NGOs

Civil society group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), is standing by its report that the cost of upgrading Gauteng freeways was grossly overpriced at R17 billion.

This comes after the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) accused OUTA of misleading the public in a position paper that said the money spent on upgrading Gauteng freeways was inflated at the expense of taxpayers.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says that letters of final demand have been sent to Gauteng motorists who have boycotted paying their e-toll fees.

The anti-toll body says it was informed that road agency SANRAL has started serving people with letters demanding payment.

The stresses that, “We would like to highlight that letters of final demand should not be confused with a summons, as it is a low commitment step that does not officially initiate legal proceedings.”

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says that letters of final demand have been sent to Gauteng motorists who have boycotted paying their e-toll fees.

The anti-toll body says it was informed that road agency SANRAL has started serving people with letters demanding payment.

The stresses that, “We would like to highlight that letters of final demand should not be confused with a summons, as it is a low commitment step that does not officially initiate legal proceedings.”

Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all, says the number of people who have been put on death penalty has increased.

The organisation’s Muleya Mwananyanga states that there is no evidence suggests that death penalty decreases the rate of crime in the world.
Amnesty International has just released a report indicating that they number of people killed through death penalty rulings has increased.

The report found that at least 1 634 executions were recorded around the world, in 2015 alone.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed a controversial bill that seeks to regulate non-governmental organisations in his country.

Adrian Jjuuko, a Ugandan human rights lawyer, wrote on his Twitter page last month that Museveni signed the Non-Governmental Organisations Act of 2015 on 30 January 2016.

In a similar vein, Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a Ugandan lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender advocacy group, warned that, “This law will make my work very difficult and outlaw the organisation I work for.

The Malawi Government has hit back at critics of its decision to arrest parents of street kids in the country.

The exercise was expected to start next month but did not go well with some civil society organisations who suggested that government should stop the process.

The organisations are lobbying that government should provide a tangible solution to the matter rather than arresting the beggars since poverty forces them to stay in the streets.

A damning report has warned that free-market consultants in Britain are taking hundreds of millions of pounds ring-fenced to alleviate poverty in the developing world, as the government continues with its agenda of privatising aid.

Conducted by British non-governmental organisation, Global Justice Now (GJN), the study raises grave concerns over the sheer amount of aid money the Department for International Development (DfID) has given to consultants Adam Smith International (ASI) for overseas aid projects.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) is challenging the allocation of police human resources in the Western Cape and nationally,
saying there is not an equitable distribution in terms of black and poor neighbourhoods.

In a press statement, the LRC says it has filed an application in the Equality Court against the minister of police, national police commissioner, Western Cape provincial commissioner and the minister for community safety in the Western Cape.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), backed by academia, social justice advocates and the arts play an important role in upholding the ideals of human rights in South Africa and on the continent.

As the country commemorates Human Rights Day on 21 March, access to justice remains an important theme for human rights NGOs and all efforts are directed towards helping individuals and groups from poor communities.