“I loved my job,” says man dismissed by Independent Media

Bongani Peterson Fani says he only knows one thing that he does very well and that is delivering newspapers. Now that he is suddenly out of a job, he doesn't know where to begin looking for work.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 24 February 2015

Metrorail detains customers without tickets. Is it legal?

Metrorail security guards have been holding passengers found without tickets. For example, on Steenberg station, commuters are ushered into a cage on the platform and told they will be held until they pay.

GroundUp Staff

News | 23 February 2015

Making music stars at Mzoli’s

Out of 50 performers, 15 managed to sail through the first stage of ‘Make you a star’ music auditions held at Mzolis, Gugulethu.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 23 February 2015

Dibana neqembu le-rap yesiXhosa yakwaLanga naseLwandle

Sandisile 'Skillz' Ntleki noSilindokuhle 'Slie' Baka benza iqembu le-rap ebizwa Xhosa Tribe. Lamachule engoma wakwaLanga naseLwandle ngentlonipho nabo banomhluzi womelana no-iFani, bangenza kwano Khuli Chana atsho ukubila.

Zethu Gqola

News | 23 February 2015

A R12,500 spectre, cool heads and wage talks

Although there is speculation that the spectre of the R12,500 a month minimum wage demand is stalking the gold mines, no mandates have yet been received by the unions involved. This pay demand came to prominence at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in August 2012. It has now developed something of an iconic status among mine workers.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 23 February 2015

Flemix advocate: poor should be free to make bad deals

The group of consumers who are hoping to have their emolument attachment orders (EAO) declared invalid had the freedom to choose and “to make a bad deal,” Advocate Piet Louw SC told the court on Thursday.

Barbara Maregele

News | 20 February 2015

City of Cape Town: Unauthorised extensions to homes hamper housing delivery

The City of Cape Town has policies in place, not to make it more difficult for our residents to live dignified lives, but to ensure that land use and housing delivery is equitable. The undeniable fact is, there is limited land available. And there are many people coming into our city for a better life. So, we have to be as fair as we can.

Priya Reddy

Opinion | 20 February 2015

Farm workers still fighting for dignity and their rights in the Western Cape

All kinds of nice things are being said and promises are once again being made by all the political parties around the State of the Nation speech and debate in parliament, writes Henriette Abrahams. But the reality on the ground for farm workers is very different.

Henriette Abrahams

Opinion | 20 February 2015

School governing bodies have vital role to play

Zonnebloem Boys is a primary school in District 6 in Cape Town. In March, along with all South African public schools, it will hold elections to decide who will represent its parents, teachers and learners on the School Governing Body (SGB). Much is at stake in these elections: SGBs have the potential to ensure that quality education is distributed more equally across our population.

Frances Eberhard

Opinion | 20 February 2015

Somali businessmen share their acumen with locals

Abdikadir Mohamed, the Western Cape Chairman of the Somali Association South Africa (SASA), responded to South African business people who accuse Somali owned businesses of questionable practices at a business skills sharing workshop held at Vuyiseka Secondary School in Philippi this week.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 20 February 2015

Take back parliament for the people, declares R2K

Members and supporters of the Right2Know campaign rallied in the Cape Town CBD yesterday and vowed to take back Parliament for the South African public. This was in response to events at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) which had a "profoundly negative impact on our democracy" according to the organisation.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 20 February 2015

Raising funds to bring basketball back to Gugulethu

The basketball courts at Gugulethu Sports Complex were busy on the weekend when basketball teams from around Cape Town took each other on to raise funds for Gugs Hustlers.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 20 February 2015

ANC calls for “deregistration of TAC”

The ANC Youth League Free State has called for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) to be deregistered. This follows TAC's "Fire Benny" campaign, which calls for the dismissal of the province's Health MEC Benny Malakoane.

Nathan Geffen and GroundUp Staff

News | 19 February 2015

Commuters must organise to improve Metrorail

The Metrorail website claims that it carries up to two million passengers per day countrywide. Finding a reliable estimate of how many people commute daily using trains in the Western Cape is challenging. Estimates range from 300,000 to over 700,000. Whatever the number, a lot of people, mostly working class, depend on trains to get to and from work.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 19 February 2015

Delays, faults and failures: what is to be done about Metrorail?

Persistent train delays cause constant problems for Metrorail commuters. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which owns Metrorail, plans to fix South Africa’s ageing and poorly maintained rail infrastructure.

Kevin Elliott

News | 19 February 2015

Shack demolished because of an unauthorised extension - says family

A family of six say they were left scrambling for material to rebuild their shack after it was demolished on Wednesday morning.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 19 February 2015