insert_link Africa Lagos’ slum dwellers are excluded from decisions that affect them. 3 ways to change that By Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe, Crawford University Lagos is a city of two halves: money dripping in the corridors of corporate offices, and stagnant water dripping in the slums that are home to over 20 million. Residents of informal settlements grapple with the daily challenges that come with inadequate infrastructure, limited access to essential services, and social exclusion. Social exclusion means being excluded from participating wholly in the […] todayApril 22, 2024 12
insert_link Uncategorized Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive By Bodil Folke Frederiksen, Roskilde University Kenya has scores of youth gangs known for their violence and links to the politically powerful. None is more infamous than the Mungiki movement, with a past membership estimated to be at least a million. Though banned, it’s constantly in the news as a tool or target of big political players. Bodil Folke Frederiksen, who has studied Mungiki as part of […] todayFebruary 15, 2024 5
insert_link South Africa Illegal dumping swamps Nelson Mandela Bay Residents burn rubbish outside the Motherwell NU8 clinic. Photos: Joseph Chirume By Joseph Chirume via GroundUp An ever-increasing number of illegal dump sites that are not getting cleared by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is making life unpleasant for people living in the townships of Gqeberha. It may also be impacting their health. GroundUp visited Motherwell, Kamvelihle, Wells Estate, and Kuyga, and found garbage blowing about the streets and a […] todayFebruary 2, 2024 23
insert_link South Africa Garbage piling up in Cape Town townships as extortion gangs drive out City contractors Samora Machel residents say they have been using this part of Oliver Tambo Drive as a dumping site because their rubbish bins has not been collected for months. Photos: Sandiso Phaliso By Sandiso Phaliso via GroundUp On almost every corner in Samora Machel, Philippi East and Browns Farm in Cape Town, rubbish is piling up. There is so much rubbish that some streets, such as Hart Lane and Oliver Tambo […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 37
insert_link Namibia Over 200 000 houses envisaged for construction from 2024 The recently revised National Housing Policy and Implementation Action Plan amongst others provides for the acceleration of the servicing of 340 000 new plots and construction of over 200 000 houses over the next five years. The policy, which was approved by Cabinet in November 2023, also approves the scaling up and upgrading of at least 60 per cent of existing informal settlements across the country between 2024 and […] todayDecember 15, 2023 15
insert_link Namibia Windhoek has enough land to cater for low-cost housing: Matyayi The Chief Executive Officer of the City of Windhoek, Moses Matyayi, has said that the City has sufficient land to support housing initiatives aimed at formalising informal settlements in the nation’s capital. The Windhoek municipality, together with the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, is implementing a pilot project to construct low-cost housing in the city’s informal settlements. The Informal Settlement Upgrading Project (ISUP) […] todayDecember 8, 2023 13
insert_link Namibia Informal Settlement Upgrading Project continues to change lives according to minister Uutoni Urban and Rural Development Minister Erastus Uutoni said the Informal Settlement Upgrading Project continues to change the lives of people living in the informal settlements of Windhoek. On Wednesday, the minister handed over 53 new houses to their owners, who benefited from the pilot project, a smart partnership between his ministry and partners. The houses in the Greenwell Matongo informal settlement were developed as part of the ongoing project that […] todayDecember 7, 2023 5