Most arguments in favour of freedom are positive: the correlation between freedom and human development goals is, generally speaking, pretty strong. But actually, the most powerful arguments in favour of freedom are negative: if you live in a place where freedom is limited and autocrats, your chances of ending up dead are pretty high. South Africa celebrated Freedom Day this week, and in this podcast, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss the famous – and famously cryptic – line in Kris Kristofferson's song Me and Bobby McGee, 'freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose'. And we conclude, actually, it isn't. Hosted by Mark Barnes & Tim Cohen Produced by Tevya Turok Shapiro Music & Design by Bernard Kotze Hosted by Mark Barnes & Tim Cohen Produced by Tevya Turok Shapiro Music & Design by Bernard Kotze
Most arguments in favour of freedom are positive: the correlation between freedom and human development goals is, generally speaking, pretty strong. But actually, the most powerful arguments in favour of freedom are negative: if you live in a place where freedom is limited and autocrats, your chances of ending up dead are pretty high. South Africa celebrated Freedom Day this week, and in this podcast, entrepreneur Mark Barnes and journalist Tim Cohen discuss the famous – and famously cryptic – line in Kris Kristofferson's song Me and Bobby McGee, 'freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose'. And we conclude, actually, it isn't.
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The South African
16-06-2025
- The South African
Here's why South Africa celebrates Youth Day
South Africans are currently enjoying a long weekend – and a Monday off from work – thanks to the Youth Day public holiday. Double bonus: That means a short work week ahead! Youth Day is the day on which South Africans honour the youth that were ambushed by the apartheid regime police in Soweto on 16 June 1976. On the day over 500 youths were killed. On the morning of 16 June 1976, thousands of black students went on a protest rally from their schools to Orlando Stadium. They were protesting against an official order which made Afrikaans compulsory in black township schools throughout the country. The use of local languages was prohibited in these schools whilst the constitution supported that Afrikaans and English be made the official languages of the country. The rally was meant to be a peaceful protest with the intentions to plea with government not to make Afrikaans compulsory in schools. However, things got out of control when the police were called in to disperse the crowds and riots broke out. Although the protests of 16 June 1976 resulted in a number of casualties, the youth of 1976 played a role in fighting and overcoming the inequality and oppression caused by apartheid. Following the advent of democracy in 1994, the new democratic government declared 16 June as National Youth Day and June as Youth Month. Although South Africans will enjoy fewer public holidays in 2025, there will be more long weekends this year than in 2024. Mzansi had 14 public holidays in 2024, but there will only be 13 days this year – and only 12 will be actual days off work. Of course, the fewer days off, the better for business in the country. Working South Africans will not get a day off to celebrate National Women's Day in 2025 because the public holiday falls on Saturday, 9 August. The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday , the Monday following it will also be a public holiday. However, for public holidays that fall on a Saturday , it's just a 'normal' weekend day. The exciting news is that there are FIVE long weekends in 2025. The first was thanks to Human Rights Day on Friday, 21 March which gave South Africans 21-23 March off. The second was the Easter weekend with a four-day 18-21 April break to enjoy your chocolate. The third was thanks to Freedom Day falling on Sunday, 27 April, meaning Monday, 28 April was a holiday – and another three-day weekend. As mentioned, Monday, 16 June (Youth Day) means another three-day long weekend, while the fifth and final long weekend in another four-day one with Christmas and the Day of Goodwill (Boxing Day) falling on a Thursday and Friday, respectively. Diarise the following public holidays in 2025 and plan your vacations accordingly! Wednesday, 1 January: New Year's Day Friday, 21 March: Human Rights Day Friday, 18 April: Good FridayMonday, 21 April: Family Day Sunday, 27 April: Freedom Day
The Citizen
13-06-2025
- The Citizen
SACR spends R159m celebrating commemorative days
SEDIBENG.- The Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation (SACR) has wasted over R159m celebrating commemorative days in the past eight years while the province struggles with a persistent unemployment crisis. This was revealed to Sedibeng Ster by the DA's Kingsol Chabalala, who added that lavish spending amid rising joblessness raises serious concerns about the provincial government's commitment to addressing pressing economic challenges faced by the people of Gauteng. In response to questions asked by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL), Gauteng MEC for SACR, Matome Chiloane, revealed that the money was spent entertaining citizens at events held to celebrate Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, Youth Day, Women's Day, Heritage Day and the Day of Reconciliation. 'Instead of spending copious amounts of money on food and busing people to events, it would have been more prudent to invest that money in creating sustainable jobs to benefit our residents both in the short and long term. There are numerous projects that this funding could support, which would improve the lives of our citizens and help reduce the current unemployment rate of 34.4%,' Chabalala said. Moreover, Chabalala said that these funds could have been better utilised to enhance sports facilities in schools and communities. 'This could include building multi-purpose courts for various sports and swimming pools in township areas. Additionally, investing in support for Gauteng athletes and individuals pursuing careers in the creative arts would be a more effective use of money than spending it on celebration. The DA has been advocating cost-effective ways of celebrating commemorative days in the Gauteng Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Portfolio Committee for the department. We will keep pushing for this through the committee to ensure the department stops wasting millions on these events while our people starve and our sports infrastructure crumbles.' At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
12-06-2025
- IOL News
Gauteng government spends R160 million on commemorative days amid rising unemployment
Commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Youth Day at Orlando Stadium, Soweto, in 2016. Image: GCIS The Gauteng provincial government has spent nearly R160 million on annual commemorative days in eight years ahead of the 49th anniversary of the June 16, 1976, Soweto uprisings on Monday. Gauteng Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC Matome Chiloane revealed that the provincial government has spent nearly R160 million since 2016 on commemorative days such as the upcoming Youth Day, Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, Women's Day, Heritage Day, and Day of Reconciliation. Over the past eight years (2016 – 2024), almost R21m has been spent on Youth Day, which is only lower than the Day of Reconciliation, commemorated on December 16, and has cost the provincial government just over R2.6m. Heritage Day, which is commemorated on September 24, has cost the most with R41.8m during this period, while Freedom Day celebrations on April 27 have been bankrolled with R34.8m. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ More than R33.5m and R25.6m have been spent on Women's Day (August 9) and Human Rights Day (March 21), respectively. Chiloane revealed details of the expenditure in response to DA member of the Gauteng legislature, Kingsol Chabalala. Chabalala stated that the Gauteng government has wasted millions of rand on commemorative days over the past eight years while the province struggles with a persistent unemployment crisis. 'This lavish spending amid rising joblessness raises serious concerns about the provincial government's commitment to addressing pressing economic challenges faced by the people of Gauteng,' he said. According to Chabalala, there are numerous projects that the funding could support, which would improve the lives of the province's citizens and help reduce the current unemployment rate of 34.4%. 'Instead of spending copious amounts of money on food and busing people to events, it would have been more prudent to invest that money in creating sustainable jobs to benefit our residents both in the short and long term,' he added. Chabalala continued: 'The DA has been advocating cost-effective ways of celebrating commemorative days in the Gauteng Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Portfolio Committee for the department. 'We will keep pushing for this through the committee to ensure the department stops wasting millions on these events while our people starve and our sports infrastructure crumbles.' He said the funds could have been better utilised to enhance sports facilities in schools and communities, including building multi-purpose courts for various sports and swimming pools in township areas. 'Investing in support for Gauteng athletes and individuals pursuing careers in the creative arts would be a more effective use of money than spending it on celebrations,' Chabalala suggested. On Monday, the provincial government will commemorate Youth Day with an 'Inspiring Youth Expo' at the Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto to expose young people to meaningful opportunities as well as a wreath laying at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando West.
