Parks Tau on Wednesday night dismissed criticism of the proposed R200 billion National Health Insurance (NHI) as “resistance” by private healthcare users, who he said were effectively subsidised by the state.  Tau made the comments while representing the ANC at a national election debate hosted by the Mail & Guardian and the University of Fort Hare in a week in which Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed, in a written parliamentary reply, that medical aid tax credits would be revoked to fund the NHI.  Tau, who is the deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affai ..read more

ActionSA Eastern Cape chairperson Athol Trollip has said the only reason the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) would consider going into coalition with the ANC and demanding Floyd Shivambu be made finance minister was because they wanted to steal from the country’s coffers.  Trollip made the remarks while responding to a question about coalitions during the national election debate hosted by the Mail & Guardian and the University of Fort Hare on Wednesday night. Senior representatives from the ANC, EFF, ActionSA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Democratic Alliance (DA) took part in the ..read more

An average of 85% of people who were polled across 32 countries, including South Africa, believe that a soon-to-be finalised global plastic pollution treaty should outlaw single-use plastics. These are the findings from a survey by market-research company Ipsos of more than 24 000 people, which was commissioned by WWF and the Plastic Free Foundation.  From 23 April to 29 April, United Nations member states will meet in Ottawa, Canada, to hammer out the details of the new international agreement in the penultimate plastic pollution treaty negotiations. The aim is to conclude negotiations o ..read more

I grew up in England in the 1960s.  My mother was born in London’s East End, a Jewish ghetto at the time; she was four when the new mass anti-Semitic party, the British Union Fascists, organised a march to intimidate East End Jews in Whitechapel in 1936. Allied with socialists and communists, the Jewish anti-Fascists took the lead and beat back the Fascists in the battle of Cable Street. After the Jewish war veterans returned to the East End, and seeing that the “enemy had not gone away”, they created a now celebrated underground organisation to stop the Fascists meeting.  Racism and ..read more

As we celebrate 30 years of democracy, the Mail & Guardian in partnership with the University of Fort Hare invites you to join the National Elections Debate ..read more

Judge Nkosinathi Chili said Zuma would not be prejudiced if the matter is removed from the roll pending his bid to appeal the invalidation of the private prosecution This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member. Register Registration enables: - M&G newsletters access - notifications - the best possible experience Already registere ..read more

Cellphone data analyst Gideon Gouws tells the court calls and deleted messages were downloaded from the phones confiscated from the accused This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member. Register Registration enables: - M&G newsletters access - notifications - the best possible experience Already registered? Login here Want to subs ..read more

2024 is touted as the biggest election year in history. More than 80 national elections are scheduled to take place, affecting 52% of the global population. Furthermore, in a recent survey by Ipsos, 87% of respondents from 16 of these countries expressed concern that disinformation could affect election results, with social media identified as the leading source of disinformation. The Global Risks Report 2024 identifies disinformation as one of the top risks the world will have to contend with, predicting that “…over the next two years, the widespread use of misinformation and disinformation ..read more

The political tradition has always been to campaign for votes through a combination of nationwide rallies, media coverage and papering the streets with posters and banners. These tactics however are well regulated and media organisations, municipalities and independent electoral agencies are able to monitor messaging and even legislate to remove bad actors who mislead and misinform their constituencies. Losers were constrained to these channels to interact with their supporters which meant limited opportunity to discredit results and spread misinformation post elections. Enter social media Wit ..read more

It’s 2010 and The Bioscope is screening its first movie as an independent cinema — the film is Unhinged: Surviving Joburg.  Russell Grant, the visionary behind The Bioscope, reminisces about that first screening back in Maboneng with a mix of nostalgia and humour. “Our friend had made a documentary about Johannesburg, it was quite fun and inspirational. “It was the perfect film to start with and we had two sold-out screenings for the opening night. Near the end of the second one, I sat on the porch outside and I said cheers to my business partner at the time.  “Shortly after we cheer ..read more