Housing
In the business of building shacks
Sheffield Road, one of the busiest roads in Philippi, has become one of the city’s best-known places to buy a shack. Here, builders make a living providing affordable housing for township residents.
Joyce Xi and Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 14 October 2014
Drain claims second victim
Residents of the informal settlement in Bardale have accused Baseline construction company of negligence after a man fell into an open drain, injuring his leg. This is the second incident in a year.
Johnnie Isaac
News | 13 October 2014
Hangberg man to sue police
The man assaulted by police at his home in Hangberg last week is preparing to bring a civil claim against the police. Meanwhile, Hout Bay’s police commissioner has said that neither he nor his staff knew of the covert operation by the National Intervention Unit.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 10 October 2014
Masekane: a crisis in the heart of Woodstock
A hacking cough comes from the motley group of people huddled together in a flimsy shack alongside the railway line near Woodstock’s industrial area. It could be from the smoke from the fire; it could be from the cigarette smoke that fills the shack – or it could be tuberculosis.
Ian Broughton
News | 10 October 2014
Lwandle commission recommends reforms to prevent illegal evictions
The Commission of Inquiry into the Lwandle evictions has recommended changes to legislation to prevent illegal evictions in future.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 8 October 2014
Week in activism
This week we look at the SERI’s workshop on law related to eviction, the social dialogue for the gay and lesbian community, TAC’s march for better services and IOM’s public debate on human trafficking.
Thembela Ntongana
News | 8 October 2014
Hangberg on a knife-edge
Four years after the riots of 2010, Hangberg is on the edge of rebellion. Protests after the arrest of resident Santonio Jonkers engulfed the neighbourhood last week and a traditional leader has warned of impending bloodshed. GroundUp finds out why the 2011 Peace Accord between the community and the authorities seems to be in tatters.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 8 October 2014
Shackdwellers celebrate after City eviction squad backs down
Shackdwellers from Philippi East’s Mangaung informal settlement cheered after they successfully faced off the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) on Wednesday.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 2 October 2014
Khayelitsha toilet audit finds “dire” results
One in four of the Khayelitsha public toilets, which are supposed to be cleaned by the City of Cape Town's janitorial services, is not working, a social audit by the Social Justice Coalition has found.
GroundUp staff
Feature | 1 October 2014