Local government

Ses’khona leaders rendered homeless

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

Residents demand clarity on R60 million Langa Junction complex

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

Sanitation: SJC’s analysis is faulty

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

Long wait for Motsepe money

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

We’re being targeted, say homeless

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

“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

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

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

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