Corruption

State accused of letting Tormin damage West Coast

Activists have accused government officials of turning a blind eye to a pattern of environmental violations at the Tormin dune mine on the West Coast – including a “catastrophic” cliff collapse – after state departments failed to act on a string of letters, objections and a formal appeal.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 11 December 2015

Students in state scheme get certificates for courses they didn’t complete

The National Rural Youth Service Corps (Narysec), set up to train unemployed young people in rural areas, seems to be in disarray in the Eastern Cape, where some students have given up hope of graduating while others say they have been given certificates for courses they did not complete.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik and GroundUp staff

Feature | 8 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

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

Bereaved Khayelitsha family wins insurance battle

Nomveliso Rululu says she wept with relief last Friday when she received a pay-out of R10,000 from Emerald Life to cover the funeral costs of her disabled teenage daughter.

Siyavuya Khaya

News | 30 November 2015

The damning evidence against Phiyega and SAPS leadership

Suspended Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega has had a difficult year. Suspended by President Jacob Zuma following the Farlam Commission report which called for an investigation into her fitness to hold office for among other things tampering with evidence and lying, she now faces significant findings against her from an inquiry by the Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko.

Craig Oosthuizen and Zackie Achmat

Analysis | 13 November 2015

Lawyers in black and white: Spoor vs Boqwana

The recent furore over the lawyers in the huge silicosis court case focused on race, but the real issue is how lawyers advance the cause of justice, argue Pasika Nontshiza and John Clarke.

Pasika Nontshiza and John GI Clarke

Opinion | 23 October 2015

Small turnout at anti-corruption protest

The protest against corruption organised by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) at Nomzamo Stadium in Strand today drew only about 100 people.

Bernard Chiguvare

Brief | 14 October 2015

“You are responsible for creating a historical sadness” - Archbishop

Nearly 2,000 people braved the cold and rain to join the Unite Against Corruption march to Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people participated in the main march in Pretoria. Smaller marches also took place in other cities, including Durban and Grahamstown.

GroundUp Staff

News | 30 September 2015

Corruption in schools: stealing our children’s future

On 30 September 2015, thousands will march in Pretoria and Cape Town under the banner of Unite Against Corruption. This is a call across our country to reject maladministration and theft in the public and private sectors.

Amanda Rinquest

Opinion | 22 September 2015

The harm of quackery

There are at least three clear ways in which pseudoscience or bad science can harm consumers.

Jacques Rousseau

Opinion | 16 September 2015

Angry Mdantsane residents protest quality of RDP houses

Residents of Walter Sisulu in Mdantsane protested on Tuesday, claiming the RDP houses they were due to move into had not been built properly.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

News | 9 September 2015

Who is funding our political parties?

The 2016 local government elections will be surely be heavily contested. Already in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay, the ANC, DA and EFF are gearing up for tough electoral battles. No doubt too, all the political parties will pour large sums of money into these areas. But quite how much political parties will spend on campaigning, no one knows, because of a complete lack of transparency in the funding of political parties.

Judith February

Opinion | 27 August 2015

Phiyega must go, say activists

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) and Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) have called for the resignation or dismissal of national police commissioner Riah Phiyega, saying she has failed the people of Khayelitsha and poor people in South Africa as a whole.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 12 August 2015

Civil society comes out for Public Protector

About 100 people gathered in front of parliament today to say “enough is enough” to government corruption as the deadline is reached for the submission by the parliamentary ad hoc committee on Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko’s report which said that President Jacob Zuma does not have to pay back the money he used for security upgrades to his Nkandla home.

Siphesihle Matyila and Brady Nevins

News | 7 August 2015

Trucking company fires unionised employees

Six Zimbabwean men have accused a Stikland trucking company of dismissing them for having joined the Motor Transport Workers’ Union of South Africa (MTWU). They accuse the company of exploitation and ill treatment, and claim they are owed pay.

Tariro Washinyira

Feature | 6 August 2015