Opinion

Activists to Sonnenberg: City must engage constructively on sanitation

Yesterday the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) published a social audit of the state of municipal public toilets in Khayelitsha. Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg responded. This is a reply by the SJC's Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer to Councillor Sonnenberg.

Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer

Opinion | 2 October 2014

Apartheid geography and murder in Cape Town

Building a socially and racially integrated Cape Town will decrease our murder rate and other violent crime, writes Zackie Achmat.

Zackie Achmat

Opinion | 30 September 2014

How heritage got roasted

Wednesday was a public holiday: Heritage Day. And carnivore commercialism seems largely to have claimed it. For many — if not most — South Africans who could afford it, this was a day to indulge in and enjoy chisa nyama, the ubiquitous braai.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 29 September 2014

Braaing on Heritage Day: you may want to ask how that beef got to your plate

You probably wouldn't sprinkle antibiotics like sugar all over your breakfast cereal every morning, even if you were sick. There is, though, a good chance that you are in effect doing something similar today on Heritage Day. The steaks you are braaing, or the chicken being grilled is likely to contain traces of antibiotics.

Nicholas Ashby

Opinion | 24 September 2014

Heritage Day: is it a cultural event or just a chance to have fun?

Should we spend Heritage Day celebrating our culture or is it okay just to have fun? Young people interviewed by GroundUp had different views on the subject.

Pharie Sefali

Opinion | 23 September 2014

When rights clash with tradition

Is South Africa on the brink of a clash between the egalitarian concepts embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the demands to retain undemocratic, feudal and colonial hangovers of the past? If so, it may be Swaziland that will provide the catalyst.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 22 September 2014

Criminalising protest and dissent

A new report by SERI profiles a community protest in Lenasia, Gauteng, and concludes that the criminal justice system was "abused" in order to intimidate activists and protesters. A look at similar cases in Cape Town seem to support this finding.

Daneel Knoetze

Opinion | 18 September 2014

Fighting for decent toilets in Gauteng schools

On 13 September Equal Education marched in Johannesburg for decent school sanitation in Gauteng. Brad Brockman, the organisation's General Secretary, explains the campaign.

Brad Brockman

Opinion | 16 September 2014

People with HIV should be able to fight for their country

There is no reason people with HIV shouldn't be soldiers, says Tim Flack, who served in the navy and is the Western Cape representative for the South African National Defence Force Union.

Tim Flack

Opinion | 16 September 2014