GroundUp News: From anti-immigration fallout to public health and policing gaps

This week on GroundUp News, editor Barbara October joins John Maytham to discuss a range of hard-hitting public interest stories, including an editorial on the suffering linked to the anti-immigration “March and March” campaign, concerns over SAPS readiness to stock child rape kits at Western Cape …

GroundUp News: Khayelitsha toddler falls into sinkhole

A three-year-old girl was rescued after falling into a sinkhole in Wetland informal settlement in Khayelitsha last Monday; historic buildings in McGregor were left to be stripped by vandals, despite provincial MPLs recommending it be used as a safe house; and a free World Refugee Day concert was he…

GroundUp News: CoCT plans to auction off farmers’ market site

The future of the smallholder farmers’ market in Mowbray hangs in the balance after the City of Cape Town announced plans to auction off the property; and a test of various government websites has found that many are confusing to navigate. John Maytham, standing in for Lester Kiewit, speaks to Bar…

GroundUp News: Pentech residents want a school as promised to them

Residents of Pentech in Belhar are threatening court action to stop a state housing project, saying they need a school that was promised to them years ago; community and faith leaders meet to try to prevent an anti-immigrant march in Dunoon; and 970 affordable homes to be built at Salt River Market…

GroundUp News: Fishing community challenges West Coast oil exploration

Small-scale fishing cooperatives and environmental organisations are seeking to overturn government approval granted for a 3D seismic survey off the West Coast; immigrants in the Overstrand region fear for their lives; and Gugulethu residents roll up their sleeves and clean up illegal dumping sites…

GroundUp News: ConCourt rules on private health provision

ConCourt rules that private health providers don’t need government permission to operate; farmworkers describe spending nights on rooftops after flooding; and government might finally be heeding calls for Cape Town military land to be released for housing. Africa Melane, standing in for Lester Kie…

GroundUp News: Taxi operators call for relief as fuel prices hit hard

Taxi operators are feeling the impact of the high fuel prices and seeking any form of relief, while passengers fear a fare hike is coming; families in Khayelitsha have finally been relocated after weather delays and protests; and a paraplegic man will finally receive care after a protracted legal b…

GroundUp News: SASSA pilots new system in bid to shorten queues

In a bid to shorten queues, the SASSA office in Bellville is currently piloting a new system; the City of Cape Town is trying to relocate families living atop sinkholes caused by a collapsed sewer pipe in Khayelitsha. Lester Kiewit speaks to Masego Mafata, journalist at GroundUp News, about the la…

GroundUp News: City of Cape Town wants to make the registration process easier for ECDs

The City of Cape Town is easing ECD registration to help centres access subsidies; questions remain over the arrest of Chinese fishing trawlers; and a North West school is collapsing amid a court ruling over unpaid photocopier rental fees. Lester Kiewit speaks to Barbara October, deputy editor of …

GroundUp News: JSC overturns tribunal ruling on Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge

The Judicial Service Commission has overturned an earlier ruling by a tribunal which had found Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge not guilty of sexual harassment; a UCT study has found that many dead caracals had suffered internal bleeding from ingesting rat poison; and the Fisantekraal co…