Activists have accused government officials of turning a blind eye to a pattern of environmental violations at the Tormin dune mine on the West Coast – including a “catastrophic” cliff collapse – after state departments failed to act on a string of letters, objections and a formal appeal.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 11 December 2015
Police cases against three Tormin mine managers, one of whom was accused of driving into and knocking over a mineworker during a strike, have all been withdrawn.
Barbara Maregele
Feature | 11 December 2015
After four nights sleeping in the open, families in Military Heights informal settlement near Lavender Hill have started rebuilding the homes destroyed by a fire last weekend. Some were robbed by gangsters as they tried to salvage their belongings after the fire.
Siyavuya Khaya
Brief | 10 December 2015
The plight of the De Waal Drive families threatened with removal by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements struck a chord with many Capetonians. But the same process is happening, away from public scrutiny, in other parts of the city, writes Daneel Knoetze of Ndifuna Ukwazi.
Analysis | 10 December 2015
The City of Cape Town is negotiating with a private owner to buy land in Klipheuwel and install services for families living in the informal settlement.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 10 December 2015
Mercia Kleinsmith has been the councillor of Ward 9, or Bellville South, since 2009. She won a by-election following the death of her husband Glen, the day after the DA won the province in April that year. Glen had been hailed in the press as the city’s “leading drugbuster”.
Steve Kretzmann
Feature | 9 December 2015
Seven years after building started, Butterworth’s R9 million swimming pool is still not finished.
News | 9 December 2015
After years of complaining about water, electricity, sanitation, and roads, residents of KwaMsane in KwaZulu Natal say they got the attention of the authorities after their protest last month.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 9 December 2015
The National Rural Youth Service Corps (Narysec), set up to train unemployed young people in rural areas, seems to be in disarray in the Eastern Cape, where some students have given up hope of graduating while others say they have been given certificates for courses they did not complete.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik and GroundUp staff
Feature | 8 December 2015
About a hundred municipality workers on temporary contracts for the Msunduzi municipality, which includes Pietermaritzburg, downed their tools and protested outside the KaMagwayi depo yesterday. They are demanding permanent positions.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 8 December 2015
Residents of Endlovini — who protested three weeks ago at what they described as the empty promises of ward councillor Anele Gabuza and the City of Cape Town — might have their demands met.
Siyavuya Khaya
Brief | 7 December 2015
The American writer and humourist Mark Twain once wrote, following an erroneous report of his death, that it was an exaggeration. The same can be said about Cosatu.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 7 December 2015
The City of Cape Town will, from 10 December until Christmas Eve, step up safety checks on buses departing to the Eastern Cape. But some bus drivers are annoyed by the inconvenience this causes at the busiest time of the year.
Siyavuya Khaya and GroundUp staff
News | 7 December 2015
Khayelitsha residents took to the streets on Friday as part of a Social Justice Coalition (SJC) campaign to mark the 16 days of protest against violence against women and children.
Siyavuya Khaya
Brief | 7 December 2015
Here are two aerial photographs of Masiphumelele's Section D and Section E informal settlements. The first was taken before Sunday morning's fire, and the second was taken after.
GroundUp staff
News | 4 December 2015
It may not seem like much to others, but the money she makes from selling food to waste pickers at the New England Road dumpsite in Pietermaritzburg has allowed 45-year-old Gugu Yengwa to pay for her son’s education at the University of KwaZulu Natal.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 4 December 2015
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