GroundUp Newsletter 20 March 2014: Why President Zuma must go and other stories

20 March 2014 | News

Featured Stories

Why President Zuma must go

Many South Africans from all walks of life and across the political spectrum are calling for the resignation and impeachment of President Jacob Zuma. In the light of a thoroughly researched and meticulously presented report by the Public Protector into the Nkandla matter, these calls seem more than justified.

GroundUp Staff

Religious leaders ask their congregations to do more than pray for an end to gang violence on the Cape Flats

On 14 March, Imam Rashied Omar, chairperson of the Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum (WCRLF), hosted Manenberg community leaders at the Claremont Main Road mosque, where he officiates.

Yazeed Kamaldien

Misunderstood and villainised: the minibus taxi industry\xe2\x80\x99s real issues with MyCiTi

For many Capetonians, minibus taxis are synonymous with survival. Without the taxi fleet, which evolved to fill system-wide gaps in public transport planning and service delivery, many would be stranded. Yet the industry is viewed with contempt by many: a stain on the city, or a problem out of control.

Martin Eichhorn

News

Commuters fed up with Metrorail train delays

Since last week, Metrorail trains on the Khayelitsha line have been repeatedly delayed and even cancelled due to an \xe2\x80\x9cinfrastructure problem\xe2\x80\x9d in Cape Town. Commuters want to know when it will end.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

//Khara Hais local municipality continues to ignore Auditor General

For two successive years //Khara Hais local municipality in Upington has had qualified audit reports. Now, at its most recent council meeting, the municipality approved irregular and unauthorized expenditure of R4 million incurred since November 2013.

Selby Nomnganga

Residents complain of potholes in Khayelitsha

What started out as just a tweet from a frustrated Khayelitsha resident, has now put the spotlight on potholes.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

MK veterans and Upington 26 murder trialists claim exceptionalism

In Upington, 40 four-roomed RDP-size houses reserved for ex-political prisoners and MK veterans were occupied in the course of 2013. None of the occupiers have to date paid for municipal services and some are subletting their properties.

Selby Nomnganga

City responds to comments made at the Crime Summit in Khayelitsha

The City has responded to a statement made at the Crime Summit held on 14 March in Khayelitsha.

SAPS in Harare, Khayelitsha: setup to fail?

Advocate Nazreen Bawa continued to lead evidence today with Colonel Gert Nel, former station commander of Harare police station, and Colonel Tshotleho Raboliba, current station commander at Harare.

Adam Armstrong

Frustrated residents in Makhaya, Khayelitsha, arrested after taking the law into their own hands

Residents in Makhaya section 23 were arrested at 3am this morning, accused of chasing people out of their homes. While the police were arresting people, two houses in the area were being broken into by criminals.

Pharie Sefali

Gugulethu youth organisation on a mission to turn church library into public library

Gugulethu based community organisation, Township Youth Movement (TYM), have taken it upon themselves to open a second public library in the township.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Ugandan woman abandoned in South Africa by the lover she met on Facebook

A 28-year-old Ugandan woman, Lydia Mutuwa, who came to South Africa hoping to get a job to look after her children and ailing mother, says her life has become even harder than the life she ran away from in her country of birth.

Tariro Washinyira

City says lights will stay on in Cape Town townships … for now at least

Residents of the Cape Flats, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and surroundings have experienced power cuts in their areas. Many residents want to know what to expect. GroundUp asked the City.

Pharie Sefali

High ranking SAPS officers to appear before the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into policing

Public hearings of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency and a breakdown in relations between the community and the police restarted on 17 March with a number of high ranking SAPS officers in attendance.

Adam Armstrong

Mthethwa attends politically coloured crime summit in Khayelitsha

Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa was in Khayelitsha on Friday 14 March for a Crime Summit arranged by the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF).

Adam Armstrong

Attitudes to pets have changed significantly in recent years in Khayelitsha

Started by a community member 17 years ago, Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha now treats up to 1,000 animals a month.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Struggling Zimbabwean author writes about the challenges of living and dying on the Cape Flats

39-year-old Zimbabwean Milton Jaure, also known as Rasmijah, is struggling to get financial support to publish his book of short stories and produce a documentary focusing on the challenges foreigners face when their loved ones die in South Africa.

Tariro Washinyira

Opinion

Seminar looks at finding employment when you\xe2\x80\x99re young, black and poor, and just out of school

Equal Education and Ndifuna Ukwazi hosted a seminar at Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha, on 13 March titled \xe2\x80\x98What Next: Opportunities for post school youth\xe2\x80\x99. Part information, part inspiration, conversations were frank and informative.

Adam Armstrong

Bitter background to stalled pay talks

Unless bridges are built between competing sides, legacies of bitterness, hatred and fear, often distorted by prejudice and myth, can persist for decades, even generations. And when there are are fairly recent incidents, especially those involving bloodshed and human loss, feelings, particularly among those who identify as victims, are all the more acute.

Terry Bell

World Cup: still a few hiccups away for Brazil

Brazil is facing major challenges. Violent public protests, an aggressive police crackdown, and infrastructure failures show a nation at times limping towards the 2014 FIFA World Cup 12 June kick-off in Sao Paulo.

Yazeed Kamaldien

Rape \xe2\x80\x93 not just a township problem

During the Khayelitsha Commission, community witnesses, academics and police officers related stories of appalling violence, particularly sexual violence. The picture painted is in danger of creating the impression that Khayelitsha is bad, that something is wrong with the community, that it is unsalvageable.

Adam Armstrong

Activist Beat

The week in political activism - March 19, 2014

This week we cover the NUMSA Day of Action for Youth Jobs and the TAC\xe2\x80\x99s People\xe2\x80\x99s Health Manifesto campaign.

Brent Meersman

Book Review

A traumatic revenge: an extract from Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho\xe2\x80\x99s collection of short stories

In the vein of Can Themba\xe2\x80\x99s short stories about Sophiatown, Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho writes about life in the townships today.

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho

Music

Can you afford to go to a \xe2\x80\x98free concert\xe2\x80\x99?

Zethu Gqola went to the Freshly Ground performance on Sunday 16 March at DeWaal Park. The concert was free, but the experience left her sad and wondering, how free is free?

Zethu Gqola

Know your copyrights

It is every artists dream to make a living out of their music. But the process of getting paid royalties can be a challenge for some. Artists and producers are often left asking: how do I register? how do I get paid? GroundUp went looking for answers.

Dumisani Dabadini

DJ Blanka shares his knowledge with aspirant artists

Music producer and DJ Banzi \xe2\x80\x9cBlanka\xe2\x80\x9d Mazimela was born in Butterworth and grew up in Dutywa with two brothers. He moved to Cape Town in 1993 to further his studies. In the last 20 years, he has worked himself to Head of Music Production at Soul Candi Institute.

Dumisani Dabadini