GroundUp Newsletter 14 March 2014: Former gang member calls for the army to pacify the Cape Flats “civil war†and other stories

Featured Stories

Landmark eviction judgment in Cape High Court

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) was meant to be a clear break with the many pieces of legislation the apartheid regime used to legalise the forced removal of black people from their land.

Zenande Booi

Government slams HRC water report - and lawyer slams government

On Tuesday 11 March, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) officially launched their 2014 report on water and sanitation. But the Department of Water Affairs has called the report \xe2\x80\x9coutdated, baseless and misleading\xe2\x80\x9d.

Martha Sithole and Jacques van Heerden

Former gang member calls for the army to pacify the Cape Flats \xe2\x80\x9ccivil war\xe2\x80\x9d

Former gang member Mervin Lewis says what is happening in Mitchells Plain, Manenberg, Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu is not a gang fight, but a low intensity civil war.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News

They came for Malema

At a rally in Mfuleni on Thursday 13 March, residents booed local leaders of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). They said they had been promised EFF leader Julius Malema would address them.

Pharie Sefali

Manenberg gets bullet-proof schools

Gang violence in Manenberg is not decreasing, despite efforts from schools, government departments, and community organisations.

Fergus Turner

Immigrants apparently unaware of new laws as government tightens up on permits

Immigrants in Cape Town might lose their livelihoods if the new regulations to the 2011 Immigration Amendment Act published in the Government Gazette on 14 February 2014 comes into effect.

Tariro Washinyira

My grandchild can\xe2\x80\x99t read or write

A pensioner who only had two years of schooling taught himself to read and write, while his grandson, who has reached grade 9, can\xe2\x80\x99t read.

Selby Nomnganga

Passengers claim that Golden Arrow buses are not safe

One night in February on her way home from work, Bulelwa Thoza was stabbed and robbed inside a Golden Arrow bus by an unidentified gang member.

Pharie Sefali

Protest at Cape Town Pride

Not everyone in Cape Town celebrated Gay Pride in the same spirit.

Pharie Sefali

Activist Beat

The week in political activism

This week we cover the campaign to fix our patent laws, concern over changes to the new Public Administration Bill that may make it easier for corrupt officials, and the Israeli Apartheid week.

Brent Meersman

Opinion

Are sugar daddies bad for your health?

\xe2\x80\x9cSugar daddies destroy lives\xe2\x80\x9d say billboard adverts in Kwazulu-Natal in big bold black and red letters. The same message is echoed in radio adverts played across the country.

Nathan Geffen

Cry the beloved Congo

Mpho Mabhena writes about her distressing experience of the plight of women in the Congo.

Mpho Mabhena

Marikana: a wake-up call

Four days after the bloodletting that has become known as the Marikana massacre, my Inside Labour column supported the call for a comprehensive and independent inquiry. And it noted, reflecting a widespread view within the labour movement: \xe2\x80\x9cThe Lonmin tragedy is a wake-up call that South Africa will ignore at its peril.\xe2\x80\x9d Now, 19 months later and with the strike on the platinum belt having gone on for nearly two months, that warning seems even more appropriate. Below is an updated commentary that first appeared on the first anniversary of Marikana.

Terry Bell

Book Review

Rumours: an extract from Mongane Wally Serote's latest novel

Prolific and acclaimed South African poet and writer Mongane Wally Serote, one of only two African writers (the other being Leopold Sedar Senghor) to be honoured with the Golden Wreath Award for a lifetime achievement in poetry, focuses his attention on 21st century South Africa in his latest novel, Rumours.

Mongane Wally Serote

Music

How to succeed in the music business

In a business as tough as the entertainment industry, artist management can be crucial, but the role and importance of an artist manager is often misunderstood.

Dumisani Dabidini

Childish Gambino \xe2\x80\x93 Because the Internet

As Donald Glover delivers his second studio album, although not the most exquisite, it definitely shows the comedian-meets-rapper growing mic skills.

Zethu Gqola

Connecting youth through music

Kinky Disco brought together youth from in and around Cape Town and hosted a one-of-a-kind electronic dance music party in Langa Township.

Zethu Gqola

Kwaito duo Ruffest keep innovating

Starting off in 2004 as Kasi Vibes, kwaito duo Sello Mangwana (29) and Andile \xe2\x80\x9cMax\xe2\x80\x9d Stemela (31) reinvented themselves as Ruffest in 2007. It was the beginning of the rise of two musicians from Nyanga.

Dumisane Dabadini

The Khoi blues: Interview with Colin Meyer

\xe2\x80\x9cI am not a Coloured, I am Khoi,\xe2\x80\x9d says Colin Meyer. \xe2\x80\x9cThe apartheid era imposed the identity of being Coloured on us, but that is an invention.\xe2\x80\x9d

Fergus Turner

Sport

South Africans \xe2\x80\x9cthrash\xe2\x80\x9d Germans at ice hockey in Goodwood

The first of two games between the Western Province Senior Men\xe2\x80\x99s Ice Hockey team and the visiting Germany SCALA Wanderers got off to a great start for the hosts.

Siyabonga Kalipa

Cartoon

Photo Op

Roberto Millan