The Mengelmoes digters/poets came into being in 2013 at the Breytenbach centre in Wellington. They were formed during the time when Dr Diana Ferrus presented and facilitated poetry workshops at the Centre. They have since read at various festivals and published a few anthologies. They will be participating in different festivals this year and to…
Urban gardens one solution to corruption and hunger
11 June 2022: Loraine Gay Mfeka, 72, started her urban farm on an overgrown, illegal dumpsite in Montana Park, Pretoria. She cleared the brush and now grows organic vegetables for the community and passers-by. (Photograph by Ihsaan Haffejee) Anna Majavu – 20 June 2022 Academics and pavement gardeners say growing food in the city can…
Public Employment Program (PEP)
Dear Obs Residents I am writing to alert you to three updates which include two appeals 1. The OCA along with other partners is calling on Obs Residents to sign a petition appealling to the City not to discontinue the Public Employment Program (PEP) tackling homelessness in Cape Town. Organisations supporting programmes to address homelessness…
Social Issues report may 2022
It is with sad news we say good-bye to Donovan Swartbooi our infamous obs community member who passed this month. Donovan will be remembered for his upcycling of beautiful flowers sold door to door in Observatory. He is missed by all his clients and family on the village green and at the Obs Rainbow House…
AUTOMATIC LIQUOR LICENCE RENEWALS FOR 2023
Dear Stakeholders, We would like to inform you of a significant step we are taking to regulate liquor more effectively in the public interest and enable communities to take action against problematic licensed establishments. Please assist us in sharing this information with your networks. Please see attached for detailed information Kind regards / Vriendelike groete/…
River Club opposition excluded from Obs ward committee
4 May 2022 – Steve Kretzmann The award-winning Observatory Civic Association, which has led the opposition to the River Club development, has been excluded from the ward committee in ward 57 following new rules being adopted by the city in January. Ward committees were established by the Municipal Structures Act “in order to enhance participatory…
Petition calls for the City to extend funding for Public Employment Programme for the homelessness
Cape Town – An Observatory resident has started an urgent petition calling for the City to not discontinue the Public Employment Programme (PEP) addressing homelessness in the metro at the end of June. The petition has been endorsed by the Observatory Civic Association and the Observatory Neighbourhood Watch. Streetscape Khulisa partnered with 13 local NGOs…
How to Steal a Country
How to Steal a Country is the story of the Gupta family’s spectacular rise from flea market shoe salesmen to establishing a massive black owned business empire in South Africa. It runs as a suspenseful detective story uncovering one huge bribery scandal after another, involving the top echelons of political power and several well-known multinational…
Tell us how to manage Cape Town’s land
We have draft plans out for public comment that will affect the way our city’s land is used and developed, and you can have a say in the overall look and feel of Cape Town. The comment period ends Tuesday, 30 August 2022. Cape Town is a growing city and new developments, such as housing,…
OBSID public safety report
See the OBSID public safety report for May 2022 here.