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shack dwellerslatest news & developments
Trevor Ngwane looks into how committees in informal settlements are updating the system for their survival

Book review: ‘Amakomiti’ tackles the role of self-governance

Can anything good come out emjondolo? Trevor Ngwane looks into how committees in informal settlements are updating the system for their survival

The country’s social fibre is under strain and one cannot help but feel that something will have to give. (David Harrison/M&G)

Rich vigilantes have no fear of consequences

The City of Cape Town tacitly condones it when wealthy landowners behave illegally, something that is not the case if you’re poor

Gauteng MEC for human settlements Dikgang Moiloa is delighted that thousands have embraced the premier’s call for people to start building their own houses.  (Photos: Supplied & Thulani Mbele)

More than 70 000 homes built for Gauteng citizens

MEC urges construction companies to work on weekends and in evenings to speed up delivery

Residents receive a new shack building kit which comprises zinc sheets and other bits laid side by side. (David Harrison)

‘It’ll happen again’ say Silver Town  fire victims

Residents claim politicians flock to Khayelitsha in times of tragedy, but leave with empty promises

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.

Shack fires bring more legal woes for De Lille

A Gauteng businessman blames De Lille for costing the city millions of rand in relief efforts for shack fires that could have been avoided.

(Mohammed Jameel Abdulla)

These inhospitable living conditions are the reason the #HoutbayProtests erupted

At least one person died after being caught in a hail of rubber bullets and tear gas when protests broke out in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay.

Run away: The protest in Ivory Park

Violence spirals as Ekurhuleni metro destroys shacks

The rumour of killings was false, the authorities said, but by then it was too late.

Maria Matthews

​Auntie Maria takes control in Flamingo

Working with Cape Town City, NGOs and residents, the shack settlement is transformed.

Photographed in 1996 is

Bottom-up development must start taking root in South Africa

Big strides are being made by involving poor people in making strategic decisions

Abahlali baseMjondolo shack dwellers’ movement member Bongamusa Manqele was shot from behind while running from the police.

Eviction ruling spurs on shack dwellers

Authorities have warned that the need for court orders could hamper planned development.

In the business of building shacks

Sheffield Road in Philippi has become one of the city’s best-known places to buy a shack, where builders make a living providing affordable housing.

Shack dwellers celebrate as eviction squad pulls back

In an unprecedented move, Cape Town’s anti-land invasion operation backs down on demolishing shacks as residents use their constitutional rights.

Police manhandle a shack dweller resisting the demolition of his home.

Law enforcement bounces around blame for Philippi evictions

The SAPS and City of Cape Town law enforcers have accused each other of carrying out the demolition of shacks in Philippi East. GroundUp reports.

Cops beat, humiliate evicted shack dwellers

Shack dwellers in Philippi East’s "Marikana" settlement were evicted on Monday by the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit. GroundUp reports.

DA leader Helen Zille.

Zille likens Lwandle inquiry to a ‘hit squad’

DA leader Helen Zille has questioned why committees were not set up to probe evictions of illegal shack dwellers in other provinces.

Shack dwellers’ movement to contest forced evictions

Abahlali baseMjondolo plans to take legal action after the forcible eviction of residents in two informal settlements near Durban.

ANC 1: Shack dwellers 0

The latest bout of ‘political evictions’ at Cato Crest has added to a growing number of casualties.

Hlengiwe Msweli stands in front of her house on January 28 2013 in Durban, South Africa. (Gallo)

Durban officials face imprisonment for Cato Crest evictions

eThekwini municipal heads will appear before the court to explain why they continued to demolish Cato Crest shacks despite a court order prohibition.

Nine sites have been identified in KwaZulu-Natal

‘There is no human who can sleep in this’

Evicted shack dwellers from the Gabon informal settlement on the East Rand have refused to occupy 72 corrugated iron shacks built for them.

Evicted shack dwellers seek legal recourse

Evicted shack dwellers from Gauteng and Ekurhuleni — accused of illegally occupying council land — are now seeking legal recourse.