O

Yesterday I was busy looking for O magazine all over Jozi, I have seen the previous issues of O on my wife’s bookshelf but I never really had interest in them. It looks like it is meant for carrier women …correct me if I am wrong. The July issue is talking about us Bloggers, but that is not the only reason I want to have it my wife Thandi is one of the bloggers featured in July issue… isn’t she beautiful? I will buy it for keeps I am not sure if I will read the whole magazine though, but any way it won’t be a waste of money because I always buy and keep things that are important to me. I remember my first story that I wrote for Sunday times, I cut it and kept even though that editor changed the by-line, my first letter to the sundaytimes editor is still in my file today. This magazine will also go the same route straight to my archives.

ANC

I attended an ANC policy conference earlier today, but not as a member or delegate but to do my work. Approaching Midrand the traffic on the road gave me an idea of what to expect in Gallagher estates. Going down the road I could see a sea of executive cars parked inside the demarcated areas and people going up and down. Comrades who seem to have last seen each other in exile hugging like they have magnets. I felt intimidated and I tried to park my car outside of the demarcated areas, but a Metro police told me to park inside if I don’t want them to taw my car. I thought inside parking was reserved for the executive cars… I am telling you ANC people are driving. I saw a number of X5’s Z4, Hard bodies etc you would swear that people who attended the conference were all from the rural areas judging by a high number of 4X4 that were there. I parked my car and approached the entrance… there was a group of about 30 men wearing sleazy leather jackets I mean all of them. There were some whites there that also looked smart considerign what we know them for in fashion. ANC policy conference can make mockery of some fashion parades that I have seen, but my concern was that there no women. I didn’t go there to see women but for an organisation that claims to have empowered women what I saw there is not good enough. I wonder how many director generals are female Director generals that were there were men. Making matters even more difficult were a number of security personnel… almost every second person was a security personnel should I say security man. I am sure NIA also put some male spies. The there thing that I noticed was that KZN and Northern Cape delegates have a different agenda to the programme. They kept on singing about the Zuma presidency and denouncing the present president. The president said there would be no succession debate, but I think he misunderstood the mood of his people.

Soccer in SA

When I heard over the radio last week that super sport international was taking soccer away from us I must admit I was pissed off. I didn’t even know who the hell was Supersport international I know supersport…was that international always there or it is just my ignorance. SABC was doing anything possible to win public sympathy and they won mine and I am not alone for sure. After reading different publications I realised that I have nothing to fear at least for now. I hate Pay-TV not because it is bad but because I can’t afford it hence I complained during super 14 rugby tournament thanks goodness my prayers were heard. Is soccer in South Africa where teams at the top flight don’t even have sponsors deserve R5million? Maybe this is the time to raise the bar… SABC is taking us for granted, for R5million they would put some howlers in the studio as guest week in and week out who don’t seem to know what the viewers want to hear. The same commentators have nothing positive to say about our local football I doubt they if they do watch SABC sport at home either. Let’s give super sport a chance and how they are going to deliver on all these promises. As for SABC they should cut their loses and subcontract with super sport international if they really care about the us. Unlike SABC Super sport is prepared to go live simultaneously. Let hope ETV will buy some of the rights and we can see what they are really capable of. They are not doing a great job on UEFA champions league. Talking about champions league it’s former champions Barcelona is in the country to play Brazilians. They attended a fundraising dinner for Nelson Mandela children’s fund and UNICEF at Sandton last night and stayed for only 15 minutes. Maybe that is what we are going to see tonight 15 minutes of big stars and then play their reserves. Apparently SABC has put its foot in it again, they are not prepared to move that boring generation from 20h00 spot so the game will start at 20h30. You see more reasons why supersport will always have an upper hand.

Are we positive or negative

I was watching Zola 7 one Thursday night helping a young woman unite her baby with the father who was also young I must say. What struck me was how Zola was bragging about having two kids by different women and happy to be part of their lives blah blah blah. I respect Zola for his work, he is one of the very few celebrities who give back to their communities… I mean literally giving back to the poor. Giving back to the community makes him one of the most influential artists amongst our youth. It is a very good thing that he owns up, but that is not enough because it discourages the use of condoms amongst those who look up to him as their role model. South Africa is facing a serious threat of Teenage pregnancy… couple that with the scourge of HIV/AIDS and poverty we have a crises in our hands. Media is promoting sex as a cool thing but real people like you and me are the ones who must lead our youth by example because we are the real people they can relate to not billboards. Everyday we hear of celebrities having kids left right and centre. One who comes to my mind is Hlomla Dandala whom last time when I checked he was married the next thing I hear has about three kids out of marriage and to add salt to the wound these kids are all from different young women. Like Zola he owns up,but is it enough? what kind of South Africa are we building here? Is there any chance of defeating the AIDS epidemic when it is clear that prominent people don’t really believe they can contract HIV if they sleep around without condoms? What is wrong with our society? We are sending mixed massages to our youth let us be consistent and build a better South Africa with no child headed homes. There are celebrities who are doing a good job the likes of Kabelo, Romeo Khumalo, Shoes Moshoeu and others lets build on that.We are a great nation let's not destroy something this beautifull.

Is Pali Lehohla at it again?

President Mbeki is attacking stats SA for the accuracy or inaccuracy of its figures. What a sham… it is a known fact that unemployment especially amongst black youth is very high. Instead of looking at what Mdladlana, and Mastepe Casaburu have done in their departments to reduce this high unemployment.Mdladlana and the Sectorals Education and Training Authorities SETA’s should be the one’s whom Mbeki should vent his frustration with. We always hear of how South Africa has a skills shortage and SETA’s were forned as an the answer to that. What do we a have to show for it? Battered, exploited and disposed off youth who don’t have work experience or eager to go to the SETA’s again. If only Mdladlana can take over SETA’s from employers who tend to treat learner workers as cheap labour. Telecommunication worldwide is the biggest employer of you yet in South Africa we are yet to witness that. Matsipe Cassaburi who proved to be a failure with all the post she had. I am not sure why she is still in that position or it is women empowerment? I am sure there is more than one woman who can do a better job than she is doing.Mbeki is picking on a soft target Lehohla and company because he knows those guys sometime give dodgy stats …we know they are not as competent as we would love them to be, but Mr president look at the real culprits, maybe you are also responsible. What is really hilarious is that Mbeki is accusing StaSA of including people who had just lost their jobs and were likely to get jobs given the nature of the Economy. I hear Vavi shouting again Hitler rhetoric! Are people who are likely to get job employed or unemployed? Some one who understands this language help me. Does it really make sense? If you are likely to get a job therefore you must not be considered unemployed for how long?

Personal encounters

Friday the 17th 1992 I got a massage from my maternal grand mother that my brother called earlier apparently he was drunk (there were no cell phones then). He was working as a policeman in Umtata. I was from my uncle's house in Naledi extension because that evening I was going back to boarding school after June holidays and I had stayed a week more. But first I had to go to my home in Matatiele for a weekend and leave on Monday. In Matatiele I met my friend Khotso whom we entertained ourselves with booze and weed. It was in the afternoon around 14h00 when I was on my way home from buying another beer when I saw a white car by the gate and there was some one who looked like a priest. You know in townships and in our villages we are used to people who will just rock up and offer a short prayer session … I am thinking of the Witness of God …do you know them? Of course if you are a South African you should know them. I thought it was them offering a prayer I was drunk from alcohol and dagga. Do you know how drunk people like a prayer? So I let them in, but what surprised was that Kgotso asked me not to open the beer even though I insisted that I need just one sip and I won’t be disruptive. Under normal circumstances he would be the one to encourage me. My second surprise was when I saw my sister in law and her husband coming in they are not really churchgoers let a lone some small prayer session. We left everything and joined the priest and people who were accompanying him. My sister inlaw could not even start a chorus for a prayer that is how pathetic she was, but the priest took over. After a very short chorus I guess liquor in me still wanted more singing a priest had a short prayer and afterwards he said “ I am not here with the good news, the son of this house was stabbed last night and he passed away, so let’s have a short prayer for his soul”. I was thinking what is he talking about? Is he on drugs or something? He went on “ Mzoyi family I am from the police department in Umtata. Your son was working with us and last night we received these bad news” Then I knew that I will never see my brother alive. He was not just a brother to me but a close friend. At 26 years of age I thought he was too young to die. I had never cried before for someone who passed away… I guess our family is so small tragedies like these hardly hit us. My dad thought me that tigers don’t cry, but onthat day there was little I could about those tears that were rolling down my face. I tried as much as I could to stop them but that was just too much. I was the only one from the family my dead was in Jozi my mom in Durban to fix her hearing AID but the good news was that she would not go to Johannesburg as Durban is much closer to Matatiele. I was afraid how was I going to handle her.. eventually she came and she was not very impressed with me being at home after a week of schooling. I looked her in the eyes and couldn’t help myself but cried.. The last thing I needed on that day was to hear my mom cry. I thought she was going to die. Sometimes when I look at her now I can still hear her asking God why “ Hobaneng Modimo waka hobaneng, hobane Ramasedi…” When a tragedy like this hit home you try as a family to deal with it and move on, but two months later something very strange happened… next time

What is in a name

What is going on down there in KZN. The ANC is changing names in Durban and the surroundings areas using their majority in provincial parliament and not exhausting the process of consultation with the communities affected. When I saw the IFP in the streets marching, that reminded me of the mid eighties to the early 90’s. Those are the years we all wish to forget very fast in our History. But what is happening in KwazuluNatal can easily take us back. Do we really have to change names like Princess Magogo and Mangosuthu Highway, even some of the colonial names? if we are as positive as the world perceive us we should act in the interest of peace and unity not revenge. I disagree with the politics of Mangosuthu Buthelezi but we can’t deny the fact that he played a role in the struggle against Apartheid, but it look like the ANC is not playing the ball but playing the man. At least Thabo “the dictator” Mbeki is still sane, last week in parliament he asked “if it is necessary and inevitable to change the name of a stadium like that of Princess Magogo.”. From what I hear the man doesn’t get much respect from that province, but I want to hear the response from the top brass of that province this week. Princess Magogo was not a politician, she belongs to the royal family and she should be respected as such. The present government has honoured her for her role in the struggle. From where I stand there is just no reason why the provincial government of the should mention her in the same breath as Hertzog, Swarts etc. To be honest I always question the renaming process, but that is another topic for another day. I would like to know as to how much it costs a country to change the name of an institution.