Armed gang robs a creche in Khayelitsha

Teachers at a crèche in Khayelitsha were caught unaware when three armed men stormed into the shack and robbed them of their monthly wages on Thursday.

Barbara Maregele

News | 13 March 2015

Western Cape human rights organisations respond to Philippi xenophobic violence

At a Western Cape Refugee and Migrant Forum at Scalabrini Centre on Thursday, several civil society organisations agreed to establish a ‘xenophobic response task team and forum’ in response to the recent Philippi xenophobic violence.

Tariro Washinyira

Brief | 13 March 2015

Domestic workers union wants new minimum wage

On Thursday, a group of about ten women marched to parliament to protest against the delay by government to extend certain basic rights to domestic workers.

Bernard Chiguvare

Brief | 13 March 2015

Twenty-one deaths in 13 months at Glebelands Hostel

Four months after KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu’s high-profile announcement of a peace deal and R10-million security plan at the violence-torn Glebelands hostel in Umlazi, Durban, two more hostel residents have been murdered.

Pharie Sefali

News | 13 March 2015

No help for girl disabled by public toilet

Chumisa Fudumele was seven years old when a toilet fell on her, leaving her disabled. A year later, her parents are struggling to get her back into a school.

Zintle Swana

News | 12 March 2015

Nyanga man’s salary slashed to pay for furniture he says he never bought

A Nyanga man has had more than R1,000 deducted from his salary every month since September 2013, to pay for furniture which he says he never bought.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 12 March 2015

Khayelitsha students sent home for not paying voluntary fee

Dozens of Grade 12 students were sent home on Tuesday from Qhayiya Secondary School in Khayelitsha because they were unable to pay a “voluntary fee” to the school.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 11 March 2015

Philippi students speak out about police showdown

On 6 March there was a violent stand-off between students from Philippi High School and the police in the Cape Town CBD. GroundUp reported this. Here is a statement issued by the students on the events of that day.

Philippi High School Students

Opinion | 11 March 2015

Double-shift for Cape Town primary school causes tension

The parents of Mfuleni “tent school” students say that they are still unhappy with the arrangements made to accommodate their children. Now, community leaders are threatening to “evict” Bardale Primary School’s principal, if more classroom space is not made available.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 11 March 2015

Heideveld patients protest as disability grant applications declined

A group of 15 people who have been receiving disability grants for at least five years protested outside the Heideveld Community Day Centre on Monday after their latest applications were declined.

Barbara Maregele

News | 10 March 2015

“Now I have lunch in a clean canteen”

The contract workers who clean portable toilets all day at the Borcherd’s Quarry Depot now have a canteen and a place to change.

Zintle Swana

News | 10 March 2015

Sanitary pads: no sign that Zuma’s promise has been kept

Four years after President Jacob Zuma promised sanitary towels for poor women, there is no sign that his promise has been kept.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Brief | 10 March 2015

Polluters let off the hook

South Africans shouldn’t hold their breath as polluters are let off the hook. Decisions of the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on Tuesday 24 February 2015 marked a disappointing setback in the battle for improved air quality in South Africa.

Nicole LĂśser

Opinion | 9 March 2015

Buyers scammed in fake Cape Flats house sales

A Mitchell’s Plain man has been making fake house sales in Delft, Mfuleni and Gugulethu, apparently scamming buyers out of tens of thousands of rands.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 9 March 2015

Cosatu and Vavi: the Aurora factor

Infighting, bickering and the pursuit of power and patronage have largely paralysed Cosatu in recent years. That, broadly, is the view of the labour federation’s embattled general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi and of Jay Naidoo, Cosatu’s first general secretary.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 9 March 2015

Good and bad approaches to upgrading informal settlements

In February the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) dismantled a family’s shack in Mfuleni. This acrimonious incident raises important questions about how informal settlements are to be upgraded.

Nathan Geffen

Opinion | 9 March 2015