iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 25/09/2026

Even though South Africa produces about 1% of the world’s greenhouse gases, the Climate Action Tracker has rated South Africa’s targets as “insufficient”. Read groundup.org.za/article/sa-r... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 18/09/2026

Everything you flush down a toilet or pour down a drain is supposed to be properly treated. Read groundup.org.za/article/raw-... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 14/09/2026

We're back with the second edition of GroundUp's new puzzle! Cryptic(ish) is a quirky crossword set by Dr Crane. Try the crossword here: puzzles.groundup.org.za/crossword/34... Share your feedback in the comments section as we pilot this and other fun puzzles 🥳

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 11/09/2026

About two-thirds of adults in South Africa don’t vote in local government elections. Read groundup.org.za/article/1-in... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 07/09/2026

GroundUp is on WhatsApp. Stay informed with our latest news, investigations, and stories from communities across South Africa, delivered directly to your phone. Follow the GroundUp News WhatsApp Channel and never miss our latest updates. 📲 Follow the channel here: whatsapp.com/channel/0029...

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 04/09/2026

In April 2026, about 200 soldiers were deployed to the Cape Flats as part of Operation Prosper, which is expected to last until 31 March 2027. Read groundup.org.za/article/fewe... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 03/09/2026

GroundUp has a new crossword! Cryptic(ish) is a quirky crossword set by veteran journalist Jonathan Ancer. Try the crossword here: puzzles.groundup.org.za/crossword/35... Share your feedback in the comments section as we pilot this and other fun puzzles 🥳

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 28/08/2026

In 2002, nearly 55% of households in South Africa had no phones in their homes. By 2025, that number had dropped to 3.7% — about 740,000 households. Read groundup.org.za/article/a-lo... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 21/08/2026

28 years after the first deadline to lodge land claims, 5,160 claims still need to be finalised. At the current rate, it will take at least 15 years for claims registered by December 1998 to be settled. Read groundup.org.za/article/28-y... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 14/08/2026

45% of people in South Africa aged 15-34 are NEET: not in employment, education or training, according to Stats SA. In 2012, it was 38%. Our chart this week shows the NEET rate for 15- to 24 and 15- to 34-year-olds in each province from 2012 to the second quarter of 2026.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 07/08/2026

We analysed the pay inequality at 35 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and found that, on average, top managers earn about 14x as much as the lowest-paid employees. Read groundup.org.za/article/larg... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 31/07/2026

Young people are showing less and less interest in local government elections. In 2005, 30% of 18 and 19-year-olds surveyed by the IEC said they were registered to vote. In 2021, it was only 15%. Read groundup.org.za/article/youn... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 24/07/2026

Our graphs this week show the sharp increase in online betting in South Africa and in calls made to the national gambling helpline. Read groundup.org.za/article/sas-... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 17/07/2026

Earlier this week, we reported on Kai !Garib Municipality in the Northern Cape, home to about 85,000 people. It is more than R1-billion in debt, most of it owed to Eskom. Its annual revenue in 2025 was less than R400-million. Read groundup.org.za/article/time... by The Outlier and GroundUp Staff

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 27/03/2026

From 1 April 2026, GroundUp will publish most of our articles under a new licence called the GroundUp Republication Licence. Organisations that wish to republish our work under this licence must email info@groundup.org.za for permission. For more information: groundup.org.za/licence-chan...

A poster explaning the from 1 April 2026, GroundUp will be publishing under a new licence.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 20/02/2026

Missed the news this week? Here’s your weekly update of GroundUp’s top stories. You can find these articles and more on groundup.org.za #LinkInBio Follow @groundup_news for more #NewsThatMatters #GroundUp #SouthAfricaNews #WeeklyRecap #TopNews

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 07/02/2026

The chart on the left is the original as published by GroundUp and The Outlier here: groundup.org.za/article/cape... The chart on the right, which is being widely distributed on Twitter, has two problems: (1) The Outlier's logo has been removed. (2) The waiting list statistics have been removed

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 09/12/2025

We expose how clinic staff and Operation Dudula members are scamming people. Read our story tomorrow at 6am. groundup.org.za

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 17/09/2025

South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George has published draft regulations for the banning of plastic microbeads, and plans to start phasing out single-use plastics. Video by Carol Albertyn Christie

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 16/09/2025

About 200 activists marched to the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday to support Wild Coast communities opposing seismic surveys and oil exploration rights granted to Shell and Impact Africa. Read groundup.org.za/article/abou... by Ihsaan Haffejee and Thamsanqa Mbovane

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 16/09/2025

Six people, including a community leader, arrested during the protest blocking Voortrekker Road next to the Maitland cemetery are due to appear in court on Wednesday on charges of public violence. Link to the article below.

Protester near Maitland in the Western Cape blocking the road, holding cards written 'basic needs'. Photo by Ashraf Hendricks.

Protesters near Maitland cemetery blocking the road in the early hours of monday morning. They are burning tires and tree branches. Photo by Ashraf Hendricks.

Resident of the informal settlements kicks a portable toilet bucket full of human faeces into the road. A flame from car tyres burns behind her. Photo by Ashraf Hendricks.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 08/09/2025

“We don’t have to switch on Netflix to hear guns. We sleep, we eat, and we wake up with gun violence,” said Lynn Philips of the Cape Flats Safety Forum. About 100 people joined an anti-gang and drug march in Mitchells Plain on Sunday. Read groundup.org.za/article/paga... by Ashraf Hendricks

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 06/08/2025

Tons of plastic packaging fill our rivers, wetlands and seas, yet the large multinational corporations that produce them face little accountability. Read groundup.org.za/article/plas... by Carol Albertyn Christie

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 25/07/2025

Scores of people picketed outside the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town on Thursday to protest Israel’s use of starvation as a “weapon of war”. Read groundup.org.za/article/prot... by Matthew Hirsch

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 25/06/2025

Microplastics come at us from almost everywhere, from broken-down plastic packaging and consumer goods, from synthetic clothing and carpets, from car tyres wearing down on roads. Read groundup.org.za/article/brai... by Carol Albertyn Christie

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 28/05/2025

Brainwashed by plastic: from the womb to the brain Watch episode three of our microplastics video series: groundup.org.za/article/vide...

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 19/05/2025

It is becoming increasingly difficult to identify trustworthy sources. We are awash in misinformation. In this new series, we intend to stir debate on a #RightToBeInformed being crucial to the functioning of democratic societies. Parts 1 to 3 published today: rbi.groundup.org.za

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 13/05/2025

Brainwashed by plastic: Part 2 coming tonight Watch Part 1 here: groundup.org.za/topic/brainw...

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 23/04/2025

COMING 29 APRIL 2025, the first of a six-part series on one of the riskiest uncontrolled experiments inflicted on the environment — and on us all. 🎥 Carol Albertyn Christie

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 13/03/2025

Raw sewage has been flowing into the Kruger National Park for the past 27 years because of broken and failing infrastructure in neighbouring Phalaborwa. Residents have laid criminal charges against the local municipalities Read groundup.org.za/article/raw-... by Bernard Chiguvare

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 06/03/2025

Musk and the country Trump says “nobody has ever heard of” groundup.org.za/article/trum... The US embassy in Lesotho writes: Wishing our Embassy Maseru team all the best as they take on the Moshoeshoe Walk! Embodying the Basotho and American values of perseverance, unity and democracy ..."

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 06/03/2025

Elon Musk is trying to do business in Lesotho, the country Donald Trump says “nobody has ever heard of”. Starlink is not the only US company investing in the kingdom: Lesotho is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest garment exporters to the US. Read groundup.org.za/article/trum... by Sechaba Mokheti

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 05/03/2025

What is the risk from stopping ARVs? The US funding cuts will leave many people with HIV in Africa struggling to access antiretrovirals (ARVs). Here is a very useful Q&A. Please help spread it: groundup.org.za/qanda/1052/ Thanks to i-Base and Simon Collins for putting this together.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 25/02/2025

Pro-Ukrainian protests on Sunday and Monday were interrupted by supporters of a rival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Pretoria, and by pro-Russia supporters in Durban. Read groundup.org.za/article/pro-... by Ihsaan Haffejee and Joseph Bracken

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 20/02/2025

Chaos outside Cape Town schools as parents demand places for their children. Parents say their children are subjected to poor learning conditions at Solomon Mahlangu Primary School Read groundup.org.za/article/chao... by Vincent Lali

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 19/02/2025

Stellenbosch students are protesting about financial exclusion and housing.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 18/02/2025

Second of day of protests rocks UCT campus. Students storm administration building, block entrances Read groundup.org.za/article/seco... by Liezl Human Video by Ashraf Hendricks

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 10/02/2025

GroundUp photographer Ashraf Hendricks took pics at SONA, mostly VIPs, but some others as well. They're Creative Commons. Please credit Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp. groundup.org.za/imagegallery... Photo of Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka by Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 06/02/2025

GroundUp has left X. This is why.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 05/02/2025

This Cape Town crèche is being built from used tyres, bottles, eco bricks and other recycled waste Read the article here groundup.org.za/article/new-... 🎥 Ashraf Hendricks 🎶 Aleksey Chistilin via Pixabay

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 05/02/2025

Storms damage hundreds of homes and schools in northern KZN Read groundup.org.za/article/stor... by Bongane Motaung

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 05/02/2025

Anger over failure of community-owned macadamia nut farm: Government-funded Ncera farm has battled drought and price fluctuations Read groundup.org.za/article/ange... by Daniel Steyn and Joseph Chirume

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 14/01/2025

Judge asked secretary for nude picture of “top part” tribunal hears Second day of testimony held before Judicial Conduct Tribunal into sexual harassment complaint against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge Read groundup.org.za/article/mben... by Tania Broughton

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 14/01/2025

These were the most read articles on the GroundUp website in 2024. Other articles we published got even more traction on other news sites that republished us. We look forward to bringing you more news that matters in 2025.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 21/12/2024

Kakamas residents live on the edge of a water emergency: The town’s only water treatment plant is near collapse Read groundup.org.za/article/kaka... by Liezl Human. Photos by Ashraf Hendricks.

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 19/12/2024

From hustling on the streets to recovery: a young man’s triumph over drugs Harm reduction centre succeeds where rehabs often fail Read groundup.org.za/article/from... by Jesse Copelyn. Photo supplied

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 18/12/2024

In photos: Cape Town’s historic tidal pools More: groundup.org.za/article/free.... By David Harrison

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 17/12/2024

District Six Museum marks 30 years of memories: Museum honours those who were forced out under apartheid Read groundup.org.za/article/dist... by Matthew Hirsch

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GroundUp News @groundup.org.za · 13/12/2024

Johannesburg has a water leaks problem. Here’s what’s being done about it Study found more leaked municipal water in the Jukskei River than naturally occurring water Read groundup.org.za/article/joha... by Sean Christie

The headwaters of the Jukskei River in Bertrams. The river is edged by boulders. Some have symbols drawn in white paint, like a cross and an ankh.

The Vaal Dam wall at dusk. Given that more leaked water flows in the Jukskei River than naturally occurring water, it could be argued that the true source of the Jukskei is Katse Dam in Lesotho. Johannesburg receives all of its drinking water from the Vaal Dam, and the major source of the water in the Vaal Dam is Katse Dam.

A hadeda stands on the edge of a spruit with murky brown water and heaps of trash on the banks. There are spruits in Johannesburg like this one near Tembisa that reportedly stop flowing when the municipal water supply is shut off.

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