Hadeda News - 07 April 2023

JasmineAmy Botha started at Pikkies, went through Fanie Malan, Op Die Voorpos and finally Hoerskool Upington ending up in the top five matirculants in 2019. Speaking to Hadeda News Live she said her passion for the arts led to follow her dream and specialise in film and cinematography, the degree which she just earned at UCTCape Town. With two recommendations from heads of department for the high standard of work she delivered, she was entered into the honours programme this year and will follow that with her masters in 2024.

‘n goeie boom dra goeie

Mon-Fri

Skryf aksietonele wat boei!

Wenke van Welbekende Gepubliseerde Skrywer - Annerle Barnard

Indien daar omstanders is, mag dit van waarde wees om hulle reaksie op die geveg te wys, selfs al is dit net ‘n nabytoneel (die trek van iemand se mond, of ‘n gil).

Wat is die nagevolge?

Die wêreld moet darem ‘n bietjie verander het teen die tyd dat die stof gaan lê. Selfs ‘n positiewe uitkoms gaan nie sonder pyn en verlies wees nie. Dink aan enigiets wat jou storie vorentoe kan dryf.

Krok.

As hy nie sy gat roer nie, is dit tickets met hulle al drie.

Die boomstomp gly geluidloos nader Agter hom, nog een. Sindikaat, bl. 247

Styl?

Gebruik kort frases. (Langer sinne verbreek die spanning.)

Gebruik kort, maklike woorde.

Die beroemde skrywer, Lee Child, het gesê: “You should write the fast stuff slow and the slow stuff fast.” Dis iets wat ek veral toepas wanneer ek aksietonele skryf.

Hoe skryf jy aksietonele wat lesers boei?

Indien jy nie ‘n mediese persoon ken vir wie jy oor die gevolge van vuishoue en koeëls kan vra en ook nie ‘n Oosterse gevegsmeester ken nie, daar is hulp op Pinterest. Daar is egter ‘n paar tegnieke wat jy in jou agterkop moet hou tydens die skryf van aksietonele.

Wat is op die spel?

Vir elke toneel wat jy skryf, moet daar ‘n doelwit, motivering en konflik wees. Jou aksietoneel moet dus ook gemotiveerd wees. Waarom het die geveg ontstaan en hoekom is dit onvermydelik?

Gebruik al jou sintuie

Jou karakters kan soveel meer doen as om bloot net te sien. Dink aan die reuk van sand, of petrol; hoe iemand se knieë op die teer brand; die metaalagtige smaak van bloed ens.

Emosie?

Watter emosies beleef jou karakters gedurende die verloop van die geveg? Daar is ‘n groot verskeidenheid waarvan jy gebruik kan maak.

Afwagting maak dikwels meer impak as ‘n vuishou.

Dink aan ‘n film waarin die karakters probeer keer dat ‘n bom ontplof. Daardie afwagting speel met die kyker se emosies. So ook enige ander aksietonele.

Die baie bekende draaiboekskrywer, filmregisseur en -vervaardigerAlfred Hitchcock het gesê: “There is no terror in die bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

Die reaksie van ander karakters

Gebruik aksietonele om jou karakters te ontwikkel. Dit moet meer as slegs skop, skiet en doodslaan wees. Voor watter keuses kom jou karakter te staan?

Laat jou karakters wapens gebruik wat by hulle persoonlikhede pas.

Gebruik ook die aksietonele om iets van jou karakters se persoonlikhede te openbaar. Veg een van hulle vuil? Oordink hulle ‘n handeling of stormram hulle die opponent?

Bevraagteken jou karakters se motiewe en morele waardes via aksietonele, of laat hulle hul eie waardes en motiewe bevraagteken.

Paul Rudman bevraagteken homself voortdurend en dis juis hulle onderonsie met Johnny de Sousa in Sindikaat wat Paul se ewewig tot die uiterste beproef.

Selfs al skryf jy die vinnige gebeure stadig, moenie die toneel uitrek net omdat jy kan nie. Maak seker elke sin dra by tot die toneel.

Maak van aksiebelaaide werkwoorde gebruik, eerder as passiewe werkwoorde, byvoorbeeld “staan”.

Gebruik grafiese, konkrete selfstandige- en byvoeglike naamwoorde. ‘n Sin soos “ hy druk die koue loop teen sy kop,” maak meer impak as “hy dreig hom met ‘n pistool”.

Paul se longe skree, sy oë wil uitpop, sy nekare bult. Sindikaat, bl. 246

Nabytonele

Gebruik twee of drie nabytonele (close-ups) wat iets anders tydens die geveg verteenwoordig, byvoorbeeld oë wat rek van vrees, die smaak van sandkorrels, die weerkaatsing van ‘n loop, ens.

Skryf aksietonele wat boei!

Aksietonele wat lesers boei, gaan oor meer as bloot net ‘n geveg. Dis meer as net swaarde, messe en gewere. Dit moet ‘n aspek van jou karakters wys wat hulle andersins nie soou openbaar nie en wat hulle dwing om dieper te delf as wat hulle gedink het moontlik is ten einde die risiko verhoog soos wat min ander scenario’s kan. Lekker skryf!!

Mariska0825728366

Christelle 0636968287

Ancois0782764011

Elretha0835616705

15 ml olie

2 uie, gekap

2 knoffelhuisies, fyn gedruk

2 cm vars gemmer, gerasper

2 kaneelstokke

3 ml pimento

10 ml borrie

15 ml masala

5 ml komyn (jeera)

5 ml koljander

1 kg maalvleis

1 blik (410 g) gekapte tamaties

15 ml tamatiepasta

375 ml water

Roosmarynkluitjies

¦ 250 ml koekmeel

¦ 60 g koue botter

¦ 2 ml sout

¦ 7 ml bakpoeier

¦ 15 ml fyngekapte vars roosmaryn

¦ Ongeveer 60 ml melk

Verhit die olie in ’n

Manie’s Bistro

middelslag-swartpot en braai die uie, knoffel en gemmer oor matige kole tot sag. Voeg die speserye by en braai vir ’n paar minute tot geurig. Voeg die maalvleis bietjie vir bietjie by en braai bruin. Voeg die tamaties, tamatiepasta en water by en prut stadig oor matige kole vir sowat 45 minute. Geur na smaak met sout en peper. Die maalvleis moet geurig, maar nog redelik souserig wees.

Maak nou die kluitjies: Sit die meel in ’n bak en vryf die botter met jou vingerpunte daarby in. Voeg die sout, bakpoeier en

roosmaryn by en meng liggies. Voeg die melk by en maak aan tot ’n dik, stywe beslag. Smeer die binnekant van die potjie se deksel goed met olie. Skep eetlepelsvol van die dik beslag oral op die bokant van die maalvleis. Bedek met die pot se deksel en sit ’n paar klein kooltjies op die deksel. Laat die potjie vir 20-30 minute lank prut en moenie die deksel afhaal nie. Die kluitjies is gaar as dit hoog uitgerys en lig is en ’n sosatiestokkie of toetspen skoon uit die middel daarvan kom. Sit die pot voor met tuisgemaakte piekels en slaaie. Lewer 6-8 porsies.

Trans Kalahari border will commence with a 24-hour Operation effective 1April.The TransKalahari Corridor Secretariat had been working on with Namibia and Botswana since October 2022, to make it come to fruition.

The 24-hour operation of the Mamuno/Trans Kalahari border will significantly reduce time spent on the road as well as the congestion at the border which has lately been a challenge.

“The corridor has been growing significantly and the number of trucks crossing at the border has increased. ‘We are now expecting the congestion that has been seen at the border to reduce significantly as trucks

will not have to wait until the next day if they reach the border after midnight.Aspeedy transit through the corridor will be established due to reduced congestion and this will result in cost benefits for the consignors, consignees, and the public in general,” said the Executive Director ofTrans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat (TKCS) Mr. Leslie Mlungisi Mpofu.

“We further hope to see other TKC borders also extending their operating hours to 24 hours in order not to create a bottle, especially at Pioneer Gate,” Mpofu said, adding that the Pioneer Gate is currently under construction and the hope is that when the construction is completed it will

also open 24 hours.

“TheTrans Kalahari Corridor has been developing in leaps and bounds. When the corridor management institute was established, the aim was to remove Non-Tariff Barriers between Batswana, Namibia, and SouthAfrica. Furthermore, the objective was to transform the road from a transport corridor to an economic corridor that will benefit and contribute to the development of member states. We have seen it grow into a bestperforming corridor inAfrica, easing a lot of transport barriers and harmonising transport policies,” explained Mpofu.

The Corridor was opened in 1998 by the then Presidents of Botswana and Namibia the late Ketumile Masire and Sam Nujoma respectively

t the time of opening,TKC was the first road inAfrica, South of the Sahara to connect the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Shortly after the opening of the corridor, the two member

states agreed to include South Africa and to establish a secretariat that will manage the efficiency of the corridor by harmonising the transport policies between the three member states.

TheTrans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee Memorandum ofAgreement was then signed in November 2003 in Walvis Bay TheTrans Kalahari Corridor Secretariat (TKCS) was then established in 2007.This Secretariat implements the decisions made by the member states through theTrans Kalahari Corridor Management Committee (TKCMC) which is made up of government, parastatals, and the private sector from the three member states.

TheTKC Secretariat is a tripartite transboundary corridor management institution based in Windhoek. It was established with a political and economic vision to pursue and contribute towards deeper regional integration of SADC, SACU, andAUDA-NEPAD.

Botswana Deal With Hb Antwerp Could Challenge Partnership With De Beers

ADiamong sales agreement between Botswana and HB Antwerp could challenge the southernAfrican nation’s 50year partnership with De Beers, said Bloomberg News in a report on Monday

The deal, in which Botswana is to buy a 24% stake in the Belgian gem trader, will see Botswana’s Okavango Diamond Company received polished rather than rough prices over a five-year supply deal for some of its sales.

This could potentially result in higher revenues for Botswana than past contracts with De

Beers which bought rough diamonds.

“Today is the dawn of a new era in the diamond story of Botswana as we begin this journey with HBAntwerp,” said Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi. “This partnership has the potential to be a game changer.”

De Beers and Botswana jointly own Debswana, which mines almost all of the diamonds in the country, the world’s largest producer by value.

of Debswana’s output.The venture’s revenue was $4.6bn in 2022 and Debswana has long-term plans to extend the lives of some of its mines at a cost of billions of dollars, said Bloomberg News.

No value was given for purchase of the stake in HB Antwerp, it said.

Botswana and De Beers have been negotiating a new agreement for about two years. De Beers said earlier this year most of the new deal had been settled.

Okavango is entitled to 25% “Our business model enables

us to capture optimal value for us and our partners in both buoyant and more challenging industry conditions,” De Beers said in a response to queries. “We are confident that we and government will finalize an agreement that deepens our relationship.”

In addition to the Debswana SalesAgreement the talks with the government also cover the future mining rights for Debswana, De Beers said. “We are set up to operate successfully at scale,” the company added. - Mining MX

Vrydag 7 April 2023

Die karatekas van Shihan Beukes karate akademie het tydense ‘n onlangse karate kampioenskap altesaam 20 medaljes onderskeidelik in Kata en Kumite verower

Shihan Beukes is baie tevrede met hul vertoning aangesien dit die eerste kampioenskappe vir 8 van hierdie karatekas was.

Twee van die karatekas het goud in beide kata en kumite verower. Hierdie jong karate sien uit na hul volgende kampioenskap.

30

Vlnr: Shihan Beukes afrigter, Brooklyn May, Goud in Kata en Brons in Kumite, Kgotso Olifant Brons in Kata en Silwer in Kumite, Theuns Steenkamp, Goud in Kata en Brons in Kumite, Ivan Cloete, Silwer in Kata en Brons in Kumite, Musawenkosi de Wee, Silwer in Kata en Silwer in Kumite, Luwardo Smith, Brons in Kata, John Sauls, Silwer in Kata en Goud in Kumite, Norman Steenkamp, Silwer in Kata en Silwer in Kumite, Enrique Coetzee, Goud in Kata en Goud in Kumite en Bryce Mc Kenzie, Brons in Kata

Shihan Beukes en Phillip van Heerden met sy twee goue medaljes.

Shihan Beukes en Enrique Coetzee met sy twee goue medaljes.

ORION Minerals spends more on its lawyers than on geologists.That’s not a great statistic for an exploration and development firm, but in South Africa’s junior mining sector it’s not untypical if the company is listed.

Orion CEO, Errol Smart, says he had no option but to go public because plans to develop the Prieska Copper-Zinc Mine (PCZM) in the Northern Cape required more thanA$378m, about R4.6bn. But six years after Orion’s formation, not a single line of debt has been written by a commercial bank, excluding the Industrial Development Corporation, a state-owned development finance company

“We could have got bank finance, but only at an exorbitant rate,” says Smart. He describes bank inaction: “They all tend to stare at each other” in a game of corporate who blinks first. Another Northern Cape mining junior, Copper 360, has relied on asset manager Coronation for funding, and the backing of high net worth individuals. “Banks only offer money when you’ve got it,” says Copper 360 CEO,

Jan Nelson.

But before laying into the banking sector too heavily — and Smart says Orion will need the big debt in time — it’s worth remembering SouthAfrica’s junior mining sector is a little shop of horrors, especially when it comes to losing money. Equity investors have learnt that the hard way, too, which may explain why Orion’s shares, now trading at 24 SouthAfrican cents apiece, have sunk from their five-year high of 99c.

But by far the biggest disincentive for commercial finance in junior mining is South Africa’s poor regulatory environment. “If I go to the middle of the Congo, there are some certainties: there will be no road, no rail, and I’ve got to look after myself,” says Smart.

“But as long as I have the regulatory certainty, I can solve my problems.” SouthAfrica has an advantage over other mining jurisdictions in its good infrastructure. But without dependable regulations, exploration will stop. Data from AmaranthCX, an industry consultancy, shows exploration spend in SouthAfrica fell to

0.8% of global expenditure last year against 1.09% in 2019 — the year in which mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe announced a three- to five-year target to attract 5% of exploration spend globally. “I think it’s an indictment of SouthAfrica,” says Smart.

Private finance

It’s perhaps not too surprising, therefore, that help should arrive in the form of private money. On March 15, a relatively unknown but cash-flush company, Clover Chrome, rode to Orion’s rescue. It bought a 6.5% stake in the company for R80m and options which, if exercised and depending on how Orion’s existing shareholders exercise their matching options, could increase Clover’s stake to as much as 19%.

If all shareholders take up their options, maturing in November, Orion will have raised R880m and have just about enough cash for pre-production costs on PCZM and Okiep Copper Mine (OCM), a second project 450km distant but still in the Northern Cape.The upshot is that Orion could produce between 10,000 tons and 35,000t of copper concentrate from 2024.

Cash flow can’t come quickly enough. PCZM and OCM are ‘lite’versions of projects that Smart first wanted to build. Encouraged by banks to take his plans down a notch, he’s now convinced that Clover Chrome can make a telling difference. So who or what is Clover Chrome, hardly a household name in mining? It’s backed by lifelong gold bullAdam Fleming, the UK’s 118th richest person in 2022 according to the UK’s SundayTimes richlist, and the former chair of Harmony Gold during its glory years in the 1990s. Fleming also has unrehabilitated optimism in SouthAfrica. His Johannesburg Land Company owns most of Main Street because he believes the city’s best years are still to

come.

Fleming’s friend and business associate of 30 years, Philip Kotze, will represent Clover on Orion’s board. Speaking to Miningmx, Kotze thinks Orion could use some of his company’s can-do ability in early cash flow development. Clover bought the Lanxess chrome operations in 2019, shortly after 290 workers staged a nine-day underground protest. Kotze says most of those employees are back at the company, which is raking in the cash. It must be. Kotze says the R80m came from internally generated funds. If it takes up its Orion options — which is “highly likely” — it’ll use Clover Chrome’s cash flow to do so.

“We have done a proper due diligence of Orion and certain of the assets are very easy to get into production and generate positive cash flow,” says Kotze. “That is Clover’s focus, where we can start building a mine as quickly as possible and make profits to reinvest in the business. I think that is very doable.”

Says Smart: “Clover has experience of building modular scale plants of 40,000t-50,000t of various descriptions.They believe that for less than the R400m they have committed (to Orion including the options) we can get a plant up and running; in fact, well less than that.”

It’s critical Orion puts pedal to the metal as analysts remain universally upbeat about copper’s prospects. UBS said in a report this month that $100bn in new copper projects was needed by 2027 to deliver 5Mt of supply by 2030, the expected deficit. “It is clear that capex is not being deployed quickly enough,” the bank says.

Perhaps Orion isn’t the only miner dealing with banking sector parsimony. - Mining MX

Die Karatekas van Shihan Beukes se nuutgestigte NGO "ChangeThrough Sport" wen hul eerste medaljes tydens ‘n onlanse karate kampioenskap.

Hulle het altesaam 7 medaljes in onderskeidelik in Kata en Kumite verower. Shihan Beukes is baie trots op hierdie kinders wat almal uit Dakota Woonbuurt afkomstig is.

Shihan Beukes moedig ouers wie nie kan bekostig aan, om hulle kinders aan die gratis klasse wat Dinsdae en Donderdae tussen 15h30 en 17h30 by die Dorp Swembad saal aangebied word, te kom inskryf.

NGO “Change Through Sport”

Kry Resultate

Vlnr: Simphiwe Shoeman Goud in Kata,Tenisha Brandt Silwer in Kumite, Jordan Bezuidenhout Silwer in Kumite, Angelique van Staden Silwer in Kata, Latoya van Wyk Brons in Kata en Brons in Kumite. Voor is Jandre Kopps wie brons in Kumite verower het.

Veels Geluk Anè & Lianka van Gordonia Shotokan Karate

Op 21 Maart 2023 het twee van Gordonia Shotokan Karate se karatekas in ‘n kompetisie deel geneem en goed presteer.

Anè: Silwer medalje vir Kata, brons medalje vir Kumite Lianka: Silwer medalje vir Kumite

Vlnr: Lianka Engels, Anè du Preez, Sensei Paul Steenkamp

Change in Postmasburg is an everyday phenomenon and an ongoing process. Postmasburg inTsantsabane has experienced large-scale change in the past 10 years and new settlers are welcomed on a daily basis as people from across SouthAfrica move here due to the largescale mining operations. On 1 April, Postnet in Postmasburg also got a new management that definitely wants to bring big and innovative ideas to the wellknown brand.

The two new co-owners, Barend du Plooy and Retief van der Merwe, have combined their respective expertise to take over Postnet and continue to deliver the same quality service unique to this well-known hand-sell brand, but to increase their market to the customers, large and small. Van der Merwe has extensive knowledge in the logistics and transport industry as a consultant and indeed

understands customer service. Du Plooy with knowledge in sales, graphic design and InformationTechnology brings the creative side to the table and both owners agree to reposition Postnet inTsantsabane.

"We have the capacity for all printing needs, large and small local schools can to talk to us to accommodate their printing, especially school assignments, school newsletters and even exam papers which we will handle with the necessary confidentiality," says Du Plooy who until recently when still working at a well-known business in Postmasburg." We are in the heart of a growing mining town and local mines are welcome to approach us for all their printing needs," adds Van der Merwe.

Postnet not only focuses on all types of printing, but also brings a reliable courier service,

Baren du Plooy (left) and Retief van der Merwe (right) is the new owners of Postnet in Postmasburg.

nationally and internationally, to Postmasburg. People applying for work can also have their fingerprints taken at Postnet to get their police clearance certificate at a very affordable price. Postnet is an advocate for quality printing and customer

service and definitely gives value for your money

Postnet In Postmasburg Under New Management

Bou Met Poort Beton in 2023

Het u al die materiaal wat u benodig om u projek suksesvol af te handel ?

Moenie onkant gevang word nie

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Skoonmaak van Upington Muurbalbane Bel ons Vandag vir die Skoonmaak van jou Perseel of Gebou

Hungry Lions Pride of the Northern Cape

Compiled by Vurushca Shearer – Journalist for Horison Media as part of NK Media

The Hungry Lions Football Club (FC) is a SouthAfrican Football club which is based in Postmasburg,Tsantsabane. Hungry Lions was founded in the 1980s by Stefaans Basie.

After initially playing friendlies and once-off tournaments, they entered competitive leagues in 2000, working themselves up from local leagues, then the SAB league, until around 2004 they were promoted to the SAFASecond Division. Since then they have gone on to become the national winners of the SAFAABC Motsepe league. Part of holding this title includes establishing a legacy project which ploughs back into their community, making its mark.

As the winners at the national level, an amount of money valued at R250 000 is allocated to the project through which the team along with management may drive community initiatives. OnThursday, 30th of March, the Lions along with their organization handed over soccer kits and equipment to

various schools and junior league soccer clubs.This investment into the youth of this particular community is crucial and speaks to the morale of the youth to avoid stagnancy and encourage a culture of constructive community participation and discipline.

The ability to instill pride into the community in which they operate is an achievement and driving force in itself for the organization. In order to continue a legacy wherein the players may continue this initiative, it calls for much consistent dedication from the organization to maintain championship status. “We aim to place our organization in such a position to be able to do this annually, which means consistent dominance in the game,” says the organization representative.

There is a brewing misconception that soccer, being the biggest sport in the world, feeds its own operation.This is where the Hungry Lions FC took the

decision to dedicate their professional capacity to create a space in which not only they reap fruit but rather may plant seeds of development within their community.This goes to show that God-given talents are exactly that and may be used not only to the benefit of the holder but may be moulded into a model of development which speaks to multiple social ills in the world today Merriam-Webster defines a Legacy as a noun that means a

gift by will, especially of money or personal property, to a beneficiary. It can also mean something that is passed on or received from an ancestor, predecessor, or the past. Legacy does not usually include real property, which is a device.A legacy can depend on an event that has not yet occurred.The legacy to be bestowed upon the community ofTsantsabane will be the Pride of our Lions.

Who Are the Guys That Are Going To Arrest Putin ???

Members of the Hungry Lions team and the Motsepe Foundation during the handover of soccer kits to develop young athletes

Eerste vir STAAL

R700,00 for 1 Day

Birding Column: Pygmy Falcon A Delight To Observe

The Pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus;Afrikaans: dwergvalk) is an iconic bird in the dry, arid parts of the Northern Cape.

These falcons are known as the smallest raptors inAfrica, being about the same size as the Southern fiscal (Afrikaans: gewone laksman), about 20 cm to 23 cm, but with a stockier build. It has characteristic orange legs, orange around the eyes, and white spotted wings.The female has a rufous back compared to the grey back of the male, contrasting with white underparts.

They weigh about 60 g and primarily eat small reptiles and insects, but can also prey on small rodents and birds.

These little falcons have an association with sociable weaver colonies in South Africa – as mentioned in the first column last month when I wrote about the sociable weaver This association is so

strong that anyone wanting to see these amazing little raptors just needs to find a fairly large sociable weaver colony and sit and wait.There is always a good chance that two shrike-like birds will soon make their appearance at the nest site.

Due to this association, their distribution in SouthernAfrica is largely tied to the distribution of the sociable weaver There is a separate population in EasternAfrica where, in the absence of sociable weavers, they associate with buffalo weaver colonies.

Apair will usually occupy one of the outer nest chambers in the colony and use it as a breeding and roosting site. Interestingly, they hardly predate on the sociable weaver chicks although this does occasionally occur This mutual relationship allows the weavers to sacrifice one of their nest chambers in exchange for some protection of their colony – the falcons

aid, as much as possible, in deterring predators such as snakes from the weaver colonies.

In and around Kimberley there are some local spots where Pygmy falcons can be seen (Rooifontein, Marrick Safari), while the Mokala National Park is a prime spot to find them. Further west in the Northern Cape, they become relatively common and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is also a

location where they can be recorded and photographed with relative ease. Besides playing an important role in the environment, these tiny raptors are always a special tick and delight for birders and nature lovers alike to observe.

Contact the club at birdclubgariep@gmail.com. Dr Doug Harebottle, chair of the Gariep Bird ClubNoordkaap Bulletin

The Pygmy falcon. Photo: Brian Culver

Human Rights Day Brings More Empty Promises From ANC Leaders

Each year on Human Rights Day, theANC-led government says the same things and makes the same promises. But what we get is a worsening socioeconomic crisis, and with it, the countless and many-sided violations of the provisions in the Bill of Rights, argues

Ebrahim Harvey

This is an area I know very well, as a result of my studies for both my Masters and PhD, which is about access to adequate water and sanitation or the lack thereof, in the townships of Johannesburg. Daily access to an adequate amount of water and flush sanitation, which I argue is the only decent and healthy form of sanitation, is arguably at the heart of the 1996 Constitution.

But none of the speeches in celebration of Human Rights Day, on the 21 March, held in DeAar, Northern Cape, and addressed by a wide range of speakers, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, dealt with the biggest failures of our Constitution. In fact, Ramaphosa's speech was a whitewash of the utterly deplorable conditions today of basic services in black townships across the country and the tragic failure to implement socioeconomic rights in the Constitution's Bill of Rights.

There is no bigger indictment of the governingAfrican National Congress (ANC) and a sharp contradiction of the purportedly best Constitution in the world we are said to have than the undeniable fact that we have today the highest levels of black poverty, unemployment and social inequalities we have ever had since our watershed 1994 elections.

Betrayal

That these are the stark and shocking realities in SouthAfrica underANC rule, in terms of the promises and commitment they made in the Freedom Charter of 1955 and the Reconstruction and Development Plan of 1993, which was, in fact, largely its electoral manifesto in the 1994 elections, is sadly most striking today

has been the situation for many years.Already in 2000, at the third Bram Fischer lecture, the then president of the Constitutional Court, JudgeArthur Chaskalson, said that South Africa was in danger of not realising the vision of the Constitution. He said that "the government must give effect to its obligations under the Constitution to show respect and concern for those whose basic needs have to be met".

word about the biggest caveat in the Constitution, of which he was the co-author, Section 27 (2): that the state will take "reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, (own italics) to achieve the progressive realisation" of rights. This is a very serious neoliberal limitation in our Constitution.

living there, also comes at a time of the biggest unemployment and cost-of-living crises there ever in post-apartheid SouthAfrica. Alongside those ugly realities, we have had the worst load shedding electricity crisis, water and sewerage crises in our entire history over the past two years.

If we add to those commitments the provisions in the Bill of Rights, such as access to basic municipal services, such as water and sanitation, electricity, health, housing and education, and compare them to the devastating impacts of the unprecedented socioeconomic crisis we have today, the departure from all these provisions and in fact many argue betrayal of them is flagrantly clear

As a result, in a 2000 column in the Mail & Guardian, titled "A mockery of our Constitution", I wrote: "While the ruling party would probably argue with this assessment, it is clear that if we compare the human rights provisions in the Constitution with the actual socioeconomic conditions of the majority of people, there exists a chasm that separates words from reality Worse still, a chasm that widens all the time." Indeed, that is why today the socioeconomic crisis is much worse than it was in 2000.

Same promises made, year after year

But no leader of theANC, and certainly not Ramaphosa in his speech on Human Rights Day, said a word about what has happened to the Bill of Rights since 1996.And to show you the brutal cynicism of theANC government in regard to those rights in a Constitution, which is regarded as the supreme law of the land, you will find that each year on Human Rights Day, they say the same things and make the same promises, which is the similar to what happens to the goals stated and promises made at theANC’s January 8 statements, as is also the case at their national conferences.

Instead, the socioeconomic crisis worsens and deepens all the time, and with it, the countless and many-sided violations of the provisions in the Bill of Rights. Each and every day, in the various forms of the media, we read and hear how the rights declared in the Bill of Rights and the provisions of the Freedom Charter are regularly violated with impunity

In fact, which showed how far the ANC government had already in 2000 departed from those 1996 constitutional obligations, it went to court to appeal against a Western Cape High Court ruling in December 2000, which compelled it to provide homeless children with shelter They appealed on the grounds that the government could not financially afford to bear this responsibility But neither did Ramaphosa say a

What Section 27 (2) does is to in advance place conservative neoliberal macroeconomic budgetary constraints on fulfilling those fundamentally important human rights.This is a selffulfilling prophecy, meaning that the implementation of any and all rights would be subject to this onerous limitation, providing a safety escape valve, with which to explain away the failure to realise any of the socioeconomic rights in the Constitution, no matter how important the fulfilment of those basic human needs are for the affirmation of human rights.

Terrible living conditions

What makes these repeated failures to realise those very important rights in the Bill of Rights since the Constitution was implemented in 1996 more unacceptable is that over this long period the conditions of life in the black townships, where the majority of people live, have grown worse.Today, as a result, the living conditions there are, in fact, considerably worse than they were during the apartheid years.

It is no exaggeration whatsoever to say that the black townships today are in a total mess, with even raw sewage running down the streets where people walk and children play. Black children have fallen into and died in pit latrines and there is a generalised infrastructural crisis in every respect where the vast majority of the population of this country resides.This is the socioeconomic circumstances that Ramaphosa and theANC government said very little, if anything, about when they celebrated and commemorated Human Rights Day on 21 March.

Why is drawing attention to those deplorable and inexcusable living conditions in black townships so important on Human Rights Day? Key and critical to this emphasis is the question of human dignity, the thing Chaskalson spoke much about in his Bram Fischer lecture in 2000, when he urged the government to honour the socioeconomic rights in the Bill of Rights.

Those terrible conditions in black townships, which is the severest assault on the dignity of people

JTo obscure and conceal these horrific living conditions and how they fundamentally contradict and undermine the Constitution by singing its praises instead is nothing less than tragic.This is what Ramaphosa and otherANC leaders did on Human Rights Day

For some glaring examples, look at the horrific living conditions today in Mangaung in the Free State, where theANC was born in 1912, and Kliptown, in Johannesburg, where the Freedom Charter was birthed in 1955.There lie the starkest contradictions of both the ANC's commitments and our Constitution.

That is why to say, as Ramaphosa did, that there is much more work to do in the fulfilment of the Bill of Rights is a monumental understatement and, in fact, a camouflage of the extent of the hideous crisis conditions in black townships. Neither did he talk much about the estimated over R2 trillion stolen by his fellowANC "cadres" from the public purse since the passage of the Constitution in 1996 and which could have made major changes to people's lives in black townships.

Instead, in anticipation of the 2024 elections, he praised theANC government for the "achievements" we made since the Constitution was adopted in 1996, and thereby added insult to the injuries the daily violations of the Constitution inflicted over this period.

I was not only not impressed by the whitewashing of living conditions and human rights in black townships by Ramaphosa and otherANC leaders, but found that it reeked of stark hypocrisy. Under apartheid, the white working and middle classes enjoyed among the highest municipal standards in the world.

- Dr Ebrahim Harvey is an independent political writer, analyst and author of 'The Great Pretenders: Race and Class under ANC Rule', published by Jacana in 2021. - News24 -

House Of Rock – Corbelled Igloos In The Karoo

Williston has adopted the corbelled house as its icon. Aubrey Klaaste is a Williston stonemason, and to add another little income stream to the family coffers, he makes miniature corbelled houses for tourists.

The classic corbelled farmstead

These days, travellers want authenticity, and it doesn’t get more real than a couple of nights spent at Stuurmansfontein, the gold standard of corbelled house accommodation not far from Carnarvon.

Even James Walton was gobsmacked when he saw this place more than 60 years ago:

Stuurmansfontein. We light all the candles we can find and dot them about the place. In the rich light, it’s possible to relive the frontier days when bywoner (tenant farmer) Fanie Bergh and his family occupied this fold in the hills.

Many years ago, that roadside dwelling was our first sighting of the classic Karoo corbelled house. But you had to look very carefully, because its faded white exterior had blended in nearly perfectly with the washed-out tones of the veld.

We never found out who owned it, whether a shepherd still used it or who had built it.To this day, it remains a mystery to us –which is just how we’d like to keep it.

It did, however, spark our intense interest in the corbelled houses of the Upper Karoo Quadrant bound by Williston, Carnarvon, Loxton and Fraserburg. Besides the fascinating design of these stony beehives, what went on inside them? How did their first residents live, out here in the far reaches of the Northern Cape?

The guru of Karoo corbelled houses is James Walton, noted SouthAfrican vernacular architecture expert, who completed a long and laborious trip around the “Corbel Quadrant” back in 1960, recording the particulars of dozens of these stone igloos.

In a slightly offhand manner the year before, the National Monuments Council had asked Walton to check out this “peculiar type of rondawel” if he ever happened to pass through the Upper Karoo.

Nevertheless, Walton made the trip, fell under the spell of the corbelled buildings, compiled an extensive report and then published a document titled Early Settlement in the Great Karroo five years later. Clearly, Walton had become intrigued not only with the architecture of Karoo corbelled structures, but also the daily minutiae of those who had

built them.

Later on, he produced a book called Homesteads and Villages of SouthAfrica, in which his work on corbelled houses also featured.

In theAgterveld

But books can only tell you so much – the road has to take the story further. In the spring of 2008, we are in Williston to spend a day in the company of Elsa van Schalkwyk; we meet her in the early hours before dawn and by the time the sun rises we have crossed the Sak River

“Now we are in theAgterveld,” says van Schalkwyk, using the old frontier term for finally being in an area out of colonial (Dutch or British) control.

Passing Ongeluksfontein and Benoudfontein (how did these places come by their sad names?), we take the Vanwyksvlei road to an abandoned building on Brownslaagte Farm.And there, apart from that familiar R63 roadside attraction, we meet our first Karoo corbelled house. It stood out like an architectural alien landing.

AKaroo corbelled house was made with rows of flat stones, each layer placed a little more inwards from ceiling height, until a dome-shaped building was achieved.The peak was then topped off by a flat stone, which could be removed to release smoke from the hearth.

Around Williston, people still speak of “Tiensjielings” (Ten Shillings) and “Gedaanwerk” (Done with Work), two men who built superb corbelled houses on the farms Schuinshoogte and Arbeidersfontein.

“I have studied the corbelled huts of Italy, France and Britain and I fully expected the Karee Berge buildings to be similar to the lessimposing examples from these parts of Europe.

“I was both delighted and amazed, therefore, with my first distant glimpse of Stuurmansfontein as we passed through the nek overlooking the farmstead.Against these burnt semi-desert surroundings, which had seen practically no rain for four years, the tiny whitewashed homestead stood out clearly in the brilliant sunshine. Even at this distance the giant stone beehives were a strange and fascinating sight: one which I had never expected in South Africa…”

Starry night

After passing Carnarvon on the R63, we take the Stuurmansfontein turn-off, pass the elegant main farmstead and drive on tracks outlined with pale amber Bushman grass, as a looming roadside windpump creaks its welcome. Down a valley, up a slope and suddenly we’re at the ancient corbelled house that is Stuurmansfontein.

The old kitchen has a two-plate stove, candles and carry-water pots and we prepare pasta, mushrooms, broccoli and pesto, then place two straight-backed chairs carefully out on the stoep at the front door You could not ask for a better, more romantic dinner spot. Our chairs become front-row seats to the best light show on Earth: the Original Karoo Planetarium. We eat in absolute silence, occasionally looking up in awe at the Celestial Highway above us.

When it gets chilly outside, we finally scamper in and discover more of the magic that is

According to local legend, the Botha family (who still own the farm) let Oom Fanie and his folk live here for free.And they wanted for nothing.They planted fruit trees: grapes, quinces, apples, oranges, figs and pomegranates, using the attic as a storeroom.Awindpump supplied them with plenty of fresh water And they had roses growing all over the place, those Heritage-type roses with a very strong fragrance.

Tannie Bergh was well known in the district for her great coffee, and her secret lay in the dried figs she crushed in with the beans. When the family needed a chop or two, Oom Fanie would go out and shoot a sheep, they’d butcher it and store the cuts in the coolest place they could find: under the marital bed.And if it dripped a little blood, well, that was fine.The floors were made of blood and dung anyhow

When the Berghs planted wheat, they would separate the grain from the chaff on the threshing floor about 200m down the hill, storing the grain in another special little purpose-built corbelled house.They hardly ever needed to go shopping in town.

The Beehive house route

Our next visit to a corbelled Karoo house is at Osfontein, also in the Carnarvon district.There, we find a magnificent old hearth in the oldest part of the building. The domed roof of this section is darkened by old smoke. It looks and feels like an ancientTuscan kitchen that has been converted into an intimate restaurant, complete with fireside frontage. In the bedroom section, we lie back on the hand-quilted throws and look up at the massive, mesmerising stone dome above.

In the late winter of 2018, just before the legendary snow blizzard that freezes up most of the Karoo for a very long weekend, we are tooling around the veld with Fraserburg farmer Pieter le Roux.

We arrive at a far distant and tiny stone corbelled house, which Le

When the lights goes pink, the harsh stony drylands of the Northern Cape turn to magic. Image: Chris Marais

Continues from pg

Roux is trying, somewhat in vain, to keep together, but it is falling apart ever so slowly, like a cracked egg.

Apparently a little more than a century ago, this area was farmed by Oom Sarel Marais and his wifeTant Johanna. He was

very short, she was large. “This little corbel was the farm school,” says Le Roux. “Ateacher was imported to educate 12 local children. She was known to be a health and fitness fanatic.”

One day, Oom Sarel came in to check if she was all right and was greeted with the sight of his

new teacher testing the beams, suspended upside-down like a bat.

“Every night she would do pullups and hang from the beams, probably in her undies,” says Le Roux. “The children loved spying on her.”

All of which leads one simply to

The random corbelled house on the R63 that first caught the author’s eye nearly 20 years ago. Image: Chris Marais

Stuursmansfontein, where the Karoo stars come down to greet you. Image: Chris Marais

Aubrey Klaaste of Williston busy with his corbelled house crafts. Image: Chris Marais

Elsa van Schalkwyk, a prominent Karoo guide based in Williston, Northern Cape. Image: Chris Marais

Kgalagadi Lifestyle Lodge

With Botswana in the distance...wrapped in pure silence...most people visit us to rehabilitate their souls, and that’s why they return again and again

Easter Arrive

Alive Kicks Off In Springbok Safety First

The MEC forTransport, Safety and Liaison(DTSL), in the Northern Cape, Me Nomandla Bloem accompanied by the Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Koliswa, Executive Mayor of Namakwa District, Cllr M. Cloete and the Speaker of the Nama Khoi Local Municipality, Mr Rodney Kritzinger launched the 2023 EasterArrive Alive Road Safety Campaign on the 04April 2023 on the N7 weighbridge Road in Springbok, Northern Cape, ahead of the coming Easter holidays.

The purpose of the day was diligently done by the Head of Department for DTSL, Mr Rodney Pieterse who spoke about the dangers and continuous occurrence of serious road accidents on the N7 road and also remarked the immense importance of the road safety campaign.

Amotivational talk was done by Mr B Strauss the Chairperson of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, who is also a victim of a motor vehicle accident that left him paralyzed and wheelchair bound, 29 years ago.

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