There is a large backlog in social grant payments at South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA) branches in Gugulethu and Mitchell's Plain. Beneficiaries who have not received their grants in months are accusing the state agency of incompetence.
Pharie Sefali
News | 22 January 2014
Transformation of the media in South Africa is essential. But we should be very clear about what we mean by such transformation.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 14 January 2014
After the departure of Nelson Mandela, where is this unity we talk about? On the day of Tata's memorial the world was watching. It was a day where South Africans from different backgrounds, through the rain, walked, drove, took buses, trains and taxis to Soccer City to witness the memorial of an African hero.
Axolile Notywala
Opinion | 12 December 2013
I was born the day before Madiba's release from prison. Most of what I know about him I was told by my parents or I learnt at school. I never met him. Nevertheless, the way he shared his life made it feel as if I knew him personally.
Nwabisa Pondoyi
Opinion | 12 December 2013
Alide Dasnois has been fired from her position as editor of the Cape Times.
GroundUp Editor
News | 8 December 2013
Nelson Mandela has died. He inspired and led the struggle for freedom and against the oppression of apartheid. GroundUp interviewed Zackie Achmat about Mandela. In the 2000s, Achmat led the struggle for life-saving medicines for people with HIV.
GroundUp Staff
News | 6 December 2013
On 14 December, the Desmond Tutu Foundation will host a beauty pageant called Mr and Miss Gay Ekasi in Salt River. Most participants will be from Khayelitsha and other Cape Town townships. Does the popularity of events like these mean it is becoming easier to be gay or lesbian in Cape Town’s largest township?
Pharie Sefali
News | 28 November 2013
Several houses in Gugulethu were damaged by the heavy rainfall this weekend. Hombazi Fiphaza, a resident from Kanana Square informal settlement, said, “We go through the same thing everytime there is heavy rainfall … What pains me the most is watching the children suffer because of it, and there is nothing you can do to protect them from it.”
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 21 November 2013
Louis Titus, a 60-year-old married man from Elsies River, was introduced to the Vineyard soup kitchen in Parow four months ago by a friend. Titus worked for the City of Cape Town for 20 years. He currently receives a R1,500 monthly pension. His wife is unemployed. Titus takes the food he receives home to his four children.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 20 November 2013
Zake Mda’s lyrical novel is set in the mists of time, in the Southern African kingdom of Mapungubwe. (Mda has based his story on a wealth of archaeological evidence and research into oral tradition.) It is a tale of the rivalry between the two artistically gifted sons of the royal sculptor; rivalry in love and rivalry for two competing visions of what society should be.
Zakes Mda
News | 18 November 2013
On 9 November, Lingua Franca, a spoken word and music movement, celebrated their first anniversary. At a sold out show at the Baxter Theatre, more than 15 poets graced the stage to recite their work.
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 13 November 2013
Parents every year complain about the demands grade 12 learners have for their end of the year matric dances.
Pharie Sefali
News | 13 November 2013
Weddings today have become more about flaunting status and wealth than tying the knot. Couples are left with financial debt and worse.
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 13 November 2013
It is not every day that a book like A man who is not a man comes along. Thando Mgqolozana's debut novel is a courageous book. It is a sensitive but merciless interrogation of the Xhosa custom of male circumcision today. What happens to the boys--emotionally, spiritually and socially--when things go wrong, the fault of which is not of their own making?
Thando Mgqolozana
News | 12 November 2013
Tuelo Gabonewe's is an exciting, new young voice in South African literature. His first novel, Planet Savage, is narrated by Leungo, a nine-year old with an unusual, often sacrosanct, outlook on life.
Tuelo Gabonewe
News | 4 November 2013
Not every parent would be pleased to hear their child is determined to make a life in the theatre. But Amber Mgushelwa’s family has been supportive of her career choice. Her father reassured her all the way; her mother had some concerns.
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 30 October 2013