News

Activists call for fair employment conditions for community health workers

Community health workers (CHWs) are an essential link between communities and the often confusing health-care system. There are about 70,000 of them countrywide. They do a myriad tasks: visiting and assisting frail people at their homes, educating people about HIV and TB, and much more. But their conditions of employment are beset with problems.

Barbara Maregele

News | 9 July 2014

Cape Town kids learn stick fighting

Traditional stick fighting is one of the sports being taught to children in the school holiday programme set up by the City of Cape Town.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 8 July 2014

Residents of Lwandle are still homeless

Lwandle residents evicted from Sanral land a month ago are still waiting to get new homes - and to get their belongings back.

Pharie Sefali

News | 8 July 2014

Project to map Khayelitsha’s toilets could improve sanitation

Two organisations have teamed up to map public flush toilet locations in Khayelitsha. They will launch an interactive website and phone-based reporting system to improve efficiency in toilet maintenance.

Michelle Korte

News | 8 July 2014

Metrorail: We need better transport

Cape Town’s commuter train service is abysmal. Our trains are late, dangerous and uncomfortable.

GroundUp Editor

News | 7 July 2014

“Incomprehensible” that Home Affairs declared 5-year-old undesirable

A recent wave of litigation against Home Affairs following the unheralded implementation of new immigration regulations on 26 May 2014 continued on Friday in Western Cape High Court.

Katy Osborn

News | 7 July 2014

That time of the month at Metrorail

Cape Town commuters blame the long queues at Metrorail ticket offices every month end on a shortage of sales agents.

Zintle Swana

News | 7 July 2014

Metrorail newsletter reveals how often trains are late

“I’m stuck at the station--the train’s late” has become a catchphrase for Metrorail commuters.. But have you ever wondered exactly how often the trains are delayed, and which lines have it the worst?

Joy Shan

News | 7 July 2014

The week in political activism

This week we cover the availability of generic drug-resistant tuberculosis medication in Khayelitsha, a worldwide anti-corruption campaign taken up by Corruption Watch, a parents’ camp hosted by Equal Education, and an upcoming school infrastructure reform conference.

Michelle Korte

News | 3 July 2014

New contraceptive is so popular that stocks are running dry

Such was the demand for a newly-introduced female contraceptive implant that stocks ran dry in the Ilembe district a week before the month's end in April. After stalling for three weeks, the programme restarted when stocks were replenished in the second week of May.

Ruth Atkinson

News | 3 July 2014

Cops say they will take Gun Free South Africa’s concerns seriously

On Tuesday, Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) called upon Minister of Police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, to institute a moratorium on firearm licensing nationwide.

Katy Osborn

News | 3 July 2014

Informal vendors unhappy with City’s proposed trading plans

A 38-year-old fruit vendor in the city centre says it is not clear if he will be benefiting from the City of Cape Town’s proposed plan to allocate new trading bays.

Barbara Maregele

News | 2 July 2014

City delays providing toilets to creche

Educators at the Suphemelela Day Care in Khayelitsha where children have been using buckets as toilets, say they are still waiting for flush toilets promised to them by the City of Cape Town more than a month ago.

Barbara Maregele

News | 2 July 2014

I don’t want to go back to the streets, says Sanna

Huddled with her partner Johan in their cardboard and plastic shack behind the Belville market, Sanna Hartnick mixes brandy with Smirnoff Ice. The winter wind whirls and howls but little by little Sanna feels less cold and less stressed.

Shireen Mukadam

News | 2 July 2014

Boxing ref shows it’s not just for men

Most women don’t go far in boxing, but Zodumo Ndude from Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay did not let that stop her. Today she is a referee and a judge.

Siyabonga Kalipa

News | 1 July 2014

Mother of four battles to survive

HIV-positive Zuziwe* from Nyanga is worried about how she is going to survive this winter because she says she doesn’t have enough food or blankets for her children.

Pharie Sefali

News | 1 July 2014