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NEWS
Nigeria welcomes SU Green light for cannabis farm
SEBASTIAN UYS
F
ive members of the 2018/2019 Students Representative Council (SRC) of Stellenbosch University (SU), alongside official university staff, visited the University of Lagos from 14 to 18 October. The University of Lagos hosted its first International Week which was themed, “Education in a Connected World”. The week’s focus was academic but also sought to address the requirements of effectively educating students in the 21st century. The SRC engaged with the governor of Lagos, met the Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian State Assembly and connected with students from local schools. Carli van Wyk, 2018/2019 SRC Chairperson, said, “Visiting Lagos has been an eye-opening experience.” “After the xenophobic attacks in SA, I was unsure of how we will be received in Nigeria. Against all odds, the University of Lagos, the King of Lagos, statesmen and locals have received us with open hearts and invited us to visit again,” Van Wyk said. Following the September xenophobic attacks in South Africa, of which many were directed at Nigerian-owned businesses, SU was the only South African university to attend the event. “South Africa and Nigeria need to take their roles as leaders of the African continent seriously and place reconciliation and the needs of the African continent first, in order for all African people
CHRISTOPHER JOUBERT
LEADERS IN NIGERIA The 2018/2019 SRC with the vice-chancellor of University of Lagos, Professor Toyin Ogundipe, and Dr Nico Elema, Manager of the Centre for Collaboration in Africa at SU. Photo: Supplied to prosper and move forward,” Van Wyk added. Alex van Greuning, vice-chairperson of the 2018/2019 SRC said that “visiting Nigeria has reminded me of the resilience of the African spirit”. “The amount of goodwill here towards South Africans despite the xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg and Pretoria has been truly humbling. The commitment to relationship and unity in Nigeria has convicted me as a South African to pursue those values to the same extent,” Van Greuning said. A three day state visit between the Presidencies of Nigeria and South Africa was also held at the beginning of October. President Cyril Ramaphosa took to Twitter to emphasise Nigeria and South Africa’s role as driving forces in the integration of African nations and President Muhammad U Buhari of Nigeria declared that, “As the two largest economies in Afri-
ca, there are many areas in which Nigeria and South Africa can share experiences, invest and cooperate. Ours is a relationship full of potential and promise and this can only be a win-win for our peoples and for Africa at large.” According to Paulu Joubert, the 2018/2019 Prim Committee Chairperson, the future relationship between these two nations will have to be one that is founded upon respect. “There are a lot of similarities between South Africa and Nigeria and engaging with the student leadership here has shown me the unity within the struggles that we as African nations face,” Joubert said. Joubert added the visit showed him that “African nations can only flourish if we work together”. “Only if we stand together as Africa can we undo the injustices of the past and and set our own standards,” Joubert said.
S T E L L E N B O S C H -based strawberry farm, Polkadraai, has become the first to legally grow marijuana in the Western Cape. The cannabis company, Felbridge, was issued a licence by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority following a two-year application process that began in October 2017. The success of the application required a thorough police clearance, information on the company, Felbridge, and an established deal with foreign buyers for the produce. Felbridge is predominantly owned by the Zetler family, also owners of Polkadraai. According to the company’s website, “Felbridge is committed to improving society via the proven medical benefits of cannabis in our everyday lives”. The cost of an approved marijuana farm has been estimated to be between 3 and 5 million rand. Recent policies regarding marijuana, such as the removal of Cannabidiol (CBD) from the list of highly controlled drugs and the decriminalisation of the personal use of marijuana by the Constitutional Court have changed the face of the dagga industry in South Africa during the last few years. In an interview with CapeTalk, Leslie Zetler discussed some of the aspects of the licence process and approval. The investment to
diversify the strawberry farm has been costly and the family has invested “quite a bit” Zetler said. The licence permits Felbridge to use 14 000 square metres of the strawberry farm to grow marijuana. Tests will be run on 150 square metres of the farm before the development of 5,000 square metres of dagga production proceeds. In his interview with CapeTalk, Zetler said that this will only happen once Felbridge is “satisfied with the produce”. According to Zetler the licence permits Felbridge to produce twenty tonnes of dried marijuana per year. Zetler says “yields are forecasted to happen between four to five times a year” and “the farm has possible future plans to increase production by extending the greenhouse”. While the strawberry farm and pickings will remain, visitors will be picking strawberries on the same premises as the Western Cape’s first legal dagga farm. Zetler says the dagga grown on the farm will be on an “isolated patch which is more secure”. According to Helena Wasserman, financial journalist from Fin24, the industry may be a lucrative investment in the future. “The South African domestic market for cannabis and related products, excluding consumer CBD products, will be worth around R27bn by 2023,” Wasserman said.
#ImStaying: gaan jy gly of bly? #ImStaying is ’n Facebook-groep, waar Suid-Afrikaners redes gee waarom hulle nie sal wil emigreer nie. Jean-Marie Uys het met mede-Maties gaan gesels oor hoekom hulle sal kies om te bly.
Pierre-Louis Bredenkamp, tweedejaar BCom (Entrepreneurskap en Innovasiebestuur)
Tehillah Truter, eerstejaar LLB
Janca Fourie, eerstejaar BA (Drama en Teater Studie)
Jean-Paul Kulumba, first year BEng (Electronic)
Lebone Moiloa, first year BA (International Relations)
EK sal net so graag soos die volgende mens wil reis, maar ek sal nie my tuisland wil verlaat nie. Net omdat daar ’n uitdaging is, beteken nie dat ons nou moet vlug nie. Ons moet juis gebruik maak van hierdie uitdagings wat ons vandag in die gesig staar om te verbeter. Hoe het ontwikkelde lande hul status bereik in die eerste plek? Wat werklik die verskil maak, is die manier waarop jy kies om te reageer, en dit bepaal wie jy as landsburger en individu is.
EK sal in Suid-Afrika bly, omdat ek baie lief vir my familie is en hulle nie sal wil agterlaat en in die vreemde ’n lewe sonder hulle sal wil skep nie. Ek is ook hier grootgemaak en voel dat dit vir my moeilik sal wees om so iets aan te pak sonder om huis toe te verlang. Ek dink ook dat die land ’n besonderse skoonheid het met vele variasies in ekosisteme. Ek sal ook my kursus in ag moet neem – omdat regte nie ’n internasionale graad is nie.
EEN van die redes waarom ek in Suid-Afrika sal wil bly, is omdat dit so divers is en vir mens spasie gee vir die uiting van identiteit. Ek dink ons land omarm individualisme en die ryk historiese agtergrond van elke mens beklemtoon dit. Ek hou ook nie van die idee om te trek en daar by heel nuwe kulture te probeer aanpas nie. Terwyl ek oorsee was vir ’n paar weke, het ek begin verlang na die reuk van braaibroodjies en Suid-Afrikaanse stemme.
I moved here from Uganda and chose to study. In my opinion, the South African environment has, compared to the rest of Africa, a greater forward-thinking and developmental mentality. I also value the vast diversity in South Africa, making it more advantaged in the sense that more opinions from different backgrounds are available, essentially cultivating broader mindsets. The diversity also allows room for accommodation for different backgrounds.
THIS is my home. I don’t see the point in leaving, because previous generations fought hard for the freedom. By leaving you are spitting in the face of previous generations and all the battles that they had to fight. You are disregarding your heritage and cultural norms by adapting to a foreign country. I believe our differences are what brings us together, and you will not find our sense of community across racial and cultural boundaries in any other country.
