Government

Shacks demolished following miscommunication

About 20 Mfuleni residents were forced to demolish their shacks that they had erected after occupying open land in the township.

Mary-Anne Gontsana and Masixole Feni

Brief | 18 August 2015

Marikana: reminders of a massacre

Three years ago on this day, the police shot dead 34 miners at Marikana. Here are some of the articles we've published since then that, sadly, remain current and relevant.

GroundUp Staff

Analysis | 16 August 2015

City cannot continue to ignore the crisis at Wolwerivier

There is a deepening crisis of overcrowding, joblessness, insecurity and general destitution at Wolwerivier relocation camp. The community have explained their experiences, along with a call for engagement and support, in writing to the City of Cape Town. Their letter was ignored.

Daneel Knoetze

Opinion | 14 August 2015

Over 7,000 people live on the streets of Cape Town

More than 7,000 people are homeless in Cape Town and a large percentage of them are male. This is according to the City of Cape Town's Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate's survey.

Bernard Chiguvare and Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 6 August 2015

“Sex work should not cost me my life”

On a wet and windy Tuesday morning on the corner of Oak and Main roads in Kenilworth, people gathered to sing and dance on the pavement, many in bright orange T-shirts with the words, 'Sex work should not cost me my life' written across their fronts.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 5 August 2015

The worst spokesman in government?

Because GroundUp is currently based in Cape Town, many of our stories deal with difficult issues for the local government here. Yet despite the often harsh criticisms of the City of Cape Town that appear on our website, the City’s media department nearly always responds to our queries professionally. The same goes for the South African Police Service.

GroundUp Staff

News | 4 August 2015

Lost belongings after evictions: a chaotic blame game

A year after their eviction from land owned by the SA National Roads Agency (SANRAL), some Lwandle residents say their possessions were never returned to them. But SANRAL says the goods were placed under the control of a community leader, and the agency is not to blame if residents did not get their belongings back.

GroundUp staff

News | 31 July 2015

SACP’s flag is palest pink

Unity and cohesion remain the slogans for the ANC-led alliance as the three partners echo the claim of last week’s Cosatu special national congress that such togetherness has been assured. It hasn’t. But, with the infighting having gone overwhelmingly in favour of the executive, there are hurried attempts to create a facade of unity as the lobbying continues.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 27 July 2015

City and Blikkiesdorp residents fail to see eye-to-eye

“Residents of Blikkiesdorp do not trust the City [of Cape Town government],” says a Blikkiesdorp leader, Jerome Daniels. A meeting on Thursday night highlighted the ongoing tensions between this community and the City.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 27 July 2015