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GroundUp News

@groundup.org.za

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GroundUp brings you #NewsThatMatters. We report human rights stories across South Africa. Visit https://groundup.org.za/

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 3h

The South African Medical Association has taken a decision to suspend professional and bilateral relations with the Israeli Medical Association following “grave concerns regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.

Read groundup.org.za/article/heal... by Matthew Hirsch

Health workers applaud medical association’s decision to cut ties with Israel

SAMA calls for the Israeli Medical Association to condemn the blockade of essential medical supplies, among other demands

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 3h

Lesotho’s “Big Six” trade unions have announced a mass protest at the end of the month to defend jobs in the textile and clothing industry.

Read groundup.org.za/article/fact... by Sechaba Mokhethi

Factory workers to march as Lesotho’s textile jobs hang by a thread

Unions demand the renewal of AGOA and lower tariffs on exports to the US

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 6h

Some Dial-a-Ride users say they’ve been struggling to book trips with the service in recent weeks.

Read groundup.org.za/article/some... by Mary-Anne Gontsana

Dial-a-Ride users struggle with bookings

Cape High Court ordered City of Cape Town to pause plans to cut back on transport service for disabled people

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 17h

Thousands of members of unions affiliated to COSATU took to the streets on Tuesday, calling for wages that keep pace with the rising cost of living

Read groundup.org.za/article/work... by Ihsaan Haffejee, Vincent Lali and Tsoanelo Sefoloko

Workers take to the streets on World Day for Decent Work

COSATU marches in major cities to highlight corruption, job losses and high cost of living

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 1d

Fishing families who have lived in blocks of council flats in Kalk Bay for generations say they are being forced out of the community by a massive increase in their water bills.

Read groundup.org.za/article/gent... by Liezl Human

We’re being pushed out, say Kalk Bay fishing families

Massive increase in water bills means they cannot afford to stay

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 1d

Hundreds of families in Komani, Eastern Cape, displaced by floods in 2023 are still waiting for their promised houses.

Read groundup.org.za/article/east... by Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

Eastern Cape families affected by 2023 floods to wait until next year for houses

Huge housing project launched before the floods is still in initial phase

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 1d

Five families who were moved to make way for the Mohale Dam in the Lesotho mountains have lost a court battle over compensation.

Read groundup.org.za/article/leso... by Sechaba Mokhethi

Lesotho families, moved to make way for a dam, lose court battle

20 years after they were displaced by the Mohale Dam, court tells families to share their compensation payout

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

Chaos erupted in Cloetesville in Stellenbosch on Sunday as more than 100 residents marched to the homes of several alleged drug dealers.

Read groundup.org.za/article/poli... by Ashraf Hendricks

Police fire stun grenades at PAGAD protesters

Residents of Cloetesville in Stellenbosch march to the homes of alleged drug dealers to demand an end to gang violence

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

About 5,000 members of Abahlali baseMjondolo travelled from informal settlements across the country to celebrate the movement’s two decades of activism at Curries Fountain Stadium in Durban at the weekend.

Read groundup.org.za/article/thou... by Joseph Bracken

Thousands celebrate Abahlali baseMjondolo’s 20th anniversary in Durban

Shack dwellers’ movement was founded in 2005

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

Hundreds of supporters of Palestine marched through the streets of Lenasia in Johannesburg on Sunday, as part of the annual “Walk for Freedom”.

Read groundup.org.za/article/hund... by Ihsaan Haffejee

Hundreds march to demand release of activists detained by Israel

The annual “Walk for Freedom” march in Johannesburg is now in its 16th year

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

An 11-year-old child was killed and two others injured when a police van crashed into a shack on Saturday, 4 October in Delft, Cape Town.

Read groundup.org.za/article/11-y... by Phumeza Halonisi

11-year-old killed as police van crashes into shack in Cape Town

Angry residents set van alight

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

Near Sibongakonke Mdluli’s RDP house in Marikana, Dundee, a hole has been dug to reach the municipal water line, through which water runs only once a day and for short periods at a time.

Read groundup.org.za/article/peop... by Joseph Bracken and Bongane Motaung

People fight for water as infrastructure crumbles

uMzinyathi District Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is failing to supply water

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 2d

Fourteen hours. That’s how much time I spent queuing to renew and collect my passport and to get a new ID card. That was time I would have much rather spent with my family or at work.

Read groundup.org.za/article/queu... by Nathan Geffen

Queue, the beloved country

We have come to accept that we must queue for hours for every public service - but it’s not normal

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 3d

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, the old proverb states. But if it’s a bird that has been fitted with a ring, its value now includes a contribution to scientific research and essential environmental education

Read groundup.org.za/article/bird... by John Yeld

Bird ringing – bringing knowledge and delight

A South African discovery offered the first proof of birds migrating across the equator

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 3d

At a time when too many judges are being implicated in scandals, a high court judge reminds us of the ethical qualities judges must have

Read analysis groundup.org.za/article/what... by Rishi Seegobin

What makes an ethical judge?

Our judiciary has been plagued by unethical conduct

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 4d

Hundreds of people protested outside the US consulate in Sandton against the Israeli interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla and the detention of the activists on board

Read groundup.org.za/article/demo... by Ihsaan Haffejee

Demonstration outside Israeli embassy in support of flotilla activists

Six South Africans are among hundreds of people detained by Israel. They were bringing aid to Gaza.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 5d

With an annual budget of R3.27-billion, it will take the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure two decades to eliminate the maintenance backlog on 56,000 government-owned properties.

Read groundup.org.za/article/crum... by GroundUp and The Outlier

Billions needed to fix courts, prisons and police buildings

Department of Public Works has a R30-billion maintenance backlog

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 5d

A new campus for the Rivoni School of the Blind was supposed to be completed in 2024, but the massive project, now budgeted at R198-million, stands unused and incomplete.

Read groundup.org.za/article/limp... by Thembi Siaga

IDT’s school project stalls as costs reach R198-million

Learners of Rivoni School of the Blind were promised a new building in 2019

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 5d

The Land Court has ruled that landowners must go through a mediation process before seeking an eviction order from a court.

Read groundup.org.za/article/land... by Tania Broughton

Landowners must go through mediation before applying for an eviction, court rules

Land Court lays out rules for mediation procedures

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 5d

Dozens of people picketed outside the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Rondebosch, Cape Town on Thursday.

Read groundup.org.za/article/heal... by Matthew Hirsch

Health workers picket for flotilla to be protected

They also call for the Israeli Medical Association to be suspended from the World Medical Association

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 6d

People receiving pension grants in Limpopo have been refunded funeral policy premiums after an investigation by GroundUp and the Limpopo Mirror.

Read groundup.org.za/article/sass... by Thembi Siaga, Anton van Zyl and Raymond Joseph

Pensioners refunded after we queried funeral policy deductions

Insurance companies insist they have proof that pensioners agreed, but questions remain about how this was done

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 6d

About 180 young people with disabilities took centre stage at this year’s Moving Into Dance (MID) Enable Through Dance performance at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Arts Centre this week.

Read groundup.org.za/article/maki... by Ihsaan Haffejee

In photos: disabled learners inspire through dance

Moving Into Dance (MID) showcased their annual Enable Through Dance project which works with learners from special needs schools

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 6d

The Gauteng Department of Social Development has reverted to accepting email applications from non-profit organisations after its new funding platform flopped.

Read groundup.org.za/article/gaut... by Joseph Bracken

Chaotic start to Gauteng Social Development Department’s 2026 funding cycle

Gauteng DSD abandons new funding applications platform

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 6d

SASSA has extended its contract with Postbank by three months.

Read groundup.org.za/article/sass... by Marecia Damons

SASSA extends Postbank’s contract by three months

The agreement, which governs how millions of grants are paid, was supposed to lapse on 30 September

groundup.org.za

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 7d

Two weeks into the 30-day closure of taxi routes between Khayelitsha and Somerset West, still no agreement has been reached between rival taxi associations CATA and CODETA.

Read groundup.org.za/article/some... by Sandiso Phaliso

Somerset West taxi shutdown may be extended, says MEC

Taxi drivers feel the pitch as routes between Khayelitsha, Mfuleni and Somerset West have been closed for two weeks

groundup.org.za