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Zuma Must Fall
South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world", with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world. It is often argued that the rate of protests has been escalating since 2004, but Steven Friedman argues that the current wave of protests stretches back to the 1970s. The rate of protests "rose dramatically in the first eight months of 2012", and it was reported that there 540 protests in the province of Gauteng between 1 April and 10 May 2013. In February 2014 it was reported that there had been "nearly 3,000 protest actions in the last 90 days – more than 30 a day– involving more than a million people". Since 2008, more than 2 million people have taken to the streets in protest every year. Njabulo Ndebele argued, "Widespread 'service delivery protests' may soon take on an organisational character that will start off as discrete formations and then coalesce into a full-blown movement". There has been considerable repression of popular protests. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macassar Village
The squatter's movement Abahlali baseMjondolo occupied a piece of vacant state owned land in Macassar Village, near Somerset West outside of Cape Town on 18 May 2009. The occupation was later destroyed by the city's anti-land invasion unit. Background Before occupying the land Abahlali baseMjondolo organised an open and public 'cleaning campaign' on the land during which the land was cleared. On the day of the occupation four people, including prominent academic Martin Legassick were arrested. The arrests, which were accompanied by shooting with rubbfollowed two attempts by the occupiers to barricade the N2 in protest at the demolition of their shacks by the police. The Cape Times quoted Clarissa Benjamin, a 47-year-old mother of three as saying "We have no place to stay. The government has millions to spend on building stadiums for 2010, but I have been waiting for a house for the past 20 years.". Bush Radio reported that the local councillor had agreed, on 20 May, to hand t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Sutcliffe
Michael Sutcliffe is the former municipal managerow Shauwn Mkhize the latter a convicted fraudster - unlawful and at times violent violations of the basic rights of street traders and shack dwellers and corruption.Hawks set to arrest top eThekwini officials BONGANI MTHETHWA and MANDLA ZULU, ''Sunday Times'', 5 March 2011 In March 2011 the ''Sunday Times'' reported that he was under investigation for irregularities in housing contracts. Sutcliffe has denied that there has been fraud but has admitted to 'financial irregularities'. Sutcliffe formerly held the position of chairperson of the Municipal Demarcation Board and was a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature. Born in Addington Hospital, in Durban, he ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abahlali BaseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia. The movement grew out of a road blockade organised from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and has since expanded to other parts of South Africa. As of October 2022 it claims to have more than 115,000 members in good standing in 81 branches in four of the nine provinces of South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. It has links with similar social movements elsewhere in the world, such as the Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil. It has faced sustained, and at times violent, repression. More than twenty of its leaders have been assassinated, something it blames on the ruling African National Congress. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macassar Village Land Occupation
The squatter's movement Abahlali baseMjondolo occupied a piece of vacant state owned land in Macassar Village, near Somerset West outside of Cape Town on 18 May 2009. The occupation was later destroyed by the city's anti-land invasion unit. Background Before occupying the land Abahlali baseMjondolo organised an open and public 'cleaning campaign' on the land during which the land was cleared. On the day of the occupation four people, including prominent academic Martin Legassick were arrested. The arrests, which were accompanied by shooting with rubbfollowed two attempts by the occupiers to barricade the N2 in protest at the demolition of their shacks by the police. The Cape Times quoted Clarissa Benjamin, a 47-year-old mother of three as saying "We have no place to stay. The government has millions to spend on building stadiums for 2010, but I have been waiting for a house for the past 20 years.". Bush Radio reported that the local councillor had agreed, on 20 May, to hand t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balfour, Eastern Cape
Balfour is a town in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality, Amathole District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ... province of South Africa. The village, which lies at the foot of the Katberg, was established as a mission station of the Glasgow Missionary Society in 1828 by John Ross and McDiarmid, and named after Robert Balfour, the first secretary of the society. Throughout the nine Frontier Wars, the town experienced some heavy fighting. Today, tobacco, citrus, wool and beef farming are practised in the area. References Populated places in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality {{EasternCape-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphony Way
Symphony Way Informal Settlement was a small community of pavement dwellers (shack dwellers who live on the pavement) that lived on Symphony Way, a main road in Delft, Cape Town, Delft, South Africa, from February 2008 until late 2009. They were a group of families that were evicted in February 2008 from the N2 Gateway Houses. History of the community In December 2007, Frank Martin (councillor), Frank Martin, a Democratic Alliance Councillor and City of Cape Town mayoral committee member, issued letters to an estimated 300 families in Delft, which granted them permission to move into the houses, and stated that he would accept full responsibility for the consequences. Backyard-dwellers then N2 Gateway Occupations, occupied over 1,500 houses in the N2 Gateway. In February, over 1,500 families were evicted from the N2 Gateway houses. This was a violent eviction which included the use of rubber bullets. Over 20 people were injured including many women and children. Pictures and vid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marikana Miner Strike
The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike action, wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West (South African province), North West province. The massacre constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising in 1976 and has been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. The massacre occurred on the seventh day of an unauthorized wildcat Strike action, strike at the mine which was launched without the endorsement of the National Union of Mineworkers (South Africa), National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The strikers sought a wage increase to be negotiated outside the existing collective wage agreement. Early reports suggested that they had been encouraged by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). When the NUM refused to represent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grahamstown
Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Municipality, and the seat of the municipal council. It also hosts Rhodes University, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, the South African Library for the Blind (SALB), a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and 6 South African Infantry Battalion. Furthermore, located approximately 3 km south-east of the town lies Waterloo Farm, the only estuarine fossil site in the world from 360 million years ago with exceptional soft-tissue preservation. The town's name-change from Grahamstown to Makhanda was officially gazetted on 29 June 2018. The town was officially renamed to Makhanda in memory of Xhosa warrior and prophet Makhanda ka Nxele. In 2025, the city was listed as thcountry's worst-performing municipalit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ermelo, Mpumalanga
Ermelo () is the educational, industrial and commercial town of the 7,750 km2 Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga province, Republic of South Africa. It is both a mixed agriculture and mining region. It is located 210 km east of Johannesburg. History Some of the earliest inhabitants of the area were the Leghoya people. Not much is known about them, but ruins of their settlements dating back to c.1400 can be found in the area. During the mid-1800s, the area prior to the formation as a village, was an ''outspan'' area for resting teams of draw animals transporting goods across the region mainly due to the water of the small lakes dotting the area. Modern Ermelo was founded by Dutch Reformed Church Reverend Frans Lion Cachet (1835–1899). He would minister to the many farms in the area. A congregation was started by Cachet in 1870, and was recognised by the 5th annual general meeting of the church in April 1872. The town was formed on the farm ''Nooitgedacht'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masiphumelele
Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek. Initially known as Site 5, the township was renamed Masiphumelele by its residents, which is a Xhosa word meaning "let us succeed". About 400-500 people first settled in the area in the 1980s. During apartheid residents were continually removed to the suburb of Khayelitsha, over 30 km away, but the numbers began to grow as apartheid began to unravel from 1990. In 1990, about 8000 residents lived in the area, mostly in shacks, but by 2005, over 26000 people lived there, many in brick homes. In 2010, the population was estimated at 38000. Many are from the old Ciskei bantustan in the Eastern Cape. Amenities are scarce, with an overcrowded school, no police station, and an understaffed day clinic, while it is estimated that 30-40% of the community are infected with HIV and/or TB. SHAWCO, the University of Cape Town Student's Health And Welfare Cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
