The Wetlands informal settlement of Masiphumelele is home to over 20,000 people. It is a jumble of corrugated iron shacks and electrical wires. The smell of sewage and rubbish fills the air. Among the many problems its residents face are a lack of toilets and taps for water.
Thembela Ntongana
News | 11 June 2015
Apparently, it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “You fail to plan, and you plan to fail.” This axiom was repeated to me by a Blikkiesdorp community member.
Alison Tilley
Opinion | 9 June 2015
Siphokazi Rululu (14) and her father, Ayanda Qhara, both suffer from chronic epilepsy. Her mother leaves for work in a restaurant chain kitchen at 6am and returns at 7pm four-days a week. Siphokazi’s sister, who is seven years old, must sometimes care for her family during these times.
Pharie Sefali
News | 9 June 2015
The De Waal Drive tenants’ campaign to resist relocation to Pelican Park is gaining momentum. This weekend signatures from most tenants to ratify their elected committee were gathered, and yesterday the committee had a strategic session with the South Road Families Association (SRFA).
Daneel Knoetze
Opinion | 8 June 2015
On 2 and 3 June a year ago the residents of Lwandle Strand were evicted from the SANRAL-owned land that they were occupying. Besides losing their homes, many also lost their belongings. Yesterday, the evicted residents of Lwandle protested despite heavy rains, demanding to be listened to about their problems.
Pharie Sefali
News | 3 June 2015
Richard Ngcongolo is one of thousands of informal settlement residents across Cape Town whose homes are left waterlogged by heavy rainfall during the winter months. Ngcongolo, a resident of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, huddles around a small paraffin heater while three large plastic buckets fill with water dripping through the roof of his two-room shack.
Barbara Maregele
News | 3 June 2015
Philippi has been struck by violence this past week. At least three people have died, including 68-year-old Karel Dilgee who was struck by a stone while driving. There have also been five attempted murders and two houses destroyed by fire. Several cars and at least one Golden Arrow bus have been set alight. Ten people have been arrested, charged with public violence. Residents from neighbouring areas, Marikana and Lower Crossroads, have been fighting with each other. What is causing the violence between these communities?
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik and GroundUp Staff
News | 1 June 2015
Violence has erupted between residents of Lower Crossroads and the Marikana settlement in Philippi East. Today police shot rubber bullets and stun grenades at a group of protesters from Lower Crossroads apparently to prevent them attacking Marikana.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 29 May 2015
Protests over service delivery for the Marikana informal settlement in Philippi East have turned violent. An ANC ward councillor’s house was set alight earlier today, allegedly by protesters from Marikana. Police have also opened a case of murder after a man died on the way to hospital after his car was stoned.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 28 May 2015
The City of Cape Town says infrastructure for water and sanitation cannot be installed in 82% of informal settlements because the land is not suitable. Yet the City’s own data tells a different story, writes Dustin Kramer.
Dustin Kramer
Opinion | 28 May 2015
It has taken eight months for the residents of Blikkiesdorp to be given access to an agreement between the City of Cape Town and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). The agreement outlines ACSA’s plans to purchase the land on which the Blikkiesdorp residents are currently residing and rehouse them.
Ashleigh Furlong
News | 28 May 2015
A group of homeless people who live under the bridge behind the Castle of Good Hope have over the past few months gathered funds to buy small tents in a bid to fight off the winter chill.
Barbara Maregele
Feature | 27 May 2015
Four young cousins died in a shack fire in Golishe Crescent, U-Section, Site B, Khayelitsha on Monday night.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 26 May 2015
Stellenbosch shack fire survivors have expressed anxiety about the involvement of the ANC dominated Kayamandi Development Forum (KDF) in their new government housing development project.
Mandla Mnyakama and GroundUp Staff
News | 25 May 2015
Fridges, stoves, furniture, televisions and microwaves are just some of the goods that residents claim are taken or damaged during evictions. Shack building materials are taken too. But what exactly happens to these goods once they are taken away? And what does the law say?
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 22 May 2015
Nomusa Mthembu, 57, has been living in a bathroom in Thornville, Pietermaritzburg, for more than two decades.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 19 May 2015