Activists launch campaign against overcrowding By Masego Mafata A survey by Equal Education found that over 70% of classes at nine schools in a Gauteng township were overcrowded. Equal Education published a report on its findings on Monday. An education department official said that an additional R30 billion is needed to fix the overcrowding problem. Research by Equal Education has found that...

Protesters march on National Treasury after budget last week By Mosima Rafapa About 80 people marched to the offices of the National Treasury in Pretoria on Thursday, protesting against the budget announcements last week and calling for a Basic Income Grant, an increase in the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant and its extension beyond March 2022. The march was led by activists...

“If there is no drastic change we won’t be able to farm with cattle and maize in a few years time” By Marecia Damons Climate activists picketed outside Parliament on Saturday demanding government take drastic action over climate change. The Rural Women’s Assembly criticised the COP26 talks in Scotland for excluding the voices of small-scale African farmers and others most affected...

Case arises out of “degrading and invasive” raids on “poor and vulnerable” communities in downtown Johannesburg By Tania Broughton The Constitutional Court has struck down a section of the police act which allows for warrantless searches in cordoned off areas. The case arises after police conducted “cruel, degrading and invasive” raids on people living in 15 high-rise blocks in downtown Johannesburg. ...

Protesters speak of ignorance and bigotry from clinic staff By Mosima Rafapa The TAC convened a demonstration march to the Union Buildings on Monday against corruption in the health system and failing public health facilities. The TAC says most facilities “are in shambles”. Protesters also spoke about clinics failing women seeking abortions and contraception. More than 200 people marched from Loftus stadium...

Asylum application backlog set to grow, with Refugee Reception Offices closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic By Tariro Washinyira Refugees who arrived in South Africa after March 2020 have had no way to apply for asylum status. Accumulating new applications will put further pressure on attempts to clear an already huge backlog of asylum claims. A UNHCR-funded joint project...

SASSA says only 8 million of the 13 million people who applied for the R350 grant were approved By Masego Mafata About 20 activists picketed outside the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) offices in Pretoria on Thursday, demanding fixes to flaws that they have identified in the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant application system. Many of the activists, affiliated...

The “book famine” is over as Copyright Act declared unconstitutional By Tania Broughton The “book famine” for blind and visually impaired people in South Africa has come to an end. The Copyright Act, which bars the conversion of written material to braille, or other accessible formats without the permission of the copyright holders, has been declared unconstitutional by Gauteng High Court Judge Mandla...

Happiness Village’s residents fear for their lives and face unlawful evictions, beatings and intimidation, legal action and shack demolitions By Kimberly Mutandiro Since their unlawful eviction from their homes at the Marievale military base in 2017, the residents of Happiness Village informal settlement have fought for their right to remain on army land. In and out of court ever since, helped...

Municipality has tried to back out of settlement to buy unlawfully occupied buildings By Tania Broughton An agreement made an order of the court last year required the City of Ekurhuleni to buy 16 unlawfully occupied buildings using provincial funds. The agreement put an end to years of legal wrangling between the City, the province, the occupiers and the owners of...