Press Announcement from GroundWork, South Africa

* Release of a new series of publications on sustainable development
* Announcement of agenda for the Corporate Accountability Week

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, August 16, 2002 – In time for this month’s World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), environmental justice and human rights NGO groundWork today launches a series of five booklets entitled South African People and Environments in the Global Market. This series of booklets report from several ‘fronts’ of the struggle we call development.

These booklets cover such controversial topics as: South Africa’s approach to development in relation to the global order; the corporate push for self regulation by industries; the debate of free basic services versus privatisation of such services; genetic engineering; and the contribution of the petrochemical industries to global warming. They include interesting case studies which highlight abuses by multi-nationals such as Sasol and Shell, and the South African government’s lack of will and institutional capacity to deal with corporate abuse.

The booklets can be downloaded from groundWork’s website or ordered free of charged from the groundWork office. groundWork will be distributing 40 000 of these booklets during the next few weeks of activities surrounding the WSSD.

Today, we also release the full agenda for the Corporate Accountability Week taking place from the 20th – 23rd August in Sandton. Highlights of this week include:

• The Green Oscars Award Ceremony
• An opening address by international environmental lawyer Richard Meeran
• An evening with 20 past winners of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, and an address by Owens Wiwa, the brother of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa
• Presentations by community leaders from South Africa and other countries on their experiences of environmental injustices at the hands of multi-national corporations
• A press briefing to launch a new international campaign for corporate accountability

MORE INFORMATION:
groundWork office
(033-342 5662)
or the following cell numbers:
Bobby Peek 082 464 1383
Linda Ambler 083 750 7560

groundWork
191c Burger Street, Pietermaritzburg 3201, KwaZulu-Natal.
Box 2375, Pietermaritzburg. 3200. South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)33 342 5662 Fax: +27 (0)33 342 5665
Email: team(at)groundwork.org.za
Website: www.groundwork.org.za