GroundUp (Cape Town)
A community journalist project reporting from South Africa's townships, mostly on health.
Website: http://www.groundup.org.za
June 18
South Africa: Mdantsane Residents Close Down ANC Ward Councillor's Office
For three weeks residents have shut Buffalo City Metro ANC Ward 20 Councillor Ntombizodwa Gamnca out of her offices, accusing her of getting involved with dodgy deals around the… Read more »
June 17
South Africa: Domestic Workers Want to Be Covered for Occupational Injuries
About 50 domestic workers and members of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) protested outside Parliament on Monday to demand that the government… Read more »
South Africa: Township Basketball Teams Celebrate Youth Day At the CTICC
About 800 youngsters celebrated Youth Day with a basketball tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The two-day Youth Day Classic Basketball Tournament… Read more »
South Africa: Desperation As Men and Women Looking for Work On the Roadside Say They Will 'Do Anything' for Money
The number of places where men and women wait for work in Brakpan and surrounding towns has increased. There are now up to five spots where people wait for work. Some move around… Read more »
South Africa: A Year After Hermanus Unrest, Land Occupation Unresolved
More than a year has passed since unrest and protests over housing erupted in Hermanus, yet very little has been done to resolve the problem. Read more »
June 14
South Africa: Shack Dwellers' Homes Demolished and Possessions Burnt
A week after the most recent demolitions, residents from Azania Occupation in Cato Manor, Durban, endured yet another round of demolitions on Thursday. This time, their belongings… Read more »
South Africa: Crime Prevention Volunteers in KZN Vow to Fight Termination of Contracts
The Department of Community Safety and Liaison in KwaZulu-Natal will terminate contracts of volunteers working in the province's Volunteer Crime Prevention Programme in March next… Read more »
South Africa: 70-Year-Old Shackdweller Gets R18,581 Water Bill
The City of Cape Town is sending water bills to families in shacks, even though they get their water from communal taps. Read more »
South Africa: Western Cape Seniors Taste Benefits of Ikamva Labantu Clubs
Non profit organisation Ikamva Labantu told GroundUp on Thursday it had intensified its awareness campaign raising issues that affect elderly people in townships in the Western… Read more »
South Africa: Mother Gave Up Her Sick Child Because She Lives in a Shack Without Services
Nomaphelo Nomala lives in a tiny shack in Endlovini informal settlement, Khayelitsha. Since the age of six, she has been paralysed down her right side and she has a speech… Read more »
June 13
South Africa: Vehicles Torched As Philippi East Residents Demand Toilets
Three vehicles including a Golden Arrow bus were set alight during a protest in Philippi East on Wednesday morning. Residents from Siyangena, a new settlement which started in… Read more »
South Africa: Health Workers Sit in At PE Clinic Following Attack On Nurse
Nurses at Motherwell Healthcare Centre in Port Elizabeth have staged a sit-in since Monday. They are demanding that security at the facility be improved. Read more »
South Africa: Aussie Company Show Big Profits From South African West Coast Mine
Shareholders ask MRC to finance reward for information about murder of activist Read more »
South Africa: Activists Camp Outside SAPS to Demand More Police in Poor Areas
Protest follows shooting of six officers and the death of mentally disabled man who had been in police custody Read more »
South Africa: After Three Generations, Kliptown Shack Dwellers Are Still Using Communal Toilets
Miriam Ramaite has lived in her Vaalkamers, Kliptown shack for 33 years. Her daughter grew up here, and her grandchildren are growing up here too, using one of the three chemical… Read more »
South Africa: One Third of Domestic Workers Are Still Not Registered for UIF
By law, all employees who work 24 hours or more per month are entitled to unemployment insurance. But more than 300,000 domestic workers are not registered, meaning they will not… Read more »
June 12
South Africa: Gang Unit Not Enough for Cape Flats - Police Minister
"In the Western Cape, 1,875 people were murdered in the past six months alone," says MEC Read more »
South Africa: Aids Drug Shortage in Limpopo, Says TAC
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) says it has found stockouts of AIDS medicines, known as antiretrovirals, at Limpopo health facilities. Read more »
South Africa: KZN District Is Beating the HIV Epidemic
Good news on the HIV front. Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal, an area where one in four people are living with HIV, has reached the UNAIDS goals, known as 90-90-90. In other words, 90% of… Read more »
South Africa: Khayelitsha School Plans to Cut Water Bill By R50,000 a Month
Design collective seeks to establish urban farms and sustainable infrastructure at township schools Read more »
South Africa: Durban Shack Dwellers Dispute Legality of Repeated Demolitions
About 100 shack dwellers at Azanian Occupation in Cato Manor, Durban, are rebuilding their homes after demolitions carried out by the eThekwini Municipality Land Invasion Unit last… Read more »
South Africa: Sewage Floods Port Elizabeth Streets
Raw sewage from broken manholes is flooding the streets of Wells Estate in Port Elizabeth. Residents say the problem started a year ago. Read more »
June 11
South Africa: Filthy Pit Latrines and No Water At Pietermaritzburg Primary School
"Our children don't deserve such conditions," says parent. Read more »
South Africa: Victory for Children's Rights in the Western Cape
For the first time, a province in South Africa will have a dedicated Commissioner for Children. Read more »
South Africa: Extinction Rebellion Comes to South Africa
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a social movement protesting against the lack of action to stop climate change. The group has three demands on its website: Read more »
