Together for Justice

Exploring contemporary challenges for churches and civil society

“Together for Justice – Exploring contemporary challenges for churches and civil society in the context of post-colonial Southern African and German Partnerships” was the title of the conference jointly organized by the South African Council of Churches (SACC), the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland (EKD), the Desmond Tutu Centre, the Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa Institute, the Centre for Christian Spirituality and Kairos Southern Africa with financial support of the KAS. The conference took place from the 14th to the 17th of March 2018 at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

Event Report: Human Rights Report Card Launch 2018

On Monday, 23rd of March 2018 the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CFCR) in co-operation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) welcomed the audience to the launch of the Human Rights Report Card 2018 at the Townhouse Hotel in Cape Town. The Human Rights Report Card assesses and monitors the implementation of human rights in South Africa on an annual basis. The report was launched for the ninth time.

Human Rights and Governance Implications of the Water Crisis in the City of Cape Town

Roundtable Discussion

On Tuesday, the 6th of March 2018, the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic “Human Rights and Governance Implications of the Water Crisis in the City of Cape Town” at the Pepper Club Hotel in Cape Town. The roundtable discussion with distinguished panelists from academia, civil society and the City of Cape Town provided the audience with a platform for a fruitful exchange about the impacts of the water crisis and the challenges it poses in terms of cooperative governance.

Dialogue in Contemporary South Africa: Opportunities and Risks

CUD Roundtable Series 2018: Nr. 1

“Dialogue in Contemporary South Africa: Opportunities and Risks” was the title of the first roundtable discussion on 1st March 2018, organized by the Centre for Unity in Diversity (CUD) in collaboration with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) at the Sun Square Hotel in Cape Town. The well attended event with renowned academic and author Prof. Jonathan Jansen as guest speaker provided the audience with a platform for a fruitful exchange about the shift in campus culture.

Water Crisis in Cape Town: Lessons to be Learnt (PART 2)

The Responsibilities of the Three Spheres of Government

In the South African Constitution, Bill of Rights, Chapter 2,Paragraph 27 on Health Care, Food, Water and Social Security, it states that "everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water". Due to the current water crisis in the Western Cape, this right is threatened. This article seeks to explain the various responsibilities of national, provincial and local government in terms of water supply and water management. It further elaborates on the lessons that the three spheres of government can learn from the crisis. A report by Dorothea Gibson, KAS-Research Assistant

Water Crisis in Cape Town: Lessons to be Learnt (PART 1)

HOW THE CITY’S WATER SUPPLY AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM NEEDS TO CHANGE

After the Western Cape had already declared the drought a provincial disaster, the interministerial task team on drought and water scarcity declared the South African drought a national disaster on the 9th of February 2018 (Business Day, 2018). Is this declaration not long overdue? How does the Water system work in the Western Cape and how can ‘Day Zero’ be avoided in future? This article series aims at giving answers to these questions. Part 1 will deal with the Western Cape Water Supply System and possible alternatives of water supply to prevent ‘Day Zero’ in future.

Multilingualism Conference

The Importance of Multilingualism in promoting and deepening social cohesion and nation building in South Africa

South Africa has eleven official languages namely English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, South Sotho, Tswana, North Sotho, Venda, Tsonga, Swati and Ndebele. However, English is dominant in society but especially in workplaces and schools. Afrikaans used to have prominence however, its importance is slowly diminishing but the rest of the African Languages are still lagging behind. In recent times, there have been students’ protests especially at institutions of Higher Learning, the students’ main concern is that they do not want to learn in Afrikaans mostly preferring to be taught in English.

Anti-Xenophobia Dialogue

The Anti-Xenophobia Dialogue is done in cooperation with the South African Council of Churches in Gauteng. It forms part of a series of events which aims at the eradication of xenophobia and promotion of social cohesion by strengthening conflict resolution skills of community leaders, improving liaison with Government and other agencies on the provision of relief during attacks.The first Dialogue took place on the 14th of February 2018 at Khotso House in Johannesburg.

KwaZulu-Natal Democracy and Election Forum

KZNCC and DDP collaborate to reignite the KZN Democracy Forum

Democracy Development Program in partnership with the KZN Christian Council convened a meeting with civil society and religious leaders who have an interest in participating in a civil society entitative with regards to the upcoming national elections in South Africa. This was to provide among others, an understanding of the changing political context in KwaZul- Natal.

ANC spielt heile Welt

Ramaphosa ersetzt Zuma als Staatspräsidenten

In einem Aufsehen erregenden Machtkampf unterliegt Staatspräsident Zuma und hat dem im Dezember neu gewählten ANC-Vorsitzenden und Vizepräsidenten Cyril Ramaphosa auf Druck des Parteivorstandes vorzeitig sein Amt überlassen müssen. Das Land und die Dauerregierungspartei African National Congress (ANC) reagierten überwiegend erleichtert, da viele Jacob Zuma aufgrund seiner zahlreichen Korruptionsvorwürfe, die bis hin zum Ausverkauf des Landes reichten, für untragbar hielten.