In Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday, a broad spectrum of residents, community organisations, students’ movements, religious groups, people with disability and members of the public embarked on a protest march against the 25.3% electricity tariff hike that has been proposed by Eskom. City mayor Chris Ndlela was asked to stand up for his constituents.
Ntombi Mbomvu
News | 24 June 2015
Three Ses’khona leaders from Mfuleni Garden City informal settlement were left homeless after residents demolished their shacks on Saturday, accusing them of “selling” open spaces.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
News | 23 June 2015
Management of the R60 million Langa Junction complex has promised to make information available to angry residents who have complained about a lack of transparency in the building and leasing of the 5,000 square metre space.
Pharie Sefali and Nombulelo Damba
News | 14 April 2015
The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) has asked the Mayor for a plan to deal with sanitation in informal settlements. We have a plan – one that has already been and continues to be implemented as part of this administration’s commitment to making this a city that delivers services to all our residents. Perhaps that is why so many people flock here from other parts of the country every year. After all, no one packs up their family and leaves their hometown for a worse life!
Ian Neilson
Opinion | 8 April 2015
Khayelitsha residents who applied for funds from the Khayelitsha Motsepe Foundation in 2013 might have to wait months for the money, says the head of the Motsepe Foundation in the Western Cape, Steve Mashalane.
Nombulelo Damba
Feature | 8 April 2015
Homeless people in Observatory, Woodstock and Bellville have complained about a wave of law enforcement operations against them in the last two months.
Ian Broughton
Feature | 8 April 2015
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
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
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
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
Siqalo residents have welcomed the City of Cape Town’s quick action to remove rubbish dumps that have spiraled out of control in recent weeks.
Daneel Knoetze
Brief | 25 February 2015
The City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement evicted land occupiers near Gugulethu on Saturday morning – demolishing six shacks before violent protests erupted. By Monday calm had returned to the community, but the frustrations of shack dwellers from KwaKiki and Sweethome Farm informal settlements continue unrelieved. As police remain on site, residents have vowed that their struggle for land will continue.
Daneel Knoetze
Feature | 16 February 2015
The first few months of Margaret Papier’s stay in Flamingo Crescent, a shanty town in Lansdowne, were so rough that she considered moving back to her former home underneath Lansdowne Bridge. Now, after three years of upgrading, she and her partner have a modest yet comfortable and electrified home, with access to clean drinking water and a flush toilet outside their front door.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 11 February 2015
Manenberg residents believe night marches by community members and increased police visibility helped to restore peace to the area this week.
Barbara Maregele
News | 28 January 2015
This is a response by Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services, to GroundUp's article "Is this the Dirtiest Job in Cape Town?" published on 21 January.
Ernest Sonnenberg
Opinion | 23 January 2015
Mfuleni’s sports complex was vandalised and looted over the festive season. A community leader, who is lobbying for the trashed buildings to be renovated, has blamed the City of Cape Town for cancelling a contract with a security company to protect the grounds.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 22 January 2015