Dressing “sexy†to get a lift to school and other stories

News

Hangberg on a knife-edge

Four years after the riots of 2010, Hangberg is on the edge of rebellion. Protests after the arrest of resident Santonio Jonkers engulfed the neighbourhood last week and a traditional leader has warned of impending bloodshed. GroundUp finds out why the 2011 Peace Accord between the community and the authorities seems to be in tatters.

Daneel Knoetze

Dressing \xe2\x80\x9csexy\xe2\x80\x9d to get a lift to school

Many Mfuleni learners walk to and from school in Khayelitsha every day, but some have found their own mode of transport: they show their bodies to persuade drivers to give them money for transport or a lift.

Pharie Sefali

Lwandle commission recommends reforms to prevent illegal evictions

The Commission of Inquiry into the Lwandle evictions has recommended changes to legislation to prevent illegal evictions in future.

Daneel Knoetze

SJC trial: \xe2\x80\x9cWe wanted the City to see we were serious\xe2\x80\x9d

Emotions ran high in the Cape Town Magistrates\xe2\x80\x99 Court on Wednesday as Social Justice Coalition\xe2\x80\x99s general secretary, Phumeza Mlungwana, was cross-examined about last year\xe2\x80\x99s protest on the steps of the Cape Town Civic Centre.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

SJC members defend civic centre protest

Protests are a way to be heard and not just an event, Social Justice Coalition general secretary Phumeza Mlungwana told the Cape Town Magistrates\xe2\x80\x99 Court on Tuesday.

Mary-Anne Gontsana and Lea Bork

University elections: SASCO splits

The SA Student Congress has split and a new breakaway organisation has won seats on the Student Representative Councils of the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape.

Zintle Swana

Court victory for asylum seekers

Somali and Ethiopian asylum seekers and refugees have scored a longed-for victory against official xenophobia \xe2\x80\x93 the Supreme Court of Appeal has thrown out key elements of \xe2\x80\x98Operation Hardstick\xe2\x80\x99.

Carmel Rickard

\xe2\x80\x9cIn Nyanga people die almost every day\xe2\x80\x9d

\xe2\x80\x9cEvery day I wake to hear that someone has been shot dead or is in a critical condition in hospital\xe2\x80\x9d, says Lilitha Ncwangu, 12.

Pharie Sefali

Zimbabweans report glitches in permit system

Zimbabweans were promised in August by the Department of Home Affairs that they could apply for the Zimbabwean Special Permit from October 1, 2014, but many have been unable to.

Thembela Ntongana

Belhar students\xe2\x80\x99 fee battle

With less than a month to go before exams, students at Northlink College\xe2\x80\x99s Belhar campus are worried that they will not be allowed to write because of problems with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Zintle Swana

Update \xe2\x80\x93 SA\xe2\x80\x99s nuclear shame

After decades of fighting for compensation, workers from Pelindaba employed in the apartheid nuclear programme have caught the attention of Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela. The workers allege that they were exposed to chemicals and radiation that made them sick. They want Madonsela to bring their lengthy struggle for compensation to a close.

Mandy de Waal

National Health Insurance: struggling to be born

South Africa\xe2\x80\x99s bid to provide universal health care through National Health Insurance could fail if government does not learn lessons from other countries, a conference heard last week.

Ian Broughton

Opinion

Ebola: Where are the sick and dying?

The driver puts his fist on the hooter insistently, indicating to oncoming vehicles, people and animals to move out of our path, which is obscured by lush forest at every corner.

Kathryn Stinson

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

The potential for economic change

Once again we are having calls from a number of trade unions for the private sector to exercise \xe2\x80\x9csocial responsibility\xe2\x80\x9d in order to help build \xe2\x80\x9ca developmental state\xe2\x80\x9d. It is a far cry from 1996 when the combined labour movement presented alternative economic policy proposals.

Terry Bell

Activist beat

Week in activism

This week we look at the SERI\xe2\x80\x99s workshop on law related to eviction, the social dialogue for the gay and lesbian community, TAC\xe2\x80\x99s march for better services and IOM\xe2\x80\x99s public debate on human trafficking.

Thembela Ntongana