Latest News

Featuring an Introduction by Director Raj Patel Surplus Radical Bookshop and The Institute for African Alternatives invite you to a screening of the recently released film ‘The Ants and the Grasshopper,’ directed by internationally renowned food policy expert, author, and social justice activist, Raj Patel and Zak Piper. The film…

Featuring an Introduction by Director Bobby Rodwell Surplus Radical Bookshop and The Institute for African Alternatives invite you to a screening of the film ‘Word Down the Line’ by Bobby Rodwell ‘Word Down The Line’ is a poetic reflection of South Africa’s journey to democracy, told through the voices of…

The United Democratic Front was launched on 20 August 1983 in Cape Town, Dr Sidney Luckett revisits its legacy.…

The Institute for African Alternatives and Surplus Radical Bookshop are pleased to invite you to a film screening of “Thomas Sankara: The Upright Man” by Robin Shuffield. This event forms part of our African Film Series in which we explore the life and times of important African revolutionaries and events…

Keynote speaker Yanis Varoufakis, renowned radical economist and former Greek Finance Minister, will speak on Africa in the Face of the new Cold War and the West’s new colonial escapades The annual Ben Turok Memorial Lecture marks the anniversary of the death of IFAA’s founder and former director, the struggle…

Venue: Bertha House, 67 & 69 Main Rd, Mowbray, Cape Town Date: 23rd November 2022 Time: 4.30 pm for 5 pm (Snacks and Drinks in Dining Area) RSVP to: https://cutt.ly/UMAaEPh Press Statement The “Niger Delta Command”, a work of fiction will be launched at Bertha House in Mowbray, Cape Town…

Unpacking the unfolding of the current social and political crisis in India…

Surplus Books, Inkani Books, The Tri-Continental Institute for Social Research, and The Institute for African Alternatives, invite you to the launch of the riveting new book by Christopher McMichael Shoot to Kill: Police and Power in South Africa.  From the slave-driver’s whip in the 18th century Cape Colony to the…

Urban farming is not a new phenomenon but it has proliferated rapidly in recent years. This has been driven by advances in technology and global challenges that include food insecurity, energy shortage, urban migration, poverty, unemployment and environmental degradation. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization urban farming is…

IFAA would like to congratulate our senior researcher, Dr Hibist Kassa, on the publication of her chapter ‘The Crisis of Social Reproduction in Petty Commodity Production and Large-scale Mining: A Southern Perspective on Gender Inequality’ in the new collection Inequality Studies from the Global South, Routledge (2020). For more information…

Thuli Madonsela, Founder and Chief Patron of Thuma Foundation and former Public Protector, shares her thoughts on South Africa’s inequality problem. It is an absolute honour to be invited to this important conference on Confronting Inequality. The dialogue on inequality is timely as inequality and poverty in our country and…

The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) notes that the student movement has rallied young people to come together to insist on inclusive, quality education for all. We offer the following points: The protest action on university campuses across the country expresses legitimate concerns and grievances. The issue of fee increases…

Below find Prof. Ben Turok’s letter to Business Day on 17 June 2015. ALLOW me to comment on Songezo Zibi’s latest column (Unembargoed, June 15). He takes a rather pessimistic view on the prospects of industrialisation in SA through building a “bigger heavy industrial sector … to fuel infrastructure”. The…

Prof. Ben Turok (Director) addressed Smuts Hall (UCT) on Thursday 23rd April. His notes are published below.  South Africa under apartheid was a partial democracy for white people and a dictatorship for Africans, Coloureds, and Indians. Our present system is referred to as a constitutional democracy or a parliamentary democracy…

Sir, The rise of xenophobia with violence is a disaster for South Africa’s aspirations in Africa. Many reasons have been advanced for this unexpected explosion and no doubt many socioeconomic factors are at play. But what stands out for me is the intense hatred for Africa’s immigrants and refugees as…