Shack fire in Zola Square

Zola Square in Site C, Khayelitsha, was the site of yet another shack fire yesterday.

Photos by Masixole Feni. Text by Kevin Elliott.

Brief | 28 January 2015

City’s young soccer stars compete in Rocklands

Bayhill United Legacy Grounds in Rocklands was abuzz at the weekend as teams from across Cape Town competed in the play-offs of the 2015 U19 Metropolitan Premier Cup, also known as the Bayhill Cup.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 28 January 2015

Kimberley’s desperate miners: where the formal and informal sectors clash

Hundreds of unemployed Kimberley residents have turned to digging deserted mine dumps to earn a living.

Douglas Mthukwane

News | 27 January 2015

Draft drone rules silent on privacy and weapon concerns

Draft regulations for drone usage in South Africa do not have safeguards against the use of the devices by the state as weapons or to invade people’s privacy, activists have warned. But the sub-committee in charge of compiling the regulations has said Constitutional rights will not be violated.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 27 January 2015

Delays with Home Affairs permits: Zimbabweans sent away from work

Three Zimbabwean men whose permits are pending have been told to leave their jobs at Touareg Tents in Capricorn Business Park and return only when they can prove they are legally in the country.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 27 January 2015

Educational technology has huge potential: a response to Nikki Stein

Last week Nikki Stein from SECTION27 expressed reservations about the piloting of paperless classrooms at seven township schools in Gauteng. MEC for Education in the province, Panyaza Lesufi, responds here.

Panyaza Lesufi

Opinion | 27 January 2015

Where the wealthiest ‘wine, dine, bribe and bully’

The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) extravaganza got underway last week as 700 private jets whizzed into the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos. This is a gathering where the heads of immensely rich corporations wine, dine, bribe and bully various power brokers and wannabe tycoons to do their bidding and to adopt policies that suit the corporate world.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 26 January 2015

City to improve toilet cleaning facility

This is a response by Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, to GroundUp's article "Is this the Dirtiest Job in Cape Town?" published on 21 January.

Ernest Sonnenberg

Opinion | 23 January 2015

TB activist to hear again

With only days to go before the deadline, activists from TB Proof have raised the R230,000 needed for Phumeza Tisile to have cochlear implants. The operation will give Tisile, a tuberculosis patient turned activist, the opportunity to hear again.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 23 January 2015

Pumping iron in Alexandra

Setting up a public gym can be an expensive business, but chance and hard work conspired to create two bustling fitness outlets in Alexandra near Sandton. And these gyms are not just about looking good: a big part of iKasi Gym’s focus is building strength of character.

Jon Pienaar

Feature | 23 January 2015

So you want a fake medical certificate? Meet Mancane and co.

Hung over and want to stay in bed? Missed a deadline for a university assignment? Mancane and his colleagues in Katlehong may be able to help you.

Pharie Sefali

News | 23 January 2015

Call for youth subsidy to be scrapped

Labour and education rights groups have called for the immediate scrapping of the youth wage subsidy following the release of UCT research on its effectiveness.

Barbara Maregele

News | 22 January 2015

What scares Khayelitsha’s budding cycling team?

Snethemba Vaphi (22) can't hide his excitement about being a cyclist. He wants to compete internationally.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 22 January 2015

Organisation provides hope and skills to thousands of kids

At 22 years of age, Brightness Khumalo, has found a job that she describes as hard but which she clearly finds rewarding.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Brief | 22 January 2015

Sports complex trashed after security withdrawn

Mfuleni’s sports complex was vandalised and looted over the festive season. A community leader, who is lobbying for the trashed buildings to be renovated, has blamed the City of Cape Town for cancelling a contract with a security company to protect the grounds.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 22 January 2015

Constitutional rights apply to sex workers too

A year ago, some boys in my street came home late at night with a sex worker. They refused to pay her.

Abigail McDougall

Opinion | 22 January 2015