PE Bridgestone workers reject retrenchment packages
The company is among many that have retrenched workers citing financial struggles because of Covid-19. But a union claims the retrenchments have been in the pipeline for a decade.
Stories by: Sibongile Portia Jonas
We live in raw sewage, say PE residents
The municipality continues to ignore a sewerage pipe in Izinyoka township that keeps bursting despite residents logging repair requests. Now the effluent is beginning to affect their health.
Eastern Cape school’s infrastructure horror
For years, nothing has been done to improve the dire state of Inkqubela Primary, forcing parents to remove their children from what is supposed to be a safe centre of learning.
Hit and run marks first day of Clover strike
A Clover worker died after being hit by a vehicle while allegedly running from police gunfire on day one of the nationwide strike for better wages at the giant dairy company.
Discarded tyres turned into treasured furniture
In the midst of the global pandemic, two designers are using recycled tyres to create unique furniture. This is the remarkable story of South Africa’s Zola Ndema and Nigeria’s Favour Oluma.
Skate park sparks love of skateboarding in Makhanda
Skate Ubuntu, a non-profit set up by former students, wants to bridge Makhanda’s social divide through skateboarding and building a skate park in the Hlalani shack settlement is just the beginning.
Zwelakhe Ngobese’s hyperreal pen art
The self-taught artist from Duduza has a growing following for his ballpoint pen depictions of ‘the beauty of being in black skin’.
Eastern Cape healthcare woes worsen
The province with the second highest number of deaths related to Covid-19 has been experiencing numerous challenges while fighting the pandemic, and they don’t seem about to abate.
Eastern Cape nurses face Covid-19 stigma
Healthcare workers in one of the most affected provinces in the country are fighting two wars: the battle to get protective equipment and ostracisation by their communities.
Eastern Cape schools not ready to reopen
It is unclear how schools in the province – 1 598 of which use pit latrines – will meet basic sanitation standards. Some parents want to keep their children at home, but face bureaucracy.
With enough support, people can grow their own food
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted how impoverished people and the working class suffer when food prices rise and jobs disappear, prompting a renewed interest in working the land.
Spaza shop owners in Port Elizabeth fear police raids
In Motherwell, residents say spaza shops should stay open to save them going to crowded, expensive retailers. One study shows street vendors are vital to food security in South Africa.
Sundays River Valley ill-equipped for Covid-19
Farm workers risk increased exposure to the virus as harvest season begins while impoverished Eastern Cape residents have access to health services only four times a year.
Life lessons in how to make art work for SA artists
Cromwell Ngobeni, a self-taught Limpopo artist, has defied the odds to practise his dream. But the Covid-19 pandemic means his solo exhibition is under threat.
‘Fatvocate’ tackles body shaming through T-shirts
Driven by a quest to frame body positivity in a uniquely South African way, Zolisa Marawa has designed a clothing range that embraces the beauty of bigness.
Trio blends creativity with social upliftment
Three creatives from Mthatha mix music and fashion to inspire and motivate Eastern Cape youth to overcome hardship, escape mental enslavement and move towards freer thinking.
Motherwell: Serial rapist or pervasive gender-based violence?
Three bodies found in the Port Elizabeth township have prompted claims of a serial rapist or killer, but the police say this is not the case, leading to heightened concern about ongoing violence against women.