This week we report on a petition to impeach the President, norms and standards for schools, TAC's march in Limpopo and the Cape Town Informal Settlements Coalition.
Brent Meersman and GroundUp staff
News | 4 December 2013
The hardships and inconsistencies of the South African refugee system are illustrated by what has happened to Zimbabwean asylum seekers who work on a farm near Vanwyksdorp, a tiny rural town in the Western Cape, more than four hours drive from Cape Town, that is only served by gravel roads.
Tariro Washinyira and GroundUp staff
News | 28 November 2013
Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, is expected to adopt minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure at the end of this week.
GroundUp Staff
News | 27 November 2013
Over 15,000 people were diagnosed with drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa last year. The risk of death for people with ordinary treatable TB is high. But it is much higher for patients whose illness cannot be treated using the standard TB medicines.
Koketso Moeti and GroundUp staff
News | 26 November 2013
All people are affected by the law but few understand it. Lawyers and judges speak and write using complicated language. Nearly any non-lawyer who picks up a law journal would find it dry and unintelligible. Enter the People's Law Journal, a publication that aims to change this.
GroundUp Staff
News | 19 November 2013
Instead of fulfilling its vision to “enhance the quality of health”, the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) tried to stop details of the health crisis in the Eastern Cape being made public.
GroundUp Staff
News | 4 November 2013
The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) is a statutory body that regulates health workers. It registers doctors and disciplines them if they do something wrong. If it had to perform its tasks properly, patients would benefit. Instead, according to several organisations and doctors, the HPCSA’s inefficiency hurts patients.
Delphine Pedeboy and GroundUp Staff
News | 30 October 2013
Khayelitsha is officially turning 30. Plans to build Khayelitsha were announced by the notorious Minister of Co-operation and Development, Dr Piet Koornhof, in 1983. By 1985, the suburb Site C had 30,000 people. *
Pharie Sefali and GroundUp staff
News | 16 October 2013
G4S is the world’s largest international security firm. It has a big presence in South Africa. Employee relations are strained at the University of Cape Town following the transfer of three G4S security guards to other G4S sites in Cape Town in September.
GroundUp Staff
News | 16 October 2013
89-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, is set to lead the country for yet another five years.
Tariro Washinyira, Mpho Mabhena and GroundUp Staff
News | 6 August 2013
Clayton (name changed) is a Zimbabwean man who injured his leg in a stampede at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) foreshore offices in Cape Town on Monday.
Tariro Washinyira and GroundUp Staff
News | 3 July 2013
Equal Education (EE) filed papers on Monday to re-open the case against the Minister for not publishing minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure.
GroundUp Staff
News | 12 June 2013
Residents of Barcelona informal settlement are living a sanitation nightmare. The company contracted to remove the bucket toilets, Sannicare, has been hit by industrial action and no resolution is in sight.
GroundUp Staff with assistance from Tebello Mzamoand Fergus Turner
News | 29 May 2013
Attempts to clean up corruption at the Lingelethu West Traffic Station in Khayelitsha appear to be failing. GroundUp went undercover and recorded an offer of a bribe by an outside operator, and also spoke to others who were either asked to pay a bribe or who did bribe their way to being allowed behind the wheel.
GroundUp Staff with assistance of the Cape Times
News | 21 May 2013
In 2006, to tackle crime in Khayelitsha, the City of Cape Town launched the Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) project.
Fergus Turner and GroundUp Staff
News | 17 April 2013
Following several reports published on GroundUp on the broken street light problem in Khayelitsha, particularly along Lansdowne Road, several social justice organisations protested and the City repaired the lights. In the last two weeks we have checked the street lights. While most remain on, there are signs that the situation is getting worse.
Nokubonga Yawa and GroundUp Staff
News | 10 April 2013