Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-05-15 i Sunday Independent

“This coming Tuesday, Apple invites you to the unveiling of a breakthrough digital device (hint: it’s not a Mac)”. Those were the words written on the invitation to the Apple iPod launch on October 23, 2001. More than two decades later, on Tuesday May 10 this year, Apple announced the end of production for the Apple iPod. The device had proved to be a real breakthrough digital device not just for (1) Apple but for (2) the music and (3) the technology world. Apple For the 25 years since Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had founded Apple, the personal computer had been the centrepiece of the digital revolution. Now experts were predicting that its central role was ending. Aveteran tech journalist wrote that “it matured into something boring”. It…

THE WORKPLACE of the future looks very different to what it did a mere two years ago. The pandemic was one of a myriad of external forces that compelled business owners to change their stance on leadership in order to survive within an entirely new set of circumstances. The “next normal” is here and is calling on business owners (big and small) to take a more human-centric approach to management. Here are three of the strategies that managers can use to build effective, future-proof workforces. Make mental health a priority Mental health issues have always brimmed under the surface of the contemporary workplace. Over time, they were siloed into their own categories of illness, with human resources (HR) practitioners finding ways to grant concessions to people living with mental illnesses,…

Rice can be considered a staple food in Africa because the majority of people on the continent eat this grain in a variety of different ways. It is filling, versatile, and delicious if cooked well. With Africa Month in full swing, we take a look at some of the popular rice dishes around Africa. Thieboudienne The national dish of West African state Senegal, thieboudienne is an aromatic combination of fish, vegetables, and rice in a hearty tomato sauce flavoured with garlic and chilli. According to the African Food Network, the origin of thieboudienne is fascinating but not clear cut as the recipe was handed down via oral tradition. The food site reveals that according to one story, this dish was accidentally created by a cook at the colonial governor’s residence;…

I recently watched Indemnity, a local action film that certainly puts you on the edge of your seat. The acting in the film is gripping and the actors embody the characters so well that it becomes easy to buy into them. Indemnity tells the story of an ex-fireman suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who, unable to return to work, turns to alcohol. Theo Abrahams portrayed by Jarrid Geduld in the movie deals with a series of unprecedented events that force him to fight for survival. Theo’s world is rocked when his journalist wife Angela (Nicole Fortuin) is murdered – and he becomes the prime suspect. He soon finds himself on the run from the police for a murder he didn’t commit, or so he thinks. Connections are…

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has warned South Africans they may have to live with rolling blackouts for an undetermined period as the utility struggles to repair power stations supplying electricity to the national grid. The country has been contending with the power cuts, euphemistically known as load shedding, for about 14 years. Since the beginning of this year, Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape has been limping along with only one of its two units in operation, while the other undergoes long-term maintenance and routine refuelling. Last week, De Ruyter announced the implementation of stage 2 load shedding, citing issues at Lethabo power station, while two others, Kusile and Tutuka, returned to service. Chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer said the state-owned entity was still struggling,…

Songstress Nomfundo Ngcobo, popularly known as Nomfundo Moh, was overwhelmed when she was presented with a double platinum plaque shortly after graduating with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) yesterday. Her latest hit, Soft Life, was symbolically played as she walked across the stage and danced in celebration. The moment was made all the more special, with members of the audience also singing the lyrics in unison and cheering her on. Ngcobo’s management team had arranged the special surprise of awarding her the double platinum plaque for her hit song, Phakade Lami, which has over 9.5 million views on YouTube and over 3 million streams on Spotify. Ngcobo is also Apple Music’s Africa Rising emerging artist. Ngcobo said she was super surprised that her…

The theme of Mawela’s portraits centres around the intimate moments he has shared with his subjects in their private spaces, mostly in their homes PHOTOJOURNALIST Jacob Mawela launched the second leg of his Names In Uphill Letters - Solo Photographic Exhibition at the Pretoria Art Museum last Saturday, where it will run until June 5. The first leg was at the Benoni Museum late last year. After Pretoria, the exhibition, featuring just over 100 photographs, will move to the City of Johannesburg. Mawela, who honed his lens skills under the late iconic The Star photographer, Ken Oosterbroek, boasts an oeuvre that spans around three decades. The theme of the portraits centres around the intimate moments he has shared with his subjects in their private spaces, mostly, their homes. A former…

Why should we be shocked by the insensitive forays of apartheid beneficiaries to display the apartheid flag in this rainbow nation ‘led’ by an erstwhile liberation movement, ANC? We have allowed them ‘gore ba re telele’ On May 10, 1994, on his inauguration as the first president of post-1994 South Africa, Nelson Mandela spoke passionately and optimistically of the birth of a new society. Recognising the brutality of apartheid, he still managed to say: “Out of the experience of and extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud”. He referred to the apartheid South Africa as “the universal base of the pernicious ideology and practice of racism and racial oppression”, which had, essentially, become the skunk of the world.…

“I’m personally very nervous about this process. I’m scared of being victimised, ” Paul Adams told the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings last year. “I’ve been holding these things inside for a very long time. This is the first time I'm going public with what I’ve experienced as a player and a coach.” In the last few weeks it's become very easy to dismiss the SJN process entirely because of the legal findings made in favour of Graeme Smith and Cricket South Africa’s decision to withdraw charges against Mark Boucher. In doing so critics have sought to undermine all of the SJN, including the brutally honest and painful testimonies of many players, including Adams, Aaron Phangiso and Ashwell Prince. That is wrong in the extreme. The SJN wasn’t…

Restrictions are being eased in countries around the world, making it easier to travel and explore. North America is considered a popular destination for tourists globally. Not only do the three countries on the continent offer something different for travellers, but they are all rich in history, culture, and gastronomy. Vancouver There is no doubt that Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, and its natural beauty is a big reason tourists flock to the coastal city. Set on the shores of the Pacific Ocean between snow-capped mountains, Vancouver is the perfect city to experience seasons at their best. In summer, beaches are packed with sunbathers, while winter sees skiers from all around the world flocking to the city’s famous ski resorts. Vancouver also has some of…

As urban traffic gets busier and difficult, entrepreneurs are looking to a future where commuters can just hop into "air taxis" to whisk them over clogged roads. Companies such as Archer, Joby and Wisk are working on electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically like helicopters then propel forward like planes. “The Jetsons' is definitely a reference that people make a lot when trying to contextualise what we are doing,” Archer Vice President Louise Bristow told AFP, referring to a 1960s animated comedy about a family living in a high-tech future. "The easiest way to think about it is a flying car, but that's not what we're doing." What Archer envisions is an age of aerial ride-sharing, an "Uber or Lyft of the skies," Bristow said. Battered by slow…

South Africa is a country that displays deep contradictions. It is one of the top destinations for crime, for gender-based violence and murder. Daily we witness road rage incidents, which often lead to injury and death. Not to mention the special case of taxis against obviously the rest, yet even there, the trash collectors are spared universal wrath. Somehow South Africans display an unexplainable peaceful coexistence with trash collectors on the roads amid the mayhem. Should this give us hope? In 2015, before he left office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left us with a legacy of addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Among these was the goal on environment and a subset of this was the subject of my article, in particular as it relates to South Africa and trash…

TV shows that tap into cult-inspired scenarios heighten curiosity. We’ve seen it with the offerings like Unorthodox, Big Love, The Path, Orphan Black, The Following and The Leftovers. As such, I was drawn to Welcome to Eden, which gave me Squid Game vibes. But instead of the carefully selected recruits being manipulated by debt-ridden circumstances, the eight-part dystopic thriller picks the chosen ones from a batch of 100 beautiful young adults who appear jaded by life. This makes them attractive candidates for the island. The recruitment process starts on social media, where profiles are waded through and potentials are flagged. This is then followed up by a text from an undisclosed sender, asking individuals a simple question: “Are you happy?” Intrigued, those who engage in the communication believe it to…

AWARD-winning fashion designer David Tlale has a career spanning close to two decades. He has become renowned for creations that showcase his talent and his passion for South African innovations. The Vosloorus-born designer launched his label in 2003 after winning the Elle New Talent at SA Fashion Week. Since then he has gone on to become one of South Africa’s top designers with an imprint across Africa and the top fashion cities across the world. Tlale has showcased in New York, Paris and London and has a list of accolades that leave you in awe, fashion fundi or not. He is recognised globally for his out-of-the-box, haute couture designs. The fashion powerhouse has built himself a strong brand that has made himself a household name among South Africans. In doing…

Period dramas have become the preferred genre of viewers, especially with the proliferation of content on streaming platforms. Downton Abbey definitely helped with heightening the appeal of such offerings. As did Outlander, Dickinson and, more recently, The Gilded Age. And, of course, Shonda Rhimes took it a step further with her deliciously scandalous tales of the Regency era in Bridgerton. The latest season attracted plenty of eyeballs with the casting of Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran as sisters Kate and Edwina Sharma, respectively. Rather than pander to the prejudiced mindset of the times, Rhimes, along with creator and executive producer Chris Van Dusen, flipped the script and had some fun with the non-discriminatory casting. In one of his interviews, Dusen made it clear that they went to great lengths to…

Tongues started wagging this week following the death of Brigadier Philani Ndlovu, who was one of the first senior police officers to visit the scene where late Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates captain, Senzo Meyiwa was shot and killed. There is speculation about how Ndlovu died and it is alleged he had been poisoned, while others say he had been seriously ill for weeks prior to his death. If Ndlovu was poisoned, he wouldn’t be the first person linked to the Meyiwa case to die from poisoning. Thabang Makeleni, one of the witnesses who told the police that he saw people running away from the Khumalo house on the night Mewiya was killed, allegedly died from poisoning on January 23, 2019, just three months after the suspects in the Meyiwa…

This time it is the Gautrain. Last time – March 2021 – it was eNCA reporter Lindsay Dentlinger, who claimed to not be racist after we had witnessed her act in a patently racist manner when she insisted that black politicians don their masks while she was fine with white politicians speaking to her without their masks donned. But, I digress. Back to our racist pics in our beloved elite train, the Gautrain. The type of apparently inadvertent racism, bluntly displayed on the Gautrain, which has made life easier for the middle class, much as it has created thousands of jobs, to its credit. The operators, management, marketing and advertising teams of the high-speed train should be called out on the undesirable racism expressed – whether inadvertently, by design or…

IT is Orlando Pirates who will have the easier job on their cards as they prepare to host Al Ahli Tripoli in a CAF Confederation Cup semi-final second leg clash at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto tonight. The Sea Robbers put one foot in the final last weekend after outplaying Al Ahli and beating them 2-0 in Benghazi. Given that away goals still count in African football, this complicates Al Ahli’s job even further. They have to win by at least two goals. Despite the fact that his side are clearly in the driving seat ahead of the second leg, Orlando Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi is refusing to underestimate the Libyans. “It is only the halfway point. They can come to South Africa and beat us. We will treat the…

Saudi Arabia aims to exceed 70 million tourist visits this year after drawing 62 million last year, a tourism official said on Monday, underlining the conservative kingdom’s concerted push to boost its travel industry. Saudi Arabia is a major religious destination, with millions visiting Islam’s two holy cities of Mecca and Medina annually to perform the hajj and umrah pilgrimages. The kingdom has in recent years started to promote leisure travel as part of a strategy aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil, spearheaded by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Visits were up 130% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the last quarter of 2019, Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the industry event, Arabian…

Cape Town – Spot is a “brave little dog” that goes into terrain that is often unsafe for people and could even change how rescue operations are performed on mines. “It’s a brave little dog … It’s a little dog that could,” Dwyka Mining Services CEO Jamie van Schoor said on Wednesday. Van Schoor said the digital workforce was not competing with labour, but was complementing labour. Spot would be able to operate and “live” on mines in his kennel on his docking station, charging while offloading data. “He sits on a docking station, charging and ready to deploy at the click of a button,” Van Schoor said. Sharing his new best friend with the media on Wednesday, while walking in the streets of Cape Town to test his capabilities,…

THE SHORTAGE of nurses in South Africa shows no sign of being resolved and remained a problem, according to Samukeliso Dube, the general manager for medical advisory and health policy at the AfroCentric Group. Nurses were vital frontline workers fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and continuously working long hours without a break to provide care to patients, said Dube. In a statement to honour International Nurses Day, celebrated on May 12, Dube said almost half of the nursing workforce in South Africa was set to retire in the next 15 years. “This suggests existing shortages of nurses will become even greater unless we take concrete steps to boost nurse training and retention. This shortage of nurses shows no sign of being resolved and remains a problem that highlights just how valuable…

Rick Riordan, author of the popular Percy Jackson young adult novels, has defended the casting of a young Black actress in the role of Annabeth Chase, a character initially written as White, in an upcoming Disney Plus television adaptation of the fantasy series. The actress, Leah Jeffries, has faced ridicule online since last week’s casting announcement for the Greek mythology-inspired show, which follows a demigod named Percy Jackson and his two best friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. In response to the comments, Jeffries filmed a video – later shared on Twitter – in which she said: “Stop doing that. I know you think that it’s going to hurt me, though. It’s not. You’re just wasting time. I’m still confident in myself.” While noting the response to Jeffrie’s casting had…

Fashion is a beautiful form of art that includes everyone. Even the ones who claim to not like it are still a big part of it because of the clothes they wear. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that African fashion is gaining momentum. Designers within the continent are working tirelessly to produce exceptional garments that can compete on an international level. African designers are steadily winning important design awards, which gives them access to an audience that may not have known about them and their expertise. We often see international stars like Rihanna, Kylie Jenner, Naomi Campbell, Ncuti Gatwa, Lizzo and many others support African designers by wearing their garments. But are African designer garments easily accessible to potential customers? It’s a question that is quite difficult to answer.…

As far back as in 1961, Frantz Fanon, in a book, The Wretched of the Earth, sounded a warning that a post-colonial nation that fails to develop a culture of independently generating its own form of income risks being continuously under the shackles of the “former” oppressor. In 2022, almost 30 years into the new South Africa, the B-BBEE Commission reports that half the companies listed on the JSE still have less than 25% black ownership. Only 2% of the 50% JSE companies are 100% black-owned. In 2021 only 21.9% of businesses were owned by women versus 21.1% in 2020. Women and youth-owned businesses provide a critical benchmark to assess the progress of transformation in a country’s economy. According to the 2014-2015 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, South African youth…

A CIVIL society organisation has called on the Department of Social Development to ensure that the new arrangements for the payments of the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant do not come at a cost to the recipients, directly or indirectly. Black Sash said it wanted answers as to how the move from the South African Post Office (Sapo) to private retail companies affected the SA Social Security Agency’s (Sassa) Memorandum of Agreement and Service Level Agreements with the government-owned postal service entity. Black Sash national advocacy manager Hoodah Abrahams-Fayker was reacting to the announcement this week that the cash paypoints and Sapo outlets from which millions of Sassa beneficiaries usually accessed their grants would no longer be available from May 11. Abrahams-Fayker said they also wanted transparency…

Children who are victims of gun violence suffer years of trauma that take longer to heal than their bullet wounds. At least 83 children have been treated for gunshot wounds in Cape Town over the past two years and, while their physical wounds may heal over time, the psychological scars remain. Gun violence has flared up in Cape Town among gangsters over the last few months, leaving multiple people dead. Children have also been caught in the crossfire and hit by stray bullets. Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital said at least 12 children have been treated for bullet wounds this year alone. And while these children have returned home, experts say psycho- social, trauma-related symptoms such as bedwetting, nightmares and regular flashbacks stay with the victims long after their…

The death of Gomora actor Siyabonga Zubane has highlighted the shortcomings of the entertainment industry and the issue of mental health, not only in the country but across the globe. The 23-year-old actor is the latest entertainer to take his own life. Zubane, who played Sdumo on Mzansi Magic’s popular series Gomora, died last Saturday at his home in Soweto, sending shockwaves across the country. This is the third suicide in the entrainment industry this year, following that of actor Patrick Shai and hip hop star Riky Rick. According to the World Health Organization, globally suicide rates in men are just over twice as high as for women and suicide accounted for an estimated 800 000 deaths worldwide every year. Clinical Psychologist and researcher Anele Siswana says that people commit…

The financial sector, including less than half of South Africa’s banks, have missed key transformation targets including empowerment finance and loans to small black businesses, slowing the progress towards an inclusive economy. This is according to the Financial Sector Transformation Council’s (FSTC’s) amalgamated state of transformation report on the financial industry for the period 2018-2020, which was released this week. FSTC chairperson Solly Mapaila was scathing in his assessment of the report’s findings. “Government has failed to ensure the transformation of this critical sector so that it can benefit the majority of the population,” said Mapaila. He said the ownership of every industry was increasingly falling into the hands of big financial institutions and that government was being bullied by them and was unable to assert any authority over the…

New research by Superdry has revealed the countries which are best for adventure travel, with Croatia, Israel and Hong Kong emerging as the top three destinations perfect for adrenaline junkies. An ‘Outdoor Adventure’ score was then formulated to reveal the best destinations for those looking for an activity-filled break. Instagram hashtags were analysed for each destination to reveal the countries in which the camping set-ups were shared most on social media. South Africa made it 6th on the world’s camping hot spots list. Top 5: Australia Thailand UK Malaysia France The world’s adventure travel hot spots European country Croatia topped the list as the world’s capital for adventure travel. Scoring 81.4 out of 100 overall, Croatia boasts beautiful coastlines and national parks, as well as opportunities to get involved in…