Press Release: Afrikaans and English no longer ‘white languages’ - 22nd April 2013.
Some 4.1 million (or 60%) of people whose home language is Afrikaans are African, coloured, or Indian. Of the 6.9 million people who speak the language at home, only 2.7 million (or 40%) are white, according to the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Press Release: Too few maths teachers - 17th April 2013.
A total of 84 high schools across the country did not offer mathematics for grade 10, 11 and 12 in the 2012 academic year, primarily as a result of a shortage of suitably qualified maths teachers. This accounts for 1.3% of all high schools (public and independent) that wrote the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination last year.
John Kane-Berman, the CEO of the Institute, says that unions such as Cosatu and Sadtu "are fond of posturing as revolutionaries. But when it comes to opening up opportunities to the black jobless, they are the most reactionary force on the block."
Press Release: Billions lost due to strikes - 11th April 2013.
Just over R10bn was lost in gold and platinum production during the mining sector stoppages in the 2012/2013 financial year. An additional R180m was lost in coal production during the same period. The total value of production lost across all sectors of mining amounted to R15.3bn.
Press Release: White men still top of the pay scale - 2nd April 2013.
South Africa’s highest-paid employees are, on average, white men who live in Gauteng, work in the community and social services industry (including government) in skilled jobs, belong to a union, and are between 55 and 64 years of age. This is according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg.
Press Release: The New Expropriation Bill is Better – But Still Bad - 27th March 2013.
The Expropriation Bill is back. It is better than its 2008 predecessor in one key way, for it allows the courts to decide the compensation payable for expropriated property. This is a major advance. In many other ways, however, the Bill remains as bad as before.
Press Release: Where do all the condoms go? 27th March 2013.
The condom distribution target was missed by 60% in the 2011/12 financial year according to the South African Institute of Race Relations. Some 399 million condoms, both male and female, were distributed, against a target of just over one billion.
Press Release: Over half of crimes go unreported - 19th March 2013.
Over 3.3 million crimes occur every year but half of them go unreported, according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg.
Press Release: Provincial revenue wasted could have built 400 schools - 18th March 2013.
Over 400 schools could have been built with the R24.8bn of unauthorised, irregular, wasteful, and fruitless expenditure by provinces recently revealed in the Auditor-General’s latest reports. The South African Institute of Race Relations has calculated how else the Government could have spent this money.
In his fortnightly column in Business Day, the Institute's CEO, John Kane-Berman, writes that despite the Government's warning that "social spending is not a substitute for job creation" the Government's policies are not conducive to growth or job creation.
Press Release: New mining bill could send SA tumbling further down ‘Fraser’ index - 13 March 2013.
South Africa has recently dropped to 64th out of 96 on the 2012-2013 Fraser Institute’s international policy potential index, which measures the attractiveness to investors of different mining countries. “If the draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill of 2012 (the Bill) is made law, the country’s score is sure to tumble further,” says the South African Institute of Race Relations. “For the Bill ignores economic reality, while giving the mining minister many more discretionary powers.”
Press Release: Only a third of children live with both parents - 11th March 2013.
Only 33% of children in South Africa live with both their parents. The rest live with single parents, on their own, with relatives, or in foster care, according to the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Press Release: Electricity: wired up but switched off - 5th March 2013.
Despite the fact that 84% of South African homes have access to electricity, over a quarter of households do not use it for cooking and over half do not use it for heating, according to the latest South Africa Survey published by the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Press Release: Unionisation buoyed by public sector - 4th March 2013.
A third of all workers in the formal, non-agricultural sector in South Africa belong to a trade union. This is according to figures compiled by the South African Institute of Race Relations. By contrast, the rate of unionisation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) group of countries in 2011 was 18%. The rate of unionisation refers to the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union as a proportion of total people employed.
In his fortnightly column in Business Day, the Institute's CEO, John Kane-Berman, says that there are several signs that the ANC is afraid of opposition parties.
Few books have yet been written about the ‘people’s war’ waged by the African National Congress (ANC) from 1984 to 1994. Nick Howarth’s book, War in Peace, helps remedy that defect.
Press Release: Africans and whites on equal mortgage footing - 26th February 2013.
The emerging African middle class is catching up to the white middle class in terms of home ownership. This is according to data published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in its latest South Africa Survey.
John Kane-Berman, the Chief Executive of the Institute, wrote in Business Day today that threats to the constitution have galvanized many South Africans into action, which may have the long-term consequence of safeguarding it.
Press Release: Pistorius alleged murder victim is one of 2 500 adult women murdered every year - 15th January 2013.
The South African Institute of Race Relations says that Reeva Steenkamp, late girlfriend of murder accused Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, is one of approximately 2 500 adult women who are murdered in South Africa every year.
Press Release: Long term job-loss trend for South African agriculture - 7th February 2013.
An established long-term trend of declining employment in agriculture is revealed in the new South Africa Survey recently published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg.
Press Release: Walking down the aisle a path less travelled - 6th February 2013.
The number of marriages registered every year is declining despite an increasing population. Over a period of close to a decade, the number of civil and customary marriages registered every year has dropped by nearly 10%. This is according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg recently.
Press Release: Independent and opposition candidates gain as the ANC sees a net loss at by-elections - 5th February 2013.
The African National Congress (ANC) and the National Freedom Party (NFP) experienced net losses in the 12 sets of by-elections held between the May 2011 local government election and November 2012. The Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Congress of the People (Cope) have seen net gains, according to the South Africa Survey, recently published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg.
In his fortnightly column in Business Day, the Institute's CEO, John Kane-Berman, questions whether the recent cancellation of several Non Profit Organisations' registration by the Department of Social Development really was accidental. In the light of envisioned legislation to put the country's NPOs under state control, the State could have had a more sinister agenda.
Press Release: African women and white men weigh in heaviest - 4th February 2013.
A third of all African women are obese. Coloured, white, and Indian women follow closely, with around a quarter being obese. Overall, almost one third of South African women are obese. This is according to the latest South Africa Survey, published recently in Johannesburg by the South African Institute of Race Relations.
Press Release: Disappearing domestic workers - 31st January 2013.
The number of domestic workers in South Africa has declined over the past ten years according to data published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in its annual South Africa Survey this month. The number of domestic workers declined from 1 215 000 in 2003 to 1 153 000 in 2012, or by 5%.
Press Release: One in four of the unemployed without work for more than five years - 30th January 2013.
A quarter of unemployed people have been looking for work for more than five years, and a further 40% have been out of work for at least a year according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg last week.
Press Release: Only one in five matrics get more than 50% in maths and science - 29th January 2013.
Only 20% of pupils writing matric mathematics and physical science achieve more than 50%, according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations in Johannesburg last week.
Press Release: Justice a death too far in municipalities with the highest murder rates - 24th January 2013.
Three local municipalities have murder rates close to 200 per 100 000 people, six times the national murder rate of 31 per 100 000 people. The municipalities are Richmond (KwaZulu-Natal) with a rate of 192, Sunday’s River Valley (Eastern Cape) at 178, and Victor Khanye (Mpumalanga) at 177.
In his fortnightly column in Business Day, the Institute's CEO, John Kane-Berman, argued that it was premature to invest in further tertiary education infrastructure when the South African school system was not providing sufficient quality candidates to saturate the existing system.
Press Release: Sasolburg: Metsimaholo local municipality in numbers - 22nd January 2013.
Currently there are violent protests in the town of Sasolburg, situated in the Metsimaholo local municipality (Free State). The protests centre on plans to include Sasolburg in the neighboring Ngwathe local municipality and not in the current Metsimaholo local municipality. Information compiled by the South African Institute of Race Relations provides a profile of the Metsimaholo municipality.
