Commission tours police stations and crime hotspot

It was a scorching hot day in Khayelitsha today, as the Commission of Inquiry into policing, led by Justice Kate O'Regan and Advocate Vusi Pikoli, got underway.

Adam Armstrong

Brief | 22 January 2014

Police detain Zimbabweans for over 15 days

Three Zimbabwean men were detained at Richmond Police Station for over 15 days for being in the country unlawfully. The police were apparently waiting upon Immigration Services of the Department of Home Affairs to deport the men.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 22 January 2014

Understanding the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry

The Commission of Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha starts today. Here’s a quick and simple guide to it.

Adam Armstrong

News | 21 January 2014

Is SAPS intimidating the Social Justice Coalition?

Is the South African Police Service actively trying to intimidate those who campaigned for the Commission of Inquiry into Policing Khayelitsha? A few suspicious incidents suggest they are.

Adam Armstrong

News | 21 January 2014

Leaked email: companies intended to campaign against government policy

A leaked email shows that a plan for a campaign to scuttle the South African government's draft intellectual property policy was about to proceed, despite a denial by the pharmaceutical industry that it had approved the campaign.

GroundUp Staff

News | 21 January 2014

Sick mine workers neglected - time to compensate them

Far from the bustling streets of downtown Johannesburg, much of it built by the bounty of South Africa’s gold mines, thousands of former mineworkers suffer from painful diseases contracted on the job. These men labour to breathe, their lungs degraded by the occupational diseases of silicosis and tuberculosis.

Ryan Boyko, Seyward Darby, and Rose Goldberg

News | 20 January 2014

Mshengu toilets down again

Mshengu’s blue chemical toilets have once again toppled over in Khayelitsha’s BM Section causing residents to defecate in the bushes.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 15 January 2014

Gay-rights activist’s trial nears final stages

On 20 February 2014, a preliminary ruling will be made in the case of The People v Kasonkomona in the Lusaka Magistrates Court. The ruling will determine if Paul Kasonkomona needs to defend himself against the state’s case or if the case should be dismissed and Kasonkomona acquitted.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 15 January 2014

Phillipi settlement battle highlights housing problems

On 7 and 8 January, the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit demolished more than 40 homes at the Marikana settlement in Philippi East. There has been ongoing conflict between the City and the residents who have settled on this plot of privately owned land just off Symphony Way.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

Feature | 15 January 2014

African Delights: an extract from Siphiwo Mahala’s collection of short stories

Siphiwo Mahala’s short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines locally and internationally and have been collected together in African Delights (published by the Jacana Literary Foundation). The result is a unique tour of South African life.

Siphiwo Mahala

News | 15 January 2014

Organisation helps matriculants get into university

The South African Education and Environment Project (SAEP) started a bridging year programme in 2003. Young people from township schools are assisted with rewriting matric to improve their chances of getting into university, getting a job or doing other useful work for their communities.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 15 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

The need for real media transformation

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

How to hold local government accountable

The elections this year will be for our provincial and national governments. But it is our local government, our mayors and ward councillors, who are responsible for much of the service delivery that affects our day-to-day lives, such as refuse collection, sanitation and day clinics.

Fergus Turner and GroundUp Staff

News | 14 January 2014

Labour Department fails to follow up on sick workers’ claims

On 13 November 2013, GroundUp reported that Cassiem Mahommed has been waiting for over six years for compensation from the City of Cape Town for asbestosis. The Department of Labour immediately contacted GroundUp after publication and promised to follow up with Mahommed Disturbingly, there has been no progress on the matter.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 14 January 2014

Court orders access to Stellenbosch’s deadly initiation school

Seven boys were admitted to Stellenbosch Hospital on the evenings of 25 and 26 November. Two were dead on arrival. One had sjambok marks on his body. They were about 20 years old. They were the victims of an initiation school.

Jonathan Dockney

News | 9 January 2014