Samantha Smith – 29th April 2025 The City of Cape Town’s proposed 2025/26 budget has ignited widespread criticism from homeowners and property associations due to a marked increase in property rates and upward adjustments to municipal service tariffs. Designed to finance key infrastructure projects and improve public services, the City’s draft 2025/26 budget includes an average 7.96% increase…
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Lower Salt River Catchment Management Forum inaugural meeting
Dear valued stakeholder The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is pleased to invite you to the inaugural meeting of the Lower Salt River Catchment Management Forum. This session aims to engage interested and affected stakeholders in the establishment of the forum, which seeks to collaboratively address the challenges related to the sustainable management, cleanliness, and…
🌌 Explore the Universe with Us This May! 🔭
Join us at the NRF|SAAO in Cape Town for an unforgettable evening under the stars! Whether you’re a space enthusiast or just curious about the cosmos, our Open Nights and Night Tours are the perfect way to experience astronomy up close. ✨ Open Night Dates: 📅 Saturday 10 May 📅 Saturday 24 May 🌠 Night…
First Thursday at Ganesh!
City of Cape Town to raise property rates and tariffs on 1 July – is it fair?
City centre of Cape Town, Table Mountain. Wikimedia Commons/Discott By Amy Fraser, 25 April 2025 The new structure introduces fixed charges for water, sanitation, and a city-wide cleaning fee – each scaled according to property values. CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit interviews Kevin Allan, Founder and Managing Director of Municipal IQ… LISTEN HERE
The silent crisis – Water Boards and the unfolding disaster in South Africa’s water system
By Siyabulela Mama – Apr 17, 2025 South Africa is facing one of its most pressing crises: water scarcity. From the Nelson Mandela Bay Water Crisis to the unfolding water shortages in Johannesburg and Komani, millions of South Africans are bearing the brunt of a crisis that seems to be getting worse with each passing…
Mosquitoes are the world’s most dangerous animals, but here’s why they shouldn’t all disappear
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are expected to breed faster and bite more often as temperatures increase. (Photo: Pixnio) By Shüné Oliver – 22 Apr 2025 Wouldn’t it be better for us all if mosquitoes disappeared. One answer is that it would save about 500,000 lives per year, but that’s not the whole story. Most people in the…
“Is there a place for the poor?’ Artists and activists try to revive Johannesburg, crumbling City of Gold
Margaret Ngubane lives in a house with others in the inner city district of Berea in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photograph: Madelene Cronjé/the Observer Rachel Savage – Sat 19 Apr 2025 Issues around basic services, corruption and class trouble vibrant Johannesburg, which this year hosts the G20 summit Bethabile Mavis Manqele mops the veranda of the…
The health impact of public murals
The premise of the Porch Light program, a venture between Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services, is that public art can heal both communities and individual residents. A 2015 Yale School of Public Health evaluation found promising results for individuals, but recommended further study. For communities, though,…
The evolution of street art in Woodstock and Salt River
Published by Kate Wilson on April 26, 2025 Welcome to Cape Town’s coolest canvas—where the walls do talk, and they’ve got a lot to say. If you’ve ever taken a walk through Woodstock or Salt River, chances are you’ve stopped in your tracks, tilted your head, and thought: “Wow, that’s art?” Yep, it is—and it’s…