Police use stun grenades; injure and disperse marching Philippi students

A protest in Cape Town city centre by students from Philippi High School over the lack of infrastructure and classrooms at their campus was violently dispersed by police officers on Friday morning.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 6 March 2015

Domestic workers slip through the cracks in UIF

Only 50% of domestic workers in the Western Cape are registered for Unemployment Insurance, according to official statistics. GroundUp tested the system to find out why employers don’t register their workers.

Ben Stanwix

News | 6 March 2015

A Cape Town firefighter’s long journey to work

It's 5:30am in Town Two, Khayelitsha, and firefighter Anelisa Flani has just started her day.

Barbara Maregele

News | 6 March 2015

Human Rights Commission to probe city toilets again

The SA Human Rights Commission is to re-examine its report on chemical toilets in the informal settlements, after finding procedural irregularities in the report.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 5 March 2015

TAC calls on Free State premier to fire MEC

The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has called on Free State Premier Ace Magashule to fire or suspend health MEC Benny Malakoane, after the release of a letter from doctors about the Free State healthcare system.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Brief | 5 March 2015

Cape fire claims life

As the country's attention was transfixed on the Table Mountain fires, another blaze claimed one life and left three families homeless in a Franschhoek informal settlement.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 5 March 2015

False Bay domestic worker paid nothing for 14 years

A 61-year-old Zimbabwean domestic worker, Gladys Mafita, claims her False Bay employer fired her without payment after 14 years.The employer is Daniel Deng, son of Francis Deng, the first ambassador of South Sudan to the United States.

Tariro Washinyira

Feature | 4 March 2015

Shack scam: Langa activist fears for her life

Langa residents are asking why a man accused of fraudulent plot sales to dozens of poor people has still not been arrested, while the activist who exposed him fears for her life.

Daneel Knoetze

Feature | 4 March 2015

Sibongile - help for children with disabilities

Nomasango Xabanisa knows only too well how time-consuming it is to look after a disabled child. Her own daughter, Sibongile, had cerebral palsy.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 3 March 2015

Life remains intolerably hard for most South Africans

Wednesday was Budget day in South Africa, an annual event for the state. But for most citizens, budget day is every day or, if they a slightly luckier, a weekly or monthly calculation to try to remain at least afloat economically. So what happened last week, along with the plaudits and the protests reflected in the media, will not cause any excitement for more than half the population.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 3 March 2015

Manenberg school highlights public versus private education debate

An independent school in Manenberg, one of Cape Town's most gang-ridden communities, had better matric results last year than any state school in the area has ever achieved. But educationalists are divided as to whether it is a model that should be scaled up.

Barbara Maregele

Feature | 2 March 2015

City does not care if it is wrong as long as no one else knows it

When the Madlingozi family in Mfuleni extended their shack without authorisation, the City of Cape Town removed the extensions, amidst a dispute over the facts. Jared Sacks argues that the City presented its position without checking the facts.

Jared Sacks

Opinion | 2 March 2015

Gay and lesbian activists call for “racist” Cape Town Pride to be more inclusive

For 25-year-old, Aphiwe Mikana from Gugulethu, raising awareness about what it means to be lesbian is more than brightly coloured floats or a day of dancing through city streets.

Barbara Maregele

News | 2 March 2015

Response by Free State government to whistleblowers

On Friday 27 February GroundUp published a whistleblowers' account of the state of the Free State health system. Before publishing GroundUp sent a list of questions to the Free State Department of Health and the office of Premier Ace Magashule. Here is a response written by Mondli Mvambi of the health department and Makalo Mohale of the premier's office.

Mondli Mvambi and Makalo Mohale for the Free State government

Opinion | 28 February 2015

Help us help you, Minister Nene

For 21 years, the Minister of Finance has tabled budgets announcing that large amounts of money will go to social services that are meant to improve the lives of the poor. But, even the staunchest government supporter would agree that the country has not derived full benefit from this money. Year after year the Auditor General, Public Protector and others report on inefficiency, poor accounting and corruption in all categories of public spending.

Albert van Zyl

Analysis | 27 February 2015