News

Our lives are worth more than R500

“Crime is touching me; it’s eating me,” said Patricia May, standing on a stretch of vacant land between Extension 9 and Transit Camp, two neighbourhoods in the larger Grahamstown township.

Hancu Louw

News | 7 October 2015

Taking theatre out of the box and into the backyard

Mhlanguli George, a young Nyanga-based theatre producer and director, has created Theatre in the Backyard, which aims to offer a very different theatre experience from the mainstream.

Christopher Clark

News | 6 October 2015

Surfing helps youth at risk

A non-profit organization is using surfing to promote emotional wellbeing and mental health amongst youths who live in unstable and violent communities. Twice a week, children and teenagers from Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill and Masiphumelele head down to Muizenberg beach to surf. In the ocean, they find a safe space to have fun while building their self-confidence.

Juliette Garms

News | 5 October 2015

Life-saving drug stopped by sole supplier

South Africa is running out of an essential medicine for treating very sick patients with tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant bacterial infections. Many hospitals are already out of stock.

GroundUp Staff

News | 5 October 2015

Bonteheuwel residents and Mayor De Lille trade accusations

Some Bonteheuwel residents who attended a public meeting addressed by Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille last night allege she told them to "voetsek" and other insults. The meeting descended into chaos at one point, and the versions of what happened that have been published by the mayor and a residents' group contradict each other.

GroundUp Staff and Bernard Chiguvare

News | 2 October 2015

South Africa’s real nutrition problems

Based on how much of our public space Tim Noakes and the Banting diet occupy, you might think that one of the most important nutrition problems facing South Africa is the carbohydrate vs fat intake in our diets. It just isn’t.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 2 October 2015

Sewage-covered field causes huge stink for Witsand residents

Witsand residents who live near an open field situated behind the township woke up to the “unbearable smell” of stagnant sewage water on Friday 25 September.

Barbara Maregele

News | 1 October 2015

“You are responsible for creating a historical sadness” - Archbishop

Nearly 2,000 people braved the cold and rain to join the Unite Against Corruption march to Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people participated in the main march in Pretoria. Smaller marches also took place in other cities, including Durban and Grahamstown.

GroundUp Staff

News | 30 September 2015

Pensioners march for R5,000 per month

Hundreds of pensioners marched from the Company’s Garden to Parliament on Tuesday to demand a “decent living wage” of R5,000 from the current R1,410 state pension.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 30 September 2015

Uneasy calm shattered in Masiphumelele

A temporary respite from violence in Masiphumelele ended today, as police and over a thousand residents clashed. Residents blocked the road to Kommetjie with burning tyres. Police used teargas, rubber bullets and arrests to disperse the protest.

Bernard Chiguvare, Masixole Feni & GroundUp staff

News | 29 September 2015

How can South Africa redesign its annual national assessments?

South Africa’s major teacher unions and the Department of Basic Education agree: standardized testing can be a useful tool to measure the progress and gaps in a country’s education. But they don't agree on the current format of the tests.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 29 September 2015

Minister wants meeting to break ANA deadlock

Minister of Education, Angie Motshegka, will meet on Friday with stakeholder groups in a bid to resolve the deadlock over the annual national assessment tests (ANAs), scheduled for December.

Sibusiso Tshabalala

News | 29 September 2015

Bringing rugby to the Cape Flats

Controversy over the demographic composition of the Springbok team once again shows the need to invest in rugby in black schools. A non-profit organisation is trying to do just that.

Scott Sloan

News | 28 September 2015

We shouldn’t have to apply to protest, say activists

Right2Know campaign members and other civil organisation leaders held a picket outside the Civic Centre today calling for the City of Cape Town to respect their right to protest.

Barbara Maregele

News | 28 September 2015

I’ve been raped. What do I do now?

“There are so many things that rapists and communities do that feed myths and false notions about rape,” says Rape Crisis director Kathleen Dey.

Barbara Maregele

News | 28 September 2015

Art in a Khayelitsha fruit & veg shack

Mpho Mathebula rents a small space in a fruit and vegetable shop in Khayelitsha to sell his paintings and beadwork.

Pharie Sefali

News | 25 September 2015