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GroundUpIsrael has blocked food from entering Gaza and killed more than 200 people at distribution points By Matthew Hirsch Several hundred people, mostly women, walked in silence along the Sea Point promenade on Saturday to show solidarity with people in Gaza. They wore black and many covered their heads or shoulders with keffiyehs. The march … Read more [...] Read more...

Police torture in Mowbray – case document goes missing

GroundUpLawyers are reprimanded by magistrate By Mary-Anne Gontsana/GroundUp One of the three police officers on trial for assaulting a man during a raid at a Mowbray barbershop in 2023 intends to plead guilty to the charge of torture. However, proceedings could not continue at the Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday because the officer’s plea proposal … Read more [...] Read more...

June gig guide

Rosa-Karoo LoeweWhat’s on in Cape Town this month Music Under a marquee on the lawn outside the Gugulethu sports complex in 2005 or so, Simphiwe Dana held a crowd of about 1,000 adoring fans in thrall. Her debut album, Zandisile, had been out for less than a year, and everyone in the crowd knew every word … Read more [...] Read more...

Mayor gives green light to controversial Bo-Kaap hotel

GroundUp“Consensus” reached after exhaustive engagement process, says Geordin Hill-Lewis Construction of a hotel on a vacant plot in the Bo-Kaap in Cape Town is to go ahead, but it will be three storeys lower than the original plan. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has confirmed the decision by the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal to … Read more [...] Read more...

Tafelberg housing plan revealed

GroundUpWestern Cape Government plans combination of social, affordable, and high-end housing units The Western Cape Provincial Government has revealed its plans to build affordable and social housing at the long-contested Tafelberg site in Sea Point. During a public meeting at the Life Conference Centre in Sea Point on Wednesday evening, three options were presented. The … Read more [...] Read more...

Hundreds mark Nakba Day at Castle of Good Hope

Matthew HirschPro-Palestine activists call for permanent ceasefire The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town was a sea of red, white, green and black on Sunday as hundreds of people gathered to commemorate the 77th anniversary of Nakba Day. The rally was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Activists are calling for a ceasefire in … Read more [...] Read more...

Fury in Dunoon over City home demolition

GroundUpInformal settlement residents have been replacing shacks with brick and mortar homes By Peter Luhanga/GroundUp Trouble flared up for the third day on Wednesday in Dunoon as protesters from Ezihagwini informal settlement vented their fury over the demolition of brick walls a resident had erected in an attempt to build a home. Buses and taxis … Read more [...] Read more...

Cape comedian guilty of hate speech

GroundUpThomas Torr refused to respond to complaint of antisemitism and threatened to kill judge’s registrar By Tania Broughton/GroundUp Thomas Leyland Torr, reportedly an aspiring comedian, has been found guilty of hate speech in the Equality Court, sitting in the Western Cape High Court. Torr has been ordered by Judge Andre Le Grange to issue an … Read more [...] Read more...

Green Point land sale discussed

Matthew HirschNot all in favour of affordable housing on site The City’s intention to sell more than four hectares of prime land spanning Green Point and Sea Point was discussed at a public online meeting attended by about 100 people on Wednesday evening (7 May). Last month, it was reported that the City was to auction … Read more [...] Read more...

Yoliswa Dwane Lecture: the war on Palestinian children

GroundUp“A nuclear power considers a sick baby to be a security concern.” Israeli-born legal scholar Dr Noam Peleg gave this year’s Yoliswa Dwane Lecture on 6 May. The annual lecture is hosted by Equal Education and UCT’s Centre for Law and Society, in memory of activist and Equal Education co-founder Yoliswa Dwane who died of … Read more [...] Read more...

A Doll’s House, Part 2: Hard act to follow

Steve KretzmannRejecting her husband’s disparagement, Nora Helmer walks out the door, leaving him and two small children behind. That was the final scene of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, first performed in Copenhagen in 1879. In A Doll’s House, Part 2, written in 2017 by American playwright Lucas Hnath, Nora returns 15 years later with a … Read more [...] Read more...

Flower farm keeps Constantia’s coloured heritage alive

GroundUpJaftha brothers help heal a history of land dispossession Liezl Human/GroundUp Hundreds of coloured families were forcibly removed from Constantia in the 1960s and ‘70s under the apartheid Group Areas Act but a fifth-generation flower farming family is bringing their rich history to life. Jaftha’s Flower Farm is run by brothers Charles and Malcolm Jaftha, … Read more [...] Read more...

May gig guide

Steve KretzmannMusic Bass virtuoso Herbie Tsoaeli, who has been at the centre of both establishing our rich jazz tradition, and keeping it alive, is playing with his quintet at Art in Jazz on 1 May. At Room 91 (just above Chef’s Warehouse) on 91 Bree Street, there’ll also be work by numerous artists exhibited, including by … Read more [...] Read more...

Residents battle for a say in Blaauwberg development plan

Steve KretzmannCommunity alleges their input over ecologically sensitive land has not been taken into account Residents of Blaauwberg on Cape Town’s west coast are locked in a battle over a proposed development on ecologically sensitive land in Big Bay. About 30 families are currently living on the land in shacks. The development plan for the kitesurfing … Read more [...] Read more...

Should you give handouts at traffic lights? A view from the street

GroundUpPeople helping do so out of goodwill and with the best intentions By Chantel Sampson/GroundUp My name is Chantel Sampson. I was a homeless person for six years. I lived at the foot of Table Mountain from 2018 onwards. You probably walked past me if you visited Van Riebeeck Park in Vredehoek. I was part of … Read more [...] Read more...

Cape Town’s water recycling project should not be privatised

GroundUpComment on the proposed Faure New Water Scheme closes on 17 April By Group of water researchers/GroundUp A group of water justice researchers has warned against the City of Cape Town’s proposal to “externalise” the implementation and operation of the Faure New Water Scheme. The City of Cape Town wants to outsource a very expensive, very … Read more [...] Read more...

Western Cape promises progress on inner-city housing projects

GroundUpSeveral social housing projects in Cape Town will go to tender this year Matthew Hirsch and Daniel Steyn/GroundUp MEC for Western Cape Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers announced this week that he intends to finalise the tenders for three major inner-city housing projects built on state-owned land in Cape Town. The three projects will be funded by … Read more [...] Read more...

Department of Social Development proposes changes to SRD grant application

GroundUpQuestions about income could be removed By Marecia Damons/GroundUp The Department of Social Development is proposing changes to the Social Assistance Act, including removing questions about the income of applicants for the R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. The proposed amendments are open for public comment until Monday, 14 April. The grant is available to people … Read more [...] Read more...

Affordable housing proposed on prime Green Point site

GroundUpThe land value of the site ranks “among the highest in the southern hemisphere”. Matthew Hirsch and Steve Kretzmann/GroundUp More than four hectares of prime land traversing the boundary of Green Point and Sea Point are to be auctioned off by the City of Cape Town for mixed use development which includes affordable housing. The … Read more [...] Read more...

Building in Bishopscourt begins for land claimants

GroundUpA return to the land is in sight for scores of families forcibly removed during apartheid Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp A sod-turning ceremony for the construction of 86 homes in Protea Village, Bishopscourt, was attended by land claimants, community members and government officials on Tuesday 11 March. More than 100 families who had settled in the Bishopscourt … Read more [...] Read more...

East city ‘problem building’ occupiers face eviction

GroundUpAbout 30 people have been living at 104 Darling Street for more than two decades Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp Unathi Mangali’s daughter was a baby when they moved into 104 Darling Street in the Cape Town city centre twenty years ago. Today her daughter is 22 years old. They are among about 30 people facing eviction from … Read more [...] Read more...

Book shorts

ContributorThe Fourth Boy by Andrew Robert Wilson Set mostly in the Klein Karoo, beautifully written, atmospheric and irresistibly intriguing, The Fourth Boy explores notions of belonging and a myriad of other longings which I found profoundly moving. It tells the story of a young man’s search for his father against the backdrop of the 80s in apartheid South … Read more [...] Read more...

The best of both worlds in a Pinot Noir

Sadé AllcockHumans are deeply sentimental creatures. This has been the case for millennia. It is evidenced by the number of personal artifacts buried together with human remains, from the Stone Age to the Ancient Egyptians to the present day. We keep letters, photos, scrapbooks of all the special moments and places. We hold on to useless … Read more [...] Read more...

Audio build to blow your hair back

Jackie CruzeOne car subculture that announces its presence with sheer volume in Cape Town is the audio enthusiasts. Take Granger Nieuwoudt and his Seat Vario Cordoba, the only car of its kind in the country. Experiencing the force of his sound system is a full body experience; you can literally feel your skin vibrating while your … Read more [...] Read more...

Herd of puppets migrate from Congo to Scandinavia

GroundUpLife-sized animal puppet project to raise awareness about dangers of accelerating climate change Ashraf Hendricks/Groundup Hundreds of life-sized animal puppets will be performing in cities from Central Africa to the northern tip of Norway to highlight the loss of biodiversity caused by rapid, human-induced climate change. Titled ‘The Herds’, this large-scale public art project will … Read more [...] Read more...

April gig guide

Steve KretzmannTheatre The absolutely superb actor Tony Miyambo brings Red Peter back to the stage in Kafka’s Ape, an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s A Report For An Academy, in which the Ape presents himself as a civilised being after being captured and trained. Tony performed this play at the National Arts Festival in 2019 and the … Read more [...] Read more...

Seapoint site could change future of social housing

GroundUpA pending Constitutional Court judgment on Tafelberg may have far-reaching consequences for City planning The Constitutional Court will in coming months make a final decision in the decade-long Tafelberg saga. The court’s ruling could significantly impact how provincial and local governments approach affordable housing and the disposal of state-owned land. In November 2015, the Western … Read more [...] Read more...

Orfeo: Living lies in paying attention

Steve KretzmannRarely does a novel teach you to listen. There is a scene in Richard Powers’s Orfeo in which the protagonist, avante-garde composer Peter Els, presents his final undergraduate composition at a famed music school in rural Indiana to his tutor, Karol Kopacz. The first measure is a “compact chromatic phrase, packed with every one of … Read more [...] Read more...

Old skool sleeper reawakened

Jackie CreweThe nameplate Toyota Corona brings a rich and varied history. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, the mid-size family car made a move from basic durability to being a bit of a sleeper at the robots. In other words, the genre added a touch of sportiness. Dads were thrilled. By the early ’70s, the Mk2 … Read more [...] Read more...

Prasa and City rail agreement finally gets going

Steve KretzmannBut plan lacks firm targets, commitments, and timelines An amended Service Level Plan between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and the City of Cape Town was finally signed off on 21 February. The original plan, which the Cape Town mayor announced had been signed by Prasa on 5 December, was found to … Read more [...] Read more...