Equal Education members demand Eastern Cape education MEC intervene By Johnnie Isaac Scores of learners and Equal Education members donned their school uniforms on Wednesday and marched to the Eastern Cape Department of Education in Zwelitsha. They are opposed to proposed amendments to minimum norms and standards for public school infrastructure. Under the new draft amendments, deadlines have been removed for when government must...

Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans living in South Africa may find themselves undocumented on 1 January 2023. The Helen Suzman Foundation is trying to stop this. By Tania Broughton The Helen Suzman Foundation is taking the Minister of Home Affairs to court to set aside government’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) at the end of the year. About...

Payments delayed by means testing processes By Marecia Damons Payments for the new cycle of the Covid R350-a-month grant will be made from mid-June, according to deputy director-general of the Department of Social Development Brenda Sibeko. The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, introduced in May 2020, was due to come to an end in March 2022 but was extended in February this year to...

Future of Driftsands Nature Reserve uncertain By Siphokazi Mnyobe The Driftsands Nature Reserve in Cape Town, which has been occupied by thousands of families, has lost its value as a nature reserve, according to the Western Cape government. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning intends to de-proclaim the reserve. Meanwhile some of the families who moved onto the land...

Social protection provides a lifeline but it’s not enough, say researchers By Marecia Damons The Black Sash has called on the government to set up a task team to work out how to increase the R350-a-month Covid Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant to the food poverty line of R624. Speaking at the launch of a research report on social protection, Black Sash national director...

Women on Farms march against evictions in the Western Cape 27 April 2022 | By Liezl Human Farm worker evictions are likely to spike with the end of the National State of Disaster, Women on Farms (WFP) has warned. WFP said when cases already on the court roll were processed, thousands of workers and their families would be evicted. About 100 women marched...

The agency says it’s waiting for Department of Social Development to finalise amended regulations By Marecia Damons SASSA will not be processing new R350 Covid Grant applications until the relevant regulations have been amended. The grant was introduced and distributed under the Disaster Management Act to provide relief to poor people and those left vulnerable due to the Covid pandemic. It...

We need a comprehensive approach to site and service schemes By Noah Schermbrucker, Mirjam van Donk and Jens Horber A drastic change to housing policy in South Africa is in the institutional pipeline. From a delivery model centred on subsidised houses, the state is to shift focus to site and service schemes. But there is very little clarity as to how this will work, and...

Human Rights Commission urges city to move away from ‘us and them’ mentality when it comes to homelessness By Marecia Damons A report by the Human Rights Commission into homelessness in Cape Town found a lack of ablution facilities, clean water and homeless shelters for families. The report follows the City’s amended by-law that provides for compliance notices to be issued...

Since lockdown asylum seekers and refugees have been denied crucial services By Tariro Washinyira Refugees and asylum seekers are facing a myriad of problems because Home Affairs has not provided crucial in-person services for two years. Despite a blanket extension of permits various government departments and private sector facilities are not accepting valid documents, not even some Home Affairs officers. There...