part of no part

This piece is focused on mining, but applies to all communities equally and is inspired by the book that has inspired dissidents around the world by Gene Sharp, From Dictatorship to Democracy. For many years now communities have been struggling to present a formidable opposition to the mining houses and the super exploitation of our natural resources, our land and our communities. Despite the huge profits made by the mining houses (Sales of R371 billion in 2011 and R1.9 TRILLION over the last 10 years.), poverty levels in Polokwane affect as many as 72% of all households. Our struggles have had questionable success in producing real change for communities but have been particularly effective in raising the awareness and consciousness of the communities affected by mining and last year saw arguably the biggest and most representative gathering of communities. This was by any standards a huge step forward and needs to not only be celebrated, but must be turned into a vehicle for rea...

How are we to understand the psychological construction of a society that lives silently with the reality of the increasing and unceasing brutal and systematic rape and abuse of a large part of our society? Our momentary clamour around the rape of Anene and so many others like her will fade, as it did when Valencia Farmer was brutally raped and killed 13 years ago. Not because we do not care, but because we are continually and institutionally focused on the symptoms rather than the cause. Rape is a symptom of a social construction which is held in place with our consent on a daily basis. So well, has this construction permeated society that we are barely able to read beyond this controversial claim. Our intellect cries out that this is preposterous, and to save us the uncomfortable effort of re-evaluating our assumptions, many will chose to ignore what follows. The construction which underpins the continued brutal rape and exploitation of women is based on our understanding of na...

The concept of structural shortcomings in the South African economy has been thrown about with great abandon over the last two decades, but has gained significant traction in the last couple of years as a passing premise, primarily because of the difficulty for business, government and labour to find an accommodating economic policy that would keep as many of the countries stakeholders comfortable, with workers off the streets and capital in the market. The structural premise of our current struggle to create a fair and equal society, is however not just a “throw away” comment designed to make the conversation appear more intelligent. In fact, the failure to rigorously interrogate this premise, has robbed us of the prescience which comes with a sound understanding of South Africa’s structural legacy. Our history is not pretty, and in fact it is downright painful. So it is with some justification that some may argue that the past is best left in the past. But like a festering sor...