Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-10-24 i Sunday Independent

eight days is the time South Africans will fulfil an important obligation of the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of the country. This is an obligation to choose freely those who are to become people’s representatives for the next five years. The hopefuls have traversed the country, promising what they will achieve if they are elected. The backdrop of the local government is different from previous ones. The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a dark cloud on the process. We have been dished corruption of the worst proportions as dirty laundry in political speech is aired in public. The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy and Urban Renewal South Africa in 2000 opened a path for increasing service delivery in the period under review. In some rural areas, unemployment that was as…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Celebrated South African visual artist Nelson Makamo continues to make big strides on the international art scene. Makamo’s career spans just over 15 years since his first solo exhibition, Walk With Me at Obert art gallery, in Melrose Arch, in 2005. Over the years, the Limpopo-born star has managed to solidify his artistic signature, making him one of the world’s younger and sought-after visual artists of our times. Makamo says his work is strongly influenced by children in rural South Africa. He believes that they embody the peace and harmony we all strive for in life. His scope of experience and medium of expression, which includes charcoal, acrylic, watercolours, monotypes, silkscreen and oil paintings, has evolved with time. Makamo has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in…

Debashine Thangevelo If you are a reality show junkie, don’t miss the third instalment of MTV Africa’s Have Faith. Yes, Faith Nketsi (pictured above) is back and so is the drama. In the first two seasons, viewers got a front-row seat to her ups and downs as she made the leap from socialite to entrepreneur while juggling a tumultuous love life. At 26, the Queen of Twerk clearly has a lot on her plate. Thankfully, there is a modicum of stability this season, especially in her love life. Of course, she is no less ambitious as she continues to grow her brand and Fe Beauty business, of which she is now a controlling stakeholder. And she’s eyeing the global market. Nketsi said: “This season will be a whole lot…

Don Makatile don.makatile@inl.co.za He has a handsome face; the glasses and greying beard that age gives a stylish silver tint make him a pleasant sight to behold. He also makes for an interesting interlocutor. But if you look deeper into Musiwa Rambau’s face, you see despair. It is the face of a man whose dream has been killed – not by a rampant mob of street rogues, but by an institution of higher learning that should have enhanced that very dream. In 1990, Rambau registered for a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) degree at the then University of the North, popularly known as Turfloop, majoring in microbiology. The institution is now called the University of Limpopo. He could have finished his studies in record time, had it not been for one…

From Page 1 When days are dark, the saying goes, friends are few. Rambau has seen this in action. “They are few,” he says of the so-called friends. “Some of them seem to enjoy seeing you struggle.” He has been promised jobs by friends, to no avail. Then for a year he was taken on an internship by Joburg Water where he worked at their laboratory. He was ecstatic, working in the natural sciences, his field that is now known as life sciences. When the internship period was up, the post was advertised and he was encouraged to apply for the job. He did not get it. He had no papers to show! At his wits’ end, he took Joburg Water to the CCMA, and, needless to say, lost. Still…

From Page1 “Around 45% were associated with robberies like hijackings where people are driven to withdraw cash or forced to open safes. Twenty-seven percent of kidnappings happen where the motive is sexual offences, and the figure for abductions for ransom or extortion was 5%.” Lancaster said it is not known for certain at this stage, but the Moti kidnappings fitted the last category. “It seems to be the work of a highly organised group that had intimate knowledge of the family. What the motive is, remains unknown.” She said the number of kidnappings for the period April 2019 and March 2020, was 6 630, which reflected a 16% increase on the previous term. “If broken down further, the daily average for kidnappings in South Africa was 18.” She said it…

Amanda Maliba amanda.maliba@inl.co.za Although in South Africa, a child is characterised as someone who is under the age of 18, some provisions have been made over the years to empower minors to make decisions on their own. The latest of these is that children aged 12 to 17 can decide to get a Covid-19 vaccine without a parent’s consent as announced by Health Minister Joe Phaahla last week. Clinical psychologist Sibongile Sibanyoni says children between those ages are concerned about experimenting and exploring the different identities that will ultimately shape an integrated self. This developmental stage is marked by the initiation of identity development which, according to Sibanyoni, is a lifelong process. “From a cognitive-developmental perspective, minors at this age are able to think in a logical and abstract…

At the dawn of the Great October Socialist Russian Revolution, a towering giant of the South African liberation struggle, Cde Oliver Reginald Tambo was born on October 27, 1917. Youth leaders like Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Anton Lembede, Walter Sisulu, AP Mda and Congress Mbatha were concerned about giving new life and vigour to the movement. The founders of the Youth League never considered themselves as a splinter group, and neither were their critical concerns and outspokenness about the conservatism in the ANC motivated by vanity, corruption, anarchy, mindless careerism, factionalism and petty opportunism. They wanted to provide a reinforcing layer to the movement so that it could realise its full potential. They succeeded in transforming the ANC Youth League and the ANC from a narrow version of nationalism which…

THE Pro-democracy protests in eSwatini are demanding an end to the regime under King Mswati III, who has ruled the country formerly known as Swaziland since 1986. Reports on the ground suggest that the situation is reaching boiling point. Over the past few months, the Kingdom of eSwatini has experienced its worst bout of political violence in its post-colonial history. The unrest in the small southern African country, landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique, started in May when protesters took to the streets to denounce police brutality in the aftermath of the death of 25-year-old university student Thabani Nkomonye, widely believed to have been killed by traffic police officers. The unrest poses a major challenge to King Mswati III, who has shown no willingness to respond to the demands of…

Miami has one – so does Athens. Now Freetown has appointed Africa’s first chief heat officer, a mother on a mission to shield her city and her kids from the chaos of climate change. Eugenia Kargbo, 34, was appointed this week to combat rising temperatures and come up with everyday ways to cool the sweltering streets of the city and to help people step out without the fear of heatstroke. She joins Jane Gilbert and Eleni Myrivili, women appointed this year to do the same mammoth job for their cities.…

Clinton Moodley Dressed in casual wear, seaplane pilots are hands-on, calm and friendly. Once they start the engine, they slip off their sandals and steer the small plane barefoot, and on arrival at your destination, they usher passengers out of the flight and help with luggage. We chatted to deputy chief pilot Captain Mohamed Yasir Jauhary, 50, from Trans Maldivian Airways. What is a typical day in the life of a seaplane pilot? A typical day usually lasts from sunrise to sunset. You get busy days and easy days. On a busy day, you arrive at work at 5.30am for a 6am departure and end up doing four to five flights. Your duty period is 13 to 14 hours. Easy days are relaxing, where you do one flight of…

Wesley Diphoko wesley@fastcompany.co.za “We will continue to create a safe environment for and support all those who are focused on tackling these digital threats to democracy and making social media and Big Tech platforms more transparent and accountable. We will directly support efforts that enable a broad public debate about the disclosures and evidence Frances Haugen has brought to light,” stated Luminate in a blog, an organisation that is backing the Facebook whistle-blower, Frances Haugen. Luminate is a global philanthropic organisation with the goal of empowering people and institutions to work together to build just and fair societies. Luminate was founded by The Omidyar Group, established by philanthropists Pierre and Pam Omidyar. Pierre is the founder of eBay and a well-known tech billionaire who supports a number of similar…

ben bierman The contribution South African small businesses make to GDP has continued to increase by at least 12 percent year on year, since 2013. The consistent upward trajectory means the number of small businesses is increasing and some are expanding, albeit many are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent columns, we spoke about the importance of a business plan and planning for growth, but for many small businesses, growth is a daunting prospect, and for good reason. Business advisers often warn against expanding too soon, given the risks involved. Expanding too soon could lead to an overwhelming degree of complexity, exorbitant debt, cash flow issues and reduced profitability. Knowing when to expand does not come down to a formula – a large component of seizing opportunity at the…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za DA leader John Steenhuisen faces a challenge to his party’s control on municipalities such as the Midvaal and Tshwane in Gauteng. The ANC despatched President Cyril Ramaphosa and the EFF its leader, Julius Malema, to launch election campaigns in Cape Town this past week in their separate bids to wrest control from the DA. Ramaphosa also took his campaign trail to Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape to unseat the DA’s Nqaba Bhanga as mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The governing party also roped in party stalwarts and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe to assist it in its campaign bid to retain control of the City of Joburg and reclaim Tshwane. In these elections both Mbeki and Motlanthe are at the forefront of ANC’s…

Manyane Manyane manyane.manyane@inl.co.za Ekurhuleni is a Tsonga word for “a place of peace”. But for many of the informal settlement dwellers in the City of Ekurhuleni, peace remains an elusive dream. This week, the Sunday Independent visited the Shosholoza, Mandela and Mpilisweni informal settlements in the build-up to the local government elections. A common thread among these settlements is abject poverty and inhumane living conditions, including lack of proper sanitation, with residents forced to share chemical toilets, and poor electricity supply resulting in illegal connections. Shosholoza community leader Mbanjwa Lusawane said crime was rife in the area because there were no street lights and many people were unemployed. “I remember I was robbed by the thugs near these toilets,” said Lusawane, pointing at the mobile toilets standing behind the shacks.…

Don Makatile don.makatile@inl.co.za Two boys meet at film school with ideas of being the next Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee or Quentin Tarantino, and to make the greatest movies ever. Fast-forward to the present, both young men still dream big but they are not Hollywood directors. Instead they run a big broadcast production house, Vision View. There’s no doubt that Eddie Seane and Mafadi Mpuru are headed for the stars. Seane says: “I grew up playing cricket and the dream was to one day represent the Proteas, but upon realising that I would not make it at the highest level in cricket, I followed my childhood dream of making movies and live sports coverage.” “All my books as a youngster were always covered in pictures of sports heroes, and it was…

Lekgantshi Console Tleane One of the major weaknesses of post-structuralism as a school of thought and methodical frame is its rejection of dialectical thinking. The latter focuses on contradictions and sometimes even the antagonisms between phenomena. Dialectical thinking would therefore see phenomena for what it is, in its simplest representation. Post-structural scholars often endeavour to “excavate” more issues or use analytical approaches that may in effect obscure that which should be plain to see. In Black Womanism in South Africa: Princess Emma Sandile, the eminent scholar Janet Hodgson unearths data about the princess that could only be accomplished through painstaking archival study that traversed different collections locally and some in Britain. It also involved an examination of the ways of life of the people of the Eastern Cape and oral…

Chapter 3 of the Constitution of the Republic states that South Africa has three spheres of government: national, provincial and local governments. It continues to state that these spheres are “distinctive, interdependent and interrelated”. Sometimes this is misconstrued to mean that each sphere has to stand on its own. The reality is that South Africa is a unitary state and not a federal state. Therefore, while these three spheres operate at different levels, they need to work together. Chapter 7 of the Constitution focuses on the local government sphere, where municipalities belong. The objectives of local government include providing democratic and accountable government for local communities. It is also responsible for the provision of services to communities in a more sustainable manner so that they can develop and sustain themselves.…

Dan Lowry, Mario Krapp, and Nick Golledge RISING seas are making storm damage more costly, adding to the impact on about 700 million people who live in low-lying coastal areas at risk of flooding. Scientists expect sea-level rise will exacerbate the damage from storm surges and coastal floods during the coming decades. But predicting just how much and how fast the seas will rise this century is difficult, mainly because of uncertainties about how Antarctica’s ice sheet will behave. The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections of Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level rise show considerable overlap between low and high-emissions scenarios. But in our new research, we show the widespread collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is avoidable if we can keep global warming below the Paris target…

Clinton Moodley This summer, as travellers from the US, Europe, and other parts of the world book holidays to South Africa, many wonder if the industry will forget about its domestic travellers. Travel and tourism companies in South Africa waved attractive prices and experiences to entice domestic travellers to visit for the past year and a half. Will it remain the same during this summer period? Tshepo Matlou, head of marketing and communications at Jurni, said the South African travel sector should not neglect local travellers now that the international travellers were resuming travel to the country. “The pandemic has taught us to appreciate domestic travellers and the impact they have in making the travel industry successful. “We need to keep up the momentum and continue to showcase local…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za The local poultry industry, both producers and importers await, with bated breath for the government’s progress report on the Poultry Master Plan. The report will give clarity on a range of issues in the industry which has seen consumers pushed to the edge with spiralling costs of South Africa’s most popular protein source. Local producers have made a fresh application to the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) for a new tariff structure to control anti-dumping practices by Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and Spain, a move local producers were unhappy with, citing a consequent increase in poultry prices, if import tariffs are effected. The last tariffs implemented in March last year levied rates for Most Favoured Nations (MFN) from 37 percent to 62 percent for bone-in cuts…

Unprotected: A Memoir by Billy Porter (R478 on Loot.co.za) Billy Porter was already a respected Broadway star before his groundbreaking role in Pose. This Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winner’s autobiography is a powerful and revealing story about race, sexuality, and how it’s easy to be yourself when who and what you are is on trend. But growing up black and gay in America has never been easy. He goes deep into his traumatic childhood and how he managed to use all that to build his career and sustain him to be the star he is today. Umkhokha (Sundays at 8pm, Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) Umkhokha is a story about two families at war with each other after the death of the patriarch. The series revolves around the biggest…

WE have evidently come to a point where a T-shirt has become a sine qua non for any political leader or party to embark on any activity or campaign. It’s as if we have reached the level of mental bankruptcy, the nadir of our imagination, creativity and innovation. The vexing issue has, for some time, kept me awake at night. It was therefore expected that the election season was going to catalyse the agony as this textile piece was bound to impose its “relevance” in the political scene. When EFF leader Julius Malema, in his recent campaigns, ridiculed the ANC T-shirts and warned communities against choosing T-shirts over more pressing issues affecting their lives or futures, I took him seriously. I didn’t find his remarks amusing because they touched the…

Manyane Manyane, Mervyn Naidoo and Nathan Craig By last night there had been no demands for ransom for the Moti siblings, Zidan, 6, Zayyad, 11, Alaan, 13, and Zia, 15, who were abducted, allegedly, by seven men, armed with R5 rifles and dressed in white overalls. The boys, children of Polokwane business mogul Nazim Moti and his wife Shakira, were snatched while they were en route to their private school - Curro Heuwelkruin. The suspects allegedly fled with the children in two vehicles towards the N1 North, while the family driver was left at the scene, unharmed. An investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that the intention of the kidnappers might have been to secure a hefty ransom, but was unable to furnish further details, in case, his…

From Page 1 The ANC leadership must be extremely worried about these incidents, said Sankarist and law academic David Letsoalo. “They might not say it openly, but it should be a very serious point of concern … The hard fact that they cannot shy away from is that the ANC government at various levels has messed up terribly, and thereby let many people down,” Lestsoalo said. “The ‘stratagem’ of the public pledge in terms of which the councillor candidates are enjoined to serve the people with integrity and not to steal from the public purse is a big act of acknowledgement of this mess. “Unprecedented as it is, I honestly don’t think it’s necessary, to the extent that it is an optic mechanism to lull the voters and hoodwink them…

Amanda Maliba amanda.maliba@inl.co.za Award-winning singer Donald, known for his sultry and passionate love songs, has challenged himself by jumping onto the Amapiano genre with his latest album Dreams that officially dropped, on Friday. The 10-track album, heavily influenced by the new-age sound, is a mash of his own signature sound on the yanos, which he says almost creates a new sound entirely. Although the star says the project was more about having fun and celebrating where he is in life, it doesn’t take away from his modus operandi of how he has always made his music – by looking inward for inspiration. He features a handful of Amapiano artists like Lady Du, Boohle, Robot Boii, and international singer-actor Jussie Smollett who is known popularly for his role in the American…

Amanda Maliba amanda.maliba@inl.co.za DAISY Moleko is among the very few women in South Africa who are in the commercial rabbit farming sector. Moleko, who hails from Vaal, ventured into this type of farming by chance after her doctor suggested that she eat white meat only, and upon research, she opted for rabbit instead. Moleko is the founder of MPBizRabbits farming, which also has a butchery, pop-up store, restaurant and distribution arm. The farming venture came as a result of recognising the added benefits of farmed rabbits. “Rabbit meat was a better option for me healthwise because that meat never gets injected (with additives) and is pure and therefore gives you all the nutrients needed,” she said. After years of eating farmed rabbit meat, Moleko took the plunge into starting her…

“It is a sad day for me as I stand here to pay tribute to a true revolutionary soldier of MK and a dear brother to me. I am humbled and privileged by the request to address you today; however, I must admit I always imagined I would deliver a speech at Mzondeleli’s retirement, not at his funeral. Today we are gathered here to pay tribute to an unsung hero, a fallen soldier. Where does one begin? Being neither a poet or great writer, mine is to borrow from our own hero, a giant of his time Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who gave this fitting tribute at the funeral of our beloved father, OR Tambo: “A great giant who strode the globe like a colossus has fallen. “A mind whose thoughts…

For nine days this year, from July 9 to 18 to be precise, South Africa experienced unprecedented unrest in its 27-year-old democratic order. It had been triggered by its former president Jacob Zuma’s 15-month incarceration. Calling for his immediate release from Estcourt prison, hordes of people in KwaZulu-Natal went on a rampage: burning, looting, and destroying malls, warehouses, and other critical economic assets. Zuma had defied an order by the Constitutional Court (CC) to appear before a commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption and state capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, and answer questions put to him. Be it direct or indirect, nearly every witness had implicated him in them. The unrest, whose economic costs ran into billions of rands, had spread to some parts of Gauteng…

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity, and government intervention is needed urgently. In 1992 at the original Rio de Janeiro sustainability conference, world leaders gathered to recognise the climate catastrophe that faces us. The most irresponsible was former US president George Bush, when he declared: “The American way of life is not up for negotiations.” When his son George W Bush – an oil man – took over from 2001 to 2009, there was even worse American arrogance. But back in Rio, nearly all the leaders gathered then acted like the Yankees, ignoring the fact that, unless they addressed greenhouse gas emissions causing rising temperatures, droughts, wildfires, worse floods and other extreme weather events – like the Durban Rain Bomb of 2019 that killed 71 mainly…

After almost nine years of brutal conflict, Mali’s rulers are set to pursue talks with jihadists, ignoring fierce opposition from former colonial power France. Since first emerging in the north in 2012, the Islamist insurgency has swept into central Mali and spilled over into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. Insecurity remains rampant and violence appears to be spreading, despite the presence of French and UN troops. Engaging the Islamists in dialogue to try to stop the fighting is an increasingly accepted idea in the nation of 19 million people, experts say. Paris has long viewed talks with jihadist groups as anathema. France has lost 52 soldiers in combat in the Sahel since first intervening in Mali in 2013. Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a Sahel researcher at the International Crisis Group said…

Shannon Ebrahim shannon.ebrahim@inl.co.za One can often measure the greatness of a man by how willing he is to acknowledge his mistakes and express remorse for them. It is a personality trait that is hard to come by in politicians and seldom, if ever, in four-star generals. That is what contributed to Colin Powell being a great leader and human being. He did not have the hubris that would ordinarily have come with the impressive line of high-profile positions that he held in the corridors of power. He never forgot where he came from, he never overestimated himself, and he strove to live by his principles. The challenge for him was that his principles were often in conflict with the role his country was playing in the world, and it became…

Clinton Moodley clinton.moodley@inl.co.za The UK is one of the most popular destinations for local travellers, with travel demand from South Africa to this European destination at an all-time high. The demand started when the UK removed South Africa and 46 other destinations from its red list on October 11. According to Flight Centre Travel Group MD Andrew Stark, the UK is now one of the most booked international destinations for South Africans. “We have been inundated with enquiries for travel to the UK since South Africa’s removal from the country’s red list. There’s been a massive spike in enquiries and bookings across our retail travel booking channels and brands,” he said. Sue Garrett, general manager of supply, pricing and marketing at Flight Centre, said the majority of air tickets booked…