.

Township School Received Important Gifts

2012-02-14T00:27:00.004+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe

Pupils with their new and needed pots.

Many township schools often struggle to compete withformer Model C schools and private schools as they are under resourced.Feladelfia High School which caters for pupils with disabilities in Soshanguveis one of these schools. Despite its struggles, it managed to receive a pass rateof over 70 percent in 2011. Even so that doesn’t mean its pupils, many of whomare from poor families, don’t need cooking equipment and other basic needs forchildren to eat.

To make things easier for the pupils of the school,recently a donation of several important needs were given to Feladelfia byDenel Land System at an event attended by government representatives. “Wedecided to finance the school. We told them to tell us what they need from us;from then we developed the partnership,” explains Denel’s Human ResourcesManager, Thulani Mahlinza.

The company donated new cooking ovens, classroom equipmentsand promised to help repaint the school for the next coming five years.

Another benefit that willcome from the partnership is that engineers and technicians from Denel willassist pupils with some of their work during the next five years – ensuring theygain expert skills.

Grade 12 pupil, ZachariaSithole, believes that this is a great opportunity. “As a student we areblessed. I am happy that we are recognised.”

Zambia Has a Few Lessons for Bigger Football Nations

2012-02-14T00:05:00.001+02:00

Khuliso Nemarimela

@willeinstein

Many arenow asking what Zambia’s secret is after they cruised to African victory at the recent Cup of Nations tournament. It is simple - they have a well-runfootball association, under the guidance of football legend Kalusha Bwalya. Thatis a rarity in African football as many leaders of associations often fight toenrich themselves. The president of the association being a former footballerhimself means that he knows what his players needs are and therefore takes careof them. Imagine football legends like Lucas Radebe running SAFA, Sunday Olisehor Jay Jay Okocha in Nigeria, Misheck Marimo or Peter Ndlovu in Zimbabwe andthe list goes on.

Despitethe great support they received from their football association, Zambia alsoheld the hopes of people in the southern Africa region after Botswanacrashed in the group stages of the tournament. A few minutes before the final onSunday the 12th February 2012 – many people showed their support for Zambia viasocial networks and that was proof that regional unity is possible throughsport.

Beforethe start of the African Cup of Nations football tournament no one could havepredicted Zambia would be the cause of much celebration on the streets of SouthAfrica. In the absence of Bafana Bafana, which often fails to make an impact insuch tournaments, Cameroon, Egypt and Nigeria, many tipped countries likeGhana, Senegal, Tunisia, Angola, Mali and finalists Cote D’Ivoire to be theones who’d probably take the trophy home.

As thecompetition progressed it appeared there was one team, with predominantly localbased players, that just kept on making them fall. Chipolopolo, as Zambia isaffectionately known, had a few surprises opponents and they first proved theirworthiness to be at the tournament by first getting rid of.

As thecompetition started people were talking about the likes of Didier Drogba,Asamoah Gyan, Seydou Keita, Andre Ayew, and Khaled Korbi, but nothing was eversaid about Chris Katongo, Kennedy Mweene, Isaac Chansa, and Emmanuel Mayukaamongst others. These are Zambian names that just roll off tongues of anyfootball loving African now. And it took just a few weeks for that to be thecase.

It was quite amazing to see a team that nobody, including me, ever gave achance beating the co-host Equatorial Guinea by one goal to nil, playing a2-all draw with Libya and then finishing up their group campaign bybeating the favourites, Senegal by two goals to one. It was after their 3-0 winover Sudan that got them a lot attention.

Then camethe famous win against the star-studded black stars of Ghana who were African martyrsduring the football world Cup in South Africa almost two years ago. Theyproceeded to face other giants of African football, Tunisia. And they cruisedthrough them.

Duringthe final Zambia, under the leadership of their ever-hardworking captain ChrisKatongo, proved to be hungrier for the trophy than their opponents Cote D’Ivoire.Despite many questioning bad refereeing on social networks – the Zambians wouldconstantly pick themselves up and go back into battle against the West Africangiants. And after the final whistle many across Southern Africa took to thestreets of their various villages, towns and cities to celebration hard workwhich led to amazing success.

Pretoria Gets Varsity Cup Fever

2012-02-11T00:27:00.001+02:00

Young Entrepreneur Needs Funds to Attend Bright Minds Conference

2012-02-10T03:05:00.000+02:00

RobertMabusela

Paseka Lesolang with the toilet he says can save a lot of water and lives.

Twenty-three-year oldPaseka Lesolang from Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, could be taking his invention of ahygienic toilet system to the United States of America to represent SouthAfrica at the Third Annual Unreasonable Institute. His participation in theevent depends on him raising R80 000.

Lesolang is one of 25 youngentrepreneurs who have been accepted into the Institute after 306 applicationsfrom 55 countries were received. He believes his toilet could save 288 billionlitres of water annually if installed in a million houses. His invention cameafter realising the system installed in his township wastes water. “The toiletsystem was a dual flush system. When you flush with the half flush for a givenperiod of time you flushed the whole tank and when you flushed with the full youautomatically flushed the whole tank. Therefore the objective was good but the implementationwasn’t so good,” explains Paseka.

Paseka’s invention also includesa few hygienic features ensuring that those using them don’t come into anycontact with germs found on the flushing handle. It eliminates at least 12 water-borne bacteria in a toilet pot with thesanitiser included. These bacteria give birth to diseases like ecoli which is aprerequisite for dihorea, influenza and the Norwalk virus found in foodpoisoning. He says if used effectively the life span of a person infected withHIV/ AIDS may be prolonged as they’ll be protected from disease they might getin places with inadequate sanitation.

He says getting fundingfor the project has been the biggest challenge as some politicians would ignorehis request and others would give him a run around and as a result he decidedto found his own Wagienience (Pty) Ltd trading as WHC, based at The InnovationHub in Pretoria. “Along the way I have acquired a partner and a team. My partneris Armando Costa an inventor, who invented the digester which is complementaryto the product. In this way we can cater for both urban and rural areas.Armando also invented a product in 1996 that can recover precious metals frommine waste sites, his skills and experience are a great leverage to ourprogress.”

Project Manager, PeterClarke, says he’ll try to assist Paseka achieve his dream. “Paseka is a fineyoung man and I would like to assist him where I can, and see him become verysuccesful. He is young and is taking this one step at a time. To his credit hecontinues diligently, an admirable quality”, says Clarke.

Such inventions willcontribute in working towards a green economy, as water scarcity is still aproblem in many African countries including other parts of the world. The teamsays the implementation phase will employ at least 480 people. To contribute toPaseka's quest of raising the R80 000 before the 7th March 2012; you can do soby depositing into the business bank account.

First National Bank

Account Name: Wagienience

Account Number:62230796867

Branch Name: Ga- Rankuwa

Branch Code: 252945

Should you prefer viacredit card; you can do so on their web profile through this link: https://marketplace.unreasonableinstitute.org/project/whc/

Contact Paseka on hispersonal email address: paseka57@gmail.com.

Exclusively Breast Feeding But Community Doesn't Get It

2012-02-06T02:19:00.001+02:00

Zanele Ngwenyama

@zanelengwenyama

On 23 August2011 the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, issued a statement sayingthat government has decided to adopt breastfeeding as the only strategy to feed infants. Hefurther said the distribution of breast milk substitutes through healthfacilities would be discontinued. Motsoaledi believes it’s essential to do this as SouthAfrica is one of 12 countries in the world where the child mortality rate hasbeen on the increase. The minister said this method is safe and would assist inreducing the death of babies in the country.

Thisgrabbed my attention as I had just given birth at the time. I have been exclusivelybreast feeding my baby for six months now. This has meant my child who liveswith me in the rural areas of Bushbuck Ridge has been fed no other forms ofliquidised or solid food. It has also made things easy for me as we live in anarea where shops and places for basic needs are far. As a young mother I decidedto discuss the feeding plan with my mother and she understood, but I live in aclose knit community and as a result everyone tends to be an expert on thesubject of breast-feeding, as they are experts on other subjects too. When mybaby turned one month old I constantly had to explain my reasons for notfeeding him porridge to community members. They think he starves if I don't. Sometimes I couldn’t answer alltheir questions so when they ask now, I just tell them it’s my decision and thebaby is healthy.

My research has now told me that breastfed babiesare better protected against infections like diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses,allergies and ear infections. They are at much lower risk of malnutrition, andas adults are at lower risk of chronic lifestyle diseases such as obesity,coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Mother-child bonding is alsoaccelerated through breastfeeding. This means that breastfeeding is not justabout nutrition! With lack of jobs in the rural areas it becomes hard to startmixed feeding at an early age so my method is cheap on the pocket too.

I have also been motivated by the fact that mychild will be better protected as many rural areas, like my village, sufferfrom a lack of sanitation and running water. With enough support from some ofthe health workers it was easy dealing with the critics when it came to mydecision.

They say breastfeeding helps reduce the chances ofthe child becoming HIV positive as well if the mother has the disease and inSouth Africa that leads to many mothers fearing being judged of being HIVpositive when they choose to exclusively breastfeed. They would rather puttheir child’s life in danger rather than explain their true reasons to thecommunity. Some young mothers I know who have taken the same decision asme are facing that challenge right now.

Although Motsoaledi’s plan is endorsed by the WorldHealth Organisation and UNICEF, I think he needs to embark on proper awarenesscampaigns in the rural areas before going ahead with it. This is essential in acountry where we are still faced with many challenges mentioned above.

TUT Students Believe in University's Mentorship Programme

2012-02-03T20:51:00.000+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe

Every first year in university deserves a mentor toassist them with their academic work and give them a start – especially at thebeginning of the year. A lot of the time students have to stand in long queueswhile processing last minute paper work, they would get lost as they move fromoffice to office and yet still have to get to lectures and might even get leftbehind in their work. That is where mentors come in to assist.

In South Africa a lot of schools also have an educationsystem that doesn’t prepare most students for university. In high schoolstudents have teachers who spoon feed them the whole time whereas at universitythey will get lectures and lecturers, but they have to do a chunk of the workby themselves and lecturers just work as facilitators as it would be gettingdiscussed in class after readings would or should have been done for homework.Many students aren’t used to this and as a result fail to do the readingsproperly or end up not doing them at all expecting the lecturer to spoon-feedlike the high school teacher did.

When I was in first year I was mentored and now, insecond year, I have been chosen as one of the academic mentors by the TshwaneUniversity of Technology (TUT). This is a method of getting students to assisttheir peers in first year. They pick students with a proven academic track recordfrom the previous year. The students being asked to do this task would picktheir own subjects of strength and focus on those, but it’s clear that we willlearn a lot from the first years who have been selected and they will not justbe mentees as my classmate Robinson Nqola explained, “They have informationthat I did not know.”

We met the first years recently and they seem eager andkeen to learn as most first years usually are. We just hope the spirit doesn’tdisappear. After exchanging ideas with them the job of planning contactsessions will then start.

TUT first year journalism student is excited to have beenexcepted by the university as Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande,explains that university space is limited with only a capacity of 180 000 newentrants a year.

“Education is life itself and I am looking forward tolearn new things this year,” says Matsembe. She is now looking forward tomeeting her other mentors.

Education student at the university, Sibusiso Nkosi, sayshis senior peers played a crucial role in his academic success when he was afreshman. “They were good people who were always there to offer support. Duringthe exams I did not experience difficulty because I studied and gained a lotfrom my mentors.”

Mentor Ofentse Ramatsetse is optimistic about his role inthe programme. “It is going to be an interesting experience because we will geta chance to recollect what we studied in the previous year and share with thefirst years. We will ensure that all first years yield positive results out ofthis mentorship programme.”

DASO Clearly Doesn't Understand Majority of Students

2012-01-29T15:41:00.001+02:00

Gift Ngobeni

@nyikogifted

The campaign that caused much trouble.

The DemocraticAlliance Student Organisation (DASO) recently launched its recruiting campaignin a rather controversial, if not provoking, manner. A poster of a black womanand a white man, seemingly naked while embracing each other, has sparked someserious debate, ridicule and outcry in the media and the political sphere.

As astudent who is currently in his fourth year at university I find the poster ratherconfusing and unnecessary. DASO has argued that the picture aims to increaseracial tolerance in the future of the country. But what confuses me is DASO’sreason to make the models naked. It would be rather vague to say DASO ispromoting sex in schools like one Facebooker articulated. I think we havemoved beyond the stage of thinking such campaigns are promoting sex, but whatwasn’t clear to me is what this student organisation, which is barely seencampaigning at many universities, stands for exactly. The poster releasedearlier this week sure doesn’t explain it and DASO says it comes as the firstin a series of them. I wonder what the rest will look like if the mother bodyhasn’t told the youngsters to chuck the rest in the dustbin.

It has become a tradition that every year wesee South Africa’s ruling African National Congress’ (ANC) student body theSouth African Students Congress (SASCO) take to the streets to protest forvarious issues like last year when they descended on Pretoria to ask for freeeducation. Another party that one would oftean hear about is the Pan AfricanistStudent Movement of Azania (PASMA). They often contest elections in manyuniversities and even head Student Representative Councils there. There aresome others like the Inkatha Freedom Party’s (IFP) South African StudentsMocement (SADESMO) which holds its own in KwaZulu-Natal campuses. I’ve never seenDASO protesting or holding a meeting to fight for their beliefs like others do.I’ve never even seen a poster or heard that they would be holding such. Thefirst time I hear of them making headlines is when they publish a poster of anaked interracial couple embracing.

This hasraised questions about their priorities as a student organisation which issupposed to fight for the rights of those it represents. As students we strivefor economic empowerment, lower fees at universities, proper accommodation,access to libraries, the list is endless and we usually see the likes of PASMA,SASCO and others as being at the forefront of these battles. The majority ofSouth Africans are poor and the majority of the poor are black. So one mightstart assuming that the reason the political structures mentioned above seem torepresent issues of the poor is because their supporters form a part of themajority of the country and thus they understand the needs of the majoritywhile DASO doesn’t.

DASO is definitely picking thewrong battle - or do they even have an issue they are fighting or fighting for?It appears most DASO members are white and most white South Africans are middleclass and therefore part of the elite. Many of them are not affected by hightuition fees as they can afford to go to university. Most of us, young black students,cannot afford this and have to rely on loans – a point the young Democrats aremissing. This means the minute we graduate we already have a debt to repay.That makes it difficult for us to start our lives like the majority of whitegraduates who would start their lives with no debt and at times with a car fromparents. This enables them to buy property early, invest some money in sharesor have a jolly good time every Friday night without worrying whether everymember of the extended family has eaten. Believe me, getting into interracialrelationships is the last thing we fantasise about.

This is the support SASCO gets when protesting on various issues.

One would think that the DA, by now, knows what the grievances of the majority of university students are. Putting black faces on posters or in prominent positionsunfortunately does not resolve deeper fundamental incongruities within the party.DASO also showed that this ignorance does not only run within the older membersof this traditional white parties, they clearly are in the youth as well whichmeans many white students who grew up in post-apartheid South Africa don’tunderstand how the other side of the colour line lives, thinks or needs. Thereare universities, like the University of Cape Town (UCT), which are accused ofrefusing to transform and continue to close doors on many black students. Maybethat would be a good start for DASO. They need to put such universities underthe microscope if they really want to be seen as a progressive studentorganisation in the new South Africa.

Analleged SASCO photograph then emerged the following day depicting a white womanas a maid. SASCO has denied any involvement in this saying the image was acreation of DASO, perhaps to divert attention from them. If the SASCO createdit then they should own up and if DASO did indeed create it then shame on themfor the second time in one week.

SA and Nigeria Police Need to Fight Drugs Together

2012-01-24T19:59:00.003+02:00

Gift Ngobeni

@nyikogifted

After several stories of South African womenarrested overseas for trafficking drugs and the implication of some Nigeriansin South Africa in drug manufacturing and the State security minister’s wifewith a Nigerian counterpart found guilty after recruiting girls to work as drugmules maybe it’s time the South African and Nigerian police started workingtogether to curb this crime. Nationals of both countries being implicated inthe international trade of illegal drugs cannot be good for both nations andauthorities from both countries working together will probably help improve howboth countries are viewed. I will start with a long reminder of recent drugcases that have involved South Africans and others that have involved Nigeriansin South Africa to show how important this is.

Thailand probably gets a lot of rich and beautifulyoung things taking advantage of cheap holidays there. The website www.socialreview.org.uk estimatesthat over 600 thousand Britons visit Thailand each year. So authoritiesprobably welcome people from new territories too and see it as a good sign ofthe treatment they give to visitors. They probably didn’t mind much when theysaw a phly African princess carrying simple luggage with beautiful, big andlong dreadlocks. Normally we praise such people because they would have had thepatience many don’t have to maintain their hair properly and make sure it growswithout breakage. But not this time as Nobabalo Nobanda’s dreadlocks were fakewith something illegal hidden inside.

Thai police say she has confessed to trafficking1.5 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil in December. Friends then told the mediashe had been taking them out before the Brazil trip and they were aware she hadgone to Brazil, but didn’t know what she was doing there. After her arrest italso emerged her South African friend Sulezi Rwanqa who had been communicatingwith Nolubabalo was suddenly stranded in Thailand and Sulezi’s mother said shewas unaware her daughter was there but the South African embassy was assistingin her case.

Many South Africans would know Nolubabalo’sname by now as her story has been discussed thoroughly in the media, universitystudents would be heard gossiping about her with some in Johannesburg trying tofigure out whether they’d met her anywhere at all and at times Nobabalo’s nameis a conversation starter when people have little to say to each other.

Nobabalo was caught in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport by customs officialswho noticed a “suspicious white substance in her hair”. Her arrest came a dayafter it was revealed that another South African, Janice Linden, had beenexecuted in China for bringing drugs into the country. Janice had been arrestedin 2009 when she arrived in China allegedly carrying three kilograms of crystal methamphetamine or tik as it is commonlyknown in the streets of South Africa. Reports say despite the death sentenceshe maintained her innocence. Her family has told the media that she was underthe impression that she was undergoing an appeal and wasn’t aware that it washer last day alive on the day of the execution. Barely two weeks after Janice’s executionthree more South African women were arrested for allegedly trafficking drugs.This time it was in Nigeria, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Several women who had served sentences overseas and somelater transferred to South Africa have since emerged. Some blame theirboyfriends or fathers of their children for tricking them into doing it. FormerMiss South Africa contestant, Vanessa Goosen, who has served a 16 year sentencein Thailand after pleading guilty says she only admitted to the crime to avoidthe death penalty as she didn’t know the drugs were in her luggage and suspectsthey were planted by the father of her child. Goosen was pregnant at the timeof arrest. Anyone who watched the news in South Africa last year would knowSheryl Cwele, the ex-wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, was foundguilty of drug trafficking after it emerged that she and her Nigeriancounterpart, Frank Nabolisa, were recruiting young women to work as drug mules.

While South African women are getting arrested for suchcrimes overseas police seem to be doing their bit here at home as well. In October 2011 there were reports that South African police had arrested fourNigerian nationals suspected of manufacturing cocaine and R5 million worth ofdrugs were seized from them. Nigerian website Jongola reported that Nigerian drug lord,Ndudim Agoha, was sentenced by the Special Drug Court in Durban to 20 years,four of which were suspended meaning he’ll only spend 16 behind bars.

There are also stories of women who say they were trickedinto drug trafficking with promises of jobs that offered international travel.Recently Times Live reported of a Durban woman who responded to anadvertisement that appeared in a Durban newspaper. When she was hired she wasgoing to be trained for the job in Brazil where she says she was locked in aroom, repeatedly raped, forced to swallow carrots preparing her to swallowcocaine bullets and managed to escape when she was at the airport about totraffic drugs.

Another article appearing on IOL has a story of a woman whowith a similar story. She had responded to an Isolezwe advertisement and says herinterviewers were two Nigerian men and a Zulu speaking South African woman. Shemade a U-Turn in Turkey as she was connecting to Bangladesh and the woman is currentlyunder police protection. She said her training to swallow carrots was in Nepaland there was another Nigerian there who told the nine women they “would haveto be kidding” to think they can be taken all the way to Asia just forshoes.

While on the streets it’s clear that a lot of judgment isbeing passed against those who traffic drugs – but each person’s circumstancesappear to be different. The one common thread that appears is poverty as druglords appear to be predominantly Nigerian and probably would have fled povertyin Nigeria and seems their only means to make money is to produce drugs.

The women who unwillingly participate would often think theyare going to sell shoes overseas and would receive training in this as aresult, only to find that they would be mules. Again poverty would have broughtthem to that point. They would be taking any job available and it seems thesejobs don’t require much as all that would be needed is a passport. Someone withno post high school qualification and has been in need for some cash with afamily to feed would be easily tempted into taking any job that offers moneyand international travel.

While the judgment would be on women who would know abouttheir involvement in drug trafficking, they too would be drawn to it bypoverty. The woman arrested in Nigeria mentioned she had a child to feed inSouth Africa. Drug mule, Tina, interviewed by the Star in December said shewillingly does this and feels that as a 44-year-old unemployed white woman therearen’t that many options for her and has two children to feed.

Some people would do anything when poverty stricken. It isthen up to the police of the two countries, Nigeria and South Africa, to worktogether and try to fight the crime. By doing so they would also be protectingthose who might end up being trapped as unwilling participants. Borders of bothcountries need to be tightened while they probably need to frequent areas knownto be drug havens in both countries. Certain countries in Europe and the MiddleEast often thoroughly question individuals who fit profiles of certain crimes.This might be seen as racist in certain parts of the world but it reduces thenumber of illegal immigrants that make it through and limits the number ofcriminals that might be bringing illegal material.

Maybe South Africa needs tostart this scrutinisation process as well. By reducing the number of people whowould stay longer than their visas allow them to would also reduce the numberof crimes committed as many would end up in criminal activities if they areundetected and if they left their countries as a result of poverty.

Impoverished School's New Method Increases Academic Performance

2012-01-22T02:06:00.004+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe

Lindokuhle Cindi, with her father, received the five distinctions she'd planned for.

Often when Matric results are released the focus would beon schools with a history of producing brilliant results. The pupils of theseschools too would often be some of the best performing in the country. But asthis happens, South Africans would neglect those which are disadvantaged and asa result have a history of poor performances. Phafogang Secondary School inRockville, Soweto, is one of those schools. This year they increased their passrate and the number of distinctions went up to eleven with one studentobtaining five.

The principal, Tuska, Matlejoane, says he believes theincrease is due to his changed approach to educating the predominantly financiallydisadvantaged pupils of the school. “I designed a new tool that will helpindicate whether the progress is moving on.”

The headmaster says the pupils are given a graph indicatingmarks from zero to a hundred. The pupils are then asked to indicate which markthey would like to obtain during each term. At the end of the term theheadmaster then returns to the pupils with the progress and shows them whattheir ambitions were at the start and how they fare against those. The teacherswould then work with the pupils on increasing the marks whether they reachtheir target or not – the focus would predominantly be on those who don’t reachtheir preferred aggregate. Matlejoane says the school’s shortfall in the pastwas due to a lack of approach for the pupils. “We did not have the strategy tomotivate them.”

While the focus was predominantly on the pupils, theprincipal says there was closer monitoring of the implementation of the curriculumby teachers and parents were requested to get involved in their children’s workas well. The system seems to have worked and led to its top pupil, LindokuhleCindi, achieving the five distinctions she had aimed for. “When the year beganit was difficult but the graph assisted me and made me aware of my performance,”she says.

The Soweto school struggles with non payment of fees.

Lindokuhle’s parents have less to worry about now as herlevel seven mark for Physical Science has led to a civil engineering scholarshipfrom the University of the Witwatersrand. “She made us proud and showeddedication from the beginning of the year,” says the girl’s father.

Prince Ngema, Hloniphile Mavuso and Nolutando Ndlovu wereother students who contributed to thepass rate that has increased to 64.2 percent. While that might not seem highcompared to top schools in the country – it is improved for Phafogang which hasa struggle of late comings and a lack of school fees payments as most familiesthat send pupils to the school are poor. Phafogang is also the only high schoolin Rockville.

Power Cuts & 5 Kilometre Walks for Water - Life in Bushbuck Ridge

2012-01-18T16:25:00.000+02:00

Zanele Ngwenyama

@zanelengwenyama

Last year I moved to my mother’s house in the rural areas ofBushbuck Ridge in Mpumalanga. I had just graduated with a National Diploma inJournalism and was leaving an internship at e-TV in Johannesburg. E-TV hadoffered to renew the contract but due to certain reasons I had to decline theoffer – but that story is for another day.

When I moved to Bushbuck Ridge I realised that it is quitenormal for this part of South Africa to go without electricity for long periodswithout anyone raising the alarm. I have just gone through another 24 hours ofgoing back to rural basics such as making fire outside in order for us to makemeals. It’s been raining and as a result I can’t cook today. I often hearpeople from other families saying they sleep on empty stomachs when there is nopower. Because we are not in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town or Pretoria – thisstory will not be making national headlines on any newspaper or broadcaster.

As it is normal for us to go without electricity for aminimum of 4-5 hours each time it rains, many have bought paraffin stoves butsome have run out of the fuel as it’s been almost a full day of using them.Rain also creates other problems as no one has water in the yard here. We mustpush wheelbarrows for about 5 kilometres to fetch water from faraway taps.Those with money often pay people with cars to assist them with this. Today itis also impossible for people to fetch this important commodity as the rain hasdecided to continuously fall with no break.

When I lived in Johannesburg I would go to Nando’s or some otherfast food restaurant when there wasn’t power to cook. If it rained like today in Bushbuck Ridge then I would order in, but I can’t do that here as we don’t havea Nando’s. Not that I would want those urban ways, that lead to people lookingthe way they look there ending up spending thousands at the gym with no results,to come here.

We have called Eskom about the problem, but no one is givingany answers. This is the same as when they never tell us about these constantpower cuts and we never know when they would be scheduled for. There is noalternative for us. We can just hope that someone at the company’s offices inthe area has realised how much in need we are and will try to solve theproblem. I know in Johannesburg it would be a running story on radio and24-hour news television already. I know I am only complaining about BushbuckRidge, but I think such problems occur all over rural South Africa.

Greater Unity Needed to Provide Pupils with Varsity Info

2012-01-11T14:56:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe


Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, considers centralising applications.

On Tuesday 10 January 2011 we heard and read about the death of a motherof one of the people who were queuing-up at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). Thewoman died in a stampede as many late applicants were standing there with thehope that they would receive university entry despite applications at mostuniversities having closed in 2011. Some students have raised concerns overthis with one even posting a statement on Facebook that asks the university to enrolthat 48-year-old woman’s child with no charge.

Late university applications seem to be a continuing trend in SouthAfrica despite constant requests that students should do things early to avoidsuch scenarios. Some students view technical institutions like FET colleges aslast options despite them providing skills that are crucial to the country.

Last week the Sowetan newspaper reported that Higher Education Minister,Dr Blade Nzimande, said universities can only accept about 180 000 new entrantsthis year. Nzimande further encouraged students to explore opportunities inlearnerships, artisan training, internships and Public Further Education andTraning (FET) colleges.

"While it is good and well for those who choose and are in factaccepted in university, our youth must start realising that our post-schooleducation and training system offers far most options," Nzimande wasquoted.

Rural high schools seldom get visits from universities.

Students and many South African parents seem not to enquire about theseoptions. As a Tshwane University of Technology student, I have realised thatmany show up at the beginning of the year with no clue what they want to studyand apply for any diploma or degree that still has spaces available and iswilling to accept students. Some even cry when they are told there are nospaces available and would have no answer explanation on why they wouldn’t haveapplied before application closures.

Thabile Ndlovu, who hopes to study law at the University ofWitwatersrand (UJ) in Johannesburg, believes that students are not sure of whatthey want to study as there isn’t enough adequate information given out in highschools. "I am one of those prospective students who are not sure what tostudy for and that resulted to me applying late."

She adds that she was not accepted by Wits for the course she wanted toenroll in because she was told that it was already full.

Students also seem to do little research on how various courses areranked and their quality at various universities. Wits and the University ofJohannesburg (UJ) are popular choices for any degree because of their location.Students also believe if they are in Johannesburg then they’d have easieraccess to a good nightlife. They never look into whether these universities arethe best options for the degrees they would like to study for.

The all important issue of race and class is still a major issue inSouth Africa. In the degree I am studying for, Journalism, the United Nationshas named only four universities in the country as potential centres foracademic excellence. They are Rhodes Univesity in the Eastern Cape,Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape, Walter Sisulu University in theEastern Cape and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) is the only one inGauteng on the list. Despite the high ranking of TUT’s journalism diploma anddegree most students would still prefer the University of Pretoria or otheruniversities as TUT has moved the journalism department to the township ofSoshanguve. TUT’s location – according to me – is brilliant as students get tocover stories they would cover in industry whilst they are still at university.The result of this is that TUT ends up with either one or no white studentsevery year in this department – some people clearly resist change and findingout about how other South Africans live.

Late last year I visited matric pupils from different schools in KwaZulu-Natal’srural villages of Nqutu and discovered that pupils there aren’t given anyinformation on university options. Universities don’t even visit such areas tohold career exhibitions there. This would be important as many South Africanslive in rural communities and attracting students from there would strengthenthe professional sector in South Africa as they would understand the unique needsof the areas they come from.

Some universities might think the information is available online, butthe majority of South Africans don’t have internet access. Many are also poorand rely of government financial aid for their studies and would need thisinformation too.

Student organisations don't provide information but disrupt lectures later.

Student political organisations such as SASCO, PASMA, SADESMO and manyothers often go on strike once the academic year has started, but maybe theyshould be spearheading programmes that should inform high school pupils aboutuniversity life and degrees. These programmes would result in pupils gettingnecessary information before arriving at university so problems they find whichlead to strikes are alleviated.

It seems that government, universities, parents and students need towork together to make an effort to provide information to all those that needit before the start of the academic year to avoid long queues that lead to stampedesand deaths at universities.

Bigger Pass Rate But Work Still Needed in Rural Schools

2012-01-05T10:29:00.000+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe

The streets of Soweto were packed thismorning with the 2011 Matric class as they wanted to see whether they passedand completed their high schooling. Some were disappointed and many were happywith the outcomes as Umalusi Council for Quality Assurance inGeneral and Further Education and Training has revealed that the passrate has gone up from 2010 67,8% to 70,2% this time around.

Sowetan Nelisiwe Chopela from The Hill highschool who passed with a University entry (A) encouraged those who didn’tpassto give it their best as they try again. “I know that is no easy but I hopethat they will go and re-write their Matric. It is not the end of the world.”

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga saidthe support structures played a huge role in the progress made this year. “Theclass of 2011 has been a very prolific and productive. We are grateful to teachers,union and higher education for the support.”

The 2010 exams were disrupted by studentand teacher protests which led to the controversy of some of the subjects’marks being increased in order for many students to make it. This overloadeduniversities with students that were standing on queues at the beginning of theyear. This time though there were no protests and everything went as plannedwhich the South African Democratic Teachers Unions (SADTU) is happy about.

“2011 Matric exams started on 15 October andended in December on a high note and all writing material was delivered ontime”, says SADTU Secretary General Mungwena Maluleke.

Dean of the Faculty of Education in theUniversity of Johannesburg, Professor Sarah Gravett, says the basic educationsystem in South Africa needs to be carefully examined as there are still hugeinequalities. “I don’t think one should look at the education system onlythrough matric results. The provinces that are doing well are metropolitans andpoor performing schools are in the rural areas.”

Umalusi CEO, Dr. Mafu Rakometsi, hopes thatthe level of mathematics pass rate will improve. “We have to have more teachersthat will specialise in mathematics and put more resources.”

After receiving their results many studentswill only now think of which steps to take for their future. Many of those whocome from the rural areas will probably visit universities to check if thereare still spaces available as it has been tradition in the past.

Refugee Organisation Gives Kids a Happy Christmas

2011-12-22T14:11:00.000+02:00

Paseka Menyau

@King_Matthews

Growing up in a foreign country can be lonely forchildren who don’t speak local languages and aren’t fully integrated intosocieties of the countries that provide temporary homes for them. To try andease their stay in South Africa, the Refugee Aid Organisation treated 150refugee children to a day of fun, entertainment and a bit of light-heartededucation in Roodepoort near Johannesburg.

The kids made new friends while riding horses,playing on jumping castles and learning about various wild animals during theirChristmas party.

11-year-old Janice Nsuzu from the DemocraticRepublic of Congo says meeting new people was daunting at first, but shethoroughly enjoyed herself, “I really had a good time; I had fun and made newfriends. I was a little bit scared in the morning, but as the day went on Irelaxed and eventually everything was good”.

Some of the children who end up in South Africa arefleeing conflict areas and war zones in their home lands. The DRC’s North Kivuregion has led to thousands of people crossing borders with many ending up inSouth Africa. There are often reports of rape and murders in the region. Someof those who flee these conflict areas find discrimination in South Africa.

The organisation says the best way to empowerchildren who have faced these hardships is through education and as a resultgave them school backpacks with stationery inside. Natalie Bonga, a volunteerfrom Ghana and a parent, says the work done by the Refugee Aid Organisation isimportant. “The organisation does a good job with our children, what they didtoday was good. This shows the spirit of love and that they care about us, eventhough we are not South Africans.”

Nozipho Ncube, from the organisation says theirwork is difficult as they often need resources that are scarcely available. “Thisyear has been a very difficult year for us, as an organisation and we wouldlike to thank everyone who supported us and took part in every function we'vehad. We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year andGod bless you all,” says Ncube.

Young People Killing Themselves!

2011-12-05T02:49:00.002+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

@sitholesthe

I live in SOWETO and realise that in my township many people still face stigmatisation when they reveal they are HIV positive. People still gossip on street corners about those they think are HIV positive or those they believe are sick because of diseases related to Aids. I believe this stigmatisation is what leads to many Aids deaths in South Africa today despite the free availability of anti-retroviral treatment in government hospitals. These drugs even enable mothers to give birth to HIV negative babies.

Recently while reading the newspapers I saw a close friend, Nompumelelo Nobiva, who probably thought her life will be that of struggle when both her parents died of Aids when she was young. The story was on how she is now in Matric at the Oprah Winfrey Academy for Girls and is preparing for university. It just goes to show that those affected by the disease can go on to live happy lives even after losing loved ones to Aids. No child wants to see parents parish, that’s not what nature intended, but it happens and it’s the courage of people like Nompumelelo that shows that the many battles created by the disease in South Africa shouldn’t mean the end of living a long, prosperous life.

As a South African who was born in a township in the 1990s I could never escape the reality of HIV and Aids. The disease has been around me all my life – we would see adults going to funerals every weekend, we would hear Love Life messages on radio and people were constantly talking about it. President Thabo Mbeki went through a period of denial, but the government is getting things right now and yet many young people still die.

Earlier this year, while visiting the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Health Minister – Dr Aaron Motswaledi – expessed worry at the huge number of young women who die at what he called “their prime”. He said some don’t live to the age of 30 and statistics of those between 15 and 30 are alarming. He even went as far as to say TB cases in South Africa should be treated as Aids cases until proven otherwise because statistics in this country show that the two are linked. He says the majority of those admitted for TB in state hospitals would often be carrying HIV as well. This view is extremely radical, but maybe a radical approach is what we need to make young people listen and start using condoms because their sexual behaviour isn’t changing.

On World Aids Day we saw many tweeting and facebooking about protecting themselves against the disease but statistics show that over 5 million South Africans are HIV positive – which means many of those saying such are merely lying to the rest of the world. I think of it this way, if I know ten people then one of them is likely to be HIV positive. If I know ten women between 20 and 30 then two of them are HIV positive. That is scary.

What’s even more alarming is that government is not fighting this disease alone as there are many organisations, television and radio programmes that aim to educate and yet once people switch off the TV set, put down the pamphlet or move on to a dance radio station they seem to forget all the messages they would have heard.

When we read books and watch movies about the 1970s and the 1980s we see that the apartheid system was killing young people. These days young people kill themselves by refusing to listen to the pleas to use protection, check their statuses and stop marginalising people with the disease so they too can stop being ashamed of going to clinics and hospitals to get access to treatment.

South Africa is fighting an endless battle that still needs parents and teachers to work together to address and solve this issue. Aids is affecting our country's political, economic and social future. Most youths in townships are exposed to activities that are not benefitial to their well-being and the society at large. It is everyone’s duty to take responsibility and make good decisions about their lives for South Africa to prosper.

World Aids Day Approaches: Discussion on HIV in South Africa

2011-11-28T16:12:00.003+02:00

3 Easy Steps to get rid of a Dictator

2011-11-24T16:06:00.004+02:00

"In the year 2000, young Serbian revolutionary Ivan Marovic participated in a nonviolent rebellion that toppled dictator Slobodan Milosevic.

image - www.daryncambridge.com

Recently, at an undisclosed tropical location, Marovic took time off from his “busy schedule” to give us some practical advice on how to get rid of a tyrant in three easy steps." - School of Authentic Journalism

#saj2011 #narconews

TUT Fashion Going Beyond 2012

2011-11-21T14:11:00.008+02:00

Tshepo Tshabalala

@TshepototheT

The Tshwane University of Technology's (TUT) annual year-end fashion show has to be one of the best methods of unearthing fashion talent in Gauteng or probably the continent. This year’s theme “Beyond 2012” had a showcase of eclectic, suave and elegant wear.

Africa's top fashion school held the event at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Lynnwood instead of the usual Pretoria State Theatre.The host for the anticipated event was none other than renowned fashion stylist, TV presenter, fashion journalist and lecturer - Noni Gasa who was dressed by one of the third year students at the university.

The ramp was laid out with a carpet of aesthetic grass done by the DVC Teaching, Learning and Technology school with Japanese lights to complete the simple yet trendy back drop to the fashion show.

Students from the first level right through to the fourth levels showcased some of the work they did during the year.

It was an avant garde display of interesting fabrics from metallics to spandex complemented by creative and unusual designs.

Third level students garments were also judged on the evening by Mano Reddy, Marlize Boshoff, Creative Director of St. Lorient Fashion and Art Gallery Lucy Anastasiadis, fashion designer Sonwabile Ndamase and designer Tshepo Modiba.

The fashion department also boast some of the students achievements: Students showcased at the Joburg Fashion Week, at the Africa Fashion Week and Street Wine Competition.

One of their note worthy achievements is emerging designer, Christinah Steyn’s work that appeared in Vogue Italia in the New Talent section.

Over forty designers showcased their work, making it another two hour show with no interval.

The only challenge for the TUT fashion show is the volume of designers they have. One saw collection after collection for two hours straight with no interval, but a great show nonetheless that keeps improving every year.

Syrian Democracy Campaigner Confused By SA Vote Against Sanctions

2011-11-21T02:05:00.006+02:00

Siphumelele Zondi
@SZondi

Last night I had a chat with one of the Syrian campaigners who have been thrown behind bars for participating in anti-government protests as people in several countries in the Middle East continue to fight for their liberation. The campaigner has been released and says they often have to use pseudonyms as many blog and speak to foreign media which has been banned from operating in Syria. Campaigners also say they often worry about the safety of those close to them.

The campaigner, who cannot be named as they fear for family members’ safety, expressed shock at South Africa’s decision to oppose sanctions against Syria in a United Nations Security Council meeting. “I don’t understand how the country of Nelson Mandela can be supporting what is going on,” they said.

South Africa, India and Brazil were outvoted during the meeting which resulted in Russia and China using their veto power to stop the sanctions. Syrian Foreign Minister, Wallid Muallem, has thanked these countries – including South Africa – for resisting what his terms western efforts to condemn Syria and issue these sanctions.

The move was also criticised by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe who visited South Africa saying the ruling African National Congress (ANC) called on the international community for support against apartheid.

"How could the South Africans turn a blind eye to the distress of the Syrians?" he said recenlty at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg.

"How could they remain impassive in the face of the crimes against humanity that are being committed in Syria? The Syrian people also have a right to freedom and democracy."

The campaigner I spoke to said they are grateful for the support they receive from the Arab League, Turkey and the United States of America. “We have never been fans of the United States of America because of their support for Israel over Palestine, but for this, we are thankful,” they say.

They also know their struggle is different from that of Tunisia and Egypt as there are ethnic divisions in the country. “Of course I would say al-Assad still has a lot of support. Many from his ethnic group – I would even say as high as 30% support him.”

Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics, Fawaz Gerges, who recently gave an interview to ABC’s Late Line also believes that the decisions taken by some countries show support for the Syrian regime.

“[Syria] has Russia, it has China, it has South Africa, India and Brazil,” Gerges told the television station.

The country is ruled by President Basar al-Assad who succeeded his father when he died in 2000 after a 29 year stay in power. Al-Assad has been elected twice without an opposition and has been accused of gross human rights violations.

The Arab League has requested the feuding parties to make an effort to have some dialogue, but this might be hard for the Syrian government.

“It has to pull out all the troops from Syrian streets, it has to release all political prisoners, it has to fully engage the opposition,” said Gerges. Something he believes will not happen as that will be the beginning of the end for al-Assad’s regime.

Since the start of the protests in March 3 500 have been killed as al-Assad’s government cracks down on those opposing him. The campaigner told me they believe this is much worse than the 1994 genocide in Rwanda which resulted in an estimated 800 000 people dead.

The Arab League had given the government until Sunday to stop the massacre of the people, but on Saturday about 17 more were reported to have been killed.

Some countries have spoken of an international intervention and al-Assad said he is prepared to die for his country should that happen.

"I assure you that Syria will not bow down and that it will continue to resist the pressure being imposed on it," al-Assad told London’s Sunday Times.

The protester said they understand the importance of South Africa in its region and believes that condemnation of the regime would be important for their struggle for freedom and liberation. They say despite its absence though they are optimistic it will all be over soon.

TUT Needs To Regain Trust From Its Students

2011-11-14T06:15:00.010+02:00

Kgothatso Madisa

@ItsProllyGubzee

Prof. Lourens van Staden

Just under two weeks ago newspapers reported on former Tshwane University of Technology Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Lourens van Staden, being appointed by Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande as Administrator of the financially ailing Walter Sisulu University. He subsequently had to resign from TUT as a result.

Earlier this year van Staden showed that he wanted to stay at TUT as he was one of the top contenders of the Vice Chancellor post and seemed to have been most qualified for it before it was given to Prof. Johnny Molefe who had been found to have obtained an invalid doctorate from St George University International, in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean. The university doesn’t exist anymore and Molefe and others at TUT had received these degrees online without meeting a single individual from the now non-existent university and it appears he had been informed of this by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) which refused to recognise his qualification in 2007.

Despite the knowledge that he didn’t have a doctorate Molefe went ahead and accepted the post of Vice Chancellor of the university and TUT appointed him after warnings from Nzimande who, after not receiving a proper explanation on the reasons for the appointment, decided to appoint Prof. Themba Mosia as the university’s administrator who after a thorough investigation eventually fired Molefe two weeks ago.

As Molefe was losing his job at TUT, a man supported by some for the top post earlier this year, van Staden, accepted the post to help Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape out of its troubles. This shows the trust that the Higher Education Ministry has in the man who could have been good for the university. The rhetoric one would sometimes hear from some staff members in Pretoria before he lost the contest to Molefe is that a black head was needed. The university’s Student Representative Council (SRC) also supported this view and Molefe was their favourite candidate at the time too. All those who supported Molefe would talk of how the invalid doctorate was a minor issue – which is strange as the Tshwane Univesity of Technology is in the business of issuing qualifications and placed as one of the top 25 universities in Africa in the latest 4 International University and College Rankings. Another study by Webometrics places TUT as the number one University of Technology in South Africa. One would think the high ranking would make the university realise the importance of hiring academically qualified management.

The issue of race seems to have been the only reason van Staden was overlooked as he, like Molefe, had been with the TUT for close to 20 years as he started at the former Technikon Northern Gauteng before the merger to form the Tshwane University of Technology. Some at TUTstaff liked him and he seemed to have done a great job as the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching, Learning and Technology.

When one walks in the corridors it is likely that there would be murmurs from some about how unfair it was for Molefe to lose the VC post as the university was still shopping for a SAQA recognised institution that would validate the qualification. Earlier this year there were even reports of a certain university in China that would possibly take the research done for PhD level, scrutinise it and then issue a doctorate. I’ve never heard of someone receiving a job without the qualification with the hope that the employer would assist in getting the papers required for the position.


Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, placed TUT under admin.

As a student I have lost trust in the university despite its high ranking. I came here because of the good name TUT has. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says TUT has one of the potential centres of journalism learning excellence in South Africa – the others being Rhodes, Stellenbosch and Walter Sisulu. Despite it being the only one in Gauteng I believe that the university needs to do massive damage control if it wants to restore the trust of students such as myself and restore the trust of those considering to study here.

South Africa’s Choice of Friends Raises Serious Moral Concerns

2011-11-09T01:13:00.000+02:00

Sibusiso Banda
@sbudalicious

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea was recently
hosted by President Jacob Zuma.

The Catholic Committee Against Hunger and for Development has found that Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea, has stolen billions of Rand worth of assets that belong to the people he claims to lead. Reporters Without Borders says the president filed a complaint in France against the authors of the report, but it was quickly dismissed.

Nguema is known for his lavish lifestyle and his youngest son, Teodorin, often shows off wealth by going on expensive boat trips and hosting huge parties while the people of the poor, oil rich African state go hungry. Nguema is also allies with South Africa as he was recently hosted by President Jacob Zuma, the man who once headed the Moral Regeneration Movement. Zuma hosted the dictator after exiled Tibetan spiritual leader; His Holiness – The Dalai Lama – was refused a South African visa to attend Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s birthday party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner isn’t good enough for South Africa, but the dictator of an oil rich country who keeps his people in poverty while helping himself to their money is.

South Africa is a country that recently gained its political freedom and certain members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) often talk of fighting for economic freedom for everybody and President Jacob Zuma’s government claims it’s fighting to give all South Africans a decenlt living standard, but yet the same ANC led government and President Zuma see nothing wrong with the people of Equatorial Guinea being stripped off their oil and forced to live in abject poverty. The BBC news website reports that in 2004 the country was said to be the fastest growing economy in the world, but the paradox is that it sits at the bottom of the United Nations Development Index. Many of the oil riches end up in Nguema’s foreign bank accounts.

He is also seen by human rights groups as a dictator who possesses the similar style of rule to Idi Amin as they accuse him of being a cannibal. Since his took to power, Obiang Nguema has ripped off much of the fourth-largest producer of crude oil in Sub-Saharan’s oil wealth into foreign bank accounts instead of the countries coffers and brutally suppressed any political opponents who tried to stop him, including the press.

Equatorial Guinea’s abundant oil revenues do not reach the majority of its citizens; according to the watchdog group Global Witness, 60 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Because most of the oil revenues stop at State House, the average citizen still lives in abject poverty.

To show how important his visit was to South Africa the country rolled out a red carpet with full honours - a marching band was on show, an inspection of the troops plus a 21-gun salute. He was greeted by President Jacob Zuma.

On 30 November 2004 President Zuma, then South Africa’s Deputy President, said: “The MRM was founded on the principles that South Africans are highly moral beings, know the difference between right and wrong, and are appalled by the symptoms of moral decay, which sometimes occur in our country.” This was during the Moral Regeneration Movement conference.

As president Zuma clearly sees nothing wrong with shaking hands and hosting a dictator accused of harsh acts against those who oppose him or dare to question his authority. A good example of this is the November 1 arrest of Marcial Abaga Barril, an opposition leader arrested as his party was planning a “no’ vote rally in a constitutional referendum. Associated Press reports that the arrest was over a murder investigation.

I tend to wonder whether South Africa lives an ambiguous life with its leaders, many of whom who faced harsh acts under apartheid, choose to turn a blind eye to similar acts happening across the continent or around the world as they have something to benefit from it. Some have said that Zuma hosted Nguema because he would be a good “friend with benefits” in this world where one needs money and oil in order to thrive. It seems this is done in place of morals some of the leaders in the ANC claim to be champions of.

Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament, Kenneth Mubu, wrote in his article for Politics Web that “our government fawns over dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Robert Mugabe and King Mswati III, while treating iconic peacemakers like the Dalai Lama with contempt”.

As our leaders try to forge a post-apartheid identity for South Africa and as they continue to define this country they perhaps need to look at what they stand for and whether those they choose to associate themselves with stand for the same values. It might be a lot to ask in a capitalist world, but it’s something they need to check regardless.

Vote for Journ'Tau in the SA Blog Awards

2011-11-04T11:11:00.001+02:00

It's that time of the year again where we ask you our reader for your help. Please vote for Journ'Tau as the best political and best entertainment blog for 2011.

It is very easy to vote. And it will only take you not more than five minutes of your time. Click on the link below or the one on the right hands bar. Slot in your email and submit your vote. log into your email and just confirm that it is you who voted.

You have until 8 November 2011 to cast your vote. Only once using all your existing email address.

Thank you Dear Reader.

Armchair Critics In Student Politics - A Major Cause of Decay

2011-11-02T21:08:00.004+02:00

Zwelo Masilela

@Zwelo

Student politics is an old phenomenon or practice just as politics in general; it is has been historically seen as hub of intellectualism and a preparatory school for future leaders of the country of course emanating from different political organisations. The student movement has produced many leaders who are today sitting in parliament, leading strategic sectors of the economy and occupying other influential positions in society.

The question many would ask is whether the current generation of student leadership reflects the future of this country? Does it possess inspiration to the students it leads and society at large? Is it an epitome of good leadership? Is it relevant to the post 1994 generation? Those are just some of the questions I ask myself as a student leader. I believe the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Soshanguve campus is one the most politically vibrant campuses in the country with many political structures and lots of people who proclaim themselves as leaders and politicians – but many seem to be unaware of the many realities in this country and, at times, contribute towards the problems in the campus’ student leadership structures.

Let me highlight the challenges facing this campus in particular relating to student politics:

· Tribalism is rife and there are those who do what is coined as “anti-tribalism tribalism” (This means those who claim to fight tribalism when their ethnic groups are marginalised, but later do the same when their tribe is given the space initially contested).

· Chauvinism, careerism, opportunism, corruption, crass materialism and dishonesty of the highest degree.

· Lack of ideological and theoretical work and knowledge of global and national balance of forces politically and economically.

· Failure to excel academically.
· Pseudo and borrowed radicalism accompanied by obscured militancy.
· Conservative and unappealing forms of running their campaigns to attract students to join or vote for them.
· Poor communication – including poor grammar, spelling and use of political jargon when addressing students.
· The general lack of self-conduct visible in collaborated hooliganism and refusal to be humble.

These issues form part of my onservations as a leader of one the student organisations. They are also found in the organisation I am part of. It may be that I wittingly or unwittingly contribute to some of these elements. Even so, I still fight them from within to extradite and culminate some of these issues from obscuring the real goal which is serving students and growing as future leaders of our beautiful country.

Those who diagnose or see these challenges and wrong deeds then take a decision to refrain from involving themselves in student politics. This also contributes to the decay of we see in student structures. This is because these are the people who should fight from within and seek to bring about change to the manner in which things are done. If you think it’s not possible, then you are wrong as I believe I’ve changed lots of things in the organisation since joining it - not by bulldozing my views but putting them across correctly and swiftly and fearing no one in articulating them.

All I am saying is that I have met many people who hold interesting views - some of which I support; but would tell you they won’t join any political structure because of the conduct and character of some leaders and the organisation thereof.

The sad reality of all this is that if people who should bring change hold back and continue being armchair critics, then this means we should accept to be led by the calamity of leaders who lead us today and we should just shut our views as we refuse to raise them in correct platforms and to the people who should hear them.

Let me also send a message to my fellow student leaders perhaps sending it to myself as well, we are not in a secret jungle or some cocoon where it’s only us and no one else. I’m saying this because most of us act as though students don’t see all the wrong deeds we do and they are just blinded followers who will simply follow us for they love and support our organisations. If we have that mentality we are doomed for failure and collapse.

We should know that people do see our wrong deeds but continue to support us because they hope we will change for the better. I must concede that student politics is at its lower moral fibre and has lost its political direction and as such there’s a lot that should be done by those in leadership, members, supporters, voters and those who are my great worry armchair critics and those who can bring substantial value but choose not to.

Chaos as TUT Students & Guards Get Into Physical Fight

2011-11-01T11:40:00.005+02:00

Anorth Mabunda, Sthembiso Sithole & Lindokuhle Mnisi

@Anorth Mabunda, @sitholesthe & @ Dr_Dream_SA

Students broke windows and stole batteries in security room.

The Soshanguve North campus of the Tshwane University of Technology is under police watch after students clashed with the security officers on Monday night. Chaos broke out when an officer working for security services provider, Triotic, allegedly assaulted a student who was drunk for not producing a student card at the gate.

After the slapping of the student, other students then attacked an estimated 30 security officers.

“The student was drunk and didn’t have a student card. The officers then refused to let him entry to the university premises. The students tried to enter forcefully, prompting the officers to slap and throttle him until he fell down,” said a student who was at the scene and did not want to be identified.

The students then went on a rampage vandalising two Triotic control rooms, smashing doors, light bulbs and windows with heavy stones and bricks. They also broke the boom gate at the entrance and forced their way into the control room, stealing radio batteries to block communication lines between security officers. Most guards then fled the campus.

One officer trapped inside was allegedly assaulted by the students.

Fearing they will be victimised as well; officers guarding the dormitories and other buildings inside the campus changed their black, white and orange uniforms so that the angry students wouldn’t identify them.

Two police Nyalas with heavily armed policemen were deployed at the scene. The Public Order Police drove inside the campus with their nyalas to rescue about five officers who were still hiding inside the residences. The armoured vehicles were hurled with stones by a mob of students, forcing the law enforcers to fire rubber bullets to scary the students.

One student was shot by the police in the hand and bled profusely. He was treated at the scene and later rushed to the hospital by ER24 paramedics. The paramedics didn’t respond to TUT Life’s questions.

Out-going campus president Ngwato Maila told the students that “no one will be harassed by anybody.”

“We are not going to be intimidated by anything. Let us listen to what the police are telling us. For those who want to sleep they should. We are not going to leave this case without solving it. Early in the morning will deal with the matter (sic).”

Triotic Site Manager, Mr. Jeffery Mandanda said, “no comment for the media” when asked about the riots. He told his staff that they should report to work tomorrow (Tuesday). Mandanda only mentioned that the cost of repairing the damage is approximately R20 000. Windows, doors, boom gates and other goods were missing.

University now under police watch.

“Currently there won’t be any arrests because no one wants to come forwarded with the information about the suspects who damaged the premises,” said Captain Sello Mohale of the Public Order Policing in Pretoria.

A student who didn’t want to be identified because she is well-known in the campus and fears to be victimised said, “These students are ill-mannered and lack discipline. We need these security officers. We should all respect the security officers and treat them as our parents.

It is a known fact that any student entering the premises must produce the student card. The officers were acted lawfully by prohibiting the student from entering the campus because he did not have a student card,” she said.

Not Much Changed in Soshanguve, But Residents Content

2011-10-31T19:22:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole
@sitholesthe

Earlier this year these people built shacks illegally,
they still don't have land a few months on.

Earlier this year we covered a story about Soshanguve residents who said they had been waiting for government housing for close to 20 years and had decided to occupy land illegally so they could build their own shacks. We visited those residents recently to find out if there had been an improvement in their aim to access adequate housing or at least get land allocation to build shacks. Many say they are happy for now as their pleas seem to have been heard.

“Finally we managed to get a stand given to us by the councilor, Marutula. Anytime soon we will be build houses,” said group chairperson, Matshona Matjeke.

This is a different scene from earlier this year when the group was demanding the councilor’s resignation just days after the May 18 local government elections. They were not happy with the promises that had been made by those they elected and it seemed they wanted overnight change – understandably as some say they had been waiting for houses since the mid-1990s.

The poverty and the lack of opportunities are clear as one enters Soshanguve and apart from the few food stalls and beer outlets found all over the township – the high unemployment rate is visible as many young people sit on street corners during weekdays.

Mduduzi Lukhele is an unemployed resident who depend on the family tuck shop for money. He says as a result of a few opportunities the crime rate then becomes high.

“Unemployment among the youth has led them to steal for our own parents and that is a bad reflection of how we have been raised.”

Despite this there are those who defend those they elect saying they are doing enough for them.

When one walks around Soshanguve it is easy to spot that many young people are smoking a drug rare in most parts. They call it Nyaope and it is a mixture of marijuana, anti-retroviral drugs and possibly other drugs as well.

These people seem to go to the polls each time there is an election, but very little change is seen here and many still live in poverty that existed under apartheid. People should also not celebrate free land to build shacks – adequate housing is a promise that is always made by the ANC government.

Doctors Say She Won't Live Beyond 13 - But She Manages to Joke About it

2011-10-30T18:50:00.001+02:00

Alice Mminele
@MmineleA

12-year old Ontlametse from Hebron, Pretoria, lives with Progeria. Greek word meaning “prematurely old”. This is an extremely rare condition that affects 1 in about 80 million new-borns in the world. The scientific name for this condition is Hutchinson Gilford Progeria syndrome, which was discovered in 1886 by Jonathan Hutchinson and Hastings Gilford.

This disease normally begins to appear at about 18 to 24 months of age. This, however, was not the case for Ontlametse as her family found out what was wrong with her when she was 10. Doctors were dismissing her condition as bad skin rash while classmates and teachers mocked her, saying she was HIV positive.

This young girl, unshaken by her disease, lives a happy life and is really cheerful. Her confidence is amazing and her passion for life begins to show the youth of today that there is life, despite any situation that one might encounter. With her wrinkled hands, bold head and tiny body, Ontlametse finds joy in each passing day and is never afraid to go to school even after years of prejudice from other pupils and some teachers.

“She is confident and beautiful,” says Katlego Mathabe, her only friend from school.

This grade 7 learner, resembles an ageing woman, with the height of a 4 year old. She is known as the only black female with this disease in South Africa. Her life expectancy is 13 years, yet she prays every night as she believes she can overcome anything.

“I pray for Ontlametse each day, so she can live longer,” says Bellon Phalatse, her mother.

Her father abandoned her as a child, due to her appearance.

Ontlametse's heart is filled with love, as she protects her friends’ feelings by not telling them that her life will be shorter than theirs. She goes to the US during school holidays, where scientists are trying to find a cure for her condition. This research programme takes place at Boston University's Progeria Foundation.

Ontlametse is humorous too. “I am the only person in Hebron who has been to the US four times. They think my mom is rich,” says Ontlametse as she cracks into laughter.

One of the longest living people with Progeria lived to be 29 years old. Another South African from Cape Town who lived for 26 years was Leon Botha, group member of “Die Antwoord” music group. Botha was born on the 4th of June 1985 and died on June 5th 2011 after complications of Progeria, one day after his 26th birthday.

Another Super Car That Will Break Proposed Speed Limits

2011-10-30T18:32:00.000+02:00

Bruce Mbingeleli

The Lexus LFA is safe, fast and elegant.

Some drive the cars they drive because of speed, there are those who buy them because of comfort and
others it’s the style that matters most. When I recently visited the Johannesburg International Motor Show (JIMS) recently I found a car that combines all this, ensuring that one’s driving experience in it is a memorable – even if it’s just for a few minutes as many can probably not afford it.

The team promoting the Lexus LFA say its advantage is high performance while managing to achieve optimal fuel economy and low emission. The car is equipped with a naturally aspirated 40-valveDOHC 4.8 litre V10 engine which kicks out an assembled 412Kw. It manages to deliver at 8700rpm, its maximum torque output being 480Nm arriving at 6800rpm, 90 percent of which is available from 3700rpm. In short this car is super-fast and reaches a high speed at a very short time.

I consider the LFA excellent on technology sophistication, it is safe – as safe as super cars can be.

The car has a six-speed automatic sequential gearbox with a rear-wheel drive that revs 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds with a top speed of 325km/h, with a truly beautiful carbon fibre body construction that gives it an aggressive look on the front especially at the rear ends giving the BMW M5 and CLS 63 AMG Coupe a run for their performance.

The LFA comes in two exotic sports body models, the two-door coupe and two-door roadster. The new LFA has made it possible in fitting HDD satellite navigation system with a Mark Levison Digital Surround Sound System and Dual Automatic Climate control making it easier and convenient for the driver.

Lexus has made it possible for loading features to make driving more enjoyable in high-performance and safety: a Carbon Ceramic Material (CCM) brake discs for easy braking when stopping at high speeds.

The body features sharp edges and cut-offs for improved aerodynamic performance, made possible by the carbon fibre body. The body was designed with an emphasis on down force. There are air scoops located over the rear fenders which feed the aft-mounted radiators and help cool the brakes. A horizontal hood gap also feeds air to the engine. Two small aft vents expel air that is collected by an under body air scoop and used to cool the titanium exhaust pipes. Dual hood ducts serve to move hot air away from the exhaust manifold. It’s a shame that Lexus has produced only 500 of these models, for all you motor-heads out there eager in getting this LFA these vehicles are at a base price of US$375,000 an estimate of R2 995 303.36 million its really expensive but for a collector’s items why not.

Whatever the Agenda, Malema's Cause is Relevant

2011-10-28T13:51:00.001+02:00

Lindokuhle Mnisi
@Dr_Dream_SA

Throughout 2011 the leader of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL), Julius Malema, has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons in South Africa’s media industry and the reporting on him has been pretty negative. Event he views by some intellectuals have not been flattering ones and some of those who often comment on him think he desperately seeks media attention and wants to be seen as a champion for the poor when South Africa’s history books are re-written in future. He is also undergoing a disciplinary hearing at the ANC and there are those who think he clashes with leadership, especially President Jacob Zuma.

But lately Malema has impressed me much. He has been criticised for bringing the topic of nationalisation to South Africa’s many discussion tables. He may not be the right person to talk about this, but someone had to as millions of South Africans live in dire poverty while a small minority enjoys the wealth that comes from resources such as platinum, gold and diamonds that our beautiful nation has.

His latest idea which came to fruition on Thursday, 27 October 2011, was criticised by some commentators, journalists and some in social media. Even at it was starting some were predicting many of those who were there at the beginning would not make it all the way to Pretoria from Johannesburg. But they did make it and the critics never apologised or admitted their predictions were false. It’s estimated that those who joined the young Malema on his economic freedom march were estimated at over 10 000.

Along the way there were two stops – one at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and another at the Chamber of Mines before proceeding to protest on the Union Buildings in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. The 60km walk couldn’t have been easy and many picked on Malema’s physique predicting it was the result he wouldn’t make it far. One or two fell along the way, but that didn’t stop the other thousands from continuing.

The importance of this march was shared by many on twitter while critics continued to make fun of it. I am one of the supporters of such initiatives – it may not bear fruit tomorrow or the day after, but it will make many notice that young, unemployed South Africans have a voice too and they also want to share in the economy and the growth of Africa’s richest nation.

South African Prisoners' Organisation for Human Rights president, Golden Miles Bhudu, was there too saying: "We want economic freedom in our lifetime. When the intellectuals and rich are sitting in their boardrooms, they must know that we mean business.”

Julius Malema has brilliant ideas but he lacks strategies and skills to implement these ideas. He knows what is right and what is beneficial to the youth, he just can’t articulate this in a manner that is acceptable to those who speak English through their noses and received a better kind of education they could afford to pay thousands for. He says things as they are, he doesn’t have any hidden agenda.

Maybe many are uncomfortable with the fact that he is never politically correct, but politically correctness would mean bowing down to certain individuals and not realising your dreams and ideas.

This march is not against the ANC and President Zuma. It is about the youth living in hunger and seeking economic freedom. After all the effort he puts on a struggle against economic freedom. These people would normally be ignored and at least someone is giving them some kind of voice. If there is a hidden agenda, at least there is a bigger struggle being fought for hiding that agenda.

Lions Have to Work Hard to Escape a Shark Attack for Currie Cup Final

2011-10-28T13:44:00.002+02:00

Musa Nombona
@MuserThe1st

It’s been 12 years since the Lions have won the Currie Cup and at this stage all the odds seem to be against the lads from Johannesburg. While experience is not on their side of their players like Spingboks’ Du Plesis brothers, the ”Beast” and Alberts are back for the Shark camp in Durban for the game tomorrow.

The Lions go in tommorow’s clash with an unchanged side from last week’s win against Western Province.

“We are just focusing on our own performance and clearly we have total confidence in our forward pack and team,” Lions coach said

Top coaches tip that the Lions will win this but a Sharks victory isn’t written off.

All 62 000 tickets for the clash have been sold out.

So let’s all embrace the comfort of our couches and enjoy this clash.

Southern African Spring on the Way

2011-10-23T19:11:00.001+02:00

Sibusiso Banda
@sbudalicious

There are many countries in Africa where government rule with an iron fist and probably, in some, it’s just a matter of time before there is a Tunisia moment or even worse – a Libya moment. Workers in Swaziland often take to the street to fight for a basic living wage and this year universities had to shut down in that country as lecturers were being paid just transport money while King Mswati III continues to live a lavish lifestyle. It has become apparent that the country is in trouble as South Africa had to give a loan to Swaziland after being refused by the international Monetary Fund for its refusal to implement fiscal reforms.

Zimbabweans have gone through several bad periods, but the worst must have been when there was a shortage of food in that country’s shops, the currency was worthless and eventually replaced by the US dollar and the South African Rand. Rather than taking to the streets like the people of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya – Zimbabweans braved the razor wire on the border with South Africa with some even facing a crocodile infested river to make it to a place where they can have a better life.

In Malawi many tested that country’s president, Bingu wa Mutharika, this year and he cracked down on those who were brave enough to question his leadership. There were reports of arrests in that country and many protest leaders had to go into hiding as a result. Wa Mutharika’s government even stopped the state broadcaster from showing images of the violence that was happening in the country during that period – but just like elsewhere in southern Africa, Malawians went back to their normal lives very quickly.

In May 2011 schools had to shut down in Botswana as this southern African nation was facing many protests from its citizens. This came after teachers and other civil servants had taken to the streets too to fight for higher pay as their last one had been in 2008. Riot police fired teargas at the students as a result.
All this shows that if Southern African leaders are not careful they too will be taken out of power by those they lead. Some of these countries are called democracies.

Africa has seen the fall of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt and it seems like the people of Swaziland and Zimbabwe are nearing breaking point too.

What we have seen this year shows that tolerance is now running low.

Part 2: Democracy and the Scramble for Libya's Oil & Economy

2011-10-21T16:01:00.003+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole
@sitholesthe

Muammar Gaddafi's killing after his over 40-years of rule has been met by celebration in Libya and abroad, but this was just the first phase of change as the second phase with the west probably stepping in more is beginning today. It's still unclear how the anti-Gaddafi forces, who were descibed by the media as disorganised at first, received so many weapons to carry out such a large scale operation, but that's all in the past now - the ones that helped them can celebrate, but I'm certain they won't be resting as they'll be working hard to ensure their interests are well looked after.

The new rulers, the National Transition Council (NTC), have gone public to express their gratitude to those who assisted. “It is a historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Gaddafi has met his fate," an NTC spokesperson told AFP.

This shows that Libya has won the power to run their country politically, but perhaps the ordinary Libyan celebrating on the streets will not enjoy all the benefits they think will come with it. The west seems to be planning to take some control and they haven't kept the fact that they want to help a secret.

Libya is rich in oil and just like in many areas where there have been resources in Africa, rich nations often step in under the guise of assistance. Rich nations were also behind the removal of Gaddafi and many are not known for being good Samaritans.

US Senator John McCain told AFP that the death marked the end of the first phase of the Libyan revolution. "The United States, along with our European allies and Arab partners must now deepen our support for the Libyan people, as they work to make the next phase of their democratic revolution as successful as the fight to free their country," he said.
Now this is a senator from a country that never criticised Egypt's Muammar Gaddafi to the point that President Barack Obama delivered his first speech in the region in Cairo. They saw nothing wrong with his
30 year rule until his people peacefully removed him from power earlier this year.

Politics is a game of favours and those who helped the NTC will have to have some returned in the well needed commodity - oil!

It will also be interesting to observe the kind of democracy Libyawill have and who will be in the driver's seat as the new chapter of this country starts.

Australia Cruises to RWC third place

2011-10-21T15:47:00.004+02:00

source: nbcsports.msnbc.com

Musa Nombona

@MuserThe1st

An unbalanced match saw Australia get an easy win over Wales during the 2011 Rugby World Cup third place play off at Eden Park, New Zealand.

The match saw the two sides give a mediocre yet aggressive match. Although this was a consolation prize for the Aussies, the Welsh did not back down as both teams scored two tries. Australian tries came from inside centre Berrick Barnes and No 8 Ben McCalman.

Australia’s inside centre Berick Barnes and eighth man Ben McCalman both scored conversions while winger Shane Williams and fullback Leigh Halfpenny scored for the Welsh.

The game was pretty one sided even though Wales fought hard. Under-performing Aussie star Quade Cooper who injured his right foot and Kurtley Beale’s knee injury soured Australia’s victory. The Welsh had a last minute try at depriving Australia of the victory but youngJames O Connor’s missed a conversion and that was the end of their well fought world cup journey.

Dealing With Stomach Politics in Britain

2011-10-20T22:25:00.001+02:00

Siphumelele Zondi
@SZondi

My worry when I left South Africa for Britain was the having to battle the cold weather when I trek down to the bus station every morning, but the cold hasn’t been that bad and I guess it’s because I was partly prepared for it. What I wasn’t prepared for was the bad British food. What they parade around as good food in this country includes pies – found in many eateries, soggy fish and chips – which are really popular as shops selling them are found on just about every street corner and hamburgers – now there isn’t a shortage of those.

The lack of a good menu in this country has even led to the adoption of the Indian Chicken Tikka Masala as “true British food”. Those that added it to the list justify its inclusion by its popularity in this country’s restaurants. As I write this piece I am in a pub that has decided to have Thursdays at its curry nights. The night being dedicated to the Indian dish has resulted in a 50 minute wait for food.

I am told there is a Sunday roast that is really popular and it is truly British. After my stomach episodes with the fish and chips which made my lactose intolerance seem like child’s place, I am not so sure whether I’ll be exploring with any other dishes that originate from this country. The Sunday roast though includes a huge piece of meat, a small pie, vegetables and something made pout of spud.

In South Africa I would often cook as there isn’t shortage of natural ingredients for food. My dad taught me how to cook when I was a kid and we used to do it together, but finding ingredients in Britain has proven to be a huge difficulty too. I have been going from shop to shop and have realised that they bottle everything in here. The easy to make tomato mix we make in many homes in South Africa is bottled, chicken stock is ready made and packed and so are many sauces one would have to mix with water and make from scratch back home. It just doesn’t take the same when bottled.

With the shortage of normal ingredients then one can forget finding stuff to make South African food that easily, but I have been told that I can find a shop that sells mealie meal to make pap, not that I can cook it – but I will have to learn. I have met Zimbabweans who have been here a while and say they pay top price for these ingredients, but this doesn’t matter for them as they have been in Britain for close to ten years. They need those reminders of home and I think I am starting to need them too three weeks in.

On Saturday evening a housemate and I went to the look for a restaurant at the beachfront in Brighton – something that would be perfectly normal in Durban or Cape Town – but we found that many places stop serving food around 6PM here. London is not the same as I am able to find food even at midnight in the country’s capital. On the Saturday night out in Brighton though we then went to town to see if we could find fast food there and were chased away from many places as they were closing. What surprised us is that there was no shortage of alcohol and the many places with closed kitchens were still serving drinks. Booze is even found right next to the till in supermarkets here which means it’s not hard to miss.

I think the consolation is that South African wine is priced tight, but the search for ingredients to make a meal that will taste good with that wine continues.

Hayatou's Ousting Needed for a Cleaner CAF

2011-10-20T16:21:00.002+02:00

Willie Nemarimela
@willeinstein

African football fans short-changed by current CAF leadership.

In North Africa and the Middle East there have been protest marches, which have led to violent clashes in parts, to oust dictators who have been in power for two decades or more and there are news reports that fighting in Libya has led to the death of Muammar Qaddafi. I think it’s time Cairo had another round of protests – this time outside the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as Issa Hayatou is leading this organisation with an iron fist and doesn’t want to step down despite being in power since 1978. Just like many who rule for a long period of time he's had to avoid much criticism.

Hayatou has resisted change despite the various controversies that have followed CAF under his leadership with the latest of these being the centralisation of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and marketing rights as the sole owner of these is Italian company B4, associated to the French’s Lagardere Sport and its subsidiary Sportfive. The African football governing body faced much criticism from the media and citizens of the football loving continent as the rights essentially cost 23 million US dollars and Sportfive can demand huge amounts from African television stations in order for them to screen various matches. These demands have already started and some Africans will miss their countries’ matches on television as local stations struggle to pay the fees. It’s just bizarre that an African football association would give rights to a foreign company that has shown no interests of the continent’s people watching their favourite sport.

Formed in February 1957 CAF has had six presidents with Hayatou being the longest serving. There are six regions under CAF and they are UNAF for North Africa, WAFU-UFOA for West Africa, UNIFFAC in Central Africa, CECAFA in the East, COSAFA in Southern Africa, UAFA for the Arab regions. Apart from the African Cup of Nations, CAF also administers three male and female club competitions with the biggest. It would be interesting to find out how much say other CAF members have as it seems to be Hayatou and possibly his inner circle making decisions.

Hayatou is also alleged to have taken 1,5 million US dollars in order to vote for Qatar as the 2022 FIFA world cup hosts. Jacques Anouma of the Ivory Coast has accused of the same as well. If this is true then the men are showing the corruption many in Africa have been fighting against which has led to the collapse of several dictatorships on the continent.

If for nothing else then Hayatou should step down for the love of the game he represents as African footballers want to see a clean chapter starting in the ruling of what was ‘the beautiful game’.

Transport Minister will struggle with the McLaren MP4-12c reaching 100 km/h in 3.3 second

2011-10-19T09:40:00.004+02:00

Robert Mabusela
@Robert_Mabusela

The McLaren MP4-12c featured at the Johannesburg International Motor Show produces an impressive 441kW achieving 0-100km/h in 3,3 seconds - which could mean breaking the law pretty fast as Transport Minister, Sibusiso Ndebele, wants to set the speed limit at 100.

The rear engined lightweight McLaren is promised to be the 'first genuine no compromise sports car' according to McLaren brochures at the Johannesburg International Motor Show last week.

With the given 0-100km/h figures the McLaren team is just being modest. The MP4-12c deserves to be called a super car. 200 km/h is reached in 9.8 seconds or 8.9 if your car is fitted with Corsa tyres which will play an essential role in reaching the top speed of 330km/h a bit faster.
Super car manufacturers are using their gym memberships to make sure that weight shedding is at the top of their workout programme. Unnecessary weight is lost as excessive weight hinders the achievement of maximum performance.

Not only the acceleration improves, but other performance improvements include breaking 100 km/h in a distance of 30,5m, handling and fuel efficiency releasing only 279g/km which just might save you from
having to paying co² emission tax.

The whole weight shedding is made possible by using a carbon fibre MonoCell structure. This means the McLaren gets a one piece light weight carbon fibre chassis with rear and front aluminium frames as
opposed to carbon fibre used in the Audi R8 GT.

Fuel figures stand at 11,7 litres per 100km releasing only 279g/km of co².

The McLaren is powered by a 3.8 litre V8 engine which boasts 441kw/h with torque outputs of 600Nm at 3000rpm right up to 7000rpm.

The engine will be put up against German rivals Audi R8 GT, Porsche 911 Turbo PDK, and Japanese Godzilla Nissan Skyline GT-R and not forgetting the Godzilla killer Lexus LFA, as seen on YouTube.

All rivals have between 368 kW (Porsche 911 Turbo PDK) to 441kW (McLaren MP4-12c). According to specs the McLaren is the most favourable with the fastest 0-100 in 3.3 seconds, that is if you are rolling on standard tyres.

Overall, the McLaren was smartly built, with high mounted exhausts and every single component designed from scratch.

Nothing was considered good enough to be carried over from an existing McLaren. This car was certainly the highlight of high performance cars featured at the Johannesburg International Motor Show.

Rural Nquthu Struggles with Few Resources

2011-10-17T18:15:00.002+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole
@sitholesthe

Schools have been built in Nquthu, but this doesn not mean
the community has access to other resources and information.

Growing up in Soweto I have come to understand that community meetings are taken seriously. These would often be held in the evenings or on weekends when people are back from work. At times they turn ugly if
the authorities don't listen to community leaders like it happened in the township's Chiawelo section when it turned violent earlier this year. Community members burnt down a section of a former councillor's house as she was blamed for high electricity tariffs.

During the recent September school and university holidays I visited the village of Nquthu in deep rural KwaZulu-Natal and much to my surprise the community here doesn't participate in meetings that can build them. I attended one meeting to discuss electricity tariffs and less than half the community was there.

I had assumed that many would be there as meetings are their only way of communicating with one another. Many are illiterate and those who can read and write have a lack of community newspapers and forced to read provincial papers, often coming from Durban or Pietermaritzburg.

While one would think water is a human right that everyone should have access to by now, it was one major point of concern that Nquthu residents have. The availability of water, or the lack there of, was another major issue during the meeting.

After the meeting I spoke to a few young people and they feel the youth is still overlooked in this traditional, patriarchal society. They say they often struggle to get their points across as young
prople.

On close inspection it appeared that the lack of resources is probably the cause of such poor attendance as councillors don't have resources to pass information about these meetings to those they represent. Community members also say they they don't know what's expected of them as this information isn't shared. What ends up happening is that councillors end up making decision as consultative processes are
difficult in this rural setting.

"Those that put you in power didn’t put you there because you are beautiful" - Malema

2011-10-14T21:42:00.003+02:00

Tshepo Tshabalala

@TshepototheT

“I came here after being told that our event was cancelled because the management didn’t approve. As I was entering it was headlines on Metro FM (saying) that ‘Malema was stopped from coming to Wits’, but I was entering the campus at that time.”

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema was addressing an over-crowed, stuffy lecture hall full of students at the University of the Witwatersrand on Friday afternoon.

He was scheduled to talk at the Oliver Tambo Memorial Lecture about “Economic freedom in our lifetime”, but ended up directing the majority of his speech to the university's newly elected Student Representative Council (SRC). The student council was inaugurated by vice-chancellor Loyiso Nongxa on Monday.
“The responsibility of this SRC is to protect your rights, not to smile with management. Their responsibility is not to come to you and explain why management cannot implement your demand.”
He said students should hold the SRC as its members make promises to deliver and use "uncompromising language" before getting elected. "Once they get elected, instead of transforming institutions they get transformed by the institution. We have people who become sellouts in the process, even the most revolutionary, the most committed communist, the left.

Once they get positions in government they forget to even pronounce a word nationalisation. They talk of greater state control and ownership. Because this person is transformed by what he was supposed to transform.”
Malema also told students that once people are elected into the SRC, they are told of protocol that cannot be changed, hence a previous Wits SRC president David Masondo failed to make any changes during his tenure.
“Those that put you in power didn’t put you there because you are beautiful or because you are a good dancer or you dress smart. They put you there because they want change.”

He elaborated saying that when one comes into office, they must make changes immediately to show that there is a new person in power.

“It’s no longer business as usual,” he said as there was laughter, jeering and clapping from the crowd.
The youth leader placed emphasis on long queues at the NSFAS office saying they should increase its capacity to accommodate the huge amounts of students who require assistance.

He further said students are disadvantaged by decision makers.

“They have made True Love magazine cheap and academic books very expensive, because they want us to produce a society of illiterate people.”

Malema says that academic books should be made affordable with government must subsidising their budget.

"Youth leaders on campuses have the responsibility to ask the government to subsidise academic materials."

He also mentioned Oliver Tambo who was expelled from Fort Hare Univerisity for his political activism. "Tambo is one leadership we must follow. Mandela and his generation were accused of being disrespectful."

"It doesn’t matter whether we are disrespectful or not, we have a clear agenda. Our agenda is political freedom in our lifetime. Our mission now is economic freedom in our lifetime. We cannot be defined as the Boom Shaka, Zahara or Professor generation. We are a generation of economic freedom fighters."

He further stated that mines are still owned by white males.

“Our struggle was never against white people but the system of oppression and we will continue to fight that system. We cannot say South Africa belongs to all who live in it, but blacks have nothing to show for it.”

Journ Student Gives Power Talk in Rural High Schools

2011-10-11T15:31:00.002+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole
@sitholesthe


Matric pupils had many questions for Mbatha when he visited their schools.

During the one week September holidays second year journalism student, Bhekinkosi Mbatha visited schools in his rural community of Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal to educate high school pupils about the option of
university. Mbatha also informed the students about government loans that can enable them to study beyond high school.

“It is crucial that we continue with our studies. Universities are not meant for whites or for
those who come from advantaged families only,” Mbatha told the pupils.

His audience of 200 was predominatly made up of matric pupils from Muziwephahla and Khethukuthula High
Schools.

He shared his experience of how he managed to come from the community and ended up studying journalism at one of the top journalism departments in the Tshwane University of Technology, a school recognised by UNESCO as one of four centres of potential centres of journalism learning in the country.

He emphasised the need to utilise the National Financial Aid Scheme that helps approximately 70% or more students in all South African universities every year.

Despite this power speech there was still a bit of scepticism as some were worried about accommodation.

One of the pupils, Zakhele Ngwenya, believes that nothing is done to help them choose the right career paths as information is seldom provided in schools with no support to help them get ahead in life.

“Career expos are mainly held in other areas such as Johannesburg but in this area there is nothing done for us to know about careers and opportunities,” Ngwenya said.

Although in some high schools in the area the government is building new classrooms for students - there are still no computers, equipment for scientific experiments and libraries.

One of the biggest challenges that this community is facing, is a lack of a community newspaper. Nqutu does receive a variety of newspapers though such as the Sowetan, Isolezwe, Ilanga, the Daily Sun, Zulu Land
Observer and so on.

Members of the community ranging from school children to adults say those papers don’t produce local content which reflects their society and that those papers are mostly in town and it is often expensive to
there to buy them.

40-year-old Elizabeth Sithole says it is not easy for them to tell their stories as reporters often arrive late.

One Grade 10 pupil says the availability of newspapers, especially a local one, would help her with her grammar.

Lazy South Africans Would Make You Believe It's Better Abroad

2011-10-08T20:46:00.001+02:00

Siphumelele Zondi
@SZondi

While standing on a queue to get into the fourth place I was visiting on my night of venue hopping in London which started in upmarket neighbourhoods, including visiting friends at a London School of Economics residence ending up in a reggae club in Brixton, I met a South African who couldn’t stop talking about how difficult things often are for him in SA which led to him leaving. The chap went on to tell me how he struggled to get visas enabling him to explore Europe and North America until he “fought” to get a Portuguese passport as his grandmother originated from there. He was going on about how useless the South African passport is.

I then responded by naming the various countries I have been to with nothing else but the South African passport. His response was to tell me that it’s because I am black and he is white. Now at this stage I was confused why Europeans and Americans would discriminate against white South Africans and favour those with the chocolate skin tone. After saying this he told me how unfair the South African government is towards white people – again I became confused as visas to European countries are not issued by the South African government.

The rough looking man who - during this conversation - discriminated against the Afrikaaner, Lebanese, black people and many other South Africans then asked me how I ended up in the United Kingdom as they are supposedly strict on those with passports from his native. I told him of the prestigious scholarship given to me by the British which is currently enabling me to study at one of the top media schools in the United Kingdom. His response: “You see I am not schooled broer.”

Earlier in the day a Canadian acquaintance had reminded me of a story of a South African who tried to claim refuge in Canada saying he is a target of criminals who had shot him several times in his homeland because he too is white. This gentleman had also not received much of an education and was living on odd jobs in Canada. I then recalled how South African media had revealed that the man wasn’t even white and was an extremely light shade of coloured and clearly was telling lies to the Canadians and thus giving a negative view of his country, South Africa.

These are just two stories of white South Africans who have clearly not taken advantage of the opportunities that have come with the new South Africa if one is willing to work for them. When the man I met on the queue told me he is “not schooled” I thought he would perhaps tell me of other skills he has. Instead he told me about odd jobs he is willing to do in Philadelphia, USA, for a small fee – these are jobs he wouldn’t do in South Africa as he believes he deserves better.

In South Africa one often hears certain white people complaining about how the government and the job market hires black over white people despite statistics showing a different picture especially in top management positions. It is also heart breaking to hear foreigners ask about the negative they clearly have heard from these South Africans who often never talk about the positive that has been achieved since we received democracy in 1994.

I don’t remember South Africa under apartheid but I see that much has been done to improve the economy of the country. I also realise that hard work does bear fruit in South Africa. I have been at the University of Sussex for just over a week now, but have realised that the lifestyle I have in South Africa is much better than the one I’d have in the UK. I hate Britain’s small houses built next to each other with people sharing walls and not much of a yard. I have seen one or two grey days and realise how depressing they can be in winter.

British food is also not my favourite in the world as it lacks spice and is often grilled, cooked fast with a lack of passion that prepares it in the kitchen. Give me ujeqe, samp and a bit of curry - thank you very much!

I have no doubt that I can thrive if I stayed in the UK but with hard work I will definitely have a happier life in South Africa with friendly people, great weather, lots of space and that will definitely enable me to contribute to the growth of the country that is truly ‘alive with possibilities’.

Mother & Daughter Tale of Human Trafficking Within South Africa

2011-10-05T16:01:00.001+02:00

Shakira Masethe

Often township girls leave home for days without telling their parents where they are going and don’t realize the repercussions of their actions and at times black parents accept this behavior and never alert authorities when it happens. This was the case with Portia who at 17-years-old in 2008 left home for what her mother thought was her usual search of a good time.

Portia would normally leave on Fridays and not return until the weekend was over and on this particular day she had been in an argument with her mother, Mapule. This was normal behavior in this home and Mapule had accepted that her teenage daughter would sleep wherever she wanted on weekends and would always return to her Mamelodi home when the good time had ended and all the adults she’d party with would be returning to work on Monday But on a certain weekend Portia never came back home as usual.

Mapule then went to the police who sent out a search party for her daughter and there were no clues of what had happened to her. “The longer it took to find her, the less interested the police seemed in assisting me further because every lead led to a dead end,” explains Mapule.

One July Friday in 2010 a relative who was in Cape Town phoned. “She had seen Portia on the streets of Cape Town in the Western Cape on long street. At first I was a little hesitant to believe her because I could not comprehend how in the world she could end up at a place so far away from home.”

With this clue there was a bit of optimism, but then the hopeful mother remembered how she’d been disappointed by police clues several times before. “ I just listened and finally agreed to meet up with her as soon as I had gathered enough money for a bus fare because I am a single and unemployed mother of three.”

On arrival in Cape Town Mapule walked around with the photo of her daughter showing it to people until one day someone told her where she had been seen. She also found out that her daughter had been spotted working as a prostitute in the Mother City. She ran to the Cape Town police with the information who found her addicted to a drug called Tik.

After she had been taken to hospital Portia told a story that sounds like a movie script. She explained how she had been in a Pretoria flat with a friend and a man she’d never met before. She says she was knocked out and injected with a drug she didn’t know and gained consciousness on a minibus to Cape Town. She says she was then repeatedly injected with this drug she believes was heroin.

“I was eventually addicted to the stuff and had to make money to support my habit. The man I was given to told me that the easiest way I could make money was to offer my services to his clients by having sex with them. I was scared but had no choice," says Portia.

That is how Portia says she entered a life of prostitution.

After talking to Portia and her mother, Mapule, I realise that as Africans we know very little about human trafficking and often some parents neglect their children thinking teenagers can take care of themselves. This was a clear case of human trafficking within South Africa’s borders.

Asylum Seekers Say Celebration Makes Them Feel Welcome

2011-10-04T15:25:00.002+02:00

Paseka Menyau
@King_Matthews

Many in the western world would like to paint Africa as a continent of civil wars, famine and much conflict and instability, but what they should also know is that this is a place where one can find absolute warmth and kindness and that should be more important that the few conflicts in just a few regions of this amazing land.

People who originate from other regions of Africa came together on Heritage Day in Johannesburg to celebrate the warmth of the countries they come from. The theme of the event that took place in the Marice Freeman Recreation Centre Theatre was “We are all Africans, we are all one”.

They performed indigenous dances from the countries they originate from and shared the beautiful colours by means of the various traditional outfits to show that for them the day is more than just about a braai as many South Africans would now like to claim.

The event was organised by the Refugee Aid Organisation, in the aim of making asylum seekers feel appreciated and welcome in South Africa despite their different culture, customs, backgrounds and beliefs.

Among the groups performing were those from Zimbabwe, Somalia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa. Somali asylum seeker Amin Salat said South Africa’s Heritage Day offers him the opportunity to share his culture with fellow Africans. “I feel happy to be part of South Africa, to be experiencing a lot of cultural differences and being in the same room as my fellow Africans celebrating our different cultures and customs,” he explained.

Bawili Toy from the DRC, who has been in South Africa for more than ten years, said the day was fun for her. “I really enjoyed, I had fun it really felt being great being in the same room with fellow Africans just having fun, singing and dancing. I feel at home. South Africa is my home,” she said.

Nozipho Ncube from the Refugee Aid Organisation is happy that everything went according to plan. “We worked so hard for this function and I am really happy that everything was perfect, the people were happy, they learned about different cultures and custorms.”

South African Varsity Students Must Appreciate What They Have

2011-09-30T11:11:00.001+02:00

Siphumelele Zondi
@SZondi

One would often hear some South Africanscomplain about how better things are in certain parts of the world and I havebeen in Britain for only two days to get that sought after Master’s degree fromthe University of Sussex which has a huge international student body and hasbeen listed in the top three this year for a best university award. I havefound that students from the so called first world seem to have bigger problemsthan us.

I have met two American students who sayobtaining their development Master’s degree is cheaper than obtaining it intheir native USA despite them getting foreign rates in the United Kingdom. Theysay their struggle for an affordable education in America is an ongoing battle.One mentioned that she took out loans to be here as she would back home and theother said in the US she had two work two part time jobs in order to pay herfees and she is in huge debt which would mean finding a job in the UK too inorder for her to survive.

This also made me think that a lot of South Africans would never suffer this much for their education. We have NFSAS which allows those who cannot afford university education to get loans and only start repaying once they start working, but it is alarming to see how many students often neglect this choice and choose to sit at home and waste their lives aways complaining of the government not doing enough to support them when there are structures that can enable them to get that first step in order to help themselves in future.

Those who do not qualify to get this government loan can easily go to the bank and get a student loan that again can be repaid once they start working. We seem to complain about free education a lot forgetting that as we are working towards that there are places one can go to get some money in order to improve their lives.

After living in a two bedroomed town housein South Africa which I didn’t have to share with anybody I am shocked torealise that the amount I pay for a room in a university-run house is the sameas one would pay for a monthly instalment in a town house in certain parts ofSouth Africa. This made me realise that our standard of living is definitelybetter than it is here. We also get a lot of sunshine which greeted me on myfirst day and a half in the United Kingdom, but as I look outside on the thirdday I realise that I will have to get used to these grey skies I am told willbe my way of life from now on.

Slut Walk in Johannesburg

2011-09-26T10:49:00.002+02:00

Our Heritage Sidelined for a Braai!

2011-09-23T10:58:00.002+02:00

Nondumiso Shabangu
@MsNondumiso

It has occurred to me that Heritage Day on 24 September has been side-lined this year as many seem to have forgotten that September is South Africa’s heritage month and are replacing it with national braai (barbeque) day.

From what I understand September is a month to celebrate our history especially and rich backgrounds of slavery, colonisation and ethnic conflicts. As South Africans we know that there are many languages in this country with eleven of them being official languages – all those languages come with their own histories and cultures. While we have the Zulu, English, Tsonga, Afrikaaners, Xhosa, Ndebele, Tswana, Sotho, Venda, Swazi and Pedi people – there are also people who are of Indian descent and coloured people who are unique to South Africa as they came from a mixture of various race groups like the Cape Malay in the Western Cape whose descendents came as slaves from Malaysia. There are also San people who are the indigenous group of people found in South Africa. All these cultures need to be celebrated on Heritage Day.

With a democracy at just 17-years-old I do believe heritage day should remain a day of celebrating our different cultures and the diversity we have in this country. But it seems that is all taking a back seat for a national braai day coined by many in the commercial sector.

We live in times that the youth don’t even know their mother tongues and to prove this one should just ask any 20-year- old to write the months January to December in their home languages and chances are they will not even give you one. That is why it is so important to preserve Heritage Day for what it was meant to be so young people can at least learn a bit about who they are rather than imitate American music videos they see on television all the time.

Some seem to even disregard how Heritage Day came about. This was a day celebrated by Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal and they would call it Shaka Day. When public holidays were being planned as South Africa was about to become a democratic state the predominantly Zulu political party, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) complained that the Zulu King Shaka was being sidelined as he was an important part of South African history. A compromise was reached and Heritage Day was added on 24 September, the day that was previously celebrated by the Zulu and Shaka Day.

All that has been forgotten with young people going to concerts with braai stands and meat to have a good time and celebrate what they now call a heritage that includes all South Africans. It’s good to see that South Africans of all races and ethnicities are trying to forge a new identity that includes all of them but celebrating their history, cultures and diversity is important too.

The youth is easily distracted in and as a result we will end up seeing the death of heritage day and the celebration of national braai day, which has no significance to me.

I hope people will celebrate their own heritage and teach young people the importance of culture and the history that is not just about a braai.

Happy Heritage Month!!!

Speed Limit Should Stay and Traffic Officers do Their Work

2011-09-22T09:23:00.000+02:00

Kgothatso Madisa
@Gubzee

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele says that the Department of Transport is looking into changing the speed from 120 km/h to 100 km/h because he is convinced most road accidents in South Africa are caused by speeding drivers.

“The number of accidents in the country has reached crisis point,” says Ndebele.

According to Ndebele about 126 people have been killed on South African roads in the past two months.

“Studies in other countries such as Australia where the speed limit is 110 km per hour show that reduction in speed limit can save lives,” he added.

I applaud the minister for trying to find alternative ways of dealing with the high number of accidents on our roads, but he also needs to realise that reducing the speed limit will not make people drive any slower. Many people have been caught at between 140 and 160 kms and hour and some even more than that despite our speed limit being only at 120 km an hour.

The transport department needs to ensure that it has enough capacity to deal with various problems on our roads and there are enough staff members to manage the current traffic rules. There is also a problem with bribes on our roads – it is no secret that one can pay a bribe to a traffic officer after being caught speeding and they can be forgiven for all their sins on the spot without a fine or court appearance if the offence was too severe.

I am not the only one who feels the minister should implement what’s already there rather than create new traffic rules. While listening to Talk Radio 702 I was actually surprised by the mostly female listeners who called in to criticise the minister’s proposal saying there are bigger issues to worry about in South Africa.

Other listeners suggested that Ndebele should focus on the reckless driving of taxi drivers who overload their taxis.

The real problem that the minister should be focusing on is the inadequate public transport system which also slows productivity as many would get to work late because of long queues in taxi ranks. Many would also have to leave work early as they would rush to the shops before rushing to bus stops or taxi ranks as transport runs out before 7PM in most places.

Putco buses are also at the top of the list as most of our people lose their lives while travelling in these buses because their unroadworthiness. I have travelled in the buses and I should say, I pray each time I reach my destination.

Some African Leaders Worse Than Colonisers

2011-09-21T08:51:00.001+02:00

Gift Ngobeni
@nyikogifted

Fromer DJ, Andry Rajoelina, ousted Marc Ravalomanana
with the assistance of Madagascar's military.

African states often celebrate independence and leaders would often go on about how much of a milestone and an achievement it was for colonisers to leave the continent, but is there much to celebrate when leaders abuse their people, never hold elections in certain countries, rig them in others and refuse to accept defeat in some.

All this has led to Africa being a continent of mediation processes that often take more than a long time to complete – lately it’s no longer mediation processes as in some countries citizens have decided they will fight for their freedom and a better standard of living. A few examples where this has taken place would be Madagascar, Libya, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Sudan, Tunisia and lately Malawians seem to be testing President Bingu wa-Mutharika or His Excellency, the president, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika as radio reports refer to him in Malawi.

Former colonisers probably look at the continent and smile as those they used as servants kill each other and show a massive lack of leadership skills.

The countries I mentioned also tried to bring about stability, change and restore order in a form of unitary government. Some have opted for a transitional government, now let’s start by defining what a transitional government means, according to the dictionary, a transitional government is temporary, or in the process of changing from one situation, form, or state to another. Temporary in Africa seems to be a full presidential term as it is the case in Kenya and Zimababwe. In those countries there seem to be some under-handedness that goes on as those who refused to accept defeat in the past do all in their power to try and discredit the rightful winners of the elections and there have been talks of elections there, but it would not be for the benefit of the countries’ citizens as all the leaders want is to remove the other party so they can return to their corrupt ways.

In Zimbabwe, the USAID reported that ZANU-PF has been in office with unfettered power since 1980. The country is currently going through discussions of signing a new constitution as the old one seems to please ZANU-PF more than the other parties. These talks have not gone smoothly as public meetings would often be interrupted by rowdy crowds or the parties involved would just not agree on anything. The current Constitution of Zimbabwe signed in 1979, known as the Lancaster Constitution, has been amended 19 times with severe implications in some instances for the Bill of Rights. Numerous laws and policies have been issued at different intervals, all aimed at curtailing the operating space for NGOs and CSOs.

The signing of the Inter Party Agreement in September 2008 and the formation of the inclusive transitional government in February 2009 heralded a slightly new political system, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a system that would work in the long run as those sharing power don’t seem to get along and the forced marriage has had at least one party threatening divorce and the other complaining of cheating.

The downfall of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1987, may serve as a warning to other autocratic leaders in the Arab world, thereafter other countries like Egypt and lately Libya followed in Arab North Africa.

In Madagascar; ousted former president, Marc Ravalomanana, is set to return to the beleaguered country for negotiations of new elections to be held within a year. This comes after Ravalomanana was forcefully removed from power by a young DJ, Andry Rajoelina, with the help of the country’s military. One would surely hope this marriage will work and Rojoelina will not use under-handedness to get Ravalomanana back in the country so he can arrest him as he had threatened to in the past.

In fact on 19 September 2011 Reuters reported that Justice Minister, Christine Razanamahasoa had threatened Ravalomanana’s arrest should he return from exile in South Africa. Should this be true than it would mean another mediation process that will not bear fruit or take longer than it should on the continent as those who have stolen power refuse to do what’s best for citizens they claim to represent.

In neighbouring Swaziland the last remaining absolute monarch, King Mswati II, has spent the money that belongs to his subjects and thrown that country into economic breakdown and the government can no longer pay civil servants, including teachers and university staff, and many have downed tools as a result. He went to the International Monetary Fund for another loan but they refused saying he failed to implement fiscal reforms requested and then he received a huge loan from South Africa. Swaziland is one of the poorest nations in the world but the King and his family continue to drive lavish cars and the wives still go on European shopping sprees and his children in expensive British universities. Recently he wanted to take about fifty people to the British royal wedding and was refused by the Brits. Despite this lavish and expensive ceremonies such as the Reed Dance are held every year.

It's in Swaziland where the leader must either be forced to step down or have political reforms rather than a government filled with the King Mswati's family members and close friends. Swazi TV even had a story of the ruler giving ousted Libya president, Mouammar Gaddafi, a medal to show that in Africa human rights abusers are often in good company.

The African Union often says African solutions are needed on the continent, but these solutions come at a cost as leaders fighting to stay or return to power often neglect to serve citizens of some of the world’s poorest nations. The future of Africa doesn’t look bright at all if there are still leaders who threaten to arrest others rather than doing what is right even if that wouldn’t suit them.

African leaders should never celebrate independence as some are as bad as former colonisers if not worse.

TUT Students Share Talent to Alleviate Exam Stress

2011-09-20T16:14:00.001+02:00

Sibusiso Banda
@sbudalicious

A pre exam stress alleviation event for CCT residents was recently held at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Soshanguve North Campus. The students were encouraged to bring whichever talent they have and share it with others – this was to expose them to rest of the campus and also offer relief from their studies for just a few minutes.

Event organiser and Residence Committe member, Samukelo Ntombela, says the event was inspired by the talent he saw at university hostels.

“As an RC I was that when we were giving away tissues in the student’s residences, I saw that many of our students had posted poems, pictures and lyrics on their walls. It’s useless for them to write while their work remains on walls because one knows their works,” says Ntombela.

Simphiwe Khumalo, inspired the crowd with his poem titled, “Darkie (Black man)”.

“Apartheid left a scar on us and I think we have to work on that because people seem to be waiting for people to give then opportunities to be handed to them,” explains Khumalo.

It wasn't just poetry on offer as rappers, dancers and other types of entertainers were also on show. Winnie Mtsweni, an education student who came to the event in her pyjamas says such events are needed for stress alleviation during this time of the year as campus life should not just be about studies.

“After all is important work hard and play hard,” she adds.

Journalism Students Declaration on the Protection of State Information Bill

2011-09-20T12:09:00.001+02:00

We, young Souh African journalism students, are against the Protection of State Information Bill as it undermines our constitution, which clearly protects our freedom of speech and of the press. We also feel that the current government is contradicting its own ANC media charter which has enshrined in it press freedom.

As students wanting to work as journalists, we will feel threatened in practising our vocation, especially when we want to inform the public about the injustice we see within our communities.

This makes us doubt and question the freedom we would like to think we have in this country.

We commend and support the Right2Know Campaign and all democrats who oppose the Protection of State Information Bill.

“Those who have nothing to hide, hide nothing at all.”

If you are a journalism student and support the following declaration please email your full name and department/university to eccf1@wsu.ac.za

Disappointing Turnout in Joburg's Anti Secrecy Vigil

2011-09-19T22:28:00.002+02:00

When one listens to talk radio in Johannesburg they would believe this is a city of activists who would take action against what is right and fight the injustices of the leaders of the day. This is because Jo’burgers complain a lot on radio stations and often call in to criticise those they see not to deliver on their promises and often it’s government that is on the receiving end of their harsh words. But as the few that attended the ‘Right to Know’ organised fight against the Protection of Information Bill that is not the case.

Small amounts of people ascended on Constitution Hill, holding candles and sharing their reasons for opposing what is being called the Secrecy Bill by some. Talk show hosts who would ask people to sign petitions and become a part of this fight against ANC plan to hide things were also not present at the event. Instead it was just a few journalists, many of whom came from the print media.

Members of the public and civil society also shared stories about how they think service delivery would slow down as the media wouldn’t be able to report on how government funds are spent. Some who said they were from Soweto said delivery is slow where they are from and the bill would protect leaders who don’t fulfil promises.

One member of the public told the crowd that she believes the Protection of Information Bill may lead to people going missing without a trace and it would be difficult for anyone – including journalists to get access to any information on them. She said that would result in many nights of vigils similar to that of Monday night, but the difference this time is that the vigils will be for missing people and not against plan to hide information from the public.

There are those who say the ANC proposed bill will take South Africa back to the days similar to apartheid when people were expected to accept the status quo and ask no questions.

While those at the vigil complain about apartheid it is also my view that oppressive systems are not defeated if people sit in their homes and choose not to go out in their numbers to voice their opinions with many others in order to fight injustices. Jo’burgers should probably stop calling radio stations if their actions do not support what they say.

Township Based University Students Start a Gay Organisation

2011-09-19T07:05:00.004+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole
@sitholesthe

Students based in the Soshanguve campus of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) have decided to start a gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual organisation after a study conducted by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) revealed negative attitudes towards these groupings in Gauteng universities.

The study conducted by UJ’s Department of Psychology surveyed 880 heterosexual students, 356 men and 524 women, using the Attitudes Towards Lesbian and Gay Male Scale (ATLG) and found a huge majority have negative attitudes towards the gay community and cite religion for this. In order to create awareness some gay students at TUT’s township-based campus have formed Flamboyant, a group they hope will assist to change these attitudes. The organisation is officially registered with the university’s Directorate of Student Life and Governance.

“We feel that lesbians and gays are misunderstood by the society and we need a better way to address the stigmas on campus, where we have people who live as gays and lesbians,” says Flamboyant co-founder Shawn Malatjie.

Several gay Tshwane University of Technology students have been attacked outside the Soshanguve campus during the last two years. South Africa has also seen extreme violence and rape of lesbians in the country. Some have called this sexual abuse of lesbians as corrective rape. Malatjie says these are issues the organisation wants to address in the township-based campus.

He says they will not go out of its way to fight for acceptance. “Don’t accept us but tolerate us,” pleads Malatjie.

Gay black students who grow up in townships say they often have to hide their sexual orientation in fear of judgment from the community.

Matlogonolo Mooki says she was in Grade 10 when she realised she was lesbian.

“It actually started with a kiss with another girl and we could not actually show people that we were dating because of fear that we could be violated against as it was and still is not accepted by people in our society,” explains Mooki.

Despite her fear of opening to the community Mooki says her family realised she was lesbian and chatted to her about it.

“My parents sat down with me and told me that they realised I was dressing differently from other girls and that I would normally wear my brother’s clothes. After that talk that is when we started living openly about who I was and still is,” elaborates Mooki.

Flamboyant says it wants to highlight such stories and show the TUT student community in Soshanguve that one never has a choice in their sexual orientation and teach them how to live with gay, lesbian, transgendered and bisexual people.

Student Representative Coucil (SRC) Chairperson, Maila Ngwato, says the founding of Flamboyant is important for the campus. “They also have privilege and qualification to be in this institution and we need to have a social relationship with them,” he says.

Zubs Concentrates on Making Timeless Music

2011-09-14T01:17:00.002+02:00

Sibusiso Banda
@sbudalicious

Zubs feels musicians concentrating only on hit songs
add little value to the industry.

Zubs is known to many as just a hip hop star but this songwriter, musician and former television presenter describes himself as the “golden mic holder” who creates music that transcends time.

He was born Ndabaningi Mabuyi and sat with us during a live radio interview on the biggest campus-run radio station in the country, TUT FM. He says he it takes time for him to decide on musical collaborations.

“If I work with the rappers who are hot right now because it’s almost like I’m saying I need something to be hot right now, like if you’re hot today. I won’t do that. Hot people are just different. I remember when Sister Bettina was hot, you know what I’m saying. Nobody remembers that because there is always a hot new guy after the other one is gone. So if you collaborate based on temporary things like that then you’re wasting your time.”

He says his music must add value to the industry.

“I might do a remix of a hot song today but only if he likes the song and only if the remix is good and would add something to the original song and also his brand.”

Zubs says the music that he creates is not only significant and timeless but has deeper meaning to it that the biggest summer anthems we often get from certain musicians.

“Music is not temporary. The music that we create is not about today. I love the fact that you (referring to the station) you are laying today dates back to 5 years ago, and that is a sign that music is timeless. There will come a time when people will be playing the same songs that we have today and it will not be about how hot you are today but it will be about the music. If you don’t focus on the music then you’re wasting your time because then there is no point of you being a musician.”

When asked about what he thinks of the current change in music especially hip hop he said “the change is bigger than hip hop”.

“It’s not about music only but it is about global politics and economics,” he added.

Chiefs & Pirates Fans Expecting an Awesome Treat

2011-09-09T21:15:00.001+02:00

Sphiwe Masilela
@sphiwemasilela

Moeneeb Josephs will be Pirates' number one man
during the two matches.

Soweto derby time has come early during the current football season in South Africa as Orlando Pirates will face arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday night. The two will battle it out in FNB Stadium (previously known as Soccer City) at 20h15.

Orlando Pirates, who are hoping to defend the wafa-wafa cup will be going there with a bit of an edge as they have beaten their opponents twice in pre-season matches, but Chiefs says those games were just a practise run and have ironed out the few problems they had. Despite the Phefeni boys’ enthusiasm and confidence Pirates coach, Julio Leal, says he is adamant his boys will come out victorious at the end of the ninety minutes. The Citizen newspaper quoted him saying, "I am very high on confidence for the match and also the fact that now the team has spent two months with me makes me believe we can do wonders in the game."

Amakhosi will be welcoming midfielder Reneilwe 'Yeye' Letsholonyane and George Lebese who have been out on injuries. The Buccaneers will be without their new striker, Benni MacCarthy who received a red card two weeks ago against Maritzburg United.

Black and white will however be welcoming their speedy winger Tlou Segolela and shot-stopper Moeneeb Josephs who were ruled out of the Bafana squad to play Niger due to injuries last week. The winner on Saturday will walk away with R8 million and a trophy.

The country’s two biggest sides will meet again in a league match in less than seven days. This is despite many football lovers complaining of the derby possibly losing its spark as the two sides have been playing a lot against each other.

Media Panic Over Only Three Injured Springboks a Bit Confusing

2011-09-06T23:24:00.003+02:00

William Tshabalala
@gijaz

Bakkies Botha is probably the most valuable player
but the Bokke will be fine without him on Sunday.
Photo: http://wwww.sportypictures.com

Three elite players are injured four days before South Africa plays Wales, but is there a need to make such a big fuss about it? The South African media is going bananas over injury reports from the Bok camp in Wellington, New Zealand? Headlines such as “Crisis in Springbok camp” and “Bok injury list expands” can be seen pasted on walls and lamp posts on some of our biggest cities. What the hell? It’s only three people!

Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha are the only “first choice” players who will probably not start the game against the Red Dragons of Wales on Sunday. Where’s the crisis in that?

Don’t get me wrong these lads are very valuable but we are playing Wales. As much as they are said to be our biggest challenge during the group stages, these guys only beat us once in a hundred and five years.

Most of the players who were injured on the day of the Bok world cup squad announcement are ready and will be in action on Sunday. Francois Steyn and Patrick Lambie took a full part in training without any negative reaction to the injuries they suffered in the 18-5 victory over New Zealand in Port Elizabeth a few weeks ago.

The South African the team consists of thirty players and not just three players so let’s have more than just a little faith in the boys that will be on the pitch on Sunday and know that we will beat Wales.

Young Men Finding Satisfaction in Cougars

2011-09-05T18:06:00.002+02:00

Recently while talking to a friend on the phone he told me he couldn’t chat for long as he was with a woman who was helping him with certain sexual favours. On further interrogation I found out that the woman was 17 years older than my friend, married with a six-year-old son. The friend told me that the woman’s husband was out of the country on business and it was common for him to get such a call from the woman in her late thirties whenever the husband was away for a day or two.

At a later stage I had another conversation with another friend who told me of a divorced woman he was having sex with. It turned out the woman was also seventeen years older than the other friend as well and she too had a child of school going age. Initially I was puzzled by these revelations from both friends until I later had a conversation about the cougar phenomenon with a group of older women - married and unmarried.

One of the women I had a conversation with told me that she would never refuse a man who is ten years younger if he made the first move and she found him attractive. Her belief is that people don’t have the same set of morals and just because she is willing to have sex with someone much younger doesn’t mean she has broken her moral code and people should accept that everyone has choices in life. She says it’s also not up to her to teach someone else’s son values they should have learnt at home and if a younger man approaches then it clearly means he finds her attractive too.

An older married man told me he is aware that there is a possibility his successful corporate wife of about ten years sometimes finds some excitement in the arms of a man in his 20s but says he also understands that he could be the cause of the problem as at 42 he often cheats on her with women between the ages of 20 and 30 years old. “Why would I leave umagogo at home and find only to cheat with one outside the home,” he told me.

He says he started cheating on his wife because he needed some excitement and younger women are easy to please as all they need is a bit of cash or just a bit of a good time which men their age cannot afford to provide. “Young men budget and by mid-month they are already running out of cash. All I have to do is buy the girl some pizza or a couple of drinks and I know I’ll have a good time after that. I always go back home though,” he further elaborates.

A friend of mine who is dating a woman who is over ten years older than him once told me that he finds women our age a bit superficial, demanding and sometimes lack substance. He said he finds a certain level of substance in older women and they give him the comfort he needs and often cater to his emotional needs.

One of the older women I spoke to said some younger men treat them better than men their age as they are more eager to please. “Sometimes they want to find out whether you have eater, whether they can make you breakfast in bed and what even pleases you sexually. Men our age think sex is just about them and not about us. While experience is good, sometimes the one who asks what your needs are is better as they learn and you get the pleasure.”

While Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motoaledi, has raised concern with inter-generational sex between older men and younger women in the past, it seems as if there is a new form of this phenomenon between older, successful women who only need sex and emotional attachment and younger men who want to live of the wilder side of life. The cougar trend seems to be growing.

Who Would Run Nationalised Mines With Youth Abandoning Classes to Support Malema?

2011-08-30T11:40:00.004+02:00

Gift Ngobeni

Many ANC Youth League Supporters Chanted Struggle
Songs outside ANC Buildings in Johannesburg last night.
Photo: http://www.iol.co.za/

I watched with utter disgust as young people, some students from universities and high schools, abandon classes and work to go and support the ANC Youth League president Julius Malema outside Luthuli House this morning. This irresponsible practice started last night when young people held a night vigil outside the headquarters of the African National Congress.

Malema has been preaching nationalisation of mines and economic freedom, but then I would like to ask this question to our “youth leader”, who is going to run those state structures when our future leaders abandon school to support him. Night vigils will not educate nor benefit the youth of today as it will only contribute to the high percentage of illiteracy in South Africa. I personally have nothing against the ANCYL president but encouraging young people to leave school work in support of one man is a serious contradiction and unacceptable.

The supporters look determined to bring the economy to a halt for the sake of their leader, they are blocking traffic in Africa‘s financial capital, Johannesburg. Timeslive reports that ANC Youth League supporters have been burning T-Shirts with President Jacob Zuma's face printed on them before ANCYL president Julius Malema's disciplinary hearing this morning. Police have been forced to fire rubber bullets at the unruly crowd trying to force its way through the barriers and gain access to ANC offices where the hearing is to take place.

Firebrand ANCYL President, Julius Malema, faces a possbility
of losing his ANC membership card if found guilty.

Sowetan Live spoke to some of Malema's supporters like Thabile Mangena who told the publication that: "We are positive that the outcome (of the disciplinary hearing) will be in Malema's favour. As a parent, you discipline a child when it's naughty, you do not throw it out. That is what we expect the ANC to do in this case."

Malema's devotees hoisted flags and placards in support of the beleaguered ANCYL leader. One of the placards carried by a zealous Malema loyalist read: "Leave our president alone. Save Malema."

The other one read: "The cowards are scared, we must shoot ... shoot with a gun." All these things raise questions about the kind of revolution that South African young people in 2011 are fighting for.

In 1976 the youth of South Africa fought for education, in 2011 we thank them by disrupting classes and jeopardising the very same education to support a controversial public figure. How pathetic!

Lessons From Europe: Africa Needs to Be China's Equal Partner

2011-08-30T08:15:00.000+02:00

While it seems South Africa is stuck in old debates on whether doing business with China is a good idea and many keep on raising the issue of Chinese human rights abuses, it seems certain European countries have gone far beyond that debate. They have decided to do business with China and it’s not a case of China moving its structures to Europe and getting business out of the Eurozone – these countries want business to be a two way process and they too are moving their products to the massive Chinese market.

Europe is a small market and while Eurozone countries know they are to be reckoned with as one unit, some companies from this continent now realise they will never make the kind of profits they want if they just stick to their over saturated small continent despite its economic might. Finland is one continent that has realised its isolation and small population will hinder the country’s business progress. Many other companies are trying to follow in the footsteps of Finnish big brother, Nokia, who came from this little known country while it was going through an economic depression in the early 1990s and dominated the mobile phone industry. Nokia Chairperson, Jorma Olilla, believes that it’s important for certain countries to do it alone as economically struggling parts of the Eurozone hinder progress. He believes Greece should have been allowed to fall and crumble rather than be granted a loan that has caused Finland to demand collateral as it seems it would be difficult for Greece to repay this loan. He says maybe Greece should not have been in the Eurozone to begin with in order to recover properly on its own. “They could devalue their currency and if countries devalue their currency then they are able to recover properly,” explains Olilla.

F-Secure is another company that is looking for new methods of reaching ultimate success in the financial times that see much panic and have resulted in the USA losing its AA A rating. The security company is probably best known for its anti-virus software. Its Finnish founder, Riisto Siilasmaa, says although operations predominantly take place in Finland F-Secure does 75% of its business in Africa and Asia. “There’ll be a reverse in economic power from Europe to Asia and Africa,” believes Siilasma.

With this he would encourage most companies to shift their focus to these regions too.

Siilasmaa says already this change has shown signs as America’s economy has suffered a great deal over the past few years. In 2007 we saw American banks cause a huge economic shake up which resulted in the worst recession of our time. This time around we are seeing a shift as the USA is now asking for money from China. The business sector in Europe believes this is the reason we should realise that America is no longer the super power it used to be and China should be welcomed and successful companies should exploit the Chinese market too bearing in mind that doing business there would be slightly different from how it’s done in the west.

Ole Johansson, President and CEO of Wartsila Corporation, says his company has started doing business with the Chinese and prefers their methods to American methods. “In the USA they would bring you lawyers with a lot of text and it ends up dragging for a long time. Sometimes the language barrier with the Chinese isn’t so much of a problem,” says Johansson.

He believes that some companies fail to produce their products in China for that market as it is a specialised market different from Europe and the Americas. Johansson says the current economic shift from the USA to China is taking things to the way it used to be at the turn of the last century as China was an economy to be reckoned with.

Even many young European economists and economics students are now moving to China and realise that it’s an economy that cannot be ignored. One Hungarian students says she has completed her studies and has just accepted a scholarship to learn Chinese in Beijing. “I want to be a negotiator working with European companies planning to do business with China, not a translator but a negotiator.” She says China will continue being a dominant force during our lifetime and wants to exploit that in her career.

A young American studying in Europe says he wants to work for a Chinese company doing business in Africa on his completion of his economics Master’s Degree.

We live in a capitalist society and European companies, students and business people realise that business comes first and China is a force that should be embraced if one wants to continue succeeding in these new economic times. They are showing the Eastern powerhouse they will not be dictated to and will be an equal partner in business. Finnish businesses are moving into China and recently the Dalai Lama was in Finland without the country being told it wasn’t allowed to host him to continue good relations.

I was left thinking that African businesses need to exploit the opportunities that come with the need China sees in operating on the continent. They too need to start negotiating as equal partners and governments should stop just thinking about the infrastructure that comes with China and maybe do the work that governments should do in the first place – ensuring that people’s lives are improved. China will continue dictating to Africa if the continent’s leaders do not realise that they need to do their part for their people and let China negotiate with big business in order for everyone to win in this situation. They can’t expect China to improve infrastructure that should be improved by government and then take resources in return.

Maybe there are a few lessons for Africa in the way Europe is negotiating with China.

The other Revolution in Egypt

2011-08-29T11:32:00.000+02:00

The second video from the series on Egypt and the Revolution

Community Believes Butchery Sells Human Body Parts

2011-08-22T11:14:00.004+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

The Winterveld Community believes this
butchery sold a child a human penis.

“I am scared to sleep at night, I am no longer free. I regret why I gave community members that difficult meat to chew.”

This is a reaction of Paulina Mahlangu who was sold mixed livers that allegedly had human parts in Winterveld in the local Butchery.

This comes after her grandchild, Lindeni, was sent by her mother who refused to be mentioned to buy mixed livers for supper as usual.

Mahlangu says she didn’t check the pots when her grandchild was cooking but later told her she was hungry. “I was eating with my grandchildren when I tried to bite the meat that was difficult for me to chew. I called my child to explain why this piece was hard to chew, I then asked my self what kind of meat is this?”

Paulina Mahlangu is conviced she ate
a partof a human penis.

Mahlangu says she thought it was a turkey’s heart, but her daughter and some community members disagreed saying they were male sex organ.

“My grandchild was doing her washing when her cousin came and asked where I placed the meat. I told them that I threw it in the bin. With their curiosity they searched for it, discussed it and later told other people,” she explains.

After some community members saw the meat they agreed it was a penis and later called the police. Thereafter there were suggestions the butchery from which the meat had been bought should be burnt down.

The police first went to the butchery, but couldn’t find the owner. They later took Mahlangu’s daughter and grandchild to make a statement at the station.

Loate Police say the meat has been taken to forensic testing and results should be released in three weeks.

Buthery owner, Joshua Khoza, says he is being falsely accused . “I don’t sell human body parts, I sell fresh meat for my community and I am a Christian,” he says.

Mr & Miss TUT Res Elimination Photos

2011-08-22T11:11:00.000+02:00

Bok Bad Form Before WC Similar to 2007 - Let's Hope History Repeats Itself

2011-08-16T11:05:00.001+02:00

William Tshabalala

Photo: http://www.independent.co.uk/

The so called rugby champions of the world lost yet another encounter against the Wallabies this past weekend and yet still coaching stuff say there were positives to take out of that game. I may not be a rugby analyst, but I do know the that losing twice to the same team (at home nogal), with less than a month to the start of the world cup is off-putting.

Putting my disappointments aside, the Springboks didn’t play badly this time around. (It must be hell to read that line yeah?) Nonetheless everything they said they were going to improve, they improved. The plays at “break off points” suggested that they really wanted to play rugby. What made me and most of my mates countrywide happy was that finally the backs gave the ball a little bit of air. Something my other favourite team, the Bulls, must learn to do if they want their supporters to return to the Bullring. The defence was resolute even though their lines were broken couple of times, the cross cover was good enough to stop the attack in their trails. Unfortunately statistics do not win games “nogminder” world-cup games. The scoreboard alone does so.

South Africa’s form is absolute; the only problem is the average age of the players commissioned with the enormous task of winning the Webb Ellis trophy for the second successive time. Most of them in the squad have already won everything there is to win in rugby and the hunger is just not there anymore. Saturday’s game can stand testimonial to that as none of the senior players put their bodies on the line. Maybe they are saving themselves for the World-Cup. Do not get me wrong, the experience they bring is necessary but there is no point to prove from their side.

If the future is really nothing but a repeat of the past, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Remember this time four years ago? Jake White, who eventually won the World Cup, was in the same position as Pieter De Villiers. At the time the Boks didn’t even look as if they would make it through the semis of the 2007 RWC. Jake stuck to his guns and took the “old men” to France and guess what happened? Yes the won the tournament – much to the shock and dismay of all the critics.

Maybe we should stop judging the coaching stuff of South Africa and support them for a change because contrary to popular belief, the Springboks do have something to play for and that is being the only team in world history to lift the Webb Ellis trophy three times.

The Bang Bang Club is Like a Scattered Puzzle

2011-08-11T12:47:00.001+02:00

The violence in the movie is shown without context.

Kabelo Chabalala

Do not think of the born frees of the country, do not consider those that says, “Yes we have obtained our democracy through the ANC, so what do we have now?” The director, Steven Silver is displaying the most touching historic epoch of South Africa in a contemporary way.

The density and gruesomeness of the feud between the ANC and the Inkatha is being revealed at minimum impact than what it really was during that era in South Africa. These are the people in the cast, Ryan Phillippe, Tylor Kitsch, Frank Rautenbanch, Malin Akerman, etc. I was expecting to see more local faces. Veteran actors such as Sello Maake Ka-Ncube, Magic Hlatswayo and Jammie Bartlett should have been part of the movie cast. The American accent that tried so hard to sound African was not “Bang Bang”. The location reflected the recognized Townships of Soweto, which was significant.

The movie is inspiring. For an individual who aspire to become a world class photographer. The movie tells you that in order to capture memorable and award winning pictures, a photographer has to go an extra mile which may even extend to putting their lives in Danger.

If umlungu (white person), and you haven’t learned a bit of Zulu, the first 25min of the Movie is not for you. The cinema film has no sub-titles. But then again it’s every South African’s responsibility to know all eleven official languages.

Nonetheless, to somebody who remembers what happened before democracy and when blacks were fighting against each other, this is an insult to the conspicuous memory. The snapshot were cropped harshly, they eliminated the necessary impact. The movie is like scattered complete puzzle pieces that needed someone to come and put them together to make sense and be a true reflection of the country’s history.

The cast of the Bang Bang Club.

The local icon Vusi Kunene is always a marvel to watch. Given any role to play, Vusi plays it to perfection. He will make you think you are watching a live reality show not a movie. The baby who was devoured by a vulture story portrayal was not convincing. I guess indeed a story is best told by people who were part of it. However, its modernity when it comes to education cannot be ignored. The film strides across a number of professions and what they entail. Law, Journalism, photography, Media practitioners and so forth

The Bang Bang Club missed an opportunity to unpack an emotional era in South Africa in a stunning and heart fulfilling way. I give the movie a 6 out of a 10.

Unique Reports From Somalia Necessary

2011-08-06T01:14:00.003+02:00

While many in Somalia go hungry and that country is faced with famine which has resulted in people catching various diseases and many, especially children, dying the Al Shabaab haven’t stopped attacking. As the world focuses on the humanitarian crisis in the country many reporters are currently neglecting telling us that this country is still at war, militia are not making the delivery of food easy and we are not being reminded that this is a country which hasn’t had an effective government since 1991.

South Africa’s Gift of the Givers Foundations is currently there and they have taken various reporters with them. SABC’s Melanie Moses and Vauldi Carelse have been telling us about the amazing job the foundation has done in providing food many don’t have in the country. Kaya FM’s Fahmida Miller has however been getting into the lives of the families that live there. She has been telling of the daily struggles of those who need health care assistance, food and water.

I haven’t heard that many reports from South African journalists explaining how it is to have a shortage of food in a country that is still at war. I also haven’t heard whether the Al Shabaab has permitted everyone to get assistance. It is important to tell this story in full and not get caught up on just the work done by foreign organisations.

Somalis have to live with various struggles on a daily basis and it’s difficult for many journalists there at the moment to get the kind of access they are currently receiving. I believe that while they are there they should also report on the daily lives of some Somalis and how they manage to survive in a country that is probably the harshest place to live on earth. It seems to be a struggle for me to find unique stories on Somalia at the moment as they are all similar and reporters seem to be moving in packs.

International reporters have told us that about 30 000 children are already dead, but I would also like to hear whether this can be avoided. I applaud Gift of the Givers but I think some reporters need to probably try to move out of the pack so we can hear some unique stories of Somalis who have to live with the conflict and famine on a daily basis.

Molefe's Unaccredited Doctorate Continues to Cause Much Debate at TUT

2011-08-04T13:46:00.002+02:00

Photo: http://www.dailynews.co.za/

Pearl Nicodemus

The Tshwane University of Technology council has spent the last week defending itself in the media for appointing Prof. Johnny Molefe as Vice Chancellor despite his invalid doctorate from St. George’s University in the Caribbean. The qualification was obtained online and the university no longer exists.

The South African Qualifications Authority which had initially accredited the Business Administration doctorate says it later changed its decision claiming it had made a mistake and informed Molefe of this in 2007 – four years before accepting the vice chancellor post at TUT. The council has been quoted saying neither the university nor Molefe could have known the status of St. George’s at the time.

In a statement council member Robert Matlhare says TUT has been shopping around for an institution willing to accredit the doctorate.

“Five international universities are willing to accredit the doctorate including South East University in China.”

The university’s Soshanguve campus SRC says it’s not Molefe’s fault and they believe he may not have been alerted before. The SRC says his experience should override the legitimacy of the qualification. “We endorse for the fact that SAQA, they are supposed to do the verification before he became DVC,” says Ngwato Maila TUT Soshanguve SRC Chairperson.

Many students oppose the SRC president the qualifications should have been verified. One student says: “Having a fake qualification is really inappropriate.” Another says, “I can’t be led by someone with a fake doctorate and be expected to feel good about that.”

A third student says, “we may also be tempted to do the same in future – fake these qualifications.”

The Democratic Alliance has also requested that an investigation be conducted on the matter.

Higher Education Minister, Dr. Blade Nzimande, has threatened to put the university under administration if he is not given sufficient reasons for Molefe’s appointment before Friday.

Medea at the Rostrum

2011-08-04T13:40:00.000+02:00

A Casual Chat With a Township Artist

2011-08-02T12:06:00.003+02:00

Mohau Ramashidja

Many people who live in South African townships are poverty stricken, without an ducation of often struggle to make ends meet. We found one man on the streets of Pretoria townships who uses wire to make something creative so he can feed himself. 34-year-old wheel chair bound, George Mongwayi, spoke to Mohau Ramashidja about his situation.

At what age did you start designing wire cars?

At the earliest age of 12, that’s when I started playing around with wires.

Who came up with the business idea amongst the two of you?

Both my partner and I came with the business idea. It was after we had both attended a workshop which encouraged us to use our hands.

Where do you get your wire material to design these cars?

From generous donors and sometimes we buy it from people.

How much wire do you use to design only one car?

When we create something out of wires we make sure that it is appealing to the eye. One item like the car you just saw can cost R500.00 worth of wire.

What is the drive of this wire business you are into?

We make sure that when we design these cars, they come out as we desire them to be. Money comes second and the beauty of the thing comes first.

What kind or models of cars do you design?

We design different kinds of cars, but most of the time we dwell too much on designing the old models; we find pleasure in bringing back the old school into 21st century.

How long can it take you to design one car?

I’ll tell you one thing, this is not child’s play; it takes us plus-minus two to three weeks, even a month to finish one car. I don’t mind coming to my workshop every day for one thing because I am a perfectionist in the work that I do.

Some people living with disabilities have given up on life and rely on government grants for survival, what makes you different?

To be disabled it does not mean it’s over with your life, accept your disability and know that it is God who is in control of your life. It is then that you will realize that life is more precious to live than to end it in one go.

Where do you see yourselves in the coming years?

It is going to take us a lot of time to get where we want to be but we will continue pushing, we can’t always wait for the government to do things for us. It is in our hands.

Why didn’t you give up on live as a person living with disability?

I want my life to be a portrayal and a sounding trumpet that will say to many people, ‘work hard and use your head’. Never underestimate your intellectual capacity and discourage your ideas. Think about your ideas carefully and implement them.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I love what South Africa has to offer in the aspect of culture and nature. Unlike other artists who focus on one culture; I tackle all cultures to symbolize a united South Africa.

What is your wildest dream you wish to accomplish in wire art business?

My dream is to design something like the Union Building. I don’t know how many years it’s going to take me but I would love to see myself having designed the building with wires.

What new things do you wish to design with wire art?

I want to design things that no man has ever thought of designing. Something like a grasshopper or an ant, even a fly,” after a short laugh he concluded, “at the end the day is art.

For more on Mohau Ramashidja visit http://www.journpursuit.blogspot.com

Spring Awakening Musical at the Breytie

2011-08-01T16:51:00.000+02:00

After an 18 Year Wait for Houses Residents Build Shacks by Force

2011-07-29T19:45:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Soshanguve residents without government subsidised houses are calling for their councillors to step down as they say they haven’t fulfilled any of the promises made before elections. They say they had been promised houses but this hasn’t happened and as a result about 100 families have decided to build their own shacks rather than sit and wait for the people tasked with assisting them. Some even accuse those in power of selling these free houses to foreign nationals – an accusation that has been the cause of many alleged xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

“The current elected councillors are misrepresenting us. That is why I call for Soshanguve to unset (Simon) Maratula,” says one of the residents.

In the township’s extension 7 residents say they have even taken their grievances to the Department of Human Settlement but their requests have been largely ignored.

The Soshanguve Housing Data Base Council (SOHDACO) is a group of residents who say they applied for RDP houses in 1994 without a single one being built.The group says proper procedure was followed. SOHDACO chairperson, Matshona Matjeke, says they have been in and out of Housing Department offices and are always told that they are on a waiting list. As a result these residents have met in the township and decided to write an authoritative to the City of Tshwane. It seems there isn’t enough land for their interim solution an.

“We are now fighting for space where we can build our [shacks]. By tomorrow shacks must be standing in extension 7 to show that we are serious about occupying the place,” says Matjeke.

SOHDACO Secretary, Patrick Masuku says they can no longer wait for change and they must take what they want as they have been ignored in the past. “If people can use force they will get what they want. The issue of foreign nationals getting houses that we have applied for a long time, is creating problems,” explains Masuku.

Some residents are concerned about the lack of safety in the township and worry about police reaction to it as they say a Metro police shot a 72 year old lady with a rubber bullet during the public meeting.

Refugee Aid Organisation Does Good Beyond Mandela Day

2011-07-28T21:20:00.001+02:00

Paseka Menyau

While many celebrities and other public figures were trying to convince us that they do good when they only did it for just an hour and seven minutes on 18 July every year, there is an organisation that does this every single day without even boasting about it. Johannesburg’s Refugee Aid Organisation also did its bit for Mandela day on the former statesman’s birthday and didn’t even shout about it.

RAO employess took 19 refugee children from the Troyeville Junior Primary School in Johannesburg to the Apartheid Museum so they could learn about the history of South Africa, the challenges South Africans came across and the sacrifices made to achieve freedom.

The children were also shown video clips of Madiba as he delivered some of his speeches, gave exclusive interviews and the underground place where he used to hide from the police.

The pupils were accompanied by their grade 5 teacher Zimbabwe-born Mr. Moyo who said he was touched by the things he saw at the museum. “I am really thankful for what Mr. Nelson Mandela and his counterparts did to make sure that South Africans are free. If it wasn’t for him and the sacrifices he made I believe this country would have turned out to be something bad and I also don’t believe I would have been welcomed as a teacher in this country,” he said.

The kids were very excited about the trip. “It really hurts, seeing what South Africans went through just to get their freedom. Today South Africa is a beautiful country, people share with each other, whites now live with black people and everyone is happy and we also interact with white kids in our school,” said a grade 5 pupil, Patricia Kungwara.

It was a great day for the kids, and the staff from the Refugee Aid Organisation. “I really enjoyed myself and I had fun with kids, but most of all I got to learn about my country and its political struggles. We’ve always heard people talking about how blacks were moved out of the cities, having seen the pictures and short documentaries I now have a clear understanding and now I know that it was not easy but it was worth it,” said RAO employee, Rieta Mhlanga.

People like Mhlanga are the true heroes of Mandela Day as they look after others and educate children without making a fuss and shouting to the world about it.

SA TV News Needs an Independent African Agenda

2011-07-27T11:37:00.002+02:00

The e-News Channel is South Africa's only television news channel.

While the media is following the finances of Julius Malema with the Democratic Alliance urging the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, to investigate the leader of the ANC youth league – there are those with a view that South African political journalists are becoming lazy and following each other like sheep on their reports. Those views are being shared on social networks.

While there is this view on social networks it has also become apparent that the SABC and e-TV often follow what international news reporters are feeding their viewers rather than setting a truly African news agenda. There was a time the SABC called itself “Africa’s news leader”. Recently there was a temporary shutdown of certain bureaus in parts of Africa. In fact there have been no reports from Nigeria, the DRC and Senegal for a while from South Africa’s public broadcaster. They brought back Mahlatse Gallens who was in the DRC, Crystal Orderson who was in Senegal and Adele van Niekerk who was Nigeria. Sarah Kimani has at least remained to report for them in Kenya and they have replaced Thulasizwe Simelane with Shingai Nyoka in Zimbabwe.

The SABC has only reported from Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp rather
than entering to Somalia to show us the extent of the famine.
Photo: http://www.unhcr.org/4a3fab8e6.html

On several bulletins the SABC and e-TV have led with the killings in Norway which is what the Western media has been doing as well but they have failed to cover the famine in Somalia adequately. I haven’t seen a reporter from either of the two broadcasters filing from Somalia. Sarah Kimani was in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on Tuesday, but it just did not make sense why she had not crossed the border to show what was truly happening in Somalia.

Earlier this year international broadcasters told broke the beginning of the revolution in Egypt and Tunisia but it was days later that South African broadcasters sent teams that side. I applaud e-TV’s reporting on the revolutions when they eventually arrived there. Mark Klusener, Ben Said and Chris Maroleng did a good job. Zanele Buthelezi on SABC radio reported well too.

What is confusing though is that they seem to have stopped following these stories. The Egyptian youth is still holding meetings known as the Tweet Nadwa’s in Cairo but I have never seen a show or a report on these from South Africa’s broadcasters which are dominating the African continent.

These broadcasters also have to use visuals from Reuters, a British company, as they don't have reporters deployed in several African countries. Reuters is still a British compay and broadcasters' use of their visuals and information means we are not getting an independent picture as they all would rely on the same reporters and the same company for information on Africa. A foreign company supplying information to companies on the continent can never report in an African manner which means we are probably getting a foreign view of African stories through African television stations.

The SABC has been saying it is re-launching a 24-hour news station for a while now but we’ve heard of auditions that have taken place there but haven’t quite seen this television station taking off. The public broadcaster has also been accused of self-censorship by one of its former current affairs presenters Eusebius McKaiser. He said he resigned because the broadcaster didn’t want to offend politicians. If this is true one worries about the quality of journalism that will come out of the 24 hour news station the SABC plans to launch.

Siphumelele Zondi and Mapaseka Mokwele presented
Rendezvous Africa on SABC's 24 hour news station.

E-TV has a domestic 24 hour news channel and an African news channel which cannot be accessed at home. One wonders why they have only stuck to only one show touching on continental issues rather than offering South African some African news bulletins during their daytime slots so some people can find out more about what happens in the rest of the continent.

South Africa’s television news industry is growing and e-TV is applauded for seeing that the SABC has fallen asleep where it should have dominated and decided to take over the baton, but more needs to be done to cover the continent properly and to improve the quality of journalism. It would be great to see broadcasters breaking some news stories as well rather than doing follow-ups of stories that would have already led in print.

Sowetan Entertainers Doing it for the Love

2011-07-26T15:23:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Sowetan, Bonginkosi Madondo, says he is driven by the love of art, African culture and traditions and as a result has participated in various theatre productions such as Amasiko and Devil Protest. He started performing at the Positive Art Society in Phiri Hall in the township in 2003. Through the legacy of the late Thembinkosi Nkabinde who was the founder of the group, Bonginkosi has taken over the initiative.

“Art is something for us performers to tell those untold stories. It heals spiritually,” says Bonginkosi.

The 29 year old who is also gumboot dancer and choreographer believes that one can make a living out of art.

“I have raised a kid and built a place to sleep in through art. Everyone who loves art can achieve his/her dreams,” he explains. Walking around Soweto it becomes apparent that the arts are keeping many children off the streets.

Mkhonto Arts and Cultural Group is one of the few art groups that are growing in the township. The group involves different aspects of art such as tap dancing, drama, gumboot dancing, etc. It is based in Phiri Hall, Soweto and caters for youngsters from High school to those who have completed their schooling.

The group has performed at President Jacob Zuma’s Inauguration and at the recent Siyabakhumbula Awards on 25 June this year at Gallagher Estate, Midrand. Through their hard work and determination they have showcased their art skills in countries such as Spain, Austria and so on.

As any group growing in the township, they also experience challenges such as a lack of funding. The group master feels that there is still a lack of recognition of South African actors and he does not agree with the fact that international stars come to the country and portray icons like Nelson Mandela and his ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

“If Soweto is known worldwide, why don’t they fund it? It is all about making money but not empowering our South African artists,” he elaborates.

20-year-old Zanele Sibisi joined the group three years ago and believes that participating in such activities helps her from getting up to mischief. “I benefit a lot from the group and it takes me away from drugs,” she explains.

Tap dancing is one of the activities that are growing in the country and Mduduzi Buthelezi says he is ready to go an extra mile to make it in this genre of dance.

“I want to achieve big time in my career. Many [black] people don’t know much about tap dancing, whites are exposed to it and I want to change the perception that it is meant for whites,” he stresses.

The group is planning on telling the stories of human trafficking and is currently preparing for a Pan African festival to take place in Algeria next month.

Give Us Free Clothes & We'll Do Mandela Day For You!

2011-07-12T15:54:00.000+02:00

Mandela Day is a call to action for people to take responsibility for making the world a better place, one small step at a time, just as Nelson Mandela did.

In November 2009 the United Nations declared 18 July as Nelson Mandela International Day and for the last two years has been marked with acts of goodwill in communities throughout the world.

In the Pretoria area, Journ’Tau is teaming up with the biggest campus radio station, TUT 99,2FM, for Mandela Day. You can participate in the 67 minutes for Mandela day by donating clothes and blankets at the station in Soshanguve TUT south campus. We will then take all the donations to the HOPE CHILDREN’S CENTRE in Soshanguve.

Since Mandela Day falls on a Monday in 2011 many people will not be able to participate so we are saying Journ’Tau and TUT 99,2FM will do the good deeds for you except you need to do your part by giving us children and baby clothes.

Tune in to TUT FM 96.2 for more in information .

Chiawelo Residents Meet to Demand the Release of those Arrested

2011-07-08T20:01:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Chiawelo residents are demanding the release of those arrested for the burning down of a former councillor’s house and the attack of the new councillor’s car and on Friday they protested outside court where those arrested earlier in the week were appearing. They say the case should not have been postponed.

On Wednesday evening there was an emergency meeting in the township where their way forward was discussed.

An estimated 2000 residents attended the Jo’burg City emergency meeting on former councillor Miriam Ramafola, newly elected councillor Johannes Nemangauni and the green metred electricity boxes that started all the trouble. As Eskom General Manager Bandile Jack was approaching the podium the crowds started singing struggle songs.

Jack told the crowd why some had their power switched off. “It started when we switched off electricity for those who had illegal connections,” he said.

His message seemed to have been falling on deaf ears as some were calling him names with a few youths waving posters written “Green Boxes Down”.

A 70-year-old woman identifying herself as MaTshabalala complained said she grew up in the area and the metred box grievances have been going on for a while and said the initial promise was that they would be removed in 2007.

“We are finished by this electricity, we pay a huge amount of money with our pension money. It is unfair,” MaTshabalala said.

Mayoral committee member, Matshidiso Mfikoe, told the residents that they embarrassed themselves while SAPS representative Simon Mpembe said none of the 25 arrested will be released as the community demands.

“Police are not responsible to the release of people who are arrested, the court is responsible,” he elaborated.

Some community members left early swearing and turning chairs upside down.

Those who remained behind were told to register with Siyasiza Expanded Social Package. This initiative is offered to those who are disadvantaged and offers free basic water, electricity and create short, long term job path.

Eskom promised to come back and switch on the power for those who have been switched off.

The 25 will appear in court on Friday next week.

Chiawelo Residents Not Backing Down

2011-07-07T20:49:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Chiawelo residents are still refusing to back down from their demands of cheaper electricity tariffs despite five community members including two minors over the burning down of the former councillor’s house earlier this week.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa lambasted the community when he visited with Police Commissioner Bheki Cele. As they arrived in their lavish cars, journalists and residents were waiting on Nefefe Street outside the house of ward 12 councillor Johannes Nemaungani.

Apart from the burning down of the house - the cars of Miriam Ramafola and Nemaungani were also stoned. Ramafola told Joun’Tau about the nightmare she witnessed while her grandchildren were in the house.

“I received a call from my cousin who told me that there are people on the way to my house and they say they are going to burn everything. It is then that I quickly rushed outside to lock the small gate and unfortunately I forgot to lock the garage.”

She says while she was hiding in the house, protesters were already outside braking windows and later managed to open the unlocked garage and torched her car.

“In 2007 Eskom proposed to change old electrical boxes to new green boxes that will force community members to buy electricity through prepaid cards. They all agreed on this installation of green metred boxes in the meeting,” Ramafola elaborated.

According to the former councillor this is the second attack that has occurred in her house. ESKOM spokesperson Hillary Joffe explained that no metred boxes will be removed.

“Our technicians were working since Tuesday to solve the crisis and most of them were threatened. In the past two weeks we experienced the same problem and we are not planning to move any metred box,” said Joffe.

23-year-old resident, Gift Matu, says the councillor lied to them about the green boxes failed to tell them proper procedure on how they would be explained.

“We are told to pay R50 every day in order for us to get electricity. Miriam told us that we had no choice but to pay for these,” he said.

Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Mpho Tau, urged the community not to repeat the incident.

Addressing the crowd Police Minister, Nathi Mthetwa described the incident as terrifying. “We want everybody to work with the law force agency. Everyone must condemn this horrible situation,” Mthethwa said.

While the minister was speaking, an elderly lady shouted at the minister saying he drives nice cars without understanding their plight.

Scorpions Showboating Sees Them Represent SA in International Street Football Tournament

2011-07-01T10:00:00.002+02:00

The Scorpions from Soweto have won the five-a-side football competition known as the Kia Champ into the Arena Tournament and will be representing South Africa in the international street football competition to take place between 22 and 25 July in Argentina. The team with much showboating skill beat last year’s winners and South African representatives, Randburg Spurs, 5-1.

The margin between the two sides was only a goal difference at half time but the Scorpions proved too strong for Randburg during the second half. The match between the two sides showed much skill and shibobo that South African street football is known for despite being a one-sided affair.

The two day competition which took place in Randburg, Johannesburg, saw 32 teams from Gauteng compete to eventually find the team to represent the country in the international tournament and the stands were packed on the two days with spectators enjoying some of the best street football in a formalised manner.

At the end of the proceedings on the last day the sponsor of the tournament, KIA, donated R20 000 to the Shout Campaign and the cheque was accepted by Danny K and Kabelo from TKZee. Shout is a musicians’ campaign against crime in South Africa.

The football competition has been concentrated in Gauteng and KIA has promised to take it countrywide in order to really find the best street football team in South Africa.

Kids & Parents Entertained at Baba Indaba

2011-06-27T10:36:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

SABC Baba Indaba held a three day exhibition aimed at exposing young families to early childhood development project and to raise breastfeeding as awareness. Despite the weather being cold, expecting parents, parents, nannies and grandparents came out in large numbers to witness the exhibition at the Expo Centre Nasrec near Soweto.

Organiser and show director Natalie Naude says this year breastfeeding was a hug part of the exhibition. “We decided to have breastfeeding as part of the show because we wanted to spell the myth about breastfeeding,” explains Naude.

“Breastfeeding is healthier for both mom and baby, it also helps to create a bond and helps the child to have strong bones.”

Danielle and Quinton Wilson who are parents of two children from Pretoria say the Baba Indaba has helped them come up with ways of saving money. “It is our second time attending this exhibition and we get a special of the things that we would find in shops in a higher price,” says Danielle.

Children had a chance to meet some Takalani Sesame muppets live on stage as they were entertaining through dance and educational quizzes. Later youngsters got an opportunity to take photos with their favorite cuddly friends from TV.

Most exhibition stands were packed with parents asking questions about the promoted products and promoters had to do their best to best sell and convince customers. Some of those on promotion were Baby Dam, Cuddlers, Cry Baby, Jacob’s Coffee and Baby Throne.

Baba Indaba organisers say they want to take their initiative further and want to host Africa’s very first Guinness World Record attempt for the most mothers breastfeeding their babies at same time. Good luck to them.

We Still Continue to Blame Foreigners For Stealing Jobs We Refuse To Do

2011-06-23T14:01:00.003+02:00

Gift Ngobeni

Between 2000 and March 2008 at least 67 people died in what was identified as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008 a series of riots left 62 people dead - although 21 of those killed were South African citizens some of whom who had been mistaken for foreigners. One dictionary definition of xenophobia is an unreasonable fear, distrust, or hatred of strangers, foreigners, or anything perceived as foreign or different.

Leaders of the country fought for a free South Africa, former president of the country Nelson Mandela said South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it. During the anti-apartheid struggle, the very same leaders went to exile in neighboring countries most of which the attacked foreigners come from. Most South Africans went to countries like Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Angola to name a few. Clearly most attackers have forgotten about this.

We blame our brothers and sisters from other countries of stealing our jobs, which jobs I ask? Doing our gardens which we can’t do ourselves, repairing our shoes, cleaning our homes or doing our cheap labor? I really fail to understand what the concern is about, some South Africans accuse foreigners of residing in RDP houses and ignore the corruption behind the allocation of these houses done by fellow South Africans in charge. South African officials sell RDP houses which belong to poor people for free; they sell these houses to desperate homeless foreigners and take their hard earned money.

A recent example is South Africans attacking Somalis and looting their shops, for what? Starting their own businesses or showing us how lazy and greedy we are. I’m really disgusted and disturbed at the level of ignorance of South Africans who don’t understand the value of having foreign business in our country and their contribution to the economy. One thing we fail to understand about Somalians and Indians is that they look out for each other; they assist each other in employment. They have family business all over South Africa, this is one of the qualities we don’t have as South Africans, we are greedy, jealous and bitter at each other‘s success.

We should spare a thought for the people of Somalia who didn’t have a government for over 12 years now, they flee the civil war happening in their disgruntled country and come to South Africa for a better life and protection only to find a similar situation here. What happened to the spirit of Ubuntu which we are supposed to show to the people of Zimbabwe who ran away from the hunger and suffering in their country to come to SA for food and protection?

The people who fought for freedom in South Africa must be turning in their graves; we have become a shameless nation with no values and morals. We have one of the worst record of HIV infections, a bad record in crime and now xenophobia.

Young, Pregnant, HIV Positive & Shocked by the State of Public Hospitals

2011-06-21T15:26:00.004+02:00

Every day we are encouraged to get tested in order to know our HIV statuses so we can live healthy lives but what I have found is that health professionals seem not to be properly trained to deal with the disease. I often hear people who go to public hospitals talk about the torture and abuse they go through when they are getting tested and it’s even worse for some should they test positive.

I found out that I am HIV positive in 2009 and in order to protect myself I will remain anonymous. The test was done by a private doctor which helped me not go through the similar abuse many often report when returning from hospital or clinic. My doctor guided me and gave me all the relevant information I needed at the time. As a teenager it wasn’t easy but because of a private doctor I was sheltered from all the stresses many go through.

Later that year I went to a public hospital for counseling as required and I was to check my CD4 count on the day as well, but confidentiality didn’t seem to exist there. If one is HIV positive they have to go through three counseling sessions before starting with ARV treatment if the CD4 count is below 250. At the public hospital about 45 of us were stuffed in one room and we were then told what we needed to know. This meant that by me being there I now knew 44 other people who were infected – no confidentiality at all.

I later found out I was pregnant and had to start my anti-natal care (ANC). I went to a clinic first before going to a public hospital. There were 9 new comers for the ANC that day and again we were stuffed in one little room with chairs in a circle. The nurse in charge of us sat there and started writing certificates for the HIV tests we were about to take. I didn’t have an issue with this as I already knew my status but what shocked me was that there was no counseling to any of us.

When I returned for my check up, I had to go for breastfeeding lessons where I was told that breastfeeding is the best and safest as I will be taking ARVs for the baby. As I sat waiting for the nurse to come, a young lady came in and sat with me. Before I knew it she was crying because she had just found out she was positive. She said she hadn’t received any counseling at all before the test and the nurse looked at her as if she was “crazy”.

Despite this nightmare I take my hat off for the government’s fight against mother to child transmissions. Although my CD4 count was extremely high due to eating and living a healthy life, I had to start taking ARVs at 14 weeks. This is done so that I don’t transmit the disease to the innocent souk growing inside. The midwife in charge of facilitating the process was much better than the first one.

Although clinics and hospitals are worse than hell most of the time, I encourage everyone to go and get tested. If you are positive - it’s not the end of the world. There are issues like having to tell your family and maybe friends about these developments, which is the most painful thing ever but you need the support. I am HIV positive, expecting my first child and I must say it’s quite an experience as my alarm annoys me every day at 9am and 9pm reminding me to take my pills. People who are diabetic also go through the same thing every day, so why should we be different?

Fun Day Had By Lecturers As They Say Goobye To A Colleague

2011-06-21T15:02:00.000+02:00

Kabelo Johnty Chabalala

Humanities lecturers at the Tshwane University of Technology gathered at the Soshanguve South Campus Sport Field to celebrate the faculty’s first fun day. Known to fuss about students’ assignment deadlines and how they should improve their marks if they are not performing well – the educators had a chance to play a bit of cricket, partake in a 100 metre fun run and even compete in a potjie kos competition.

Faculty Dean, Dr Stanley Mukhola believes the day strengthens unity on campus. “This day was long overdue. We have been looking forward to this gathering as colleagues. You guys are committed teammates that show dedication and support.”

Dr Mukhola says he heads a faculty that is a trend-setter at TUT. He describes his colleagues as people who show a humanitarian side hence they are in the faculty of Humanities.

Lecturers had to prepare fire using wood for the potjie. Male lecturers like Fanie Groenewald of Journalism and Professor Van Der Walt from Public Relations and Management proved that some men can really cook.

“We see the bringing together of different cultures, and the coming together of people who don’t know each other personally as academics,” said one of the Dean’s team lecturer. What this people know is to go to work, offer lectures to their students and go back home. But this day presented them with an opportunity to break the walls that separate them. The faculty lecturers got s chance to each other social and on academically level.

The Head of Department of Applied Languages says he really enjoyed the day. “Today is a day of team building. It is outside work relations. It isn’t academia, but more relaxing.”

At the end of the day, different awards were given. They had an award for the best smile. Best meal of the day. And other awards such as the fastest runner and youngest lecturer. The best meal went to the journalism department proving that those lecturing there are not award winners in story-telling only, their hands have other talents too.

The sad moment came in as the dean announced the farewell of Professor White who has been with TUT for over 15 years. He describes his experiences at the university as phenomenal. “I just want to be a part time employee of this institution from now on”.

Dr Mukhola highlighted some of the spectacular moments they shared with him. He had produced more than 80% of the B-tech graduates last year in Gauteng province.

The lecturers had fun, as it was the theme of the day. They really networked and got a chance to knows each other better.

Youth Dances & Celebrates Achievements But Stresses the Need for Good Quality Education

2011-06-20T15:35:00.001+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Traditional Zulu dancing showing the youth
hasn't forgotten traditions.

Young and talented School children gathered at the Constitutional Hill, Johannesburg Thursday to celebrate Youth Day with song, dance and debate on their future and the state of young people in South Africa today. The event was organised by Constitutional Hill in partnership with Tsibogang Lebone Development Initiative.

Matshidiso Mkhatswa from Likazi Central high school was the first to go on stage and shock the crowd with her speech called: “What Ubuntu in peace making and Reconciliation mean to me”.

During her piece she quoted Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu when he said “ubuntu is the spirit of togetherness, we must move beyond the spirit of Apartheid. A country without Ubuntu is no country at all.”

Lungile Dlamini thinks the youth disregards its responsibilities and focuses more on rights.

“Our responsibilities coordinate with our rights. We believe we have a right to something and we don’t consider our responsibilities,” Dlamini said

As the crowd went crazy about the music and performance on stage, adjudicators were taking notes of possible winners.

Lily Mokhwesana one of the organisers says she is happy with the 300 people strong attendance rate and hopes to see growth in the coming years. “We are actually saying with this initiative, children must come and learn. We are excited that parents and teachers came out in full force to give support to this day” Mokhwesana explains

Voortrekker Hoogte High School teacher, Anton Lombard, believes such events are a great platform for pupils to express their ideals. “This event is fantastic, I think it is helping the learners from different parts of the country to meet each other,” Lombard said

He also shared his concern on the recent xenophobic violence in Limpopo;

“[Xenophobia] is unnecessary, we need to accept each other and it is creating a bad image for South Africa,” Lombard elaborated.

The Braam Fisher Youth Gospel Choir’s opened the gathering with a song “A leng botseng tshepo yaka” led by Bongani Nkunzi. Dingaan Skosani organiser says the event have positive outcomes “We try to convert their (pupils) talent into a skill, in order for them to reach their full potential”.

Boys Choir starts proceedings.

On our way to the Constitutional Hill, we met a group of school children who were marching from King David Victory Park, passing the Nelson Mandela Bridge commemorating Equal Basic Education as the standard of education in rural and township schools has come under serious scrutiny in South Africa.

“I think that the youth of South Africa must really, really work together. All races and culture we must come together and fight for what we want and deserve in our new country,” explains one of the marchers Josh Broomberg.

Photos of Youth Day Celebrations in Constitution Hill, Johannesburg

2011-06-20T15:03:00.004+02:00

Interesting BBC Programme on Lagos' Version of Venice

2011-06-20T10:54:00.005+02:00

Let's School You a Bit About 1976

2011-06-15T13:36:00.000+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Iconic photo of Mbuyazi Makhubu carrying the body
of Hector Pieterson with the 13-year-old's sister on the side

Many of us have heard our parents talk about 16 June 1976 which was a turning point in the fight towards a free and democratic South Africa. They often tell us that pupils from five schools in Soweto near Johannesburg walked out of the gates in what was supposed to be a peaceful march as they were fighting for a good, adequate education system. Some of us seem to know the story until this point. We also know of the first boy who died, 13-year-old Hector Pieterson. Much of his story is in the Hector Pietrerson Museum in Soweto. Many young people don’t really know the 1976 story before and beyond these points.

I want to take you back to the memories of the dark days of this beautiful land and give you an overview on the causes of the uprising, what happened proceeding the day and how the government of the time dealt with it. I also believe that while it is important to look back in history we should also think carefully about what the South African youth today thinks about the challenges facing us – some of which are unemployment, HIV/Aids and the lack of understand of how political, financial and business structures can be accessed in order for us to truly prosper. The youth of 1976 was fighting for an adequate education system but the youth of 2011 is also fighting for an adequate education system that will prepare them for the future.

In 1953 the apartheid government of South Africa formalised the Bantu Education Act which would mean black South Africans would get an education inferior to that of white counterparts. There was also a Black Education Department in the Department of Native Affairs. The role of this department was to compile a curriculum that suited the "nature and requirements of black people,” Native Affairs Minister and later to be Prime Minister Dr Hendrik Verwoed is quoted saying.

"Natives [black people] must be taught from an early age that equality with Europeans [whites] is not for them," Verwoued once said. Black people were to receive an education that would lead to them serving the white man or going back to homelands – they were not to have an education that would allow them to prosper and be on equal footing with white people.

As a result of black people being forced to learn in Afrikaans they then decided to choose English as a language of choice, the homelands or Bantustans would use English and an indigenous, African language as a preferred language of communication. Realising this, the government used a 1974 decree to reverse the decline of Afrikaans among black Africans. The Afrikaner-dominated government used the clause of the 1909 Constitution that recognized only English and Afrikaans as official languages as pretext to do this. White students would be in a better position as they were learning in their home languages whereas black pupils would learn in Afrikaans.

After fighting with words and conversations all hell broke loose as in the early hours of 16 June 1976 the high school pupils met in the Orlando stadium to protest against what they felt was unfair in the black education system.

Roughly 176 people were killed, the students fought hard using sticks, rocks, bricks, even schoolbags. The peaceful march had turned violent as the police used teargas and fired gun shots at the youth.

Morris Isaacson High school led by Tsietsi Mashini was among those schools which took part in the uprising. The streets of Soweto were full of teargas and smoke that made the township dark.

Fast forward to 2011 the youth is now facing different challenges which I will discuss in my next chapter coming up in a few hours.

Young People Ensure Children Have Food & Clothes This Winter

2011-06-13T10:46:00.002+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Young people who started a group on social network, Facebook, with the help of home care organisation, Thola Ulwazi, and members of the corporate sector have embarked on a campaign to improve the lives of orphaned children in Soshanguve Township.

Over the weekend the group called Difference Makers donated food parcels to orphanages. This was done with the assistance of a local BP service station, Tropika and a police station. Difference Makers founder, Sergeant Mnisi, says they have been visiting home based care centres since 2009.

“We started this group as a non-profitable organisation looking for home based centres where we can come and assist in any way as a way to stand against poverty and feed every child,” explains Mnisi.

On Saturday they were also assisting single parent homes struggling to make ends meet.

Thola Ulwazi Home Based Care and Training was founded by Venile Lekhwane in 1998 at the Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, now called George Mokhari Hospital.

“We worked in the infection control clinic of the hospital, where HIV/AIDS infected people get treatment every Tuesday. We provided patients with spiritual guidance and upliftment, and also gave them food to eat,” says Lekhwame.

Soshanguve is a poor township and many of its residents often struggle to make it to hospital and Lekhwame sights this as her reason for starting Thola Ulwazi.

“The challenges we are facing at present are unemployment, HIV/AIDS and general ill health,” she adds.

Organisers also deiced to honour Gertrude Semono,a woman from the township who dedicates her Fridays to donating vegetables to Thola Ulwazi. For this she received a blanket.

It wasn’t just serious business on the day – there was also a bit of entertainment provided by Gospel musician - Sydney Mathe, Programme Director and iKwekwezi Fm presenter Letty Nyathela Chilli and co-ordinator Paul Kutumela also known as Paul K.

“I co-ordinated this event to make sure that our community is served. We have children who need our help. Every year I co-ordinate such events in Soshanguve and Mpumalanga,” says Kutumela.

Some of those present expressed excitement at the donations. “I am happy that my child was given food and winter clothes today, this means a lot to me and I pray to God to help them to continue blessing mam Venile and Thola Ulwazi” remarks Jonathan Baloyi.

Young Sowetan Working Hard to Achieve Ultimate Success

2011-06-06T11:17:00.007+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

While many young South Africans who live in townships sit around and do nothing with their days, a 25-year-old Sowetan, Vusi Makhubo, is showing them that one doesn’t need to come from a wealthy environment to live out their dreams.

Makhubo has taken savings from a small job he does selling clothes at Mr Price to save up for DJing equipment and has also started a T-shirt printing business. He says well known Soweto entertainer, DJ Mbuso encouraged him. “I used to go to Dj Mbuso’s shop and see how he runs his music and t-shirt business, that is how I got my inspiration and I realised that he is one of the black people who is doing his best to make a living out of his abilities.” he says.

Mbuso has also used some of his songs in his compilations and was paid for them.

His brand is called Amayakayaka as that is a slang word Sowetans use when describing people who party too much. He started with just ten t-shirts. “We sold all of them in one day when we launched here at home.”

Makhubo believes that brands that come from South African townships can be popular in South Africa as has been seen with the popularity of Amakip-kip. As I chat to him we get interrupted by a young girl who comes in to ask for cell-phone credit. I then realise that he also runs a small shop from home.

He says it’s also important to diversify as there could be many people with ideas similar to yours. Apart from the shirts he also makes hoodies and hats. Like his mentor, DJ Mbuso, Makhubo promotes music shows around Soweto.

He says he experiences challenges like many other young businessmen but never allows those to deter him. “What keeps me going is the vision that I have for my business and the respect that my family taught me in my childhood.”

He is positive about his brand and says he wants to groom others interested in following in his footsteps.

Poet's perseverence for Change

2011-06-02T19:48:00.000+02:00

At the closing dinner of the School of Authentic Journalism 2011, scholars and professors were privileged to have had dinner with the great poet, Javier Sicilia.

His son is one of thousands of innocent victims of Mexico's drug-related organised crime. Sicilia lead a silent protest for the fight for justice against the drug violence in May.

This video, by Dateline, peaks into the well organised movement lead by Sicilia where many of the community joined in on the march.

Journ'Tau Investigation Leads to Completion of House

2011-05-31T15:56:00.000+02:00

Sthembiso Sithole

Senini Chauke excited that Jou'Tau published the story
leading to the construction of his house.

On 18 May 2011 Journ’Tau published a story on a 70 year old man, Senini Chauke, whose house hadn’t been completed by Xazulula Construction Company Renovation. The construction company had been tasked by the council in Soshanguve to build houses for several community members.

After the publication of the story the council has tasked the same company to complete the construction of the house and Xazulula has gone back to do the work they had initially neglected.

Senini Chauke wasn't a happy man two weeks ago
as the construction of his house had come to a halt.

During our initial story ward councilor, Rosemary Ngobeni, had said she was unaware of such problems in her area and thought all housing constructions were in order. She did promise to ensure that the incomplete house would eventually be completed as it is currently happening now.

Chauke says he is happy that his dream is finally being answered.

“I am very happy that finally God has answered my prayers, soon my house will be completed as it is winter time,”

The old man, currently suffering from ill health, initially told Journ’Tau that the stress from an incomplete house was worsening her situation.

Young Girl Tells Her Story of HIV

2011-05-30T16:27:00.003+02:00

Shocked By Community Watching Man Beating Up Woman on Roadside

2011-05-30T12:15:00.002+02:00

Tlaki Baloyi

It is a normal Sunday afternoon and I have just accompanied a relative to catch a taxi. She had visited my mom but unfortunately for her she didn’t let her know beforehand and my mother had already gone to church by the time she arrived.

As I was on my way back home after accompanying her I stumbled upon a scene no one ever wants to witness, but is all too common in our country. A man started beating up a lady he was with. For a moment there I was thankful that there were people, mostly adults, on the street as they would stop this barbaric behavior taking place in broad daylight on a day taken as holy by most South Africans. As I was standing there, waiting and hoping that at least one of the many men there would do something about it I realised that they were all standing, watching and analyzing and no one was willing to intervene.

What made the situation bad was the fact that this lady was with a younger girl who seemed to be not older than 12 years of age. I can only assume it was her daughter. I was shocked that he was brave enough to do that on the side of a busy road, but what made my stomach turn was that the many people there – especially men who were strong enough to stop him – were actually standing and watching as it happened.

As I realised that my elders were not about to help out I then decided to talk to the man I now classify as a monster. I then screamed out: “Aowa buti.”

I thought a chorus would follow but there was none of that. Instead those who had turned this tragedy into entertainment just kept quiet. There was complete silence and all one could hear was the couple that was fighting at this stage. The analysis of the situation from the bystanders had completely stopped.

The guy looked at me and I told him to think of the child standing next to the lady but his arrogance made my blood boil. He told me to stay out of his business and that was when I told him that a child will always be my business, especially when they are subjected to abuse.

If this is what happens in our societies then monsters who abuse women and children will multiply because the younger generation will get an impression that harassing women and children is actually a good thing as no one ever does anything about it.

Maybe the many anti abuse campaigns that we see in the media are not working. Maybe the community just doesn’t understand that hitting and hurting a woman in abuse. Maybe I am the stupid one for speaking out on such a sight on the side of the road. Maybe, just maybe. But I will not keep quiet and watch a man hit a woman on the side of the road especially if she is with a child and those watching think they are at an amusement park.

Egypt: How We Did it When the Media Would Not

2011-05-26T18:51:00.002+02:00

This video was done by the team of Narco News and the School of Authentic Journalists 2011.

Africa Day Not Adequately Promoted in South Africa

2011-05-25T16:59:00.000+02:00

Sibusiso Banda

Today, 25 May 2011, we are celebrating Africa Day. This is one of the most important days in the African continent’s history. During the past few years we have seen Johannesburg starting to celebrate the day, largely ignored in South Africa’s past as the country was going through apartheid.

This year I have not seen a single poster or heard even a two minute feature on radio or television.

On this day 48 years ago, leaders of thirty-two independent African States met to form the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Then only two thirds of Africa had achieved independence from colonial rule. At this historic meeting the date of Africa Freedom Day was changed from April 15th to May 25th and Africa Freedom Day was declared African Liberation Day (ALD).

African Liberation Day has been held on May 25th in every corner of the world since but what is amazing is that the day is that is celebrated as Africa Day across the continent and as a public holiday in many countries to commemorate the achievement independence and active roles played by our every own African nationalist leaders such as Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere and even our very own Nelson Mandela just to mention a few.

Strangely countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia don’t have public holidays on the day. Why these countries don’t celebrate it is a mystery which has been dragging unsolved for almost 5 decades. But various experts, analysts and professors such as Tawana Kupe, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Wits and Associate Professor of Media Studies believes that it’s both the African and western media that is responsible for tarnishing African cultures by promoting western values in their broadcast.

Others even go to the extreme length of shedding the blame to the youth a as “they are easily

westernised”.

To how far we believe all these analysis “as truth” is up to an individual system of belief but what I can say is that the youth needs to decide how to embrace and promote values in every day situations.

By doing so we need to start thinking critically about the information we consume from the media, most importantly let’s starting embracing our African brothers and sisters with the same love and protection we give to family because after all we are all humans who live on the African continent.

Dance at the Breytie

2011-05-25T13:32:00.000+02:00

Elections Over and Back to Drawing Board

2011-05-22T17:08:00.001+02:00

Kgothatso Madisa

IEC chairperson, Dr. Brigalia Bam, has announced local government election results at the IEC centre in Pretoria thus ending months of campaigning and political mud sligging by various organisation especially the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance.

There was much anticipation for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan results but as counting was continuing it became clear that the ANC would retain as well as all but one of the other metros. The DA kept Cape Town and showed that it is still a firm favourite in the Western Cape Province.

Despite all the protests that took place ahead of the local government elections ANC won all the Metro's in the country with 62% except Cape Metro which was taken by the DA.

IEC CEO, Pansy Tlakula, says she is impressed with the smooth running of these elections and there was worry on voter apathy, but the turnout was high for local government elections. Some of this might be credited to social networks that are bringing about massive change all over the world.

Efficiency seems to have improved on the side of the IEC as Tlakula says only an average of just over 20 minutes was spent on the queues.

Tlakula also said "not a single party has refused the outcome of the elections"

President Jacob Zuma congratulated the IEC for fair and free elections adding that he is proud that the institution is headed by women.

They are over but we saw the Congress of the People suffer as a result of infighting, the ANC was unsettled a bit and the DA was the only party to have received some gains. Zuma concluded by saying "elections are over and there is a lot of work to be done".

ANC Sosh Celebrating Despite Continuing Vote Counting

2011-05-20T15:01:00.001+02:00

Lindokuhle Mnisi

A street oarty started in the township.

Motorbikes were spinning around, hooting and there was loads of singing as the African National Congress was celebrating victory despite voting not having been completed on Thursday.

ANC candidate Marobini Rosemary Ngobeni gathered her supporters at the Soshanguve to celebrate the winning of the party. “I didn’t sleep yesterday thinking what the results would be and today we are all here to celebrate and thank the people of Ward 33, 34, 35, 36 for voting ANC as their leading party. ANC wins, ANC protects the people,” Ngobeni said.

One of the supporters, Evelyn Maile, is only 5 and she was screaming: “VIVA ANC VIVA, VIVA COUNCILLOR VIVA”.

An approximately number of 10 000 people of ward 34 registered to vote and the ANC says about 8 000 of those voted for them. “There is no reason for us not to celebrate. In the six voting stations, of Ward 34, it was announced that ANC acquired approximately 8 000 votes in the 10 000 people who have registered,” said another supporter Linda Makhubo.

They believe that the Ngobeni’s decision to celebrate with the locals is a sign of great things to come.

“I am very happy that our new councilor is here to celebrate and share this great experience with us, it shows that she will be great leader for the people,” added Makhubo.

Supporter, Thandi Baloyi, says they are just waiting for the IEC to give them the accurate results but in the meantime they will continue to celebrate. “We are not scared. We know already that we won. What do you call the situation whereby the ANC gets 8000+ votes and parties like DA gets less than 100 votes? Are they a threat?”

Celebrating with kids.

The youth also formed a huge part of those celebrating.

“It’s about time we take over as a youth of South Africa. I recently joined ANC last month (April) and already I’m celebrating,” says Yvonne Botha.

“ANC [doesn’t] sleep, so today we’re not sleeping. Our grandparents couldn’t get a chance to sleep as they were fighting against oppression, so we [are] taking over where they left,” said Lizzy Masoma.

ANC supporters are planning to celebrate until Sunday when all the votes would have been tallied. They don’t seem to have any doubts about winning.