COVID-19: Lockdown land occupiers march on Cape Town parliament
Residents who occupied land during the COVID-19 lockdown last year marched to the provincial legislature in Cape Town on Monday.
Article originally published by GroundUp/Mary-Anne Gontsana.
Hundreds of informal settlement residents marched to the provincial legislature in Cape Town on Monday to hand over a memorandum, demanding basic services.
Residents from various informal settlements across the city established in land occupations during the COVID-19 lockdown ,starting in March 2020, have formed the Intlungu Yasematyotyombeni Movement (IYM) (“the plight of shack dwellers”) .
They are demanding water, toilets and electricity.
Protesters march on Cape Town legislature
Cape Town firefighters fear they will be fired
City says it trying to resolve the matter and has made no such decision.
The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) says the City of Cape Town is planning to dismiss about 500 firefighters currently facing disciplinary hearings for going on an unprotected strike in 2019.
But the City says no decision has been taken to dismiss the firefighters and that a proposal has been made to resolve the matter so that “any possible sanction of dismissal can be avoided”.
SAMWU Cape Metro organiser Archie Hearne said the strike was over a demand for eight-hour shifts instead of the standard 24-hour shift for firefighters.
Rape Crisis and supporters protested in Cape Town on Monday.
They want the Justice Department to fulfil its promise to make services at the sexual offences court in Khayelitsha safer and more accessible to all survivors.
The department says it has made upgrades that are in line with the Regulations for Sexual Offences Courts.
But Rape Crisis believes the recently completed upgrades fall short of what the department had promised to do.
Activists and supporters of Rape Crisis s Rape Survivors Justice Campaign (RSJC) protested outside the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in Cape Town on Monday, GroundUp reports.
The group say there are still services not being fulfilled at the sexual offences court in the Khayelitsha Magistrate s Court, despite recent upgrades to the building.