#Shutdown Cape Town

Like many disadvantaged communities, GR Stories and Ntirhisano Community Centre (NCC) participated in the #Shutdown strike organised by major trade unions against austerity, unemployment, and high costs of living, in Cape Town. 

The protest started at 4 am until the afternoon. They shut down one of the busy roads for 3 hours from 4 am to 7 am demanding basic human services on Monday, Cape Town, Voortrekker Road, Cape Town. 

The strike took place across South Africa's nine provinces on Wednesday 24 August 2022.   

Ntirhisano Community Centre (NCC) is a grassroots community centre located in Salt River, Cape Town. The aim of Ntirhisano is to reactivate, enhance and advance the struggles of the poor and working-class communities. The centre uses various tools, approaches, and methods exclusively to consolidate the solidarity spirit within and between grassroots communities. 

We intend to facilitate and participate in miscellaneous projects – already taking or can take place in poor communities: 

• Planting and growing food in community gardens

• Learning and capacity-building

• Recreational and political activities 

• Activism-journalism

• Support the Informal Sector

• Organising grassroots communities

A vegetable garden was started by NCC and a refugee community at one of the two temporary facilities the government organized to accommodate refugee families in Kensington (Wingfield Airbase), Cape Town. Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

By participating in day-to-day socio-political, environmental, and grassroots community solidarities and struggles. Working together in sharing and refining experiences rooted within these communities. Without reliance on top-bottom, neo-imperial ideas or influence. 

As a grassroots anti-capitalist, revolutionary movement, and political community center – based on mutual aid and direct action principles. Ntirhisano aims to organize, network, interact and collaborate with various progressive civil societies, social movements, and political organisations. It is committed to relearning and reeducating ourselves against the ongoing lies of the state and capitalism. Sometimes camouflaged under the auspice of black nationalism.

As long as the present capitalist system remains intact racism, apartheid and patriarchy will prevail. Capitalism is built upon, protects, and advances systemic race and class-based oppressions. The capitalist system is habitually designed so that the poor and marginalized bear the brunt. While the rich and affluent are freely enjoying all the wealth. The poor workers and their communities produce the wealth of the world – not the bosses.