Why the Secrecy Bill is a threat to community struggles for local democracy and service delivery?

According to Right2Know the Protection of Information Bill (The Secrecy Bill) is a proposed law that threatens to turn our country into a nation of secrets and thus undermine many of our hard-won freedoms. The Right2Know Campaign along with many others have been fighting to get this Bill scrapped. Even though the government and the ANC have agreed that there are serious problems with the Bill and have promised to engage in further parliamentary debate, the fight against the Secrecy Bill cannot stop and must be intensified. If passed in its current form, it will give government officials huge powers to hide all kinds of important information from you and your community.

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For more information about how you can participate in or help support this programme please visit the Nelson Mandela Fund website.

It’s a free event and covers topics including:

• How is an NPO registered? 
• What entity should we establish?
• Do we qualify as a PBO? 
• How do the latest developments in the Companies Act affect us? 

The event is on August 4th. Be sure to reserve your spot by tomorrow (Wednesday), July 27th. To find out more, click on the link HERE.

As South Africans we should be proud of our progress in decreasing crime and poverty in our country. It’s been a long road, and definitely not over, but we have made progress and I think it’s fair to be recognized for our efforts.

Unfortunately, with the influence of media (and particularly social media), often a different picture is depicted of South Africa, or at the very least, a misrepresented one. Journalism and social media is at times unregulated and thrives on stories that induce drama and evoke reaction.

We can agree that South Africa was notorious for having a high crime rate. As proud South Africans, we fought to stop that in various ways even though it will never be fully stopped.

As we continue to implement projects and services aimed to eradicate poverty and decrease crime rate, it’s important that we simultaneously look to accurately represent our image and efforts in the media, so that people worldwide have an accurate depiction of our country. It’s unfortunate when events such as the murder of Anni Dewani caused the media to sensationalize South Africa as a crime-ridden country and revert the area back to a place it was decades ago.

The situation involving Shrien Dewani, a 31-year-old British man who framed his driver Zola Tongo for murdering his wife while conducting a Township tour, generated negative, international coverage.

As the story unfolded, more details and allegations including dealers and hit men were involved, thus making it an even more complicated story. The point is however is that South Africa was heavily impacted by the negative news coverage and almost seemed to overtake any other positive and promising efforts highlighted at earlier times in the media.

We cannot stop what the public says about this country or perceptions placed, but we have to constantly strive to improve South Africa to be the best it can be for its citizens and in-coming visitors.

We encourage all of you to be South Africa’s best ambassador. It’s only when we vocalize our pride for our country that other people will begin to understand why we value and love South Africa as much as we do.

Masande Drama Group entetained at the celebration: Photo: Development Works

Catholic Welfare and Development (CDW) has re-launched its Bonne Esperance Refugee Shelter for Woman and Children. They recently celebrated this momentous occasion with a special post –Refugee Day gathering.

The celebration kicked off with CDW Director, Lungisa Huna giving a brief history of Bonne Esperance and linked the work they have done to the Cape Townbased development organization’s mission of unleashing the ability of individuals and supporting community independence.  Representatives Vanessa Coulson and Chae Li Diong from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) grabbed the audience’s attention as they spoke of the international lawful situation, relating to refugee and why the role of amenities like Bonne Esperance are vital to the local refugee response.

There was an especially memorable moment when a Home Affairs representative addressed the serious challenges asylum seekers face during the application process and how Bonne Esperance has assisted with addressing backlogs.  It was mentioned that Bonne Esperance made sure that “no stones are left unturned” when it comes to helping foreigners in need.  Survivors of conflict, trauma and dislocation from their home countries and former Bonne Esperance residents, also made appearances at the launch to testify to the Shelter staff’s commitment.

According to a press release for the event, through Bonne Esperance, vulnerable women are supported and the cycle of violence is breached and young people are guided towards heartwarming lives. The Shelter also encourages local integration that includes getting South Africans to understand reasons behind refugee migration intoSouth Africaby facilitating educational training in response to the racism, xenophobic attacks that surfaced in May 2008. To date Bonne Esperance has assisted approximately 20 000 people; opened its doors to the defenseless and helped them transition into a reconstruction and healing phase ; as well as assisted over 60 families with rehabilitation and reintegration  into communities around Cape Town.

To learn more about the Bonne Esperance Shelter please visit their website by clicking here.