when she went to a government district hospital in July 2010 to give birth, she was abused by medical staff and denied care.
"The nurse spoke to me...
13 March 2014
The government is proposing tighter rules on immigration that nongovernmental organisations believe could cause practical difficulties for asylum seekers, migrants and foreign spouses trying to get into or stay in South Africa.
Several refugee rights organisations have submitted their objections and suggestions on the draft immigration regulations, saying that some groups would be...
13 March 2014
The Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality in Carolina in Mpumalanga has called on residents to use tap water provided by the municipality.
This comes after Lawyers for Human Rights indicated that water tests, conducted on borehole water in Carolina, have revealed that the water is contaminated with high level of nitrates in the town, and faecal coliform bacteria in neighbouring Selobela...
10 March 2014
Home Affairs’ draft immigration regulations could be damaging to asylum seekers while failing to stem the tide of immigrants flocking to South Africa, say refugee rights groups.
The regulations, which closed to public comment on Friday, are expected to come into force soon – and, according to Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, will “usher in a new era of secure,...
9 March 2014
South Africa’s controversial Strategic Defence Packages have thrown up some spectacular numbers, but few as remarkable as those required by Judge Willie Seriti of arms deal critic Richard Young before Young would be in a position to cross-examine Armscor witness Frits Nortje.
To comply with directives issued by Judge Seriti, the chairman of the Arms Procurement Commission (APC), Young would...
6 March 2014
Inwoners van Carolina en Silobela ervaar weer ’n waterkrisis nadat suur mynwater twee jaar gelede uit hul krane geloop het.
Hierdie keer is hulle gewaarsku om nie die water uit hul boorgate te drink voordat hulle dit nie laat toets het nie omdat van die grondwater met E.coli en nitrate besoedel is.
Regslui vir Menseregte (RMR) het in ’n verklaring gesê mense het die laaste tyd...
5 March 2014
ARMSCOR’s counter-trade agreements with foreign arms suppliers outside of the 1999 arms deal amounted to R5.4bn between 1988 and 2000, the Arms Procurement Commission heard on Tuesday.
Johannes Bernhardus de Beer, Armscor’s manager of defence industrial participation agreements, was testifying about the origin and rationale of the concept of Defence Industrial Participation within...
4 March 2014
Under apartheid you could be detained for 90 days without trial, under democracy you can be detained for 120 days without trial – if you’re an undocumented migrant.
Documents matter because they’re your first ticket to get you out of a place like the notorious Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp.
Built in 1996 the centre is a holding facility to repatriate those in the...
4 March 2014
Arms Procurement Commission chairman Judge Willie Seriti said on Monday he was disappointed at yet another delay in the commission’s proceedings.
The evidence of Armscor project manager Frits Nortje was postponed until March 17 to allow the commission’s evidence leaders to reach an agreement with arms-deal critic Richard Young to produce the documents he needed to cross-examine Mr...
1 March 2014
Andrew Feinstein, former ANC MP and author of The Shadow World: Inside the global arms trade, was interviewed by Power FM's Chris Vick about the Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the arms deal.