Cape Town - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Heritage dispute on Amazon’s new African HQ

WENDELL ROELF For the Khoi and San - South Africa's first inhabitants - a verdant patch of land in Cape Town embodies victory and tragedy. The two communities drove back cattle-raiding Portuguese soldiers there in 1510. But, a century and a half later, it was where Dutch settlers launched a campaign of land dispossession. Today it is again the scene of another conflict, this time over a development where construction is due to begin this month and which will eventually be home to a new 70,000-square metre Africa headquarters for U.S. retail giant Amazon. "This is where land was first…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

New video evidence of violence in AKA-Anele’s lives

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE camera pans into the lounge. Evidence of either violence or unkempt house comes into view. The 22-year-old Nellie Tembe, wearing a black crop top, and black leggings storms into a lounge area, running away from a man in a white T-shirt, yelling loudly ”get away from me” as the man tries to calm her down. Tembe then falls to the ground and screams: “Look what he’s doing, you guys don’t know what he’s been doing to me!” The person behind the camera is believed to be rap star AKA (real name Kiernan Forbes), and is heard…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

In Pictures | Firefighters now fight for their jobs

MULTIMEDIA

BARRY CHRISTIANSON FIREFIGHTERS risked their lives to put out the flames threatening Cape Town. But more than 500 of them might be fired for trying to negotiate better working hours. Sunrise on the morning of 20 April was calm on Signal Hill. Joggers and cyclists were out getting their exercise for the day. Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain poked up through a sea of smoke, with a single plume rising from the mountain. There was a sense of relief in the air. The disaster was finally over. The fire had been extinguished in most places other than Devil’s Peak. While…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Cabinet minister’s house destroyed by Cape fire

NEWS

A South African cabinet minister's house was totally burnt down and seven of his colleagues in cabinet were amongst the thousands who had to be evacuated when a runaway fire caused mayhem, destroying parts of the University of Cape Town (UCT) before being contained. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille, in charge of minister’s accommodation, has revealed in an interview with ENCA TV channel that the Rondebosch house of Thulas Nxesi, the Labour and Employment Minister, was totally burnt down. De Lille said Nxesi lost personal belongings and everything else in the blaze. She also revealed that seven…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Mismanagement crippled SA basketball

SPORT

LEE NXUMALO BASKETBALL, once the fastest-growing sport in South Africa, now hardly has recognisable leagues or talents. A group of campaigners have come together to get it thriving and growing again. He increased popularity of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the global front and the presence of African-born players in the league has given basketball cultural currency among the continent’s youth. Even though basketball had a presence in South Africa since apartheid, its popularity reached its peak only in the late 1990s. At one point, it was considered the fastest-growing sport in the country and on track to becoming…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s Western Cape officials warn of COVID-19 resurgence

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa's Western Cape province, home to tourist hub Cape Town, is experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, its premier has said after new cases jumped 52.1% in the past week. The Western Cape emerged as Africa's first regional hotspot towards the end of March when the new coronavirus spread via tourists into local communities, following the first confirmed positive case in South Africa earlier that month. "The Western Cape government is deeply concerned about the growing number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations in the province, which can now be considered as an established resurgence," premier Alan Winde said in…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

As Cape Town races to save water, risk of ‘Day Zero’ drought seen rising

ENVIRONMENT

KIM HARRISBERG CAPE TOWN faces an 80% higher chance of another 'Day Zero' drought by the end of the century if greenhouse gas emissions keep rising at current rates, research showed on Monday, as the South African city races to safeguard water supplies. Following a 2018 drought in South Africa that nearly caused Cape Town's taps to run dry, known as Day Zero, officials have been working to avert further water crises that could put lives at risk and destroy livelihoods in the coming years. Using new high-resolution simulations, researchers from Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Cape Town’s climate strategy isn’t perfect, but every African city should have one

AFRICITIES

IT may take an extreme heatwave, a mega wildfire or a severe coastal storm to begin to appreciate the dangers of climate change. ALANNA REBELO, Postdoctoral researcher, Stellenbosch University KAREN JOAN ESLER, Professor of Conservation Ecology and Head of the Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch University MICHAEL SAMWAYS, Professor, Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University PATRICIA HOLMES, plant ecologist, Stellenbosch University TONY REBELO, Scientist, South African National Biodiversity Institute Africa is likely to be the continent hit hardest by climate change. The region is vulnerable to droughts, heat and floods and many countries have a…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Tremors felt in Cape Town after earthquake off South African coast

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER A major earthquake, which registered 6.1 on the Richter scale struck offshore from South Africa, releasing energy equivalent to 1.9 atomic bombs, experts said. The earthquake took place 1600 km from Cape Town coast, at the depth of 10km, sparking fears of a tsunami. There were, however, no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Some residents of the southern city of Cape Town took to social media and the internet to share their experience of the tremor, which the USGS said occurred at 19h10, South African time. "Guys, we just felt a tremor in Cape Town. Our…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

With borders closed, South Africa pins hopes on cash-strapped local tourists

COVID-19

WENDELL ROELF LISA Krohn’s Ashanti Lodge in Cape Town - normally abuzz with backpackers from around the world - today sits largely empty, a sign of how the pandemic has crushed South Africa’s tourist industry. “This place is like a morgue,” she said, contemplating the Victorian-era building’s deserted foyer. Following a five-month lockdown, South Africa is easing domestic travel restrictions, allowing hotels to reopen. With international borders still closed, the government is pinning its hopes on domestic tourism, echoing a strategy being tried from Vietnam to New Zealand with mixed results. South Africa remains among the countries hardest hit by…