News

Portable flush toilets: What are they and why the fuss?

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

Kasonokomona wins first round of court battle

Zambian activist Paul Kasonkomona has won an important first round in his court battle. In an interview on Zambian television in April he called for the recognition of gay and lesbian rights, as well as the rights of sex workers. He was arrested after the interview and charged under section 178(g) of the Zambian Penal Code.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 6 June 2013

Mayor and SJC clash over toilet facts

Mayor Patricia de Lille held a press conference today to address an unfavourable audit by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) about the quality of the City's sanitation services in Khayelitsha.

Amelia Earnest

News | 5 June 2013

Zandvlei

News | 5 June 2013

Achmat to police: Where are the documents for firearms register?

Zackie Achmat, director of Ndifuna Ukwazi, has sent an access to information request to the South African Police Service asking for documents related to an IT project that has not been completed.

Edirin Okoloko

News | 5 June 2013

Metrorail and The Newage

News | 5 June 2013

Climate scientists agree: Global warming is man-made

A recent analysis of over 12 000 research papers shows that the overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that climate change is influenced by human activity.

Kerry Gordon

News | 5 June 2013

Violence against women mural unveiled in Khayelitsha

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

The People’s Paper: Reflections on another world, not so long ago

The offices of a community newspaper were burned to the ground in October 1985. It was situated opposite the Grand Parade and next to Cape Town’s historic City Hall. A few weeks earlier three of the newspaper’s employees were taken into detention by apartheid security police who swooped on their homes in the dead of night, armed to the teeth.

Mansoor Jaffer

News | 5 June 2013

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