LIMPOPO MIRROR
4 9 September 2016 By Mbulaheni Ridovhona
By Thendo Savhasa
Candle reduces family home to ashes Life took a drastic turn for were all burnt. I am only left the worse for the Ratsibi with the clothes that I am curfamily when their six-room rently wearing,” she added. house burnt down to ashRatsibi said that they could es last Wednesday (31st) at not recover anything from the Ha-Maelula village. house as they had difficulty Mrs Mutshinyani Ratsibi putting out the fire because of and her three children were left a shortage of water in the area. homeless when a fire started, The councillor for Ward 30 in which spread across the whole the Makhado Municipality, Cllr house and reduced it to ashes. Fhumulani Madzhiga, said that The fire was apparently started it was sad that an incident like by a candle when the family members were out of the house, taking one of the children to the bus stop to embark on a school trip. Ratsibi’s eldest daughter, Pfunzo Ratsibi, who is just 18 years old, said she was in total shock when she saw the fire consuming her home. “I could not believe my eyes when I saw our Councillor house in flames when Fhumulani we were on our way Madzhiga assisted home,” said Pfunzo. with the cleaning-up “Our school uniforms, operations. books and clothing
this occurred just a few weeks before the electricity provision project was finalised in the area. The family indicated that they would welcome any assistance to help them to get back on their feet again. “I need to give my children a home again,” said Ratsibi. Anyone who can offer assistance to this family can contact Thendo Savhasa at 0818907570.
Pfunzo Ratsibi and her aunt Rudzani look through the ruins of the house.
Farmers to assist each other to improve agricultural standards in the country Farmers should share their knowledge and assist each other in order to improve the agricultural standards in the country. They should also be the ones who effect changes in society. These were the words of advice from Dr Mirjam Ros-Tonen from the University of Amsterdam. She was one of the guest speakers during an agricultural day for avocado and macadamia farmers, held at Muofhe Graceland Lodge in Thohoyandou last week Tuesday. About 70 local farmers attended the second annual platform meeting under the theme: “Facilitating innovation for avocado and macadamia farmers: What role for change makers?”. Delegates from the Agricultural Research Council, University of Limpopo, and the University of Amsterdam were also present at the event. The event formed part of the international research and development programme under the theme “Inclusive partnerships and innovation platforms amongst smallholders in tree crop systems in Ghana and South Africa”. It focuses in particular
on peer-to-peer learning and the role of local change makers who share agricultural knowledge with farmers and help farmers to gain access to markets. Dr Mirjam Ros-Tonen said that the local farmers should strengthen their partnership and strive to work together to improve the agricultural standard in the country. She said that the farmers should practise food security and sustainable landscapes and she emphasised the importance of brokering. “Farmers should have the knowledge to access markets and resources. They should also be change makers in their communities,” she said. Rosemary du Preez from the Agricultural Research Council spoke about “The lead farmer approach: lessons from ARC’s high-value crop programme”. Her research outlined that communal farming is not successful and household farming was a better option. She said that farmers should have a sound agricultural production plan. “They should practice primary (household farming) and secondary (high crop value) agriculture,” she said. Her research also outlined that
many farmers face challenges such as access to formal markets and lack of water. “Water has become a challenge to many farmers due to drought, and many farmers also lack the knowledge to access the formal markets which made them to be less productive,” she said. One of the emerging farmers in Venda, Mr John Mudau from Tshituame Farming Enterprise, said that many farmers were in need of the knowledge to be more productive. He further said that “I was trained a year ago to be a farmer and now I am a successful farmer. I wish I was trained four years ago.” Mudau also encouraged the farmers to go to the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and learn more about farming. “The government should also assist the emerging farmers with funding,” he added. Suzan Ravele, an emerging macadamia farmer, said that she was dedicated to being a macadamia farmer. She congratulated SEDA for helping her to be a successful farmer. “SEDA helped me a lot and is continuing to help me,” she said.
Photographed during the event are, from left to right, Dr Mirjam Ros-Tonen from the University of Amsterdam, Suzan Ravele, Dr Yves van Leynseele from the University of Amsterdam and Mr John Mudau.
By Mbulaheni Ridovhona
Destitute family to receive house from Makhado mayor The life of a destitute family of Tshituni Tshafhasi village in the Nzhelele area may soon change for the better. This comes after the newly elected mayor of Makhado, Shonisani Mildred Sinyosi, realised their plight and promised to build them a decent house. Currently, the Munyai family stays in
a one-roomed house built from clay and mud. The house is used as both a kitchen and a bedroom. Mayor Sinyosi said that she passed by the village some two weeks ago and realised that the family members were struggling. She had to stop to interview the family, only to find out that the old woman and her 46-year-old son,
David, shared the same house. She promised the family that they would receive a descent house within the next three months. “I want to make it a priority in my 100 days in office,” she said. Sinyosi said that elections were over now and that it was time for her to deliver the promised services to the people. “The department is working hard to provide houses to the people,” she said. She further said that building a house for the needy family was part of her turn-around strategy aimed at delivering quality services to the people of Makhado. Granny Munyai said that she believed that Sinyosi was a good Samaritan sent to her by God. “I am happy that the mayor visited me today. I believe that my dream of owning a decent house will soon become a reality,” she said. The granny said that she was extremely grateful. “It is a great deal of kindness shown Photographed are David Munyai, Makhado Mayor Shonisani Mildred Sinyosi and Makwarela to me by the mayor,” she said. Munyai.
In their group-stage match of the Amos Charity Shield Soccer Tournament at the Tshisimani grounds on Saturday, Tshakhuma Na Ndilani (TNN) shared the spoils with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM), following their 2-2 draw. In this photo by Frank Mavhungu, Zwivhuya Matombo of TTM hooks the ball, while Oscar Ntshauba of TNN pulls him back. See a match report on page 14.