After the fire

News | 29 January 2013

Farm strikes: Radical changes needed

Farm workers began the centennial year of the 1913 Land Act with a continuation of the most militant industrial action in the sector in decades. On January 9th, various Western Cape farming towns were turned into warzones as protestors demanding an increase to a minimum R150 per day for farm workers, blockaded highways and set vineyards alight with police using rubber bullets and tear gas.

Niall Reddy

News | 24 January 2013

Cash Paymaster Services go on strike - company accused of racism

GroundUp journalist Mihle Pike received a call this morning that employees at Cash Paymaster Services had gone on strike. She went to see what was going on. Here is her account.

Mihle Pike

News | 23 January 2013

Government deregisters thousands of non-profit organisations without warning

The NPO Directorate, which is part of the Department of Social Development, has deregistered about 50 000 non-profit organsations (NPOs) who it has deemed as non-compliant. This is according to Inyathelo, a Cape Town based organisation that assists NPOs.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 23 January 2013

Crossroads residents burn tyres in housing protest

BREAKING NEWS: This morning, residents of Crossroads protested and burned tyres in protest against a housing project.

GroundUp Staff

Brief | 23 January 2013

Playing politics while the Boland burns

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille is correct in claiming that there is
political interference in the strikes and recurrent violence in the Boland. And the
DA is as responsible as any other political grouping for being involved in — or
“interfering” — in the ongoing upheaval.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 23 January 2013

Your views on Bafana Bafana’s performance

We asked people for their views on Bafana Bafana's performance after the dull 0-0 draw against Cape Verde. Some of the responses were unprintable! But here are a few of the more polite ones.

Margo Fortune

News | 23 January 2013

Umemulo for him

News | 23 January 2013

Eastern Cape man abuses dog

News | 23 January 2013

BM fire victims to be moved to Mfuleni

Fire left about 800 households destitute on new years day in BM Section, Khayelitsha. Many of these families are sheltering at the O.R Tambo hall a short distance from the scene of the fire.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 23 January 2013

Nightmarishly difficult for some refugee children to go to school

More than 20 refugees' children in Cape Town could not be enrolled in schools early this year due to the lack of asylum documents. The refugees have approached several schools in Western Cape but were turned down.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 23 January 2013

New Delft low-cost housing development - but some residents oppose it

The City has started a new low-cost "RDP" housing project called Breaking New Ground in Roosendal in Delft. But some Delft community members oppose it.

Janine Fortuin

News | 23 January 2013

Hockey coach Gloria

Gloria Nobuntu Baartman is a simple girl with the dream of watching kids in her community grow to love hockey. They will not regret the the co-operative spirit and physical expression they learn to enjoy. It is truly passion for her community and her love of sport that drives this inspirational woman.

Mihle Pike

News | 23 January 2013

Premier’s excuses leave the lights off

Last week GroundUp and the Cape Times published Doron Isaacs's detailed account of his repeated but unsuccessful attempts to have authorities repair dysfunctional streetlights in Khayelitsha.

Gavin Silber

Opinion | 23 January 2013

Preposterous that rhinoceros is newsmaker of year

I first heard of the National Press Club (NPC) via twitter when the news that they had declared the rhino the newsmaker of 2012 hit social media. My immediate reaction, probably like many other journalists was a mixture of surprise and anger: How could the rhino emerge as victor in the year of Marikana?

Ben Fogel

Opinion | 22 January 2013

The Boland upheaval and failing the children of the poor

South Africa has continued to fail the children of the poor and is once again reaping
the results of that failure. Nowhere is this more evident than in the recurrent violent
eruptions in the fruit and wine farm regions of the Western Cape.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 16 January 2013