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Improvement in Khayelitsha street lights
On the evening of 2 December 2013, Groundup staff visited Lansdowne Road in Khayelitsha to assess the state of street lights in the area. We counted 29 lights that were not functional. Overall, it appears that the state of street lights has improved since our last report on the issue in August 2013.
News
Humbug Dr Survè
Opinion: Iqbal Survè, whose company Sekunjalo now owns Independent Newspapers, is not merely a profoundly disingenuous man. He has shown that he's willing to use his newly acquired media empire to support his disingenuity.
Zimbabwean kids detained after being smuggled into SA
News: The parents and relatives of six Zimbabwean children and five adults have found themselves helpless after malaichas (their smugglers) were arrested for human trafficking.
Fears of surge in Manenberg gang violence
News: Some Manenberg residents are worried that gang violence has started again in their area, with two people allegedly shot and killed on Saturday.
Apartheid proponent comes to Madiba’s Memorial
Opinion: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial decision not to attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral and to send Yuli Edelstein who is the current Speaker of the Knesset and a settler, is not only disgraceful, but has sent a clear message to the world that Netanyahu is a “leader” of the worst kind.
Police throw victim in jail with perpetrators
News: Talent Chikwanha alleges he was brutalized by police officers on 29 November when they mistook him for a criminal. He was in fact the victim of an ATM robbery at Fairview, Grassy Park.
Cape Town’s last refugee processing centre might close
News: Human rights organisations have opposed the possible closure of the Cape Town Refugee Reception offices on the foreshore.
Maid in SA: an extract from Zukiswa Wanner’s latest book
Book extract: Novelist Zukiswa Wanner is well known for her fast-paced, witty novels. Her racy narratives and intelligent humour offer razor-sharp insights into contemporary urban life, placing the new black middleclass under the magnifying glass.
South Africa is at an economic impasse - an interview with Mark Heywood
Interview: Mark Heywood has been one of the leaders of the Treatment Action Campaign since it started on 10 December 1998. He has also directed the AIDS Law Project since 1997 and its successor, SECTION27.
Media freedom
News: The Independent Newspaper Group (INL) is in considerable turmoil following the effective sacking without notice of the editor of the Cape Times, Alide Desnois, by the putative owner of INL, Iqbal Surve. This bodes ill for the group and poses a possible threat to media freedom.
What is Mandela’s Secret?
Opinion: South Africa came very close to civil war in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but instead of a bloodbath there was the negotiated settlement, also known as the ‘miracle’. In fact parts of the country were in a state of civil war, and the miracle is that it didn’t engulf the country.
Bank drives woman to brink of homelessness
News: Kutala Mtyali's sits on the couch of her house, perhaps for the last day, and tries to piece together the ongoing saga of her 26 year struggle to keep her home. Family members help her with names and dates. She is on the brink of homelessness.
Alide Dasnois exemplifies quiet integrity and commitment to quality media
Editorial: Alide Dasnois has been fired from her position as editor of the Cape Times.
Nelson Mandela: An interview with Zackie Achmat
News: Nelson Mandela has died. He inspired and led the struggle for freedom and against the oppression of apartheid. GroundUp interviewed Zackie Achmat about Mandela. In the 2000s, Achmat led the struggle for life-saving medicines for people with HIV.
Drought and debt for Northern Cape small farmers
News: In the middle of a drought, small scale subsistence farmers on the outskirts of Paballelo in the Northern Cape are facing a bill of R1.3 million for water.
Young artists say no support from local government
News: GroundUp met with a group of young hip-hop and spaza music makers. The group complain that they have been at it for three years, but don’t get any support from local businesses and government.
The week in political activism
Activist Beat: This week we report on a petition to impeach the President, norms and standards for schools, TAC's march in Limpopo and the Cape Town Informal Settlements Coalition.