GroundUp Newsletter 13 February 2014: Red tape blocks Khayelitsha small businesses and other stories

Featured Story

Red tape blocks Khayelitsha small businesses

Entrepreneurs from two successful businesses in Khayelitsha are frustrated with the red tape that is blocking their businesses from growing.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News

Rights organisations contest reasons for Home Affairs directive

Director General of Home Affairs, Mkuseli Apleni, has given reasons why no new asylum seekers will be accepted at the Refugee Reception Office (RRO) in Cape Town.

Tariro Washinyira and GroundUp staff

Are SAPS top brass shifting blame to station commanders?

Colonel Michael Reitz, station commander of Lingelethu West, one of Khayelitsha\xe2\x80\x99s three police stations took the stand at the inquiry into policing yesterday. He was the first witness for SAPS to give testimony.

Adam Armstrong

Choir group in Langa reduces unemployment

Ezethu (\xe2\x80\x9cOurs\xe2\x80\x9d) is an indigenous choir ensemble that preserves and promotes Xhosa culture by celebrating traditional music. Its members, who come from Gugulethu and Langa, bring ceremonial music to younger generations.

Nika Soon-Shiong

Achmat calls for ceremony for police to apologise

The police should hold a formal ceremony to apologise to some of the victims of poor policing in Khayelitsha, Zackie Achmat has suggested.

Adam Armstrong

City project, VPUU, criticises SAPS

The SA Police Service is one of the least approachable of the partners working with the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) service in Khayelitsha, the commission into Khayelitsha policing heard this week.

Adam Armstrong

Gugs dance school gives children self-worth

Self-discipline and self-worth: Zama Dance school instils these much-needed values in children in Gugulethu.

Tariro Washinyira

Khayelitsha gangs can get worse warns researcher

Dr Kelly Gillespie, a social anthropology researcher based at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), warned the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry into policing that the township\xe2\x80\x99s gangs can change into something worse.

Adam Armstrong

Retired police officers slam Khayelitsha station management

Detectives at Khayelitsha police stations are expected to deal with far too many cases at a time, two retired police officers have told the Khayelitsha commission of inquiry.

Adam Armstrong

We should write for our readers, not the owner \xe2\x80\x93 an interview with Ann Crotty

Seasoned financial journalist Ann Crotty has resigned from the Independent Group\xe2\x80\x99s financial daily, the Business Report , after 18 years at the paper. Crotty, the author of award-winning work on executive pay and other issues, spoke to GroundUp about her resignation from Business Report, her views on editorial independence and media ownership.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

Communities speak out against destructive mining practices

Edna Kusena (42) lives in the diamond-rich area of Chiadzwa in Zimbabwe, where the Marange diamond fields are spread over some 570 square kilometers. Three years ago, Edna and 4,300 families were relocated to an area on the outskirts of Chiadzwa.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

Cartoon

State of the Nation

Roberto Millan

Book extract

Running and other stories: an extract from Makhosazana Xaba\xe2\x80\x99s collection

Makhosazana Xaba\xe2\x80\x99s poetry has been translated into Mandarin and Italian and published in China and Italy. Her first critically acclaimed story, Running, won the Deon Hofmeyr Award for Creative Writing in 2005.

Makhosazana Xaba

Activist Beat

The week in political activism

This week we have reports on COSATU's allegations against Sun City, an Equal Education seminar on Marikana and a new digital application from Corruption Watch.

Compiled by Brent Meersman