Government

‘Western Cape Story’ must be told with facts

Since 2012, Mayor Patricia De Lille and others in the City of Cape Town have repeatedly referred to the proportion of the City’s budget allocated to ‘pro-poor spending’.

Dustin Kramer

Opinion | 2 April 2014

Who Killed Moses Tshake?

A man trying to fight corruption and restore financial discipline in the Free State was hijacked and maimed in February 2013, and died the following May. Moses Tshake was asking questions about the province’s corrupt agricultural projects before he died. Now the investigation into his murder has stalled. Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar investigate why.

Mandy de Waal and Jon Pienaar

News | 1 April 2014

Mthethwa attends politically coloured crime summit in Khayelitsha

Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa was in Khayelitsha on Friday 14 March for a Crime Summit arranged by the Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF).

Adam Armstrong

News | 17 March 2014

The Khayelitsha Commission takes a break

On Friday 21 February, the first round of public sittings of the Khayelitsha Commission came to an end. There will be no public sittings until 17 March, when senior SAPS officers will continue to give testimony.

Adam Armstrong

News | 3 March 2014

The week in political activism

This week we have reports on civil society’s response to the budget and a documentary hosted by Sonke Gender Justice.

Compiled by Brent Meersman

News | 26 February 2014

SASSA still failing to pay grants in Gugulethu and Mitchell’s Plain

On January 17, Anthea Qonga was told by South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) officials at the Mitchell’s Plain branch that she cannot receive her grant money because its managers were unavailable to sign the papers.

Pharie Sefali

News | 20 February 2014

How to hold provincial government accountable

The 2014 national and provincial elections are around the corner. You will have the chance to vote for the national assembly and your provincial legislature. What is a provincial legislature and how does it work? In this sequel to our article on holding local government accountable, Fergus Turner explains.

Fergus Turner

News | 19 February 2014

Are SAPS top brass shifting blame to station commanders?

Colonel Michael Reitz, station commander of Lingelethu West, one of Khayelitsha’s three police stations took the stand at the inquiry into policing yesterday. He was the first witness for SAPS to give testimony.

Adam Armstrong

News | 14 February 2014

Achmat calls for ceremony for police to apologise

The police should hold a formal ceremony to apologise to some of the victims of poor policing in Khayelitsha, Zackie Achmat has suggested.

Adam Armstrong

News | 13 February 2014

Red tape blocks Khayelitsha small businesses

Entrepreneurs from two successful businesses in Khayelitsha are frustrated with the red tape that is blocking their businesses from growing.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 12 February 2014

South Africa’s water wars

Ma Gladys Mphepho hovers over a pot on a two plate cooker in her shack in Papamani, an informal settlement outside of Grahamstown. “We do not have dignity,” she says, stirring the rice, flavoured with beef stock, that is her family’s Sunday lunch. “We do not know what it means to have dignity. Forget about any question of dignity,” says Mphepho.

Mandy de Waal

News | 5 February 2014

Police oversight bodies failing

For three days, the Khayelitsha Commission has heard from various bodies responsible for oversight and cooperation with the police. Their testimonies have not inspired confidence.

Adam Armstrong

News | 5 February 2014

SAPS accused of being disrespectful to Commission

Hearings and submissions of oral evidence started at the Commission of Inquiry in Khayelitsha today. The hall at Lookout Hill was packed with member of the Social Justice Coalition, residents of Khayelitsha, academics and journalists.

Adam Armstrong

News | 23 January 2014

Opening statement on behalf of the complainant organisations at the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

Opening statement on behalf of the complainant organisations at the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police inefficiency in Khayelitsha and a breakdown in relations between the community and police in Khayelitsha.

Peter Hathorn, Ncumisa Mayosi, Michael Bishop

Opinion | 23 January 2014

Fixing the civil service is vital

Civil servants are failing poor people like Cassiem Mahommed and many others. The decline of our civil service is one of the most important political problems facing South Africa.

GroundUp Editor

News | 14 January 2014

When the ANC jeered Madiba

Do any of the members of the ANC's 1997-2002 NEC now regret the way they heckled and jeered Madiba at an NEC meeting in March 2002?

Roy Jobson

Opinion | 12 December 2013