Summary

This book is about the life and times of Sam Tambani. Sam embodied many attributes – a Community Leader, a Political Activist, and a Trade Unionist. The book traces his life from humble beginnings in Tshiozwi Ha-Sinthumule in Venda, to Soweto where he was killed in 1993 leading a peaceful march against the murder of Chris Hani. 

In his short life, Sam worked and interacted with many South African post-apartheid leaders. It is very plausible that if he was still alive, he would be occupying a senior leadership position in the country. 

Sam’s story is a humble reminder of the many South Africans that fought for the emancipation of black people and the demise of the apartheid system but never came to enjoy the benefits of their efforts. The story of such people needs to be told often and never forgotten. 

Executive Summary

The South African government took deliberate steps to encourage women’ participation in the economy by gazetting a number of progressive policies and legislation to address the challenges faced by women in the workplace. The extent to which these initiatives have been successful in the mining, energy and the construction sectors of the country has not been systematically tracked and documented. Against this background, this study set out to find the challenges, and ascertain the extent of their existence across the mining, energy, and construction sectors of the South African economy. It was envisaged that the research findings would be useful in guiding future interventions aimed at increasing women participation in the formal economy in the three sectors, and in the national economy at large.