In a few days, Sandile Mthembu — a pioneering vegetable gardener at the Elangeni Green Zone — will have lived in the tented camp put up by the eThekwini municipality on a vacant municipal plot behind the Elangeni Hotel on Durban’s North Beach for an entire year. Mthembu, 26, was among the first residents of the...Read More
They may have tested negative for Covid-19, but many people are still fighting for their lives. Adebola* became ill a few days after attending a party in Lagos last March. Her symptoms mirrored what she was beginning to learn about Covid-19, and they continued to escalate, defying the malaria medication she was taking. “I was...Read More
Rue de Rivoli, a boulevard running through the heart of Paris, has been developed in fits and starts. Napoleon Bonaparte initiated construction in 1802, after years of planning and debate, but work stalled following the emperor’s abdication in 1814. The boulevard remained in limbo until another military strongman, Napoleon III, completed the project in the...Read More
Employment recovered slightly at the end of 2020. But the rate of job recovery has not been enough to stem the tide of rising unemployment, which has reached crisis levels. According to Statistics South Africa’s quarterly labour-force survey, the unemployment rate reached 32.5% in the last months of 2020. This is the highest unemployment rate...Read More
Peace starts with the inner person. But, within myself I do not have peace. Every time I think about my situation, I feel so bad and it affects me a lot.” Dutch, as he prefers to be called, is HIV-positive, and was once a drug user. He is now an agent for change in his...Read More
Her colleagues have been waiting for almost an hour when she finally arrives to join them under the corrugated iron carport at a business outlet in one of the villages in the Sekhukhune district municipality. Her flat navy-blue plastic shoes are covered in a thick layer of dust. She slumps into one of the hard,...Read More
President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged in his State of the Nation address (Sona) on Thursday night that the country had a tough academic year last year because of Covid-19. Although Ramaphosa did not dwell much on education in his speech — focusing instead on the government’s four priorities, economic recovery among them — he did say...Read More
Senam Agbesi has been trying to make the best of lockdown in London. “I’ve done lots of Zooms, lots of walks,” he told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The 34-year-old National Health System manager believes he could get the vaccine this month, because he is starting a new job that would involve visiting hospitals regularly. ...Read More
Covid-19 came like a thief in the night and snatched my mom. She was declared dead at 10.30pm on 3 January because of “Covid-19-related complications” after only being admitted to hospital the day before. Elsie Ndayeni Chauke, a mother of three strong, intelligent and complex children is dead. We buried her three weeks ago, on...Read More
More than 600 journalists have died of Covid-19 since March 1 last year, a press freedom organisation said, calling for media workers to have priority access to vaccines. The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC), which tracks the deaths of journalists around the world, said that of the 602 media workers known to have died from the...Read More
