Weekly newsletter 16 - 20 June 2014: Protests at State of the Nation address and other stories

Featured Stories

Metrorail strike looms

Thousands of Western Cape Metrorail commuters could be left stranded following an announcement of a strike pending by the Congress of South African Trade Unions.

Johnnie Isaac

Protests at State of the Nation address

News: Over 50 protesters huddled behind barricades outside parliament last night before President Jacob Zuma arrived to deliver the State of the Nation address that opened South Africa\xe2\x80\x99s fifth parliament.

Lara Sokoloff

Farm workers claim right to strike

News: Robertson fruit farm workers have taken their employer to Labour Court this week to fight for their right to strike and to get their jobs back after being dismissed more than a year ago.

Yazeed Kamaldien

Angy Peter defence say it is a \xe2\x80\x9cpolitical case\xe2\x80\x9d

News: Angy Peter continued giving evidence in her defence as the trial continued on 19 June. She told the court that after she was arrested for the murder and kidnapping of Rowan Du Preez in October 2012, she was arrested three more times on other murder and kidnapping charges. None of these charges were ever brought to trial.

Lara Sokoloff

Angy Peter application to have case thrown out unsuccessful

News: Advocate William King for the defence applied under Section 174 of the Criminal Justice Act to have the case against Angie Peter quashed. The section allows for a case to be discharged if after the prosecution has outlined its case, there is a lack of evidence. But on 18 June the application was dismissed.

Adam Armstrong

Family of 13-year-old take legal steps to compel SAPS

News: The Makalakata family is concerned that a month after the death of their daughter, Tariro, they have not received the post-mortem results and there is no progress on the case.

Tariro Washinyira

Zimbabwean man sues SAPS

News: A 39-year-old Zimbabwean man, Samson Chifamba, is suing the South African Police Service (SAPS) for R300,000 in damages after an assault at his house at Asanda Village in Strand in January.

Tariro Washinyira

My brother was my best friend, says sister of slain Ceres man

News: Though it had taken her years to accept that he was gay, her brother had become her best friend, the sister of murdered Ceres 21-year-old David Olyn said last week.

Pharie Sefali

Pastor accused of rape granted bail

News: The Khayelitsha pastor accused of rape has been granted bail at the Khayelitsha Magistrate's Court.

Johnnie Isaac

Bail for pastor accused of rape to be decided tomorrow

News: Themba Mathibela will learn tomorrow if he has been granted bail. The Khayelitsha pastor is charged with rape.

Johnnie Isaac

Environment

Mining town residents voice health concerns

News: Polluted water, shattered windows and cracked walls were among the concerns voiced by Middelburg residents during a workshop hosted by the Centre for Environmental Rights on 18 June.

Barbara Maregele

The environmental legacy of mining on the Mpumalanga Highveld

Photo story: The pungent smell of burning coal as one flies over mining plants and power stations in close proximity to each other on the Mpumalanga Highveld area is testimony to the dangerous effects these industries have had on the people who live in nearby communities. Click any photo to start a slideshow.

Barbara Maregele

Reports

MyCiTi bus soon for Khayelitsha - Mitchell\xe2\x80\x99s Plain

News: After a six-month delay, the first MyCiTi buses serving Khayelitsha and Mitchell\xe2\x80\x99s Plain are scheduled to set out for the Cape Town Civic Centre at 5:30am on July 5. This will launch stage one of the N2 Express Line.

Joy Shan

Plan to extend unemployment payouts

News: More than 8.5 million people are receiving payments from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. If a bill before parliament\xe2\x80\x99s labour committee is passed, benefits could be extended to a year.

GroundUp Staff

Another winter after 22 years waiting for a house

News: \xe2\x80\x9cI doubt that I will get my house while I am still alive\xe2\x80\x9d, says wheelchair-bound Mbuyiselo Vena who has been on a waiting list for a house since 1992. But the City of Cape Town says Vena no longer wants his house built via the Iqhayiyalethu project, and that he needs to join a different housing project.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Khayelitsha Film Festival a \xe2\x80\x9cgreat basis to grow from\xe2\x80\x9d

News: The second day of the first Khayelitsha film festival at the Khayelitsha\xe2\x80\x99s Hubspace, fragrant with freshly popped corn, was attended by members of MOSAIC, Equal Education, Treatment Action Campaign, and Social Justice Coalition.

Katy Osborn

Nyanga gangster puts the blame on his family

Interview: \xe2\x80\x9cI was not born a gangster, but I will die one. This is not a choice, but it\xe2\x80\x99s because of my circumstances. I want to change, but I can\xe2\x80\x99t. I do not know what to change to and how,\xe2\x80\x9d says gangster.

Pharie Sefali

Opinion

How we\xe2\x80\x99re fixing the health worker shortage in rural hospitals

Opinion: Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF) is a non-profit organisation with a simple mission: address the shortage of qualified healthcare staff in rural hospitals. Why? To improve healthcare delivery to these underserved communities.

Jen Strydom

Minister Ramathlodi: more of the same, or the same, just more?

Opinion: In the mining villages of Ga-Pila where Anglo Platinum continues to profit from land grabbed from the traditional communities just west of Mokopane, the appointment of the new Minister of Mineral Resources, Advocate Ngoako Ramathlodi, has been met with a sense of betrayal.

Christopher Rutledge

Youth Day: Struggle for equal education continues

Opinion: Nearly 40 years ago on 16 June 1976, there was a youth uprising in Soweto. This was evoked by the learners at the time who did not want to be taught in Afrikaans. Their struggle was against an inferior education system that was setting them up for failure.

Sizwe Zubenathi Mapapu

English, not Afrikaans, is the problem for today\xe2\x80\x99s youth

Opinion: As a young African and as a member of youth organisation Inkululeko in Mind, I hold 16 June as a day of honour for our heroes who gave their lives so that our generation would have better education. We have to defend and advance their legacy and pass it to generations to come.

Monde Kula