@ telegramrsaT he Telegram ZA— SOUTH AFRICA { thetelegramlive.co.za } — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29, 2022 — RAMAPHOSA’S TENURE IS A HORRIBLE COMEDY OF ENDLESS ERRORS PAGE 13
then we are heading for disaster,” Koko warned. Koko added that these latest developments are not as a result of sabotage but a reflection of organisational discipline which has gone south.
LOAD-SHEDDING IS ON STAGE MAYE BABO!
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“It doesn’t matter how much people want to spin it, if you do
ears of mediocrity at Eskom has left Mzansi groping in the dark. And it looks like as a country we have raced to the bottom so much that we will celebrate those few moments when we have electricity.
There is no light at the end of the tunnel to South Africa’s electricity problems and load shedding is likely to get worse. Photo by cdn.24.co.za
This is the view of Professor Sipho Seepe who is adamant things are not going to get any better.
Thereafter, it will revert to Stage 2, they promised. Prior to this, a generating unit each at Arnot and Medupi power stations had been taken offline for emergency repairs.
By Staff Reporters
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“The performance of power sta tions is such that performance in summer is worse than winter. There fore, if the power cuts start now,
experiences electricity challenges. The most obvious reason, explains Prof Seepe, is that the previous regime only catered for the minority.
“With the advent of democracy load-shedding expanded to the dis advantaged majority.
not have the right people and right skills at the top, you are not going to resolve the electricity challenge,” said Prof Seepe.
If this announcement by Eskom is anything to go by, power sup ply is no longer guaranteed as the power utility struggles to keep the lights-on.Describing the latest power-cuts, engineer and former Eskom Chief Executive Matshela Koko, said this was traditionally uncommon and uncharecteristic to load-shed this time of the year.
Seepe was reacting to the latest announcement by the national electricity supplier, Eskom, that load-shedding has been escalated to Stage 4 following three Kendal generation units tripping.
“It tells you that management control structures at Eskom no longer exist and most importantly you don’t have the right command ers and generals on the field. So, the latest load-shedding is a reflection of the deterioration of Eskom.”
Mzansi also needs to reflect on the historical reasons why the country
“From that perspective, the ANC government should have anticipated this challenge. Common sense dic tates that there should have been greater investment.
“The year-on-year growth in GDP was also flat, at just 0,2% from 2021. South Africa’s economy was hit with some of the highest levels of load-shedding on record dur ing the second quarter of the year, while industries were also battered by heavy flooding in KwaZulu-Na tal,” it Eskomreports.hasimplemented electric ity outages for more than half of the days in the second quarter, accord ing to Bloomberg calculations, add ing to the record blackouts in the financial year through March that hobbled economic output products and machinery division also made notable negative contributions to growth.
The agriculture sector decreased by 7,7% in the second quarter, contributing -0,2 of a percentage point to GDP growth. Decreased economic activities were reported for animal products.
LOAD-SHEDDING HAS A KNOCK-ON EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY
The trade, catering and accom modation industry decreased by 1,5%, contributing -0,2 of a percent age point to GDP growth. Decreased economic activities were reported for wholesale and retail trade.
power generation amid the worst levels of load-shedding on record.
The latest bout of load-shedding is set to add some of the most devastating blows to an already-ailing South African economy. Photo by www.bloomberg.com
Mining and quarrying decreased by 3,5%, contributing -0,2 of a percentage point to GDP growth. Decreased economic activities were reported for gold, coal, manganese ore and diamonds.
Professor Sipho Seepe is adamant things are not going to get any better. Photo by Sabc
● Eskom’s grid is under constant pressure, with load-shedding becoming more frequent and higher stages more common.
long chased out for being incom petent. We have normalised medi ocrity.”Manyi said small and medium
The latest bout of power outages is set to add some of the most devas tating blows to an already-ailing South African economy. Both the economic recovery and Eskom’s ability to turn the corner look
Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Min ister of Energy, shared Prof Seepe’s sentiment that load-shedding is directly attributable to a lack of political will and oversight by the ANC to ensure that new plants were built from 2000 to 2010.
Atbleak.the
This means there is a global rush on components for solar and wind energy production that will complicate global supply chains and capacity, Mavuso said – just as South Africa is planning an aggres sive ramp-up in build rates of its own.“Already, we have been tripped up by global conditions. Round 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme has been caught out by delays between the finalisation of preferred bidders and financial close,” Mavuso said.
He added that since new genera tion capacity is not going to come within Eskom, the power utility must be enabled to accelerate the procurement of electricity from Independent Power Producers.
Financial close happens when all financial terms, including the amounts needed for capital expend iture and the cost of finance, are agreed upon and signed off. Up to that moment, projects are vulnera ble to moving market prices.
Learners study by candlelight. Photo by Reuters
“The latest load-shedding is a reflection of the deterioration of Eskom,” says Matshela Koko. Photo by Esa Alexander
“We are now at a point where we need to add every megawatt we can to the grid. This is the only way Eskom will be afforded time and space necessary to do the mainte nance it needs,” Mileham said.
Mileham acknowledged that there were issues plaguing Eskom such as a lack of maintenance of existing fleet, a lack of capacity or resources to build new generation capacity internally, a loss of key personnel as well as the huge debt burden and low collection rate (par ticularly from municipalities).
This is a reflection of the unequal treatment of executives because if he were black he would have been
The unadjusted real GDP at mar ket prices for the first six months of 2022 increased by 1,4% compared with the first six months of 2021.
enterprises are greatly impacted by the constant power cuts. “It is the same for poor people who can’t afford gadgets such as power-surge
The publication also reported serious doubts about South Africa’s plans to add 5,200MW of renewa ble energy to the grid faces pres sure from a perfect storm of global events, which will push up prices and hamper progress.
● The EU and the UK are facing record gas and electricity prices, leading to a cost-of-living crisis. The EU is desperately trying to reduce its reliance on Russian gas for energy.
“That much is a historical fact. They managed to do so even before the plants got into operation.”
But when former President Jacob Zuma brought both Brian Molefe and Koko on board the duo solved the load-shedding puzzle.
Mavuso pointed out key events that create a storm for future energy plans:
his is in contrast with the surprise growth in the first quarter of the year – though this has also been revised downward from 1,9% to 1,7%.
● China plans to add at least 100,000MW of renewable energy over the next five years.
It quotes Business Leadership South Africa chief executive officer, Busi Mavuso, as saying the country risks falling behind in its plans as many countries turn to renewa ble energy in reaction to growing demand and geopolitical events that have erupted over the last few months.Thisis while South Africa itself is in crisis and desperate for new
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protectors which safeguard appli ances from being destroyed by the constant power cuts. Cyril Rama phosa and his Cab inet must go.”
2 NEWSFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Construction decreased by 2,4%, contributing -0,1 of a percentage point. Decreased economic activ ities were reported for residential buildings and construction works.
● California had warnings of black outs last week as extreme temper atures led everyone to switch on their air conditioners and put the grid under unprecedented pressure.
beginning of September, Stats SA reported that South Afri ca’s gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased by 0, 7% in the second quarter of 2022.
This decline matches economists and analysts’ predictions, which ranged between a 0, 5% decline and a 1, 2% decline, Business Tech reports.
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Mzwanele Manyi attributed the problems at Eskom to zero-leader ship.“From day one, as the ATM, we did say that the CEO [of Eskom] Andre de Ruiter was not a perfect fit for the job.
Mzwanele Manyi attributes the problems at Eskom to zero-leadership. Photo by dmgathering.co.za
Since the return of load-shedding in 2018, things are not going to get better.“It doesn’t matter how much people want to spin it, if you do not have the right people and the right skills at the top, you are not going to resolve the electricity challenge,” the Prof added.
2018 after the Constitutional Court ruled in 2017 that the National Assembly must put in place proce dures to give effect to that section of the ThisConstitution.sectioninthe Constitution provides for the National Assembly to remove a president from office on the grounds of a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct and an inability to per form the functions of office.
Previously, such motions went to the house for debate and were treated no differently to the motion of no confidence provided for in Section 102 of the Constitution.
National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has referred a proposed Section 89 motion by the ATM’s Vuyo Zungula to a yet-to-be convened independent panel of experts. Photo by GCIS
These rules will be tested for the first time as the institution embarks
While all this plays itself out, the committee is fine-tuning its rules for the removal of the President.
It even looks unlikely for the ANC leader to stay in power until his party’s December national elective conference.Thespanner in the works came from a damning affidavit by former State Security Agency and correc tional services boss, Arthur Fraser, who has opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa in June.
On 9 September, the Western Cape High Court declared the President’s suspension of the Public Protector invalid. But the Democratic Alliance (DA) immediately filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court, put ting Mkhwebane’s return to office on ice. A full Bench of the West ern Cape High Court - comprising Judges Lister Nuku, Matthew Francis and James Lekhuleni - had found that Ramaphosa had been conflicted when he made the decision to sus pendTheyMkhwebane.foundhewas tainted by bias when he suspended the Public Pro tector and might have been “retal iatory” as it had come a day after Ramaphosa had been sent questions by Mkhwebane regarding a break-in and theft of cash from his Phala Phala farm. Mkhwebane’s legal representatives, Seanego Attorneys, have since approached the Western Cape High Court seeking the order
Fraser’s charges emanated from a theft of over four million US dol lars, which were concealed within Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.Itdoesn’t end there, with sup porting evidence, including photo graphs, bank accounts, video footage and names, Fraser alleges the Presi dent’s involvement in kidnapping of suspects and their interrogation, use of state resources and even cross-bor derRamaphosaraids. has tried to shake the saga off for the past three months to no avail. If anything, like a wild inferno, it has attracted a chorus from opposition parties, factions within the ANC and some civil soci ety organisations, all of whom have thrown their weight behind the call for Ramaphosa to resign or face impeachment.Asaprecursor to this epic battle, there is a showdown between the President and suspended Public Pro tector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
on a process to ascertain whether a motion to impeach Ramaphosa passesParliamentmuster. has announced at the beginning of September that National Assembly Speaker, Nosiv iwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has referred a proposed Section 89 motion by the ATM’s Vuyo Zungula to a yet-to-be convened independent panel of experts to assess whether sufficient evidence exists to show Ramaphosa committed any of the violations specified in the motion.
3NEWS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
The entrance to Phala Phala farm which has become a political nightmare for Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo by AP Photos
Will Cyril Ramaphosa survive the current storms? Photo by news365.co.za
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The first citizen’s woes are steering this ambition deeper and deeper into murkier waters as he fends off mul tiple threats.
resident Cyril Ramaphosa’s hopes for a second term as South Africa’s leader looks deem.
The new rules that give effect to the Section 89 removal of the Pres ident were adopted in November
By Staff Reporters
PLOT THICKENS AS RAMAPHOSA TRIES TO QUELL FIRES ON MULTIPLE FRONTS
be enforced regardless of appeals or challenges. Mkhwebane has accused the DA of attempting to “prevent me from resuming my duties”.
Among those supporting the sus pended PP, the ATM and the EFF have accused the DA of “abusing the courts” and “to frustrate” Mkh webane’sMeanwhile,reinstatement.Mkhwebane’s par liamentary Section 194 committee on impeachment hearing continues.
It [endorsement] comes with sym bolical value. It is a great thing to say, ‘The tripartite alliance backs me’
ounting economic woes have prompted South Africa’s largest labour-un ion federation to mobilise against the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The two sides are not expected to turn into political foes, according to analysts, who believe the labour movement is seek ing political gains.
watersrand.Cosatu,much like the SACP, bar gains to have more negotiating power before the election by threatening to withdraw support and abstain from campaigning for the ANC to ensure favourable tweaks in policies and to secure senior positions in govern ment, according to Booysen.
The protests on 24 August were driven by a demand that deci sion-makers take drastic action to avoid economic collapse and that the government deal “with the scourge of corruption” in the public procure ment“Thesystem.message to the ANC is, ‘Hear us. You don’t have a blank cheque from Cosatu’,” says Mathekga.
“When the ANC is at its weak est, as is the case now, Cosatu will bargain more. The end goal is not withdrawing from the alliance – that would be childish – it is to tighten the terms of engagement.
Back in 2007, Cosatu and the South African Communist Party’s (SACP) were instrumental in helping Jacob Zuma win the contest for the ANC presidency against Thabo Mbeki dur ing the party’s annual conference, which was held in Polokwane, Lim popo.Cosatu emerged from a crisis under Zuma where they overexposed them
“They [Cosatu] are a compassion ate critic of the ANC. Their legiti macy with workers also depends on them being able to stand up to the ANC,” Mathekga says.
“Look at the current administra tion, at the president himself – the cabinet is under siege,” Mathekga says. “All these things – [corruption scandals and economic stagnation]point to the ANC not being able to get things right.”
However, the ANC would still hope for Cosatu to remain on its side.
By Xolisa Phillip
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Cosatu, ANC will remain allies
“They [Cosatu] play strategically to try to optimise their influence,” says Booysen.
“It [Cosatu’s support] should be to the extent that the president provides a policy framework and leads … in a way that people do not lose jobs. When it comes to public procure ment, value … [should be] attained in multiplying jobs instead of making a few people millionaires,” the analyst says. “Whatever their sins, Cosatu’s
Five years after Cosatu threw its weight behind Ramaphosa, who rose to power on a ticket of economic renewal and rooting out corruption, South Africa is facing a cost-of-liv ing crisis while maladministration remains rampant.
Can an endorsement of Cyril Ramaphosa by Cosatu change his fortunes in the run-up to the ANC’s December elective conference? Photo by Gianluigi Guercia/AFP
full implementation of the 2018 wage agreement “a blatant attempt to erode workers’ hard-won rights”.
“Cosatu is never going to come out and support the Democratic Alliance [DA] - they don’t agree with the pol icies of the DA.”
The country recorded an official unemployment rate of 33.9% in the second quarter of 2022, while annual consumer price inflation rose to 7.8% in July, up from 7.4% in June. This has added pressure on workers deal ing with “wage stagnation and pun ishing debt”, says Cosatu.
Conditional support
‘Shadow of its former self’ Booysen says: “Cosatu has been floundering - they haven’t got that pull in society anymore.”
“It would be beneficial. It [endorse ment] comes with symbolical value. It is a great thing to say, ‘The tripar tite alliance backs me’.”
Cosatu remains embittered by a Constitutional Court judgement delivered earlier this year that invali dated the implementation of the last leg of a three-year wage agreement concluded in 2018 between the state andTheworkers.union considers the lack of
4 NEWSFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
A nationwide strike and protests staged by the Congress of South Afri can Trade Unions (COSATU) against the ANC-led government last month signifies that the trade union has “lost confidence in the new dawn”, the honeymoon period after Cyril Ramaphosa was elected the ANC pres ident in 2017, says Ralph Mathekga, a political analyst.
They [Cosatu] play strategically to try to optimise their influence “These are the times for the tri partite alliance members to do their campaigning” ahead of the elective congress, says Susan Booysen, pro fessor at the University of the Wit
Last month’s protests show that Cosatu’s support for the ANC “was always conditional – it should be conditional”, Mathekga says.
An endorsement of Ramaphosa by Cosatu in the run-up to the ANC’s December elective conference “can boost his image if they actively cam paign for him [again]”, says Booysen.
– theafricareport.com
Declining union membership and subscriptions, rising unemployment, and the advent of precarious work have eroded power on the ground for Cosatu, which “is a shadow of its former self”, according to Booysen.
SOUTH AFRICA STRIKES A POLITICAL GAMBIT AHEAD OF ELECTIVE CONFERENCE
However, Cosatu’s best bet is still the ANC, says Mathekga. “Other parties are still to find themselves. The only party that has a good institutional infrastructure through which Cosatu can influence policies is the ANC.”
Tripartite alliance campaigning Cosatu, whose affiliates dominate the public sector through different domains, including health and edu cation, is in a tripartite alliance with the ANC and the SACP. Constitu ents of Cosatu and the SACP, which chose to stay out of the ANC elective conference politics, are card-carrying members of the ruling party.
In December 2022, the ANC is scheduled to host an elective con ference for its top-six party positions; namely, president, deputy president, chairperson, treasurer, general secre tary, and deputy general secretary.
More ‘cautious’ Cosatu
leaders are seldom implicated in corruption. Our trade union leaders are relatively unblemished when it comes to their integrity.
selves to the problems of the ANC Dubbed the ‘coalition of the wounded’, in reference to Mbeki keeping the ANC’s left-leaning allies at arms’ length during his tenure, the grassroots organisational muscle of Cosatu and the SACP helped propel Zuma to the top Zuma’s economic cluster minis tries were later filled by senior SACP and Cosatu leaders. Ramaphosa’s incumbent finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, comes from the trade union“Cosatumovement.emerged from a crisis under Zuma where they overex posed themselves to the problems of the ANC,” Mathekga says, but “the Cosatu we have today is cautious”.
Members of Cosatu and Saftu marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria during the national strike against the high cost of living in August. Photo by Alaister Russell
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CEO of the Independent Community Pharmacy Asso ciation (ICPA), Jackie Maimin, said medicines used to treat everything from anxiety, men opausal symptoms to inoper able breast cancer are in low supply.Among these drugs are:
MEDICINESESSENTIALSUPPLYINCRITICALSTATE
Pharmacies under pres sure to source alternative medicines
● Irbesartan treats high-blood pressure, heart failure and dia betic kidney diseases.
“This may be a generic sub stitution (the same product made by a different manufac turer), or if a particular med icine is out of stock across all suppliers, we contact the prescriber and get a therapeu tic substitution which is a dif ferent medicine that does the same job, e.g. lowers blood pressure,” she said.
Venter said palliative care is about quality of life for those with life-limiting illnesses. An essential part of that is symptom control, which often requires“Withmedication.somethinglike mor phine, patients will suffer. Sometimes, you can swap to an alternative medication, but that would have to be done in consultation with a medical doctor. Sometimes, there is no other alternative,” she said.
Some palliative patients need a drug called Haloper idol, which has no suitable alternative.DrMargie Venter from The Association of Palliative Care Practitioners of South Africa (Palprac) said Haloperidol is often used at the end of life to manage patients with nausea and vomiting, confusion and restlessness.“Thisdrug is on the WHO essential medicines list and is available in many other Afri can countries but is no longer available here,” Venter said.
substitute medication rarely causes adverse events in patients. But some generics, like antiepileptics, blood thin ners and certain heart medi cines need close monitoring.
●Depo-Testosterone for impo tence delayed puberty in males and inoperable breast cancer in women.
● Provera tablets to treat abnormal uterine bleeding and restore the normal men strual cycle.
Adverse effects are possible.”
he aftershocks of Cov id-19’s stranglehold on the global supply chain are affecting the availability of essential medi cines in South Africa.
● Morphine powder and ampoules used in palliative care for cancer and terminally ill patients.
● Zithromax Paediatric Sus pension, which is an antibi otic.“80% of our raw materials come from China and India. Any slowdown in production has a knock-on effect on us,” said“WeMaimin.managed these short ages throughout the pandemic and continue monitoring them. It will take some time for production to catch up and distribution to normal ise.”Maimin said many countries are affected, so shortages in SA were expected. She said some healthcare facilities are more affected by others, depending on their stock holding.
Maimin added that generic
“Ampoules and tablets are alternatives. But now the amps are out of stock and tablets are not also viable as many ill patients cannot swal low“Paintablets.relieving patches are another alternative, but these are expensive, so there is a barrier to access for many,” Maimin explained.
Medical associations and pharmaceutical organisations are concerned about the low supply of morphine powder and 150 other medicines across the country.
– Health-e News 5NEWS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
By Faith Mutizira
●Denetrin and Halcion for anxiety.
Essential medicine short age impacts palliative care ICPA said to manage the shortage of end-of-life drugs is concerning. For instance, morphine powder alternatives are expensive, burdening the patient and their families. Even these alternatives are in shortMorphinesupply.powder is crucial during palliative care for can cer and terminally ill patients.
“Therapeutic alternatives are more of a challenge and only considered when there is no other choice. The patient must be monitored and sta bilised on the new medicine.
“For the past two months, we have not had access to oral morphine – this is an absolute crisis as this is the only opioid available to patients with can cer pain in the state sector.”
(c) The whereabouts of the child’s parent or guardian cannot be established. (d) The child has been abandoned. (e) The child is in need of a permanent alternative placement.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO ADOPT A CHILD AND BE A PARENT? Morakane MosupyoeMEC For Social Development 1. EKURHULENI 2. JHB 3. SEDIBENG 4. WEST RAND 5. TSHWANE Ms Meme Ngema Ms Sibongile Kuboni Ms Salaminah Mosia Ms Thelma Hyde Ms. Madikubu Dolo Ms. Shadi Ngqaza Ms. Sinah Phiri Ms. Lebohang Mokoka Ms. Lolo Mohlala Ms. Ida Strydom 082 554 4042 066 291 4866 082 414 6910 082 414 6845 071 492 1062 082 469 8797 082 410 6564 079 529 4601 082 460 5830 082 331 0879 REGION NAMES CONTACTNUMBERS What are requirements of a prospective adoptive parent? (a) fit and proper to be entrusted with full parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the child. (b) willing and be able to undertake exercise and maintain those responsibilities and rights. (c) Over the age of 18 years. (d) Properly assessed by an adoption Social Worker
b) To promote the goals of permanency planning by connecting children to other safe and nurturing family relationships intended to last a lifetime.
The South African Council for Social Service Professional (SACSSP) in conjunction with National Department of Social Development and the Services for Children Directorate has ensured that the Social Workers in the Province are well capacitated and registered with the SACSSP to render the adoption services.
Together For more information, please contact our offices at 011 355 7600/ 011 227 00 00
The Gauteng Department of Social Development is now rendering child adoption services to prospective parents at no cost.
A child is adopted when the child is placed in the permanent care of a person in terms of a court order.
(b) The child is an orphan and has no guardian or caregiver who is willing to adopt the child.
A child may be adopted –(a) jointly by –(i) a husband and wife (ii) partners in a permanent domestic life-partnership or (iii) other persons sharing a common household and forming a permanent family unit.
(d)
Tel: +27(0)11 355 7600/ +27(0)11 227 0000 69 Commissioner Street, Thusanong Building, Johannesburg 2107
Adoption is a statutory process facilitated through the Children’s Court and there are strict legal procedures that promote the goals of permanency planning that connects children to nurturing family relationships intended to last a lifetime; it requires continuous monitoring, support, and it must be rendered by registered and accredited Social Service Practitioners as it is now a field of specialty.
(a) The adoption is in the best interest of the child.
a child a home and you are over the age of 18 years and meet the criteria, you can adopt a child.
If your answer is yes, worry no more! The days of expensive adoption process, which can cost anything between R12000 to R20000 or more, are all gone. Government now offers a free service to qualifying Parents/Guardians who wish to adopt children. “The Gauteng Department of Social Development is leading this process in the province, and hereby wishes to inform the citizens about this new
(b) a widow, widower, divorced or unmarried person. (c) married person whose spouse is the parent of the child or by a person whose permanent life-partner is the parent of the child. biological father of a child born out of wedlock or (e) foster parent of the child.
This message is brought to you by the Gauteng Department of Social Development Growing Gauteng
Any child may be adopted if –
Where can you go to apply for adoption in Gauteng?
Children’s Second Amendment Act, Act No. 18 of 2016 introduced the inclusion of a Social Worker in the employ of the Department of Social Development into the definition of “Adoption Social Worker” to render adoption services. These amendments have brought forth new and certain responsibilities in terms of its implementation of Adoption as a specialty service that Social Workers in the employ of the Department of Social Development did not possess. The Child Protection Organisations and Social Workers in Private Practice were championing this service in the province.
(f) The child is the stepchild of the person intending to adopt. (g) The child’s parent or guardian has consented to the adoption
a) To protect and nurture children by providing a safe, healthy environment with positive support: and
Purpose of adoption
Who can be adopted?
Who can adopt child?
He said it’s the same with his son, whose friends no longer come over to play soccer.
Their perception is backed up by data on the DWS system. Figures from 18 June show Standerton Water Treatment Works, which purifies water for drinking and is run by Lekwa municipality, was meeting standards for microbiological com pliance (fecal coliforms such as E.coli and enterococcus) just 47.5% of the time. The figure for chemical compli ance was 0%. Both these indicators, among others, are supposed to meet
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Living in a “garbage heap”
He said they have to change the filters every three months, costing R500, as well as a “main filter,” which costs R800. This is above what they have to pay the municipality for water use and supply.
Venter, who was elected ward councillor for the area in November last year, was previously a commu nity activist, and had been reporting sewerage failures to the municipality and pushing for action for five years. She showed GroundUp house after house marked by years of sewage spills. Behind an apartment block on Berg Street, she pointed to an open field that she said usually has a fountain of sewage spewing from it.
Venter said sewage had been over flowing for years. It was evident that entire lines were blocked or collapsed, sewage was spilling out of every man hole; across streets, into gardens, and into the Vaal River. Questions sent to the municipality asking why the sewerage network was dysfunctional were ignored.
At a pump station on Taljaard Street, the security guard used step ping stones to cross a pond of sew age between her guard hut and the boundary gate. Although the pump station was working at the time, she said it is switched off from 5pm to 8am every night. During those 15 hours, the sewage simply overflows into the yard and across the street. She said she did not know why the pump was switched off. Venter also didn’t know why.
“I’ve developed asthma and am getting headaches,” he said. He now shares one house with his parents.
failing.Atwo-and-a-half hour tour across Standerton with municipal council lor Wilma Venter revealed sewage spill after sewage spill.
Located in a cul-de-sac on the banks of the Vaal River, the houses seemed ideal for Lotter, who had taken early retirement after the fam ily plumbing business down-sized.
“My daughter gets teased at school. Even friends she used to play with, they say ‘you’re staying in a garbage heap,’ and laugh at her. Her friends don’t visit anymore.”
According to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Green Drop Report for 2022 – an audit of all wastewater treatment works in the country for the period July 2020 to June 2021 – Standerton Wastewa ter Treatment Works is 164% over capacity, achieving an overall score of just 17%, which puts it into the “critical risk category”. No data on the quality of its effluent, which is released almost directly into the Vaal River, was loaded onto the DWS online regulatory system, which it is required to do on a monthly basis, during the first quarter of 2022.
SEWAGE SEEPS INTO THE VAAL DAM AS MPUMALANGA WATER TREATMENT PLANTS FAIL
The permanent saturation of the ground has caused the building’s foundations to give way. Lotter
But this report is not just about Lekwa municipality’s sewerage net work failing – as it clearly is. Data from the entire region’s municipal wastewater plants show a pattern of lack of oversight and fiscal mis management, not only failing the people who live there, but potentially affecting more than 13 million peo ple who rely on the Vaal Dam for their drinking water. It also offers a dire warning if no action is taken to rectify it.
“We don’t even cook with the tap water,” he said, it all goes through the purifier first.
The water from the taps “smells like ammonia” and is brown, said Lauren Nienaber, who lives at the bottom of Coligny Street with her husband Andre.
7NEWS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
ohan Lotter and his parents moved into neighbouring houses in Standerton 15 years ago, planning to spend the rest of their lives there.
A visit to the plant revealed untreated sewage spilling into the environment from just outside the perimeter fence, and flowing into the Vaal River a stone’s throw away. From there it flows into the Vaal Dam, the drinking supply for Gauteng. The failure within Lekwa munici
pality is not confined to wastewater and pollution of the Vaal. The drink ing water supplied by the municipal ity, which is extracted from the Vaal about a kilometre upstream of the town, is not drinkable.
Entire town’s sewerage s system is failing
Gauteng drinking water could be threatened if crisis is not fixed… Failing sewerage systems in Mpumalanga municipalities are pouring filthy water onto streets and into the Vaal River catchment system. In some municipalities not only sewage treatment plants but also water purification plants, where water is prepared for drinking, are failing. The catchment system supplies the Vaal Dam, which supplies water to Gauteng.
J
The stream of sewage flowing from a broken pump station in Evander, Mpumalanga. The white vehicles in the background belong to a municipal crew who were restoring the power cables to the pump station, which had been stolen. Photos by Steve Kretzmann
By Steve Kretzmann
But for the past three years, garden ing has been out of the question, and baking is much less appetizing, as both properties have been flooded withThesewage.houses are on the lowest res idential portion of land in Stander ton’s Meyerville area, where sewer line blockages and pump station fail ures have caused waste to back up and overflow, turning the properties into a permanent sewage swamp.
The Lotter and Habile houses may be the most visibly affected, but the entire town’s sewerage network is
Habile also pointed to new cracks in the walls where the drain is sit uated – the result of the continual damp – and the stench from the sewage swamp that permeates the air. He says his children are teased at school for their living conditions.
He planned to look after his aging parents and spend more time enjoy ing two of his favourite hobbies, gardening and baking, in between lecturing at a local technical college.
Andre revealed a small reverse osmosis system underneath the kitchen sink which they use to purify the water from their tap.
Lotter said the sewer line started to get blocked regularly in 2009. Blockages gradually became more frequent until the overflow became permanent in late 2018, with sewage engulfing their yards.
It’s a familiar story. Tulani Habile lives in the third house in the cul-desac. He shares it with his mother, sis ter, aunt, his 13-year-old son and his nine-year-old daughter. Although his house is on slightly higher ground, the town’s sewerage failure means his own drains are permanently blocked, and all the household waste water flows into the yard.
pointed out new cracks in the walls and rising damp that has led to black mold forming inside.
Toxic water
Wilma Venter points out one of many sewage spills in the town of Standerton. Having grown up in Standerton, she said as children they used to swim in the vlei behind her, which has since become a cesspool. Photos by Steve Kretzmann
8 NEWSFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Evander resident Corrie Baden horst led us to a non-functioning wastewater pump station in a field on the north west of town. All the sew age from its collection network flows across an open field, via a stream into the Grootspruit river. The Groot spruit runs south into the Waterval River, a tributary of the Vaal. Before contributing to pollution of the Vaal, the untreated sewage first flows into a wetland less than a kilometre away, which is visibly polluted. Wetlands are supposed to be protected under national environmental legislation for their ecological services (such as flood mitigation, groundwater recharge, biodiversity, carbon cap ture), but this pump station, which Badenhorst says is the only one in Evander, has been dysfunctional for “more than two months”. No visible action has been taken and no-one has been prosecuted.
The cost of mismanagement
He said this might take a decade or more. But, he said, increased pol lution from dysfunctional munici palities, population growth, a failure to deal with acid mine drainage and agricultural runoff, combined with a few years of drought as experienced by Cape Town in 2017, that could push the Vaal Dam to a point of eutrophication. This occurs when an influx of nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, stimulates algal growth to the point where oxygen is removed from the water, mak ing it incapable of supporting life. Eutrophication also leads to blooms of cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae) which produce toxins that can be fatal. Studies show that once a water body has become eutrophic, it may take a thousand years for it to recover
This investigation was produced in collaboration with the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journal ism and OpenUp, with the support of the Open Society Foundation.
He said when they do have elec tricity at the plant, only one of four aerators work, and a biofiltration unit doesn’t work. This is largely due to cable theft, he said.
the South African National Standards (SANS) for drinking water at least 98% of the time.
used for infrastructure projects such as new water pipes or wastewater treatment plants. Equally, spending on repairs and maintenance, which would cover the preservation of sew erage and water supply networks, was a mere 2.5% of the value of the municipality’s fixed assets, when it should be “Unauthorised,8%. irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure” comprised nearly 40% of the budget in the last financial year. It was nearly 38% of the 2019/20 budget and more than half of the budget in the 2018/19 financial year.
Story Continues from Page 7
In Bethal, southwest of Evander in the same municipality, the wastewa ter treatment plant was not working at all when GroundUp visited on the morning of 18 August, due to load-shedding.Anemployee at the plant, who is not allowed to officially speak to the media, said there is no generator and the plant is subject to national load-shedding schedules as well as power cuts due to municipal failures.
Neither Govan Mbeki nor Lekwa municipalities responded to ques tions about failures in sewage or drinking water provision. But finan cial records, reflected on Municipal Money – a web-based tool designed to inform citizens on their municipal ity’s financial performance using data from the National Treasury – indicate the extent of mismanagement.
This is partly because the Vaal Dam is so large, which allows for sufficient dilution, and partly because good rainfall seasons have prevented the build-up of chemicals.
“As soon as they fix the cables, they get stolen again.”
The Green Drop Report shows the Evander wastewater treatment plant scored just 17% for microbiological compliance, and 48% for chemical compliance, with an overall score of just 35%. An overall score of 31% or less indicates the plant is in “critical risk” and to be placed under regula toryThefocus.Govan Mbeki municipality did not respond to questions, includ ing whether or not there was just one pump station in the sewerage network. If Badenhorst’s assertions are correct, the Evander wastewa ter treatment plant is failing even though it doesn’t get much of the sewage within the network, which mostly flows into the environment instead of to the treatment plant.
According to the data, Govan Mbeki Municipality underspent its capital budget by more than 54% in the last reported financial year (2020/21). The capital budget is
While data and anecdotal evi dence show Govan Mbeki municipal ity’s drinking water meets national standards, the Auditor-General in its qualified report, noted 7.7 billion litres of this water was lost during the financial year “due to wastage as a result of deteriorating infrastructure.”
The Green Drop report gave the Bethal wastewater treatment works an overall score of 36%, placing it in the ‘high risk’ category, with micro biological compliance of 0% and chemical compliance of 58%.
These areas form South Africa’s eco nomic heartbeat, but Rand Water, the bulk water supplier for this region, did not answer questions about the impact of sewage and other pollution on the drinking water supply from the Vaal Dam. They said the ques tions fell under the competence of the Department of Water and Sanita tion, who failed to respond. However, a water quality specialist at Rand Water, who cannot be named for fear of losing his job, issued a dire warn ing if the matter is not addressed.
To the north of Lekwa, drink ing water in the towns of Evander and Secunda in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, is acceptable. The Govan Mbeki supply comes from Rand Water rather than from a municipal-run water treatment works.Wastewater management, how ever, for which the municipality is responsible, is failing in these towns, and in Bethal which also falls within the Govan Mbeki municipality.
A dire warning
While Johan Lotter and his parents have to live in a faecal swamp, a national water security crisis is creep ing ever closer with each kilolitre of untreated water that flows into the Vaal from these failing municipal systems. – groundup.org.za
Damningly, the Auditor-General found the municipal infrastructure grant, which is provided by the national government for infrastruc ture to service the poorest house holds, was “not spent for its intended purpose”.Dueto the poor reporting and financial record keeping, there is lit tle information from the 2020/21 or 2019/20 financial years loaded onto the Municipal Money site. However, it shows “unauthorized, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure” took up more than 40% of the budget in 2019/20. The Auditor-General notes that no reasonable steps have been taken to prevent this loss of money.Theresult of this mismanagement is more than 57 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage flowing to the Vaal River every day, just from these two municipalities in one corner of the vast upper Vaal catchment area. Beyond sewage pol lution, this catchment also receives agricultural runoff containing high levels of nitrates and phosphates, as well as acid mine drainage, all of which goes into the only sup ply of drinking water for much of Gauteng Province, as well as parts of Mpumalanga, such as Govan Mbeki municipality.
Turton cited several studies show ing around 60% of large dams in South Africa had become eutrophic. “We’ve never managed to turn it around,” he said.
So far, he said, the cost of water purification has not been affected by the pollution of the catchment area. “But if it gets to that point, it would be drastic,” he said.
Johan Lotter stands in the yard of the family house, most of which is now a permanent swamp of raw sewage following complete breakdown of the municipal sewerage system since 2018. Photos by Steve Kretzmann
Asked about a series of large hold ing ponds, he explained that when the wastewater flow contains high chemical levels, as well as blood from the abattoir, it is diverted to the ponds to settle. It is then sup posed to be pumped back to the plant for treatment. But the return pump wasn’t working, so the water from holding ponds flowed through a break in the lowest pond, through an informal settlement and into the wetland.“It’sflowing into the stream with out treatment,” he said.
Water from a eutrophic dam can be purified to drinking water qual ity through charcoal activation or advanced oxidation, Turton said. But he said neither of these methods are currently in use.
The municipality incurred a net loss of nearly R609-million ( for the financial year, and liabilities exceeded assets by more than R195- million, leading the Auditor-General to state there is “a material uncertainty” whether the municipality has the resources to continue operating.
Lekwa municipality’s financial state is possibly worse, with the Auditor-General’s office stating the municipality was unable to provide sufficient documentation for an audit opinion to be formed. The Audi tor-General accounting officers stated in their report that if the audit of the municipality had not been required by legislation, they would “have withdrawn from the engagement in terms of the International Stand ards of Auditing.” In other words, if the municipality were a business, it would not be able to produce prop erly audited financial reports.
Tulani Habile says rising damp and cracks are beginning to form in his house in Standerton. Photos by Steve Kretzmann
For Anthony Turton, a professor at the University of Free State’s Cen tre for Environmental Management, who is also a specialist in acid mine drainage, there is “no question” that the Vaal Dam is already moving toward a eutrophic state.
This data is also available on a user-friendly wazi map
The Rand Water employee said eutrophication of the Vaal Dam was “a long way off,” but warned that “if we get to that point,” there would be nowhere else to go in terms of water supply for the roughly 10 million people who rely on the dam for drinking water.
He explained that the microbio logical component in the untreated water – E. coli and related gut bacte ria – does not last long outside the human gut, so is not a factor by the time the water flows to the Vaal Dam, and even if it was, the microbes would be killed by chlorine. However, the chemical components - the nitrates and phosphates - do remain. The water purification process is designed to remove these elements and so far is doing so within specified limits.
Current bulk water treatment methods, said Turton, cannot remove the toxins produced by blooms of cyanobacteria. These toxins, he said, have been proven to injure motor neurons in the brain, impairing cog nitive function. They can also cross the placenta, accumulating in the brain of the foetus.
A stream of sewage from holding ponds at the Bethal wastewater treatment works, which is supposed to be pumped back to the plant for treatment, flows from a break in the lowest pond’s wall through an informal settlement below. Photo by Steve Kretzmann
By Ndivhuwo Mukwevho
Reflecting on her experiences, Catherine said a lot still needs to be done to educate communities and traditional healers about childhood cancer.
www.choc.org.za
Get cancer treatment at hospitals
Early warning signs of childhood cancer include white spots in the eye, a new squint, sudden blindness and the sudden appearance of a lump on the abdomen, pelvis, head, neck, limbs, tes tes and glands. Weight loss, bruising easily and fatigue are other early signs.
“The training of traditional medical health practitioners must be continuous. Communities respect traditional health practitioners. They not only fulfil physical health roles, but also feature significantly in the social and political spheres,” said Adri.
Adri said traditional healers could also play a role in quashing many myths that lead to stig matisation.“Weneed to give people knowledge to change attitudes and practices to increase the survival rate of children with cancer,” Adri said.
Since her training in 2018, Catherine has advised three families to take their children for cancer testing.
– Health-e News 9NEWS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
“We know some patients/parents prefer to use western and traditional medicines to treat their children for cancer. Our advice is that they must refrain from doing this. The treatment offered at hospitals is enough to treat any type of childhood cancer,” said Patience.
A paediatric nurse based in Polokwane Provin cial Hospital, Patience Lehaha, urged parents not to use traditional medicines to treat symptoms.
There are over 200,000 THPs in South Africa, and 70% to 80% of the population is thought to use traditional medicines or a combination of western and traditional medicine.
KwaZulu-Natal healer is one of thousands playing a vital role in spotting early signs of childhood cancer.
Knowledge is key
“Some of them do not know about childhood cancer as most of us only know about breast and prostate cancer. Then, there are traditional health practitioners who have the guts to say, ‘I can heal this’, which is wrong. That needs to change.”
Catherine Ntanjana is one of 5,000 tra ditional health practitioners (THP) that the Child hood Cancer Foundation of SA (Choc) trained to recognise warning signs.
The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) said 800 to 1,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in SA annually. It’s estimated that at least half the children who have cancer are never diagnosed.Butifcaught early, most children can be treated successfully. Since many people consult a THP before a medical doctor, training traditional healers to detect early signs of childhood cancer is important.September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which aims to reduce child mortality. Leukaemia, lymphoma, brain cancer and spinal cord tumours are among the most common childhood cancers in Mzansi.
“I noticed their children had symptoms we were trained to spot. But what saddened me is that all of them just brushed me off and didn’t go to the local clinic,” said Catherine.
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Traditional healers are important in the fight against childhood cancer Choc Programme Development Manager, Adri Ludick, said equipping THPs with necessary infor mation and knowledge about childhood cancer is a game-changer in early diagnosis.
Adri said excluding THPs from the fight against childhood cancer would cost lives.
GAME-CHANGERSTRADITIONALHEALERSAREINCHILDHOODCANCERTREATMENT
Globally over the year (from 1 July, 2021 to 30 June, 2022), Kasper sky security solutions detected more than 384,000 users affected by almost 92,000 malicious or unwanted unique files that mim icked 28 games or series of games.
victims of crime can get help from the closest response vehicle in five minutes or less,” he says.
In attempts to download new games from untrustworthy resources for free, players got malicious soft ware instead, losing their gaming accounts and even funds. These and other findings are part of the report of the gaming-related threat issued by ToKaspersky.assessthe current landscape in gaming risks, Kaspersky experts observed the most popular PC and mobile games-related threats.
and even crypto wallet data by infectingAttackersdevices.purposely seek to spread threats under the guise of games that either have a huge captive audience or that have only recently been released and are constantly on gamers’Well-knownradars. games such as Roblox, FIFA or Minecraft, for example, as well as the new parts of big series of games, released during the last year - Elden Ring, Halo, and Resident Evil – were actively abused
threat family for the period given. Redline is usually sold for a very low price on various hacker forums, therefore, it has huge popularity among cybercriminals.
In addition to spreading malicious files, attackers continue to actively create and spread new phishing pages in the gaming sphere.
Domestic violence and abuse are often carefully concealed, but if we know the signs of an abusive rela tionship we may be able to better identify abuse and seek or offer help. South African women and children deserve to live without fear of violence.
For example, many malicious files steal login information for gaming accounts, banking details
If you or someone you know has experienced gender-based or sexual violence, you can make contact with organisations fighting GBV, or you can call the SA National GBV helpline on 0800 150 150.
10 TECHFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Acting against GBV is everyone’s businessThesafety of the most vulner able in our communities is of utmost importance to us, says War ren Myers, CEO and co-founder of AURA, South Africa’s leading security and medical response plat form.Common myths, such as that what happens at home should stay at home or that it is nobody’s busi ness what happens behind closed doors are extremely powerful.
This is especially true if a new game is quite expensive and the player wants to save money by find ing a copy for free on untrustwor thy sites. However, they will lose much more than if they bought a legitimate version.
● For more information on how you can get an AURA-powered emergency response service, visit aura.services/our-partners/https://www.
and Warface, scammers create fraudulent pages, offering potential victims a decent arsenal of various weapons and artefacts for free. To receive the gift, players need to enter login data for their social network accounts, such as Facebook or AfterTwitter.taking over accounts, attack ers are likely to search through personal messages for card details, or ask various friends of the victim for money, preying on their trust and carelessness. – itnewsafrica.com
In addition to the large number of downloaders that are able to install other unwanted programs and adware, Kaspersky researchers even detected Trojan-Spies – a cate gory of spyware capable of tracking any data entered on the keyboard and taking screenshots.
This makes it hard for individu als to speak up against violence in the family, and it may affect the provision of help and support ser vices, exposing the abused person to greater harm, with possibly fatal consequences.“Ourwomen and children need
USING THE POWER OF TECH TO SHED LIGHT ON GBV
By Luis Monzon
to know that if they reach out for help in a moment of crisis, that response will be swift and reliable. That’s where AURA can assist.”
Globally over the year (from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022) Kasper sky solutions detected 2,362 unique users attacked with RedLine, spread under the guise of popular games, which makes it the most active
Harnessing technology to address our country’s most deeprooted problems has the potential to make a measurable and lasting impact on society, says Myers.
Over the same period, in South Africa 1,561 unique users were affected by 1,268 malicious and unwanted files. And in Kenya, 1,159 unique users were affected by 968 malicious and unwanted files.
He adds that this is just one of many steps that need to be taken to tackle the GBV crisis in South Africa.
“We want to break the silence that often surrounds domestic violence. We want to ensure that women and children feel safe in using their voices to seek help. We want them to know that there is a network of people who are able to help, and who are dedicated to making it harder for people to get away with being an abuser.”
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Violence against women and children is a human rights viola tion that takes place every single day around the world.
Help is at hand for individuals experiencing GBV
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by attackers who spread RedLine malware under their guise.
Mimicking the whole interface of in-game stores for CS: GO, PUBG
One in three women experiences physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner.
– itnewsafrica.com
MALWARE THAT STEALS CREDIT CARD DETAILS TARGETS SOUTH AFRICAN AND KENYAN GAMERS
Attacks on women and children have also recorded major increases, with a staggering 22.2% rise in murders compared to the same period last year.
n the first half of 2022, Kaspersky researchers detected increased activity of cybercriminals abus ing Globally,gamers.the number of users attacked by malicious software, which gathers sensitive data and spreads under the guise of some of the most popular gaming titles, has increased by 13% compared to the first half of 2021.
By Luis Monzon
Myers explains. Technology can be an essential tool in crime pre vention and incident response by empowering women and children with the means to call for assis
Most often users receive mali cious files when they try to down load games not from official sites, but from third-party webpages.
For the first time Kaspersky experts discovered a new scheme of phishers attacking gamers.
n the fourth quarter of 2021, South Africa’s rape figures were up by 13.7%. There were 1300 more rapes compared to the same period in the previous year. 10,818 rapes were reported in the first three months of 2022, with 4,635 rapes taking place at the victim’s home, or that of the rapist.
tance should they feel threatened or unsafe. A swift response to calls for“Theassistance.AURA platform provides access to private security companies in order to reach victims of domes tic abuse. It acts as a safety net and provides on-demand emergency services through which potential
The wind sector is expected enter into a period of intense construction. Photo by kinwun@123rf.com
Warren Myers, CEO and co-founder of AURA. Photo by ventureburn.com
RedLine is password-stealing soft ware, which extracts sensitive data from the victim’s device such as passwords, saved bank card details, cryptocurrency wallets, and creden tials for VPN services.
By Dr Tasanya Chinsamy and Claire Waterhouse
The effective denial of access to child and maternal healthcare services for people like Eldred in Gauteng has many severe, negative healthObstructingconsequences.access to timely, quality healthcare services increases the risk of preventable maternal illness and Obstructingdeath.women from con sistently accessing the appropri ate level of antenatal care during the course of their pregnancy is a sure-fire way to miss early oppor tunities to identify and minimise pregnancy-related risks to health.
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More fundamentally, the Gaut eng health system betrays medical ethics by endangering life rather than protecting and saving a life, obstructing care with high fees.
It is ultimately counter-produc tive for the healthcare system. It is
far more cost-effective to provide routine antenatal care and planned delivery for complex cases than to allow vulnerable patients to deteri orate until they require resource-in tensive emergency care and must be admitted since no hospital can deny them urgent care.
A DANGEROUS PROGNOSIS
n South Africa, reports of xen ophobic incidents are a daily reality. Now migrants using the country’s strained public health system have become a hot-button issue as impartial access to health care has recently become highly politicised.Operation Dudula’s anti-migrant protestors targeted the sick and vul nerable outside Kalafong Hospital in Tshwane to reach a political objective. They profiled patients allegedly by skin colour and lan guage, turning away anyone who failed to pass muster. The protestors also targeted Hillbrow Community Health Centre, where they intimi dated migrants accessing care. Days earlier, Limpopo health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba berated a Zim babwean patient, claiming migrants are “killing my health system”. In an interview, politician, Gayton McKenzie, said he would switch off a foreign national’s oxygen to save a South African.
Dr Tasanya Chinsamy is Medical Activity Manager, MSF Tshwane migrant health access project and Claire Waterhouse, Head of MSF Southern African Operational Sup port Unit
It must also affirm a commit ment to universal access to essential care regardless of nationality or migration status. The department must find sustainable solutions in the form of properly managed and resourced facilities. And it must end the obstruction of care for people like Eldred by ensuring equitable healthcare access for all people. If not, darker days are coming. – www. msf.org.za
Vulnerable migrants obstructed from getting essential maternal and child healthcare services due to Gauteng hospital payment policies and politics
In 2018, Médecins Sans Fron tières (MSF) started providing basic primary health and psychosocial services to vulnerable communities around the Tshwane CBD and out lying areas where migrants live. We have witnessed a marked increase in migrants or asylum seekers without formal refugee status excluded from tertiary level care due to the impo sition of fees.
*Name changed to protect her identity
Unlike the anti-migrant protest ers outside hospitals and clinics,
The Gauteng public health sys tem has failed Eldred by requiring her to pay high fees for essential antenatal healthcare that she is fully entitled to receive under the National Health Act. She was also left with extra costs and health risks because she had to go to the Eastern Cape for care.
Requiring payment for curative care at public hospitals, especially in an atmosphere of xenophobic intimidation, dissuades vulnerable people from using preventive ser vices.This has major consequences for antenatal care coverage for preg nant women or those accessing con traception and family planning ser vices. It also has detrimental effects on vaccination rates and access to other essential health services for young migrant children.
MSF supports litigation against the Gauteng DoH in the Johannes burg High Court by SECTION27 and three migrant patients who were deniedTogether,care.we ask that the Gauteng DoH clarify its ambiguous payment policies obstructing access to care. We ask that the court reaffirm access to free healthcare for all pregnant and lactating women and children under six – including persons seek ing asylum, undocumented persons and persons affected by stateless ness. We hope the court will declare obstructionist Gauteng regulations as an unlawful contravention of the National Health Act.
This affirmation is welcome. But is it a sincere position when, in Gauteng, the gatekeepers of the public health system have under mined this right?
tal, Eldred found out she must pay R848 for the initial consultation and follow-up visit because she is a refugee. And she would need to pay more for any medication and further consultations during her pregnancy.Eldredis unemployed with little support. In short: the fees are unaf fordable. Rebuffed and increasingly anxious, Eldred went to the Eastern Cape, where she previously got care at a tertiary hospital.
After days of silence, the South African Government finally publicly condemned the xenophobic pro tests by Operation Dudula, empha sising that “the right to access basic health services is a basic human right the Constitution guarantees. This makes provision for everyone in the country to access healthcare regardless of nationality or docu mentation status.”
Today, Eldred is 4 weeks from a full-term pregnancy. The uncer tainty of where she will be able to safely give birth weighs her down.
Some senior hospital managers view this circular as an instruction from the Gauteng DoH to deny means testing and free (or low er-fee) services to pregnant and lac tating women and children if they are asylum seekers, undocumented migrants or persons affected by statelessness – unless they need
The circular exempts pregnant women and children under six “irrespective of any other classi fication” from fees if they can’t afford it. But primarily, South Afri can patients with ID documents and documented refugees’ ability to pay is evaluated.
emergency services. This contra dicts the National Health Act.
33-year-old asylum seeker Eldred Kaseke* is one of at least 13 MSF service users who have suffered the negative impacts of Gauteng regu lations around migrants in the last 12 Atmonths.29weeks pregnant and hav ing already suffered a miscarriage and the death of another child shortly after birth, she was found to have high blood sugar levels during a clinic visit for her cur rent pregnancy. Hers is considered a “high-risk pregnancy”, mean ing potential complications could affect the mother, the baby, or both. Eldred was duly referred to a sec ondary-level hospital that deemed her case too complex for them and referred her to a tertiary hospital in Gauteng for specialist review.
During a visit to a tertiary hospi
Many countries, including South Africa, adopted progressive national policies of not charging pregnant women and children. The Gauteng health system’s U-turn must be con fronted to protect impartial medical care that saves and protects all lives.
The politicisation of healthcare must stop. The Gauteng DoH must urgently clarify to hospital manag ers the implementation of “Circular 27 of 2020”.
who use physical intimidation to turn migrants away, some Gauteng hospitals use policies that directly contradict South Africa’s National Health Act, which stipulates free health care for pregnant women and children under six.
11YOUR TAKE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Operation Dudula’s anti-migrant protests targeted the sick and vulnerable outside Kalafong Hospital in Tshwane. Photo by pbs.twimg.com
At some of the main tertiary hospitals in Tshwane, pregnant and lactating migrant women and children under six regularly face challenges in accessing care if they lack appropriate documentation and cannot pay the higher fees for the essential services they need. The root of these rejections is “Circular 27 of 2020”, issued by the Gaut eng Department of Health (DoH). It contains ambiguous wording regarding the “scheduling of fees for hospital services”.
The trigger-happy police and the military that roamed the streets made life a living hell. I lived in hiding, missing class for several days. The advice from Dibongza came in handy as we already had study groups.
Bongani frequented my grand mother’s house. Several senior Cosas leaders will often have meetings there. These included his older brother, Jabu, with whom we are still friends to date. Jabu, together with the likes of Mnyamezeli Booi, Lulu Johnson and Kenny Fihla, were in the National Executive Committee of Cosas.
Instead of holding those in charge of the state to account we point an accusing figure at for eigners…Africans in particular. We curse them for everything that has gone wrong in this misgoverned country of Politicallyours.bankrupt men like ex-convict and leader of the Patri otic Alliance Gayton Mackenzie have jumped into the political vacuum and marshalled people’s frustrations into a whirlwind of hatred…and by extension selfhate.He and the likes of Herman Mashaba have become the Afro phobia queen bees that have the irresistible power to attract a swarm of frustrated and hateful bees. In their political shallowness they have ably hooked in their wagon to the skittish horse of people’s woes and desperation. They know that among us, live people who will embrace anyone who validates the belief that our distress is as a result of the pres ence of Africans from beyond our borders.The jingoistic Mackenzie launched a venomous attack against foreigners a few weeks ago when he said: “We are saying
“We rage at the idea that the Nigerians are trafficking our daughters and corrupting our young boys with drugs. We march behind those who lead us through Yeoville and Orange Grove. We swarm around the Pick n Pay where the tellers and packers drag their Rs. We march through Alex andra and Vosloorus to unsettle the Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Somalians. We rattle them, make them know they are unwel come and give them notice to pack up. “We’ll be back,” we say.
“The governing politicians watch. They are anxious but make a calculation. Quietly con demn. Just enough for them to scapegoat and defer attention from government failure. But be careful that they do not replace us as a potential vigilante gov ernment.“Party politicians are wary about sharing political space in an election year but Dudula means that we blame unprece dented levels of unemployment on foreigners and not the political feeding
EDUCATION WAS MAKUMALO’S WEAPON OF CHOICE IN HER FIGHT AGAINST APARTHEID
“what are you studying now?” She cared deeply about education and this character was embodied in her youngest son, Bongani. Bongani demonstrated maturity at a young age, making it obvious that he was ahead of his time. More significantly, Bongani epitomised his mother’s teachings and persona to the hilt.
He was neat, measured and artic ulate, responsible yet courteous and considerate. He was a teenage states man, nothing boys his age can ever be. Bongani was a typical Cosas mem ber of the ’80s; an intelligent straight A student but an astute leader.
The horse-drawn coal carts vendors’ routine was replaced by the scaling of fences in the dusty streets with high-speed police vans in hot pursuit. The event always featured rubber bul lets and teargas, with occasional live rounds. These skirmishes led to the now-common place mass funerals.
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Despite all obstacles, she studied to become a teacher and continued to study until late in life. She studied and taught as an act of defiance against apartheid. This method was soon to be turned into a beacon of hope, an empowering flame she kept sharing and acquiring till her twilight years.
warning: “Don’t forget to flag down the coal wagon in the afternoon.”
AFROPHOBIA IS AN EXCUSE TO DEHUMANISE FELLOW AFRICANS
As his name suggests, there is a touch of Sis Thembi there, education was a central theme. Little wonder that some of his protégés ended up as veteran liberation struggle icons today such as Jabu Ngwenya and many oth ers.Bra Skhulu was especially valuable in securing fights for his apprentices who wanted to pursue boxing profes sionally.Even this basic sporting opportu nity was a big hustle under apartheid and Bra Skhulu mastered tricks to undermine the system to find fighting opportunities and producing boxing champions along the way.
Sis Thembi, as the community affec tionately referred to her, was a com munity leader, an education activist, a loving and generous mother.
O n Thursday afternoon, 7 September, Mama Flor ence Thembekile Kumalo took her last breath at the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Jabulani, Soweto.The83-year-old teacher, anti-apart heid activist and community leader departed this world in her sleep. It was on her terms - peaceful and tranquil. It was as if it was a deliberate contrast to the turbulent life she lived under apartheid.Herpassing was almost choreo graphed, with up-to-the-minute coin cidences.Itwas a well-timed commemora tion of her martyred son Bongani Kumalo - a Cosas activist and student leader who was assassinated on 13 September, 1984.
Bongani the activist, the boy with the maturity of an adult helped to ensure I managed high school edu cation under impossible conditions. Thank you, mama, for giving your own life so we can recall those bloody days and help us commemorate our comrade and brother.
We have among us creatures that have risen from a prehistoric grave calling for the protection of South Africa. This protection is always set up as a duty to conserve citizenship and socio-economic growth, so to complain about for eigners is viewed as the correct thing to do. The down side of nationalistic chauvinism is that, the undesirable foreigner is always of African Africansdescent.from north of the Limpopo River are automatically suspects, based on the scale of the amount of melanin in their bod ies. The darker the hue of the skin, the more the person is exposed to hateful treatment.
Mackenzie spewed this venom in support of Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba who went bonkers over a so-called illegal foreigner at Bela-Bela Pro vincial Hospital. He shares the same view with Dr Ramathuba that foreign nationals are draining South African health resources.
To be African of a darker hue in South Africa prompts the hateful and hostile nationalist chauvinists to listen to accents that are offkey with local languages. They listen with great attention to the roll of the tongue as the person pronounces certain words and/or alphabets.Theway they speak and how they even speak English can raise the ire of the Afrophobic devotees. It helps them shape suspicions that the speaker is a nuisance that must be kicked out of the country.
Bongani Kumalo, Sis Thembi’s son was assassinated on 13 September, 1984.Sis Thembi was a community leader, an education activist, a loving and generous mother.
As a neighbourhood child, I visited the Kumalo household for an assort ment of reasons, mostly sent. Our family interacted with the Kumalos closely.Mr Kumalo, Themba Gilchrist Kumalo, was an Angelo Dundee of Dlamini and surrounding townships, the likes of Rockville and Senaoane. He mentored generations of boxers in the area. Most boxers before, during and after the class of '76 who passed through his hands called him “Bra Skhulu”.Twoof my own uncles, the late Her bert and Emmanuel Gumede turned professional boxers thanks to Bra Skhulu’s stewardship.
“Study hard mchana. Never let your schoolwork suffer because of the struggle. If you miss a class, form study groups with other comrades to ensure you always catch up with your work,” he would advise.
His advice stayed with me even after his assassination. By 1985, when I was in high school, apartheid police had declared war on children. They were killed and detained without trial, schools were closed and opened like cinema curtains.
Bongani was murdered a day after the commemoration of the brutal slaying of Black Consciousness leader Steven Bantu Biko. The apartheid gov ernment killed Biko on 12 September, 1977.Thank you MaKumalo, most of the martyrs of our liberation struggle like these two, are fast becoming a distant memory in a democratic society of plunder and mediocre.
frophobia is an explicitly toxic form of bigotry. Its DNA is loaded with vio lence and discrimination that is laced with vitriol and hate speech.What we are witnessing in this cracked and fading rainbow nation of ours is Afrophobia fuelled by longstanding maltreatments and gloom-ridden pigeonholing which birthed the ostracism and denigration of Africans.
MY TAKE
In death, like in life, MaKumalo was ready to forgo herself for others. This, I suppose comes with being a black woman of her time. MaKumalo withstood the toughest times under apartheid.Apartheid was a cruel system of government, but its wickedness was most diabolical for black women. They faced discrimination on all fronts. They experienced the same discrimination and harsh treatment as black men. In addition, women were forced to live under a wide range of repressive laws that treated them like minors, denied them freedom in a political, social and economic context.They couldn’t own property, they faced the humiliation of the pass sys tem, a lack of choice of where to live under both the Group Areas Act and the homelands policy of the apartheid state.They were treated shockingly by whiteTheseemployers.conditions made it almost impossible for many women to remain apolitical. MaKumalo, although not overtly, in her own way, championed the course of the struggle against apartheid. Education was her trusted weapon of choice.
To be darker and African is to be a criminal. To be an African of heavy melanin has come to mean being the harbinger of an intruder. Labels such as job-stealer, evil pilferer, drug peddler, two-tim ing women-stealers and despicable resource looter have become all tooWecommon.areoccupants of an edgy space which is prone to fierce flashes of fretfulness as the rate of unemployment surges and our government is populated by inept minions who have consistently failed to respond to the needs of theOurcitizens.infrastructure has buckled, crime keeps escalating, load-shed ding is causing incalculable dam age, our cities are choking under litter, water taps are running dry and the social fabric is in tatters.
illegal foreigners should not even be in the country because them being here is a crime.
“They must thank their lucky stars I was not the leader of the country because I would walk into that hospital, unplug that gas that they are enjoying from South Africa and would bring somebody from South Africa and would con nect them to the gas. If they must die they must die.”
“We are stronger when we gather and stand behind the men in military fatigues — vet erans as young as democracy. Our indignation builds on suspicion. We build consensus on who the problem is and what they have done. We rehearse the sins of our neighbours in a call and response. The law. The borders. The over whelmed facilities, the crumbling infrastructure. We rage when we imagine millions of wandering Zimbabweans stealthily replac ing us as tellers, domestic workers and street vendors. The idea that they may be teachers too!
Our conversations would always be quick at the gate. They were always under the same ambiance - dust from the street, thanks to the morning traf fic or smoke-filled atmosphere coming from the multitudes of Soweto coal stoves chimneys in the evening.
MBANGWA XABA
12 OPINION & ANALYSISFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
“Thosefrenzy.ofus who do not march and do not condemn the vigilante Afrophobia silently cheer the vig ilantes on as patriotic flag-bear ers. We sit and watch and the marchers wave the South African flag before they attack. We see it as unfortunate but necessary.”
As she intended, and as I reflect on her own life, I cannot help but remember Bongani through her teach ings to all of us.
Come to think of it, I am able to string together these words; it’s all thanks to the legacy of Sis Thembi… Fare thee well mama wethu!
I was also hunted down like an animal by the police.
From the middle of the ’70s when yours truly was still wet behind the ears to the mid-80s when I joined Cosas, I was always an enthusiastic beneficiary of Sis Thembi’s ever-pres ent lemonade and cookies and, of course, that permanent question,
Failure to do this, always resulted in a lashing for me. He obviously took mercy for me in the wake of my impending assault.
I recall many occasions of counsel from “Dibongza”, as we nicknamed him. These were often at dusk or dawn when he and VVO trekked to school or Cosas meetings. Once he learned that I was also an activist, having started a branch of Cosas at Sedibathuto Pri mary School in Mapetla in 1984, he got worried about my schooling.
They worked closely with my uncle, Veli “VVO” Gumede who served with Bongani, Voice Mabe, Mogo motsi Mogodiri, Mbali Seheri, Lance lot “Manyambane” Giba, Eric “Pilo” Nkomo and Neil “Bob Marley” Thobe jane, to name a few in the leadership of the Soweto branch of Cosas.
Then, there was a matter-of-fact
Editorial
Just like their fellow travellers, Mackenzie and Dr Ramathuba have conveniently ignored that the plundering of state resources through graft is our biggest prob lem.Hugo ka Canham captured it perfectly in an article that was published in the Mail & Guardian in April, titled Afrophobia: The Violence of the letter R.
“Enter Operation Dudula. Roll back the foreigners. Restore order like we knew it during apartheid when the Johannesburg central business district was clean and ours. Only, it never really was ours. Black people never belonged to the apartheid city centre. But we hold on to the myths and we become experts at identifying the other from across the colonial border. We listen to the tongue.
“The R…
This portion of scripture makes several specific predictions.
The damning allegations that he sent his flunkies to deal with the robbery in what appears to have been done in a dubious manner, is worrying.Thereis no doubt that former spy master, Arthur Fraser, was driven by a political agenda to open the case against Ramaphosa, but that does not serve as an exoneration or render the allegations against Ramaphosa consequently without foundation. It is neither here nor there that Fraser may have been driven by shady motives to make the Phala Phala robbery public. There are compelling hints that Ramaphosa has a case to answer.Weare sick to the core of our souls to continue being governed by a party whose leaders avoid public scrutiny. Ramaphosa is trying hard to downplay the matter, but the danger here is his actions and that of his comrades caustically influence public ethics and notions of leadership.
suspicious of his commitment to fighting endemic corruption.
Also, it must be remembered that Ramaphosa had his tongue tied in multiple knots when his son, Andile, was linked to a dodgy deal with Bosasa, a company that specialised in providing services to government, particularly prison services.
According to them, Ramapho sa’s reign is the desire of all citizens required, not only by members of the ANC, but by even those who think the Messiah’s robe has fallen and left him naked.
13OPINION & ANALYSIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
RAMAPHOSA’S TENURE IS A HORRIBLE COMEDY OF ENDLESS ERRORS
Like the archetypal knights, who reside in fairy tales, he is the brave fighter - a man who shows up at the hour of need to save the day. He is endowed with the power to make all the hurt vanish. He is, without suffering even a tiny scratch, able to whisk a damsel in distress away from a murderous mob baying for blood.
Messiah, Messiah, my foot! We need a leader who does not treat being a president as a side-hustle… not a WritingMessiah.about the coming of the Messiah in blueletterbible.org, Mark Eastman quotes from Haggai 2:6-9: "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Once more, it is a little while, I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord of hosts.
When Ramaphosa took over the levers of power, a revelation of dubious funding flooded the media. Being the buffalo he is, he stampeded to the courts to have the CR17 cam paign bank statements sealed. If he was the upright man that he and his followers would like us to believe, he should have, out of his own accord, unsealed his campaign’s funding records and also dared other can didates to do the same. Sealing the records made some people extremely
At the time, Ramaphosa Senior and Junior were not keen to reveal details of the deal with Bosasa even with the Promotion of Access to Information Act requests and ques tions in the National Assembly.
Finally, notice the emphasis on the timing, "It is a little while."
Those expectations were no dif ferent during the period of Madiba’s presidency.Coming back to the Messiah who came as a knight in glistening armour; if the events of the past few years are to be used as a yardstick to measure Saint CR’s leadership, then we might be forced to look for another Messiah. We have done so, many times…
When he won the presidency of the ANC by a slight margin, his horsemen went berserk…their hap piness reached orbits of unimagined ecstasy. They were so overjoyed with the victory of their knight that they forgot no one is infallible and that Ramaphosa was not going to save South Africa from the brokenness and the darkness, especially not a knight on a one-legged moral high horse.Even some who are not support ers or members of the ANC saw Ramaphosa’s ascension to power as the arrival of a Messiah. How can Ramaphosa be a Messiah when he is a product of the very predatory party led by wolves out on a feeding frenzy?This is the very party that treats us like mushrooms…keeping us in the dark and feeding us excrements of Duringsorts. the so-called nine wasted Zuma years there were intense Mes sianic expectations. This was not the first time expectations were at intensely dizzying level - during Mbeki’s term there were many who looked up the cloudy political moun tain for a Messiah.
The glory of the Second Temple would be greater than the first.
WHAT is in a good fairy tale? It has an invincible and caring knight in shining armour. His actions give the follower a tale of bountiful joy. For the follower, such a tale has that je ne sais quoi.
The Messiahnisists tend to be zeal ots who judge critics as unintelligent
The less said about the Marikana “concomitant action ”, the better.
A host of events have shown us that the buffalo mocks us. It has no willpower or clear purpose except to run wildly in the jungle called the ANC, trampling on the other fac tions. The buffalo is a misbegotten product of the ANC, a beast which some cannot live without, while oth ers are willing to see it die an excru ciating political death in the mud.
creatures who are not gifted ade quately to realise that Ramaphosa is the desired one for the nation. He is armed with a magical sword sharp enough to cut through the nation’s endless torments, they reckon. He is the saviour who, given eternity, will take us all to the promised land of milk and honey.
To view leaders through rose coloured glasses and Messiahrise them is dangerous.
President Cyril Ramaphosa must take stock of his actions before he gets kicked out of the kraal.
give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
In our country, those who suffer from the knight-in-shining-armour syndrome are a dime a dozen. At the head of these riders, we have Cyril Ramaphosa who came scream ing promises of a new dawn. He made many believe that his sword possessed the magic to cut the ropes of graft that is making it hard for citizens to breathe.
The Lord is going to shake heaven andAllearth.the nations will come to the "Desire of All Nations," an idiom for theGodMessiah.would fill "this temple," i.e. the Second Temple with glory.
The South African reality, as in other countries weighed down by debilitating socio-economic prob lems, has proven that expectations of Messianic rescue are a figment of our fertile imagination.
The othering tone from the dev otees of the church of CR rises each time someone points out that the Messiah is turning right instead of turning left with us, as per his prom ise.Their chosen one is beyond reproach and we must give him time and stop throwing mud at his shin ing armour. When you tell them the knight is rolling in mud, as every buffalo does, they get mad at you.
‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will
He continues to duck and dive instead of being candid to the nation about the incidents that transpired at Phala Phala farm in 2020.
To the minds of diehards of the faction-riddled ANC, especially those who are in the CR camp, Ramapho sa’s presidency is thought to be a gift from the gods…a gift that has genuinely shaken the heavens and the earth as related to South Africa They reckon a second term will ena ble him to cause an event that will restore the hopes of a nation that seeks rescue from pain and suffering.
When Rama-duck-and-dive rose to the highest office in the land, he did so with the grand promise of putting an end to the gloomy years of ruinous plunder of our country. A presidency that was supposed to usher in tangible change has turned into a horrible comedy of endless errors. As is wont with ANC leaders, he has jettisoned accountability and transparency which is supposed to be the core of his administration’s valuePhalasystem.Phala has clearly shown us that Ramaphosa is happy to give the nation the middle finger. The man has been ducking and diving… at times, using all kinds of verbal gymnastics to avoid accountability. Not only has he failed to take the nation into his confidence, he has also plainly refused to give a full account of what truly transpired at theWhenfarm.probing questions are asked, Ramaphosa lamely hides behind legal processes on why he cannot provide Parliament with unambiguous details as to what really took place.
He is a visionary who is able to play a long game, they tell us.
As your capacity matures enough to decipher the rubbish that floats around your head, you know almost all of what is relayed in fairy tales is a truckload of bull dung. The concern I have is that among us, live men who believe they are knights in shining armour…guys who suffer from the knight-in-shining-armour syndrome.
In the summer of 2017, just a bit before midnight on 18 December, a knight in shining armour rode into town on a moral high horse. He came bearing a bag full of promises - of victory against dark forces.
As citizens we deserve better than this.
The Messiah of the unholy Republic
Ramaphosa is yet to face the fami lies of those who were injured and massacred in Marikana a decade ago.
Tutsis because the West did not play the role it should have to prevent it. But there is nothing to say that yester day’s victims are today’s perpetrators. It’s more complex than that. Those who committed massacres of Hutus in Congo are not necessarily those who suffered the genocide.
the US Congress in Washington … I understood that it was necessary to go beyond the denunciation of crimes, beyond giving voice to the victims and paying tribute to the doctor. For 25 years, Congo has been in a vicious cycle of unpunished crimes. It was time to denounce the execu tioners and to go back in history to understand the reasons that led to this tragedy. Until then, our denunciation had been calling for empathy and indignation, but it did not change anything. Then, in 2018, when he received his Nobel Prize, in his speech in Oslo, Denis Mukwege pointed to international impotence and brought up the names of criminals that no one dares mention. I took him up on it. The doctor also put all his weight behind me to make this last film.
Belgian filmmaker Thierry Michel travelled through the Congo with camera in hand for thirty years. He witnessed the fighting, the suffering, but also the hopes of the Congolese citizens.
LR: In his speech, Dr Mukwege talked about a report “growing mold in the drawer of a New York office.”
TM: That report came out in 2010 because of a leak in Le Monde which was picked up by The New York Times It might have remained a secret if United Nations officials, thinking their work was going to be denied, hadn’t said to themselves that it abso lutely had to come out. Today, we have the numbers, the modus vivendi, the place, the time - but we do not know who is presumed responsible for those crimes, those who executed or gave the orders. [Without the leak,] the database would not be public and would be in a safe in Geneva. It is unbelievable. That’s why in the film, we chose to target war criminals. And not the little guys: we went to the top levels of military and political power. Why did the international com munity play this hypocritical game, which is a form of denialism? For several reasons. First, there are geo political interests. One cannot break alliances with countries like Rwanda, which is the one that has protested the most against the report. Rwanda plays on the genocidal guilt of the
The additional element is that before, there was a formidable form of self-censorship. Survivors did not dare to give the names of those who had come to massacre them. In this film, they do.
14 FEATUREFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
LR: Impunity is the central theme of the film. In what ways does it allow violence to continue?
The victims number in the hun dreds of thousands, if not millions, and the perpetrators of these crimes are countless: a multitude of rebel movements, but also regular armies, including those from Congo-Kinshasa and neighbouring countries Uganda and Rwanda. They commit their heinous crimes with impunity and general indifference - while multina tionals continue to profit from the riches of Congolese soil and subsoil, in particular copper, cobalt, and ura nium.This feature film is also an aesthetic object that aims to move the viewer. The massacre scenes are interspersed with sublime landscapes and accom panied by a powerful original score, profound songs that speak of a peo ple’s pain.
That is the report of the [United Nations] Mapping Project, which describes 617 war crimes and crimes against humanity, and perhaps even crimes of genocide. You talk about it in the documentary. Why was that report kept under wraps by the United Nations?
To put an end to general indifference about the 25 years of political violence in DR Congo, filmmaker Thierry Michel chooses to show the worst atrocities and to name the war criminals.
LR: The Man Who Mends Women, a documentary released in 2016 ded icated to the fight led by Dr Denis Mukwege, who saved the lives of thousands of women raped by mili tary forces, was meant to be your last film about Congo. What convinced you to make Empire of Silence?
There is also the fig leaf argument, which is to say that it is about pre serving peace. But bringing criminals down does not guarantee peace. We still see it today: Last February 1st, 52 people were massacred with machetes in less than 24 hours at a camp for dis placed people in Ituri, in the northeast of the country. Mass killings continue because there are no penalties for criminals. So this idea of peace is an illusion. It is not attacking the root of Finally,evil. it is a region with impor tant resources. As Dr Mukwege says, Congo is an open-air jewellery shop where everyone can come and help themselves. Diggers risk their lives for $2 a day so that multinationals like Apple or Samsung can reap billions of dollars in profits. That is the order of the world that people do not want to upset. Our attitude toward Russia
Story Continues on Page 15
SO THAT THE VICTIMS DO NOT DIE A SECOND TIME
L
ina Rhrissi (LR) talks to Thi erry Michel (TM) about his film, Empire of Silence L’Empire du silence (Empire of Silence) is Belgian filmmaker Thierry Michel’s newest film about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For more than thirty years, Michel travelled across the country, camera in hand, witnessing not only fighting and suf fering, but also the hope of the Con golese people.
TM: The Man Who Mends Women had an extraordinary international impact. It was translated into 28 lan guages, and we went to present it to major international bodies: the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the United Nations in New York, the European Parliament in Brussels,
TM: It is a 30-year-old investiga tion; I’ve made 13 films about Congo. I already understood what was going on. But I wanted to go further, and I returned to the depths of the for ests. I always managed to get back in through the window when I was kicked out the door. When you make political documentaries, you need to have a sense of strategy. A saying by Mao Zedong always inspires me: “One must make noise in the East to attack in the West.” We do not say everything, and we do not have the same attitude toward those in power as we do toward those for whom we want to be the spokesperson - the voiceless.
In this latest film, Michel responds to a plea from Nobel Peace Prize win ner and medical doctor Denis Muk wege, the subject of his last film, L’homme qui qui répare les femmes (The Man Who Mends Women). In doing so, he retraces the succession of ruthless violence that has been ravaging and ruining Congo for a quarter of a cen tury -concerned not with the victims this time, but with their executioners.
is completely different today. It’s a double standard.
Since the regime change, with Félix Tshisekedi’s election, people have sensed an opening. The new president has no blood on his hands. The level of exasperation makes people want to talk. More than that, they mobilize. There are demonstrations in different cities, women’s, lawyers’ and young citizens’ associations marching, point ing to the existence of the Mapping Project report.
A scene from Empire of Silence. Photo by jacobinmag.com
Photo by Laurent Correau/RFI
LR: Your films have been regularly banned from being shown in Congo, and you were even expelled from the territory by Joseph Kabila after L’affaire Chebeya: Un crime d’Etat? (The Chebeya Affair: A State Crime?) was released in 2012. However, that film is a true investigation. How did you manage to obtain that new footage? And how did you convince the wit nesses to talk?
TM: The moment there are no more rules, anything is possible. The absence of the rule of law allows crim inals to act with impunity and causes a kind of moral decay in the human soul.We start to commit vile acts.
TM: Until now, I had always priv ileged testimony over raw images. But this film is an indictment which must lead to an international criminal court and hybrid courts in Congo. We needed proof. But these wars are so rarely in the media; journalists do not go to the depths of the Congo lese forests. When you are in Kiev,
LR: The idea of the film is also to explain the country’s recent history. Is it important to get out of the “anec dotal” stories of the massacres and include them in a global perspective?
As for the lack of interest in African deaths, I noticed it when I was look ing for funding. After the success with The Man Who Mends Women, when I produced this film, I hoped that sev eral television networks would partner with me. We started with a budget that took that into account. But unfortu nately, not a single French television station was interested. We received support from TV5Monde and from two Belgian networks. It became a Bel go-Belgian film. The French program executives told me, “By programming films about Africans we’re already losing half our audience. And if it’s also not about a soccer champion, but about massacres…” This is not racism coming from decision-makers; it’s a latent racism in public opinion.
The Congolese Ministry of Informa tion denied it, claiming it was fake. But that did not hold up. They were shared on social networks and reached the United Nations. People could no longer say they did not know.
LR: What is your aim with this film?
TM: The film is organised like a great Shakespearean tragedy over 25 years. There are the main characters - Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila, Yoweri Musev eni, Paul Kagame - and the people suffering in the background. The aim is to explain the chain of political events that led to a first war, a sec ond war, then to the multiplication of armed groups and localized mas sacres. It begins with the question of mineral wealth and sharing the spoils, then, with the absence of the rule of law, it gets out of control, and we arrive in Kasaï where there is no longer even any question of ethnicity, geopolitics, or minerals. It’s a peasant revolt. Under the authority of custom ary chiefs, the village populations, which can no longer bear the misery, exploitation, and oblivion, revolt. And the repression is formidable, without
Theycourt.used a Congolese filmmaker, Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, who wanted to ban the film for “plagiarism” and “violating the Congolese imagina tion.” If I end up in prison, I’ll start a film club with the prisoners.
TM: To understand and fight amnesia. So that the victims do not die a second time and so Congo is not forgotten by history. More con cretely, I hope to see the birth of a dynamic that will finally get us out of immobility and denial. We need an international criminal court. Mass graves need to be protected. We need forensic police. We need forensic experts… It’s no small task, but that’s not about cinema anymore. africasacountry.com
LR: The final chapter opens with the two experts from the UN - two Westerners, Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalán - who were assassinated in Kasaï in 2017. We know that, in the media, at least in Europe, white deaths are “worth” more than black deaths. But you show that even their assassi nation doesn’t move the lines.
LR: You managed to present your film at the Palace of the People in Kinshasa. What were the reactions of the Congolese authorities?
for instance, there is a hotel where journalists meet up in the evening to exchange information and pro tect themselves. When you are in the middle of Congo, you are alone, abandoned to yourself. It’s no surprise that few venture there.
TM: The representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the DRC, Zeid Ra’ad Al-Husseun, says it himself without stonewall ing. He was expecting a different attitude toward the assassination of two experts mandated by the UN Security Council who are murdered like animals, then beheaded. They were going to complete one essential task: identify mass graves. But once you go searching for proof, you are risking your life.
For Empire of Silence, Thierry Michel drew from the archives for images of exoduses and population displacements in the Congo. Photo by JHR FILMS
to neighbourhood up the river to Katanga Business (2009), in the prov ince of Katanga, which is the vault of humanity. There is an economic war for mineral wealth going on there between Westerners and Asians, as well as a social war between owners andAndworkers.then there is the death of Floribert Chebeya, the Congolese Martin Luther King, the one who had founded the human rights groups under Mobutu, and a friend who helped me with my first films. I attended his funeral and I realized that it was a state crime that had been covered up. I made The Chebeya Affair: A State Crime? Then, I discov ered the businessman Moïse Katumbi, an anti-Mobutu figure who is leading a very different political campaign controlling sports, games, media… He is a sort of African Berlusconi who I portray in L’irrésistible ascension de Moïse Katumbi (The Irresistible Rise of Moïse Katumbi, 2013). Finally, I met Dr Mukwege when he was in exile in Europe after escaping an assassination attempt.Thisgreat country which has a diversity of cultures and landscapes as important as Europe is not very well known. I have addressed history, geography, economy, injustice and human rights. I think I have taken stock of the situation, if you ask me.
That leads to a deep reflection on the need for law that structures socie ties, by preserving everyone’s freedom and preventing unbridled violence from breaking out.
seen them. I feel like I dug them up. They are iconic, though, and need to be etched into memory.
TM: I came across Congo’s story in 1990, at the end of the Cold War. I wanted to film the end of Presi dent Mobutu Sese Seko’s term; he had accepted the principle of democ racy, party pluralism, and elections. I wanted to witness the crumbling of one regime and the birth of a new society. In the end, the dictator opted for repression, violence, and terror. I made a different film from the one I had planned—Zaïre, le cycle du serpent (Zaire, The Serpent’s Cycle, 1992)—which shows how Mobutu cordoned off the entire society to stay in power. He stayed for seven years. I then discovered that Mobutu was a prodigious character, due to his cha risma, his Machiavellianism, and his sense of theatricality. That’s the film Mobutu roi du Zaïre (Mobutu, King of Zaire, 1999). I go from neighbourhood
TM: After 30 years of films, I acquired a certain status in Congo. The presidents of the National Assem bly and the Senate and the minister of information congratulated me. But there are dark forces around the president’s regime—former members of the rebel movements who tried to prevent me from obtaining a visa to go to Congo and who now are taking me to
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LR: This film shows a lot: it shows the dead, the massacres and the cru elty. Even if it means using in some cases the images of the executioners themselves, who film their crimes with their smartphones. Why this choice? And where do these powerful images come from, like those of the “death trains” from 2000? We seem to be seeing for the first time those thousands of Hutu refugees piled up, dead or alive, by Rwandan troops in railway cars on the road to Kisangani to force their return to Rwanda.
any rules. Civilians are killed in an unspeakable barbarism. So I tried to provide a little history to understand how we got there.
LR: You have made 13 documen tary films about Congo. How did this country become your obsession over time?
–
It is also new that executioners are filming their crimes to show that they have done the job and to be congratulated by their superiors. They did not know that those images were going to fall into my hands. I was the first to broadcast them in Europe, which got me banned from YouTube.
Other images from the film, like those of the train, remind us of the darkest times of the Second World War. They are masterful at denounc ing what happened, and they are not difficult to find. They are images from agencies that you just have to look for. However, no one knows them. When I showed the film in Kinshasa in front of 800 Congolese people, no one had
The Policy must not be as strict as to make problem employees fearful of coming forward – such a policy will only serve to drive the problem drinkers underground – and this com pounds the problem because besides being a problem drinker, the employee becomes a secret drinker as well.
An office worker who works for the same airline who has consumed alco hol in the 24 hour period preceding the next shift is not a problem, and can attend his/her workplace duties. That is a fair discrimination.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act; General Regulations and the company policy Section 2(a) of the above men tioned regulations state; 2A. Intoxication
There may be some job categories that carry a high risk for alcohol abuse – such as in the hospitality industry such as barmen, waiters, wine stew ards, and people working with alco holic beverages every day as part of their duties. All these special consid erations each require its own unique approach in formulating the rules and regulations, because each has its own unique set of circumstances.
In the place of an airline pilot sub stitute truck driver; if the truck driver arrives at work smelling of liquor and the employer allows him to drive and he kills somebody in an accident, the employer could easily be held liable because he gave the driver permission to Thedrive.office worker who arrives at work smelling of liquor is another matter altogether he is not endan gering life or limb by sitting at his
If the employer wishes to address the problem effectively, then the for mulation of the Policy is important and requires input from all levels of management, and a fair amount of policy content will be decided upon from the results of past experience in dealing with the problem.
A dismissal may be contemplated in instances where the employee con sumes alcohol at the workplace or makes it available to colleagues dur ing working hours, as for the rest we recommend progressive discipline in order to correct the behaviour of the employee.Forsome strange reason Commis sioners very often do not share the passion of employers to have sober employees at the workplace. – labourguide.co.za
Thus the employer must give care ful thought to the design and content of his Alcohol Policy.
In other words zero tolerance in that you may not even arrive at work smelling of alcohol that was con sumed the night before. To be accused of “having presented for work after having consumed alcohol (or a sub stance having a narcotic producing affect), or with alcohol smelling on the breath”, the employee does not necessarily have to be plainly intox icated.Heneed not necessarily have had to have consumed a sufficient quan tity of alcohol so as to have placed him “over the legal limit”.
But if a security guard is caught sleeping on duty, the circumstances are altogether different, and dismissal would in all probability be justified.
Employees under the influence of alcohol or drugs are not allowed to work, enter or remain at the workplace. Photo by novarecoverycenter.com
If an employer has in place a policy that states that sleeping on duty is a dismissible offence, and the lady who makes the tea is caught sleeping on duty in the kitchen, it doubtful that the employer would successfully defend a claim of unfair dismissal brought by the employee.
mployees arriving at work with alcohol smelling on the breath, employees consuming alcohol during working hours, employ ees missing days (or even weeks) at work without justification, or with lame and feeble excuses (but never a medical certificate, or perhaps even with a medical certificate every time) and employees slipping out during lunch break “for a quick one” – all this seems to be a problem which is on the increase – with a resulting increase in problems for the employer.
● do not offer intoxicating liquor or ● drugs to other employees.
16 LABOUR MATTERSFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
E
For example, the employer would need one set of rules applicable to employees engaged in hazardous occupation – truck drivers, machine or equipment operators, fork truck operators, crane drivers, and so on. The acceptable level of blood alcohol in such persons would be a much lower level than that which would be acceptable in an office worker.
The policy must also contain rules that regulate alcohol consumption off premises during working hours, such as with field sales reps, field techni cians, even to the extent of regulating alcohol consumption by managers
The problem is not restricted only to alcohol; it extends to any sub stance having a narcotic producing effect. This type of behaviour consti tutes misconduct – and all employers should have a company policy in place, that has been communicated to all employees, regulating the con sumption of alcohol on company premises, and also off company prem ises, where it might impact adversely on the employer, the employee, or the employee’s ability to perform his / her duties.
We accept that not every rule has to be reduced to writing, on the basis that some rules are so well known that they do not have to be put in writing. But it will greatly complicate matters if there are no such rules in the workplace, and it will make for much smoother sailing if the rules are in Theplace.Alcohol Policy must be tailor made to suit each individual company – there is no “standard policy” for this type of thing.
Now before your start shouting “discrimination”, remember that the circumstances demand the approach. For example, an airline pilot who has consumed any alcohol at all in the 24 hour period preceding his next flight is prohibited from carrying out that duty, he is sent home.
Therefore management is responsi ble for compiling the Alcohol (& Drug Abuse) Policy and management are responsible to ensure that employees comply. By “management” we refer to every person in a supervisory position who has staff reporting to him.
By Nicolene Erasmus, André Claassen and Jan du Toit
If the employer has no such company policy in place, then that employer has a problem, namely that he cannot take disciplinary action against an employee for breaking a rule that does not exist.
3. An employer or a user, as the case may be, shall, in the case where a person is taking medicines, only allow such person to perform duties at the workplace if the side effects of such
● do not have intoxicating liquor or ● drugs in their possession;
● who appears to be under the influ ence of intoxicating liquor or drugs are not allowed to work, enter or remain at the workplace; are not under the influence of intox icating liquor or drugs at the work place;
medicine do not constitute a threat to the health or safety of the person concerned or other persons at such workplace.Fromthe general regulations above it is clear that there is a duty on employers to ensure that employees;
desk and working albeit not at peak efficiency. So an alcohol policy can discriminate fairly between the rules for one class of employee and another class of employee.
1. Subject to the provisions of sub regulation (3), an employer or a user, as the case may be, shall not permit any person who is or who appears to be under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, to enter or remain at a 2.workplace.Subjecttothe provisions of sub reg ulation (3), no person at a workplace shall be under the influence of or have in his or her possession or partake of or offer any other person intoxicating liquor or drugs.
Being an act of misconduct, it is obvious that dismissal may result if the employee is found guilty after the employer has followed a fair pro cedure.Thus it is a serious matter and should be dealt with as such but employers are reminded that sched ule 8 of the Labour Relations Act prescribes progressive discipline in order to correct that behaviour of the employee. It would therefore be unfair to dismiss an employee the first time he arrives at work smelling of alcohol after a long weekend.
ALCOHOLISM AND THE WORKPLACE
and executives – business lunches, on the golf course, and so on.
* Full
The 18-inch rims are offered on a matching two-tone colour-coding. I was greeted by a perforated leather interior. There is a lot of chrome inside which I think it’s likely to show the nastiness of fingerprints.
youthful and also family-ap pealing. This is the kind of vehicle young professionals wouldn’t mind rocking up with in a school reunion meeting… with its clean flowing lines on the sides.
of Itvibe.is
Cylinder –Consumption13. - 6.1 litres per 100km.
Fuel tank capacity – 44 litres.
Torque - 230 Nm. Maximum speed - 200km per hour. Speed - 9.2s from 0 to 100.
At some point, it felt like the 1.2 is better powered that the previous 1.4, which was let down by the six-speed
n the previous column, the Opel Mokka was mentioned as one of the petrol-savers. I was invited to sample a brand new Mokka offering from Opel.
I
The crossover market’s popular ity is, in fact, overtaking the sedan market. This is mostly because of our terrible roads that are dotted with monstrous potholes. A few years ago, crossover vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and the Kia Sportage became popular with lady drivers.
Fuel Type - 95 unleaded.
Cars like the Honda HR, the Mazda CX30 and the Hyundai Kona have left nothing to chance when they entered thisThemarket.Koreans are also not taking prisoners, they throw everything in the direction of the Germans and the Japanese products, especially with lots of extras coming as standard.
The almost-boxy rear lights have also been replaced by lovely-looking long lights that hug the boot beauti fully. The test model was a two-tone colour GS.
ON DUMI XABA
Let's dissect the 2022 Mokka and see if it's up to the challenge This is one of the new products from Stellantis Corporation. It has a bit of Italian whiff. It also shares its underpinnings with the likes of the Peugeot 2008 SUV.
Currently, the SUV reigns supreme across all buyers’ segments in South Africa - only second in popularity to hatchbacks.Wefirstnoticed the first genera tions of the Mokka on our roads in 2015, with a frugal yet punchy 1.4 litre engine delivering 103kW and 200 Nm of torque. Consumption then was only 6.6 litres of petrol per 100km.
RIDE
The LED daytime lights, like in the new Opel Astra, are stunning. It has a sort of Chevy Camaro DNA.
For a small crossover, that’s more than enough power to make day-today driving a breeze. With a small turbo-charged engine, this model got as close as possible in terms of power and even better torque to the RAV4 with a 2 litre engine.
* Adaptive Cruise control. * Apple android car play. * Brake assist system. * Climate control. * Curtain airbags. * Daytime running lights. * Full electric windows. * Reverse camera. * Traffic sign recognition. * Auto dimming mirrors. * Rear park assist sensors and camera. * Hill start assist. * Driver assist. *
Press the START button and the cock pit comes alive. You get that reassur ing grip from a full leather steering wheel. The two-pipe exhaust comes alive.The engine has been down-sized from 1.4 to 1.2 with the reduction of power from 106 to 96. The torque has been increased. There was a bit of annoyance on the start-stop system though, especially in heavy traffic.
As we all know, sales are mostly based on brand loyalty and reliability, as such the RAV4 has always been ahead.The Mokka second generation has come out with guns blazing. Seem ingly, it is aiming at brands such as the VW Trock and the well-estab lished RAV4. This is a highly contested market that needs surgical precision and nerves of steel.
Service intervals are at every 15,000km. Engine - 1.2 turbo.
Even the pedals are covered in sil ver chrome to give them that sporty premium look. The digital cockpit screen flows nicely into the generous 10-inch infotainment. It needs a bit of getting used to though.
Fuel Range - 720km per tank. Power - 96KW.
When it comes to looks, the Mokka really looks the part. It’s a premium quality vehicle. Some brands special ise in practicality. Others on looks. And brands like Mercedes balance it all.The previous generation was more of the mommy's taxi, totally fami ly-orientated. The current generation has more of an ‘I have arrived’ kind
How does it handle?
I went on the N12 with a bit of inclines with two passengers on board and the car never felt under-powered. The gearbox is crisp and works well with the 1.2 engine.
gearbox.Thecar is a bit bumpy and rigid on uneven roads. Its suspension is more on the stiff side, but handles well.
All this is covered by a three-year or 60,000km, or whichever comes first, warranty. Included in the package, is a 120,000km or a four-year warranty, or whichever comes first.
DRIVING A MOKKA IS A BREEZE!
17MOTORING FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
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The package Adjustable full leather steering wheel. leather interior. ABS, to mention just a few.
“I’m so connected to it. It’s in everything I touch and I think about it and talk about it. I have become so spiritual about it, that’s why some times I think it is my spiritual calling to be in farming,” she said.
“You must be passionate about farming because without passion, you won’t survive. It’s difficult, but you must also remember it is a business. You must make it your baby so that it can grow. Farming is not child’s play.” – foodformzansi.co.za
Like many smallholders, Margaret held hopes of commercialisation. Her hopes came true in 2017, but full actu alisation of her business is still held back by financial and infrastructural challenges.“Themain challenge currently is that we need an irrigation system for our cotton production. We do cotton farming on dry land and our main goal is to see ourselves produc ing good-quality products with high yield.“But we can’t reach those goals because we do not have an adequate irrigation system.”
In 2014, while she was helping run the farm, Margaret started attending the Tshwane University of Technology to study crop science. Since then, she has managed to expand the family business.Shehas also invested more in her education, enrolling for the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme in 2022. Like other women in the pro gramme, Margaret soon realised that this was a once-in-a-lifetime oppor tunity.“Iwas keen to meet with differ ent women, who are in the farming industry, to share ideas with them, develop each other and grow. The programme is a huge opportunity for me as a farmer,” Margaret said.
Margaret’s advice for aspiring women farmers: treat your farming operation like a business.
Margaret Lethube Mabulane has carried on her family’s farming legacy. Although the business was started by her mother, she found herself falling in love with it. Margaret is one of the extraordinary women selected for the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme - a year-long development programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s (Gibs) Entrepreneur Development Academy (EDA)
When Margaret’s mother died in 2020, they created a non-profit organisation
“She [my late mum] was so pas sionate about assisting people and wanting them to get more educated, so we created a foundation called Tshitsadi Foundation. It is a nonprofit company, and under it, we run a programme called Give A Life.”
“We also host students and those who want to learn more on our farm. Currently, we have five young people who are working at our vegetable garden for the experience.”
for the work she does is so strong that she dreams about farming and wakes up with farming on her mind.
For Margaret, farming is an all-con suming vocation. She says her passion
FARMING IS NOT CHILD’S PLAY, SAYS MARGARET
argaret’s farming journey dates back to 2010, when she helped her mother, Tshitsadi, debush an area on the family farm to clear space for theirTheyoperation.startedfrom scratch and Mar garet found the process fascinating. This spark of interest became a pas sion for Margaret. It pushed her to learn more about the industry.
“We assist young farmers who are starting in the industry. We teach them about crop-production, farming and"Mostagribusiness.ofthem are not aware of things like compliance and formal record-keeping and other things in the farming Upskillingbusiness.”isnotthe only service provided by Give A Life.
Margaret’s Limpopo-based farm is registered under the business name Rea Dira Lehumo. It operates in a village called Elandskraal.
Give A Life Mabulane teaches the youth more about the farming indus try in general, not just the farming aspects thereof.
“Many people think farming is easy and simple, but it is as difficult as any other business. So, the passion keeps me strong when I’m losing hope.”
Margaret farms cotton on 40 of 100 hectares of farmland, and rotates three vegetable crops on one-and-ahalf hectares.
The Tshitsadi Foundation is dedicated to the training and upskilling of youth and other community members.
Margaret says to optimise their cotton production, the business needs a new irrigation system.
M
18 FEATUREFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Throwing a lifeline to young people
Finding a true connection
Photo by foodformzansi.co.za
named after her.
They also run vegetable gardens and host students.
“We develop vegetable gardens for disability centres and for the young sters who are interested in farming.
By Nicole Ludolph
Passion for farming is central to her outlook and keeps her focused on what can otherwise be a demoralising profession.Shesaid: “Farming challenges are varied and can make you lose your way and want to give up.
Like many South African farmers, Margaret’s resilience, despite the chal lenges, is closely tied to her deep commitment to the sector.
Raphael Varane - Ronaldo Manchester United centre-back Raph ael Varane has played with Ronaldo at Real Madrid and now lines up alongside him at Old Trafford. The duo won countless titles together in Madrid, including two La Liga titles and an incredible four Champions Leagues.
Jan Oblak - Messi
"As for all those of my generation, the Ballon d'Or is inevitably associ ated with the battle between Leo and
KYLIAN MBAPPE
He's said on the GOAT debate pre viously: "I watch him (Cristiano) train every day and the way he works is exciting. He wants to improve every day. That's the difference with Messi.
Zinedine Zidane - Ronaldo Coincidence? Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane both left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 and there's no doubt ing the mutual respect between the two.Indeed, with Ronaldo spearheading his attack alongside Bale and Ben zema, Zidane led his side to three Champions League trophy wins, as well as a Liga title in 2016-17.
NEYMAR
Cristiano. Digging really deep into my memory, I also remember a little bit Ronaldinho (a Ballon d'Or winner in "But,2005).frankly, everything is crushed by the greedy two! They have shared the prize for so long. Every year, like everyone else, I wondered which one of them would get it. Looking back, that battle was pretty crazy."
Gabriel Jesus - Messi
What do you think?
19SPORT
Ander Herrera - Messi
GARETH BALE
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29
Another legend that bleeds Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos nailed his colours to the mast in picking Ron aldo over Messi.
Another with no clear affiliation to either Messi or Ronaldo, the fact Gabriel Jesus was born in Brazil may have swayed his decision to avoid picking a South American rival.
Still, you've seen the opinions of some of the world's best players of past and present, so who are you choosing?Messior Ronaldo? Give us your GOAT verdict in the comments! – goal.com
Despite his links with Manchester United, Ander Herrera has never played alongside Ronaldo. He has, however, shared a dressing room with Messi.Discussing the Argentine's adjust ment to life at PSG, the midfielder,
Bayern Munich and Germany interna tional goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has seen it all during his career. He's faced both Messi and Ronaldo on more than one occasion - so who does he think is the best?
Marco Reus - Messi Dortmund winger Marco Reus has played against both Messi and Ron aldo in the Champions League and has no obvious affiliation with either player.Sowho's he going for?
"Leo is a phenomenon, but that side of Cristiano, of training, pro fessionalism, focus, motivation, suc cess... Cristiano has an advantage over all the others."
Kylian Mbappe - Messi & Ronaldo Ronaldo or Messi? Messi or Ronaldo? Mbappe can't decide.
"He is spectacular. He is at the high est level. For me he is the best."
It's quite the opposite, however, with the Arsenal striker having previ ously said at a press conference while on international duty: "In my lifetime, I have seen very few of those who are said to be the best in history. Messi was, for me, the best I ever saw."
The French forward grew up idoliz ing Ronaldo, but is now team-mates with Messi at PSG, so don't make him choose between the two.
"Messi, I just feel what he does with a football, he is just special, and I don’t think we will ever see a player like that ever again."
"Who do I prefer? It's like choosing between your father or your mother, you can't," Mbappe said.
The Atletico Madrid goalkeeper came up against both players several times during their historic spells in La Liga.
Asked to pick between Ronaldo and Messi, Zidane has said in the past: "Cristiano is the best. Messi is his rival and it's the rivalry everyone wants to see. But Ronaldo is phenom enal. There are no words to describe him. He is much better than me even though I had a great career. He's the greatest of all time."
ANGEL DI MARIA
He opted for Messi, and has previ ously told Gary Neville on the debate: "You know what, it is such a hard question because obviously what he and Cristiano Ronaldo have done is a freak of nature, and nobody will ever do that ever again.
"Normally, regular players have to adapt to a new context," he said. "Now it is the other way around because we are talking about the best footballer in history."
Although he admires them both, he picked his favourite, telling GOAL: "It is a difficult question, yes, but with Messi I have always said it.
Asked to pick between the two, after thinking for a few seconds, he declared: "Lionel Messi".
In a simple one-word answer to ESPN when asked the question, he remarked: "Messi.”
who recently moved on from Paris to re-join Athletic Club on loan, labelled Messi the "best in history".
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Twelve Ballon d'Or awards, almost 1500 club goals and an absolute truckload of trophies between them. Choosing between Messi and Ronaldo is no easy task.
Manuel Neuer - Messi
Roberto Carlos - Ronaldo
Declan Rice - Messi West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice, who revealed to GOAL in Box 2 Box that he owns a Ronaldo shirt, made his choice between the two GOATs when asked by us who he would prefer to play alongside.
Indeed, in his Simply The Best appearance, the France international picked the Portuguese ahead of Messi as he told GOAL that Ronaldo is the best player he's ever played alongside.
Story Continued from Page 20
ROMELU LUKAKU
Gareth Bale - Ronaldo
Marcus Rashford - Ronaldo
The most difficult question
I
Having played alongside Messi at both Barcelona and PSG, there was only going to be one winner for Neymar.
The Scot faced Messi twice in the Champions League in 2019, including that epic night at Anfield that saw the Reds overturn a 3-0 first-leg deficit to reach the final of the competition.
He told Marca in 2021: "Messi is from another world. You kick a ball at him and he stops it. I’ve never seen anything like it.
there were suggestions that the Welsh man, and Karim Benzema, were both in the Portugal megastar's shadow, the goals, and trophies, all three delivered together were simply remarkable.
From Mbappe to Zlatan, Neymar to Bale - world's top players make their Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) selection
Photos by Goal.com Graphic by Mallory Munien
Gareth Bale enjoyed years of suc cess alongside Ronaldo as part of the famed 'BBC' triumvirate and although
It was in that game that Robertson ruffled Messi's hair as he clashed with the Argentine early on - an action he has since admitted he regrets, label ling his opponent "the best player that's ever played this game."
Strap yourself in, this is the GOAT debate!
Bruno Fernandes - Ronaldo Team-mates at club and interna tional level, there was only going to be one winner for Bruno Fernandes!
"For me, the world's best player is Cristiano Ronaldo," Bale answered, when asked about his then-Madrid team-mate.
"He has played 15 years at the top and it's difficult to do this."
Andrew Robertson - Messi Liverpool full-back Andrew Robert
Neymar - Messi
Inter striker Romelu Lukaku felt the pressure when he was asked for his top choice during a press conference while on international duty with Bel gium.The 29-year-old put his head in his hands and said: "Oh my god!" before finally saying: "Ronaldo, man."
the best player ever."
"Playing alongside Leo was a unique experience and we became friends," he said, when reflecting on the duo's success they enjoyed together at Barca. "Of those I've seen play, Messi is the best in history."
Do we even need to ask the question?
By Peter McVitie
t's the debate that has raged on for over a decade: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Which player is the greatest of all time?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Messi
[with Ronaldo] because he is the result of hard training. It is not natural.”
"I think Cristiano, he doesn't need to prove anything else," he said. "What he's done over the last 10-15 years, I think he's shown to everyone that he's
“I think Messi is one of a kind," he said in 2016. "What he’s doing, I don’t know if we will see another player do the things that he does. It is different
Angel Di Maria - Messi
Ilkay Gundogan - Messi
"Cristiano is the best player in the world," the midfielder said of his Man chester United and Portugal co-star.
Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan hasn't had the fortune of playing alongside Messi or Ronaldo, but his opinion on who is the GOAT is clear."Of course Messi," the German midfielder responded when asked for his favourite. "No doubt... There's no question."
They may be on either side of the Manchester divide but City star Ber nardo Silva ranked his Portugal teammate ahead of Messi.
20 — { sportdesk@thetelegramlive.co.za} — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16/29, 2022 — @ telegramrsaT he Telegram ZA DARE WHEN OTHERS DON’T
One of few to have played alongside both Messi and Ronaldo, Di Maria had a tough decision to make when asked who is the GOAT - and fair play to him for not sitting on the fence!
Bernardo Silva - Ronaldo
"I played with Cristiano, Ney, Mbappe, Rooney, Van Persie, Ibrahi movic, Benzema, Bale and honestly I did not see anything like it. It is something unique."
Romelu Lukaku - Ronaldo
Another of Ronaldo's Manchester United team-mates, Marcus Rashford was never going to risk upsetting the Portuguese.Hemay have taken his place in the starting XI - and is likely to keep him rooted to the bench in the near future - but Rashford has no doubt as to who is the GOAT.
Is it Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ron aldo?Everyone will have their own opin ion on who is the better player of the two generational superstars, with both undoubtedly going down in history as two of the greatest to ever kick a football.Butwhat do some of the world's top players think?
In an interview with CNN, he reit erated his belief that Messi is top dog.
son, perhaps unsurprisingly, selected the Argentina icon as his favourite.
He said on the debate: "It's always Ronaldo for me."
RONALDO OR MESSI?
AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic played alongside Messi at Barcelona and has backed the Argentine over Ronaldo on more than one occasion.
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