Daily Sun

National

 

6 hours ago

 

MAMAZALA, MAKOTI AND THE PIG

 

By  Unathi MshumpelaFriday, March 03, 2017 11:30

 

 

 

The terrified pig screamed a lot when the mamazala tried to sell it for R150. Photo by Unathi Mshumpela  ~ 

 

FOR years, the gogo (81) hoped her son would bring home a makoti. 
 
But when he told her he would pay lobola this weekend, the gogo’s happiness lasted for only a minute.

The gogo from Qweqwe Village in Mthatha, Eastern Cape heard her future makoti used to be a magosha.
She allegedly hired thieves to steal the cows, sheep and pigs her son was going to use for lobola.

But yesterday when she was caught with a stolen pig on the back of a bakkie, she immediately confessed.

“I spent lots of money sending my son to university, and I raised him as a church person. I can’t allow him to bring me a magosha makoti,” she said.

“I was supposed to be happy with the news that I will now become a mamazala, but I just feel sick.”

She said the other gogos in the village have already started making fun of her and her magosha makoti.

Gogo’s son (36) told the SunTeam his mum has always been a bully.

“She always tried to control me. She forced me to study medicine while I was passionate about fashion design,” he said.

“Everyone in life deserves a second chance. I love my wife-to-be. I don’t care about her past.”

He said he caught his mum trying to sell the pig for R150 from the back of her bakkie.

He said two years ago he was his future wife’s client, but now she will be his wife.

“I was tempted to open a case but my uncle and wife-to-be told me to forgive her. The lobola ceremony will take place as planned, whether my mum likes it or not.”

A fruit seller from Penuel Village spotted the gogo trying to sell the pig in town.

He immediately called her son, who rushed to town with his two uncles to stop the gogo’s sale.

The gogo admitted she wanted to sell the pig, but said she did it to protect her son.

Daily Sun

National

4 hours ago

WIFE TRIED TO KILL MY KIDS!

By  Everson LuhangaFriday, March 03, 2017 12:30

This father can still look into the eyes of his loving daughters, after a horrific ordeal. Photo by Everson Luhanga  ~ 

THE TWO girls are only five and ten years old but they are lucky to be alive.
They were allegedly poisoned, kidnapped and thrown from a moving car.
NOW THEY ARE SAFELY BACK WITH THEIR FATHER.
The children’s stepmum (31) is in police custody facing charges of kidnapping and child abuse.
The 36-year-old father from Mfundo Park Section, Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng said when he married the woman in November last year, she promised she would look after his children from a previous relationship.
But on Wednesday, the new wife allegedly poisoned the two children, took the 10-year-old girl and threw her out of a moving car in Germiston, and then threw the five-year-old girl out of a moving car in Zonke Zizwe.
“My older daughter was found by the community patrollers who called the Germiston police. They took her to Vosloorus Police Station.
“The younger girl was thrown out in Zonke Zizwe, near the railway line and was found by a pedestrian in the area.
“I found my children at the police station. I was with my wife, who said she didn’t know where the children were.”
Since the father separated from his first wife in 2012, the kids have been staying at his mother’s house.
The first time the family thought there might be a problem was when the kids’ uncle came running to the father’s house, telling him the children were gone.
The uncle said when he arrived at the house on Wednesday, the gate was locked. When the gogo arrived home, she unlocked the gate and went inside,but the kids were nowhere to be found.
The father phoned his wife. She said she didn’t know where the kids were, although neighbours said they had seen her drive the kids away in the father’s car.
The wife came home and the two went to the police station.
“While we were together at the police station, police from Germiston arrived with my first born daughter,” said the father.
“As she was telling me what happened, cops from Spruit arrived with my second daughter.”
He said he fainted and had to be revived when he saw what his children looked like, covered in grass, tired and scared.
Then his wife allegedly confessed.
“She told the police she had poisoned the kids and thrown them into the bush because they were getting too much love and attention from me.
“My wife was always quiet and down to earth. She was so loving and I loved her very much. But now I don’t want to see her. She must rot in jail.”
The children were taken to a doctor who said the liquid found in a bottle in the car may have contained poison.
He treated them and sent them home with their father.
Vosloorus police spokesman Captain Piet Rossouw confirmed that police are investigating cases of kidnapping and child abuse. Rossouw said there was not enough evidence to indicate the children had been poisoned and attempted murder was not added to the charges.
The stepmother was arrested and will appear in the Vosloorus Magistrates Court today.

Daily Sun

National

4 months ago

Witchcraft does exist, group members warn!

By  Ayatolah SeptemberThursday, October 20, 2016 14:00

Lungelo Xaba, Babalwa Mbongo and Bongani Mataka are members of Uqoqosho in Gugulethu. Photo by Lulekwa Mbadamane  ~ 

Community Based Development project believes that witchcraft exists and wants people, especially the youth, to be aware of it.
The group of six members, who are between 21 to 31 years old, was formed last year to raise awareness.
Bongani Mataka (30) from New Cross Roads, Gugulethu said: “People are still in denial that this is something that is really happening.
“But it happens everywhere and people must be told about it. It has happened to me and to people I know.
“Some people are holding back my success because they are jealous of the things they know I might do for my family once I succeed. We started this organisation because we wanted to raise awareness.
“We also focus on art, dance and music programmes.”
Member Lungelo Xaba (31) said he has also experienced witchcraft.
“We know what we are talking about and we want other people to be aware of it too.”

'On Demand Delivery' seeks to stimulate e-commerce in S/SA

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

CAPE TOWN: DHL Express is to launch the 'On Demand Delivery' for the Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) region. 

This new service allows shippers and receivers globally to select from a range of standardised delivery options.

DHL Express is said to make global online shopping easier with On Demand Delivery in Sub Saharan Africa.

According to DHL, 'On Demand Delivery' is currently deployed in 6 markets across SSA – South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mauritius and Tanzania.

Also revealed is that 'On Demand Delivery' has been developed in response to significant growth in premium cross-border e-commerce volumes.

And that flexible shipping options designed to enhance the customer experience for online shoppers, is another advantage.

There are also plans to roll out to further countries in SSA throughout this year.

Other benefits of 'On Demand Delivery' is that it offers shippers the choice to activate specific delivery options and have DHL Express proactively notify their customers via email or SMS about a shipment’s progress, says DHL.

"Customers can then select the delivery option that best suits their requirements via the On Demand Delivery website. The service is specifically tailored to the demands of international e-commerce deliveries, where the majority of shipments are addressed to residential addresses and customers place considerable emphasis on flexibility and convenience."

And Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, comments, “Globally, we have seen the share of e-commerce deliveries grow from about 10% in 2013 to more than 20% of the international volumes of DHL Express in 2016,” said Heymans, “This has primarily been driven by the strong demand for high-value and premium goods in the global marketplace, as well as the emergence of start-up retailers who are growing beyond borders and therefore require a worldwide door-to-door delivery service. Our On Demand Delivery service was developed with the needs of our customers at the very core. E-tailers and their customers continue to evolve and we needed to ensure that our services continue to exceed customer expectations.

“On Demand Delivery isn’t just a new customer interface – it also represents an enhancement of our worldwide network, as we have tailored our last-mile operations to meet the specific demands of cross-border e-commerce deliveries. Thanks to On Demand Delivery, we can support the service offering of online shippers and improve the delivery experience for their customers, while improving our own efficiency, particularly for last-mile deliveries.”

Also reported is that 'On Demand Delivery' is easy to use and benefits both shippers and receivers. "The site is accessed from any smartphone, tablet or PC, and offers receivers up to six delivery options."

DHL Express further adds, "Shippers can incorporate their own branding into customer notifications. Receivers can schedule a delivery, arrange delivery to a nearby DHL Service Point or their own alternate address, and even request that a shipment is put on hold during a vacation. On Demand Delivery further improves first-time delivery performance, increases customer satisfaction, and makes the overall delivery process more efficient.

On Demand Delivery will be deployed to more than 100 countries across the globe in 2017, accounting for the majority of global trade and online retail activity, and is available in over 45 languages."

DHL Express, is the world’s leading international express services provider.

Fund to support sustainable change organisations

Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

CAPE TOWN: Sage Foundation’s Enterprise Fund was launched on Wednesday this week in Johannesburg.

The new $1 million fund is open to non-profits in Africa with enterprising ideas to help improve the lives of military veterans, young people or women and girls.

Sage, is the market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll & HR, and payment systems.

research reveals that every day, across Africa inspiring non-profit leaders, volunteers and their supporters are working tirelessly to make their communities better places to live.

Hence, the Sage Foundation’s Enterprise Fund. It has been designed to support those organisations to generate further income, create new initiatives or enhance existing and proven activity.

According to Sage, "The $1 million will be split between two rounds of $500,000; with the second round ready for release in July 2017. Applications for the first round are open until April 5; grants between $5,000 and $35,000 will then be awarded to successful applicants.  

All applications that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be considered. However, Sage Foundation is especially keen to support organisations that are currently small but have ambitions to expand, grow and deliver sustainable change. It is also hoped that the fund will support needs such as; capital projects, core running costs or new innovations."

Joanne van der Walt,  Sage Foundation Manager, Africa at Sage, notes, “Sage Foundation’s Enterprise Fund is designed to help organisations generate further income, create new initiatives or enhance existing activity,” says van der Walt, “There are some wonderful charities across Africa who has innovative yet practical ideas about how they can solve some of the socio-economic challenges their communities face each day. We want to help them turn these exceptional ideas into reality.”

In addition, "Sage Foundation’s Enterprise Fund was originally announced at Sage Summit in Chicago in July 2016, part of a series of new initiatives to mobilise Sage colleagues, partners and customers around a common vision for change.  As part of 2017’s new Sage Summit Tour, Sage Foundation will be working with Sage’s brilliant network of business builders, to take action together.

Since January 2016, Sage Foundation has been taking action to build sustainable social, economic and entrepreneurial opportunities in Sage’s local communities around the world. By investing and supporting non-profit partners that are helping people reach their true potential, and committed to doing business the right way.

Sage Foundation is powered by the ‘2+2+2’ model. Through this, Sage Foundation donates: 2% of employee time each year (5 volunteer days), 2% of free cash flow in grants and 2 donated software licenses to eligible partners.

At the Sage Summit Tour in Johannesburg from 7-9 March this year, Sage will update delegates about how the Sage Foundation is making a difference for communities and non-profit organisations across Africa with its approach to social investment. It will also disclose how the Enterprise Fund will benefit the region’s charities."

The Citizen

national 28.2.2017 04:12 pm

ANC ‘totally’ rejects Malema’s 6% offer for land expropriation

574

Austil Mathebula

EFF leader Julius Malema is pictured addressing a press briefing at the party’s head office in Braamfontein, Johannesburg 14 February 2017. Picture: Refilwe Modise

The ANC says they can’t be told what to do by the EFF.

Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema on Tuesday again called for the amendment of the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, which the ANC immediately rejected as being unconstitutional.

The EFF leader called on black people to unite in ensuring that the constitution was amended because they remained a “conquered nation”. This, he said, was because “Dutch gangsters” came to Africa and took the land from black people by force.

Malema, who was representing the EFF in parliament, offered his party’s 6% of the national vote to the ANC, saying that black people needed to unite in ensuring the constitution was amended.

“We all know that the Dutch gangsters arrived here and took our land by force. And the struggle has since been about the return of the land to the hands of rightful owners.

“Yet those who went to negotiate for our people during the [Codesa] negotiations sold out this fundamental principle, which constituted the struggle against colonialism.

“So those who claim to be radical enough, and who want radical change today, should actually be in the forefront of agreeing that this constitution must be changed to make it possible for our people to own the land.

“It can’t be correct that less than 10% of the population owns more than 75% of the land. And those people who own the land happen to be in an acceptable language … private people like individuals, trusts and companies. But when you search deep as to who are these people, these are white people who are still owning our land.

“We remain a conquered nation even when we claim to have democracy. We remain a conquered nation because white monopoly capital still owns the means of production, and at the centre of that is the land question.

“Balck people … all of us … we need to unite and amend the constitution so that we can expropriate land without compensation. There’s no white person who will understand that clarion call because they don’t know the pain of being landless.

“Today the ANC should come with the EFF. There’s 6% available … we give it to you with the condition to amend the constitution and take the land.

“If you don’t agree with us today, it means you don’t agree with your outgoing president [Jacob Zuma] on the issue of land expropriation without compensation.”

However, ANC member of parliament Phumuzile Ngwenya-Mabila immediately said in her speech that the ruling party understood the history of “land dispossession”. However, they would not allow the EFF to to tell the ANC how to address it.

She contended that the idea of land expropriation without compensation remained unconstitutional, and also disagreed with the proposition by the EFF to amend section 25 of the constitution.

“We know the history of land dispossession. We also know we are going to address that. We are not going to be told what to do. We are not in alliance with anyone else. We are a ruling government.

“We agree as the ANC that the land reform process is slow. That is why various programes have been initiated to address the land question. But we disagree with the motion tabled by honourable [Floyd] Shivambu. We totally reject it! That we amend section 25, subsection 1 … in fact it’s subsection 2 of the constitution.

“Expropriation of land should be done for public purpose and public interest … not for the EFF’s purpose and EFF interest.

“Secondly, expropriation without compensation is unconstitutional. We need to uphold the constitution as citizens of this country, moreover, as members of this house.

“Expropriation must be subjected to just and equitable compensation as indicated in section 25 subsection 2 (b) of the constitution. The amount of which and the time and manner of payment of which have been agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by the court.

As it stands, section 25 subsection 2 and 3 of the constitution says that:

Property may be expropriated only in terms of law of general application—

(a) for a public purpose or in the public interest; and

(b) subject to compensation, the amount of which and the time and manner of payment of which have either been agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by a court.

(3) The amount of the compensation and the time and manner of payment must be just and equitable, reflecting an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected, having regard to all relevant circumstances, including—

(a) the current use of the property;

(b) the history of the acquisition and use of the property;

(c) the market value of the property;

(d) the extent of direct state investment and subsidy in the acquisition and beneficial capital improvement of the property; and

(e) the purpose of the expropriation.

She said that the Expropriation Bill would take care of the issue of expropriated land being sold for too much , as the amount paid would be determined by the Valuer-General. But compensation was essential to remain in line with the constitution.

574

Black History Month

THE BLOG

01/19/2014 02:48 pm ET | Updated Mar 21, 2014

The Beloved Community: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Prescription for a Healthy Society

By Jeff Ritterman, MD

Image courtesy of Vivien Feyer*

 Dr. Martin Luther King popularized the notion of the “Beloved Community.” King envisioned the Beloved Community as a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one’s fellow human beings.

As explained by The King Center, the memorial institution founded by Coretta Scott King to further the goals of Martin Luther King:

Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.

How is King’s Beloved Community a prescription for a healthy society?

Fundamental to the concept of the Beloved Community is inclusiveness, both economic and social. The notion that all can share in earth’s bounty describes a society in which the social product is shared far more equally than it is in today’s world. The Beloved Community also describes a society in which all are embraced and none discriminated against.

Economic and social justice are the twin pillars supporting the Beloved Community. These twin pillars are also necessary for a healthy society. What would be the health impacts of living in such a society?

Quite a lot is now known about health and social status. When I was in medical school in the 1970s, we believed that it was the CEO at the top of the hierarchy who would be the first to succumb to a heart attack due to the undue stresses of his high position.

Sir Michael Marmot, in the famous Whitehall Studies, showed that actually the exact opposite is true. The lower one is on the social hierarchy, the lower one’s life expectancy, with an incremental improvement each step up. We humans are exquisitely sensitive to our class standing. Our stress hormones reflect this. Those of us lowest on the social pyramid have the highest stress hormone levels. This seems to be how we are wired. The same is true in baboons.

It turns out that social status is the most powerful determinant of health for a wide range of outcomes including life expectancy, as well as illness and death from cardiovascular, pulmonary, psychiatric, and rheumatologic diseases and some cancers. It’s not only where we find ourselves on the social pyramid that matters, it also matters how that pyramid is shaped. In countries with relatively gentler hierarchies and more income equality, health outcomes and social well-being are generally quite good.

In highly unequal countries, like the United States, health outcome and social well-being suffer. We don’t live as long as our peers in more equal countries, nor do our infants or children. We’re fatter, more of our teens get pregnant, we incarcerate more of our citizens, our children score worse on math and science tests, we trust one another less, and we kill one another more often. We even recycle less often. Greater inequality of income leads to a generalized societal dysfunction. We correctly perceive that we are not all in the same boat, and we are more likely to view the world as a Hobbesian struggle for individual survival and advantage.

The King Center addresses one of the key public health challenges of our time by emphasizing a fairer sharing of the social product and an elimination of poverty and homelessness. Since social causes determine how long we will live and whether or not we will get ill, our prevention strategies must advance health-promoting changes in social policy.

The science suggests that policies that lessen income inequality, like raising the minimum wage and increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthiest among us, are likely to lead to significant population health benefits. 

While social class is the primary determinant of health outcome, racism has a detrimental impact over and above that of low social class. For every class category, some racial groupings that suffer discrimination, like African Americans and Latinos, have worse health outcomes than their white counterparts. How does racial discrimination get under the skin to cause premature illness and death?

Let’s focus for a moment on high blood pressure, a common ailment in African Americans. West Africans of similar heredity do not suffer from high levels of hypertension. What’s the explanation for such high levels in African Americans?

Our brains orchestrate an exquisite symphony of neuro-hormonal signals, resulting in the appropriate blood pressure for the level of threat or challenge we face at any given time. When the brain perceives the threat going up, blood pressure goes up too. The world can be a challenging place for a small biped without sharp teeth or claws. It’s good to be prepared for fight or flight should the situation call for either. The world is even more threatening if your racial group is discriminated against.

The appropriate physiologic response to perceived threat is vigilance and preparedness to run or to fight. Given that racism permeates our social environment, the brain of a person suffering racial discrimination sees hypervigilance as a necessity in order to be able to cope with any challenges that may arise. I imagine that tragedies like the murders of Trayvon Martin and Oscar Grant must reinforce the feeling that hypervigilance is necessary.

The hypervigilant state comes with a price. Chronically elevated blood pressure has a weathering affect on the heart and blood vessels. Being ready to run or to fight all of the time takes it’s toll. Heart disease, strokes, kidney failure and premature death are the results. A normal physiologic response (blood pressure rise) to an unhealthy social environment can lead to illness and death. You would think that one focus of intervention would be on improving the social environment and reducing racism. This is not the case.

The physician who treats the hypertensive patient unwittingly performs the social function of normalizing the status quo by ignoring the root cause of the high blood pressure and focusing exclusively on the patient’s response to drug therapy. Knowledge of the social causation has been largely kept from the physician who was taught in medical school that this is “essential hypertension” as opposed to the very rare instances of hypertension caused by endocrine secreting tumors. The terrible irony is that the patient’s brain felt it “essential” to maintain the blood pressure at elevated levels to deal with the chronic stress that is racism.

The medical world’s response to this phenomenon of stress-induced hypertension, in this case due to racism, is to treat each individual patient with multiple medicines. Controlling blood pressure with medications is an enormous challenge. The brain controls blood pressure. When the brain senses that the social environment is threatening, the blood pressure goes up. The doctor prescribes medicines aimed at interrupting the various neuro-hormonal messages that the brain sends to the heart, blood vessels and kidneys to maintain this elevated stress-induced blood pressure.

The doctor typically prescribes a beta-blocker to counteract the effects of the adrenaline system, thereby decreasing the rate and strength of the heart’s contraction, and lowering the blood pressure. The brain, still aware that the social environment is threatening, counters by having the kidneys hold on to more fluid — driving the blood pressure back up.
The doctor responds with a diuretic. The brain, not to be outdone by the doctor, increases the hormone angiotensin, leading to blood vessel constriction and again driving up blood pressure. The doctor has a medication for this too. She prescribes an ACE inhibitor and perhaps nitrates. At this point the patient’s blood pressure may be controlled, as long as the patient can tolerate the expense, the inconvenience and the side effects.

But unless the structures that perpetuate racism are removed, the next generation of African Americans will meet the same fate and they, too, will need to be treated for high blood pressure. This may be good for “fee for service medicine” and for the pharmaceutical industry, but it will never lead to a healthy society.

Dr. King devoted his life to creating the Beloved Community. By doing so he showed us the path to a society that maximizes empathy, compassion and love and also leads to health and well being. We can realize Dr. King’s dream, but to get there America will need to deal successfully with unresolved issues of class and race. Specifically, we need to share the social product more equally and to provide a livable income for all while at the same time removing any and all structures that promote or allow racism or any other form of discrimination. 

In Dr. Kings words:

“The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

Images courtesy of Vivien Feyer, gifts of the Society for the Support of Chemical Weapons Victims, Tehran, Iran

Follow Jeff Ritterman, MD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@JeffRitterman

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Jeff Ritterman, MD Vice President of the Board of Directors, San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility