Housing
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
Monwabisi Park residents lay charges against city law enforcement
On Friday, a number of community members from Monwabisi Park informal settlement laid a charge of malicious damage to property against City of Cape Town law enforcement after shacks were destroyed by the Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) last Wednesday.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
News | 17 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
Blikkiesdorp: what’s the plan?
Evictions are a daily part of living on the margins in South Africa. This week, residents were evicted from a block of flats in Berea, Johannesburg. Authorities descended early on Wednesday morning on the flats where hundreds are people are living. Their personal belongings – including fridges, clothes and computers – were left outside in the street. Where do such people go? In Cape Town, they have been sent to a place called Blikkiesdorp.
Alison Tilley
Opinion | 13 August 2015
Deaf man’s long wait for RDP house
When Zandisile Khobeni (61) received a letter showing that his housing subsidy application had been approved in 2011, he was over the moon with joy. He didn't know that four years later he would still be waiting for a house, even as the other people in his street received their RDP houses.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
News | 13 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
Stellenbosch farm communities to march against eviction notices
Families living in five state farms in Stellenbosch say they refuse to go anywhere after being handed eviction notices last month from the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works, saying they should leave their homes by end of August. The families are planning to march today to air their grievances.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 6 August 2015
Mitchells Plain families face winter eviction
It’s raining lightly and there’s a cold breeze as Isgak Abrahams and his two young children huddle inside the small makeshift tent they call home. The tent, built on an open field near the Kapteinsklip train station in Mitchells Plain, is made of three large blankets, cardboard boxes and plastic sheets, all held down by a few bricks.
Barbara Maregele
News | 3 August 2015