GroundUp News

The case involving a Johannesburg housing official accused of fraudulently selling homes was postponed for a seventh time on Tuesday. Read groundup.org.za/article/sowe... by Seth Thorne

The high court in Lesotho is to hear a bid to force the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) to release information on communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which includes the Katse Dam. Read groundup.org.za/article/leso... by Sechaba Mokhethi

Developers of a luxury lodge near Bonnievale in the Western Cape have been fined R15-million for illegal construction in a protected area. Read groundup.org.za/article/luxu... by John Yeld

The Johannesburg Labour Court has found that CCMA commissioner Menzi Fakude relied on a judgment that did not exist when allowing six former South African Post Office employees to pursue unfair dismissal claims. Read groundup.org.za/article/labo... by Tania Broughton

KwaMaqoma residents say taps can run dry for weeks, while the refurbishment of the Fort Beaufort water treatment works, due for completion in June 2026, remains unfinished. Read groundup.org.za/article/taps... by Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

The two key goals in managing the HIV epidemic are getting as many people with the virus as possible onto ARV treatment and reducing the number of new infections. Read groundup.org.za/article/a-ne... by Marcus Low and Nathan Geffen

In December 2024, the Gauteng premier’s office said more than 80,000 physical e-Panic Buttons had been distributed. Less than three months later, Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the number was 2,000. Read groundup.org.za/article/lesu... by Joel Cedras

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Residents in central Pretoria’ and surrounding areas are able to drink their tap water again after last week’s precautionary advisory to boil water supplied by the Findlay Reservoir. Read groundup.org.za/article/some... by Seth Thorne

Mass shootings and gun violence are destroying lives and traumatising entire communities. This was the message echoed by community activists and residents of Khayelitsha in Cape Town on Saturday. Read groundup.org.za/article/youd... by Mary-Anne Gontsana

Mayfair West resident Ayesha Kajee has not had tap water for a week. This has become common over the past six years in Johannesburg’s high-lying areas, and when there is water, supply is throttled at night. Read groundup.org.za/article/week... by Seth Thorne

People came out in numbers to the inaugural five-day Queer Festival which ran from 21 to 25 October at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Read groundup.org.za/article/in-p... by Ihsaan Haffejee

Like most South African towns and cities, Polokwane is polluting its rivers due to dysfunctional sewage treatment works. Read groundup.org.za/article/elec... by Steve Kretzmann

The Department of Water and Sanitation has discovered that a water treatment works in Tshwane supplying the Pretoria CBD has not been chlorinating its water. Read groundup.org.za/article/tshw... by Seth Thorne

Khayelitsha residents barricaded Baden Powell Drive and Japhta Masemola Road in Cape Town with burning tyres on Friday, demanding water and electricity. The protesters were from three informal settlements: Ethembeni, Empolweni and Island. Read groundup.org.za/article/prot... by Vincent Lali

Residents of Dark City near Bronkhorstspruit are collecting water from a hole because their tap water is contaminated and the City of Tshwane’s water tankers are not delivering enough. Read groundup.org.za/article/bron... by Warren Mabona

Immigrant delivery drivers say they have been attacked, robbed and chased away in Soweto, Thokoza and parts of Johannesburg. Some drivers now refuse to deliver to these areas. Read groundup.org.za/article/immi... by Kimberly Mutandiro

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced on Wednesday that the government will spend just under R290-billion on social grants this financial year. Read groundup.org.za/article/sass... by The Outlier and Marecia Damons

Residents of Enkanini informal settlement, near Bonela in Durban, say they have waited more than three months for the municipality to stop stormwater and sewage running down the settlement’s main road. Read groundup.org.za/article/over... by Tsoanelo Sefoloko

On Thursday morning, an immigrant man was beaten to death by a group of about 50 people. Read groundup.org.za/article/man-... by Joseph Bracken and Tsoanelo Sefoloko

The government has allocated R1.6-billion over the next three years to combat child stunting and malnutrition in children’s first 1,000 days of life. Read groundup.org.za/article/trea... by Velani Ludidi

A judicial panel has set aside a misconduct finding against Judge Selemeng Mokose for not recusing herself from a case in which she had a conflict of interest. Read groundup.org.za/article/judg... by Tania Broughton

Coming from Zimbabwe was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire, said Brian, who asked that his surname not be published. Read groundup.org.za/article/life... by Joseph Chirume and GroundUp Staff

Matriculants at Eyabantu Senior Secondary School in KwaMaqoma in the Eastern Cape were hoping to write their exams in new classrooms they have been promised since 2019. But the school is still not ready. Read groundup.org.za/article/lear... by Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant will be extended for another year, according to Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana’s mini-budget announcement on Wednesday. Read groundup.org.za/article/srd-... by GroundUp Staff

Key takeaways from the budget speech: Lower growth but higher revenue, more money for health, education and the fight against gender-based violence, and the SRD grant is extended for another year. Read groundup.org.za/article/our-... by GroundUp Staff

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his medium-term budget before Parliament on Wednesday. Here are our key takeaways: Read groundup.org.za/article/our-... by GroundUp Staff

Lawyers at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) have approached the court on behalf of over 20 immigrant traders supported by the Somali Association of South Africa against the state and anti-immigrant vigilante groups. Read groundup.org.za/article/bell... by Matthew Hirsch

Lawyers at the Legal Resources Centre, on behalf of over 20 immigrant traders, want the court to declare threats and acts of intimidation by anti-immigrant vigilante groups unfair discrimination. Read groundup.org.za/article/bell... by Matthew Hirsch

Public works minister Dean Macpherson has applied to the court to stop the expansion of the Knoflokskraal settlement in Grabouw in the Western Cape. Read groundup.org.za/article/mini... by Liezl Human

Failing treatment works, widespread blockages and pump station outages in numerous municipalities are causing sewage contamination of fresh water systems across South Africa. Read groundup.org.za/article/tshw... by Seth Thorne

“Cultural” adoption guidelines used by the Department of Social Development and its social workers are unlawful, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has found. Read groundup.org.za/article/moth... by Tania Broughton

I had surgery on my shoulder under general anaesthetic a few months ago. About one in seven South Africans have medical insurance. I am fortunate to be one of them. I was operated on about a month after an injury that necessitated it. Read groundup.org.za/article/priv... by Nathan Geffen

A court-directed mediation process began in June 2013 to relocate families in Siyahlala informal settlement, built partly on railway tracks in Dunoon, Cape Town. The City of Cape Town says mediation continues under a supervising judge. Read groundup.org.za/article/siya... by Peter Luhanga

The Masiphumelele Creative Hub supports several upliftment initiatives, including the training of 22 “garden champions”. They grow and harvest vegetables to supply feeding scheme kitchens and families in need in the community. Read groundup.org.za/article/masi... by Abonge Chiya

Residents of Campbell township in Musina say unless their water supply is fixed, no-one will vote in the municipal elections next month. Residents had lined up empty containers in the street, hoping that the tanker would arrive. Read groundup.org.za/article/no-w... by Bernard Chiguvare

Families forcibly removed from Protea Village in Bishopscourt now expect to move back in 2028, later than previously expected. Read groundup.org.za/article/fami... by Matthew Hirsch

Years of maladministration and political instability have resulted in the marked deterioration of Johannesburg. Read groundup.org.za/article/jobu... by Seth Thorne

More than 400 people, mostly children under four, fell ill in Bronkhorstspruit and nearby areas this month. For three weeks, Tshwane didn’t chlorinate water drawn from a river polluted with sewage, and didn’t warn residents. Read groundup.org.za/article/hund... by Seth Thorne and Warren Mabona

Seventy-two-year-old Nomalanga Magona from Gugulethu, Cape Town, has been an active member of the local Sunflower Senior Club since 2024, after retiring as a clerk at Home Affairs. Read groundup.org.za/article/gugu... by Mary-Anne Gontsana

Because of sewage and heavy industrial pollution in the Rietvlei River in Ekurhuleni, a water treatment plant for residents in the east of Tshwane has not been operational for a year. Read groundup.org.za/article/sewa... by Seth Thorne

Learning has resumed at Kuyasa Primary School in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, after being suspended for a few days in August because the grounds were soaked with sewage. Read groundup.org.za/article/some... by Velani Ludidi

UMngeni Local Municipality Mayor Christopher Pappas says a programme to install smart meters for electricity will generate about R900,000 additional revenue a month. Read groundup.org.za/article/elec... by Joseph Bracken

Protesters marched to Parliament on Friday to demand the government take urgent action to mitigate the impact of the climate crisis and El Niño conditions. These pose a growing threat to food systems across Southern Africa. Read groundup.org.za/article/hund... by Abonge Chiya

About 100 eThekwini municipality general workers from different departments picketed outside Durban City Hall on Thursday. Read groundup.org.za/article/work... by Tsoanelo Sefoloko

Political party representatives were presented with the 2026 National Homeless Manifesto at the Denis Hurley Centre yesterday. The manifesto details several demands to the incoming municipal government to address issues related to homelessness. Read groundup.org.za/article/home... by Joseph Bracken

More than 50 people walked through Durban on Thursday to mark International White Cane Day and to call for greater awareness of the rights and needs of visually impaired people. Read groundup.org.za/article/durb... by Tsoanelo Sefoloko

One man died and at least three structures were gutted in a fire that ripped through Singabalapha informal settlement in Observatory in the early hours of Wednesday. Read groundup.org.za/article/man-... by Mary-Anne Gontsana

Disability activists in the Western Cape are calling for clear policies on the provision of free adult nappies at clinics to disabled people who need them. Read groundup.org.za/article/disa... by Mary-Anne Gontsana

Bovines bellow. Their collar bells ring. They crap carelessly. Some bulls try to hump cows. Men crack their whips to usher the animals along. Read groundup.org.za/article/a-br... by Nathan Geffen, Maanda Bele and Ihsaan Haffejee