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Higher Education

Can academics use AI to write journal papers? What the guidelines say

Sumaya Laher 1 day

Source: Holland & Associates (fair use). The Namaquasfontein Skool Dam was illegally enlarged in 2017.

Construction & Engineering

Illegal enlargement of West Coast farm dam condoned

John Yeld 27 Jun 2025

Social Media

WhatsApp introducing advertising is a potentially lucrative but risky move

Yusuf Oc and Janina Steinmetz 25 Jun 2025

The CEO of T-Connect Lesotho, Phelane Phomane, at the launch of Starlink. Image: Sechaba Mokhethi / GroundUp

Internet

Starlink launches amid job losses in Lesotho

Sechaba Mokhethi 25 Jun 2025

Social housing at Salt River Market moves one step forward

Inclusion, Empowerment & Social Justice

Social housing at Salt River Market moves one step forward

Matthew Hirsch and Daniel Steyn 24 Jun 2025

Harmony Gold has lost an appeal against a ruling by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in the Labour Court. Illustration: Lisa Nelson / GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Harmony Gold to pay R100k in damages for k-word incident

Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti 19 Jun 2025

Source: Living Limpopo.

Construction & Engineering

Multi-billion Limpopo mega-project has ground to a halt

Andries van Zyl 19 Jun 2025

A lack of refuse removal services in Caledon’s Riemvasmaak informal settlement results in waste being dumped at the bottom of the hill on the bank of the Bath River. Riemvasmaak resident Anele Boyce said the dumping problem could be reduced if the municipality supplied bin bags and a skip. Photos: Steve Kretzmann

Circular Economy & Waste Management

Sewage, garbage, dirty water: Theewaterskloof is in a mess after years of bad management

Steve Kretzmann 17 Jun 2025

New crèches in the Drakensberg may have to close because of late payments of subsidies by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. Graphic: Lisa Nelson / GroundUp

Early Childhood Development

New crèches may have to close because of late payments by education department

Joseph Bracken 17 Jun 2025

Land Policy, Reform & Restitution

There are more than 20,000 unfinished RDP houses in the Free State

Tladi Moloi 13 Jun 2025

Many recipients of the R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant say they are battling with SASSA’s online verification system. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

Health & Social Welfare

Social grants go unpaid as beneficiaries struggle with Sassa’s system

Marecia Damons 12 Jun 2025

Parliament recently heard submissions on the One-Stop Border Post Bill. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Legislation & Regulation

New border control plan could harm asylum seekers, say critics

Jan Bornman 11 Jun 2025

In South African law, gig workers, such as Checkers Sixty60 drivers, are classified as “independent contractors” with limited labour protections or benefits. Photo: Tariro Washinyira / GroundUp

Employee Wellness

South African law is failing gig workers

Nick Fabré 10 Jun 2025

ZEP holders have won another court victory against the Minister of Home Affairs, but their legal battle to stay in South Africa is far from over. Archive photo: Tariro Washinyira / GroundUp

Immigration & Citizenship Law

New Zimbabwe permit court showdown looming

Tania Broughton 9 Jun 2025

Blind SA went to the high courts in Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg to appoint curators for two special schools it says are failing to adequately provide for learners with disabilities. Illustration: Lisa Nelson / GroundUp

Primary & Secondary Education

Blind SA takes schools to court over conditions for children with disabilities

Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti 9 Jun 2025

Financial Services

Cabinet sent basic income grant plan back to the drawing board

Marecia Damons 9 Jun 2025

Residential Property

Luxury home of Lottery “kingpin” frozen by Special Tribunal

Raymond Joseph 5 Jun 2025

Google is going ‘all in’ on AI. It’s part of a troubling trend in big tech

Technology

Google is going ‘all in’ on AI. It’s part of a troubling trend in big tech

Zena Assaad 4 Jun 2025

The Labour Court of Appeal has ruled that the Simunye Workers Forum fails to comply with the Labour Relations Act for registration as a union. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Setback for casual workers as court rules forum is not a union

Tania Broughton 3 Jun 2025

Source: Wikimedia/Lschefa, CC BY-SA 4.0. Lesotho’s capital.

HIV/AIDS

Lesotho’s health system has been decimated by US funding cuts

Sechaba Mokhethi 2 Jun 2025

Most South African farmers are Black: Why Trump got it so wrong

Agriculture

Most South African farmers are Black: Why Trump got it so wrong

Johann Kirsten and Wandile Sihlobo 30 May 2025

An online travel company just collapsed. Here’s how to avoid being left stranded by an online deal

Travel

An online travel company just collapsed. Here’s how to avoid being left stranded by an online deal

Madalyn Scerri and Anita Manfreda 28 May 2025

Sinamuva Crèche has not received subsidy payments for two months. Photo: Joseph Bracken / GroundUp

Early Childhood Development

KwaZulu-Natal government ordered to pay crèches

Joseph Bracken and Tsoanelo Sefoloko 28 May 2025

Scientists at the University of Pretoria have found that fresh vegetables are being contaminated by disease-causing bacteria through irrigation from polluted rivers and boreholes. Photos: Steve Kretzmann / GroundUp

Food, Water & Energy Security

South Africa’s polluted rivers pose food contamination risk

Steve Kretzmann 26 May 2025

Social Media

Why Meta is in trouble in Nigeria and what this means for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users

23 May 2025

Wits University researchers are scrambling to manage the fallout from the decision by US President Donald Trump to slash funding to South Africa. Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee / GroundUp

Higher Education

Wits scrambles to lessen fallout from Trump’s funding cuts

Aisling de Lange 21 May 2025

Image source: suwatpo –

Environment & Natural Resources

Current legal frameworks can’t protect the oceans from deep-sea mining and the negative impacts on humankind

Susan Reid 20 May 2025

Tourism

Space tourism’s growth blurs the line between scientific and symbolic achievement

Betsy Pudliner 20 May 2025

Image source: DC Studio from

Higher Education

AI can be a danger to students – 3 things universities must do

Sioux McKenna and Nompilo Tshuma 19 May 2025

Land Policy, Reform & Restitution

Judge slams Gauteng land grab

Tania Broughton 16 May 2025

A report by shareholder activist organisation Just Share has shown that South Africa’s largest polluters pay so little carbon tax that it barely has any impact on their greenhouse gas emissions. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Climate Change

Corporate lobbying derailed South Africa’s climate goals, report finds

Liezl Human 14 May 2025

Work has been suspended on the 38km tunnel between the Polihali and Katse dams. Photo: Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (fair use).

Circular Economy & Waste Management

Lesotho Highlands Water Project contractor suspended for polluting rivers

Sechaba Mokhethi 13 May 2025

Source: iStock.

Construction & Engineering

Families in Cape Town’s squalid backyards are still waiting for promised housing project

Mary-Anne Gontsana 13 May 2025

For the past four years, Streetscapes has been running a self-sufficient laundry at its urban farm in the city centre. The organisation plans to replicate the solar- and rainwater-powered laundromat and showers at the new site to cut operational costs and reduce pressure on municipal infrastructure. Photos: Marecia Damons / GroundUp

Inclusion, Empowerment & Social Justice

Plan to use properties owned by City of Cape Town for homeless project

Marecia Damons 12 May 2025

Property

Buffalo City wants to recover R16m in Covid housing funds

Johnnie Isaac and GroundUp staff 9 May 2025

The Constitutional Court has ruled that a law preventing municipal employees from holding office in political parties is unconstitutional. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Legislation & Regulation

Constitutional Court says municipal employees can hold office in political parties

Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti 8 May 2025

Organisations funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development are facing late payments and have concerns over contracts. Illustration: Lisa Nelson / GroundUp

NGO, NPO & Social Enterprise

Gauteng welfare organisations worried about late payments

Joseph Bracken 8 May 2025

The Constitutional Court has confirmed that a section of the law which automatically strips South Africans of citizenship if they take the citizenship of another country is invalid. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Immigration & Citizenship Law

Constitutional Court rules on citizenship

Tania Broughton 7 May 2025

Image source: vecstock from

Infrastructure, Innovation & Technology

Tiny technology that can find pollution in South Africa’s water and trap it

Philiswa Nomngongo 6 May 2025

A waste picker in Johannesburg. Archive photo: Masego Mafata / GroundUp

Circular Economy & Waste Management

Evicted waste pickers must be allowed to earn a living, court rules

Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti 5 May 2025

Source: US Embassy in Maseru. Millennium Challenge Corporation deputy chief executive Chidi Blyden at the launch of the project in Maseru.

Infrastructure & Utilities

US shuts down massive Lesotho development project

Sechaba Mokhethi 2 May 2025

Law Practice

People trust legal advice generated by ChatGPT more than a lawyer – new study

Eike Schneiders, Joshua Krook and Tina Seabrooke 30 Apr 2025

Advertising

Google's latest antitrust loss in the US raises stakes for Big Tech

Rob Nicholls 23 Apr 2025

Further work on the Botsmaskop Fynbos Estate has been halted by the Western Cape High Court. Photo from an appendix in court papers.

Land Policy, Reform & Restitution

Court halts further work on luxury Stellenbosch mountain estate

John Yeld 23 Apr 2025

Source: Facebook. Grabouw Khoisan Council.

Property

Future of Khoisan settlement in Grabouw hangs in the balance

Liezl Human 24 Apr 2025

Source: Theewaterskloof Municipality. Theewaterskloof Dam.

Infrastructure & Utilities

"Cape Town’s water recycling project should not be privatised"

17 Apr 2025

Healthcare

Why is it so difficult to make a new antibiotic?

Alistair Farley and Helen Smith 22 Apr 2025

HIV/AIDS

US funding cuts could cause over 150,000 extra HIV infections in SA by 2028

Jesse Copelyn 23 Apr 2025

Healthcare

Africa’s healthcare funding crisis: 3 strategies to manage deadly diseases

Francisca Mutap 24 Apr 2025