Tag Archives: GroundUp

Facts and Myths about Cape Town Water Crisis

Mike Hampton Posted on by

This is one of the better articles about the Cape Town water crisis. “As Day Zero approaches, nonsense is being spread.” This article by the staff of GroundUp cuts through the hysteria with facts and logic. FACTS & MYTHS ABOUT CAPE TOWN’S WATER CRISIS Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille has announced that Day Zero is now more likely than not. From 1 February, all households have to reduce their municipal water consumption to 50 litres per person per day. The World Wide Fund for Nature has published useful guidelines … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

R60bn Constitutional Court Case Against SA Banks

Mike Hampton Posted on by

Applicants want criminal investigation into bank executives… More than 225 applicants, mostly from Gauteng townships, have launched a suit in the Constitutional Court, claiming damages from the big banks for home repossession abuse. The applicants are claiming R60bn from the banks for unlawful repossession of homes since the Constitution came into effect in 1994. This figure is based on the average estimated loss of home equity value multiplied by the roughly 100,000 homes repossessed in SA since 1994. Home equity is the difference between the market value of a property … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Big Victory for Immigrant Rights in Constitutional Court

Mike Hampton Posted on by

Home Affairs must bring all detainees held under the Immigration Act before a magistrate within 48 hours. The Constitutional Court declared sections of the Immigration Act, 2002 invalid and unconstitutional on Thursday. The Act allowed for immigrants to be detained without a court hearing. The unanimous decision, written by Justice Chris Jafta, also ordered that all detainees held under the Immigration Act must be brought before a Magistrate within 48 hours. Also anyone currently detained under the Immigration Act must be brought before a court within 48 hours of the judgment. The Minister … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Judgement: Religion in South African Schools

Mike Hampton Posted on by

“On Wednesday the Gauteng High Court handed down a judgment on the role and place of religion in public schools…. The court found that there was no law or provision in the Constitution which gave public schools and SGBs the right to adopt an ethos from one religion to the exclusion of others. All that the laws provided for was that SGBs could make rules that provided for religious policies and observances to be conducted on an equitable basis. This means that schools must treat different religions with an “even-hand”, … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Bad Municipal Workers Are Gonna Pay!

Mike Hampton Posted on by

Judgment should worry South African state employees who make incompetent decisions… COURT HOLDS MUNICIPAL WORKERS PERSONALLY LIABLE FOR LEGAL COSTS On 5 April Judge Dhaya Pillay of the Kwazulu-Natal High Court in Durban handed down a judgment with potentially far reaching consequences for future government litigation. Pillay ordered several employees of the eThekwini Municipality personally liable for half the costs of the litigation. Ordinarily, the government or department would be liable if the case is against individuals acting in an official government capacity. However, in the eThekwini case, the judge … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Teachers Oppose 20% Maths Pass Mark

Mike Hampton Posted on by

South African teachers oppose 20% maths pass mark, saying, “We are setting these children up for failure.” A circular sent out by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) states that learners in Grade 7, 8 or 9 who did not achieve 40% in maths, should have their maths marks “condoned” (accepted) if they achieve 20% or above. This means these learners will be promoted to the next grade, even though they would have normally failed maths and had to repeat their current grade. Grade 9 learners who pass this way will be not … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Helicopters, Marijuana & Survival

Mike Hampton Posted on by

The villagers keep watch from January, waiting for police helicopters to thud over the hills. Every year, for nearly three decades, their plantations have been poisoned towards the end of summer, right before harvest, leaving behind fields of withered stalks. “We hear rumours that they are coming, that they’ve started spraying nearby,” said one resident, a middle-aged woman with smooth skin and arched cheeks, when GroundUp visited in March 2016. “Then we know the helicopters will be arriving soon – but there is nothing we can do.” The village of … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!

Cape Town & Developers vs Farmers?

Mike Hampton Posted on by

My submission to Parliament gained Facebook comments from people across the Western Cape saying that they were also experiencing problems with the DA and property developers. Having white people complain about the DA is not the Western Cape that’s been portrayed in the media. It also meant that Knysna isn’t alone in it’s problems. Continuing that theme, GroundUp has delivered this article on proposed developments on farmland outside Cape Town. The community says no but it doesn’t appear that anyone’s listening. “We are so gatvol of the public participation process, … Read the full article…

The truth may be bitter but sharing it is sweet!