Category Archives: Percy Ngonyama

Hamba kahle Comrade Percy Ngonyama

New Frame

by Derek Buchler

Percy Ngonyama died on the afternoon of 19 February at the King Edward Hospital in Durban. Ngonyama, known to his close friends as Boysie, was born in Clermont on 31 January 1977. He matriculated from Westville Boys’ High School in 1994.

After school, he studied for a bachelor of arts degree at the then University of Natal, Durban, majoring in history and politics. His initial activist commitments were concerned with the prison system and, as an undergraduate student, he worked with the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights. Continue reading →

Soccer & Society: The 2010 FIFA World Cup: critical voices from below

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The 2010 FIFA World Cup: critical voices from below

This essay presents a different perspective of the 2010 World Cup: that of critical voices which include social movements, labour formations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and ‘left’-leaning individuals. Drawing on interviews with activists, written documents, conventional and alternative media, the essay argues that criticism of the event falls within two categories. First, the tournament will not benefit the poor and the disadvantaged. On the contrary, given developments on the ground, the opposite is more likely to happen. Second, the expenditure of billions of rands on the ‘elitist’ World Cup constitutes a misdirection of resources needed to meet a wide range of pressing social needs. These ‘voices from below’ also raise important questions pertaining to the projected economic spin-offs and the alleged ‘development’ and ‘anti poverty’ component of 2010. A number of community-based activities addressing the impact of World Cup preparations on the urban working class are given attention.

Click here to read this paper in pdf.