News

Wolwerivier residents track down city councillor at the beach

Wolwerivier residents and Ndifuna Ukwazi activists tracked down the City Council's Benedicta van Minnen at Camps Bay beach today after she was not available to meet them at the Civic Centre.

Barbara Maregele

News | 14 December 2015

Inner city revamp to benefit street people

Trees are to be planted in the open space off Canterbury Street in the city centre as part of a project designed to improve the lives of street people and others using the area. The project includes a mural on the wall of the Fruit and Veg City store to which street people will contribute.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 14 December 2015

Snags as Masiphumelele rebuilds after fire

It has been almost two weeks since a fire burnt down over a 1,000 homes in Masiphumelele’s Section E and Section D. While efforts are underway to rebuild, many residents are encountering snags.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 11 December 2015

Dispute over who represents residents of informal settlement

The City of Cape Town is negotiating with a private owner to buy land in Klipheuwel and install services for families living in the informal settlement.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 10 December 2015

Butterworth’s R9 million swimming pool is still empty after seven years

Seven years after building started, Butterworth’s R9 million swimming pool is still not finished.

By

News | 9 December 2015

Hope for Mtubatuba residents, after years of complaints

After years of complaining about water, electricity, sanitation, and roads, residents of KwaMsane in KwaZulu Natal say they got the attention of the authorities after their protest last month.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 9 December 2015

Pietermaritzburg municipal workers demand permanent jobs

About a hundred municipality workers on temporary contracts for the Msunduzi municipality, which includes Pietermaritzburg, downed their tools and protested outside the KaMagwayi depo yesterday. They are demanding permanent positions.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 8 December 2015

City steps up bus safety checks for annual exodus to Eastern Cape

The City of Cape Town will, from 10 December until Christmas Eve, step up safety checks on buses departing to the Eastern Cape. But some bus drivers are annoyed by the inconvenience this causes at the busiest time of the year.

Siyavuya Khaya and GroundUp staff

News | 7 December 2015

Masiphumelele: before and after the fire

Here are two aerial photographs of Masiphumelele's Section D and Section E informal settlements. The first was taken before Sunday morning's fire, and the second was taken after.

GroundUp staff

News | 4 December 2015

“My son will graduate because of the money from the waste pickers”

It may not seem like much to others, but the money she makes from selling food to waste pickers at the New England Road dumpsite in Pietermaritzburg has allowed 45-year-old Gugu Yengwa to pay for her son’s education at the University of KwaZulu Natal.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 4 December 2015

Wolwerivier school bus cancelled for 2016

Wolwerivier children may have to change schools after the bus service to their school at Vissershok was suspended, writes Daneel Knoetze, a researcher at Ndifuna Ukwazi, an organisation that recently published a report on conditions at Wolwerivier to which Knoetze contributed.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 4 December 2015

Cough up money for TB, demand protesters

“Cough up money” for tuberculosis (TB) was the main demand of over a thousand people who marched from Keizersgracht Street to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) this afternoon. The CTICC is hosting the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health, the planet's main annual TB meeting.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 3 December 2015

Man wrongly detained by Home Affairs describes ordeal

A Zimbabwean man, detained in the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp even though his passport allowed him to be in South Africa, has been released. GroundUp told his story on 25 November. He was released two days later.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 3 December 2015

Masiphumelele to get its own fire station

Masiphumelele, scene of a devastating fire last weekend, is to get its own fire station. Community leaders have welcomed the news, but expressed surprise that they were not consulted.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 3 December 2015

Khayelitsha kids have fun while learning how to stay healthy

Young children and teenagers packed Khayelitsha's Mew Way Hall to the brim today. They were entertained by the Zip Zap Circus and the Jazzart Dance Theatre. But besides having a day of fun, they also learnt about HIV and how to stay healthy, whether or not infected by the virus.

GroundUp Staff and Bernard ChiguvarePhotos by Masixole Feni

News | 1 December 2015

Municipal officials are taking the best for themselves, say waste pickers

Waste pickers at a Pietermaritzburg dumpsite say they have to compete with municipal officials who have also started picking up materials from the site.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 1 December 2015