Polluters let off the hook
South Africans shouldn’t hold their breath as polluters are let off the hook. Decisions of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on Tuesday 24 February 2015 marked a disappointing setback in the battle for improved air quality in South Africa.
Nicole Löser
Opinion | 9 March 2015
Buyers scammed in fake Cape Flats house sales
A Mitchell’s Plain man has been making fake house sales in Delft, Mfuleni and Gugulethu, apparently scamming buyers out of tens of thousands of rands.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 9 March 2015
Cosatu and Vavi: the Aurora factor
Infighting, bickering and the pursuit of power and patronage have largely paralysed Cosatu in recent years. That, broadly, is the view of the labour federation’s embattled general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi and of Jay Naidoo, Cosatu’s first general secretary.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 9 March 2015
Good and bad approaches to upgrading informal settlements
In February the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) dismantled a family’s shack in Mfuleni. This acrimonious incident raises important questions about how informal settlements are to be upgraded.
Nathan Geffen
Opinion | 9 March 2015
Police use stun grenades; injure and disperse marching Philippi students
A protest in Cape Town city centre by students from Philippi High School over the lack of infrastructure and classrooms at their campus was violently dispersed by police officers on Friday morning.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 6 March 2015
Domestic workers slip through the cracks in UIF
Only 50% of domestic workers in the Western Cape are registered for Unemployment Insurance, according to official statistics. GroundUp tested the system to find out why employers don’t register their workers.
Ben Stanwix
News | 6 March 2015
A Cape Town firefighter’s long journey to work
It's 5:30am in Town Two, Khayelitsha, and firefighter Anelisa Flani has just started her day.
Barbara Maregele
News | 6 March 2015
Human Rights Commission to probe city toilets again
The SA Human Rights Commission is to re-examine its report on chemical toilets in the informal settlements, after finding procedural irregularities in the report.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 5 March 2015
TAC calls on Free State premier to fire MEC
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has called on Free State Premier Ace Magashule to fire or suspend health MEC Benny Malakoane, after the release of a letter from doctors about the Free State healthcare system.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Brief | 5 March 2015