Civil Society

Police: Parliament must ask tough questions

Itā€™s annual report season in Parliament, and the new Portfolio Committee on Police is finding its feet. In the first in a series of articles, Zackie Achmat has some suggestions for the committee.

Zackie Achmat

Opinion | 23 October 2014

Getting health care to sex workers in Cape Town

Leigh Davids was born a boy, but when she was five, she realised she wanted to be a girl.

Katy Scott and GroundUp Staff

News | 20 October 2014

Tackling rape in Khayelitsha

Between two and three rapes are reported every day to a single centre in Khayelitsha. And the numbers will probably rise at the end of the year.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 20 October 2014

Week in activism

This week we look at Greenpeaceā€™s call on government to make Eskom comply with pollution laws, a report prepared for Parliamentā€™s Portfolio Committee on Basic Education and a call for the Department of Home Affairs to recognise transgender rights.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 17 October 2014

Makhaza residents protest at Matthew Goniwe clinic

Inadequate treatment, disrespectful staff members, and lost patient folders have become common at the Matthew Goniwe Clinic in Makhaza, say residents, who marched in protest on 16 October.

Joyce Xi

News | 17 October 2014

Marking “Black Wednesday”: how to ensure media freedom

Sunday October 19 marks the commemoration of ā€˜Black Wednesdayā€™, the day in 1977 that the apartheid government banned a range of publications sympathetic to the Black Consciousness Movement, and arrested a group of journalists and editors.

Mark Weinberg

Opinion | 17 October 2014

Hangberg residents demonstrate outside court

Hangberg residents demonstrated at the Wynberg Magistrateā€™s Court on Thursday in support of Santonio Jonkers who made his second appearance in court.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 17 October 2014

Ceres murder trial moved to High Court

The trial of Christo Oncker, 28, accused of the murder of a gay man in Ceres in April, is to be moved to the Western Cape High Court, magistrate Japie Mapomie said in the Ceres magistrateā€™s court on Thursday.

Pharie Sefali

News | 17 October 2014

R400 million firearms control system in shambles

Pressure is mounting on the police to sort out problems with a R400 million firearms control system, ten years after the contract to develop it was signed with Pretoria-based company Waymark Infotech.

Daneel Knoetze

Feature | 17 October 2014

Why judges matter: beyond the Dewani case

Not far from the High Court where Shrien Dewani is on trial for murder, the Judicial Service Commission is interviewing candidate judges. The Dewani trial is getting all the attention, but the selection of judges affects us all.

Rudo Chitapi

Opinion | 8 October 2014

Week in activism

This week we look at the SERIā€™s workshop on law related to eviction, the social dialogue for the gay and lesbian community, TACā€™s march for better services and IOMā€™s public debate on human trafficking.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 8 October 2014

Activists to Sonnenberg: City must engage constructively on sanitation

Yesterday the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) published a social audit of the state of municipal public toilets in Khayelitsha. Councillor Ernest Sonnenberg responded. This is a reply by the SJC's Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer to Councillor Sonnenberg.

Axolile Notywala and Dustin Kramer

Opinion | 2 October 2014

Shackdwellers celebrate after City eviction squad backs down

Shackdwellers from Philippi Eastā€™s Mangaung informal settlement cheered after they successfully faced off the City of Cape Townā€™s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) on Wednesday.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 2 October 2014

The week in activism

This week we look at Sonkeā€™s call on government to support an important medical trial and the court ruling in the Limpopo foreign tradersā€™ case brought by Lawyers for Human Rights.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 2 October 2014

Khayelitsha residents welcome SJC social audit report

The community of BM Section in Khayelitsha came out in their numbers to listen to the report by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) on sanitation services in the township.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 1 October 2014

Ernest Sonnenberg, Mayco member for Utility Services, responds to SJC

It is deeply ironic that the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), which has appointed itself the guardian of the dignity of the most vulnerable in our city, would rather grandstand, utilise social media platforms, and have lengthy report back sessions rather than work with the City to directly improve the lives of residents.

Ernest Sonnenberg

News | 1 October 2014