The public spats over portable toilets have been at the forefront of the news. But what exactly are portable toilets? How do they work? What is good and what is bad about them?
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 12 June 2013
A mural has been unveiled in Khayelitsha to highlight the need for the state and communities to improve their response to violence against women.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 5 June 2013
While Thembisa Maso, a KTC resident still waits for her house to be completed, Mbuyiselo Vena, her neighbour, is struggling day in and day out in a wheelchair after being on a housing waiting list for the past 20 years.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 29 May 2013
“Outoilet” is an Afrikaans word meaning “old toilet”, but it also refers to a cellphone chat site, aimed mainly at Cape Flats youth. Its URLs are blocked by several service providers, but the site frequently re-emerges with different URLs.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 22 May 2013
Low-income earners are people who are unemployed or those making just enough to get by on a single or joint monthly income. What do banks really offer these South Africans?
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 15 May 2013
Last week GroundUp's Mary-Anne Gontsana reported the terrible state of schools in the Eastern Cape she saw on the "solidarity visit" organised by Equal Education. Today she describes the impressions of some of the well-known South Africans who also participated.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 29 April 2013
Equal Education has organised a two-day "solidarity visit" of schools in the Eastern Cape. GroundUp journalist Mary-Anne Gontsana is reporting what she sees. Here is her second report.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 26 April 2013
Equal Education has organised a two-day "solidarity visit" of schools in the Eastern Cape. Well-known South Africans, including Archbishop Thabo Makgoba and constitutional law blogger Pierre De Vos, are participating. GroundUp journalist Mary-Anne Gontsana is also taking part, reporting what she sees. Here is her first report.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 25 April 2013
New season, new presenter, same time, same channel. Education and health television programme Siyayinqoba Beat-It! will air its first episode of season 8 next week Thursday on SABC 1 at 1:30pm.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 27 March 2013
Khayelitsha’s popular coffee shop, the Department of Coffee (DOC), was burgled in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 26 March 2013
The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is demanding access to information on service delivery agreements in Khayelitsha.This follows the breakdown of some outdoor toilets which the organisation fears is a result of the service delivery organisation contracted by the City failing to do its job.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 20 March 2013
In this year’s budget speech, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan mentioned that allocations for employment programs would increase by 13.5 per cent a year for the next three years. Unemployment has always been a challenge for South Africans, but it is even harder for immigrants who flee their countries to look for employment here.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 13 March 2013
Youth gangs have become a normal occurrence in Khayelitsha.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 27 February 2013
Temporary house structures are being built in Gugulethu to accommodate residents who are currently occupying Masonwabe hostels.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 20 February 2013
A group of women marched to a house in Mau-Mau, Nyanga, to confront a man they accuse of posting nude pictures of a woman, his girlfriend, on Facebook.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 13 February 2013
Metrorail is one of the three divisions of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), the state-owned enterprise which is responsible for most passenger rail services in South Africa. It is also one of the most troublesome forms of public transport.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 6 February 2013