Roots Republic

Editorial

2009-06-15T14:23:00.001-07:00

Dear Reader,

In the wake of what seems to be an absolutely massive few months sporting wise, one can’t help but get carried away on a little victory parade. The Super 14 and the current cricketing action are just reminders of how well our country is faring on the international scene. The relocation of the IPL to South Africa has been a swift and practically flawless move, and the current success of the Confederation Cup points towards a country that, despite ongoing criticism and minor stumbling, really is getting its act together. The vuvuzelas, full stadiums and enthusiastic crowds produce a contagious enthusiasm for South Africa.

South Africans and the international community are quick to point fingers, and to make it clear as to where we are not shaping up. We don’t hear enough good news frankly, and this month we are in a position where, really, there isn’t much except good news. So let’s all forget about the freezing winter for a bit, and think about just how fabulously South Africa is doing.

All the 2010 stadiums are on track, tickets are selling faster than boerie rolls at a rugby game, we are hosting tournaments left right and centre with (at the moment) no crises to report and with full stadiums. Despite all the finger pointing, we have shown that we really do have everything it takes to compete with the rest of the world, and do so spectacularly. Well done South Africa!!

The Roots Republic Team

The South African Dream: 15 years on and 15 years to come

2009-06-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

By Toni Parsons

Fifteen years into the Rainbow nation, I don’t know that a soothsayer, witchdoctor, economist or analyst would have been able to predict the changes that have happened in our nation. Some of the surprises have been wonderful, others have been unexpected uncomfortable issues that still need to be dealt with.

Recently, Matthews Phosa, Moeletsi Mbeki and Stephen Chan delivered a talk on the South African Dream – where we have come, and where are going. For anyone with an interest in South Africa this was a must see. Phosa is an active member in the ANC, Mbeki a working businessman and accomplished analyst and speaker, and Chan, a professor at the SOAS (Society for Oriental and African Studies). The panel provided an incredible wealth of working knowledge and expertise regarding South Africa. Seen away from the hearsay and the fabricated stats that worked up expats and passionate South Africans at home can sometimes fall victim to made it all the more beneficial.

Each speaker had their own perspective on what was relevant, and the diversity of the panel allowed for an exhaustive range of topics to be covered in a short span of time. Affirmative action, crime, economic stability, corruption, national debt, land appropriation and the ANC as a government rather than a rebellion party all had their time in the spotlight.

Away from the propaganda and over-hype of the press, the challenges for South Africa were clearly laid out. There is no question that South Africa has come a long distance, in leaps and bounds over the last 15 years, but there are also slowly rising issues that need to be dealt with if we are to succeed. Our problem of debt per head in the country, and a culture of spending needs to be addressed, and quickly. Our debt per head is on a similar scale with that of the US, while our job market aligns with those of the BRIC countries – not an ideal economic position for a country that needs to grow over the next few years. In addition, our business environment needs to foster a spirit of much fiercer competition if we are to succeed in remaining a democracy with an economy on a global scale. Without the culture of competition, we run the risk of becoming a country run by monopolies, which will mean we quickly lose our edge in the international market.

Issues that are already prominent in discussions on South Africa weren’t excluded – affirmative action needs to be addressed if the brain drain of expats is to return to SA and be productive in the economy.

Overall, the discussion was a positive outline of the problems South Africa faces over the next few years if we are to prove ourselves different from other African countries and maintain our international status. The problems we face are not insurmountable, and if we work towards overcoming them it is possible. The only factor in the discussion that really made me think twice and doubt that it is possible was the ANC speaker on the panel. He consistently made light of the problems we face, and denied many of the quite obvious issues that need to be addressed. If we are to succeed as a nation with many obstacles to overcome, denying the problems we face and pretending that everything is really OK, is not going to work.

Perhaps we need to listen more closely to what Moeletsi Mbeki says. If we are to succeed internationally, we need to foster a spirit of fierce competition. Not just in our businesses, but in our political parties as well. Perhaps in fact, the spirit of competition is beginning to thrive in us. In the next 15 years we might well see more competition for the ANC in other parties, and see South Africans demanding more from its leading party, or finding someone who will deliver. I believe a competitive attitude politically and economically is one of the biggest keys for our success. For the next 15 years, let’s make our dream to be more demanding of South Africa – if we demand more and demand only the best of what can be delivered, the only possible result is to produce our best results.

Nurse and Co. Laugh Off ANC Interdiction

2009-06-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Farley

It was gratifying to see that the ANC have backed out of interdicting the Mail & Guardian newspaper over a photograph they printed spoofing South African president Jacob Zuma. After threats made earlier this month, it came to light last week that the ANC had run out of steam and stomping free speech was not to be high on their list of things to do.

The photograph, which was March's spoof shot from satirical t-shirt company Laugh it Off's Corpowit calender 2009, featured the back of Zuma's head with a shower head hanging over it. In the wake of a number of distressing moves to quiet the nation's voice, including the SABC's shady rescheduling of a Special Assignment programme on political satire and Zuma's move to sue famed satirical cartoonist Zapiro for defamation over his “Rape of Justice” cartoon, a success in the corner for freedom of speech was a little bit overdue.

South African defamation law gives a great degree of protection to satirical commentary on politicians. If the underlying facts alluded to in the spoof or satire are based on a reasonable amount of truth, then the commentary is protected as free speech. Basically, if the cartoon is not being gratuitously mean and is basing the central thesis on some axis of fact or current political debate then it cannot be deemed unlawful. This is something that the leading party appeared to forget for a brief moment, which speaks to a larger worry that extends to freedom of speech in journalists, artists, writers and actors. Our constitution is one of the strongest in the world and it is that constitution which allows us freedom of speech to question, challenge and even poke a bit of fun at our political figures. Any move to take away that right by the ANC or any other political party is just not on. It is great to see that Justin Nurse, his Laugh it Off team and the Mail & Guardian newspaper are reminding our leading figures of that.

What we could be reading on our trips to work

2009-06-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

By Ross Farley

The 2009 elections have come and gone. A free Jacob Zuma has and taken over as president of South Africa and Armageddon hasn’t hit. The cabinet has been reshuffled and Helen Zille marches on against the riptide of the ANCYL. Thabo who? Relatively speaking, there is a country wide calm. As Saffers, we have become so used to the chimes of electricity failure or the chorus of xenophobic violence, that when the headlines start to settle down, we crawl out from the back of the couch, look around to check if we’re about to be flanked by a “Financial Crisis, SA in recession” banner, or a “2010 to be exported to Oz” heading, and pinch ourselves to check we’re not dreaming. It has been a quiet few weeks in South Africa and the newspaper columns all seem to be filled with the remains of something you’re sure you’ve read about before. Everyone’s just waiting, poised for the next big “disaster” so that we can return to the chaos and meltdowns that we’re so comfortable with.

Within this small period of respite, I thought the time was right to have a look around and see what the rest of the world has been up to. At times like these, it is important to sit back, take a moment and realise that all countries have their own personal set of ridiculous situations to deal with. I specifically avoided Obama, Pakistan, Iran and pretty much any other zone that was likely to send me scurrying back behind the couch. Quite satisfyingly, I found sufficient material in the headlines of some of our world’s newspapers to have me sniggering like a school boy with a boner. Some local Rag in Idaho evidently didn’t find the headline “one armed man applauds the kindness of strangers” worth a giggle. I just wish they had managed an action pic of him clapping. A New Jersey local bellowed that apparently “Statistics show that teen pregnancies drop significantly after the age of 25”. Whoever said that editors don’t have a nose for the obvious?

Our good ol’ Aussie mates down under did us proud with this gem: “Army vehicle worth $74 000 goes missing after being painted with camouflage”. There is a reason this country hasn’t REALLY gone to war in the last … well … never … except their ‘participation in WW2’. In Alaska somewhere, law enforcement agencies are driving fear into the hearts of criminals with strong new operations publicized as follows: “Police begin campaign to run-down jaywalkers”. On an accidental foray into the realm of the fearful, I found this headline commenting on that violent and recurrent insurgencies throughout Iraq “Iraqi head seeks arms”. Poor chap.

There’s the occasional blooper that thoughtlessly wonders into the zone of the lascivious, like this pearler “Prostitutes appeal to Pope”. The big man would look great tied up with fishnets. One can also rely on the massive worldwide poverty grammar to provide us with howlers like “Squad helps dog bite victim” or “Dealers will hear car talk at noon”.

Finally, there are those that just plain get their meanings muddled. Nicaragua was a strong contender in this event with “Never withhold herpes from loved one” and “Autos killing 110 a day, let's resolve to do better” to its name. However, the out and out winner and personal favourite has to go to the Americans with the absolute classic: “Drunk drivers paid $1,000 in 1984” Tee hee.

When you look at it with this perspective, you realise that South Africa is not really that insane, it’s not really that screwed up and it’s not on a slippery slope to catastrophe. It is interesting and difficult and a whole lot more exciting than some other countries. But other countries have their flaws too. I expect the South African media moguls to bring back the doomsday headlines soon. At least then I can go back to feeling safe and settled.

For Foodies – The Grass is Greener in Sunny South Africa

2009-06-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

By Toni Parsons

London has been home for me for the past two years. In the time I have been here, I have experienced cheese, wine, fruit, sweets, cakes and any other form of sustenance imaginable. Fruits I had never heard of and vegetables I had never even seen. The Heathrow injection is not sneaky, it lives, quite obviously, at Borough Market and at food festivals throughout the year.

London and its surrounding boroughs has festivals and markets that are just mind blowing for anyone even remotely interested in food. I have been privileged enough to travel while I have lived here, and cities like Barcelona, Brussels and Paris feel like a repeat of the same process all over again. When you go there you see foods you’d never heard of and learn ways of preparing food you would never have imagined.

It would be easy to give the impression that South Africa is lagging in this department, or that one needs to leave to discover the vast wonders of foods available. That impression would be wrong. While I have learnt about foods here that I wasn’t aware existed, I have spent a lot of time talking to English people, and telling them about the foods that we eat at home. Many times, they have been as incredulous as I have been – both when I tell them of our food, and of the foods I have discovered here.

South Africans live a lifestyle where our food is predominantly grown on farms, purchased genuinely fresh and has seen some daylight in its time. Our food is not frozen or artificially ripened, we have no need of that, and having real sun ripened food doesn’t cost us any extra. Moreover, our diverse cultures and eating habits mean that although we might use the local supermarket reasonably often, stopping to buy avocados on the side of the road or getting your fruit from a fruit store on your way home is not unheard of. We tend to eat fruits and vegetables when they are in season, and from farms local to us.

This kind of buying and exposure to foods that are in season means that our experience of foods is wider than the average Brit who shops for the same foods at the same shop, day in and day out. South Africans buy different foods at different times of the year, rather than perfect tomatoes available 365 days a year, grown in Venezuela and ripened with a light. We eat what grows on our farms, and not just what the man who owns Spar can order to have in his shop.

Over and above this, if you look at food festivals and markets annually in the UK and in South Africa, the number of festivals available comes in quite close.

Having attended a selection in both the UK and SA, it needs to be said that South Africa’s food festivals and markets beat those in the UK hands down. They are better planned logistically – parking and people management tends to be better. They are generally cheaper to attend for the local. To go to a Food Festival in London is a very pricey affair, and tends to be rather class dominated – it’s not generally available to anyone interested in learning about food. Entrance tickets come in at roughly double the price of a movie ticket, and the food to be purchased once you are inside does not come cheap. There are more Veuve Cliquot sipping yuppies than ordinary people on a day out to taste good food.

I have observed at food festivals in South Africa families from a range of economic incomes, ages and classes – the focus really is on good food and on learning about it, rather than on spending vast amounts of money because you can. You do get the Veuve Cliquot sippers in SA, but you also get the dads in torn jeans and decade old flip flops there to taste some jams, and groups of students having a fun day out.

Moreover, because we have more space, our festivals are bigger and more diverse. Olive oils, cheeses and wines dominate UK festivals. South Africa boasts amazing breads, jams, pickles, varieties of home made beers and other kinds of booze, fresh oysters and mussels to name a few.

For a country still growing into the food and wine festival market, we compete on an absolutely outstanding level, and I can honestly say that in terms of value for money, I have yet to go to a food festival in the UK that competes with any in South Africa.

Scrappy BRT Talks Pave the Way for Progress

2009-06-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Farley

The mysteries of taxi transport have always plagued me. Between not knowing how the Duckworth/Lewis system works and how to flambé a pudding correctly is the niggling reality that the one trip in a taxi in '97 between Gates and the Randburg Waterfront at 11pm doesn't make me an expert. I dislike not knowing how things work. There is no discernible logic to taxi routs routes or stopping points and the sheer number of people that fit into one taxi mini bus continues to highlight my own personal phobia of people touching me. To my middle to upper class tendencies it just doesn't make sense.

Like the rest of the car driving nation, I have faced off with a taxi driver or two, one of those obscene young lasses in her pretty new car gesticulating wildly at the blatant contempt shown by these people for the rules of the road. But, personal rage aside, the taxi system as it is is something that has been set up by entrepreneurs who spotted a gap in the market, and now, the heavies who promised to protect them look like they are going to take it away with the fell swoop that only African politics are capable of achieving. I would be bleak too.

Obviously the official tag line is that everything is being followed as protocol and the taxi drivers are being happily coddled into the fold of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. Campaigns of anger displayed earlier in the year lean towards a different truth but, last week in talks in Midrand, the flames of ire were cooled somewhat and plans for the BRT will go ahead.

Deputy Transport Minister Jeremy Cronin said on Thursday that "The city-led processes around the first phases of BRT... must continue. What we are trying to do today is not to again prolong the process, but provide a green light to proceed energetically," A meeting between Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele, senior transport officials and taxi bosses led to this pleasant conclusion, reopening channels of communication and greater chances for a sustainable public transport system. During the discussion Ndebele assured taxi bosses that only 5%of the national taxi fleet will be affected by the BRT system roll out up until 20212. "In particular the City of Johannesburg is sitting on a very tight deadline in terms of financial commitments and obligations, and therefore it is absolutely important that we get the first phase up and running by the end of August," Cronin said.

After JZ halted the negotiations just before the April 22 election, things were looking dodgy and my continued refusal to grace the local public transport imminent. This progress is far better. By 2025 the BRT system is expected to cover 1400km across the country should the trial run work out. I wonder whether the Gates/Randburg waterfront route is included in there?

African Insights

2009-06-15T13:41:00.001-07:00

Leading by example: A story of servant leadership in Action

By Tracy Hammond

The stereotype of what a politician is and does, particularly an African one, has been thoroughly blown out of the water by Ghana’s former president John Kufuor. His commitment to his people, Ghanaians particularly and Africans more generally, is and was clear in his many actions. The benefits of these long-term and strategic plans are becoming more and more evident as each day passes. He instituted a socio-economic vision that was encapsulated in the ‘Five Priority Areas Programme’: the pursuit of good governance, modernisation of agriculture for rural development, private sector participation, enhanced social services and vigorous infrastructural development. This transformation has resulted in the highest growth rate Ghana has experienced since independence.

Kufuor left the country with a national reserve of US$2bn when he left office, an incredible growth of the $230m left by the previous government. “Under his watch, respect for the rule of law and human rights was paramount. For all 8 years that he ruled, nobody was imprisoned for political reasons...Civil liberties were enhanced and the criminal libel law was repealed to give greater voice to journalists and all who live in the country” says former Deputy Minister of Information Frank Agyekum. Ghana was the first to accede to the African Peer Review mechanism and the standard set by Ghana is now the measurement for all other countries on the continent.

As Chairman of the African Union, Kufuor was a key player in helping to establish the Kenyan power sharing process which is now being emulated in Zimbabwe.Yet this is not where his commitment ends and the recent revelation of the remuneration package he received as President has left none in doubt that he saw his role as servant to the people. For the first 5 years of his term he earned a salary of only US$1000. Only after an international review did he receive an increase up to US$4600 per month. He never took up residence in the Presidential Palace nor claimed the ‘rent’ for use of his own home which he was entitled to. This is in particular contrast to the current political situation in the UK and is a model of behaviour all in the world, developed or developing, should take note of.

Gourmet SA

2009-06-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Cooking Fish Well

By: The Cobbler King

Not a very prepossessing title but all the same an activity that is most often honoured in the breach rather than in the observance. With this article I am going to focus on ‘Preparation and Cooking White Fish Fillets 101’. Why? Well, because most of my friends have very little idea what to do when presented with some fresh fish fillets. While we still have relatively abundant stocks of certain fish and good distribution networks allowing us (even in Johannesburg) to get good quality fresh fish, I feel that the least we can do is make sure that we cook it right. So we’ll start small and I’ll deal with the more complex oily jobs in a later missive.

For us in South Africa the fish most often thought of as an almost national fish (somebody please tell me what our national fish actually is) is the Kingklip. A wonderful firm fleshed white fish that although in itself not overly flavoursome, the Kingklip takes on other flavours in a regal manner. Other types of fish similar to Kingklip include: Kabeljou, very fresh Hake, reef fish such as 74 and Rockcod, Steenbras, Sea Bass, Musselcracker, etc. All listed exampled will provide beautiful fillets that can be prepared for you to order from your friendly fishmonger or bought from a much smaller selection at Woolies in a handy vacuum packed container.

The golden rule with fish is when you get home do NOT wash it. By all means, wipe it down with a damp cloth, but immersing the whole fillet in water will only serve to swell its flesh and dilute its flavour. Right, so you are now almost ready to rock and roll, but before you do remember that the absolute key requirement for cooking fish well, as with humour, is in the timing. Get the timing wrong and your seduction feast or impress a friend meal will disappoint every time.

Once you have got all your trimmings sorted out and nothing left to distract you, only then should you turn to the fish. Question one: Are you going to sauce it? If so, then please make sure that the sauce is appropriate - matching aioli with hake is just a very bad idea. Easy and efficient sauces can be made with lemon and butter, while certain other fruits, like seasonal mangos can be used to create wonderful flavours and contrasting colours. I find that the fish sauces I most often use come from the tome of modern cooking master Rick Steyn. That guy knows his fish sauces! They are easy to follow, don’t have too many ingredients and can often be made a bit in advance of the inevitable pyrotechnics that comes with getting to grips with the actual cooking process.

To prep the fish is simple. I like a mixture of flour and breadcrumbs with a little salt. Make sure that you only dip the fish fillets into this mixture just before you cook it. Shake off any residue before cooking, the object is not to create a thick crust but rather something that when pan fried will crisp up adding texture and flavour and not take away from that wonderful fish texture.

Right … let’s get onto the cooking.

The first - and probably only – unshakable rule is don’t overcook anything! The flesh of white fish is light and cooks quickly. It should be grilled or pan fried at a highish heat so that you can add the major flavour imparted by cooking, that of the caramelized fish flesh, to the dish. I like to pan fry fish fillets in a shallow pan with a small quantity of vegetable oil, a small knob of butter should be added once the first sizzle has been heard (an exact science). You can put the fish in skin up or down, but generally the side that you want presented on the plate should go in first. Don’t move the fish around in the pan (OK, so that is rule number 2 – I lied), let the cooking process work its magic for at least 60 seconds before you move anything then add the butter for another few seconds of sizzle and flip the fish over.

Now onto the million dollar question: when is it done? Personally, I would prefer fish that is slightly juicy rather than overdone but I accept that I am in a minority in this regard. A good test is to use a carving knife with a point and gently slide it into the thickest part of the fillet. If the blade slides in easily then the fish is done. My own test is just when I think that it is underdone, then it is done. It’s a bit Irish but it keeps me on my toes, because once your fish is overcooked there is no recovery, you are dead in the water no matter how hard you try to disguise the fruits of a fruitless labour. Once done, serve immediately. If you leave it in the warming drawer for more than a few minutes it will spoil and so will all that preparation.

So plate up quickly and elegantly, less is usually more with fish. Do not cover the fish in parsley or any other leaves. A piece of lemon is good with the sauce placed under the fish with maybe a few splashes of sauce and good olive oil over the top.

If you follow the process correctly the results will astound you. Friends, family political friends and foes, workmates, gym partners everywhere will look at you in awe, locals will mark your presence with respect and shower you with compliments as you go about your various peregrinations, it is also for the youngster a great mate puller. I love serving fish to my family and friends. By and large it is good for you, one tends not to overeat and it is just so much sexier than a great slab of meat – don’t you think?

Featured Band: Zebra and Giraffe

2009-06-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Indie clad Johannesburg wunderkind Greg Culin released the début LP of his musical brainchild Zebra and Giraffe to favourable critiques and slavering audiences last year. 'Collected Memories', an album created with the production talents of Harris Tweed’s Darryl Torr, is an offering that has been described as:"the kind of slick but dark electro rock you'd expect a fan of New Order and Joy Division to make".

www.myspace.com/zebraandgiraffe

Editorial

2009-04-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

The fourth general election in South Africa’s relatively youthful democracy was completed on Wednesday 22 April. For the first time since 1994, South African ex-pats where given the chance to vote on the 15th and all over the world, stations were opened and democracy was served. On the home front, a record number of voters took to the polls and, for the first time, actively created an opposition party to the all powerful ANC.

For me, the tenacity of South African voters was displayed at the Home Affairs office in Randburg on Tuesday 21 April, when hundreds of people stood beside me in the queue for interminable hours to ensure they would have the chance to vote the following day. Some had lost their ID books through carelessness, others had lost theirs through non-violent and sometimes violent crimes. There were stories of ID books that did not last the machine wash cycle, or, unfortunately, stayed on the wrong side of the ocean when their owners flew back to vote.

Whatever the reasons, they were there, they were prepared to wait and they would do it with the charismatic flair intrinsic to South Africans. Some

entrepreneurs took the opportunity to serve hot chocolate up and down the lines and there was the unified feeling of people coming together and taking an active interest in the country. I stood in that queue for 5 hours and not one person near me gave up and left. They stood and they fought for their chance to vote. The same way they are prepared to stand and fight for their country.

I don’t know what the next five years holds for South Africa, but as long as we have comrades willing to wait in endless queues with blessed patience for their chance to have their democratic say, I reckon we will be ok.

Thanks for voting guys!

The Roots Republic Team

Voting in the Square

2009-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

By Toni Parsons

My strongest argument for voting abroad has been that it’s the best way to feel involved at home if you aren’t there. Many noises were made about a homecoming revolution sometime ago, and even if the furore has subsided, there are some South Africans out there who still hope that the day is coming where every second person in Wimbledon isn’t South African – and that those South Africans who populate Wimbledon now are living back in SA.

I can’t speak for what it was like for people who voted outside London, but voting in Trafalgar square was up there with the Rugby World Cup Final for making me feel homesick. I’m a bit ahead of myself, so I’ll start with the housekeeping.

I found the preparation process for remote voting to be almost painless with the biggest issue being put on hold on the ‘phone for 14 minutes to South Africa while I waited for confirmation that my VEC10 (the form you need to vote from outside SA) was received and approved.

The DA was the only party that appeared to be doing any kind of campaigning for votes from outside the borders. They deserve a mention for tireless efforts and for what was a notably efficient campaign. They provided up to date information on the court case, responded swiftly and personally to enquiries and supplied links to the VEC10 forms, even going as to offer to fax it through for you. This was obviously accompanied by emails requesting money to fund their campaign, but it needs to be said that no other party seemed interested in either my money or my vote.

On the day, with an expected 7,500 voters expected, I anticipated arriving at work well after lunch time. Greeted at Trafalgar square by lines ten people wide, stretching along the side up to the end of the block, yellow police tape and protest style barriers up – the whole shebang- I asked the bobby if this was the queue. Nope. Apparently that queue up the other side, ten wide and stretching along the front of the national museum was where the end of the queue was. Oh excellent. I promptly called the boss explaining that even arriving after lunch was looking a little dubious.

In the queue, I was assailed by all manner of South African handouts – bright blue fizzers stapled to newspapers included. The plus was that the ‘take one pass along’ approach gave the London-hardened a window to have a chat. Which is what South Africans rock at. And chat on we did – about going home, about the future prospects for SA, about living in London. Generally, we did the whole spectrum of what is fabulous and what is terrible about SA, and what it’s like to live in London. I saw people tag teaming to queue up and getting coffee delivered from the local Pret to make the wait a bit easier.

The things that stand out from the day: everyone who came to vote in green rugby jerseys – and those who brought the vuvuzela’s along just ‘sommer’. The absolute efficiency of the election staff who were polite, friendly and generally outstanding all the time I was there. That they let the elderly, the mothers (and accompanying fathers – sneaky), and those who had other reasons for not being able to wait go in a fast track for the voting.I prefer not to wait in queues with crying kids, so the fast track pleased everyone.

The enthusiastic DA staff handing out VEC1 forms (necessary for voting on the day, and different from VEC10 apparently) and DA manifestos to those in the queue; the ACDC representatives in their red t-shirts handing out information with big smiles.

With the efficiency of the process, that massive queue eventually amounted to not even an hour’s wait. I was at work only half an hour late, long before anyone imagined I would be. I was there only for a short time and in the morning, so perhaps I missed some campaigning. That evening, a friend showed me a video on his phone of ANC campaigners toyi-toying in the square. I would love to have seen which parties had campaigners there throughout the day, and what they did.

Overall, the experience did more for me and for my feelings about going home than I imagined. I wanted to have a little cry when I stood and looked at the line of ebullient, talkative and undeniably happy people standing waiting to cast their vote. Voting from abroad was never about winning an election for me, but it was about acknowledging fellow South Africans who are absent from the country.

For the voters, it is about feeling a part of a constitution that is far ahead of the rest of the world, and about feeling directly involved with your country. If you care enough to make the effort to vote, by implication you have a vested interest and have a right to a say in who governs.

The bad news is that I live in a house with 3 other South Africans – just one other voted – in South Africa as she was there for a visit. I was at dinner a few days later with 4 other South Africans – I was the only one with the trademarked thumb. One man there didn’t even know we were allowed to vote, although he claims an interest in SA as he own businesses there.

Now that Willem Richter and the court have had their day and we are given the privilege of the vote, I find it almost heartbreaking to meet people who can’t be bothered. One more piece of bad news is that when I looked at my ballot, I realised how little I had been touched by the participating parties, which says something about the respective campaigns.

All round, however, it must be said that this experience was uplifting and without question absolutely positive for South Africa. Well done to the election committee for arranging it so well in such a short time. Willem Richter, if I ever meet you, drinks on me.

So, what do you stand for?

2009-04-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Farley

On 2 November 2008, less than six months before the recent general elections, a group of people convened to discuss the fractured political environment of the ANC and what it represented. There, it was agreed that it was time for a new political formation. The Congress of the People was subsequently born.

Now, when the big mac daddy’s of Shilowa and Lekota spear headed the new party and poured in all of their combined impressive political experience, external talk started about the new anti-ANC and the possibility of a fresh ruling party. Putting the cart before the horse is a minor understatement, but that doesn’t make the advent of COPE any less important for the 2009 elections.

What they did was gain exposure. At a time when the political fanaticism was at an all time high, they introduced themselves, they made their mission statement known and they began a very important process.

By the by, for those of you who are unsure of what COPE stand for, the vision follows: Our vision for South Africa is for a democratic, inclusive, prosperous country which shuns all racial, ethnic, gender, narrow chauvinistic stereotypes and prejudices in favour of a caring society, where shared national identity and pride are deeply rooted; and where the freedoms of the people are untrammelled by a selfish political leadership; and where as a country we are at peace with our neighbours and the world.

I do like the sound of that. Basically, the ANC, while historically relevant and important to South Africa, are struggling to make the transition even now from liberation movement to ruling party. They are steeped in history that is so important, but, unfortunately, also politically limiting and a scratch my back scratch your back mentality is dangerously prevalent. For many, many years, they operated as an underground campaign, forced to hold their cards very close to their chest - important for a liberation movement, but damning for a ruling political party. COPE are trying to move beyond that to a democratic and inclusive country. Its aim is to avoid the fallings of being a historically ‘black’ party like the ANC or a historically ‘white’ party like the DA and to just represent themselves as a party for South Africans.

That mentality, piggy backing on the first real chance of an opposition party to the ANC in the form of the stronger DA and COPE means that, politically, South Africa has made massive strides. This truly exciting time in politics can only mean good things. I, personally, am very excited to see the slow bubble of COPE and the DA up against the ANC with its first real show of opposition since 1994 boil to an impressive crescendo in time for election 2013.

Water for All

2009-04-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

By Toni Parsons

As the West hobbles along after the economic meltdown, Africa’s problems remain by and large the same. Specifically malaria, HIV and its related illnesses and access to clean drinking water wreak havoc, killing off millions annually. The West struggles for money and Africa struggles for survival.

Which makes it all the more gratifying that a London based entrepreneur should be so concerned about access to clean water in Africa that he not only came up with a workable solution, but implemented it and ensured that it is sustainable. It is a solution that provides a clean, reliable water source to a community, in proximity to their living areas and schools. Even more inconceivable, this solution depends upon children playing to provide the water. It really does sound too good to be true.

The solution itself is elementary. Windmills have been pumping water since 500AD and have proved to be both reliable and low maintenance. Children have been playing on roundabouts probably since the invention of the wheel. In theory, turn the windmill on its side, replace the blades with a roundabout, and hey presto – you have a roundabout that pumps water. In effect, what you have is a ‘Playpump’. Children play on the roundabout that pumps water from a borehole and stores it in tanks ready for use.

Few communities have the resources to fund such equipment, and the current economic climate isn’t going to generate funds easily. Duncan Goose created a plan that would bring in a stream of funds used specifically to fund ‘Playpumps’.

Called ‘One Water’, the brand is growing in the UK and USA, rapidly catching on with big names and in turn filtering down to the street. The launch coincided conveniently with the Live8 concert in 2005 and became the brand of choice for the stars at the concert.

For every bottle sold, all of the profits go toward installing a ‘Playpump’ in a community that needs it. Ingenious, really – first world people buying water on the go in train stations or subways and in restaurants, with dollars and pounds being converted into African currencies, creating reliable water sources. For installing the pumps, One Water uses local contractors, creating work opportunities for local people. Revenue for advertising boards on the side of water storage tanks pays for a free text helpline ensuring that a team of trained professionals will attend to the pump and repair it should there be a problem.

The result is a community where the children are required to play in order to supply water. Instead of walking long distances to get water daily, children can now attend school and women can devote time and effort elsewhere, safe in the knowledge that they have safe and reliable water nearby.

At a time where fewer and fewer resources will be donated to areas that are strapped for funds, a sustainable plan that seems to work solely around benefiting a community that needs it is invaluable. It certainly allows one to believe that people with a social conscience, willing to put their money where their mouths are really do exist. Refreshing seems a poor pun. Inspiring? Unquestionably.

Take a look here: http://www.onedifference.org/uk/water/

London is fun for a while …

2009-04-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Knapton

Deep within the belly of the city the darkness looms and the clouds wrap their coolness around city’s personnel. The dampness seems never-ending, almost unbearable. It is dark, cold, wet, miserable; London during summer time. No, not really, that’s all a bit dramatic, but that’s how it feels to this Eastern Cape boytjie. Non-smiling, newspaper reading, granny ignoring bad weather. Whether the sun shines or not, the attitudes don’t change - cultures take centuries to become this stubborn. No outward showing of happiness. No outward showing of friendliness. No breaking of the mould. That just would not go with my tea love. Digestives are just too comforting.

On some level it sounds lovely and actually, it is. I love London. It is a fantastic place that offers so much. Grumpy Brits are par for the course and it wouldn’t be fish and chips without them. Take it on the chin and this treasure chest offers so much to anyone willing to plunge their hand deep into its depths. South Africans must take from it what it offers, a respite from the weak Rand and a ‘closer’ base from which to travel the world. It should not be a permanent base mind you, South Africa is far too precious for that. She has given us London Saffas too much for us to just brush her aside. South Africa has been bruised, disjointed, stubbed and broken throughout her history. We all owe her. Unfortunately not many are willing. They find themselves stuck in what I like to call the ‘out of Africa fever’. Only negative things are picked up upon. Her glass is considered bone dry, never mind half empty. That track of thinking is well oiled and to free oneself from those thoughts is tough. Very tough. And what makes me sad is that we all know better. We come from the land of pap and vleis; the land of smiles and vitamin D; the land of freedom. It is freedom that people have died for.

The United Kingdom is great, but limited. Walk down a road and count the number of video cameras recording your every step. Structure is key to our dear Brits, control is everything. To even stand on the left is enough to get one in an immense amount of trouble. Try it, I dare you. We South Africans are not used to this whole Big Brother idea. And that is not even the worst part of it. It just really feels like one is forced into being someone like everyone else. Stuck in the serpent’s tracks. No deviation from the tube or overland routes. “You go where we want you to go”. No change. Do not disturb. No freedom. And what I am talking about is not reckless freedom. It is not unlawfulness, something that annihilates our dear land. It is simply freedom in its purest form. True, unadulterated freedom. The ability to get into a car and drive into the bushveld. The blessing of standing on an unoccupied beach and taking in the mixture of sea-salt, crashing waves and seaweed. The joy of looking upon a mountain range and hearing one’s voice echo. The simple things really. Like a barefoot hippie running through Camden. Like a curry in Tooting. Like a kebab at one in the morning. Things that make you smile. But not a wide smile. Not a Mama Afrika smile. No, no those smiles are reserved for African soil. The southern variety in particular.

A bit of Wonderboom on voting day

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Farley

Music and politics have for many years been intertwined. In days gone by, during periods of oppression and recession, music has stood as the mouthpiece of protest. Alongside its theatre and poetry counterparts, music is one of the last true bastions of unleashed speech and one of the most difficult political voices to silence.

Anthems which stand out as rousing (and in most cases anti-) political tributes range from Bruce Springsteen's entire Vietnam collection, through The Clash's iconic London Calling and back around to pretty much everything the Manic Street Preachers did pre-1994. On home ground, the anguish of apartheid and South Africa's political struggle found its musical outlet in the dusty streets of Sophiatown where some of the legends of progressive jazz flexed their creative muscles alongside the genius of Hugh Masakela and Miriam Makeba. The fall of the Berlin Wall was even sat side by side with the music of its time when David Hasselhoff issued a warbling performance of his song “Looking For Freedom” which was an apt favourite around Germany at the time. For each political milestone, it seems, there is a fitting soundtrack.

22 April 2009 was an iconic political day in South Africa. Possibly as important as the April 1994 elections, Wednesday saw South Africans stand up and do their duty. Many, many songs have been written about the history of South Africa's violence, but 22 April 2009 was not a day that would go down in that history book. Rather, voters went to their polling stations, embraced their constitutional right to be a part of the country's ruling, let rip their versions of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Shosoloza across the nation (with hopefully minimal renditions of old Jacob Zuma's favourite 'Lethu Mshini Wami’ – go and fetch your own machine gun) and democracy was served without any of that unnecessary blood shed. Sure Zuma took the crown, but there were droves coming out to ensure a strong opposition for the next 5 years.

For me, the day was yet another affirmation that the spirit of South Africa is alive and well. However, having voted in one of the more sterile white neighborhoods in Johannesburg, I was not party to any of the vibrant singing, dancing and toyi-toying that was available for sampling in other areas. So, in celebration of a day which will not be marked highly in South Africa's historical calendar of bad bad days, I decided to source my own voting soundtrack and took my brown blotched left thumb as my date to the Barnyard at Cresta Centre to watch Wonderboom and hopefully stock up on some classics. I was not disappointed.

The guys from Wonderboom are still the stalwarts of South African rock and probably the closest thing we have in our archives as a real rock 'n roll band (I would say the Nudies deserve that title, but with their yo-yo break up and get back together cycle, they just can't be trusted). The guys look the same and they sound the same and that reliability is something to be treasured, especially when their 13 year long catalogue of home-grown songs have played such a large part in the musical tapestry of post-apartheid South Africa. Personal favourites from the performance included Something's Wrong and Best Side. For the big Wonderboom supporters out there, you will be chuffed to know that the guys are working on some new material, so hopefully we will be seeing a new album out by mid-2009.

To be fair, I was so buoyed up on patriotic cheer by the end of the day that a razzling performance from Kurt Darren would have sent me into the throws of ecstasy, but luckily he wasn’t playing at the Barnyard that night. Wonderboom was. The talent is definitely still there and there is no better way to romance your just voted self on the African continent than through a rousing proclamation of the keepers of the City of Gold. So to the beat of the South African soil I bopped, studiously avoiding the sway of Cito’s hips and the bad behavior it always seems to imply. Wednesday wasn’t about bad behavior, it was about feeling the spirit of democracy through the voices of a band who know South Africa’s soul best, it was about taking the time to reflect and it was about giving my left thumb with the dodgy brown stain the down time it deserved to appreciate the impact of voting on one of South Africa’s most historically important days.

Sisters are doing it for themselves!

2009-04-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

By Tracy Hammond

Oluchi and Choima Ogwuegbu are Nigerian sisters in the process of completing the adventure of a lifetime: a journey across the continent of Africa.
Conscious of the negative images portrayed about their beloved continent, the sisters have long wished to be able to change this status quo – most especially among Africans themselves.
So mid-2008, they started their journey ‘Celebrate Africa’, in West Africa, with the aim of sharing good news and offering their services to organisations improving standards of living. The final aim of the project is to produce a short film about each country visited.
Equipped only with “...our creative minds and souls, plus our passion for our land”, the adventurous women travel by road as they believe this ensures they stay in touch with the people on the ground. So far they have visited Ghana, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Cote d ‘Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. They admit that, even as members of the pro-African movement, they have been blown away by the plethora of incredibly friendly people, the innovation amongst those who have nothing and the breath-taking beauty of the places they have visited. They say that what has surprised them most so far is the process of crossing the border from one country to another – something they expected to be like pulling teeth but which in reality has turned out to be a much easier and quicker process than expected. Currently the sisters are in Gabon and move on to Congo Brazzaville next.
“Many young Africans, they all want to leave Africa. I’m not saying that Africa is perfect but our aim is to first tell Africans about what is here, what we do have here” says Choima.

Roots Republic Have Your Say

2009-04-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

IPL - Dry Run for 2010
By Dominc Esposito

When we talk about a dry run, it’s where you want to get a chance to strut your stuff or flex your muscles and see to what extent you are ready for a ‘big event’

This ‘big event’ I’m referring to in the South African context is the five week IPL (Indian Premier League) that went to bat in Cape Town last Saturday. Shortly after the IPL ends on 24 May, South Africa will host football's Confederations Cup in June.

According to media coverage, the so called ‘big wigs’ in the ministry of safety and security have stated that South Africa is ready for both the IPL and the Confederations Cup.

There is an air of confidence shared by this ministry that the first African nation to host the IPL and World Cup final will manage it without problems, despite the country's reputation for violent crime.

In the words of singer, Alanis Morissette, ‘isn’t that ironic don’t ya think’ that the IPL competition was relocated to South Africa after the terror attacks on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Pakistan in March.

I am not saying that South Africa is at risk of terror attacks. I simply see the irony in the violence of India necessitating a move to South Africa – renowned for being one of the most violent countries in the world.

I have no doubt in my mind that South Africa is ready for whatever tournament we are set to host. I would be willing to put all my stock on the fact that all major sporting events held in the country will go as smoothly as possible. Stadiums will work efficiently, hospitality will be more than adequate and all the facilities necessary will suffice. My concern is the public safety.

Hearing CEO of South Africa's World Cup Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan state, "As a country and as the South African police service, we are saying that we will be able to create a safe environment for those coming for the matches to ensure that they are safe and enjoy a true World Cup experience” does not make me at all comfortable. Ensuring our safety at a venue goes without saying. It is the getting off the plane, going to the hotel, travelling around and seeing the sights that I am worried about.

I try to remain positive when I get into debates about the country where I grew up and have so many good memories, but after just coming back from a holiday at home, I have firsthand experience and don’t want to sugar-coat what I see as reality any longer.

Yes, South Africa has the capacity to host these events, definitely, but I strongly believe the public’s safety is more of an issue and I have not seen any evidence that safety in the country is getting better, and it is for that, faithful readers, I will be sitting in my house here in the UK watching the World Cup from the comfort and safety of my living room.

Not a very positive note to end my article on – I know, but if anything it sings home what I am trying to achieve, by acknowledging South Africa’s infrastructural readiness versus how this World Cup event will be spoilt if there is no improvement in public safety.

I hope to be proved wrong.

Editorial

2009-03-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

In the calm before the storm of the election month, we have decided to make this issue a little more creative and save the politics for next month. We’re looking at writers, musicians and emerging forms of art and theatre from South Africa that have made and are making South Africa heard. Art by its nature is universal, allowing people to communicate without the attached societal strings. That language has helped to broadcast South African issues both at home and abroad, and we live in the hope that it encourages people to get to know us as a nation, and to feel positively and empathetically toward us.

From the time when apartheid was still the rule of law, to the transition period where the world watched as we worked at transforming peacefully to this new nation, to the present day struggle to make the nation our own, our creative expression has helped draw us closer together as South Africans, and draw the outside world into ours. South Africa is a country of artistic opportunity and home to rich and varied cultures. Slowly, and through our creative expression the outside world is beginning to realise that.

As books are translated and published abroad, bands make headway into the international music scene, and our poems reach people we may never meet and who might never see our country, we would like to salute those who work to a different beat and create those avenues for us. The long, oddly timed hours, poor financial reward and countless ‘Thank you, but we will have to turn you down’ letters – we appreciate those efforts, and without them, our nation would, most likely, be a lot less ‘rainbow’ and a lot less ‘nation’. Hats off to you!

The Roots Republic Team

News Story

2009-03-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Voting for Expats

For the (hopefully) very few who haven’t heard yet, South Africans who are not living at home but who are registered to vote have been given the right to do so from the country they are based in.

There are two important facts here – one is that you need to have this sorted out by March 27. The second is that you need to know that voting happens the week before it happens at home – so the 15th of April.

In order to ensure that you are allowed to vote, you need to download this form http://www.elections.org.za/Documents/Voting2009/VEC10%20absence%20from%20the%20Republic1.pdf and make sure that you have faxed it off to +2712 428 5566 or +2712 428 5279 by March 27th.

Calling them to ensure that they have received your application is probably worth your while to ensure that you don’t arrive on the 15th and get turned away.

Happy Voting!

Once upon a time…we most certainly are not

2009-03-21T11:02:00.001-07:00

By Toni Parsons

The anecdotal ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ was almost certainly coined in reference to South Africa’s novelists. The range of cultures and races bring a unique flavour of superstition and perspective that rivals just about the best that writing imaginations can come up with. This is probably the reason that fiction from South Africa runs an almost parallel line with perceived reality - or is largely taken from it.

Unfortunately, much of South African literature stops at the border - 9 of our 11 languages are almost unheard outside of the country. This puts us in a unique position of being able to produce literature about South Africa and for South Africans, but makes it that much harder to get international exposure. The authors and stories that have achieved international acclaim are predominantly those written in English and Afrikaans. As we expand and become more internationally competitive, perhaps this hurdle will be overcome, but as it stands our acclaimed literature is almost entirely white-authored.

That said, we are not short of bestsellers on the international circuit. The literature that has proved the most successful world-wide is that with a strong flavour of South Africanness, letting foreigners into our world, and giving them a more internal perspective that simply visiting South Africa would not allow.

JM Coetzee unashamedly opened up South Africa and the darker side of our country that human nature would like to instinctively suppress. Andre Brink continues to document tales unique to South Africa but universal in their examination of human nature, excusing nobody but maintaining a dignity and insight into the motivations pressuring each of his characters. Alan Paton is probably the most renowned of South African authors with his ‘Cry, the Beloved Country’. The incredible emotional journey the reader embarks on as the characters develop and work through anger and heartbreak, overcoming attitudes that are as ingrained in them as the colour of their skins. The list goes on: Nadine Gordimer, Breyton Breytenbach, Olive Shreiner, Marita van der Vyver, Athol Fugard, Etienne van Heerden, Mark Behr – to name just a few. In the past these writers have reached an international audience with works in both English and Afrikaans, some in both and more than a few translated into other languages.

What stands out as a theme in all of the works of these authors is an examination of people in South Africa, but not of humanity unique to South Africa. Predominantly these are stories of a character journey through traits learned almost in the womb for South Africans in the past, but which all people grapple with, to a lesser or greater extent. Anger, racism, hatred, violence, love, loss, innocence taken. While these issues are universal, what makes South African works so powerful is that they have a genuine flavour to them that is near impossible to conjour up, and that the characters in the stories reach the culminating point in the novel far from where they started – but not in a ‘we are all happy families and we all lived happily ever after’ fashion. These are almost (some would say, more often than not are) real people that are written about, and real life doesn’t usually end up ‘happily ever after’.

Perhaps this is what has made literature from a small African country far from the first world of New York and London so successful. That it isn’t gold painted or dressed up. It’s honest, emotional, genuine and allows for human frailty and failings to glare out unashamedly. Admitting failures and frailty makes dealing and overcoming them much easier than gilt painting them. My fervent hope is that reality will in fact mimic fiction, and that as a people we will become even more honest, emotional genuine and understanding of human frailty and failings than we are. If we mimic our literary selves, we empower our real selves to grow into the original united nation – a first world of a different kind.

Business funding in South African Theatre

2009-03-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

By: Jessica Farley

South African theatre has a difficult legacy which, under the circumstances, is to be expected. Throughout the 20th century and Apartheid, the majority of the population had their theatrical flourishes repressed and for those who fell into the category of the haves, a great deal of their efforts to create relevant theatre centred on the struggle were squashed too. For many years any sort of local theatre scene was discouraged and South Africans were forced to turn to international sitcoms and Hollywood movies.

Fourteen years on and fighting tooth and nail for our continued democracy, South Africa has seen an explosion of creativity, with players being able to stretch their wings and explore all amounts of subjects and avenues. However, the culture of South Africa is not geared around live entertainment and through what has come before us, we just don’t seem to get the idea of theatre and live music being an important and relevant way of spending evenings and weekends. This mentality coupled with a growing (but still small amount) of grass roots encouragement means that the bright new stars are struggling for their footing and those who are able to make a career of it are the lucky few.

Funding, coupled with the lack of the theatre goer’s mentality, is one of the main problems. The nature of being a country straddling the first and third world divide means that the survival of our numbers are of paramount importance. Fair enough. However, that means that the majority of art funding cannot be expected to come from the government or indeed, it seems, the ones who hold the purse strings but have no vision or foresight in the towers of the national lottery. In order to sustain any sort of momentum, the responsibility of new theatre production has fallen on the shoulders of the country’s three largest festivals: the privately-funded ABSA Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in Oudsthoorn, the Aardklop Arts Festival in Potchefstroom and the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Those festivals receive the majority of their funding from public reserves and the initiative is driven forward not by a country-wide and governmental focussed drive, but rather through individual companies pushing and pulling their weight.

The main players in South African theatre funding these days are: SBSA (visual arts, music with emphasis on jazz, arts in general through Grahamstown festival), ABSA (Arts Festival Klein Karoo, big musicals and visual arts), FNB (Contemporary dance and visual arts), Nedbank (Arts & Culture trust), Investec (big musicals), Rand Merchant Bank (music), Sasol (classical music), MTN (visual arts, music), Vodacom (popular forms of music), Old Mutual (music – general: doing big outdoor shows at Emmerentia dam/Kirstenbosch).

At present, several big multi-national companies are pulling their weight. What is gratifying to see is that it is not just the big players but smaller companies that have also taken an interest in the arts. Business & Arts South Africa (BASA) have founded the Supporting Grant Scheme with funding from the Department of Arts and Culture, and aims to encourage and increase business sponsorship of the arts. The initiative is described on their website - http://www.basa.co.za/ - as follows: It is designed as an incentive scheme for business sponsors, not as another source of public subsidy for arts organisations. For this reason, the possibility of a BASA grant should form part of the negotiations from the start between the applicant arts organisation and a potential sponsor. In this way, the multiple possibilities emerging from a partnership can be properly discussed and explored.

It is not the conventional way of doing things and in comparison to established arts countries like the UK, where funding is far easier to come by, South Africa does pose more problems. But, the point is, there are ways and means and the theatre culture of South Africa is bubbling under the surface. In a country rife with entrepreneurs and built on the back of its people’s passion perhaps it is time to see this dearth of funds as a shrewd new form of investment or, at the very least, something to keep on supporting and watching for future opportunities.

Strictly Come Politicking

2009-03-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

By: Gareth Hobbs

Having watched some impressive dramatic performances from Jacob Zuma, Mosiuoa ‘Terror’ Lekota and Helen Zille, complimented nicely by the stand up comedy routine that is Julius Malema’s public speaking, I wondered what would happen if the elections were run like reality TV shows. Some possibilities could include the following … (SABC watch out!):

Survivor – Union Buildings

A strong team dominates the early stages of the show, but as the final stretch approaches, old rivalries start to surface and cracks appear, resulting in some back stabbing and defection to a new alliance in the form of COPE. BUT, will the new team be strong enough to survive the final tribal council, or will they be forced to leave the island.

Strictly Come Politicking

A marked difference is apparent between the dancing abilities of the two presidential candidates. The ANC proves to be a free flowing master of the evasive shuffle, especially when set to the hypnotic beat of the spin doctors, while COPE shows the promise of being a competent dancer who knows and follows all the correct steps. Of course, the ANC have managed to sneak a second contestant into the show who excels at taking the limelight away from the deficiencies of the presidential candidate. With the judges scores being withheld until after the final show, who knows whether they will still be in a position to have an effect on the outcome.

Political Idols

Judges oscillate between loving and hating Zuma while the rest of the contestants badger the judges to make a decision, forgetting that it is the viewing public that ultimately make the call. Zuma shows an astonishing range - with performances from M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”, to Queen’s “I Want it All” - finished off with a fist pumping rendition of “Amandla”. Shilowa and Lekota’s duet of “I Want To Break Free” wins them support … but will it be enough? A repeat performance of “The Arms Deal Rag” by Patricia de Lille fails to impress as the public is looking for something new, and Zille is remembered as an ‘also ran’ when she does an excellent job of trash talking her opponents, but fails to deliver a vote winning performance.

The Amazing Race

In the only show that wouldn’t require a name change, teams of two compete for the ultimate prize. The ANC, represented by Zuma and Malema, manage to get through to the final stage through judicious use of the “fast forward”, which ,instead of sending them to the next pit stop, delays the impending fraud and corruption trial. In a surprise move the COPE team, initially comprised of Shilowa and Lekota, are replaced by a single player in the form of Bishop Dundala. Whether Dundala can singlehandedly manage the detours and roadblocks that undoubtedly lie ahead will make compelling viewing. Zille and de Lille, among others in the group of single entities, are all hampered from the start by being unable to be in two places at once and generate twice the media coverage. As a result, the one man shows fail to make an impact in the closing stages.

Regardless of which form the show would take, one thing is for certain: international interest in a local production would be at a record high. Now, if only we could convince the contestants that the world is actually watching and, unlike with fictitious television, investment income does not go to the country with the most outrageous performers.

Restless Jozi

2009-03-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

By: Ross Farley

Behind the tales of siege and destruction (references to electrically fenced walls, Jewish women armed with Uzis and poodles, and West Rand faux Tuscan villas) is a city that many of us were born in and, despite popular myth, a city we live and thrive in. Johannesburg is a fun place to be, and provided you’re not partial to searching for the next box set to pepper your Friday night with, there’s a lot to get up to in the city.

Recently my house mate and I decided to explore the city’s lesser known nightlife by way of a GPS pub crawl. The rules were simple: punch local entertainment into your GPS, limit your range to within 5km of your house to avoid main roads and those highly ethical, born to service filth known as the Johannesburg Metro Police and ensure you set your sights on pubs / venues that none of the participating parties have ever been to. Its fail safe!

The second pub we found ourselves in was a typical local. A pool table in the corner with minimal space to take your shot, a cocktail list boasting pearlers like a “ball splat” or “knuckle turd” and my third favourite prejudice, karaoke. We plonked ourselves down at the bar and within seconds of our first tequila, a very cordial bar manageress introduced herself and invited (bullied) us into picking a karaoke song. Getting the fear of a man recently arrived in a small town and is too scared to greet anyone in case the next blink will reveal a cock-eyed wife, three grossly overweight children and a first name basis relationship with Irma at the local diner, I coolly declined and returned to my uber-cool vodka cooler. Three frames and two tequilas later and my amigo and I were fighting off competition for the microphone so that we could start sodomising our third song at pitch worthy of every neighborhood dog’s most loving affection.

At an hour somewhere between two and ready to pass-out, we found ourselves at a bar on the West Rand (yes kids, life does continue passed the 14th avenue off ramp) which had, evidently, never been visited by a Caucasian and an Indian chap. As we walked in, the music halted and a couple of hundred black faces turned to evaluate the two “foreigners”. After the scrutiny was completed and we had passed the silent test, my friend and I fell into the groove, bumping and grinding with earnest to the latest Snoop Dog offering. Mid pelvic thrust I felt a lascivious tap on my shoulder. Through my inebriation I translated the garbled club murmur of the cute young lady into her making a request that stems from a unique female ability – them offering you an opportunity buy them a drink. My tequila goggles gave her a 7 so I jumped at the chance. Alas, at that point the bulk of my cash had been invested in the following day’s hangover. I dare anyone to show me how to look cool counting out one’s change in a desperate attempt to cover the cost of the drinks order. Thank God for my friend, who stepped to my aid with the help of his slightly healthier budget. Even in my shameful state, asking the cute number 7 to pay for the drinks surely would have evaporated any semblance of pulling power I had left. Unfortunately she cottoned on to my Dickensian state and chose to spend the rest of the evening curled up with the resident D.J. Thankfully, at some point, my friend pulled my disgracefully un-rhythmic ass off the dance floor and told me it was time to go home.

In Johannesburg we often feel guilty about recognizing its potential due mostly to the reminders of the city’s vast and often disturbing short-comings. We forget that the people are friendly and often curious about new people (an attribute quite distant from our Cape Town counterparts) and the city is at a stage of development where one can see how incredible it will be when all the current projects eventually come to life. With a bit of effort there is a never ending list of fun to be had in Jozi. I do love this city and its endless supply of cultural and entertainment diamonds.

African Insights

2009-03-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

‘Spot’ Ghana’s snow leopard in Vancouver 2010

By: Tracy Hammond

Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, 34, may have grown up in a country where 20 degrees Celsius is considered cold weather, but this has in no way affected his dream of representing Ghana at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Born in Glasgow where his father was completing his doctorate, Kwame didn’t stay there (or anywhere else with snow) but instead grew up on the hot open plains of Ghana. His story is most reminiscent of the triumphs of the Jamaican bobsleigh team, which inspired the 1993 film Cool Runnings. There is one difference between the Jamaicans and Kwame though: Kwame has actually seen snow before, albeit only 4 years ago for the first time!

Four years ago Kwame left his job as a Safari Guide in Accra, Ghana, to further his studies in the UK. To support himself during this time he worked as a receptionist in the Xscape Snow Dome in Milton Keynes which gave him free access to the artificial slopes. Here he taught himself to ski and very quickly it became clear that he had a knack for the sport - with this developed the nickname that sticks still today- ‘Snow Leopard’. From there he joined the race circuit, acquired himself a coach (Dave Jacobs) and a year after his first contact with snow was set to represent Ghana at the Turin Olympics in 2006. However, it was not to be and en route to the qualifying event, his plane was grounded in Amsterdam due to ice on the wings, and he missed the qualifying events.

This did not halt Kwame’s ambition or his dreams and he persevered for another 4 years. Last week his doggedness paid off when it was officially confirmed that Africa’s ‘Snow Leopard’ will be competing at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver as Ghana’s and Africa’s first ever black African entrant on the International circuit. He is determined to not just compete but wants to make his country proud, “I don’t want to just get down, but ski well and not come at the bottom of the table” he said. Perhaps proof then that a leopard can change his spots if he truly puts his mind to it!

Roots Republic Have Your Say

2009-03-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

2010: Get Ready Get Set

Dominic Esposito

FIFA President, Sepp Balter stands up. He opens the envelope, has a quick look, smiles, and tells the world that the 2010 World Cup host nation will be… South Africa! (Cue roaring applause)

South Africans who watched the announcement of the 2010 World Cup host nation will remember the instantaneous joy afforded us by seeing our country’s name on the card. Tears of joy were shed at the accomplishment, in sharp contrast to the disappointment of losing out to the Germans in 2006. That moment and that accomplishment has formed a base from which our nation can grow from strength to strength

While the world's leading economies are sliding into a recession, I like to think that South Africa is sitting back and laughing its socks off. Yes, it’s going to be a rough few years, but we have a major ace up our sleeves in the form of next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Let’s make sure that this is in perspective. We are not talking about rugby or about cricket, but soccer - the world’s most famous and accessible sport, the pinnacle of all tournaments behind the Olympic Games. We need to sit and think for a moment about how much this is going to bring into our country and what it is going to do for our economy at a time when the rest of the world is enduring a very rough financial ride. South Africa is still feeling the pressures of course, but it is all relative and we are sitting very pretty in comparison

Even those who are not soccer fans can appreciate that this is the sport that is watched by the most people worldwide. For us, this means that the amount of tourists this three week event is going to bring will have a knock on effect running into the billions in tourist spending into the economy. When the final whistle blows on what is going to be an electric close to a very successful campaign, the benefits will go well beyond 2010. This in the shape of an impact from which a sustainable economic lift will follow in what we hope will be the closing periods of the current recession.

There are going to be people who will not make the trip on account of financial reasons. However, I would like to think that structurally weakened currency, will make South Africa a very attractive holiday destination both during and after the World Cup.

The confirmation that South Africa is fit to host a World Cup marks an important shift in perception and is a vital confidence booster for our country, especially during the current political climate. In the world's eyes we have for the most part moved from being an apartheid-ravaged nation to a democratic, stable and accountable land. And one which has had the final approval leading to the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

Good luck Bafana Bafana, and Viva South Africa - you have the support of us all.

Gourmet SA

2009-03-21T09:46:00.001-07:00

Fast Food

By: The Cobbler King

So the Australians beat us comfortably in the cricket tests in Johannesburg and KZN and to my mind there is only one kind of comfort eating that can take away that kind of pain and it comes in the form of really good fast food.

At times we all like to top up our grease and salt quota with the good Colonel or Ronalds’ stores products, but neither of those institutions can really be classified as good fast food. I would say that they can be called adequate at best. I also find the high after consumption doesn’t last long and feelings of guilt and anti Western World sentiments on American fast food hegemony soon intrude on any pleasure. I accept that this might not be the same for everybody, but I know my reader out there feels the same way so I’ll proceed in this vein.

So what do I mean by good fast food? Here in South Africa the whole culture of good fast food is either still to be born or has already died a silent death. Apart from the iconic Boerewors rolls and and occasional hot dog stands, biltong shacks and localised - but nevertheless ubiquitous- “tuck shops” and Spaza stores, we are singularly under resourced in access to good, nutritious and inexpensive takeaways. The last meat and gristle pie sampled at the Shell garage store stands as a sad but powerful metaphor for state of our South African fast food culture.

In New York they comprehend the idea of good fast food and it seems that every street is inundated with tastes of India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, to name a few. It’s a place where street vendors and markets abound, offering a bewildering choice of soups, sandwiches, “road food”, sausages, omelettes, noodles, rice dishes, pies and so on and so forth. I cannot understand why, in a country with so many really good ingredients on offer, we have so little choice.

On quiet days, I sit back and remember a food stand in downtown San Francisco that offered 47 varieties of sausage, including the one of Polish origin (possibly not imported that day) that was made up of strong herb and paprika laced meat - absolutely delicious and, of course, totally fat free. Thoughts of Indian road food (which I discovered in isolated Uganda) comprised of delicate pastries with aromatic and beautifully spiced contents wakes me up at night. It is a memory of the subtle blends of flavours that were best appreciated by shovelling large quantities of the dainty mini pies into ones mouth.

The European continent offers interesting and varied fast foods. Hot chestnuts with salt on the River Thames, the excellent hot dog stands in Norway and Sweden and mussels, chips and mayonnaise in Holland all spring to mind. How the dour Dutch came up with such a divine combination of flavours is a real mystery. In England there are the winkle and whelk stands where you can get jellied eels, which were always part and parcel of any visit to what we called the sea side. By the way, f you have never eaten a whelk and you come to your first opportunity it will take considerable will power to take that first bite, but trust me it is worth it! Seasoned with a bit of malt vinegar and white pepper and life cannot get much better (especially when combined with a sunny day in the UK)!

Fast food requires little planning for and if thoughtfully prepared can provide rapid satisfaction and instant fuel for those who need it – it also adds a bit of variety to the daily snacks prepared in ones own kitchen. What we need to do is capitalise on the generation of the fast food nation and bastardise it South African style. Perhaps a traditional drive through with an abundance of freshly grilled braaivleis and varied salads served by a man in khaki, or how about an African extraordinaire with wholesome mielie pap and tomato salsa served in takeaway cartons with a choice of salted meat? Let the healthy, homely options kick in soon, so if – heavens forbid – the Ozzies ever teach us how to suck eggs on the cricket pitch again, we have a varied choice of scrumptious South African delicacies to comfort eat our way through the pain.

Editorial

2009-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

South Africa is perched on the brink of its next historical election and the population is poised and waiting. However, what has become obvious with the research done into this month’s articles is that watching and waiting isn’t good enough anymore. Simmering beneath the surface in a population of people defined by their ability to dig deep is the overriding recognition that now is the time to take control and be responsible.

I, like most self-deprecating South Africans, am uncomfortable with the image of the middle class white man becoming ‘African’. This sentiment is purely because there is something unwholesome about the vision of a human trying to mould themselves into another culture to feel the spirit of the toy-toy while the Johannesburg sun sets over yet another glorious South African day. What is amazing about our country is the fact that we are all different and we want to embrace those differences. We want to learn from them and grow as our rainbow nation. I draw the line at super-imposing myself onto a perceived image of ‘Africaness’ because that is not MY life in South Africa.

I love the energy and the culture and the vibe of everything different and to me South Africa is every piece of every good dream anyone could have. But it is completely egocentric in its make-up and what is so comforting about that is that the rest of the population has its own South Africa to love as well. It’s all those perfect versions of one thing that we need to fight for. It’s a mischievous, contradictory, infuriating, amazing, breathtaking country and it’s ours. We need to take responsibility for that.

That need to fight for what we believe in is a large part of this newsletter’s focus. Also covered is a look at the current status of the ex-pat vote for the April 22 election, as well as the place of the woman in Jacob Zuma’s South Africa. It’s not all pretty reading and if you disagree (or in fact agree) PLEASE tell us about it. The purpose of this forum is to begin discussion and debate to encourage change in the country we all love so much.

Enjoy,

Jessica Farley and The Roots Republic Team

Vote South Africa

2009-02-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

A widespread campaign by South Africans at home and abroad to let all registered voters in possession of a valid ID book vote in the upcoming election, whether based in South Africa or abroad, has led to some definite action in the High and Constitutional Courts.

The South African constitution gives every citizen an equal opportunity to vote. The 1994 elections afforded its citizens the right to vote from abroad. However, 5 years later that right was revoked and now, the decision is once again being challenged. Between the Democratic Alliance and ex-president FW de Klerk the matter has been taken up with fervour and is currently in deliberation by the Constitutional Court.

If the outcome allows for remote voting by ex-pat South Africans, then the proclaimed election date of 22 April might be moved. University of the Western Cape law professor Pierre de Vos said there are provisions in the Electoral Act for a postponement of the election if the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is "not ready" to proceed with the poll. However, at present that is the date listed for South Africans to go to the polls. Any South African’s who will be out of the country on holiday, on a business trip or educational visit, attending a tertiary institution, or participating in an international sporting event should check if the will be eligible to apply for the special vote (http://contributetochangeglobal.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/how-to-apply-for-a-special-vote-2/). The cut off date for the special vote application is 27 February.

Opinion

Voting Abroad

By: Jessica Farley

In the past few months, thousands of people have been debating the subject of whether South Africans living abroad deserve the right to vote. South Africa is a democracy. A democracy, by definition, means freedom, choice and an individual’s right to breathe. South Africans living abroad are afforded the right to see the rest of the world and experience different cultures because South Africa is a democratic and free country. The borders are not prison walls and the flight overseas does not sever the ties of patriotism. We are afforded the right to travel, the right to live in different places and the right to return to our country of birth with the life experience that reaffirms the fact that South Africa is a country worth fighting for.

A remote interest in the country is something that should be encouraged, and not actively destroyed in a move that can smell very badly of sour grapes. In an ever shrinking world of blurred lines and information super highways, an active interest across oceans needs to be cultivated. Those life lessons being learned by ex-pats abroad are the very things we want them to bring home to add to the vibrant, rich tapestry that is the life in South Africa that we want to preserve and improve upon.

A letter from Zille to Zuma

2009-02-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has the shrewd ability to tap into the dialogue that South Africans use over the dinner table when discussing the state of affairs. Following is an open letter she wrote to Jacob Zuma, which voices the opinion of the people she believes she is fighting for. It is a clever move, and one which demonstrates clear motives, but it is transparent and asks some very good questions and defines key aspects of the current power struggle. To Zille’s letter the ANC responded that it was not going to waver in its support of Zuma "because of misplaced comments by the opposition".

Full letter follows:

Dear Mr Zuma,

Before your legal team makes representations to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) tomorrow, I request that you put your ambitions aside and act in the interests of the country and the Constitution by publicly stepping down as the ANC’s presidential candidate.
Rather than creating a “bad precedent”, as you told your supporters outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court earlier this month, the withdrawal of your candidacy would set an excellent precedent.

It would demonstrate to your fellow South Africans – the people whom you aspire to lead – that real leaders place national interests ahead of personal interests. It would send a clear and powerful message that political leaders must be held to account; that their conduct must be beyond reproach, and their probity must be beyond suspicion.Above all, it would match in deed your recently-stated commitment to upholding the Constitution and the values that underpin it. If you were to be elected President by the National Assembly without having been exonerated of the charges against you in a court of law, that would seriously undermine the Constitution. In fact, I have been reliably informed by senior members of the bar that your election could be challenged in the Constitutional Court. That is because your presidency would create a conflict of interest between your constitutional role as Head of State and your status as an accused in a matter that has been brought against you by the state itself.

Until such time as you are cleared in a court of law, it is impossible for you to serve your country as its President with any hope of being able to discharge the obligations and responsibilities that all of our presidents have to undertake in terms of the Constitution.

To use a soccer analogy: If you were to become President while still Accused number 1, you would find yourself simultaneously in the same position as the Chiefs’ striker (President) and the Pirates’ goalkeeper (Accused).

The rights of an accused to take on the might of the state in defending himself are incompatible with the obligations of the Head of State to run the country properly, accountably and in a manner responsive to the needs of the people. It is quite intolerable for our state to proceed criminally against its own Head, a Head who is well placed to fund or not fund the prosecution, to influence decisions regarding the state’s stance in appeals and processes, personnel and procedures in the case. As Head of State you appoint the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). This is akin to the Pirates’ goalkeeper nominating a Pirates’ player to take the last shot for the Chiefs in a penalty shoot out in the cup final.

Although your candidacy may well be an own goal for the ANC, you must withdraw it now for the sake of our constitutional order.

The NPA currently has 18 charges pending against you, many of which were laid for the first time at the end of December 2007. If you do not stand trial on these charges a pall of suspicion will hang over every move you make and every decision you take in the future.

You may have noticed that in mature democracies, unresolved allegations of impropriety send politicians into early, and sometimes temporary, retirement. Yet, you have chosen to pursue your political career (and presidential ambitions), despite the fact that you have not publicly dealt with the serious and varied allegations the prosecution thinks it can prove against you in a court of law.

Your trial must go ahead. Once the criminal proceedings are finally over, you can re-enter the world of politics, unless any sentence imposed precludes you from doing so. However, until then, you are trying to play for both sides at the same time. You can’t. Nobody can. It’s illegal and irrational. Any vote in Parliament in favour of your election as President is open to legal challenge on the basis that it would be invalid for want of consistency with the Constitution.
It is also politically and morally indefensible to persist in your candidacy under current circumstances. Presidents have to work in the political world of perceptions as well as the legal world of facts and rules. And so you must do the right thing and step aside until your innocence is proven in a court of law.

It is not feasible for you to run the country from the dock in Pietermaritzburg. So, in the interests of our country and its Constitution, which you now say you revere as the supreme law, stand back from politics until the criminal case is properly finalised.

Yours sincerely,

Helen ZilleLeader of the Democratic Alliance

Women Are Fine, As Long As They Know Their Place

2009-02-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

By: Ross Farley

One of South Africa’s proudest and most commendable achievements is the vastly rich and esteemed array of women it has produced. The apartheid years brought us iconic and immensely brave characters such as Ruth First and Albertina Sisulu and our modern democracy has produced brilliant and influential women such as the current editor of the Mail & Guardian, Ferial Hafajee and business powerhouse Gail Kelly, who was recently ranked as the world’s 11th most powerful woman. Our country has ushered in two successive female deputy presidents and, had Mbeki had his way, we may have even had our first female president after the next election. Alas, as with so many of the ruling party’s ostensible principles, there seems a grave disconnect between what our leaders say and do with regard to the advancement of women’s rights.

Our current president in waiting, Jacob Zuma (yes, I’m afraid so) is a good place to start. The fact that the leader of a democracy as advanced and high profile as our own can shamelessly continue to accumulate wives like Cub Scout merit badges is startling. Zuma currently has four wives (with a fifth in the pipeline no doubt). One has to admire Zuma’s daring though. Not many men have the whotsits to take on the four mother’s-in-law. Also, there’s the perpetual fear that you’ll yelp out the wrong wife’s names during sex. Four extra birthdays and anniversaries not to forget. Saturday afternoon rugby games would be continually splintered by not one, but four house generals issuing domestic instructions while refusing to recognise why it’s still important in the grander scheme of the Super 14 to watch the Lions play the Reds. Sheesh!

Even with such a vast array of choice, Zuma still found himself in court during March 2006 defending an allegation of rape. It was common cause that sexual intercourse had occurred between Zuma and his accuser. The question of consent was, however, at issue. The fact that none of his wives left him after he so publicly admitted having not only sex, but unprotected sex is the stuff of hypnotized slave girls in Amish communities, not future first ladies. Perhaps the writer is just an opinionated waspy white boy from the Northern Suburbs who has no understanding of the complexities and inner workings of traditional polygamous African marriages. But, if I was one of Zuma’s wives I would have taken to his best suits with a pair of scissors, mixed his toothpaste with paint stripper and networked a collection of premature ejaculation stories.

Then we have Julias Malema, the man recently coined by Koos Van der Merwe - chief whip for the IFP – as the best thing to ever happen to opposition politics in SA. While recently addressing students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Malema stated that, in reference to Zuma’s rape accuser: “When a woman doesn’t enjoy it, she leaves early in the morning. When a woman has had a nice time she will wait until the sun comes out, request breakfast and ask for taxi money ... you can't ask for money from somebody who raped you". While these comments certainly aren’t one of Malema’s grander curdling brain farts, the fact that they are so simplified and so casually childish in a country that is plagued by intensely cruel and pervasive women abuse is unacceptable. Zuma was found not guilty by a court of law and the writer’s believes rightly so. However, for a leader of the youth to politic so smugly about such a sensitive and important issue shows how unfit this buffoon is to be a leader. Moreover, not a peep has been heard from the ANC leadership brass, the most significant omission being the ANC Women’s League. They may argue that by publicly chastising Malema they amplify the influence he wields in the ANC. Malema may be so insignificant within the ANC anatomy that the leadership feels that the sewerage that continually pours from his trap does not warrant a rebuke. However, a vast majority of the South African public (myself included) see the ANC’s silence as a tacit endorsement of Malema’s malevolent rot.

After 1994, like many South Africans, I fell in love with the ANC. Despite its many failings I felt that fundamentally the ANC was a good party who I could believe in. They were also the right party for our country. I also fully support our leadership moving away from the messianic Mandela era to a party of real leaders with real flaws. I challenge any person to find a flawless Western leader. Even Obama soaked up a few joints as a youth. As our democracy grows our leaders will be seen less as demagogues and more as normal people running a (hopefully) normal country. To my mind though, their continued disinterest in properly addressing the issues set out in this article and elsewhere now just form part of the hot steaming pile of hypocrisy that this party seems to have become. As Ferial Hafajee said,” The ANC is a dated, jowly party looking every bit the hundred years it celebrates.” There will have to be an awful lot of courting before I’ll feel love for this party again.

Erasing Apathy

2009-02-19T06:03:00.000-08:00

By: Elise Farley

Along with dysentery and malaria, apathy is one of the biggest killers in Africa. When people who have the capacity to help do nothing, the people who are in desperate need of the help will suffer and sometimes die. The problems faced by many cannot be solved by the effort of few.

One of the main problems in Africa’s struggle is that only a portion of the aid money donated from the rest of the world reaches the people on the ground who desperately need it. There are a number of reasons for the misappropriation, least of which are the high levels of corruption in Africa. These problems cannot be combated on a large scale and it is up to the small organizations and community groups.

So what can the individual do in terms of the massive struggle? The solution is quite simple, act now!

If you are living in Africa find an organization or project that you can help out by either raising funds for them or volunteering. There are some great organizations such as the Adonis Musati Project in Cape Town who are desperate for any kind of support.

Or if you are living abroad, you are not helpless or unaccountable and can still contribute by doing some fund raising. One pound goes a very long way when it is converted. When it comes time to choose a project to send the proceeds to, think small. Big organizations like WHO or Oxfam already have large amounts of funding and so rather try and find a small community based project to support. Ask your friends and family still living in Africa to keep an eye out for organizations, projects or causes that meet the criteria you have specified. If you would prefer you could also get them to use the funds and purchase blankets, food etc and they could personally go and distribute the items at an orphanage or a homeless shelter.

Some good fund raising ideas are, organizing a clothes or food collection day; having a cocktail evening or selling borewors rolls or cupcakes; golf days, raffles, auctions and so many more. There are many organizations out there, be sure to do your research before handing over any cash, unfortunately there are fraudsters out there.

Do something different today and be the change you want to see in the world!

African Insights

2009-02-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

Malawi: From Famine to Feast
By: Tracy Hammond

The truth is, there is a lot of good and bad happening across Africa, as is happening all over the world. However, the media tends to paint a very negative view of the continent as opposed to offering a balanced view.

South Africans, in particular, are guilty of writing it off as a disaster when in reality there are many lessons we could learn from the rest of the continent. Many of the countries within Africa are, in fact, growing faster and better than we are – yet our arrogance prevents us from sharing this growth and learning these valuable lessons. A perfect case in point is the small country of Malawi.

In 2005, Malawi was unable to produce sufficient food and was heavily dependent on the UN’s World Food Programme to feed its people, many of whom despite this assistance were forced to eat banana stems and roots in a bid to survive. That was until President Mutharika came into power and appointed himself as Minister of Agriculture. He instituted a programme of government policy intervention, despite the wrath of the IMF, World Bank and US Aid who argued that he didn’t have the skills to design an appropriate programme AND that in their experience such intervention aggravated the problem.

In the face of these organisations threats to reduce or halt funding he reintroduced fertilizer subsidies through the distribution of coupons to low income farmers. These coupons allowed the farmers to purchase 220 pounds of fertilizer for US$7, a fifth of market price, and free seed coupons, all complimented by intensive training programmes across the country.

This cost the government $62-million (only 6,5% of the annual budget) and has already paid itself off: in 2005/6 the government saved $100 million as a result of the programme and this number increased to $120 million in 2007/8. In addition to this, rather than requiring aid from the World Food Programme, Malawi supplied them with 400 000 tons of maize in 2008 (amongst other ‘clients’) which yielded a further $120-million in revenue for the government and all this despite massive variations in rainfall and the credit crunch being experienced across the world. The average farmers yield has increased from 0,8 tons per hectare in 2003/4 to 2 tons per hectare in 2007/8 and this success has been hailed as Africa’s most dramatic in the history of the continent’s battle with hunger. Beyond this though it is a noteworthy example of what be achieved when poor countries resist the straight jacket reform policies forced on them by Western donor organisations.

Apathy, Hypocrisy and Deceit

2009-02-19T05:18:00.000-08:00

By: Gareth Hobbs

Inspiring feelings of apathy in a population is never really a great move for politicians, even less so in an election year, and yet this is what the bulk of the South African political parties manage to achieve. Couple this together with the large amounts of hypocrisy and deceit on display and it’s plain to see why it’s difficult to choose someone to vote for. Choosing people to vote against is a lot easier.

As we approach the elections the media overload is going to increase, and much like taking a good song and playing it every 45 minutes, this constant barrage of election news, manifesto’s rallies and debates has a similar effect. Although, while it doesn’t engender hatred, it does cause me to actively avoid any political news and the only way to do that is to avoid the news completely.

The hypocrisy and deceit go hand in hand. The public relations people hired by the political parties have one job to do. That job is to placate the public by using speech that is so convoluted that questions are never answered and the public is left feeling that they just haven’t understood what has been said. This is a particular speciality of the ANC spokespeople, and you can see why it would have to be. Here we have a party that is almost certain to hold a majority after the election that has its leader under investigation for fraud and corruption, and yet, they are also the only political party that fails to mention the tackling of corruption in their manifesto.

But, let’s not just bash the ANC here. Most of the other parties are also at fault. All the plans that I have seen so far just involve more talk - talk about improving education, safety and housing, talk about reducing corruption at the highest levels, even talk about keeping the springbok as the national sports emblem - yet no action is ever taken. And the excuse that they don’t have any power is pitiful at best. Yes, they may not be able to enact laws to ensure changes, but they are just as capable of mobilising communities to be empowered as anybody else, if not more so due to the vehicles they have to hand to broadcast their messages.

So, what can the political parties do to get voters to vote for them instead of choosing them as the lesser evil? It’s time they started to act. I’m waiting for a political party to take its campaign budget and use it to fund a free clinic in the townships, or provide stationary and school supplies to under funded schools. What if the party members volunteered as police reservists, freeing the trained officers to patrol and increase the visible police force without additional budget requirements? That would get people’s attention. And free media coverage.

The fault of apathy lies with us, the general voting public. Have we forgotten that our taxes pay the politician’s salaries? We need to start seeing the country in a business light with the taxpayers as the shareholders and the government as the board of directors. After all, if the board of directors did something that the shareholders disagreed with, they wouldn’t be on the board for long.

It is up to us. We need to start demanding action and not just accepting yet another well written speech. We need to stop the old attitude of “there’s nothing I can do” and start saying “my opinion counts and I demand to be heard.” After all, that is the power and the beauty of a democratic system, anyone can make a difference. Sometimes all it takes is one action, one statement, one person saying “The time for change is now and here’s how we’ll do it” to galvanise the apathetic mob into action.

Slim Shady anywhere in the House?

2009-02-19T04:24:00.001-08:00

By: Toni Parsons

The privileged and generally educated numbers in the world have, on a whole, been tarnished with the brush of apathy on an increasing scale with the continuous development of a comfortable middle class. It is a phenomenon which is present at home in South Africa and the world over. As adults we live in a culture of people who, on a large generalisation, do not feel privileged and excited to vote democratically and do not take an active role in their communities, not feeling duty-bound to do either.

South Africans are not alone in this. In some ways we have been luckier than most and were given an extra shot at changing our attitudes. The power change in South Africa in 1994 ran a current like electricity through the population, making people feel a range of emotions from believing that the end of the country truly was nigh to feeling like the country had just been reborn.

America and England, the two countries that have had the most marked influence on South Africa through various mediums did not have the privilege of this shake up, and consequently their melodramatic yet apathetic trend within society persisted, with young adults becoming decreasingly concerned with the breakdowns evident within their communities.

All of this was considered both normal and acceptable until the Barack Obama saga began in America. Suddenly, being knowledgeable and having an opinion became cool. Outside of the States, large portions of the population were swept up in the story and developed an interest in how the voting system works.

Suddenly, all the anti-establishment under 35s, with a marked distaste for ‘the man’, became fervent believers in the system of democracy and in the relevance of change – whether they were for the change or against it.

At Obama’s inauguration, despite admitting that he may fall short from time to time (‘We may not always agree on things’ Obama 2008), he stood in front of a record audience in the midst of a disastrous economic climate, admitted that tough times were ahead, and yet still faced an optimistic, ebullient crowd.

Why? For the same reason he won the election – he has no fear of standing up in a crowd, being accountable, taking charge and forging ahead. Decisions and policy changes since his inauguration hammer the point further home.

People respond to a strong leader. At a time when the economic climate is dismal, HIV rates are horrendous and crime and varying other societal atrocities are rife, what everyone wants to hear is good news – that it will be okay eventually, or encouragement to do something about it. Obama stood up on day one and took charge in the US – ‘From today, we need to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off’. He recognized the sentiment within the people, admitted it and proceeded take charge.

As a South African, one cannot help but look at that situation and transpose it onto a South African landscape. Make that enthusiasm South African; the hope and the belief in change make it ours – imagine the possibility if everyone began to take an active interest in the running of their country.

And why not? We have a democratic constitution (one of the best in the world), and we have already proved that anything is possible – an ex-convict was our first democratic president, and we overcame one of the worst systems of oppression in the world without a civil war – we can do it!

Except that we aren’t sure that we can, and we certainly cannot do it without a leader. We have more political parties than we do different languages, and more government committees than we have skin colours, yet we sit at a time where south Africa is either going to fly or falter along the runway, and at present we sit without a definite pilot. I can’t tell you whether Obama is good news long term for America, but I can tell you that I want what they have. I want to be passionate about my government again, and feel a bond with my countrymen about it. I want to look at our leaders and know they worked hard to get where they are, and are accountable for what they do. I want to feel as though they are listening to me, and making decisions with me as a citizen foremost in their minds.

Until we have a strong, true leader in South Africa, I feel that we are missing a vital ingredient in the recipe for a thriving country that fulfils the maximum of its potential.

Will the real Slim Shady please, please stand up – your country needs you.

Gourmet SA

2009-02-19T02:27:00.000-08:00

Food to Watch Cricket By

By: The Cobbler King

Two of my great life-long passions are food and cricket. Not, it must be said, that interminably boring, over hyped and under-skilled 20:20 variety, but rather the original Test format and the more recent (but still acceptable) 50 over format. Here in South Africa we are deep into cricket season. In fact, we have had a considerable amount of it already – beating England on English turf 2-1 in the Tests (getting thrashed in the one days - but we can ignore that), followed by the crushing of the oddly untalented Australians in both Tests and the one days in Australia. Now we are looking forward to some similar action in South Africa.

With the impending local games, thoughts turn – as they should - to what will be prepared and eaten at these contests. Now I am not a great believer in the staid food traditions - you know the sort: red wine only with meat, starter, main and pudding in strict sequence, only buying vegetables in season etc. But, I am a bit of a purist when it comes to cricket food or food to watch cricket by. You get some people in South Africa who have to braai at a cricket game; it somehow serves a basic need in their psyches to grill and eat vast quantities of boerewors or steak on mostly boiling hot days and often in some discomfort. I am not knocking it, but to me it does not embellish the languid nature of watching a game unfold over 1, or even 5 days.

I really enjoyed the story I believe about Rafael Benitez the Liverpool football club coach, who when asked if he had ever watched cricket said that he could never explain to his wife that he was going to watch a game and only pitch up at home again 5 days later, she just wouldn’t understand. I digress but it does talk to the special nature of the event and the often idiosyncratic approach to feeding the body and the soul that is at the heart of my perfect cricket food.

A friend of mine swears by pork pies, to him they are an absolute essential at a game. It is a nicely packaged food that you can eat cold and requires, perhaps, in addition only some good mustard to thoroughly enjoy. I, however, always start off with the sandwich: the building blocks of the perfect menu.

The Italian sandwich is one such example of perfection, though it does require some preparation beforehand. This takes the form of oven grilling some Mediterranean vegetables typically red and green peppers, courgettes and properly prepared aubergines in some good cold pressed olive oil with rock salt and a little garlic. Slice a fresh or a defrosted ciabatta bread (Lupos do great pannini and ciabatta) and spread the still hot vegetables onto the bread, add more oil and some sliced buffalo mozzarella cheese, replace the top of the bread and compress. When cool, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge with some weight on it. Next day take out and slice crossways into thick slices – absolutely delicious with some raw carrots, cucumber, baby tomatoes and celery crudities.

Before I get to other good examples of the perfect sandwich, let me explain some important and necessary principles. The sandwich has to be all inclusive. You must be able to watch the game and eat without spattering yourself or those around you with, for example, beetroot, which it has to be said is great in a sandwich but very difficult to handle. The second important principle is that as, very often, you don’t have much space in which to operate, the sandwich should emerge from storage with minimal care required before being consumed, which is why I tend to rule out salad sandwiches and any sandwich which can go soggy in transit for example egg and tomato.

BLT’s are good as are ham and cheese, lettuce and smoked salmon, roast meat and pickles and one cannot forget that beloved English institution cucumber sandwiches. Go easy on anything with too much garlic or chilli. I love both, but they can have severe anti social repercussions and if you are in a large crowd and let’s say - for some unfathomable reason - the Australians are winning, tempers will fray and you don’t want any unfortunate bodily displacements to be blamed on you, do you?

Boiled eggs are an absolute must to accompany your choice of sandwich. Boil between 8-10 minutes and no more as blue eggs are a no-no. This brings me to the third principle of food to watch cricket by – ensure that your food is attractive. Comments will be passed and opinions will be formed around you and in any good cricket crowd your place in society will rapidly be gauged by your clothing and your choice and presentation of food. The clothing story is a subject for another day, but the food and other simplistic skills like your ability to clap and say good shot at the right time are very important. As the day wears on and the Charles Glass effect kicks in this principle tends to lose its importance, but for the first 2-3 hours it is critical.

You need to add good firm fruits, some Woolies crisps and maybe some biscuits to your hamper. This should keep you away from the insidious siren songs of slap chips, grease burgers, horrogs (hotdogs) and pies. All of which smell much better than they actually taste.

Beer at cricket is one of nature’s great gifts. You cannot take your own, so it is a good idea to take along a youngster of drinking age who for the price of a pint is prepared to fight his or her way through the huge crowds who seem to pass most of the game outside the ground in the bar to fetch the amber nectar on a regular basis. Wine is only available in a bottle form where the great and good gather in the various hosted environments. However, good wines are available in “box” form that if kept cool in your cooler would be very acceptable with the rest of the meal. Hot coffee in one of those really smooth steel metal containers, particularly if it is espresso is OTT but great.

If it rains you might have to eat everything in a much shorter period, so be careful not to take too much. As a general rule of thumb, enough food for three people for two meals will be enough for two healthy adults on cricket day.

The time for giving the Australians another snot klap has arrived … so here is to good watching and good eating.

Roots Republic Have Your Say

2009-02-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

The lights are off but EVERYBODY is at home!

By: Dominic Esposito

We are all guilty of it, going to the shop and looking for the cheapest deal. Looking at this concept on a national energy level, is choosing combustion over any other form of energy harvesting, despite its record of delivering periodic oil crises and a fouled environment. So in the search for a cheaper option I ask you this simple question, does the end justify the means? Let me try and open this up to debate…

The question our South African policy makers must ask, again, is whether the short-term gain made in the name of rapid growth and development is worth its contribution to global warming and environmental degradation.

Now obviously, if you are anything like me and are from the school of logic, the response would be to accept a degree of environmental degradation while we buy ourselves enough time, and accumulate enough capital, to find alternatives … correct?

It’s all very well applying the above logic, but to make the alternatives work, policy makers have to shift their mindset in two fundamental ways. Firstly, energy, of any alternative type, does not have to be converted into electricity to be directly and locally available. Secondly, where it is being converted into electricity, industries with co-generation capacity should be supported in contributing to the national power grid.

Its not rocket science but this is unlikely to happen while our one and only power provider, Eskom, monopolises the grid and remains under an obligation to be profitable … ‘An obligation to be profitable’… interesting!

We all remember sitting at home on a Sunday afternoon relaxing and catching up with friends around the world on a certain social networking website only to be disrupted by an electricity power-out with no indication as to when the power would return. All the elements that led to last year's catastrophe remain in place, while the cost to the environment and business continues to escalate. Holding no punches, it needs to be said that the train has left the station and it is now time for a radical recalculation of our priorities. Let me leave you with this last stone cold fact which is, our very much loved South Africa has made little, if any, progress in establishing a secure and affordable power supply … Where do we go from here?

Editorial

2009-01-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

If there was a worldwide Chinese Horoscope for 2009, it would probably consist of only one line: PREPARE FOR MASSIVE CHANGES. Across the continents, transformations in 2009 have been thick on the ground and South Africa is no exception.

The first big reverberation in South Africa came with the loss of revered political activist, Helen Suzman. South Africa will unquestionably feel the loss of such an inspiring pioneer for a long time to come Her bullish determination will remain in the political map of our country indefinitely.

Manifesto’s, campaign launches, court appeals and over rulings have filled up January with fervour thus far. The many possibilities opening up for the future of a better South African democracy in the form of COPE, the SCA and the NCP’s landmark moves ensure that excitement is mounting and hard to reign in, and judging by the focus of the Roots Republic feedback, that feeling is consistent among many.

Lastly, a massive thank you is owed to everyone who read and responded to our inaugural issue – we appreciate your time and effort more than we can say. As you can see the design of this newsletter is still very basic –rest assured that it is a work in progress. In the meantime, we would love for you to keep your critical eyes on the editorial, and please come back to us with any and all feedback you may have.

If you received this mail from a friend and are interested in regular updates, or have any feedback, please email us your name, surname and preferred email address and we will add you to our list. All personal details will be kept confidential.

Happy 2009!

The Roots Republic Team

2009-01-16T10:49:00.001-08:00

Gourmet SA -

A Culinary Exploration

By: The Cobbler King

Introductions: I have had the privilege of eating in over 40 countries around the world, which may or may not qualify me as an expert. In most cases, I have been shaken and not stirred by these experiences and while memorable meals have been had at Ondines in Sausilito, The River Cottage in London, Konigshauf in Munich and Bergers in Paris, they are simply highlights in my somewhat barren gastronomic travels. In reply to these experiences, my purpose now is not to highlight the wonderful restaurants we have in South Africa, but rather to pass comment on our fodder in general – perhaps with the possibility of ill regarded comments on other countries national foodstuffs. Do not expect objectivity!

The fine print: I must, at the outset, declare myself: I love food. I particularly love food in South Africa. Not all of it, of course; the ubiquitous “Russian and chips”, koeksusters, the last pie at the garage at midnight, stamp mielies, airline food in general and Aromat are all abominations of the first order and should have long gone the way of the dodo, or George Bush. However, alongside the culinary atrocities, we have a wonderful eclectic mix of cooking styles emerging from our polyglot racial makeup encompassing Indian, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Chinese, European and African variations. These styles – and all their ingredients – are readily available for all with any level of culinary skill. This is a category that euphemistically includes amateur cooks like myself, either in the classical manner or with some blending and adaptation (I think that the modern name for said blending up of food styles is called ‘fusion cooking’). I defy anybody to beat the enjoyment and satisfaction of a well timed peri-peri chicken dish, a piquant and spicy briyani or even a kleftiko lamb. Kleftiko, of course, means stolen and in our crime challenged country it is probably best that we keep to the Greek naming convention.

My children, who are all grown up now, have faced innumerable meals at home and in restaurants where the key conversation topics (after politics) related to what we were eating at the time, what we would be eating next and what we had eaten in the past. To their credit, they entered into the spirit of things and can hold their end up in any gathering of foodies; although my daughter’s weird vegetarianism is still a source of much disquiet between my wife and I. To further illustrate the point of family food adventurism, a few years ago I was cutting up some raw crayfish for a meal when my son - at the time aged about fourteen - asked what I was doing and before I could respond popped a piece of the crayfish into his mouth and pronounced it “cool”.

So what is the point that I am laboring towards? Do we, as South Africans, have the best food in the world? Well, yes, I do believe so and what is more I intend to prove it. Recently, we returned from a walking holiday in southern Tuscany - a holiday that was filled with everything important; friends, family, great scenery, wonderful conversations and of course lots of very good Italian food and wine. Much fuss was made of the wonderful cured meats, the fresh vegetables, wild boar, the breads and pastries, the ten year ageing of the Brunello wines and of course the pasta. Well, I have to tell you that I have no idea how the average Italian can afford to eat and drink at the prices they charge, but more pertinent to this discussion - we don’t have to take a step back at all. All the same ingredients are available here, at less than half the price and, from the appropriate suppliers, of the same or even better quality. You think I am joking? Just in my area of Johannesburg, I have access to a first class delicatessen at Goodmans, a great fish shop Fish Citi, and wonderful fresh vegetables from the Impala grocery store. I also have an excellent butcher, who will cut exactly what I want in the quantity that I want with an arrangement of well hung meats to beat anything I ever saw in my birth place of England.

Jody Schecter, erstwhile World motor racing world champion and, incidentally, a South African who now farms in England was rabitting on about our hormone enriched beef the other day. How does he expect us to stay world rugby champions without it I say? Perhaps, more to the point, have any of you had a steak in the US that is half as good as a sirloin from the Butcher Shop, or a piece of Welsh lamb that actually tastes of anything. Come to think of it, now that I have hit my stride, have you tasted a pan fried fish anywhere in the world that tastes as good as fresh rock cod or even a kabeljou fillet? That is if you can even get your hands on fresh fish abroad. I once ate a steak in Chicago that was a disturbing shade of blue, so soft you could cut it with a blunt spoon and enriched with absolutely no flavour - all taste of beef had been carefully eradicated! Mind you, I also ate at a restaurant in Malibu that had a 1kg hamburger on its menu – that was impressive, but not impressive enough to make up for the USA’s low standard of beef. However, about South African food, I could wax lyrical – Boerewors in the right hands can be an eternal thing of beauty and a joy, our Pieman’s Pantry Pies are unmatched, our olive oil from the Cape subliminal, our ostrich biltong!, our fresh snoek!, etc. etc.

To summarise … briefly: If you take the choice, the variety, the quality (and I have not even started on the Cape wines), the access to the correct ingredients and finally the relative cost of our produce you have to admit, nobody has it as good as we do here.

2009-01-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Behind the lines with Eddie Daniels
By: Jessica Farley

“It was difficult to align the popular decision with the right decision, but Nelson Mandela did it’, says Eddie Daniels. ‘On 11 February 1990, 6 hours after his release from Robben Island, he addressed the masses with no call for revenge or brutality. In doing that, he saved his country from disaster.”

It’s a cool English day next to the iconic Thames River in Twickenham. Eddie Daniels, an honoured comrade among his peers in the anti-Apartheid struggle, is expansive in his verbal time travel and comfortable in a front room of St. James School.

A soldier in the struggle for a free and democratic South Africa, Daniels spent fifteen years on Robben Island in the company of the freedom fighters who, alongside Daniels himself, created a democratic South Africa. A man of honour and stature, Daniels chose a life of struggle in a country that, for whatever inexplicable reasons they were following at the time, allowed Daniels to slip into the realm of the more ‘accepted’ coloured racial categorisation.

Meeting Daniels is like meeting the underclothes of South Africa’s history. We have all seen and read the same stories – the top hat and tails of the struggle. As the leader and figurehead of the fight for democracy, Nelson Mandela showed the world the truth about South Africa through his bravery and strength and infinitely forgiving manner. But, Nelson Mandela did not stand alone and while he has always praised the work of his comrades in arms, meeting one of them is grounding. So many nameless, faceless people gave their lives in the fight for democracy and every one of those stories is equally as poignant and as harrowing as the well known stories etched on our brains. Daniels likes to tell his story, and he has found a wiling audience.

Born in District Six in the Western Cape in 1928 to a British father and a South African mother, Daniels found politics on the streets of Athlone. Joining the Liberal Party after becoming enraged at the mindless oppression of his people, Daniels believed the party fulfilled the two major necessary criteria: being anti-government and non-racial.

From the moment Daniels found his home with the Liberal Party, his politics never swayed. During his time on Robben Island for terrorist attacks on the government, Daniel’s was the sole member of his party – falling into the ‘black’ category while his co-accused fell into the ‘white’ category – but he did his time cheerfully, all the while expounding his beliefs. In A Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela speaks of Daniel’s fondly: “We recall his loyalty and courage; his sense of humour and justice as well as total commitment to the struggle of the prisoners for the eradication of injustice and for the betterment of their conditions.”

Daniels tells his story like a narrator in a cops and robbers film; dangerous tales of arson and explosions follow attempted jail escapes, clandestine meetings and plotting to impact a government. The constant push and pull of SA politics – key to the renegade story line - caught Daniels on a tidal wave, which pushed him over the edge into conviction when a trusted friend turned state witness and gave evidence against him. “I was asked to be state witness three times,” says Daniels. “I said no and I had to wait 24 years to find out that that was the right decision.”

Of the man – Adrian - who turned against him? Daniels bears him no ill will. “He was very brave, used explosives and risked his life. He said he took it too far.” In his memoirs ‘There & Back’, Daniels published two letters between himself and Adrian, highlighting the end of an era and an inconceivable ability to forgive. “I hope that my release from prison will alleviate the terrible mental pressures that you have been suffering all these many years,” he writes. “You ask me if I would like to change the past. Both you and I know that we cannot change the past – but to indulge in some wishful thinking, I’ll say yes. I would like to change your role … why I wish this is because of the brave role you played in the organisation prior to your arrest. You were an outstanding organiser, leader and a person held in high respect by all.”

15 years spent in prison is an endless time to comprehend, specifically considering the political prisoners were held in the punishment unit in isolation for extended periods, were beaten for the smallest of incidents and humiliated and ridiculed by the guards at every turn. This was done in an effort to break their spirit - an effort which proved unsuccessful. Still, Daniels retains his positive ideals. “I can still look at it as a blessing in disguise,” says Daniels. “When I went into Robben Island, I only held a Standard 6 education. When I left, I left with two degrees – a BA and a BCom.”

The most astounding part of Daniels journey is that, although he had the option to leave jail early (under restrictions of course) he chose to ride out the sentence rather than fold to the National Party’s requirements. “I said to the judge – I’ll be sentencing my children and grandchildren to a life of slavery if I give in”. So he didn’t. 15 Years after his release, South Africa elected its first democratic government.

Today, we – as South Africans –are working toward a nation based on equality. The years of oppression and violence have left scars, but gradually the anger will melt away and we will stand, as we deserve to stand, as a monument to the persistence of the people. Eddie Daniels stood up and fought for that democracy and his story, like many others, is inspiring.

2009-01-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

After the Starting Whistle
By Toni Parsons

The afterglow of the COPE launch was short lived in the wake of meeting disruptions, ANC manifesto and election campaign launches and most recently, the ongoing Zuma appeal saga.

The lack of ‘COPE’ headlines, however, is not to say that the new party hasn’t created a force field that is shifting South African democracy and colouring political events with a new hue.

The creation of a new party put all politically (perhaps previously un-) accountable bodies in the spotlight, and with a relatively short time frame to work in, everyone under scrutiny is putting in the effort for a stellar performance in the hopes of snaring or keeping a few extra votes in April.

The disruption of COPE meetings by people claiming to be ANC members was unfortunate for the ANC in that it came across as unsportsmanlike, and more importantly, unconstitutional. Denying that the factions responsible were ANC members did not seem to placate anyone and seemed to be more like shying away from responsibility than allowing members of the public to do as they felt politically obliged.

The launch of the ANC manifesto and its election campaign was accompanied by the prerequisite list of promises and statistics of what is to come. Click here to view the stats.

Little was mentioned about the, thus far, unfulfilled promises leftover from the last election or the numbers of people who have expressed deep dissatisfaction regarding the current running of affairs. Even a list of current positive statistics was a little blurry round the edges.

The ANC stood up and made a long list of promises they will fulfil should they be re-elected - none with a clear outline for implementation, funding or a time frame. COPE has highlighted a number of concerns and unmet promises on the part of the ANC that had previously gone largely without public address, but the ANC failed to address these.

On the other side of the fence, the DA has taken to the advent of COPE with aplomb. Helen Zille’s speech at the convention on the 1 November 2008, coupled with a subtle change in opposition policy notable in her address on 11 January, (click here for the full address) have indicated that COPE has initiated what looks to be the best shot South Africa has at democracy. Zille’s speech, while still highly critical of the ANC, put forward a number of positive changes on the part of the DA, that have opened up an increased propensity for dialogue between the ANC and the opposition parties. This is something that previously was difficult to attain when any criticism of the ANC by the DA came across as petty inter-party sniping.

COPE has, up until last weekend, gone about their business as is to be expected of a fledgling party. Through their campaigning for members and setting up branches, even when said activities were disrupted, COPE has behaved in an appropriate and dignified manner.

Everything was chugging along nicely until the Kwa-Zulu Natal leg of canvassing on the weekend of January 10, with Lekota’s chilling echo of Julias Malema’s much publicised call for bloodshed in June 2008. Malema was heavily criticised for his call for ‘killing for Zuma’, and, unfortunately, Lekota’s claim that the party will need those ‘willing to go to jail, willing to spill blood’ will have resonated with a number of people, and not in a way that would incite them to bumble off and sign up for COPE.

That glitch aside, all the big indicators and milestones of the past month have been beyond spectacular, However, the most important facet of the post COPE launch should not be overlooked. More than anything, the creation of COPE has reignited an interest and an active participation on the part of the largely disillusioned South African population. It has opened up the dialogue and fostered a feeling that, perhaps, the political landscape is not pre-ordained. I think Evita Bezuidenhout said it best in the latest Nando’s advertising campaign: you can’t just have A an’ C. Check it out ....

2009-01-15T10:17:00.000-08:00

Teetering on a Two Thirds Majority
By: Gareth Hobbs

2009 will be an important political year for South Africa and two fairly notable events, which could change the face of the country, are set to happen. The first, which is guaranteed, is the national elections. The second - whether or not this occurs may very well depend on the outcome of the elections - is the continuation of the soap opera that is Jacob Zuma’s fraud and corruption trial, otherwise known as Zumagate.

Recently, the ANC launched their political campaign for the elections with Jacob Zuma named as their presidential delegate. At the same time, Jacob Zuma sued Zapiro and the Sunday Times for the cartoon that was run in 2008 depicting JZ and his cronies raping justice. I don’t understand why you would want to bring something back into the news that people had forgotten about. I guess the 7-million reasons that he’s suing for might have had something to do with it.

Following on from this, the result of the NPA appeal, which effectively allowed them (NPA) to reinstate the fraud and corruption charges against Zuma, on 12 January 2008 lead to a new, interesting possibility. We could find ourselves in a position where the president is being investigated for corruption, and perhaps even charged while in office. Or, if the ANC manages a two thirds majority, they could rewrite the constitution, to effectively give the president immunity. This would not really be a great statement in line with the anti-corruption stance the government has been trying to take.

Jacob Zuma has decided to appeal the recent finding, which begs the question: What does he have to hide? I don’t know about you, but if I was innocent I’d be trying to get the NPA to lay charges and take it to court as soon as possible, so I could be acquitted. The more the Zuma defence team delays the court case, the guiltier he begins to seem.

So, the question that needs to be answered by the elections is: will the ANC get the two thirds majority they need in order to change the constitution and grant Zuma immunity should he need it? There’s not much doubt about whether the elections will be won by the ANC. Even with the formation of a strong opposition party, COPE (and the credibility that they were given when the ANC persisted in treating them as a threat) the ANC is likely to win and win comfortably. But, will COPE draw enough of the vote away from the ANC to prevent the rewriting of the constitution?

While the election circus will probably not prove nearly as exciting as the recent show held in the USA, there are still ample opportunities for heroes, and villains to emerge in South Africa’s 2009 race. And, who knows, we might even see COPE become a giant killer and write their names into the history of South Africa.

2009-01-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

What does the SCA ruling mean for Zuma and the ANC?

The Supreme Court Appeal (SCA) ruling on 12 January 2009, which put ANC presidential delegate Jacob Zuma back into the hot seat, has added a new dynamic to what is shaping up to be the most exciting election year since 1994.

Basically, beyond the rhetoric and the media excitement, the law and what it means can be a little bit confusing, so with the help of specialist criminal attorney Mike Trapido, we have looked at some of the possible outcomes.

1. If Jacob Zuma is on trial during the election campaign or at the time of the elections, can he still run for president?

If he is on trial he can run for president. He is not guilty merely charged.

2. If he is on trial during the campaign or elections, does the decision fall to the party to let him run for president simultaneously?

It is always within the party's power to withdraw him as a candidate. As we saw with Mbeki they can even recall a president.

3. Can the ANC withdraw their candidate at any time, and what are the conditions for this?

The parties candidates are listed with their number 1 choice the person they are submitting for president. Up until the person is confirmed as president in parliament they can be withdrawn by simply not nominating them as the candidate to be president. (Parliament votes on the nominees with the majority party's candidate getting the nod). Thereafter see Mbeki.

4. If he can run while on trial, and he is elected and found guilty, what will happen to the position of president?

If he is found guilty while he is president he can be removed by following the same procedures as adopted with Mbeki.

.

Roots Republic Have Your Say

2009-01-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

The State of the Nation's Education

By: Paul Perton

Before the current government got its hands properly on the levers of power in 1994, it seems likely that much time and effort was dedicated to its plans for educating future generations of South Africans.

Certainly, since grabbing the political joystick, few would argue that the government has used its majority in parliament to implement some questionable legislation in this regard. A decade and a half on, many of the policies of the government look far from the beneficial acts intended to serve the needs of the majority in this country. Education is no exception.

Many peculiarities have emerged from the government’s legislative programmes over these years, but few as bizarre as those surrounding the teaching of our children.

My credentials to make such an observation? I am a taxpayer, businessman, parent and a committed South African. What I want to say here needs no qualification in the subject; everything you read here is in the public domain.

Despite the efforts of our leaders to have us believe otherwise, South Africa is a third world nation. We grow by our efforts and slide backwards when we let ourselves down. We aspire for high single digit growth which will put us in the vanguard amongst our emerging peers, yet we have an economy which is hamstrung inter alia by the lack of skilled manpower and worse: effective management.

Our education system is intended to fill those gaps of course. Delivering rounded, able and schooled individuals into each and every strata of the workplace is what an education system does.

Except that it doesn’t and our country, its economy and the population as a whole are suffering as a result. The bulk of the nation’s children leave school barely able to grasp history or geography outside our borders. Worse, these children have little numeracy beyond basic mathematics and few read.

There is now more than a complete generation of South African youth which has been educated in a system conceived and run by our majority government. It is hard, therefore, to imagine why the ongoing and poor educational results up to and including matriculation are still blamed on the former regime. The whining from the government about disadvantage remains; yet it’s way past time for those leaders to earn their fat salaries and shoulder responsibility for educating our children properly, no matter how heavy the mantle.

I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before these poor previously disadvantaged souls realise they have been further disadvantaged by the very government their parents chose to improve their lives. Could they one day band together and pursue the government in a kind of class action, seeking redress for wasting their education and ultimately, employment opportunities?

For now … back to the school leavers. Properly prepared or not, each and every one of these youngsters have been delivered full of anticipation and expectation to the doorstep of their future employers. All too many have been disappointed.

In times of economic growth, when our targets are within reach, employers can generally afford to be benign when they employ school and university leavers. They know that time on the job, mentorship programmes and the osmosis of skills will soon turn those callow youngsters into useful members of their respective teams.

When the economy is not faring so well, employers can afford to pick and choose. Applicants with only the median-driven education available to most will struggle to find meaningful and fulfilling employment, to say nothing of decent remuneration.

Sadly, this isn’t unique to South Africa. Many countries have opted for similar education systems as our own - if memory serves, we imported Outcomes Based Education (OBE) from New Zealand, where it has been moderately successful. In South Africa, we do not have an even slightly homogenous society, which is one of the great underpinnings of OBE. We have thousands of under-resourced schools, misappropriated funding, undelivered text books, drunk teachers, leaked matric papers, abuse and as a result, a propensity to burn down rather than build.

Outside of the (reasonably) structured urban centres, you could be forgiven for shrugging your shoulders and judging pre-matric education to be shambolic at best and non-existent at worst. What hope is there of these so-called centres of learning ever delivering a functional education?

And as if that weren’t enough, our universities have also been forced into an extended period of median-based education. These centres of higher learning have been driven by government into handing out degrees like confetti; lest the poor students commit hara-kiri or set fire to the place on hearing of their failure to attend lectures and/or succeed. More recently, sanity appears to prevail and realistic examinations and degree awards now seem to be a more predictable result.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of young South Africans have emerged from our schools, colleges, universities and other institutions with little in the way of real world skills, beyond their own aptitude to succeed. And, if you were unfortunate enough to have grown up in a township, or been subjected to inner city poverty, chances are even the will to succeed might be missing in your personal make-up.

Recently left school? Just remember; it’s not your fault. The money and grandiose schemes to educate you have always been available. Just not where, properly managed or in the fashion you might have wanted.

We produce attorneys, doctors and dentists by the barrow load, but few technical trainees and fewer apprentices. A handful of engineers. Management training only commences at tertiary level. Trade schools have all but disappeared. Making the desperate shortage of skilled school and university leavers even more acute, the very fuels of success; competition and winning have also largely been eradicated.

The reason: failure is unthinkable for the psychological damage it might cause. In the UK, the government is so concerned that their poor little things shouldn’t be scarred for life by failure, that their lack of success is no longer noted as such. It is now called “deferred success”. That’ll make the little perishers feel better.

If the media is correct, South Africa will go to the polls in May this year. We can probably ill afford a change of government at this stage of our development, but the loss of some, or maybe most of the current government’s majority will perhaps sound some alarm bells in those hallowed halls. It might bring some change, including an end to the internal post-Polokwane pissing competition that has driven the current administration into a stasis that lasted through most of 2008.

The man in the street has a right to be angry at the waste, corruption and lack of delivery that is the hallmark of the current incumbents. Many who read this article will do so far from their families, homes and homeland; most as a result of rampant crime, poor employment opportunities and the myriad of issues that make-up life in South Africa today.

The thinking person takes action. Those less well equipped might not be able to. The cynics amongst us might point to the abysmal education delivered to most of the youth of our nation and see in it some kind of bizarre cause and effect.

2009-01-14T13:43:00.001-08:00

Voting from the Far Side
By Toni Parsons

South Africans living around the world number well into the hundreds of thousands. London alone is so chock full that Wimbledon and Earlsfield have been colloquialised as Wimblefontein and Earlsveld. Australia, Canada and the US have surely been privy to a similar level of infestation by boerie eating sun lovers who flatten their vowels.

Reasons for leaving are as varied as the people who have gone. Misconceptions such as ‘he left for fear of the Swart Gevaar’ are perhaps not null and void, but certainly a little short of the truth in many cases. Moreover, there is a large proportion of expats who have a long term plan to return and invest money into the economy when they do and contribute to a positive future for the country.

Why, then, are South Africans with valid ID books or passports not allowed to vote if they do not reside permanently in SA?

Government employees (however long they plan to stay away) can vote from abroad, as can those who are temporarily absent. Voting happens at embassies, and the South Africans who staff the embassies (presumably) man the voting.

According to the constitution, all South Africans are entitled to a free and fair vote. However, subsequent to the Mbeki regime, said constitution was amended, employing the current restrictions. Reasons for these restrictions are not clear, other than for some - rather embittered - people hypothesising that it was a tactical measure by the ANC to ensure that it retained the majority rule. This assumes that all expats would be voting for a non-ANC party; an argument that falls into the bin with those who believe that leavers (a) are white and (b) did so because of a political distaste for the ANC. As I said, into the bin.

The most prevalent argument for the restrictions is that taxes paid by South Africans living at home should not be used to fund voting abroad. Those who stand to gain from the remote vote being instated will not have to live with whatever changes are put into effect as a result of the election, and who do not pay tax themselves.

However, since the election occurs overseas for government employees and temporary absentees, I fail to see how allowing others to vote would involve massive additional funds. Furthermore, despite being allowed a ‘free and fair’ election, I believe that expats would be more than happy to pay a nominal fee for the privilege of being able to vote from abroad, and would be more than happy to make the effort to do so at the same place that absentees and government employees do.

While this argument should not be swayed with numbers alone, it may be pertinent to mention that in the US elections in November, approximately three million Americans of voting age were abroad. They were permitted to either post their vote or cast it via an ‘e-vote’ system. If they dropped off their ballots at a US embassy, they did not have to pay the (on average $2) postage fee. Just over five hundred votes swung the 2004 American elections – three million votes clearly matter to the American idea of democracy.

In a democratic country smaller than some American states, a few hundred thousand votes are important. Along with that, the South Africans with no intention to return home and no interest in the country are unlikely to make the extra effort to register and to vote. Those with vested interests should be allowed the opportunity to have a say in the country they plan to return to. If South Africa has any interests at all in a ‘Homecoming Revolution’ in any shape or form, it would be wise to formally acknowledge the importance of South Africans, and give them the chance to feel as though they are involved. Getting people involved is far more likely to pull them home than casting aside their rights to vote.

Do you feel strongly about South Africans being given their constitutional right to vote from abroad?
Sign the petition along with other actively involved South Africans:
http://www.mypetition.co.za/index.php?page=sign_petition&petition_id=77

2009-01-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

Legless language
By: Ross Farley

It is helpful that a country like South Africa, with its ongoing history of sensitive race relations and maturing politics, has such a colourful and accessible national lexicon. Great local words like “Mampara” or “snot-klap” are often used by people across the racial divide in a tenderly mocking yet harmless context. Such words or expressions are one of the simple yet over-looked links of people throughout the country. It is therefore searingly distressing that a selection of South Africa’s youth leaders began to adopt language in 2008 that, apart from being divisive, was unnecessarily combative. Through that language, they exhibited at best an ignorance and at worst a disdain for some of Africa’s harshest historical lessons.

The festivities began in June 2008, when ANC Youth League leader Julias Malema addressed a gathering of ANC youth league supporters in Bloemfontein. His statement “We are prepared to die for Zuma. We are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma” certainly caught the country's attention. The media swarmed over Malema like jackals to a carcass demanding an explanation and retraction. Malema initially justified his comments by stating that "My statements that I will kill for Zuma were meant to demonstrate our love and passion for Zuma”. Jeez buddy … I would’ve thought some soft music, your slinkiest pyjamas and a bubble bath would have achieved the same result. Perhaps Malema realised that Zuma has four wives with a fifth in the pipeline and that a more radical strategy was needed to capture Zuma’s affections.

Following the incident, Malema was warned by the South African Human Rights Commission to withdraw the comments under threat of litigation. He didn’t retract the statements, but a compromise was reached when Malema agreed to not use the word “kill” in public again. Shortly thereafter, Malema displayed the political nous pervasive in our youth leadership by dusting off his old thesaurus - last seen standing in as a standard one soccer goal post - and firing back with the statement: “We are prepared to eliminate for Jacob Zuma”. Eish!

The latter half of 2008 saw Jason Mkhwane, an ANC Youth League leader in the Vaal Sedibeng region, announce to the Al Jazeera news network that “People like Terror Lekota and these people who want to destroy the history of the organization (ANC) these people behave like cockroaches and must be destroyed”. In seeking an explanation of the use of the word “destroy” the media were advised by the Vaal Sedibeng branch secretary Themba Ndaba that “We must kill them.”

On further explanation it became clear that neither Mkhwane nor Ndaba actually meant the literal killing of the opposition, but were in fact referring to an electoral “killing”. Mkhwane further explained himself by stating that English is not his first language and that he should be forgiven for his inexperienced use of it … Mkhwane holds a degree in logistics form the Vaal University of Technology. Unless said degree is comprised of the study of textbooks with popup pictures and nice colouring-in areas, Mkhwane's explanation is about as shallow and poorly considered as his initial comments. South Africans would be far more amenable to threats to destroy Australian cricket commentators or the VIP protection units who speed dangerously down our emergency lanes while transporting important personnel such as the MEC for shoelaces.

The majority of the population, regardless of literacy or news access, are incredibly aware of how words like “cockroach” were cultivated and exploited in 1994 by the Rwandan Hutu rebels in their slaughter of over 400 000 Tutsis. That not just a leader, but an African leader, can be so insensitive to the machinery of language, which lead to one of the continents most shameful and acutely disturbing scars is unforgivable. If these youth leader’s ideas and vocabularies are so impoverished that they have to resort to language with such a painful frame of reference, then they should not be given any leadership role. Instead, they should be forced to sit and digest the images of the Rwandan genocide over and over again.

What’s most distressing about the unnecessary language used by the ANC Youth League is exactly that it’s unnecessary; the ANC have a majority in Parliament. In addition, they have achieved increased voter support in every election since 1994. There is no war to be fought and no enemy to be vanquished. We are a stable and successful democracy that has based itself on tolerance and the acceptance of ideas, regardless of whether those ideas support or oppose ones own. The ANC have indicated to the public that the Youth League is an independent body whose policies and ideas are their own. Surely, the ANC, as the senior body, must stem the tide of this combative rhetoric. If they are struggling to find the right words to temper their youth league, perhaps they should ask Julias to lend them his thesaurus.

2008-12-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome Note

Dear readers,

We would like to welcome you to the FIRST Roots Republic online newsletter.The purpose of this website (and the dry run newsletter to friends and family) is to introduce the concept of Roots Republic to an audience and gauge the interest level and accessibility of what we are trying to do.

Our aim with Roots Republic is to open up dialogue centred on South Africa. What has made, and will continue to make, the biggest difference in South Africa is ownership – realising that every citizen is a vital part of a system running on and for the power of its people. We want to encourage a habit of curiosity, questioning and open discussion - the format of our newsletter and blog was chosen because it allows for easy and immediate input from readers.

The idea is new and the website is young, making input from readers both greatly appreciated and necessary to help us create a website that is useful and accessible to people interested in South Africa.

Jess Farley & Toni Parsons

2008-12-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Problem is apathy, not xenophobia
By: Toni Parsons

The events of May 2008 left a black mark on South Africa’s unfolding story. Residents will have been aware of the approaching situation, even if they didn’t acknowledge it. But the rest of the world appeared to view this as a sudden, inexplicable, series of unfortunate circumstances. There was nothing inexplicable about them.

Surveys and interviews conducted as far back as 1984 indicate that South Africans are almost inherently xenophobic. 1984 saw hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans flooding into South Africa to escape violence in their home country. Xenophobia and Apartheid worked as a team back then, ensuring that the aliens were kept within clearly defined borders, well away from the prospering whites.

The Human Rights Watch reported abuse of African immigrants in 1998 dating back to 1995. In 1996 the Southern African Migration Project was founded and a 2004 study by the project revealed that along with Namibians and Botswanians, South Africans hold by far the harshest views on immigrants. Precious few studies and institutions have come and gone, with those in place recording the same results and the same reports as others before them.

Lindela appears to be the only body set up in South Africa with the sole purpose of ‘repatriating’ immigrants. It was recently the centre of a media furore calling for it to be closed, after a reported extended period of running at a loss. Investigations leading to calls for its closure revealed that Lindela was little more than a deportation centre, with inhabitants left without blankets, undernourished and/or physically assaulted.

The Human Sciences Research Council released a report identifying three general causes for the most recent violence in South Africa. They were relative deprivation, specifically intense competition for jobs, commodities and housing; exclusive citizenship, or a form of nationalism that excludes others; and South African exceptionalism, or a feeling of superiority in relation to other Africans.

African immigrants tend to come from war torn or politically aggravated countries, rendering survival as an illegal immigrant in South Africa more attractive than as a legitimate resident in their home country. Immigrants are likely to have - or have had - a family in their home countries, as well as a community; friends, a local bar, a shop on the corner, a favourite weekend routine. They are not in South Africa to steal jobs or deprive South Africans of what is rightfully theirs.

Unfortunately, for all concerned, South Africa exists under an already straining economy and social system, making the inclusion of yet more people a perilous problem. South Africa’s majority live with electricity, water, housing, employment, healthcare and transport problems that will not conceivably abate in the short term. More people drawing on our resources means less for everyone, and in a country with shocking and ever increasing rates of poverty, there is no space for those without a legitimate claim to the resources.

This makes the addition of ‘outsiders’ or ‘Amakwerekwere’ a very unwelcome situation. Our ‘exclusive citizenship’ problem adds to this. South African immigration laws are hazy to say the least and sites dedicated to providing information on how to get citizenship in South Africa* are vague and unhelpful. .

With the world of broadband close at hand its near on impossible to find information, but Africans needing to get into South Africa will be lucky to have access to a telephone, never mind the big www. This increases the appeal of the quick ‘over the border and into the masses’ dash exponentially. Even when you can get information on how to get citizenship in South Africa, it is costly, time consuming and difficult. This ultimately results in an influx of illegal immigrants who are unable to work legally, and as such will take any work that pays, whether it is undercutting what South Africans are demanding as a wage or not.

The third problem is the one most likely to be resolved, because it rests directly with South Africans. For so long, we have walked around with a sense of ‘otherness’ regarding the rest of Africa, allowing us to view other Africans as ‘outsiders’. While this has its merits for morale at home, South Africa being the Rainbow Nation and ‘First-World of Africa’, it is not in keeping with what we should be aiming for as a country and it is opening up the space for xenophobia. We forget about countries that harboured exiles in the past, and may well need to harbour them in the future. We forget about countries currently harbouring South Africans who have left for political or economic reasons. And we forget about what it is that makes us strong as a nation – compassion, empathy and openness.

We now return to a long chanted ditty about underperformance and lack of response that has become a chief grievance in the new South Africa. In the face of the May xenophobic attacks, President Mbeki droned out a wooden, empty speech with no constructive outlines on action to be taken or on measures to be put in place to deal with the real problem.

Immigrants were placed in temporary shelter, and then moved into camps with a deadline of July 2008 for deportation or repatriation. Deportation or repatriation were the solutions provided for the problem. Just as xenophobia is not the root of the problem, deportation is unlikely to be the solution

Information on whether the repatriation or deportation has actually been enforced doesn’t seem to exist. Of paramount importance however, is the fact that a reported 3000 Zimbabweans are flowing over the border daily. That equates to more people than live in Soweto in a year. That’s just Zimbabweans, some arriving with just the clothes on their backs.

And yet until as recently as last week, our government has reserved comment on other African countries and on the problem of immigrants coming into South Africa. Denying the problem seems to be the school of thought that will make it go away.

Apathy from the government is proving to be a slowly imploding catastrophe for South Africa. Denial of the problems facing the majority of South Africans, and a lack of action at the root of the problem leave the results to fester, leading to an explosion like that in May, with more and increasingly violent outbursts likely to repeat themselves.

Unfortunately, to the rest of the world, we are once again tarred with the racist brush, marked as a violent and aggressive nation. The finer details of the picture and detailed contours of the problem are not seen from afar. It is time that the fundamental and long overdue changes are made, allowing South Africa to fulfil its promise of a country with a better life for all.

* For more information, click on the following links:
· http://www.southafrica.info/travel/documents/immigration.htm
· http://www.ritztrade.com/downloads/Immigration-Laws-SA-July-2005.pdf

2008-12-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

Farewell Mama Afrika … she went out singing!
By: Jessica Farley

Miriam Makeba sang a song to the hearts of Africans the world over. The queen of afrobeat, she encompassed elements of the diva, the mother, the ambassador and the mortal. Not perfect, but every inch the ambition of self, Makeba loved through several marriages, sparred with politics, fought cancer, and survived her only daughter. She was Mama Afrika and her story is a million moments, some publicised, most, probably not. Who she was, and what she achieved, now celluloid moments, left an indelible and personal mark on every person who loved her music.

On 29 November 2008, South African’s abroad were given their chance to mourn Makeba at South Africa house in central London. The farewell was beautifully poignant with the spirit and tenacity unique to South Africans permeating the three hour ceremony. Stories of her life from township child to world-wide phenomenon came from an over-whelming variety of well-known figures and the cream of South Africa’s singing talent celebrated, once again, the legacy of her music. To every person there, the story of Makeba and the impact she had was inimitable. For me, her influence can be summarised down to three definitive concerts.

On February 14 1987, Miriam Makeba stood up alongside Paul Simon in Harare, Zimbabwe as part of the ‘Graceland’ album tour. The album, which was recorded primarily in South Africa with the aid of South African artists, went against the UN cultural sanction that she had helped implement. In performing at that concert she was herself disregarding the sanction and seemingly going against her own political ideals. Those are the facts of the story – the truth is somewhat different. The recordings of that concert are now older, grainier, and the clothes on display are different. The unmistakeable Harare sun beats down, innocent to the trials that would soon come and Makeba performs to an ecstatic crowd. She sings for just 15 minutes, as much a part of the song as she is a part of the sky and the sand and the people.

‘I am so happy to be back home, I can’t tell you,’ she says ‘I am happy to be able to play with these young people, these very young talented people, from home after 27 years. But I hope and wish that someday, we will be able to invite Paul Simon to Johannesburg … in a free South Africa!’ [Cue the crowd going wild] She, perhaps, blurred the lines of politics and choice, but she did it well and she kept the spirit of freedom alive. The sanctions have now been lifted, after serving their purpose, and to some they are nearly forgotten, but Makeba’s rendition of Masakela’s Soweto Blues on that stage, in front of those people, at that time, is still a poignant and beautiful piece of music.

The second concert, more personal in its relevance, took place on the Great Field at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Traditionally the scene of wild university tournaments, that day the Great Field held a perfect moment just for us. Makeba, in Grahamstown to receive an honorary doctorate, opened the Rhodes 100 years of excellence centenary celebrations on 21 February, 2004. Selfish and self-righteous as only young adults can be, the afternoon before her performance was riddled with drama and angsty conversations. We waited in anticipation for her to come on stage, but it was an anticipation borne of canned excitement (we were really just pretending to be cultured) …then she came on stage. My goodness, it seems so clichéd in hindsight, but the sun was setting, and it was still warm at the end of summer. She sang a song about the birth of Africa, which made me tingle. The field was silent save for a nightingale voice and a million moments of possibility. Right then, I realised a lasting love of live music, of a diva and of a country worth fighting for.

Finally - the region of Campania in Italy on November 2008. A concert organised in support of writer Roberto Saviano in his campaign against the mafia-esque Camorra. A drug deal in the wrong place at the wrong time had led to the execution-style killing of six immigrants of African descent in the region in September 2008, sparking violent riots. Makeba, strong in her actions and steady in her convictions, supported the campaign in aid of her kinsmen and performed a set, ending with possibly her most famous song Pata Pat,a before exiting, for the last time, to rapturous applause.

It is not a movie, it is not scripted and Makeba’s death will sit heavy in our hearts for a long while to come. But,,I like to think, if she could have scripted it to the end, hopefully a beautiful song, a delighted audience and an altruistic act would have all been part of the plan. She ended as she started, passionate, stubborn and vocal in her beliefs.

Her opinions on equality and conviction of spirit, housed in a head prone to histrionics and theatrics, didn’t age with her body. A diva, a politician, an ambassador, an African child, a servant, a queen and a mother of a nation: Makeba sang in over six languages, including Portuguese, Yiddish and isiXhosa. She was the first African artist to win a Grammy, the mouthpiece of South African music to the world and an unbelievable artist.

On 9 November 2008, Miriam Makeba suffered a heart attack, moments after completing her performance in support of Robert Saviano in Italy. She was rushed to the hospital, but later died. She was 76.

2008-12-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

Helen Zille: Champion or charlatan?
By : Tracy Hammond

Zille has been a force in South African politics since the 1970s when, as a political correspondent for the Rand Daily Mail, she authored an expose on the death of Steve Biko. Her membership to societies such as the Open Society Foundation, Independent Media Diversity Trust and Black Sash ‘End Conscription’ campaign clearly illustrate her commitment to a successful and free democracy in South Africa. This commitment culminated with her election as Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town in 2006 and leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in 2007.

Many South Africans have been searching for a party that truly represents them. In this time of legislation building and democracy shaping, is Zille the light at the end of this tunnel? The answer, it seems, is yes and no, and that’s not just dependent on whom you ask, but rather which role you are evaluating: Mayor Zille or DA leader Zille.

Mayor Zille was recently voted the world’s best mayor, and while the selection procedure has been deemed non-representative or inclusive by some (this writer included), the fact that she is the first African mayor ever to receive this award cannot be ignored.

Her first act as Mayor was to reduce her support staff from 27 to 12, saving the Council R6000 000 a year. She pioneered the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transport system for Cape Town, made measurable improvements in the rate of delivery of housing, focused and enhanced anti-drug campaigns, increased resources available for drug rehabilitation and implemented a dedicated Environmental Resource management Department which formulates and implements policies aimed at improving environmental sustainability - a first for South Africa. Over and above this, perhaps her greatest achievement has been the negotiation of the multi-party government that manages Cape Town, another first for South Africa. This system has required constant and skilful maintenance from Zille, in the face of numerous challenges from the ANC, and illustrated that co-operation is not only possible but the most effective means of goal achievement.

As leader of the DA, Zille has been praised for her strong anti-corruption stance, something her predecessor was seen as lacking. Beyond this, unfortunately, few other changes in the style of opposition have been seen since Zille took the reins and the ANC don’t seem to be taking note of what transformations have been made.

The dominance of a single party can be counteractive to a healthy democracy. As such, a strong opposition is required; one that not only creates a system of checks and balances, but contains state power within legislative boundaries and create conditions conducive to accountability at all levels of government. Political theory tells us there are two strategies for opposition parties in any democratic system: opposing robustly or opposing constructively.

Robust opposition is about opposing ‘because the ruling party said so’ – there is little consideration of the issue at hand or where the opposition stands on the particular issue – if the ruling party said it, resistance will be offered. This strategy ensures the opposition party is involved in all issues but can also creates conflicted dynamics between parties and turn the opposition party into Aesop’s fabled boy who cried wolf one too many times, and is ignored when it really counts.

Constructive opposition emphasises representation of a specific group and as such supports or opposes the government accordingly. This strategy seeks out co-operation rather than conflict but cannot be secured by the actions of the opposition party alone, as positive actions from the ruling party are also required.

The DA have, to date, followed an exclusively robust opposition strategy and this has negatively impacted on inter-party dynamics, making current or future attempts at co-operation much more difficult to achieve. Ironic, since Zille’s leadership of the multi-party government in Cape Town has been anything but! .Zille may have plans to change this character of the DA, improving inter-party relations and increasing the opportunities for cross party collaboration, but to date no actions to this end have been taken.

Perhaps Zille has her fingers in too many pies, perhaps it is unfair to judge her impact on the DA and its opposition style in the time that has elapsed since she took office, or perhaps her views are just too different or even liberal for the DA. What is clear is that, as perfectly summarised by Brendan Boyle, “Without the millstone of the DA’s political agenda, Zille would certainly be the best mayor Cape Town has had in decades. She is focussed, committed, fiercely bright and incredibly hard-working”.

Many in Cape Town are seeing the light after too many years of power shortages, load-shedding and other infrastructural short-comings, but it seems the rest of the country is still waiting for that light to shine their way.

2008-12-07T06:48:00.001-08:00

COPING WITH DEMOCRACY
By: Ross Farley

It has been a tough year for South Africans. One barely had the opportunity to make 2008’s first cup of coffee, before the trouble started. Early in the year evidence of Eskom’s grandiose ineptitude befell the country, followed quickly by the widespread and deeply tragic xenophobic violence against migrant Zimbabweans. Finally, after a semblance of peace had been restored, the financial crisis hit, which has drastically shortened shopping lists around the world.

However, it was another unnerving event in the severe 2008 calendar that sparked one of the most exciting developments in South Africa’s recent history. On 19 September, Thabo Mbeki was recalled by the ANC as South Africa’s president following Judge Chris Nicholsen’s pulsing political-conspiracy judgment implicating Mbeki in a plot to selectively prosecute Jacob Zuma.

The recall prompted the establishment of a breakaway party known as the Congress of the People (COPE). The party, launching officially on December 16, was formed by Mbhazima “Sam” Shilowa and Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota, previously the Gauteng Premier and Minister of Defence respectively. The party was born out of a conference held on 1 November 2008, in which guests and attendees discussed the current climate in South African politics. A fundamental dissatisfaction with the ANC and its policies served as a glaring premise. The party is seen as rightist breakaway faction, perhaps defined by the snazzy lunch-boxes prepared for all the attendees containing a roll, Melrose cheese slab, and a pink wafer. Its rightist organs were also displayed by the party’s supporters toyi-toying outside the conference and singing a variety of struggle songs in an unmistakable Sandton twang.

COPE has conducted an aggressive recruitment drive, boasting upwards of 180 000 members in the Northern and Eastern Cape, as well as Kwazulu-Natal - impressive in itself considering that Natal is Jacob Zuma’s birth place. The party is also taking a leaf out of the Barack Obama “How to be a president” guide for dummies and has gone tech by using SMS and establishing a ‘social network’ through online sites like Facebook. Alas, Mbhazima’s photograph gallery doesn’t feature any pictures of him knocking back Jager bombs with his tie around his head dancing it up at Manhattan night club. I’m still undecided as to whether I should nail my political colours to the world-wide mast and befriend the party. I did throw a sheep at them though (in the world of Facebook that represents the height of group interaction).

COPE has indicated that it will contest the election and has even gone as far as stating that it will win. While it is certain that the dissatisfaction with the ANC is greater than anyone anticipated, it is doubtful that COPE will attain sufficient support to earn it a saunter into the Union Buildings. However, it is very possible that COPE could take control of a couple of Provinces, most notably Gauteng and the Northern Cape. Should the Democratic Alliance retain the Western Cape, this would lead to a dramatic shake up of South African politics. Not only would the ANC lose it majority in Parliament, the possibility of a wholesale loss of power at the 2013 election would necessitate the ANC having to pull some serious finger.

COPE has yet to come out with a firm policy document and one would imagine that their manifesto will be released at the party’s official launch in December. In the absence of long, detailed, great bed time reading policy manifestos, COPE has made a clear point of satisfying South Africans’ insatiable lust for populism. It has jumped on some of the ANC’s actions that, frankly, have left large portions of the South African public with a foul, cheap white wine hangover taste in their mouths. The unjustifiable and ludicrous dismantling of the Scorpions sucked any post ’94 idealism of voting for the ANC out of this writer. COPE have declared to any newspaper worth reading that, should they be elected, they would re-establish the Scorpions. In addition to this, they would reform other specialised units like the Child Protection Unit, which were fragmented and deployed to various satellite stations. The result of that move lead to the skilled crime fighters of South Africa taking car accident statements and contributing to local vetkoek consumption.

Presently, one can’t say for certain whether COPE will proceed to establish a serious challenge to the ANC, or whether they will be relegated to begging for political scraps from the tables of the coalition party guild. However, there is definitely a feeling of excitement about COPE. Not only are they recruiting some fine business and academic personalities to the party, but their threat is manifestly evident in the ANC’s tantrum like overreaction. The ANC’s threat to hold early elections (as well as supposedly low key chaos in the ANC’s establishment of election lists in the climate of defection) are beautifully indicative of a threatened organisation. It’s also an unfamiliar threat to the ANC and it comes at a time when many Mbeki supporters in the ANC feel they are no longer welcome. Remember, Mbeki still received around 40% of the vote at Polokwane. The COPE leaders are familiar with the establishment of broad-based local and provincial structures and, importantly, they seem to be a well funded party. Mbeki was great for business. The names Makozoma and Khumalo suddenly come to mind.

South Africa is witnessing the closest thing it’s seen to true democracy in its history. While it’s nowhere near perfect it’s certainly a minor victory we can all relish.