With Freedom Day approaching, it is a time to reflect not only on South Africa’s democracy but also on the role of media freedom in shaping the country over the past 31 years. Media ethics, freedom of expression, and the media’s role in holding power to account have evolved significantly since 1994. Professor Herman Wasserman, Head of the Journalism Department at Stellenbosch University, said the transformation has been notable. “Firstly, […]
Democracy declined around the world for the sixth consecutive year in 2022 as half the world’s countries slid backwards on indicators such as freedom of expression and political participation, according to a prominent think tank. In its annual report released this week, the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said 85 out of 173 countries surveyed had “suffered a decline in at least one key indicator of […]
INTERNATIONAL Bahrain heads to the polls on Saturday with a record number of people standing in the elections despite a ban on opposition candidates running in the Gulf state's parliamentary and municipal elections. More than 330 candidates, including 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives, the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Images posted online showed Bahrainis waiting in line at […]
LOCAL The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is seeking to repeal an apartheid era trespass law, saying that it has lost its relevance in a constitutional democracy. The department has published the draft Unlawful Entering on Premises Bill for public comment. The new bill is aimed at replacing the old laws and to reintroduce regulations prohibiting unlawful entry to premises, and provide for matters connected to that. Department spokesperson […]
President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted that the country was ill-prepared for the violent protests and looting that broke out in parts of the country after the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. Addressing the nation on Friday night, Ramaphosa said the country was going to learn from the violent protests which almost crippled the economy. He was speaking after his visit to KwaZulu-Natal, where protests first broke out and later […]
Veteran journalist and political commentator Karima Brown passed away due to COVID-19 complications on Thursday. Brown had been in hospital for several weeks and was on a ventilator. She was 53 years old. She was a seasoned journalist, broadcaster and media executive and had worked for SABC, Independent Group, Primedia and eMedia amongst others. Brown's political roots stem from her activism in the ANC and her family. She is known […]
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has warned that any model of an electoral system South Africa will adopt is bound to have serious political ramifications in the current democratic dispensation. The Electoral Commission told Parliament that in its task in amending the current Electoral Act, in line with the Constitutional Court decision to rectify certain provisions in the legislation, it should be cognisant of the implication that will follow. In […]
With tears and sad songs, Sudanese pro-democracy protesters who helped bring down former president Omar al-Bashir returned to the streets on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of a massacre in front of the army headquarters in Khartoum that left more than 100 protesters dead. At least 23 people also went missing on 3 June 2019 and in the days after the dispersal of the sit-in in the Sudanese capital. […]
OPINION by Kareem Maliki One might say there is nothing new in the Bo-Kaap residents protests: at the end of the day, all of us are used to seeing South Africans always protesting somewhere about something. However, there is something important about the struggle of Bo-Kaap community that must not go unnoticed: Muslims of Cape Town are awakening and are ready to stand for their rights. As much as we […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
