Articles for Mary-Anne Gontsana

Activists and politicians argue over violent protests

Several protests in Cape Town's informal settlements have turned violent in recent weeks. Residents, activist groups and the city's political parties are blaming each other for the violence and lack of service delivery.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 8 August 2012

Province gives conflicting reasons for Zonnebloem school’s closure

Equal Education (EE) has set up an online petition to fight the closure of Zonnebloem Nest Senior School. Western Cape MEC for Education, Donald Grant, has included Zonnebloem in a list of schools marked for closure.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 8 August 2012

Gangsterism out of hand in Khayelitsha

Between Premier Helen Zille calling for the deployment of an army and some Cape Town gangs deciding to end the violence, Khayelitsha is singing a different tune with teenage gangsters taking the violence to a new level.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 1 August 2012

Rats and rubbish: Somafho Flats in Gugs

Rubbish piles, rats and no electricity. This is the site of Somafho, a block of flats in Gugulethu’s NY 121.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 1 August 2012

From bad boy to legitimate business owner: The Corner Lounge Story

Nkululeko Tuntubele is the owner of Corner Lounge, a cosy bar-lounge in the hub of Gugulethu at NY 138. Officially opened this year on 31 March, the lounge is a container previously used as a hair salon.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 25 July 2012

A spaza shop “just to keep busy”

For most people, opening a spaza shop is a small business venture to earn an income. For Richard Handel, it is just to keep busy.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 25 July 2012

Khayelitsha’s first coffee shop opened

What do a fireman, an employee at a towel factory and a coffee barista have in common? They all make up the Department of Coffee (DOC), a new intimate coffee shop in Khayelitsha.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 19 July 2012

Khayelitsha leader murdered

Mnoneleli Ngubo, a leading member of Equal Education in Khayelitsha, was stabbed to death in his Khayelitsha home on Tuesday 3 July.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 11 July 2012

Man in Gugs flat: “Living here is not life”

Kholekile Tisana is partially blind and has lived in a block of flats called Somafu in Gugulethu for the past year. He says living there is the same as living in a shack.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 11 July 2012