News

Are we ready for the next pandemic?

Flu infections follow seasons, typically rising in winter and dropping in summer. As it moves, a virus mutates, with the risk that with every new flu season, a highly infectious virus could come back more deadly than before. We struggle between the hype of a new disease and the potential threat it imposes.

Kerry Gordon

News | 30 May 2013

Disabled and waiting for a house since 1992

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

Battle over Barcelona’s Buckets

Residents of Barcelona informal settlement are living a sanitation nightmare. The company contracted to remove the bucket toilets, Sannicare, has been hit by industrial action and no resolution is in sight.

GroundUp Staff with assistance from Tebello Mzamoand Fergus Turner

News | 29 May 2013

Freedom of liberty award

News | 29 May 2013

Chippa United’s Goldman hopes to stay in the PSL

What a challenging weekend it was for Cape Town's PSL teams. Ajax played Golden Arrows at Cape Town stadium needing three points to stay in the PSL. Mabhuti Khenyeza scored the opening goal followed by Toriq Losper and Khenyeza again, saving Ajax from relegation. But Chippa United's fate is still unclear.

Margo Fortune

News | 22 May 2013

Nyanga celebrates first gay pride march

On Saturday 18 March about 300 people gathered at NY1 Gugulethu and marched to the Nyanga Football Stadium in the first gay pride march in Nyanga.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 22 May 2013

Controversial youth website dodges censorship

“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

Gang killers suspected of targeting another boy

Last week, 17-year old Glenrico Martin was shot dead at his high school in Athlone. Natheer Abrahams is 16-years old and is being bullied and threatened by gangsters. He suspects they are the same ones that killed Glenrico.

Margo Fortune

News | 22 May 2013

How to buy your license

News | 22 May 2013

How to buy your driver’s license

Attempts to clean up corruption at the Lingelethu West Traffic Station in Khayelitsha appear to be failing. GroundUp went undercover and recorded an offer of a bribe by an outside operator, and also spoke to others who were either asked to pay a bribe or who did bribe their way to being allowed behind the wheel.

GroundUp Staff with assistance of the Cape Times

News | 21 May 2013

Investigate and stop this mundane everyday corruption

Today GroundUp published a story, with the assistance of The Cape Times, of corruption at Lingelethu West Traffic Department in Khayelitsha. We tell how the buying of learner's and driver's licenses is commonplace and show that there is the perception, arguably a reasonable one in some areas, that a bribe is necessary to get a driver's license.

GroundUp Editor

News | 20 May 2013

Activist group accuses City of failing to monitor toilet contracts

On 27 April the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) held a meeting in Khayelitsha to report the results of an audit of toilets provided by a supplier contracted to the City of Cape Town. On 10 May the SJC released a written report of the audit's findings.

Fergus Turner

News | 16 May 2013

“ËśProdigal daughters’ speak out at Franschoek literary festival

The exile experience of women in the liberation movements — a largely neglected aspect of recent South African history — will feature this year at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in a discussion involving the octogenarian feminist writer, Lauretta Ngcobo.

Terry Bell

News | 16 May 2013

Make it happen campaign

News | 16 May 2013