Mbalo Brief – June 2016

As we know, June is Youth Month in commemoration of the positive role played by young people of 1976 in demanding their rights as equal citizens of this country. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the June 16 uprising where hundreds of young people were killed by the apartheid government when they protested against   read more »


Mbalo Brief – May 2016

Protests and violence continue to rage through South African universities. In the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Vanderbijlpark Campus, students clashed with police and set alight university property. The protesting students are calling for the removal of the security company currently contracted by the University. Meanwhile, in Rhodes University, female students took to the streets   read more »


Mbalo Brief – April 2016

On 6 April 2016, the South African President Jacob Zuma proclaimed that the local government elections will be held on 3 August 2016. This is the fourth local government elections since the country’s first free and fair non-racial general elections held on 27 April 1994. Local government elections are held to elect members of the   read more »


Mbalo Brief – March 2016

The much anticipated Community Survey 2016 (CS 2016) kicked off on 7 March 2016. Over 10 000 Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) field workers across the country will visit 1,3 million sampled households collecting data until 22 April 2016. Unlike previous surveys of this magnitude, this year the CS 2016 will use the Computer Assisted   read more »


Mbalo Brief – February 2016

Some parts of South Africa have experienced severe drought due to shortage of rainfall. According to the South African Weather Services (SAWS), the lowest annual total rainfall over the full 112-year period has been the January to December 2015 period. This period recorded an annual total of only 403 millimeters of rainfall. Government declared Mpumalanga,   read more »


Mbalo Brief – November 2015

Water supply in some parts of South Africa is under severe strain. This is mainly due to the heatwave that swept through many parts of the country coupled with an increased demand in water mainly due to the heat. Two of South Africa’s cities, Johannesburg and Pretoria, recorded their hottest day ever on the 10th   read more »


Mbalo Brief – October 2015

The October month has been marked as the Transport Month. This period is used to focus on transport related matters such as road carnages and progress achieved in various transport programmes and projects among others. One of the campaigns to create awareness and reduce road carnage has been the placing of 47 coffins on the   read more »


Mbalo Brief – September 2015

Excitement was in the air in South Africa when Durban was announced as the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on 2 September 2015. This is going to be the first time that these games will be held in the African continent since the inception of the Commonwealth games in 1930. This is an international, multi-sport event involving   read more »


Mbalo Brief – August 2015

As we celebrate Women’s Month in August, the South African government has made headway to promote gender equality and empowerment of women and closing the gap by increasing the proportion of seats allocated to women in parliament. The promotion of gender equality and women empowerment are part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which must   read more »


Mbalo Brief – July 2015

Every year on 18 July, schoolchildren, public servants, business people, organisations and men and women from all walks of life, devote 67 minutes of their time to a community service activity. This is in commemoration of the 67 years that the late Nelson Mandela spent fighting for human rights and social justice. Over the years,   read more »