Government
Victory for democracy in rural Eastern Cape
Being able to vote for our leaders is what it means to live in a democracy. Yet the Eastern Cape government tried to block a rural Eastern Cape community from electing their leader. Yesterday the community won an important court victory. Wilmien Wicomb of the Legal Resources Centre explains.
Wilmien Wicomb
Analysis | 19 August 2015
When temporary housing isn’t temporary
“They promised us that we would stay for a short period of time. They didn’t keep their promise,” says Amelia Nono, who came to Intersite, a temporary relocation area (TRA) in Langa, nine years ago.
Ashleigh Furlong
Feature | 18 August 2015
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