October 2021 – Mother City News

Sewage pollution costs livelihoods

29 November 202129 October 2021 by Steve Kretzmann

Failure by the City of Cape Town to keep sewage from flowing into its nature reserves is resulting in job losses and lost business.

Cape Town’s three most popular inland water bodies – Rietvlei, Zandvlei and Zeekoevlei – are all within nature reserves managed by the City.… Read more

Gig guide: the gates to festive time

29 October 2021 by Mia Arderne

It’s almost fokol it’s festive time with November around the corner, signaling the slow death of this godforsaken year. With cabin fever permeating into our marrow, do we even remember how to socialize and consume art or has lockdown siphoned the levity from our souls?

Zeekoevlei activists lock horns with DA’s mayoral candidate over pollution

3 November 202128 October 2021 by Steve Kretzmann

Mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis promises to end City’s “culture of secrecy”

The DA’s mayoral candidate for Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, was given short thrift by concerned citizens when he suggested Zeekoevlei is polluted with sewage partly due to people blocking sewers with foreign objects.… Read more

Rosé – The wine rookie

8 October 2021 by Sadé Allcock

It is with equal parts excitement and trepidation that I announce that the wine column for Mother City News has moved to Joburg! The big smoke! While it might seem counterintuitive to write a wine column from the heart of Gauteng, fear not.… Read more

‘Superbugs’ breed in City’s polluted waters

28 October 20213 October 2021 by Steve Kretzmann

Children play at Zandvlei mouth as it runs out to sea at Muizenberg. The water has for months been too polluted for recreational use.

The ongoing and widespread pollution of Cape Town’s waterways is contributing to antibiotic resistance, which is a growing and serious global health problem, according to pre-eminent scientists.

Recent Stories

Buried Treasure: Bringing death to life

Steve KretzmannIt is a rare feat, to successfully write a Gothic novel that is comic and tragic, along with the element of horror that is bound within the genre. That is, if you want to assign a genre to Sven Axelrad’s debut novel, Buried Treasure.… Read more [...] Read more...

City’s clean beaches claim: Results don’t add up

Steve KretzmannHalf the 22 beaches the City claims have “excellent” water quality, are perennially polluted As the summer holiday season approaches, the water quality at 22 of Cape Town’s most popular beaches and tidal pools is “excellent”, according to a statement released by the City on 24 November.… Read more [...] Read more...

Cape Town lawyer pleads not guilty to race attack

GroundUp“Neighbour slashed my tyres because I’m black, then ran away from the police”, states complainant in criminal case Sandiso Phaliso/GroundUp A former Green Point resident who has charged a local attorney with malicious damage to property, believed the reason he slashed her car’s tyres was simply because she is black, and was defenceless. … Read more [...] Read more...

Public works “working” on evicting people occupying land at the Castle

GroundUpCape Town mayor concerned about the lack of a clear timeline Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp An eviction order against dozens of people occupying land at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town is being sought by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), which owns the land. … Read more [...] Read more...

Magnetic mean green Hulk machine

Jackie CreweHere’s a prime example of car creativity the whole family had a hand in. The Mean Green Hulk Machine is the product not only of years of experience, but each member of the Creighton family had something to offer in the build.… Read more [...] Read more...

December gig guide

Steve KretzmannSummer is here. Work is a drag, drag, drag but the holiday – that most bourgeois concept – beckons. Whatever! Life is about to get lekka, and we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to jols. Be wys. Music festivals If you are desperate to get out of the city this weekend (2 and 3 December) we strongly suggest the Shifty Oppie Weskus Koppie music festival.… Read more [...] Read more...

Humanity’s hollow delusions punctured

ContributorClinging to an economic order that depends on laying waste to our planet has us facing a catastrophe By Rod Amner “When we allow self-evident truths to percolate past our defences and into our consciousness, they are treated like so many hand grenades rolling across the dance floor of an improbably macabre party.… Read more [...] Read more...

Rain adds to drifting excitement

Jackie CreweTechnique was the telling factor as rubber burned on a wet Grand Parade Cruising in to Cape Town on Heritage Day, Jackie Crewe found himself fizzing with anticipation in the knowledge that ahead of him was a long-awaited petrolhead extravaganza kicking off hard, and right in the heart of the CBD.… Read more [...] Read more...

Bays of sewage: Public hearings begin

Steve KretzmannEnvironment minister criticises City’s previous lack of engagement After it was ordered to do so by the environment minister, the City of Cape Town has now started public hearings on three marine outfalls it operates. These pump about 28 million litres of sewage out to sea every day, according to reports commissioned by the City.… Read more [...] Read more...

Gig guide: Into october

Steve KretzmannSo ja, the weather came and klapped us. This is what happens, and it’s gonna happen again, and more often, because we’ve taken most of the carbon the planet spent aeons accumulating and storing underground and then just released it back into the atmosphere in the eye blink that is 200 years.… Read more [...] Read more...

One less obstacle for Bishopscourt land claimants

GroundUpDreams of returning home to Bishopscourt, one of the most expensive suburbs in Cape Town today, are a step closer for 86 families evicted during apartheid. This after an appeal against the Protea Village restitution housing project was withdrawn. The Friends of Liesbeek Association had brought a town planning appeal on environmental grounds.… Read more [...] Read more...

Everyone dies: No gauche debutante

Steve KretzmannNot thinking about death – our own and that of the people we love – is probably a mechanism of the mind that prevents us from being paralysed by its inevitability. Although, paradoxically, death can provide the impetus to enjoy life while we have it, and to find the kind of perspective that allows us to gracefully deal with the daily frustrations and irritations that accompany a beating heart.… Read more [...] Read more...

Gig guide: September

Steve KretzmannLike, spring is coming. You think? GET OUT AND DO SHIT Theatre There’s been some antici……..pation titillating the nerve endings since the announcement a couple of months ago that SA author Damon Galgut’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Promise would be adapted for stage.… Read more [...] Read more...

Father and son forge a Sierra-driven bond

Jackie CreweThe Mother City car culture is an intergenerational thing, and in today’s story this comes to life as a passion for Ford, and restoration skills passed down from father to son. About 15 years ago Nur Kemp was a legend on the local scene with his paint-flip split-bonnet Ford Sierra a source of wonder across the Cape.… Read more [...] Read more...

Amazon development: Lawyer in qualification lie

Steve KretzmannTimothy Dunn, an attorney in the River Club dispute, does not have the master’s degree he claims to have The lawyer who brought a case to the High Court which accused a First Nations leader opposed to the controversial R4,6-billion Amazon development at the River Club of fraud, has misrepresented his own qualifications to the public.… Read more [...] Read more...

Attorney in midst of Amazon development debacle faces Legal Practice Council complaint

Steve KretzmannBesides misrepresenting his qualifications, a complaint has been laid against Cape Town attorney Timothy Dunn with the Legal Practice Council by the Willow Arts Collective (WAC). The collective is a group of about 30 people who occupy the former National Circus School grounds at 2 Willow Street in Observatory.… Read more [...] Read more...

Lawyer back on trial for malicious damage to property

GroundUpGary Trappler, an attorney, allegedly slashed a Green Point resident’s car tyres more than three years ago. The case against Trappler was initially withdrawn, but the introduction of CCTV footage has seen the case reinstated. However, the case has been postponed because the magistrate was absent.… Read more [...] Read more...

River Club: New twist in the plot

Steve KretzmannThe founder of the Krotoa of the Goringhaicona says he told developers to target Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council leader Tauriq Jenkins The founder of Krotoa of the Goringhaicona, an organisation which favoured the development of the River Club site in Cape Town, has revealed that he urged the developers to target the leader of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council, which opposed the development.… Read more [...] Read more...

June gig guide: give uncle Gweezy the middle finger

Steve KretzmannWhen it’s cold and dark and your UPS is dying and Eskom is gas lighting you that it’s loadshedding and not blackouts, be comforted by the fact most venues have made a plan to offer light and warmth and a haven for like-minded people who will see you and share the joys of music and theatre and, ahem, alcohol.… Read more [...] Read more...

District Six evictions – again

GroundUpThey withstood apartheid removals, now District Six families fight eviction by private owner Six original District Six cottages now face the threat of developer’s bulldozers. The row of Victorian cottages in District Six survived apartheid demolition after a Catholic religious order begged for their protection.… Read more [...] Read more...

An Escort to turn heads

Jackie CreweSauntering onto a Cape show ’n shine field on a crisp winter’s morning, with the sunlight not quite yet gleaming off polished hoods, the car most likely to catch your eye is the one that appears to glow with an internal light.… Read more [...] Read more...

Wole Soyinka’s new novel is an exuberant takedown of a corrupt state

Steve KretzmannIt is a mighty tome from the great Nigerian writer. Chronicles From The Land Of The Happiest People On Earth is a mire of poetic prose. It is possible to sink in it. Flail about and enjoy the view. Tense doesn’t always seem to make sense, but not often enough to do away with it altogether.… Read more [...] Read more...

Fixing Cape Town’s railways will save families nearly R1-billion a year

GroundUpWe cannot wait any longer to save the city’s train service by Roberto Quintas/GroundUp An efficient rail service will save lower-income households up to R932-million a year, according to preliminary findings of the City of Cape Town’s rail feasibility study. We cannot wait any longer to fix the city’s railway service.… Read more [...] Read more...

Obs collective fight eviction

Steve KretzmannThe City of Cape Town is seeking an eviction order against the Willow Arts Collective occupying municipal land in Observatory, after they proposed renting the land. The property was formerly leased to the South African National Circus School whose owner had unlawfully sublet the property.… Read more [...] Read more...

Unfinished freeway gives way to Foreshore development

Steve KretzmannDevelopment of Cape Town’s Gateway Precinct linking the Foreshore to Bo-Kaap, De Waterkant and the V&A Waterfront, which includes new housing, can now begin as land along lower Buitengracht Street has been released to the City by the provincial government. After being held back for more than 40 years due to a road reserve along Buitengracht Street being kept by the provincial government for the unfinished Foreshore freeway, the 11,254 square metres of land was released to the City of Cape Town on 20 January.… Read more [...] Read more...

Climate change almost doubles the risk of wildfires in Cape Town, study shows

Steve KretzmannFire Weather Index prior to 2021 UCT fire was highest ever recorded during autumn. A study has found that climate change played a role in the “UCT fire” of 2021 and has significantly increased the chances of such devastating fires occurring in Cape Town.… Read more [...] Read more...

Lindenberg’s life at full throttle

Steve KretzmannMotoring and literature may seem uncommon companions, but they do get together quite often, from Tom Wolfe’s classic collection of essays in The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby to Stephen King’s Christine. Jack Kerouac’s On The Road is arguably about cars. and there are plenty of gripping non-fiction novels about drivers, designers, and motoring escapades.… Read more [...] Read more...

Things to do in the Mother City: April

Steve KretzmannThe days are getting cooler and the rain is coming. At last the night outlasts the day. Time to get off the beach and into the theatre, music hall, pool bar, dive bar, etc. Also, we can wear boots and jackets in comfort again.… Read more [...] Read more...

Spier: Signature belies the estate’s depth

Sadé AllcockThe historic Spier wine farm located just outside Stellenbosch has more than 300 years experience in making wine. It is now a giant in the South African wine industry and has worked hard to get their name out and expand their brand.… Read more [...] Read more...

February gig guide

Steve KretzmannIt’s Valentine’s Day this month. Just a warning: the moneygrubbers will be out to get you for the sake of lurve. Fuk’em. You’ve got better things to spend your long-awaited January pay cheque on (if you’re lucky enough to get a pay cheque, that is, you 20 percenter, you).… Read more [...] Read more...