Monday 17 October is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The theme for 2022 is “Dignity For All in Practice”. Dignity is not only a fundamental right, but also constitutes the basis of all other fundamental rights.

“Inequalities of opportunities and income are sharply on the rise and, each year, the gap between the rich and poor gets even wider,” according to the United Nations information page on the event.

“Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. They are the result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and marginalised in our societies and violate their fundamental rights.”

The observance is intended to honour the millions of people suffering from poverty. It recognises “the essential global solidarity and shared responsibility we hold to eradicate poverty and combat all forms of discrimination”.

On Monday, 17 October, at 8.30am, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) held the first day of a “Provincial Hearing in Respect of Human Rights Violations Committed by Private Security, Police and Law Enforcement Against Land-insecure Individuals and Communities in the Western Cape”.

The hearing is looking at the systemic issue of the manner in which Saps, City of Cape Town Law Enforcement and Private Security Companies conduct themselves during evictions of unlawful occupiers and interactions with homeless persons.

The hearing is running from 8.30am to 5pm on the 17, 18 and 19 October.

For more information, contact the SAHRC acting Western Cape provincial manager, Matthew du Plessis, at mduplessis@sahrc.org.za or 061 585 1618.

On Monday at 12pm, African Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) hosted a webinar on “The NPA that we want”.

“Much of the media attention given to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is centred on high-level corruption investigations, especially linked to the Zondo Commission’s findings and recommendations. While this is important, it should also be asked what happens at ground-level in our courts where ordinary cases are heard on a daily basis,” according to the event description.

The webinar was based on a series of consultation workshops with stakeholders, commissioned by ACJR between June and July 2022, exploring descriptions of the NPA people want.

Speakers at the event included Professor Lukas Muntingh; Advocate Anton Du Plessis, deputy national director of public prosecutions for strategy, operations and compliance at the NPA; Dr Jean Redpath; and Advocate Rodney De Kock, deputy national director of public prosecutions in the National Prosecutions Service.

Register here.

On Tuesday, 18 October, at 10am, Jacana Media and Open Secrets are hosting a media briefing on the book, The Unaccountables.

Hennie van Vuuren, Michael Marchant and Ra’eesa Pather will be presenting key findings from the book, which is due to be released on 1 November.

“The Unaccountables skillfully profiles the large corporations and private individuals implicated in economic crime and not yet held accountable,” according to the event description. 

The event will be held at Mike’s Heritage House in Parktown, Johannesburg.

RSVP to rsvp@jacana.co.za.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

Also on Tuesday at 10am, the SAHRC in the Free State will be conducting a stakeholder engagement session with the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and Marena A Makholokoeng in Harrismith.

“The stakeholder engagement will be focusing on land and food security. South Africa has about 17 million individuals that are experiencing inadequate to severely inadequate access to land and food security,” according to the event description.

 “The stakeholder engagement calls for increased and better targeted public spending in social programmes, education and health services, and agricultural development programmes, as well as for a re-prioritisation of government procurement on food to create markets for community food production initiatives, particularly in rural towns such as Qwaqwa-Oppermansgronde and Thaba-Nchu.”

The event will take place at Tshiame B, Harrismith.

For more information, contact SAHRC Free State Provincial Office Manager, Thabang Kheswa, at 051 447 1130 or tkheswa@sahrc.org.za, or contact Lecholo Nkabiti at 081 349 7860.

On Tuesday at 11am, the Bench Marks Foundation will be holding its 2022 annual conference. The event will run until 19 October 2022.

The theme for the conference is “Mine closure: The burning issue of our time”. The event will take place at Holiday Inn Johannesburg Airport in Boksburg.

Register here.

On Wednesday, 19 October, at 8.30am, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute and the Rural Action for Climate Resilience project are hosting a Learning Festival at the Cape Town Lodge.

The event will see 62 community leaders, faith leaders and young people, coming from rural communities in Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, participating in a programme centred on informative engagements on policy and climate change, waste and water management and activist training. 

Participants will also embark on a field trip to Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) to learn about compost making.

For more information, contact Phatiswa Somdaka at phatiswa@safcei.com or 073 758 6978.

On Wednesday at 10am, the first day of Media Monitoring Africa’s Media Freedom Festival 2022 will kick off. The festival will run until Friday, 21 October.

The three-day event is “an opportunity for us to ponder, probe and interrogate some of the key media-related issues of the moment”, according to the event description. It is taking place at the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg.

For more information contact Nomshado Lubisi Nkosinkulu at nomshadol@mma.org.za or 011 788 1278.

Register here.

On Thursday at 10am, the Dullah Omar Institute, in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, is hosting a webinar titled, “Traditional leaders, municipalities and land use management: Who does what?”

“The intersection of the role of traditional leadership in land use allocation, and the role of municipalities in land use management gives rise to tensions,” according to the event description. “How do we ensure that these roles are performed in a manner that respects each institution’s authority with respect to land, and benefits the local community?”

The webinar explores this question. Speakers include Xavia Poswa, a doctoral candidate at the Dullah Omar Institute, and Chief Nkosi Tsika Minenkulu Joyi, head of the Bizana Traditional Council in the Eastern Cape Province.

Register here.

On Friday, 21 October, at 9am, there will be a day-long agroecology and permaculture workshop at the Wits Food Sovereignty Hub.

Attendees can expand their knowledge and skills in areas such as:

• Harvesting, seed saving and banking;
• Preparing beds, composting and mulching; and
• Planting.

The event will take place next to Wits Club, West Campus, at Wits University in Johannesburg.

For more information, email janecherrytree@gmail.com. DM/MC