GroundUp

​The Haven’s shelters are already 85% full

Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

Shelters for homeless people across Cape Town are filling up as winter bites. The Haven, which has 14 shelters and 1,300 beds, says the shelters are already 85% full.

While the weather is good, says Haven CEO Shaddie Valayadum, it is possible to make money on the streets.… Read more

​Temporary relocation of families occupying central line contravened municipal by-laws

By Sandiso Phaliso/GroundUp

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has been fined R25,000 for contravening the City of Cape Town zoning laws when it relocated hundreds of families who had erected shacks on the central railway line tracks to a site in Philippi East.… Read more

Judge puts strict conditions on the way the eviction must be carried out and emphasises that the city also belongs to the evictees, as it does to those who live in mansions

The City of Cape Town has been given the green light to evict about 200 people living on the pavement at several inner-city sites.… Read more

The State Land Disposal Act allows the President to fast track the use of public land

By Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp

President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed the ministers of Human Settlements and Public Works to investigate demands by housing activists for land to be redistributed to communities, says Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.… Read more

City school children face a choice between being mugged or crossing the freeway as criminals haunt pedestrian bridges

By Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp

The death of a primary school child on the way to school in Walmer Estate, Cape Town, on 11 April has highlighted the choice young children face: risk getting mugged on a pedestrian bridge, or dodge rush-hour traffic. … Read more

Cape Town mayor concerned about the lack of a clear timeline

Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp

An eviction order against dozens of people occupying land at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town is being sought by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), which owns the land. … Read more

Dreams of returning home to Bishopscourt, one of the most expensive suburbs in Cape Town today, are a step closer for 86 families evicted during apartheid. This after an appeal against the Protea Village restitution housing project was withdrawn.

The Friends of Liesbeek Association had brought a town planning appeal on environmental grounds.… Read more

• Gary Trappler, an attorney, allegedly slashed a Green Point resident’s car tyres more than three years ago.

• The case against Trappler was initially withdrawn, but the introduction of CCTV footage has seen the case reinstated.

• However, the case has been postponed because the magistrate was absent.