Cape Town Has A Long Night Life

Long Street
Photo: http://www.capetown-interestsandactivities.blogspot.com/

Tshepo Tshabalala

Cape Town is a city often promoted for its natural beauty and history. We have seen pictures of Robben Island, Table Mountain and the beautiful beaches on postcards, films and magazines but the nightlife here is just as fantastic as those images.

There is a long, ordinary looking and dirty street that everyone talks about in Cape Town. During the day it looks like every other part of the city centre, but owls would tell a different story. This is a story of happiness, excitement and the formation of new friendships with memories that last forever. Long Street has bars, clubs and pubs to suit everybody.

Not expected in the city centre is a bar with a Tswana name, Lapeng, where one would find cheap alcohol and dance tunes from Johannesburg and Durban townships like DJ Cleo, Tira and Big Nuz. Maybe just like the name of the place which means ‘home’, it’s purpose is to make people from those parts of the country feel at home as it is different from the upmarket feel the rest of the clubs in the areas adopt at night. There aren’t even enough seats in this place but one can bargain and get sloshed at a really low price if that is their idea of fun.

Also meant to make Joburgers feel at home is club Joburg and Pretorians are not left out either with club Pretoria just next door to that. The two places are very similar inside with the music they play being the most defining factor. Pretorians love their House music and it is not surprising to hear a lot of that and Kwaito inside Cape Town’s version of the capital city. When a lot of people think of Johannesburg they would often visualise hip hop heads and it is not surprising that the club named after Africa’s richest city plays this type of music as well.


 A cross between a bar and a club is Stone’s. This place is for pool players and people who want to dance alike.



Chrome
Photo: http://www.southafrica.net/



One of the trendiest places is Chrome, just off Long Street, and the entrance fee is a bit higher than in other places, but still at a reasonable R60 with Wednesday nights offering R1 shots until midnight. It’s best to get here early though as this midweek special attracts a lot of people and as the night progresses dancing with strangers becomes an intimate affair. The DJ plays popular old and current music from pop, house, RnB to hip hop.



Those who don’t want to party in the city centre and are perhaps looking for a more authentic experience in this city then Mzoli’s in Gugulethu is the best place to go.

Cape Town might be slow during the day but offers a great party experience at night.

TUT Student News Story: Service Delivery in Stinkwater

Student Accommodation Needs Major Maintenance

Samukele Manzini


Many Tshwane University of Technology, Soshanguve, students regard a male and female residence known as Towers as one of the best the campus has to offer. On close inspection this proves not to be the case.

I was staying there this year and was shocked that getting hot water in the middle of winter is a luxury and to make matters worse, the university does not maintain this building properly. On some days we find water all over the floor as a result of blocked pipes. Some of the toilets do not flush for several days before being fixed and there is a leakage of water in the kitchen sink.

There are times when there is just now water there. Students woulf complain about this as they are often forced to go to other residences to get water to take a short bath or even drink. A source close to the maintenance guys at Towers whispered into says the problem is not with them but with the residence manager at Towers, Mr. Patrick Mabuseng, who fails to follow protocol when he needs to fix the problems they have there and while covering the story I did try to schedule an interview with the manager but he refused. He agreed to meet with me at a certain point but did not show up for the interview.

Ratshilima Maanda, who is in charge of an area known as CCT on campus says the main problem with the hot water supply is that there is one geyser supplying hot water to all six floors of the residence.

Maanda claims they have written a memorandum to the maintenance department about the matter but received no response.

“We make follow ups every week but the guys have been slow in responding” he added.
Maanda hopes the problem will be solved by the end of the year.

Jerry Msiza, head of the maintenance team at Towers denies Maanda’s claims and admits that problems at Towers are never fixed in time.

“The residence manager must follow the correct channels before we can be able to do our job, we also have bosses to report to” said Msiza.

Students don’t seem to care about the excuses they keep on hearing as their fees are the same as those who stay in better residences in Soshanguve and other campuses.

Pretoria Parties On Racial Lines But Knows How To Have A Great Time

Siphumelele Zondi
@SZondi

Hatfield Square
Photo: http://www.travelpod.com/

Pretoria can be slow when it comes to music at times, but South Africa’s capital definitely knows how to party. As the financial hub of South Africa, Johannesburg clubs are often filled with young professionals and the emerging black middle class with a lot of disposable income to spend – but the same cannot be said about Pretoria.

Pretoria clubs are often frequented by students who would not spend as much on drinks. In Hatfield people can still find drinks which cost less than R20 whereas Johannesburg has clubs and cocktail bars which do not charge less than R25 a drink with R40 being the norm for many cocktails sold there.

While racial lines are often blurred in most night spots in Johannesburg, the same cannot be said about Pretoria. On Saturday night the Hatfield Square was packed. The crowd in the area was at least 98 percent white and Afrikaans whereas just a few blocks down in places like Zanzu, Co.fi and Cappello they were predominantly black.

Man throws banner at Mbeki

Mbeki Worried About The State of Current African Leadership



Former President Thabo Mbeki says
some African leaders see academics as a threat



Former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, is troubled by poor leadership in Africa and says various governments on the continent are not doing enough to safeguard the independence their predecessors fought really hard to gain.



President Mbeki participated in the Tshwane University of Technology’s public lecture series on Thursday, 16 September 2010. During the lecture members of the public are also allowed to interact with the speaker by asking questions.

As he entered the hall Mbeki was greeted by singing, dancing and chanting which is a sign that the former South African president who was asked to resign from his position by the ruling African National Congress still has a massive following. There were two big halls booked for the event with broadcasts to various venues in other TUT campuses. The lecture was also broadcast on DSTV.
With that much support Mbeki was however interrupted by a member of the university’s Student Representative Council (SRC) who threw a banner at him shouting, “Sihamba noZuma” (We are with Zuma).

Although late to react the bodyguards quickly pounced at the man, slapping him and escorted him outside the hall. While everyone was confused and cameras flashing Mbeki quickly asked everyone not to panic and continued with what he had to say.



Those who hadn't booked spaces were turned away
as there was a huge interest in the Mbeki lecture



Mbeki, who now chairs an African Union committee tasked with looking after the Sudan, says many African leaders are worried about their pockets and the presidential seat is their way of getting out of the poverty they would have grown up with. He says they often are too scared to leave their positions with the fear those who take over from them would uncover their wrong doings in office, Mbeki says many conflicts on the continent are often started by corrupt leaders.

He says they are caused by the “concentration of political power in the hands of the political elite which abuses its power to accumulate wealth for itself and particular factions of the population, marginalising important sections of that population.”
While these leaders are trying to keep themselves in power, they then stop holding regular elections and use repressive measures to rule their countries.

He believes the international community often does not react soon enough when these conflicts break out. He also says African bodies don’t have enough funds to deal with problems on their own and often fail to curb problems early.

“The African Union will have to pay particular attention to matters of the early warning of impending conflict and addressing the root causes of each and every conflict ,” he says.



Fomer President Thabo Mbeki
is worried about corruption in Africa



Mbeki believes that a major part of the African Renaissance should be to transform the continent to that of peace.

During the meeting he was thanked by a delegation from Ethiopia. The group says they have driven from their country crossing ten borders, arriving in Pretoria on the day of the Mbeki lecture at TUT, in order to highlight a need for peace and democracy in Africa.

One of the questions he was asked by a member of the public was related to the need for good African university education. Mbeki believes that there are leaders who shun good university education. “We had African leaders who saw universities as institutions of opposition to themselves,” he responded.

Ending his lecture Mbeki called for all Africans to play their part in emancipating the continent. At the end of his 'Africa-War and Peace' lecture the crowd cheered again showing they still massively support the country's former leader.

An Important Part of South Africa's History At The Rostrum Theatre