Substantial changes made to means testing to account for inflation and the rising cost of living By Kristine Liao Legal Aid South Africa, which provides tax-funded legal aid to the poor, amended its means test on 1 April, enabling more people to qualify for legal assistance. Legal Aid provides independent legal aid services in criminal and civil legal matters. Its means test is...

North West High Court rejects bid to declare Minister of Mineral Resources in breach of statutory duties By Wilmien Wicomb In February the North West High Court rejected the application from the Mining Forum of South Africa, representing the Bapo-Ba-Mogale community, to declare the minister responsible for mineral resources in breach of his statutory obligation to hold Lonmin to account for not complying with...

Company says it took reasonable measures and the period for claims has expired By Ciaran Ryan Twenty-two former underground miners are claiming more than R80 million in damages from Sasol Coal after they contracted serious lung and other diseases as a result of years of inhaling coal dust while working in underground coal mines. They are arguing that Sasol Coal was negligent in...

But Lawyers for Human Rights disagrees with the court’s reasoning and is appealing  By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti Eight Somali nationals, who currently live in South Africa, are seeking asylum here. But their applications for asylum were turned down by Home Affairs officials. They appealed to the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB), which also turned them down. Represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, the eight...

Government releases guidelines for municipalities to integrate Informal waste pickers into the economy By Zoë Postman According to a report by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSRI), waste pickers are estimated to collect 80 to 90% of discarded packaging and paper in the country. It is estimated that this saves municipalities hundreds of millions in landfill space. Yet waste pickers receive very...

By Ra’eesa Pather On a vast piece of land known as Mabcinde in Masiphumelele township, Cape Town, water laps at the bases of the homes people have built for themselves. Long reeds rise from the damp ground and a canal – littered with plastic bags and glass bottles – snakes through the settlement. “We are drowning here,” says 31-year-old Khulansande Ghanyanza. In...

“Redirecting money from private to public spending is an obvious area to look at as part of urgent reform” By Kimberly Mutandiro and Kristine Liao Rural communities in South Africa, which make up 40% of the population, face immense difficulties in accessing adequate healthcare, according to a report titled Protecting Rural Healthcare in Times of Economic Crisis. The report was launched on Tuesday by the...

“The court will see who is lying and who is telling the truth” By Zoë Postman Land occupiers from Tswelopele Extension 8 in Tembisa, East of Johannesburg, are applying for an interdict at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to prevent the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) from evicting them. The 118 households want their demolished homes rebuilt and to be compensated...

Court found Johannesburg Metro police violated homeless people’s constitutional rights to dignity and privacy  By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered the City of Johannesburg to compensate 27 homeless people for unlawfully confiscating and destroying their property. The homeless applicants lived on a traffic island under the R31 Highway Bridge in the Johannesburg Central Business District....

But public health expert expresses scepticism By Elsabé Brits Giving men who have sex with men (MSM) access to free self-screening HIV kits would increase testing among hard-to-reach groups and help South Africa reach its HIV targets. This is according to a new study published in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ). The study was done with MSM in the high HIV-prevalence districts of Gert...