The Argus Report
Alex Welte is Research Professor at, and the former Director of the South African (National Government) Department of Science and Innovation – National Research Foundation (DSI-NRF) Centre of Excellence for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (aka SACEMA), at Stellenbosch University.
SACSIS is the brainchild of Fazila Farouk. She qualified with a M.Sc. in development planning from the University of Natal in 1996 and has worked in civil society ever since. Fazila has also completed a Ph.D-level course in social theory at Wits University's School of Public and Development Management, which she passed with distinction.
Fazila's experience includes research, policy advocacy and new media. She has written extensively about civil society and development in South Africa.
Dr Femke Brandt is a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her research is about power relations in the commercial farming landscape, experiences of farm workers and land reform in the Chris Hani District of the Eastern Cape.
Steven Friedman is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg.
He is a political scientist who has specialized in the study of democracy. During the 1980s, he produced a series of studies of reform apartheid and its implications for a democratic future. He researched and wrote widely on the South African transition to democracy both before and after the elections of 1994 and has, over the past decade, largely written on the relationship between democracy on the one hand, social inequality and economic growth on the other. In particular, he has stressed the role of citizen voice in strengthening democracy and promoting equality.
Glenn is a multidisciplinarian with a background in geography. Besides being a published author, he also edited "A Patented World? The Privatisation of Life and Knowledge," published by Jacana in South Africa. He currently is on the editorial board of the SA Journal of Natural Medicine.
Additionally, Glenn has written many commentaries and analyses of wide ranging issues including waste management, water use, food security, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, health, agricultural fuels, marine resources, climate and many other environmental and socially relevant issues.
He has also presented many papers and talks to a wide range of audiences. He specialises in communicating complex scientific issues in an accessible manner. He is a freelance writer and researcher.
Dr Dale T McKinley is an independent writer, researcher and lecturer as well as political activist. Originally from Zimbabwe, Dale has lived and worked in Johannesburg since 1990. He ran/managed a socialist bookshop from 1991 to 1994 and was a full time activist/educationist with the South African Communist Party from 1995 until 2000 (before being expelled for trying to be a communist.)
Dale was a co-founder and executive member of the Anti-Privatisation Forum and remains active in social movement/community struggles. He holds a PhD in political economy/African studies. Dale occasionally lectures at university level, gives regular talks to a wide variety of organisations and has produced numerous research reports and analyses for a range of NGOs, academic institutes and other civil society organisations. He is the author three books and has written extensively on South African and international political economy, socio-economic rights/struggles and liberation movement and community politics.
Moyo is an Advocacy and Campaigns Officer with the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII). SPII is part of a network of civil society organisations promoting the realisation of the right to food in South Africa.
Saliem Fakir is currently active in the sustainable energy field and works for the World Wide Fund for Nature. Saliem has served on a number of boards, and is also on the advisory board of Inspired Evolution One, a private fund involved in clean technology. He has a B.Sc Honours in molecular biology (WITS), a Masters in Environmental Science, Wye College London, and he completed a senior executive management course at Harvard University. He is an independent writer and columnist for SACSIS, based in Cape Town.
Anna Majavu is a writer concentrating on the rights of workers, oppressed people, the environment, anti-militarism and what makes a better world. She worked for the Sowetan from 2008 until 2011 when she moved to New Zealand.
