Dance at the Breytie

Elections Over and Back to Drawing Board

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.

ANC Sosh Celebrating Despite Continuing Vote Counting

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.

Voting Goes Smoothly in Sosh

Sthembiso Sithole

Ntate Selalale was the first to vote.

In the news we have been hearing a lot about the hotly contested ares such as Port Elizabeth, we were introduced to the Democratic Alliance’s 30-year-old Johannesburg mayoral candidate who is a former television presenter, we were even informed about new political parties such as Zanele Magwaza-Msibi’s National Freedom Party and we were told about areas that have inadequate toilets. There are areas I feel were neglected during this election because the voice of those people was not loud enough so I decided to get up early and go to Soshanguve’s polling stations to see what the residents were fighting for in Pretoria’s township.

TUT Open Day in Soshanguve

Elderly Man Waiting for House to be Built

Senini Chauke waits for house to be built.

Sthembiso Sithole

While many South Africans went to the polls to elect leaders they think will improve roads, five them better toilets or remove garbage from their areas – one man says he wants a certain candidate to win because he has been promised personal improvements should that happen.

70-year-old Senini Chauke from Soshanguve’s Block H has ill health and now relies on a tenant in his home for hospital visit assistance.Furthermore Chauke doesn’t have a proper house and the company assisting him disappeared with building material they had initially donated to him. Chauke says the company is called Xazulula Construction Renovation. He is faced with another problem of his brother’s son constantly demanding pension money.

‘Late last year I was approached by the construction company which promised to build a house for me. Today I am faced with a of them having removed the material,’’ said Mr Chauke.

Colleen Dube who is a tenant of Mr Chauke moved suspects that the building material was taken from his landlord to build another house.

Learning to Become an Authentic Journalist Under the Mayan Sun

Tshepo Tshabalala

I am one of the youngest scholars in a group of forty at a trip
at the Frida Khalo Museum.

I am proud to say that I am the South African ambassador for this year’s School of Authentic Journalism in Mexico. I have been here for a week now and together with fellow classmates have reached the middle of our stay and training here.

The SAJ is a conference of plus forty new scholars selected after a tedious, long application and rigorous interview process by the school’s president, Alberto Giordano. I am one of the youngest scholars this year and one of only two South Africans - the other is Janet Cherry from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Cherry is a professor at the school.