Housing

Mfuleni backyarders protest over housing list dispute

About 300 Mfuleni backyarders marched yesterday to the office of the Western Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela, to hand over a memorandum about housing in the area.

Bernard Chiguvare

Brief | 3 December 2015

Masiphumelele to get its own fire station

Masiphumelele, scene of a devastating fire last weekend, is to get its own fire station. Community leaders have welcomed the news, but expressed surprise that they were not consulted.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 3 December 2015

Residents fight back against banks’ eviction tactics

A group called Lungelo Lethu Human Rights Foundation is preparing a class action suit against the four major banks for what it says are the unlawful evictions of thousands of South Africans from their homes.

Ciaran Ryan

Feature | 2 December 2015

Delays “unacceptable” says attorney in Hout Bay firebreak case

The court hearing of Hangberg resident Santonio Jonkers will be prioritised next year, says Magistrate Wezile Rixana. Jonkers is accused of contravening a 2011 High Court interdict that prevented anyone from building new structures on the Sentinel’s firebreak above Hangberg in Hout Bay.

Barbara Maregele

Brief | 2 December 2015

“My only thought was: I don’t want to die”

Nolufefe Mhlangeni lost her mother and her two-year-old daughter in a fire in Masiphumelele in 2013. On Sunday, she lost her home.

Thembela Ntongana

News | 30 November 2015

Who is responsible for Blikkiesdorp?

Who is responsible for Blikkiesdorp? This question has been coming up in response to work in the community by the Open Democracy Advice Centre.

Alison Tilley

Opinion | 30 November 2015

One thousand homes destroyed in Masiphumelele fire

Distraught residents wander amongst the ash, corrugated iron, rubble and smoke of Section D in Masiphumelele, a township in Cape Town's south peninsula. In the last few hours, thousands have lost their homes and possessions. Two fire engines stand at the edge of the burnt areas.

GroundUp Staff

Brief | 29 November 2015

Twitter war between activists and City over Wolwerivier

A spat erupted on Twitter this week when Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) director Zackie Achmat accused City of Cape Town’s Benedicta van Minnen of being ‘a liar’ and ‘one who holds black people in contempt’.

Barbara Maregele

News | 27 November 2015

Residents in Khayelitsha take on Big Five

Tensions are high in Isiqalo informal settlement after violent clashes between residents and former community leaders who have refused to step down.

Siyavuya Khaya

News | 25 November 2015

Audit finds serious problems at Wolwerivier. But will City listen?

Overcrowding, high unemployment rates and fire safety are just some of the concerns raised by a social audit of Wolwerivier, a low-cost housing project north of Cape Town.

Barbara Maregele

News | 24 November 2015

We’re like cockroaches to the City, say Johannesburg residents

The corridors are long and institution-like, lined by doors. Light peeks in through the staircase windows, but the corridors are dark, despite it being 10AM on a bright Johannesburg day.

Sarita Pillay

Feature | 20 November 2015

Living in cardboard shacks … inside a hostel

“The condition that these people live in is uncalled for,” says Ward 52 Councillor Mayenzeke Sopaqa. He is describing a derelict area in Section 18, Langa, known as Emaholweni, established 45 years ago in what has become a no-man’s-land, all but abandoned by the authorities.

Photos by Masixole Feni and Liza Kettil.Text by Thembela Ntongana

News | 19 November 2015

Imizamo Yethu residents rebuild after fire

Imizamo Yethu residents who fell victim to a fire that razed numerous shacks and left families homeless a week ago are busy rebuilding their homes after getting some assistance from the City of Cape Town. Shacks belonging to South Africans and Zimbabweans just 200 metres away from Hout Bay police station were burnt to ashes.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 18 November 2015

Endlovini residents accuse councillor of breaking promises

Tempers flared last night in Endlovini in Khayelitsha, with angry residents burning portable toilets and blockading the road in a protest over housing.

Siyavuya Khaya

News | 17 November 2015

Fire leaves over 200 Hout Bay residents homeless - here’s how you can help

Fire spread through Imizamo Yethu informal settlement at about noon on Thursday. Over 200 people have been left homeless, after more than 30 shacks burnt.

Juliette Garms

News | 13 November 2015

Blikkiesdorp families want to move again

Some of the families who accepted an offer from the City of Cape Town to move from Blikkiesdorp to Wolwerivier in September, say they want to move again.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 12 November 2015