Daily Maverick: Between frying pan and fire: Cape Town’s shack dwellers

It’s the festive season for all, but for some, who live in close proximity and without electricity, it’s also fire season. In the last week, hundreds of Cape Town people have lost their homes in shack fires, and they won’t be the last. Meanwhile, emergency service delivery is facing challenges of its own. By MARELISE VAN DER MERWE.

In just over a week, the latest fire in Kosovo, Cape Town, left 120 people homeless. The chairman of the community leaders’ forum, Lonwabo Jako, blamed the same resident for devastating fires in 2013 and 2014. In Masiphumelele, meanwhile, another 40 homes were destroyed and 110 people left homeless, with the City of Cape Town and a number of NGOs delivering emergency relief. That fire spread after a stove was left unattended. Continue reading →

Two Lives Lost in a Shack Fire in Bhambayi, Inanda

14 December 2016
Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA Press Statement

Two Lives Lost in a Shack Fire in Bhambayi, Inanda

The festive season is the time for most people to gather with families and friends, but for those of us who are poor and living in shacks this is only a dream. We have to watch our shacks so that they do not get burnt while others are celebrating. We have to protect this because it’s all we have.

We also have to safeguard our homes against the illegal evictions that are carried out by the municipality’s land invasion unit. We are still living in shame 22 years post apartheid. It is unfortunate that the very government that our parents entrusted with their vote is still abusing their dignity and their basic human rights. The Freedom Charter committed the liberation struggle to provide land and housing to the people. The right to housing is a right that is enshrined in the Constitution but this right has not been properly addressed by this current government. We are often told that we must be patriotic about our country but how can you be patriotic when your stomach is empty? How can you be patriotic when you do not have a roof over your head? Recently on the 10th of December 2016 the country celebrated 20 years since the Constitution was adopted. This beautiful Constitution has not been properly implemented. This is because the people in power are only interested in serving themselves and their families.

Continue reading →

Picket Against Kabila at the DRC Embassy in Pretoria

Press Statement from The Congolese Solidarity Campaign & Abahlali baseMjondolo, Monday 12 December 2016

Picket Against Kabila at the DRC Embassy in Pretoria

The Congolese Solidarity Campaign, based in Durban, South Africa, would like to inform the media and the public that it will organise a picket outside the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The details are as follows:

Date: 15^th December 2016

Time: 09h00-12h00

Address: 791 Schoeman St, Eastcliff, Pretoria Continue reading →

World Aids Day

02 December 2016
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

World Aids Day

Yesterday was World Aids Day. The movement of Abahlali baseMjondolo held a youth workshop to discuss this disease. There are a lot of beliefs that people have about this disease some of which are myths. We spoke about these beliefs being careful to seperate the myths from the reality. 56 young representatives from all our branches in and around Durban attended this workshop which was held at the Prince Edward Hall. The aim was for us to educate ourselves so that this knowledge can then be spread in the branches. The youth in this country are the ones that are infected the most in our society, so the movement took an initiative to empower young people with knowledge. Continue reading →

Zandile Nsibande

Popular Democratic Power is the Way to Challenge Inequality

23 November 2016, Oslo, Norway
Fighting Inequality – Talks on How to Change the World

Thapelo Mohapi

Greeting to all. I am Thapelo Mohapi the current elected General Secretary of the movement Abahlali baseMjondolo. I would like to begin by thanking our friends at Norwegian People’s Aid for the invitation to participate in this discussion.

Abahlali baseMjondolo is a democratic movement of shack dwellers and other impoverished and marginalized people in South Africa. Last year we celebrated our tenth anniversary. We are the biggest popular movement to have emerged in post-apartheid South Africa. Our movement was formed in Durban 2005 to fight for, promote and advance the interests and dignity of shack dwellers and other impoverished people. Although we do have branches in other cities, and are expanding into other provinces, our movement is concentrated in the city of the Durban and the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Continue reading →

Third World Meeting of Popular Movements

S’bu Zikode with Jose Mujica at the Vatican in Rome

Earlier this month S’bu Zikode participated in a meeting of popular movements with the Pope and others at the Vatican. Zikode was able to have a personal engagement with the Pope and valuable discussions with people like former President of Uruguay Jose Mujica, comrades from the MST in Brazil and many others.

There were useful discussions about building popular power to defend human dignity, and the equality of all people, in an increasingly reactionary time. Continue reading →

Solidarity with the MST in Brazil

4 November 2016
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement

Solidarity with the MST in Brazil

The National School Florestan Fernandes in Guararema, São Paulo, is the political school for the MST – the Landless Workers’ Movement in Brazil. Our comrades have had the honour of studying and teaching there. We have just received the statement below from the MST. We currently have two comrades at the school.

We are in full solidarity with the MST and all the comrades at the school. Continue reading →

Upcoming Engagements with Solidarity Networks

Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA Press statement

26^th October 2016

Upcoming Engagements with Solidarity Networks

Our movement is committed to internationalism. We have always understood that while some struggles, like the struggles against gangster councillors, are local other struggles, like the struggle against capitalism, are global. International solidarity has been extremely helpful to us when we have faced repression and we have always offered our solidarity to our comrades elsewhere in the world when they have requested our support. We have learnt a lot from comrades in other struggles in other parts of the world and we have always been happy to host comrades from elsewhere in the world who want to learn from our. Continue reading →

UPM: Minister of Police Pays Damages to Ayanda Kota for 2012 Assault in the Grahamstown Police Station

Monday, 17 October 2016

Unemployed People’s Movement Press Statement

Minister of Police Pays Damages to Ayanda Kota for 2012 Assault in the Grahamstown Police Station

On 12 January 2012 Ayanda Kota was subject to a serious assault, in the presence of his son (then six years old), in the Grahamstown police station. His trousers were pulled down to his ankles and he was beaten by a number of police officers. As the beating was taking place one of the police officers called others to ‘see the news-maker of the year now’. Continue reading →