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EMPOWERING THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT
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FASHION BORN ON THESE STREETS
RAPE!
A CRISIS AT BOILING POINT
OCHO RIOS
THE RIGHT TO BE
A PARADISE IN THE PLANTATIONS
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contents 48 40
expose Human Rights? in a country where woman and children
Cape Indulgence Kasi food roots any mother would approve
50
Financial Fundi’s
52
Young Pro’s
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Roll down your window, purchase, and build the economy
Communities are built one entrepeneur at a time.
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76 64 58
Out and About Imbo premiers in Durban
Green Zone Our dependance on the little big things.
Opportunities The right to opportunity; Ten pages of jobs, internships and bursaries
Campus Connect
The SRC, fat cat comrades or critical voice of youth?
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Acting Editor In Chief Gugu Madlala Managing Editor Lindile Ndwayana Art Direction Yivani Nkukwana Senior Layout Artist Ntsika Daki Junior Designer Xolani Dani Fashion Coordinator Loren lee Henderson Senior Features Writer Noluvuyo Bacela Photographer Lynn Dreyer & Larry English Fashion Interns Chandra Fraser & Lesley Charles Contributors: Max Mogale; Nthabileng Juliana Selek; Gabriel Francis; Nthabiseng Ntsondwa; Wilhelmina Maboja; Lerato T. Khuzwayo; Dudumalingani Mqombothi; Chido-Vanessa Dandajena; Dylan James; Asanda Mcoyana; Kelebogile Shomang; Tlholo Modiba; Baphe Phukwana; Nastassja Dowman; Market Theatre; Larry English; Kelebone Bolofo; Robert Nickel
Chairman: Gugu John Madlala Publications Manager: Sisanda Ntshinga Creative Director: Yivani Nkukwana Business Developer: Dominic Billy HEAD OFFICE Bambisana Media Consortium Media Quarter, Cnr Somerset & De Smidt St De Waterkant, Cape Town, 8005 Tel: (021) 418 3485 / Cell: (082) 593 3973 Email: editorial@enjabuleni.com
43 where they came from, where they`re going and what you can do with yours or human rights: then, now and the future
IMBO Magazine is owned and published by BMC (Reg no. 2011/073781/23) Printed by Trident Press Distributed through tertiary institutions. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission IMBO/ ISSUE 2012 5 5 IMBO/ ISSUE 14/3/2013 of the editor is strictly prohibited.
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event: Ikasi experience + place: lookout hill, khayelitsha photos by: max mogale
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tune into your future with imbo live shows listen live online
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Finding quality content this month that runs true with our theme was very easy. There are so many dimensions both positive and negative on the matter and more people and groups fighting the fight than you may think. Our Young Professionals (Pg 52) as well and Expose interview (Pg 48) are people worth applauding and learning from. The resilience shown in Financial Fundi’s (Pg 50) is inspiring and sobering. Fittingly, Green Zone (Pg76) encapsulates the importance of the little guy.
Human Rights are a wonderful thing that should be celebrated and remembered far more frequently than we currently do. Human Rights are also the greatest teacher of human responsibility as each of us is responsible for their protection in everything we do. This month at Imbo was truly about responsibility. We were short staffed having lost our Editor to a bigger, richer company last month and then this month we unexpectedly lost our Art Director in a similar fashion.
So off we went like a band of boy scouts in pursuit of more badges and everybody did everything, and more. The team really stepped things up a notch and I realized that I was surrounded by people who had enjoyed a more than fair share of their human rights and the result was a group of individuals who were capable and excited at taking responsibility. Think about that at this critical juncture in our society…
This issue is filled with lots more and at the end of it you’ll know that you truly do have the right to be yourself but more importantly the responsibility to uphold that right. One more shout to the Imbo team this month, we did great! Love IMBO
From the
Send your letters and WIN cool prizes with IMBO
IMBO TEAM
editorial@imbomag.com
on the cover Saukho: Wearing an Avant garde design jacket and pants by Suno aka Shaun Smith Meet our Fashion interns - Chandra Fraser - Lesley Charles
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out & about
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out & about
Human Rights give us the freedom of expression which is shaping South African street fashion. Durban City has embraced this freedom of expression through culture, denim, leather and vibrancy in nouveau styles. Imbo Magazine's first foray into the streets of the Zulu Kingdom bore ripe fruit. Meet some of the young people representing the rapidly growing creative scene in Durban.
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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
An Amazing Moment Noluvuyo Bacela
Andile Gumbi has an uncanny acting debut story. One moment he was walking around Durban and the next he was being flown to Australia as the lead of one of the most popular stories in film to date.
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“I enjoy playing Simba because the character is similar to me: I’m playful and I am always running around and I’ll love it for as long as I live.”
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The twenty-nine year old Durban-born and face of The Lion King international musical production has been appearing in ads for the musical worldwide since debuting in the Australian company in 2004. As The Lion King has a lot of South African music in it, the company always makes sure they have at least five South African members, and held auditions all around the country. It was “sheer chance” that he was selected, he says, as he was merely trying his luck after meeting friends who were attending an audition. “The next thing I knew, I was up for a role on The Lion King Broadway hit musical.” For two and a half years he played in an ensemble and understudied his newfound role as Simba while in Australia, and then spent another three months in China. Al-
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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS though this was a good prospect, pursuing an unexpected path did not go down well with his family. “My mother was very cautious, often wondering who these people taking me overseas were, was it all legit,” he says. Andile having left his academic career to pursue acting didn’t help the situation either. When it came to furthering his education, he didn’t know what he wanted to study and had decided to follow his accountant mother’s lead. Despite a successful first year at university, he felt that his heart was not in the business world. Much to mother’s dismay, Andile dropped out of school to pursue acting. “She said, ‘I hope these people aren’t using you to sell drugs,’” he says with a laugh. “Then I started sending money home, and pictures of people I was working with, but she still wasn’t convinced. It was only when the show came to Johannesburg and she came to see it,” he explains. “She had never seen me perform, so it was this amazing moment for me and for her.”
double-show days, is very tiring, he says, but he makes sure that all his performances are not lacklustre. “I think it’s important as an actor to get really involved with the story. You play the show every single day and you don’t want to do it on auto-pilot, you’d be cheating the audience.” Making the transition from Australian to London stages on his own was difficult, as Andile didn’t know anybody. Adjusting was therefore a struggle but keeping close ties with his family helped. “I try and talk to my mother every day, we try and Skype whenever we can. She works in the day in a demanding job, and I’m working at night, so it’s easy to miss each other.” Having finally settled well into the foreign terrains of Broadway, his name in bright lights, Andile still has his heart firmly set on home ground and proudly flies the South African flag wherever he goes.
Performing the principle role of the muchloved Disney spectacular in Australia, China and South Africa, where the show has been very well received, he says, has made him grow as a person. “I enjoy playing Simba because the character is similar to me: I’m playful and I am always running around and I’ll love it for as long as I live.” Simba’s stage attire consists of a very light costume and headgear that doesn’t prevent him from running and dashing from corner to corner with difficulty. “I’m kind of covered from head to toe, really, but I do like it,” he explains. “I’ve got a mask on, a bodice and a really beautifullydesigned corset that’s handmade and covered in African beading. Beads come off it all the time so it’s always getting redone!” he says. “It is demanding physically and emotionally in all ways, but in a way it’s like going to the gym: somehow you get used to it.” Doing eight shows a week, with occasional
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pop culture
Love doesn't have a shade of colour Lindile Ndwayana
If this world was ideal we would all be able to freely love whomever we wanted to love but as reality would have it, that’s not the case. Although things seem to be changing for the better, society is still anxious about whom one decides to share their life with…
L
ove may be blind but other people can see right through your heart-felt glances at each other followed by affectionate hugs that seem to never end. Their feelings towards your new-found inter-racial love interest can be somewhere between disgust and zero tolerance or even sheer excitement. So much excitement they may refer themselves to interracial dating website dedicated to defying the taboo in South Africa. A site was created to help other people to “taste the divide of interracial barriers and take the next step to true sexual satisfaction.” In another instance however, Mr & Mrs Loving may be illtreated and discriminated against for crossing the colour line - for being in love and wanting to build a life together, that is. Where this hatred stems from has neither interest nor value for the relationship, as the intent is to portray the untested opinion they believe to be true about the situation. A frail attempt to keep the narrow-minded views this ever-changing world used to have – to ensure prejuduce against the John Lennon and Yoko Onos of this world stays in the system. Speaking of negetive commentry about interracial relationships, the Democratic Alliance student wing created a campaign that promoted race mixing with the tagline “In OUR future you wouldn’t look twice.” And, true to form - it sparked outrage. One Facebook comment on the DA’s page read, “Love the DA! This campaign image is exactly what South Africa needs, now all the irrelevant racist “boers” can F off to 14 IMBO/ ISSUE 14 2013
pop culture
their tiny irrelevant parties and the rest of us can stand together as one post-apartheid nation where race, religion or sexual preference doesn’t mean anything, we’re all human! Go DA! You have my vote.”
‘yay’ or ‘nay’ for some. Fleshy talk aside, studies have shown that there are definitely more positive effects to crossing the colour line than there are against. California State University Women’s Center lists ‘Being exposed to new ways An ‘okay then...’ response to the of thinking’ and ‘teaching others above quote may be the way to go around you that the relationship is especially when one is concerned like any other, with challenges but with the hyper-sexualisation of races, worth it’ helps the your relationship as African men and women, far east be more socially acceptable. But Asians and white women are often then again some people’s way of sexually stereotyped. On the other life simply does not include viewing hand, white men are often seen as a black and white couple in a posithe ones going in for ‘the kill’. And it tive light… As another commentator could be those very same stereoeven thought it would be logical types that make interracial dating a to point this out on another news
site: ‘Some things simply don’t mix no matter how deeply the two people involved love each other.’ But in the words of the DA’s Mbali Ntuli in an interview, “With all the comments, good and bad,” “We have achieved our goal of engaging South Africans in a frank debate about one of the most defining issues in our country today -tolerance.”
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FASHION
Fashion Ed`s Choice watch out!!! Loren lee Henderson
The neck watch is a simple and convenient item to add to any outfit. Just give your wrist a break and let your watch hang low - all the way to your knees if you want!
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FASHION
Hot list Boy-Ish
Photographed by Kim Julie
There is no need to be drowning in your boyfriend’s oversized clothes to pull off the Tomboy look this season. All that is needed is a Creative mind, An elegant touch, And some edge
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PHOTOGRAPHER: Larry English MAKEUP ARTIST: Kebone Bolofo FASHION COORDINATOR: Loren lee Henderson FASHION INTERNS: Chandra Fraser, Lesley Charles MODELS: Whitney - freelance & Dale - Real peopleModel agency
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DALE: INDIGO DENIM SHIRT R39 MARKHAMS SKABANGA NAVY VEST R220; SW PANTS R200 - HELLO AGAIN RED POLKA DOT 5 PANE CAP R1 MARKHAMS RED BANDANNA AND BOOTS - S IST’S OWN BRACELET - MODELS OWN VESTIBUL
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99 -
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WHITNEY: VINTAGE BLOUSE R180; DENIM LACE SHORTS R280 - BABETTE NIKE BACKBOARD R549.95 - TEKKIE TOWN YELLOW BANDANNA - STYLIST’S OWN SILVER AND BLACK HALF-MOON CLIP-ONS R150; GREY AND GOLD SUNGLASSES R120 - SECOND TIME AROUND BAG R209 - BLACKCHERRY BAGS KHAMS DALE: 9 - MAR 9 7 R R E Z AIN TCH BLA LLO AG NY STRE HIRT R180 - HE ARKHAMS IN K S E JAD 599 - M NECK T-S DEEP V- E RPL DENIMS R - TEKKIE TOWN HAMS INS .95 ARK BLACK R LEMENTE R699 CHIEF R69 - M R C E K S D ADIDA KET HAN ELS OWN EY POC L IS A P - MOD YELLOW EARRING
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WHITNEY: XI DRESS R2 95; CROP TO P R95 - HELL BAG R221 GREEN AVIA O AGAIN TOR (SQUA - BLACKCHERRY BAG S RE) R330; B LUE FEATHE SECOND T IME AROUN R EARRINGS R130 D STRIPED MA
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AMS ARKH GAIN : M Y E 0 A N WHIT KET R46 - HELLO S C 0 JA 1 JO E U LL R2 SEBA IES VEST 10 - GOR A B S TED ER LAD KIRT R1 BAG QUIL RED E SWAGG E H/W S KCHERRY TRIP WN AC AG VINT D/PINK S 276 - BL DELS O O R RE BAG HOES - M S AIN LLO AG E H 5 S R29 DALE: DENIM ARKHAMS D E R ; 0 -M 21 VEST R EANIE R110 ELS OWN S N E M OAL B - MOD GGER E SWA I AND CHARC G, BRACELET G A T IN V RRIN KHAK ERS, EA SNEAK
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FASHION
Fashion Forward Philanthropy Chido-Vanessa Dandajena
W
ho would have thought that a prison number given to Mandela during his twenty seven year jail term on Robben Island would wound up being an inspiration for a fashion line? It’s all in the name of celebrating Mandela’s life and ensuring his legacy lives on by contributing 7 percent of its funds to Mandelapioneered philanthropic projects including global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaigns. After only 3 years in existence,
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Clothing brand 46664 has managed to immortalize our legendary former President Nelson Mandela trademark style through their clothing brand. Imagine young Madibas’ strutting their stuff down fashion runways at Africa Fashion Week in a suave blazer and leopard.... chinos. Hard to do, yes?
the business has proven to be a noteworthy contender in the cut-throat international fashion arena. The 46664 Fashion label wants to be a positive force amongst South African youth whilst also appealing to a broad range of people who are interested in being socially responsible, while still looking sharp. Wayne Debb is the ‘mad scientist’ behind this ingenious business venture and this is what he had to say about the brand. IMBO: THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE
FASHION LINE, AS STATED ON THE 46664 FASHION WEBSITE, IS TO FACILITATE AND FINANCE PROJECTS STARTED BY THE 46664 FOUNDATION, HOW IS THE LABEL ACHIEVING THIS OBJECTIVE? WAYNE: A material percentage of our sales goes to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to finance key sustainable projects of integrity. A full 7% of our total sales goes towards charitable projects, not just 7% of profit. The rest of the money is utilised to en-
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FASHION sure the longevity of the company; making sure it won’t be a company that is here the one day, and gone the next. IMBO: HOW HAS THE BRAND POSITIONED ITSELF INTERNATIONALLY? WAYNE: [We] have been working closely with a lot of countries who want to bring the brand to their nation. On Nelson Mandela day, our 46664 fashion brand will be launched in the US and Canada. We have also succeeded in signing an agreement to have the brand launched in Brazil, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. Negotiations are currently underway with a potential EU partner, which could launch the brand in over 10 European countries.
46664 Fashion has joined an array fashion ambassadors coming from Africa, positioning itself not only as a sustainable enterprise but also dedicated to the socio-economic development of South Africa. Thanks to the tenacity, humility and also his sense of humour, we say, viva Madiba, viva 46664 Fashion.
IMBO: WHAT HAS BEEN THE CORE VISION OF 46664 CLOTHING? WAYNE: From the outset we wanted to create a global brand that originated in Africa. The brand rapidly sparked international attention and surprised quite a lot of people who thought that it was just going to consist of a range of charitable t-shirts. In reality, it reflected high fashion with a South African twist while still being socially conscious. IMBO: THE FUTURE OF 46664 FASHION?
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“From the outset we wanted to create a global brand that originated in Africa”
WAYNE: First and foremost we would like to continue growing and expanding our vision as the first socially conscious global brand that has started in South Africa. We are also happy to report that if everything goes smoothly with the roll-out of the brand in the US, we hope to be showcasing the collection this September at the New York fashion week. IMBO: WHERE CAN PEOPLE PURCHASE 46664 FASHION? WAYNE: We have more than 100 independent retailers across the country that stocks our brand, as well as Stuttafords in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. We also have an online 46664 fashion store (www.46664fashion.com) for trading in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and several other territories.
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FASHION
You are unique... Just like everyone else! Just as we all have different personalities, you’d think effortlessly standing Lindile Ndwayana
out from the crowd would be come naturally but it seems trend following in order to look different is the latest craze…
D
uring an Oxford University study about trend following fashion historian Dr Rebecca Arnold wrote, “We’re drawn to the new and novel, to things that provide a feeling of change, and, perhaps, progress. We also want to belong – to be part of something recognizable – and there is no more obvious way to demonstrate this than through your clothes”.
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Reading this quote reminds me of one spring day while visiting the Greenpoint Spar for some shopping. While standing in the deli queue I noted the lean guy before me in khaki rolled up chinos, tan brogues; a blue denim short-sleeved shirt buttoned up all the to the top with the short-sleeves rolled up. While deep in thought, trying to decide between a yellow corn roll and an olive Panini, I saw him again – at least I thought I did. It was another lean guy sporting the some kind
of quiff only this time his shirt seemed like it was made out of cotton but still retained the same colour. He also seemed taller.
FASHION
Before I could finish a thought, a close-up of my face was plastered on a huge screen in slow motion and everyone was moving faster around me, ok… I’m exaggerating but I realised right there and then that almost every male specimen in the store looked the same! ‘What’s the point of fashion if people all look the same?’ Conversing with men’s fashion observer and blogger, Monde Mtsi about why people are so pent up on Louis Vuitton bags even going to the extent of getting fake versions of the item he says, “Their products are seen as tools or emblems that signify that you are part of that lifestyle if you own and/or use them.” And that goes for everything that is mostly bought in this world including iPads,
penthouses and Lamborghinis. He goes on to add that trends are the format in which fashion is organised, categorized and presented as they pull out key items and looks that say ‘here's what to focus on’. Consumers then go out like soldiers to buy ‘as is’ instead of interpreting the story and adapting it to their personality! So we find people walking around in the same styles and trends and fashions, thinking they are different and original, only because ‘they decided to put it together ‘that way’ as if the rest of us don't know any better.
Like most things in life too many options can confuse the mind. To a point I do get the consumers’ sentiments as putting an outfit together these days is an actual occupation, people have become overnight sensations for putting their best foot forward on a daily basis. But then again the gist of the matter is that if you consider yourself a ‘fashion forward’ individual and you’re not trying to look different, it all boils down to laziness. Most Fashionistas would agree that they do look more or less the same but insist the difference lies in creating ‘different twists’. Adding a sick ring,
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wellness
Living From the Inside Out Nthabiseng Ntsondwa
Buddha, Christ, Mantras, and all things nice, this is spirituality for the urbanite.
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one are the days when the mere mention of the word ‘spirituality’ imagery of an overzealous, sweaty pastor delivering a sermon at a church somewhere in the townships would come to mind. Nowadays, the interpretation gets lost in translation as one tries to differentiate between meditation and prayer. But unlike the classic rolling up of a mat and taking up yoga classes or reciting mantras, for others spirituality means finding their solutions to life’s problems at the bottom of a tequila shot.
THE EXTERNAL VS THE INTERNAL An ancient quote illustrates the separation of religion from spirituality as religion being the bottle with a label on it and spirituality as the contents. On the other hand Alcoholics Anonymous founder, Bill Wilson, defined an alcoholic as “a fellow who is trying to get his religion out of a bottle when all he wants is to unify himself with God”. With these notions flying about, the plight to awakening ones’ true identity as a being that can love, posses intelligence, and kindness amongst other good traits cannot be done by simply look ing at the exterior. One must first realize that they have to look into themselves to solve whatever troubles they may be facing. What people fail to grasp is that true spirituality opens up one’s eyes to the fact that all people, irrespective of age and race, are all equal. Just as the soul cannot thrive unless the mind and body are in unison; the body also can easily deteriorate if the mind is not in a good state. Key examples would be overcoming terminal diseases like cancer
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wellness
through guarding your thoughts and channelling positive energies throughout the battle. According to medical and scientific journals, “thoughts are things” and every single thought we have produces a frequency that sends it toward another similar frequency and this is why we draw toward like-minded people – people who share our desires. In the words of E. E. Cummings, “to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.” Knowing your value and standing vehemently firm on your principles regardless of what the world is, is also one of those battles as nothing worthwhile in life comes easy. Every step taken towards set goals requires sacrifice, suffering and a struggle - you have to be willing to feel the pain before the joy and laughter and this is no different from taking up a spiritual path.
KEEP CALM AND STAY FOCUSED The basic idea behind most forms of meditation and prayer is to focus the mind on turning inward, and to pay attention to your inner self and center your consciousness open-mindedness and clarity. Meditation helps remove any outside distraction, even raising positive thoughts that you heard or read some years ago. Add prayer, and you’ve got yourself the best of both worlds. Because prayer, no matter who you pray to, helps your inner self realize that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep that will eventually come back to you.
The following tips could help you experience happiness within yourself. 1. Forgive yourself Forgive yourself for thinking negatively. 2. Forgive others If we want to make peace with others, we first need to be at peace with ourselves. 3. Stop thinking and talking about your problems Instead, focus on the good in every situation you face and every person you are in a relationship with – including yourself. 4. Focus on being a blessing to others Get your mind off yourself and focus on helping others instead. 5. Be busy The busier you are, the less time you have to think, especially, about something or someone who left you with negative feelings. 6. Recount the things you have achieved Take some personal time to be with yourself and recount the things you have achieved. 7. Develop a pastime Spend your free time on reading, listening to music, watching movies or other activities. 8. Be content with WHO you are Don’t focus on things about yourself that you have no control over. 9. Never lose hope
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CAPE INDULGENCE
Food, glorious food! Noluvuyo Bacela
Living in the City and being away from home has of plenty positive’s like dining habits littered with tshisa nyamas and fast-food franchises. When Sunday comes along; well you’re not alone - we all miss the old homestyle cooked meal ...
F
ive colours”, she said. “Five different coloured vegetables a day with some fruit on the side, keep hydrated and get a full nights’ rest”, my mother’s words as I left for Cape Town after the festive holidays. Bless her heart; if she only knew the last time I saw (never mind eating) a carrot was in an advert two weeks ago. No one seems to have time to be in the kitchen long enough to prepare a meal. It’s really not a bad place, and it’s not that hot either; it is just a space that limits, a space that needs time, time I do not have. Someday, when I have the time to cook my mother’s five colours, I will. For now though let me book into Lelapa for a cooked meal and warmly prepared just for me. The meal is served with an in house live marimba band playing in the background.
Lelapa was founded in October 1999 in Cape Town’s oldest township, Langa when mother and daughter, Sheila and Monica Mahloane converted their home into a small business. After years of working as a domestic worker, and then running a second-hand clothing business, to seize an entrepreneurial opportunity Sheila used her life savings to start this now famous township restaurant. Lelapa, which means “a home” in Sotho, Sheila’s native tongue, focuses on providing guests with great ambience and an authentic township experience which includes the African tradition of storytelling. As mother and daughter team they believe that their success lies in giving their guests a sense that they have entered into the warmth of their own homes. “Our restaurant is a place where people from all over the world
Home, sweet home!
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CAPE INDULGENCE
LELAPA RESTURANT TOWNSHIP CUISINE FRIED BREAD [AMAGWINYA] MEAT: BEEF STEW CHICKEN FILLET BEEF MEATBALLS BRAISED KUDU SHANKS OSTRICH STROGANOFF come to eat lunch or dinner”, Sheila says. “We saw all the tourists’ buses driving past our township on the way to the winelands and our idea was to create a restaurant serving traditional township cuisine and invite guests to experience a bit of township life.” In 2002 the pair won the emerging tourism entrepreneur of the year award for the Western Cape, which took them to the World Trade Market in London and ITB in Berlin, Germany the world’s largest tourism convention. Today the restaurant can accommodate up to 100 diners and is being extended to host a private dining area for three groups. A marimba band accompanies the traditional cuisine, which includes a traditional food buffet that consists of curried cabbage, yams and amagwinya (“fat cake”). Whenever you crave a home cooked meal or feel guilty about your undisciplined eating habits or your hips begin to stretch further from you; make reservations At Lelapa and have a delicious lunch or even diner with friends.
STARCH: SAMP IN POTATO PUREE WHITE FRAGRANT RICE SAVORY RICE HOT VEGETABLES: BRINJAL & MARROW CURRRIED VEGETABLES PUMPKIN BAKED SWEET POTATOES HERB CARROTS CABBAGE SPINACH & BABY SQUASH BROCCOLI WITH SWEET PEPPERS SALADS: TOMATO, PEACH & CUCUMBER BEET & APPLE CARROT & RAISIN CABBAGE & APPLE CHAKALAKA CREAMY POTATO 3 BEAN IN ORIENTAL SAUCE WHOLE WHEAT & LENTIL PASTA IN PINEAPPLE CURRY SAUCE CHICK PEAS IN CHILLY SAUCE DESERT: PUDDING OF THE DAY CONTACT DETAILS: 49 HARLEM AVE LANGA CAPE TOWN 7455 TELEPHONE: 021 694 2681
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FEATURE
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FEATURE
"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings... "
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n a world where social media has become a respected news platform, and where the United Nations has declared the internet as a necessity, change has infiltrated almost every declaration, constitution and right many believed would never be amended for as long as they existed. While there are universal human rights that are enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, every country has its own constitution that governs and sets out the individual’s rights within that country. It’s therefore important to note that just because it’s a right in your country, doesn’t mean it’s a right in another. If you’re are having trouble picturing things that are the same but different, consider the whole world as a box of Smarties: we all have the same chocolate core, which can be said to be the upholding of human rights, but by virtue of the fact that you get different coloured Smarties can only mean that each nation has different rights that differ from others. And if you’re an avid Smarties fan, you would also have realised that they don’t taste the same as they used to. Similarly, nations and their rights aren’t as they used to be in the past. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings...These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.” You therefore inherit these human rights from birth and in essence, die with them. But what did we have before the United Na
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tions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the various constitutions in the world? Did the Homo erectus all those 1.8 million years ago exercise hers or his right to a lawyer if they got into trouble?
According to Thomas Hobbes, English political philosopher and social contract theorist of the 16th century, before governments, laws and regulations, humans lived in what is called a state of nature. Living in this state, according to many social contract theorists such as Hobbes, meant living in a space of only freedoms and no rights or regulations. This meant that you were free to kill as you were free to drink water from a spring. It is only when individuals came together and started making collective agreements as to how to live and who would govern that prompted the structures of authority and leadership. This coming together is what is known as the social contract theory, where the masses gave legitimacy to governments, rules and authority by consenting to be ruled by them. Before you start falling asleep at the thought of more political theory, the social contract theory is a political framework that can easily be applied to how we live today. It’s safe to say, then, that in Hobbes’s grave is a wry smile of a man whose theory can be proved in the modern world more than 40 centuries later. Hobbes, after all, believed that life in a state of nature would have been “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short,” and therefore saved a lot of us from such a fate.
Laws and rights, then, are more than just measures to protect us but are also in place for our wellbeing and instrumental to having a happy life of various freedoms. Before freedom, however, certain rights had to be declared and in the case of South Africa and her Bill of Rights, the journey still continues. The South African Bill of Rights is regarded as the cornerstone of South Africa’s young democracy with the aim of protecting its citizens regardless of race, background or social status. The South African Constitution of 1996 consists of three chapters: the founding provisions in chapter 1, the Bill of Rights in chapter 2 and principles of the cooperative government in chapter 3. The Bill of Rights has 37 sections such as a right to life, citizenship, security, and equality. It also includes a table of non-derogable rights, which is a selected number of rights that the state cannot violate under any circumstances. These include human dignity, life, slavery, servitude and forced labour, among others. Despite the country being famous for having one of the most liberal constitutions, tens of thousands of South Africans’ rights remain violated on a daily basis. The biggest scourge the country currently faces is the effect poverty has on its citizens, it is personified by a poor public education system, failure to provide the poor with basic needs such as food, water and sanitation and adequate shelter. Basic healthcare, jobs and access to information rapidly grow the list of rights that many South Africans are still without, and depend upon the government to provide.
FEATURE
The country’s grants system, however, has helped to provide many with an income, but it is still a meagre payout for an individual with a family or disability. Where healthcare is concerned, the government’s plan to implement the National Health Insurance system (NHI) for all, despite its intentions of providing quality basic healthcare for the entire population, has been set back because of the lengthy implementation process. While the Bill of Rights states that all citizens have a right to health, getting decent basic healthcare requires medical aid, something that only a miniscule percentage of the population can afford. Despite the fact that section 27 of the Bill of Rights states that “everyone has
the right to have access to health care services,” the ability to exercise that right in many cases requires some sort of payment. This creates a situation where rights are subject to contradicting limitations. Recently, the Bill of Rights came under harsh scrutiny, particularly where asylumseekers and refugees are concerned. May 2008 saw close to 60 people die as a result of riots related to xenophobia in the township of Alexandra, in Johannesburg, and the riots and attacks later spread to
Durban and Cape Town. Many foreign nationals come to South Africa seeking refuge and fleeing from poor circumstances, they are often unable to gain access to basic needs such as food and shelter in the country they were told is the Rainbow Nation where human rights flow like tapwater.
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FEATURE
These hostile attacks towards foreign nationals led to local organisation Lawyers for Human Rights to call upon the country’s public protector to investigate the problems many asylum-seekers and refugees have experienced, from being turned away by officials at the border without reason to not being given the right to security while within the country. The positive is that there is still more good than bad in South African human rights and there are many cases where South Africa is the beacon of light in terms of fairness. An often over-looked and critical example is the right to vote. In South Africa, every citizen has a right to exercise their vote. This also means that if you, like tannie Evita Bezuidenhout in the Nando’s television advert are not happy with just “A” and “C” on the ballot, you also have a right to not vote or spoil your vote. Australians, on the other hand, can’t have their lemon and herb quarter chicken and eat it like we can: Voting in the land down under is compulsory and failure to do so results in a monetary fine or can even go as far as a court case. Other countries where voting is compulsory
include Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador. The Democratic Republic of Congo, at one point, also enforced compulsory voting. Another triumph of human rights in South Africa is the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a national HIV/AIDS activist organisation that prompted the government, under Thabo Mbeki’s leadership at the time, to provide free anti-retroviral drugs to all South Africans. Considering that 2.5 million people died of AIDS in 2008 alone, the TAC’s actions are close to historical. The campaign was launched in 1998 but the organisation’s first game-changing move was taking the government to court for not guaranteeing that prevention of mother-tochild transmission (MTCT) of the disease. The case was brought against the government on the basis of robbing HIV-positive mothers and children the constitutional guarantee of the right to health care. In 2002, after strongly confronting the government of its refusal to provide free access to anti-retroviral drugs to South Africans, the TAC managed to win another battle for the right to health care. This was a particularly difficult battle the TAC had fought as the opponents
it faced were President Mbeki’s apparent denial of HIV as the cause of AIDS and former minister of health Manto Thsabalala-Msimang’s position that a healthy diet of vegetables was a good alternative to antiretroviral treatment. Today, the public health system provides free anti-retroviral drugs, counselling as well as HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. Being able to find a solution to one of the most devastating diseases in the world is a large feat that has not been given the accolades it deserves, but undoubtedly shows one of the most successful triumphs of human rights since the end of apartheid in 1994. Living in a country like South Africa, we tend to forget the rights we are granted on a daily basis until they’re gone. It is as simple as a tap of running water: it’s all good and well until your water is suddenly cut off during your shower, and you realise that you haven’t paid your water bill. While everyone has a right to clean water, there are limitations to that right if you don’t follow the procedure that comes with it.
HERE ARE RIGHTS YOU CAN EXERCISE ON A DAILY BASIS TO PREVENT YOURSELF FROM BEING HARMED, TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF AND FOR YOUR WELLBEING: • When being searched women can request to be searched by a female police officer. This exercises your right to privacy, human dignity and security. • While driving during the night, one can go through a red light as 46 IMBO/ ISSUE 14 2013
a measure of safety if there is no oncoming traffic. • With the Consumer Protection Act, one can hold the store or public service provider in question accountable if they show false, misleading or deceptive representa-
tions of their products. Restaurants and food chains tend to do this in their food advertising campaigns, and you can hold them accountable if a notice explaining that there is a difference in picture and reality does not accompany their menu or advertisement.
FEATURE Once again, a touch of political philosophy has to come into this equation: because we consent to being led by a structure such as government, we give up certain freedoms so as to gain certain rights and no longer live in the dreaded state of nature. These rights come at a price, but they are nonetheless rights that we don’t always appreciate until they’re gone. With time, rights become are and sometimes abandoned altogether. Men in America being the only holders of the right to vote ended with the amendment and eventual abandonment of that right, granting women the equal right to suffrage which their counterparts had in
the late 19th century. Currently, no country that holds free and fair elections blatantly prevents women from voting as it would be an infringement of one’s human right. If anything, one’s right is not as simple as it looks on the constitution. There are numerous factors and limitations and they can sometimes be to one’s advantage or disadvantage. Knowing of your right to life, dignity or equality is one thing, but know how it can be violated and the limitations to it are quite another and are to your benefit. A street sweeper has the very same rights as a CEO of an international company, but once you start going through layers such as educational
background, wealth and social standing for both individuals, you realise why the CEO might end up having a higher life expectancy than the street sweeper, or why the street sweeper would be more eligible to apply for financial assistance from the government than a CEO. The wonderful thing about human rights, however, is that it levels the playing field. Though the world is a collection of different states, all of these nations share a common core that values human rights, however different they may be.
HERE IS A LOOK AT OTHER “MINOR” RIGHTS WHICH YOU MAY UNKOWINGLY VIOLATE ON A DAILY BASIS. • Taking pictures of people without their consent: everybody has a right to privacy and human dignity. It’s all funny, good and well while it’s on 9gag.com until someone gets sued. • Littering: Everybody has a right to a clean environment, and you throwing out a non-organic item violates another’s rights to that environment.
• Trial by audience: presuming a person guilty of a crime before court procedure and evidence is provided robs them of their right to a fair public hearing before a court.
of property therefore have to be compensated, and “the amount of the compensation and the time and manner of payment must be just and equitable.”
• Downloading music, videos and information off the internet without paying for them: all these are products of intellectual property and those who created it have a right to property. These holders IMBO/ ISSUE 14/ 2013 47
Exposé
On the edge of a pandemic Bacela Noluvuyo
In the past few months media coverage of rape and violence against women has escalated tremendously. Suddenly the simmi=ering situation is headline news and we are being forced our communal demons. pulled apart, not by monsters, but by friends.” After reading these words by Sisonke Msimang of the Sonke Gender Justice Network about Anene Booysen’s murder, I realized the extent to which things have spiraled out of control. South African stand-up comedian Siv Ngesi has also been up in arms challenging the concept of manhood. “My duty is not to console,” he said in an interview. “My duty is to that little boy growing up in the midst of this, to teach him right from wrong, to teach him how to respect women. We just have to hope that in a group of guys we can influence one and we can change things one man at a time.”
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outh Africa has now, more than ever, has become a dangerous place for women. It’s just been a short two months and we’ve already had hundreds of girls violated on a daily basis, one brutally murdered while hiding out in a bathroom, and numerous cases related to the violation of women thrown out of the court room due to “insufficient evidence”. South African police statistics record more than 64,000 cases a year – more than seven an hour - from baby rape, corrective rape, sexual violence against minors and the elderly. There’s no bright side to these points, but just a few possible new policies from the gov
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ernment, armchair activism through Twitter hashtags and a couple of speeches from “outraged” politicians. Some are proposing that rapists found to have HIV must be charged with murder while others urge incarceration, another portion wore black on a certain Friday to “raise awareness”. Its crazy living in the midst of a pandemic and being at the epicentre of the problem but the most disturbing of all, however, is being the target. “With the mothers and the sisters, the brothers and fathers – those like me, who have girls … Anene was raped and mutilated because she was a girl. It was her vagina and her breasts that they wanted to destroy. These parts of her were broken and sliced and
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has also emphasized that there is an obligation on the State to protect women against violence and special courts for rape survivors are to be established immediately to deal with the problem. According to a new study conducted by the Medical Research Council in Soweto, a quarter of 1500 school boys said that “jackrolling”, which is slang for gang rape, was “fun”. More than 25% of South African men questioned admitted to raping someone and of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person. As the news reports and statistics keep streaming in, one can only hope things will turn around as everyone realizes that for every one in four women that are raped, this violation has more far-reaching consequences for the entire nation, before it becomes a part of South African culture.
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financial fundis
The tentative livelihood of a street hawker
Dudumalingani Mqombothi
Pavements in metropolitan cities have radically narrowed as a result of the ever-present street hawkers occupying them and trying to earn a living. Their businesses seem insignificant but it is such initiatives that build a country in many ways.
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treet hawkers, despite always coming under fire for hogging pavements and being shrewd at business, have always played an important role in the informal business sector. These street vendors make more of a contribution to the country and its economy than we may be aware of. I remember once walking in downtown Johannesburg, the sky slowly casting a shadow over the buildings. In a few seconds, Johannesburg would be enveloped in rain.
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Before the deluge from above, the pavement was suddenly filled with hawkers selling umbrellas for R 20.00, as though they had always known of the coming downpour.While profit making is a key driver, the customer approach of these traders needs some work. Small businesses need to understand that they need to be polite in order to interest a customer. Street hawkers have often been aggressive and exceedingly desperate, to the point of accepting whatever price the customer is willing to give. Buying from small businesses, however, helps circulate South
Africa’s wealth and gives the poor a means of participating in the country’s business sector. These businesses may be part of the informal sector but they are instrumental in helping eradicate poverty and unemployment. They also add a glimmer of hope for many young South Africans whose future is murkier than those that are financially well off. If we really paid attention, we would know what a bare purchase of R 80.00 really means to a person owning a small business, and the livelihood attached to the sale. “It’s the real perfume, I tell you. You see, it has
financial fundis
the Edgars sticker on it,” says Mandla in a soft voice, toned down to sound polite and cogent. He is one of many street vendors in the city and is trying to sell me and everyone else his merchandise.
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The original price is R 700.00 but because we are friends I will give it to you for R80.00 my brother,“ he adds.
A few minutes ago, whilst trying to convince a lady to buy cologne in the event that she had a boyfriend, another three hawkers were selling me the same expensive perfume and whatever else I wanted to buy. I did not have the money a few minutes ago and still didn’t have the money later. Mandla starts to tell me that life is rough out there, and that he needs to survive. He then suddenly leaves me alone and disappears into the Johannesburg traffic. A few minutes later he returns, having slashed the price down by 60%. It is now R48.00. I still do not have the money. Unlike larger and more commercial businesses, small businesses of this nature are tricky to buy from. This is because their owners don’t always have the means and funds to always pro-
vide quality products, as well as present their goods the same way a commercial business would. Dazzling window displays and bright banners are non-existent in the street hawker’s budget. It is therefore quite difficult for Mandla to sell his goods whilst not smelling like a rubbish bin, because his home is on a pavement on Bree Street. He has no means and funds to make himself more presentable as clean water, let alone bathing, is a luxury he cannot afford. He simply wakes up in the morning, puts on his worn black Orlando Pirates beret and sets up shop. Mandla also has a walking impairment that makes walking quite difficult. He nonetheless manages to manoeuvre himself through a bustling Johannesburg, limping down De Villiers and Noord Street and selling his merchandise. Even with the daily hardships many street hawkers like Mandla experience, many somehow manage to make a living through their businesses, finding a reason to get up every morning to not only feed themselves but provide goods and services for the masses. Supporting these businesses
has the potential to create more employment and even more money for the country’s economy, even if it means selling one R80.00 perfume bottle a day.
An International Labour Organisation report estimated in 2000 that the country had 500 000 hawkers. A South African government survey estimated the number had nearly doubled to 987 000 in 2007. Street trading contributes between 7% and 8% to the country’s economy. Richard Maponya, property developer and founder of Maponya Mall, first started off as a street hawker selling soiled clothing and offcuts in Soweto during the apartheid era. With the capital acquired, he then attempted to open a clothing retailer in Soweto, but was blocked by the government’s refusal to grant him a licence. He is now one of the most successful businessmen and property developer’s in the country. IMBO/ ISSUE 14/ 2013 51
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Artist on a mission... Noluvuyo Bacela
Chasing an art career after two successful years in the advertising world, we step into the thrilling world of self-developed artist, activist, multi-disciplinary designer and contemporary illustrator Sindiso Nyoni. the Marikana shootout called “To protect and to serve”, setting the tone for his new chosen path. “I was invited to conduct an illustration workshop for youths from the Eastland slums of Nairobi, in a project called Usanii Lab, a Communication Design course for young people headed by German graphic designer, Viola Kup,” he says - something that he has always wanted to do.
One two-year stint as an illustrator at Cape Town’s Am I collective studios before relo
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cating to Johannesburg later, Sindiso made waves in the design realms as one extraordinary art director/designer for Black River FC - made famous for their work on those Nandos ads. The agency scooped up the Gold and Grand Prix awards at the Loeries Awards in 2012. At what seemed to be the peak of his career, Sindiso left Black River FC to get back to his social activist roots. “My culture and origins play a significant role in my overall work and activism. Growing up in the turbulent times of Zimbabwe inspired my artwork which reflects the social wounds left by a bitter struggle against colonial repression and the internal conflicts of the Shona and Ndebele factions,” he said. His first artwork after leaving the agency was featured alongside the headlines as politically-inspired illustration of
To view Sindiso’s work, go to http://www. studioriot.com and http://www.behance.net/ guerillart
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“The zero rand balance in the bank account on a number of occasions never led me to lose track of the passion – it’s an integral part of your creative vehicle.”
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his multitalented artist has come a long way from leaving his native Zimbabwe in 2005 to attend art school in Johannesburg only to work as a barman by night and freelance artist to pay his way through his degree in Graphic design. These days his name is synonymous with success, award-winning ads and Guerilla (Art) - a combination of traditional and digital media. “It’s the nature my artwork takes which draws from the literal term of an independent, small entity going up against a much larger one – guerrilla while reaching into history and social issues to create a subversive African ‘street’ style”, as Sindiso explained to online publication OkayAfrica.
“In the professional creative industry, there is seldom any room for social communication. Briefs and concepts are often commercially driven, creating a dilemma faced by creatives today. Work for charities is cool but doesn’t pay the bills. I personally feel that it is a great value for creative’s to know that they have tools and the ability to effect massive change, and not always within a for profit organization”. Sindiso is hoping to set up a studio shortly.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Sowing back, one community at a time Noluvuyo Bacela
Thobela Mfeti is an over-achiever. At 23 she has gone from cleaner, to waitress and becoming the only person in her family to attend university, and ultimately attaining a Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. Model - an award-winning women-led Non Profit Organisation that empowers young women between the ages of 18 and 28 to pursue their academic dreams through mentoring. She is one of the organisations student directors and says that mentorship in black communities is of essential importance. “We need to recognise that black communities lack role models. The small percentage that makes it through is caught up with life style issues, and forgets to give back. This perpetuates the struggles that young people face because of no leadership, no resources and lack of role models.”
In 2012, Thobela was recognised as a finalist in Mail and Guardian’s 200 Top Young South African list which she says was an honourable achievement that however came with much pressure. “This achievement together with the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship has been a stamp of approval in my life where the Mandela Rhodes Foundations esteemed judges and the rest of South Africa and the Mail & Guardian recognised my potential. To date, I still believe that there is more I ought to do for my community and country and this has helped me work harder and smarter.” Realizing that some people are born leaders, and whether they like it or not responsibility will follow them, Thobela says it’s also made her realise how important balance is; to do things because you love and want to do them and not for recognition and to also lead a balanced life. And this positive outlook on life she attributes here involvement with the 18twenty8
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ost of us were introduced to Thobela in 2012 when she was named one of Mail and Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans finalist in the Civil Society category but little did we know she had been on her path to changing the system for a long time. “I was born from this community and I strived to achieve what I achieved academically in this community,” she says. “ I hold a deep passion for community development and I strive to fit it in my everyday life.” Born in Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape, sixteen year old Thobela matriculated in 2006 from Brackenfell High School in Cape Town and began her tertiary education at TSiBA immediately thereafter. “My dream has always been to be an influential social leader and to make a difference in people’s lives through my selfless involvement in non-profit organisations and businesses that I want to own in the future.”
Thobela adds that the black community needs to mentor young people in High Schools to make it to universities, and to acquire bursaries. “In universities, we need to continue mentoring black students; ensure that they’re eligible for further funding for their studies, are job ready and are exposed to right platforms to exercise their leadership skills.” The lack of mentorship and unity that gives birth to most of our challenges such as low pass rates in High Schools, low entry of black people in universities and unemployment she says can be dealt with if we’d also create networks and resources for generations as other races have as it is unity that we can overcome; i.e a combination of our resources for the next generation to access. Thobela has a whole lot on her plate and as we watch her take on even more to propell South African communities to greater heights, one can’t help but wonder, “what can I do”
“I am an African leader. A change agent for my community.”
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Networking
Where and how to plug into networking
Finding the right places to network can be a daunting task, but knowing what you like, what you want and using what you have at your disposal can be the key to climbing that social ladder or landing a great opportunity for your future. Gabriel Francis
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o maybe you’re looking for a significant other, someone to aid your progress in the business sector, or perhaps where you rank on the social ladder. Where do you go, in the fast and frantic world of today? Are you headed to a club, the local bar, or the library?
Networking shouldn’t always be perceived as a skill, or as some foreign concept that could make or break you in modern-day society. It is no easy feat to simply go out into the world and “break the ice”, but it’s all about where you are, what time you should be there, or as the old saying goes: “Location location location.”
A year from now you may wish you had started today
The best places to network are usually found right under your nose. Hidden around the corner or perhaps a few minutes away are valuable treasure troves of opportunity. An example would be at a nearby coffee shop where you have your daily caffeine fix or the sports
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club where you have your weekly football session. Take the sports club, for example: Whether you like team sports, or if you prefer sessions of individual sweaty suffering, exercise is a great way to meet people outside the greyish confines of the workplace. Icebreakers are not that stressful when you’re sweating or suffering together at the hands of an evil fitness instructor. “Opportunities multiply as they are seized,” said the remarkable ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, and one can take a great many things from that tiny morsel of wisdom.
networking
The best places to meet new people and network are often places that allow you the freedom of choice, and that provide you with a positive atmosphere. These are always places where you want to be, and you’re there because you choose to be. The pressure is lifted, your mind is at ease and you are able to interact with the people around you in a calm and appropriate manner. The notion of this common and com-
fortable place breaks the ice for you. Getting to know the people around your immediate area is also an invaluable tool for your socialising arsenal. Religious events, for instance, could be great places to socialise, as strange as that sounds. It’s the sense of unity at such an event that can make you feel a part of something special.
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One should always engage those around you, make yourself visible to them and they will connect with you.
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Let’s say you walk into a coffee shop and find out that all the seats are taken because of a spontaneous event. There is, however, only one spot that is left open. Two choices hover over your head in a comical thought bubble: a) Take the spot and open up a world of business and friendship opportunities or b) Complain because you wanted your chocolate and coffee bliss after a bad day, and walk away fuming. What would you do in a situation like this, knowing that a possible life of success and happiness awaits you in the cup of free coffee accompanying that spontaneous event?
Social media and the ever-changing creature called the internet can also be beneficial to your search for success, or your travels within the business world. Although it may seem overwhelming at times, there is a trick to its puzzling nature. Instead of reading
or posting those “extraordinary” updates, try something new like posting about your jobhunting experience or even the networks you’re looking to link yourself into. If by chance you were to actually meet up with your “friends” or “followers”, the concept that is social media can be quite lucrative and inspiring. A new business partner could be a click away from your Facebook profile. Perhaps a grand job opportunity or career path could be waiting on the opposite end of your next chirp, tweet, or whichever bird sound is most prominent on the Internet. The opportunities are infinite and all we have to do is approach these situations with a sense of calm and strategy. Knowing, interacting and constantly searching for the right people would no doubt also contribute to you touching those hard to reach places on the social and business ladder. Observe and engage, then soon you’ll discover the secrets to successful networking.
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AFRICA CONNECT
Rwanda A gem within a genocide aftermath Chido-Vanessa Dandajena
From the mountain gorillas and golden monkeys to the chain of five mountains and least forgetting the humble, friendly people - Rwanda is filled with wonders that will captivate the travellers attention way beyond leaving the country.
labelled a person as either Tutsi , Hutu or Twa. In a sadistic turn of events and facing a revolution instigated by the Hutu, the Belgians then reversed the racial roles.
In 1933 Belgian colonisers ceased Rwanda and further solidified the distinct categories of Tutsi and Hutu by issuing identity cards that
Kagame grew up in exile in Uganda and in 2000 became the country’s president. Unfortunately every hero must have a kryptonite. Though highly praised, Kagame’s political and democratic validity has been
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The Hutu, who initially constituted as the inferior majority, were now given the authority to rule. Such a demotion undoubtedly stirred rage within the Tutsi and so began the offset of a bloody and regrettable genocide in 1994 in which over 500 000 people were killed. Today, the face of Rwanda is slowly undergoing a change under the leadership of President Paul Kagame. Of his many successes, Kagame is heralded for his great exploits in defeating Hutu extremist forces to end the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Born to Tutsi parents,
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“The Germans were the first to colonise Rwanda in 1894, awarding the Tutsi a position of authority based on their “European-like” features such as lighter skin and taller build, while the Hutu who were also the majority, were subjected to an inferior role and inhumanly referred to as “cockroaches,” among other degrading terms.”
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espite its formidable features, Rwanda is foreshadowed by its dark history of a genocidal past. The dense division between its two primary ethnic groups, the Hutu and Tutsi, was just a teardrop in a pool of aftershocks. The terms were initially used to denote and differentiate wealth, and were later exploited by Belgian colonisers to represent racial divide, class stratification and as a breeding ground for resentment and stigma. The Germans were the first to colonise Rwanda in 1894, awarding the Tutsi a position of authority based on their “European-like” features such as lighter skin and taller build, while the Hutu who were also the majority, were subjected to an inferior role and inhumanly referred to as “cockroaches,” among other degrading terms.
under siege by both locals and international on-lookers. Many have questioned the legitimacy of Kagame’s authority after published reports from Rwandan opposition parties of rigged, corrupt, and coercive voting processes. Kagame’s rule has increasingly been accused of being authoritarian and shows evidence of dictatorship by the government’s intolerance of criticism, a hostility toward human rights organizations and silencing of public media voices.
AFRICA CONNECT
My neighbour from Rwanda Chido-Vanessa Dandajena
It’s often said, “Ignorance breeds fear.... and fear harbours resentment.” Rwanda-born, Arthemon Nguweneza who is currently a UCT student shares personal insights about the genocide in his home country.
the tribes has always been a big issue that has affected everyone. IMBO: What is the future of Rwanda? Arthemon: The future looks bright. After the 1994 genocide Rwanda has made a remarkable progress in terms of economic growth and lifting people out of poverty. IMBO: Would you go back to Rwanda and settle/work there? Arthemon: Definitely. IMBO: What do you hope to give back to your country? Arthemon: With my education, I hope to enhance Rwandan education system and teaching my fellow Rwandans to think independently and productively. IMBO: How is the government performing in terms of addressing human rights issues? Arthemon: The government of Rwanda supports peace building activities, trainings, workshops to empower youth with the skills to gain confidence in speaking out in their communities, to defend their rights and advocate for a peaceful society. IMBO: Tell us about the president of
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“I had a wonderful childhood in Rwanda until 1994, and then everything changed due to genocide. We had to move away
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IMBO: Where in Rwanda are you from? Arthemon: I am from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. IMBO: What is it like growing up in Rwanda? Arthemon: I had a wonderful childhood in Rwanda until 1994, and then everything changed due to genocide. We had to move away from home. IMBO: Why did you decide to come to UCT and not a University in Rwanda? Arthemon: I left Rwanda at the age of 13. Not only that South Africa has been a second home to me, But South Africa‘s has top leading Universities on the continent. UCT being the highest ranked African university in both the QS World and the Times Higher Education world university rankings. IMBO: What do you love about Rwanda? Arthemon: It is my mother land. My history is there. IMBO: What are the main social issues faced by Rwanda in your opinion? Arthemon: Rwandans went through the genocide in 1994. So the conflict between
Rwanda, Paul Kagame? Arthemon: He is a visionary leader. IMBO: What are your aspirations for Rwanda? Arthemon: My aspirations lie among my fellow Rwandan youth. We have to use the knowledge that we have gained and grab all the opportunities that have been created for us and lift our country out of poverty. We need to see beyond our ethnic differences. IMBO: Tell us about the traditional food I don’t think we have a particular dish. But the mains are green bananas (known as Ibitoke), sweet potatoes, cassava leaves (known as Isombe), cassava, Ubugari – made of cassava flour, beans etc. IMBO: What can you tell us about music and dance? Traditional music and dance are part of every Rwandan ceremony, i.e weddings. The main traditional dance is intore.
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Campus connect
THE SRC:
the voice of the students ? Kelebogile Shomang & Asanda Mcoyana
The SRC has always had a bad reputation around the campus grounds, could this be the year things turn around for the council?
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n January 2013, the Student Representative Council (SRC) of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), of the Cape Town campus was inaugurated into student governance. With the primary role of representing students, their key areas is to give aid to national and international students with academic challenges like admissions and registration and also to assist matriculants from disadvantaged backgrounds who have not been able to apply to university etc. These students would be represented at the various Head of Department offices requesting appeals for them to get accepted into the course or institution. The
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SRC would also assist in acquiring financial aid, bursaries, student housing, student orientation and various social issues affecting students at the institution. A few months down the line CPUT students have different views on the SRC that are accompanied by a mixed bag of emotions towards the council in terms of the promises made during elections. Some students would loosely define the SRC as “a group of people who represent CPUT students in the interest of government issues” while others feel that “they are lazy souls that just act busy”. Whatever the case may be, as all 33 000 students at CPUT - Cape Town
campus have the right to have their own opinion about the SRC, the fact remains votes were cast by the students and the power lies in those votes. With this in mind, Deputy Chairperson of the SRC 2013, Katlego Phila, has encouraged students not to leave it at just voting for them, but to follow-up on the SRC’s performance from the date of appointment and take part in proposed activities.“Students do not realise their power and rights as voters”, she said in an interview. “It is the students’ responsibility to know their leaders and their right to make use of the SRC.” The power lies in the students’ hands to hold the SRC accountable when they do not deliver. Whatever the
campus connect students need, the SRC has an open-door policy all year round. STUDENTS’ VIEWS: In a survey conducted on 14 students’ knowledge of the SRC, 36% of the students stated that they knew nothing about them. Another 28% said they knew of them but had very negative comments and perceptions of the council. Words like ‘corruption’ even came up. The remaining 36% had firsthand experience and were a little positive as the SRC had helped them attain financial aid assistance, admission, registration and housing assistance. Look at side bar... It is evident that a number of students still feel that the SRC is not visible enough and that they do not contribute much to their varsity life. There is still a stigma attached to the council as year-after-year students feel that they spend the remainder of the year throwing lavish parties at their own discretion and only hear from them again at the end of the
year when it’s time to vote. Most first year students still have no clue who or what the SRC is as it seems one has to be in deep trouble to get acquainted with them. Whatever the communication barrier may be, we cannot fail to mention the large number of students the SRC has assisted with registration and admission funds, appeals and bursaries on a yearly basis. With this said, hopefully during and after 2013 things will change for the better as the SRC says it’s main focus is on academics. The council is in the process of recruiting members and creating awareness and have a number of activities and events lined up throughout the academic calendar to do such. Orientation for the 1st year students, Fresher’s Tour around the city of Cape Town, an Academic Summit in May and a number of appropriate workshops where the focus will lie in assessing CPUT as an institution of choice and the progress it has made thus far, are just few of the things they have planned.
Students’ responses on the SRC’s contribution to their studies at CPUT 1st yea Marketing Management student: “I don’t know them”
2nd year Environmental Health student: “They assisted me with financial aid in my first year and helped me continue my studies.”
3rd year Environmental Management student: “They don’t really have an effect on my studies; they are mostly they for their own benefit.”
BTech Public Relations student: “They have assisted a number of students that I know with their registration process, including those who were expelled from their courses.”
REPRESENTITIVE OF SRC: “As [members] of SASCO we always believe that no student should be excluded or turned away from access and opportunity to study.” For more information on CPUT SRC, visit www.cput.ac.za And for more information on SASCO visit www.sasco.org.za
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LIFE SKILLS
An open-minded approach to life... Dylan James
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would argue that one of the most apt explanations of maturity is that when a person hurts you instead of hurting them back you seek to understand them. Find out where they are coming from and why they did what they did. This will instantaneously achieve two things. First, it will stop a confrontation from boiling over into a full on fight with potentially disastrous consequences. When reacting to an attack we often lose sight of the actual issue and make it about the situation. And when tempers flare the results can end up as front page news. Second, it will start the process of reconciliation. This is a word that we as South Africans are well aware of but it seems that we have lost the understanding of. By taking a step back and embracing an open-minded way of life we not only open ourselves up to learning new ways, we also limit the conflict in our lives. Both of these are massive positives. In business I have often gained from not judging an individual from the way they dress or speak. At a two day residential workshop I met one of the most awe inspiring individuals ever. I nearly turned and walked away as he not only battled to speak English clearly but also had the dress sense of a nomadic and always sported an exceptionally mischievous grin. Only after I put aside my (as it was then) very limited world view and embraced this person as a fellow human being on the same journey around the sun could I see through the false image my close-minded eyes had painted of this man. I saw that behind the mischievous grin shone the eyes of a scholar. The nomadic dress sense had more to do with the fact that he dressed for comfort and was a world traveller. And that he battled to speak English because he had chosen French and German to add to the 8 African languages he spoke. This was a major turning point in my life. In the following two days I had many opportunities to speak to this gentleman. He enchanted me with stories. How he had walked the length of a number of countries seeking to assist others and increase his education in his youth. How his career had grown. And how after travelling the world and learning all he has learnt, the greatest achievement for him is sharing his knowledge and guiding the younger generation. A major moment in my personal development would have been missed had I not opened my heart and eyes. Tolerance, respect, love and kindness are all linked with an openminded way of thinking. Of course, we are all products of our own
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particular culture. The existence of culture is one of the ways humans survive: We pass along the wisdom we accumulate through experience from generation to generation. But if we assume that our cultural practices define the only acceptable human option, we can more easily justify the mistreatment of others. Further, we cut ourselves off from the possibility of learning from the stories of others.
CAREER ADVICE
How I fell into radio
Lindile Ndwayana
‘How I got into radio presenting...’ I fell into radio. Initially it was not something I considered pursuing but because I love music, you could say everything fell into place. My very first radio stint began at UCT Radio, where I was told I have got a nice voice and a great presentation style. So after I graduated, I got an opportunity to present a show at Good Hope FM.
‘If I was not in radio...’ I would still be involved in the entertainment industry in one way or the other, even if I was an HR Manager somewhere I would still be in the entertainment scene on the side. Besides presenting a radio show, I also produce music; dee jay at clubs, parties etc; I also do voice acting. I am also going into artist management.
‘You need talent’ The thing about talent it’s hard for someone to recognise how much talent they have. You can’t wake up one day and say ‘Damn I am talented!’ without validation from your peers. If you have more than 10 people who are not your family saying that you are good at it [radio presenting], then you are good at it; Secondly, you need creative abilities to be able to deal with changing trends on a daily basis; You need to be resourceful and objective to look at things in different angles; you have to be aware of and respect the type of delivery you project on the airwaves; and one more thing you need to learn and understand as a creative is the business side of radio, because once you understand it you’ll find that it helps with all the other things.
Heart FM 104.9’s drive time radio presenter Diggy Bongz is no doubt the ‘man’ behind the mic. With his almost 20 years of radio experience, he shares with us the low down to surfing those mighty airwaves...
‘It’s harder to get into radio...’ A lot of people are trying to get into radio and the bar is being raised – which is a good thing for South African radio. It has also diversified because it’s no longer just about the microphone; it’s about the varying aspects of radio today that include the website, social media etc that one has to be clued up in. And you also have to compete with people who are not necessarily as good or talented as you are who most likely got the gig because of someone they ‘know’.
‘You can start anywhere within the radio industry’ There are many big radio presenters who began their careers by producing, reading the news or even doing marketing. But if you want to shoot straight towards the mic, you must know it’s very hard. Also, campus and community radio are great platforms to hone your skills as a radio presenter and even there you can start behind the scenes because you never know when an opportunity can rise for you to take the mic.
‘Preparing for a show is a 24 hour job’ Anywhere that I am, I am always looking for something that I can put a spin to for the listeners to be entertained and educated. I also keep up with what it happening with other mediums, so I can always remain fresh and unique. ‘The most important personality traits for a radio presenter ‘ Open-mindedness; Objectivity; Passion for what you do; And love people...
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Alternative Thinking
Masello Motana Urban Rebel Lerato T Kuzwayo
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he only way to deal with an unfree world is to become absolutely free, that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Albert Camus. In an unjust environment one is bound to find activists, community workers working against the grain and grind of the systemic misgivings of South African liberation, or those of Africa as a whole. I had the pleasure of interviewing Masello Motana, a multi-lingual and a multi talented Azanian artist who by all possible definitions is one of the greatest rebels I know and admire. As a TV presenter she offered a fresh twist to the Mzansi youth by removing stereotypes of presenting a music show in American fashion, she would present on the television every Friday evening in her mother tongue Sepedi. She is hip. And in her township of Atteridgeville, West of Tshwane she became known as the rebel queen. She rebelled against fashion, music and social norms. She tells me she has always known from when she was young that she wanted to be a performer and she left conventional education, a good school apparently that her Single mother worked hard to pay for, simply because they offered her no valuable knowledge. “I came across Alex Hailey’s Malcom X and that is where the fire Started” she says nostalgically “I left education to pursue Knowledge” she says.” None of those schools taught me about the Dogon of Mali, Zambia and Monomotapa, queen Nzinga, Cheik Anta Diop, Djibril Diop Mbombeti and Haile Gerima.” Amongst this list are some Pan Africanists that ought to be everyday knowledge in African schools but when one reads of them, and admires them one is seen as rebelling against the norm.
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When asked what her cause is as a rebel, she emphasises “land, land, land, Black consciousnes and Pan Africanism.” When she left TV and tried to get into radio, thinking it would have less pretty girl spacing and placement than TV, she met a lot of resistance in the form of managers being nervous to have her on live radio with her kind of perspective. “It turns out on radio you have to sound pretty, have you noticed how the female radio anchors always giggle no matter what men say, except for a few though”. She mentions as well that after the Lupe Fiasco Inaugural performance she has been on a “What would Lupe Do” tip, believing that all artists should take up the
challenge and be more radical. She identified with that kind of rebelling, the kind that knows no protocol, the kind that is not afraid to say what it wants to say, the kind of rebelling that one might not be liked for but this is what Masello is about. Revolutionaries and rebels are necessary to push societies to their greater selves, silly girl or not, Motana as she herself stated has always been a fire starter and a new society like South Africa needs to have more revolutionary thinkers and rebels in order to shape the country anew. Check out Ramaposer on soundcloud.
FEEL GOOD
The Pot at the end of the Rainbow Lerato T. Khuzwayo
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ith the 20 year anniversary of Democratic South Africa underway, we pause to take a look at where we are as a country. Despite the social, political and economic developments, we are still seen as one of the most unequal society in the world. The gap between the rich and the poor appears to widen. Government tries to intervene but they tend to make it worse or seem uncaring with them being wrapped up in all sorts of corrupt practices. The South African Institute of race relations has over
the years developed what is known as the Rainbow index. The Rainbow Index indicates that there are still plenty of tasks to be accomplished before we can say the pot at the end of the rainbow offers gold for all in the land to share. The idea of the rainbow nation remains vague and near mythical when one looks at the fact that on the ground things are not equal. The recent census highlighted the inequality in our society. In Africa we speak of Ubuntu and understand the importance of the well being of each person and each citizen as being crucial to the wellbeing of the society as a whole. Reading through this section in the index of the 2011/2012 Rainbow index, raises more questions than answers with regard to the freedom we are meant to be enjoying as society. To quote hip hop artist Talib Kweli who makes the point clear “if one of us isn’t free then we are all to blame”. The Rainbow index is riddled with reports of police shootings and torture of civilians. With Marikana and a myriad of assault cases brought against the police, one wonders who will protect civilians when the police come for them for protesting. There is also the sore point of property rights, this being spoken of 100 years after the passing of the land act that dispossessed Afrikans in the Country. “In September 2011 the Department of Rural Development
and Land Reform gazetted a Green Paper on Land Reform. This seeks to impose land ceilings on commercial farms, confine land reform beneficiaries to leasehold title, bar some 17 million people in traditional areas from obtaining individual freehold rights, and vest decisions on compensation for expropriation with an official, the valuer general.” This means little ground has been made with regards to equal ownership of the countries land which is essential to all national activities. With regards to free enterprise, it is stated in the document that entrepreneurial developments are pivotal to the growth of the country’s economy. The economy has had its progress marred partly by the global factors, but mainly by inadequate infrastructure, over regulation, poor skills and productivity. So innovation and more entrepreneurial drive are needed to steer us into the right direction. The Rainbow index though indicates that there is not much to feel good about in the country.
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OPPOrTUNITIES
Internships Graduate Internship Iconic Global Motor Manufacturer in Johannesburg is looking for marketing, sales, finance, technical and engineering graduates with SA citizenship. Only graduates with a minimum of twelve months working experience will be considered. Successful candidates must be prepared to work full-time for a period of twelve months. HOW TO APPLY: Go to www.whoswho.co.za to apply for the position of choice before 1 April 2013. Transcripts must accompany all applications and a quoted reference number.
Graduate Programme Murray & Roberts is looking for B Eng, BSc and B Tech graduates to join their Murrob Graduate Programme. KEY REQUIREMENTS: A strong academic record; No more than two years full time work experience since graduating; Prepared to work in various areas of the country where their experience is required; South African citizenship and/ or permanent residents. HOW TO APPLY: Applications are open and available at before 10 June 2013 : http://www.murrob.com/careers_ graduate.asp
P&G Internship 2013 Beauty Internship Edcon is looking for Cosmetology or Beauty Technology and NQF level of 4-6 graduates who are passionate about retail and the beauty industry. Successful candidates will receive a basic salary of R3000 –R3, 500 per month. The contract is specific to a junior level position at Edcon in the FMCG, Retail and Wholesale industry. HOW TO APPLY: Applicants must visit: www.thecareersportal. co.za to apply for the position before 6 March 2013
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Applicable to students registered for a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PDM) at Wits Business School in Johannesburg. DESCRIPTION: Students will be given the opportunity to experience challenging, interesting and meaningful work at the Company. Students will experience challenging real life tasks. If you consider yourself to have strong leadership skills, excellent communication skills, good command of the English language and are willing to face a new challenge every day then you are the perfect candidate. HOW TO APPLY: Apply at www.jobs-pg.com before 30 March 2013
OPPOrTUNITIES Content Research Internship Multichoice is seeking graduates or students studying towards a degree in media, journalism, writing or any other relevant qualification. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Track developments of African, international and local channels and operators including existing and potential competitors, Assist with channel test projects; Content market assessment; Basic analysis and reporting of industry trends. HOW TO APPLY: Please visit www.multichoice.co.za before 11 March 2013.
Office Admin/IT Intern
Jenman African in Cape Town is looking for a competent admin/IT intern. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken; Computer literacy in MS Office, internet and email; Strong administrative and organisational skills; Valid driver’s licence and own transport; Interest in travel and tourism. HOW TO APPLY: Send CV, motivational letter and contactable references to reception@jenmansafaris.com before 16 April 2013
Technology Internship Graylink is looking for bright and motivated go-getters wanting to break into the technology industry for their Cape Town offices. KEY REQUIREMENTS: First language English speakers; Proficiency in Microsoft Office; Administrative and organisational skills; Good verbal and written communication skills; Tertiary qualification. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Software application testing; Help collateral and documentation support; CMS website administration; End-user support; Proof reading; Data reporting; Social Media administration; General office administration. HOW TO APPLY: To apply please visit https://careers.fishtankrecruit.com/graylink/59-Intern004 before 31 March 2013.
Marketing Internship An online travel company and tour operator is looking for a passionate marketing intern. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Students in marketing or relevant studies; Must be at least 20 years old or older; Good command of the English language (written and spoken); Must be a good team player, Strong sales driven personality. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: E-marketing, PR, Social Media Marketing and own Marketing projects. HOW TO APPLY: Send an email to contact@ kickstart.co.za and include the reference number with your enquiry.
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GENERAL JOBS OPPOrTUNITIES Presidency Internship Programme The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency is offering opportunities to unemployed South African graduates from Higher education institutions that have completed their degrees or diplomas, and have not been exposed to work experience related to the field of study that they have completed. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants should have not previously served as interns in the Public Service. HOW TO APPLY: For enquiries on how to apply refer to Ms Bonisile Molefe, tel. (012) 308-1870 Applications must submit an a283 form, obtainable from any Public Service Department, stating the field the intern is applying for, a CV, certified copies of certificates and ID copy and transcripts. Please forward applications before 16h30 on 1 March 2013, quoting the relevant reference number, to: The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Private Bag X944, Pretoria 0001 OR hand deliver at the Main Entrance, Union Buildings, Government Avenue, Pretoria, for attention: Ms B Molefe.
Social / Digital Media Intern A professional team working in the research and consulting field in Cape Town is looking for a creative social/digital media intern. This opportunity is limited to South African citizens. KEY REQUIREMENTS: The company is looking for an intern who is highly intelligent, has a flair for all things digital, is attentive to detail/perfectionist, deadline driven, good communicator, has the ability to work independently as well as a part of a team. HOW TO APPLY: Visit: www.joblister.co.za before 15 March 2013
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Internship: Student/Junior Graphic Designer Brand Consultancy near Johannesburg is looking for a student/junior intern for an internship opportunity. HOW TO APPLY: Forward a brief C.V. and links to your portfolio/ work to strategy@blackticketco.za to apply.
Agriculture Internship WHO CAN APPLY: Urban Agricultural in Cape Town has an internship position available for school leavers or someone looking for a career in urban sustainable living and agriculture. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Applicant must have a min grade 12, driver’s license with good driving skills, good people skills, must be physically fit as well as have own transportation to and from work. HOW TO APPLY: Visit: www.greenguerrillas.co.za before10 March 2013
OPPOrTUNITIES
Jobs IT Tutors This is applicable to students and recent graduates residing in Johannesburg with a good understanding and knowledge of IT. Must be a people’s person who is able to teach with patience and communicate with clarity. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Grade 12 in Information Technology; A tertiary degree; own transport HOW TO APPLY: Apply at www.teachme2.co.za to set an appointment before 15 March 2013
General administrative duties – filing, sorting through incoming mail, scanning etc; Accurate distribution of work based on cut-off times and work types; Perform daily service request reconciliations and exception reporting and resolution; Identifying and allocation of all client instructions received to relevant Administration teams. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction.co.za
Administrator (Part time Flexi Hours)
Part-time PA A market leading Asset Manager is looking for a Work Coordination Consultant to join their Retail Unit Trust/LISP team. The ideal candidate will be a recent graduate with a relevant business/commerce degree or similar. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Relevant business/commerce degree or current related experience; Passion and Knowledge of Unit Trust/LISP industry; Intermediate Computer Literacy – Word, excel, email; Fine accuracy and attention to detail; Ability to work under pressure; Strong verbal and written communication skills . KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
A leading educational organisation in Randburg requires a savvy part time administrator to support franchises with various administrative responsibilities. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Strong financial administration experience; General office administration experience; Ability to work unsupervised (work from home option available); Confident personality to deal with clients and debt collection tactfully; Own transport and computer literate; Experience with database or accounting systems an advantage. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Basic bookkeeping (invoicing, payment reconciliations, debtors); General office administration including managing correspondence via e mail, general office administration and internal liaison. HOW TO APPLY: Apply online for this post at: http://johannesburg.gumtree.co.za/c-Jobspart-time-evening-weekend-AdministratorPart-time-Flexi-Hours-R50-per-hour-W0QQAdIdZ456039509 before 10 March 2013
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OPPOrTUNITIES
Jobs Junior Graphic Designer A wedding and special occasion stationery business in Pretoria is looking for a preferably young and dynamic female graphic designer to join their creative team! KEY REQUIREMENTS: A degree in Graphic Design; Own transport is a must; Creative and a love for design and all things beautiful; Excellent communication skills; Good administration and organisational skills HOW TO APPLY: Please email your CV; portfolio and a recent photograph of yourself to monette@ lilyyoung.co.za
Financial Manager A global logistics giant in Johannesburg is looking for a Financial Manager CA(SA) to join their financial team. This is an ideal opportunity for a young financial professional to gain exposure to the full financial function. [Ref #NFC004150RSt] KEY REQUIREMENTS: CA(SA); Newly qualified up to 2 years commercial experience; Technically strong; Academically excellent; Excellent problem solving ability; Good communications skills; Solid excell skills. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Full financial function; Budgeting and forecasting; Consolodations; Financial modeling and analysis; Treasury duties; Financial reporting function. HOW TO APPLY: Apply online at www.networkrecruitment.co.za or fax 086-776-4892 Rozaan Steenkamp at before 20/03/2013
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Marketing/ Sales Consultant Established Sales and Marketing Company in Johannesburg is currently recruiting confident and enthusiastic individuals looking to pursue a career in sales. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Matric) Qualification or equivalent; Fully Bilingual in English and Afrikaans; Excellent communication skills; Clear ITC (Credit) and Criminal Record HOW TO APPLY: E-mail a detailed copy of your CV accompanied by a recent photo of yourself to: arnob@udm. co.za
Design Assistant Permanent junior level position at Wanda Michelle Interiors is looking for a Design Assistant for their Johannesburg office. [Ref # CJ Ref# 1472936] KEY REQUIREMENTS: Degree or Diploma in Interior Design; Skills in: Autocad, Sketch-up, Revit, Coreldraw/Photoshop; 3D Renderings are a requirement; Own transport and valid driver’s licence; Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Powerpoint KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Technical drawings of layouts: furniture, lighting , electrical and ceiling layouts, and floor finishes; Sourcing fabrics and furniture within a given budget; Assist head designer with projects in general; Office Administration duties: Client and project overview, meeting minutes, priority lists and monthly reports for directors. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction. co.za
OPPOrTUNITIES
Junior Administator KEY REQUIREMENTS: Available Immediately; Matric with Accounting as one of the 6 subjects (NOT NEGOTIABLE); Efficient and mature in conduct of work; Bilingual in Afrikaans and English; Must reside in Goodwood, Edgemead, Bothasig, Milnerton or Monte Vista. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Sorting of paperwork; Filing of paperwork; Data capturing; Assisting in making phone calls, scanning, copies; Copying & pasting files from drop box; Other ad hoc admin tasks HOW TO APPLY: Please send your CV to louisejobs@wcp.co.za in Word format.
and exception reporting and resolution; Identifying and allocation of all client instructions received to relevant Administration teams. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction.co.za
Junior Mechanical/Electrical Draughtsman A well known consultancy in Cape Town is seeking a Junior Mechanical/Electrical Draughtsman. The ideal candidate should have at least 3 years consultancy experience in AutoCAD and Revit MEP. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction.co.za
Work Coordinator Consultant A market leading Asset Manager is looking for a Work Coordination Consultant to join their Retail Unit Trust/LISP team. The ideal candidate will be a recent graduate with a relevant business/commerce degree or similar. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Relevant business/commerce degree or current related experience; Passion and Knowledge of Unit Trust/LISP industry; Intermediate Computer Literacy – Word, excel, email; Fine accuracy and attention to detail; Ability to work under pressure; Strong verbal and written communication skills. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: General administrative duties – filing, sorting through incoming mail, scanning etc; Accurate distribution of work based on cut-off times and work types; Perform daily service request reconciliations
Junior Motoring Writer/Journalist The ideal candidate will join the dynamic team at Max My Ride, a Performance and Audio car magazine. He or she is an avid car enthusiast. The ideal candidate will be required to write feature articles on performance and audio enhanced cars. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Fluency in English and the ability to construct brilliant, funny and well-informed articles; Automotive performance and audio knowledge. HOW TO APPLY: Please contact Alistair Andrew from Max My Ride Magazine at mmr@maxmyride.co.za
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OPPOrTUNITIES Broadcast Journalist Expresso, South Africa’s feel-good breakfast show on SABC3, is looking for a journalist to join our rocking team. The right person for the job will have a hunger for current affairs, love TV and thrive under pressure. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Journalism Qualification; Ability to write for TV; Research abilities; Attention to detail; At least two years experience in broadcast journalism. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Sourcing and producing mainly news content; Keep up to date with big news stories that might break.
Conveyance Secretary A law firm in the Cape Town CBD is looking for a conveyance secretary. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Computer Knowledge specifically Ghost Convey; Ability to work independently; Basic accounting. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: All Conveyance related duties; Bonds, Transfers & Cancellations; From receiving of Instruction to Finalization (Register of Bond); Sheriff Transfers; Properties in Possession; Communication with Banks; Updating all documents & files on this system; Relevant accounting. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction.co.za
HOW TO APPLY: Please contact Paul from Expresso at jobs@expressoshow.com
In-House Graphic Designer Pharmacist Assistant A vacancy exists for a Pharmacist Assistant at a private hospital in Worcester, Western Cape. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Matric or equivalent qualification; Good reading, writing and communication skills in English and Afrikaans; Computer literacy; High sense of accuracy and attention to detail; Good time management skills. HOW TO APPLY: Apply via www.careerjunction.co.za
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Student Village, a youth marketing agency is looking for An in-house graphic designer for their Johannesburg office. KEY REQUIREMENTS: Apple and PC proficiency. Adobe professional creative suite. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: Conceptualisation and execution of all Student Village marketing material, both print and online; Be the brand custodian, making sure our brand is maintained; Design info-graphics for the company’s research department, mock-ups for the sales team to pitch to mayor blue chip companies as well as designing marketing campaigns for some of their clients. HOW TO APPLY: Please contact Chantelle de Lange from Student Village at 011-885-3918 or at chantelle@ studentvillage.co.za
OPPOrTUNITIES
Bursaries SA Society of Crop Production WHO CAN APPLY: Undergraduate and postgraduates wishing to study Crop Production (Agronomy / Crop Science) at any South African university at a value of R10 000. CLOSING DATE: 15 March ADDRESS: SASCP Secretary, Department Agronomy, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602
Sasol Limited (Computer Science) WHO CAN APPLY: Candidates currently in Matric who have obtained at least a C symbol in Grade 11 for both Mathematics and Science. And at least a C symbol for the rest of the subjects. They must intend to study at any South African university offering Engineering. CLOSING DATE: 3 April 2013. A complete CV with Grade 11/12 results ADDRESS: Employment Equity & Development Bursar, Recruitment CEO, Mittal Steel SA, P.O. Box 2, Vanderbijlpark, 1900 OTHER DETAILS: Fax – (016) 889 3300, Email recruitment@mittalsteel.com
SAA Pilot Cadet CA Bursary – Deloitte & Touche (for undergraduates) WHO CAN APPLY: Students with good marks who are currently studying full-time towards a Chartered Accounting qualification at a SAICA accredited universities offering an undergraduate and postgraduate Chartered Accounting qualification (See www. saica.co.za for details). SERVICE CONTRACT: Candidates will have to complete a 3-year traineeship with Deloitte. PLEASE NOTE: Only online applications can be submitted at - www.deloitte.com. You can also call (011) 806-5000 CLOSING DATE: 15 September for study in South Africa; 15 February for international study both dates for return of forms ADDRESS: National Arts Council of SA; P O Box 500; Newtown; 2113 WEBSITE: www.nac.org.za E-MAIL: info.@nac.org.za
WHO CAN APPLY: Whilst the group of cadets will be wholly representative of South Africa–s diverse population, the main focus is to open doors to a career that was historically closed to previously disadvantaged individuals. Matric Certificate or relevant qualification (SAQA ac¬credited). Compulsory Mathematics or Statistics 101 and English, coupled with one of the following: Physical Science or Computer Science (D symbol), South African citizen. Preferably up to 25 years of age. At least1,6 metres tall. Medically fit. Training programme is totally free of charge. The cadets are accommodated at appropriate venues conducive to training. All transport, meals, accommodation and study materials are provided as required. SERVICE CONTRACT: All trainees must be prepared to undergo vigorous training (free of charge) for up to two years. This includes preparation training which takes place over 4 months. CLOSING DATE: SAA places advertisements in national newspapers twice a year. However, an application form and further details can be obtained from the website. HOW TO APPLY: www.flysaa.com then go to About SAA
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OPPOrTUNITIES Mittal Steel Engineering Bursary (Matric) WHO CAN APPLY: Candidates currently in Matric who have obtained at least a C symbol in Grade 11 for both Mathematics and Science. And at least a C symbol for the rest of the subjects. They must intend to study at any South African university offering Engineering. CLOSING DATE: 3 April 2013. A complete CV with Grade 11/12 results ADDRESS: Employment Equity & Development Bursar, Recruitment CEO, Mittal Steel SA, P.O. Box 2, Vanderbijlpark, 1900 OTHER DETAILS: Fax – (016) 889 3300, Email - recruitment@ mittalsteel.com
Allan Gray Fellowship Programme (Science) WHO CAN APPLY: School leavers wishing to pursue undergraduate studies in Science at the following institutions: Wits, UJ, UCT, NMMU, Rhodes, University of Pretoria. Applicants must be citizens of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana or Swaziland. REQUIREMENTS: A minimum of C in Mathemat¬ics in Matric. CLOSING DATE: 0 June 2013 OTHER DETAILS: Tel –(021) 446 7800, Web¬site - www.brightsparkswanted.co.za
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MTN Accounting Bursary
WHO CAN APPLY: Current matriculants or university students wanting study towards a Charted Accounting qualification. Grade 12 students must have a 60 percent aggregate in both Mathematics and Sci¬ence as well as for Civil Engineering, Construc¬tion, Management, Quantity Surveying, Cost and Management Accounting, BCOM SERVICE CONTRACT: Employment contractual obligation of one year for every year of bursary funded. CLOSING DATE: 15 June 2013 ADDRESS: MTN Accounting Bursary, c/o Career Wise (Pty) Ltd, P.O. Box 30632, Braamfontein, 2017 or got to: www.careerwise.co.za
Charles Bryars Scholarship Bursary WHO CAN APPLY: Music students above practical Grade 7 audition for the bursary. CLOSING DATE: Auditions are held in April APPLY TO: NMMU School of Music TEL: (041) 504-4235
OPPOrTUNITIES SA Veterinary Foundation WHO CAN APPLY: Students wanting to study Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria CLOSING DATE: 31 March 2013 ADDRESS: South African Veterinary Foundation, P.O. Box 25033, Monumentpark, 0105
MEDICAL EDUCATION FOR SA BLACKS WHO CAN APPLY: Students who are African, Indian and Coloured studying towards a MBChB and other health related courses. The award is given to students under the age of 25 and is based on financial need. Students studying at Wits, Durban, Natal (Medical), Stellenbosch, UCT, MEDUNSA. Please note that those who apply to the University of Natal Financial Aid are automatically considered for a MESAB bursary, but must not make special application to the Registrar.
MICK LEARY EDUCATIONAL TRUST BURSARIES IN SOUTH AFRICA FIELDS AVAILABLE: All degree areas WHO CAN APPLY: Previously disadvantaged students with epilepsy REQUIREMENTS: Must be prepared to participate in epilepsy awareness programmes and act as role models. CLOSING DATE: N/A however most Mick Leary 2013 bursary applications are still open. ADDRESS: c/o Epilepsy South Africa PO Box 73
The Office of the Auditor-General WHO CAN APPLY: Scholars with a matric exemption and intend studying towards a chartered accounting qualification REQUIREMENTS: Minimum C symbol for maths and English (HG). Favourable AARP scores will be taken into consideration. SERVICE CONTRACT: Three-year training con-tract on completion of degree CLOSING DATE: Apply Bursaries for 2013 online ADDRESS: Office of the Auditor-General PO Box 446 Pretoria 0001
CLOSING DATE: Check with the university ADDRESS: Medical Education for SA Blacks (MESAB) Apply to university.
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sport
A rising Springbok, a testimony to transformation. Khanya Ndlela
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n 1995 South Africa was a fresh democracy coming off the back of the first open and fair elections. Nelson Mandela was the President and there was an excitement in the air from Clifton to Magxaki. This excitement was underwritten by nerves, scepticism and fear, and in truth people were still feeling each other out with black yet to trust white and white scared of being lashed out at. While people were familiarising themselves with equal rights and freedom, South Africa was gearing to host the IRB Rugby World Cup. Yes, only a year after giving up white domination South Africa was to play host to a festival of the sport that had long been a symbol of Afrikaner supremacy. Cue President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela!
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The man who led what is regarded as the greatest social miracle over the past two centuries. Nelson Mandela took this opportunity to bring comfort to a nation and facilitate a bridging of cultures and races by embracing the sport showpiece. The tournament gained great popularity and the Springboks made a great effort to take themselves to the masses and generate interest and support from the black population. The entire thing was an incredible success and culminated in South Africa winning the World Cup for the first time. The sport of Rugby had solidified its place in the heart of all South Africans. Fast forward nine years and a matriculat
ing Lwazi Ncedo Mvovo is representing Border at the 2004 Craven Week competition. Having grown up in the Eastern Cape and attending Maria Louw High School in Queenstown; Lwazi left the province for Kwa-Zulu Natal in 2006. The Eastern Cape is well known for producing great Rugby players but the absence of a powerful Union with financial backing and Super Rugby credentials means those players are forced to find greener grass. As a powerfully built athlete with great acceleration and fancy footwork he established himself as a Sharks player and rose through the Unions’ structures representing the Sharks U/21in the ABSA U/21 competition, the Sharks XV in the Vodacom Cup and eventually The Sharks in Super Rugby.
sport
In 2010 he made his Vodacom Super Rugby debut and really established himself as top player. Later that year he was selected to represent South Africa on the Outgoing Tours to Europe. Lwazi made his Springbok debut on 20 November against Scotland at Murrayfield and then scored his first try against England at Twickenham on 27 November. After the break-through year of 2010, Lwazi continued to deliver consistently outstanding performances and only narrowly missed out on selection for the World Cup squad of 2011, an omission that asked questions of then coach Peter De Villiers selection strategy. As the years have passed so Lwazi has gone on to grow his game and his arsenal. In 2012 he put a lot of work into his kicking and chasing and was instrumental in The Sharks’ incredible run in the second half of the Super Rugby competition. He showed his speed and world-beater credentials with some brilliant tries, strong runs, aggressive defence and superb work rate. Lwazi has gone on to establish himself as a regular in the Springbok set-up and is on his way to making himself a shoe-in starter for the national team. With a new coach and new era in Springbok Rugby, the future looks bright for Lwazi Mvovo. With transformation in mind and a general feeling that Rugby has fallen behind in transformation progress, the success of Lwazi is inspiring. He is part of a group of rugby players who were around 9 years old when Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar united South Africa through victory of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. His progress must be celebrated and used to inspire many more children to embrace and engage in this wonderful sport. South Africa is facing her most volatile social and economic period since the happiness of 1995. In times like these we need moments to cherish and celebrate and unite us around a common cause. Rugby has shown itself to have that power and can do so again.
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TRAVEL
An Alternative Itinerary In Ocho Rios Robert Nickel
According to locals, Ocho Rios gained its name from a derivation of a Spanish phrase which means ‘eight rivers’; other claim it comes from a bastardized phrase of ‘Las Chorreras’, meaning ‘waterfalls’, as waterfalls are one of the more prominent natural attributes of the surrounding area. Regardless of the source of origin of its name, Ocho Rios is indisputably a Jamaican vacation paradise.
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ear citizens of the City that seldWhile many think of the typical vacation schedule as nothing more than eat, drink, sunbathe, repeat (*and you can certainly execute this exact plan in Ocho Rios if you choose), this particular piece of Jamaican paradise also offers a much more.| Perhaps you are an appreciator and lover of art? In Ocho Rios there are two nice boutique galleries that are worth checking out. Harmony Hall resides in a beautifully restored mansion that once housed the local followers of the Methodist religion; the building has since been painstakingly restored and is home to an eclectic assortment of work from past and present local artists, with a focus on painting and sculpture. There are multiple exhibitions throughout the winter featuring jewellery and various local projects. For a different art
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TRAVEL related experience, try the Wassi Art Pottery Tour. You can watch potters at work as they create their art before your eyes and see the work of other local artisans. If local culture and history are more your speed, you’re in luck as Ocho Rios has many outlets for visitors to learn about, and to experience the local history with its various facets of local living. Take a tour of Firefly, a historic local house that was once the vacation home of lauded playwright Noel Coward. Now maintained by the Jamaican heritage Trust, Firefly has played host to many famous visitors over the years Queen Elizabeth II, Laurence Olivier, and Elizabeth Taylor to name a few. Firefly is best visited in the evening, when the insects after which it was named, emerge to create a wonderful visual display, and the site itself is a strong link to Jamaica’s past. A plantation tour should also be on your list of ‘to-dos’. The Prospect Plantation is one of the islands oldest plantations and is now a fully functioning tour site as well as a functioning and operational plantation -
Comprised of a 25 acre site, the botanical gardens are open to visitors. Move on from there and see the Cranbrook ‘Flower Forest’ next. Just off the North Coast Highway, these gardens are laid out in an easily traversable manner, and there are numerous opportunities for bird watching here too, plus pond fishing and horseback riding. One must, if one gets the chance, take in the Green Grotto Caves, and see for yourself the green algae that covers the cave walls. While many locations across the world offer cave tours, this particular location is unique in that there are two well defined levels within what is classified as a ‘flank’ or ‘margin’ cave - this means that there is a mixture of fresh water and sea water. The innermost cave houses a substantial underground lake. While much of the cave system is accessible to the public, there is also a non-visitor area that has a number of ‘wild caves’ whose ecosystems are for the most part untouched and natural. The James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die’, which you may remember, used the Green Grotto caves as the setting for the film villain’s underground secret lair. This article is only a small sampling of Ocho Rios ‘alternate’ activities; have a look at various Jamaica specific Internet pages to find more ideas and possibilities for activities. Also, visitors can always check with the
banana, avocado, and the all-important sugar cane are amongst the tropical produce you’ll find being grown here. There are a few different ways to see the plantation; you can use trail bikes or take a horseback tour. A handy convenience is the small golf course, that is part of the property. If art and history don’t hold much interest to you and you’d rather stay outdoors, there are a number of nature reserves and parks for additional relaxation, and these sites are without the crowds that usually overrun some of the more popular beaches. Overlooking Ocho Rios itself is the Shaw Park Gardens, a wonderful starting point, and one that is easily traversed by foot.
staff or concierge at their accommodations for additional ideas and information. Enjoy your holiday!
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Green Zone
The impact of insects on the ecosystem Tlholo Modiba
A wiseman once said, “If you think you’re too small to make an impact, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.” We all know how that story ends... Now lets pay respect to the influence our everyday insects have on our ecosystem.
As you present the cake on the table, a 3cm and six-legged crawling guest suddenly emerges from an edge of your dessert and makes his way across the table, in plain view of both of you. Yep, you guessed it: Dinner = Blown. While I might not be able to explain why
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your unwelcomed guest ruined your date night, or why that bee stung you at your poolside party when you were 9, I can tell you that insects are vital to life on this planet, the ecosystem and our livelihood as human beings. That bee that made you cry after it stung you when you were little? Small-winged critters like these ones pollinate about 84% of the 300 commercial crops produced worldwide. Pollination is the depositing of pollen, which allows for fertilisation of crops, and the honeybee is regarded as the most important commercial fertiliser. This means that a lot of our fruit, vegetables, oilseeds, legumes and fodder (which represents onethird of global food production), is mostly pollinated by honeybees. Without them little buggers there’s a good chance that we
would die. Some authors argue though, that global food security will not be threatened if insect pollinators decline or disappear. This does not, however, take into account the diverse diet that human beings rely on. So maybe there’s no consensus between experts over our death without the bees, but we can agree that we will be severely hit by malnutrition, among other things that could be absent from our diet.
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fter endless calls, SMSes, a first, second and third date, you finally convince her to come over for dinner. Your palms are so sweaty that you wish anti-perspirant came in some sort of cream that you could apply to your hands to stop them from releasing water signs of your nerves. Fortunately, she pitches and dinner’s going fine. Chocolate cake is for dessert to seal this night up perfectly.
“Insects are vital to life on this planet, the ecosystem and our livelihood as human beings”
green zone
Besides bees, ants have always been that sort of “clean-up crew” when we run over a frog or leave an apple core lying in the drive way, right? But these minuscule soldiers are way more potent than that, so much so that some authors have referred to them as “ecosystem engineers”. The building activity and food collection of ants affects the level of nutrients in this soil, and this can indirectly impact the local populations of numerous animal groups. They also prey on a wide range of other animals, including larger prey. As it turns out, ants are quite the predators. In fact, ants have such a huge impact that a low density of ants in an area can increase the diversity and density of other animals in the local area, particularly the density of herbivores and decomposers. A high density of ants can have the opposite effect on the ecosystem.
sake. Organisms play parts in the ecosystem that are linked to other parts which work together in sustaining healthy life on this planet, like cogs in a machine or the circle of life, as Rafiki from The Lion King would put it. Being conscious of the contribution that even the smallest organisms make to our ecosystems put us in a position where we are able to better safe guard them, not only for our sake, but for other local populations as well. It’s possible that our perfectly-designed universe had a designer, and while we may not understand each and every part of the design or approve of it, we are duly bound to recognise its importance in our world and protect it on that basis. As we remember our human rights this month, let us reflect on our responsibilities rather than our differences as humans, and the impact other organisms have on our ecosystem.
+ Ants play a key role in the local environment, having a big influence of the grassland food web. + In Alaska, mosquitos can form swarms thick enough to asphyxiate caribou. + Insects survive the colder months such as winter and autumn, mainly through hibernation, through overwintering as larvae, overwintering as nymphs, pupae or eggs. + Cockroaches, probably one of the most despise insects on the planet, contribute to our ecosystem by breaking down organic matter and releasing nutrients. + Spiders play a role in the ecosystem by being insect predators in agro-ecosystems (abandoned grassland, meadows, and cereal fields).
Our ecosystem is about balance: maintaining a balance between in and out, death and rebirth, consumption and production. Our global ecosystem is made up of balancing elements and organisms in such a way that it continues to function for a long time. There is no organic matter in our ecosystem that exists purely for existence’s
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GADGETS
Let's Change the Game Lindile Ndwayana
Once you get hold of these, you’ll know that this is the 21st century our parents have been talking about – but with no flying cars.
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oculus rift
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scape to another world in this yet to be released Virtual Reality gaming headset, all you need do is to connect them to a PC and you’ll be in awe of the full 3D environment under your feet – or so to speak. Truly an escaper’s dream come true with a 110° field of view capability, Zion will instead become a distant dream.
2 razer edge gaming tablet pC
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his is one device that is made by the gaming community for the gaming community. Dubbed the ‘world’s most powerful gaming table’ at this year’s most prestigious electronic show on the globe -The Consumer Electronics Show - the Razer Edge also features some nifty add-ons such as a game-pad dock, a keyboard dock, and support for multiple gamepad controllers.
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GADGETS
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steam box
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he Valve Steam Box is ideally meant for game play on high-definition TV monitors. It’s almost like the DSTV decoder where instead of watching VUZU, you’ll have a Steam Box subscription to play games such as Half-Life 2 or even Team Fortress 2. The future of gaming look just got an upgrade!12.8-megapixel stills cam puts most handsets to shame.
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nvidia project sHIELD
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ynamite really come in small packages! This is a portable, handheld gaming device designed for gamers who yearn to play when, where and however many times they want to. Powered by the much lauded processing power of NVIDIA® Tegra® 4, it also comes with breakthrough wifi technology and an impressive 5-inch HD screen.
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GADGETS
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lenovo ideaCentre horizon table pc
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can certainly see myself playing Monopoly or any other interesting board games in this 27-inch gadget - especially if it recognises up to 10 touches! But it’s more than just a mere gaming device as it can also function as a desktop and TV with the option to install Windows 8 operating system.
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microsoft illumiRoom for xbox 720
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ho knew you could change the ambiance of the room into an entirely new gaming experience just by changing appearance? With the Microsoft IllumiRoom you can use the smartened-up Kinect as a projector to display an extended image of the game screen onto the environment around the TV. You’ll be in the zone quicker than you can say “Game On!” to your virtual self.
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GADGETS
sony pS3 pulse wireless headset
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ver heard of earpads for your ears? These will trigger your pulses so you feel the sound. The Sony PS3’s BassImpact™ boasts of a sweet 7.1 virtual surround sound technology with an unprecedented level of immersion or sharpening. As they sit comfortably on your head, your perception on the battlefield, you’ll be sure to hear the opponent let their guard down!
8 razer blade gaming laptop
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With the tagline ‘beauty is now the beast’, you can expect some pumped performance from the Razer Blade Gaming Laptop. Onboard its ultraportable aluminium chassis, lies the fast Intel Core i7 processor and a high-performance NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor. Go on, be one with ‘the world's first true gaming laptop’.
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REVIEWS
books
tales of literary liberation Dudumalingani Mqombothi
Seventh Street Alchemy Various authors
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he Canine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the very best of original short stories. Published in English by African authors, Seventh Street Alchemy showcases some of 2004’s firstprize winners of the Canine Prize writing workshops. The majority of the stories are about freedom: freedom from an autocratic leader and, for some, freedom from oneself. While, Brian Chikwava’s Seventh Street Alchemy is a vivid evocation of life in Harare today, Strange Fruit by Monica Arac de Nyeko is a melancholy tale of a war-torn country side in Uganda. It is also a story of love, anger, hope and despair. Other notable African writers featured in this volume include Binyavanga Wainaina, Zazah Khuzwayo, Chika Unigwe, Doreen Baingana and Charles Mungoshi.
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We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families
By: Philip Gourevitch
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n April 1994, the Rwandan government called upon everyone in the Hutu majority to kill each member of the Tutsi minority, and over a gruesome three months 800,000 Tutsis perished in the most unambiguous case of genocide since Hitler’s war against the Jews. Gourevitch’s haunting work is an anatomy of the war in Rwanda, a vivid history of the tragedy’s background, and an unforgettable account of its aftermath. One of the most acclaimed books, this account will endure as a chilling document of our time. The genocide seems to have sadly and dangerously fallen into oblivion and this book is a reminder of the appalling nature of the genocide. It is a reminder that nothing like it must be allowed to ever happen again. This book is a book every African needs to read. It is a part of a history we ought to have knowledge of in order to prevent.
Never Been At Home
By: Zazah Khuzwayo
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his book abducted my attention, so much that I stopped reading whatever else I was focused on at the time. Zazah Khuzwayo writes vividly of a childhood that is reprehensible. She holds the reader with the honesty in her writing. The absence of fear in her writing will bewilder you. The descriptive retelling of horrific abuse at the hands of her father and the disappointment in her mother for allowing it to happen left me with a lump in my throat. Never been at home is a powerful, thought-provoking childhood memoir, it reads so inhumane that, I stopped reading it intermittently and wondered if Khuzwayo was putting one over me and this was in fact, all fiction.
REVIEWS
music
come backs of note Baphe Phukwana
Lloyd Cele
Mafikizolo (Uhuru) Khona
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013 sees the return and rise of Afro pop sensation Mafikizolo, after a six year break pursuing solo projects. Nhlanhla Ngciza and Theo Kgosinkwe team up with Uhuru on their latest single ‘Khona’, a combustive collaboration taking the airwaves by storm. ‘Khona’ is a mix of house and afropop, which promises to get you grooving throughout 2013. The song is available on SA iTunes and is lifted from their soon-to-be released album Reunited
Swedish House Mafia
No Limits
Until Now
dols runner up Lloyd Cele is back with his 2nd sophomore album No Limits. No Limits is a follow up to his SAMA award winning debut album One, which produced hit singles such as “Make It Easy” and “My Air”. Cele hasn’t swayed much from his original sound; instead he’s moving with the times and introducing dub step music to SA radio. Songs to look out for in his latest offering are ‘Hero’, which carries a strong message and light hearted tracks such as ‘Addictive’, ‘She’s On Fire’ and ‘Right Now’ featuring award winning rapper, AKA. The album also contains some soothing sultry sounds in isiZulu, namely, ‘Ngiyakukhumbula’, ‘Bambo Lwami’ and ‘Ngingo Wakho’. And to add the finishing touches, Cele recored No Limits with Crighton Goodwill and Jazzworx.
t’s a sad and heartfelt goodbye to Electronic dance trio Swedish house mafia. The band which consists of three house disc jockeys and producers, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso released their final album Until Now, their second compilation. The album which was released in October 2012, received mixed reviews. The talented trio are going their separate ways to work on separate projects. The super group placed at number ten on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll for 2011 have been called “the faces of mainstream progressive house music”. The group has announced via their website that their current tour will be their last together.
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REVIEWS
movies
box office boom Nastassja Dowman
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Snitch
magine your brother is wrongfully accused of selling drugs and your dad decides to go on an undercover mission into the dangerous world of drug manufacturing to prove his son’s innocence. Now imagine your dad is Dwayne Johnson. All of a sudden it doesn’t seem so idiotically bizarre after all, right? You’ve just been served the ultimate March action/thriller directed by Ric Roman and starring, The Rock. And this time he is playing the role of a relentless daddy dearest who is determined to prove his son’s innocence. The ever action-ready ex-wrestler infiltrates a drug cartel as an informant wounding up putting himself and his family at risk. Snitch is inspired by a frontline documentary that focuses on modifications made to the federal drug policy of the United States. Alterations which persuade those locked behind bars to actually snitch on their partners in crime. Only this time around the accused daddy will be doing all the snitching.
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3
360
60 is a romance drama that focuses on the intricacies of different relationships and how they interlink. It’s the inevitable crumbling of secret love affairs and the everyday business of a high profile prostitute. A suspicious woman spies on her boyfriend’s mistress as the two plan an audacious rendezvous. A perverted boss observes and secretly photographs his unknowing employee whom he frequently fantasizes about. And to put a cap onto an already twisted tale, a deep look into the dark internal conflicts of an ex sex offender who has a sexually aroused woman making moves on him. These relationships take us on a journey to some of the most captivating cities in the world. We make stops in Colorado, Berlin, London, Vienna and the charming capital of love, Paris.
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Ten Years
en Years follows a group of friends who decide to get together ten years after their high school graduation. They meet up at a friend’s place and plan, what promises to be a revelling ride to their high school reunion. One by one we are introduced to the many characters that made up this class of graduates as they each arrive- some already settled and married with kids others still single and looking for love. We found out who’s achieved a lot of wealth, who’s changed and who hasn’t changed at all. Starring Channing Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan as couple Jake and Jess as well as a mix of his real life friends: Chris Pratt, Anna Faris and Scott Porter. The film was shot with a group of actors who are friends in reality to take advantage of the natural chemistry of already established relationships. No acting can beat the in tune humour and chemistry of true friendship.
REVIEWS
festival
voices made night Baxter House
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dapted from the short stories Vozes Anoitecidas by the world-renowned Mozambican writer Mia Couto and translated by David Brookshaw into English, Voices Made at Night is directed and brought to life by Mark Fleishman through reworking Couto’s wonderfully imagistic tales. The work of Mia Couto, widely regarded as one of Mozambique’s leading literary luminaries and the most prominent writer in Portuguese-speaking Africa, has been published in more than 20 countries and in several languages. In many of his texts, he undertakes to recreate the Portuguese language by infusing it with regional vocabulary and structures from Mozambique, thus producing a new model for the African narrative. Embodying hope and creativity, the stories are told through the rich and dynamic imagination of its characters and confront head-on the difficulties facing post-colonial societies in the process of transformation. The productions offer a prying and unique insight into the psychic damage which has been the legacy of both colonial history and the wars of decolonisation. The Cape Times said, “Evocative physical theatre … the show should not be missed” while Roger Lucey from e-tv said it “combines the best of all worlds … a show that reflects the unique identity of South Afri- Jennie Reznek, with set design by Craig Leo, costumes by can theatre.” Illka Louw and lighting by Mark Fleishman and Craig Leo. Liz Mills is the voice coach The ensemble is made up of Jennie Reznek, Faniswa Yisa, Mfundo Tshazibane, Dann- Voices Made Night previews at the Baxter Flipside on 28 Jaques February, opens on 1 March and runs until 23 March Mouton,Thando Doni, Chiminae Ball and at 8.15pm nightly. Ticket prices are R90 (previews), R100 Richard September. Original music for the (Mondays to Thursdays) and R120 over weekends (Friproduction is days and Saturdays). by Neo Muyanga, movement direction by
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Miguel Live In SA Cape Town Ostrich Ranch Sun 03 March 2013 11h00 R300 – R700
PJ Powers The Story Of 3 Decades Paul Cluver Forest Amphitheatre Sat 16 March 2013 19h00 R180
Afro Kalawa Picnic Party Vergenoegd Wine Estate Sun 03 March 2013 11h00 R150 – R300
Ringo Madlingozi Kirstenbosch Fri 17 March 2013 17h30 R80 - R110
Music Comedy Lifestyle
88 IMBO/ ISSUE 14 2013
David Kau - Here To Make you Laugh Artscape Theatre Thurs 07 March 2013 20h00 R120 – R150
Platform 9
Griesselsaal Sat 30 March 2013 17h00 R80
Lag jou g+t af - Oudtshoorn Absa Burgersentrum Sun 31 March 2013 15h00 R120
Jou Ma Se Comedy Club The River Club The River Club Thursdays; 2013 20h00 R35 - R70
Design Indaba Expo 2013
CTICC, Auditorium 2 Fri 03 March – Sun 03 March 2013 10h00 R70
Ukuqhawuka Kweqhina Masambe Theatre, Baxter Mon 11 March - Thurs 14 March 2013 20h00 R25
Lambertsbaai Graca Kreeffees Lambertsbaai Karavaanpark No 2 Fri 22 March 2013 15h00 R80
FifaChamps FIFA13 Tournament Lounge Relax Play, Canal Walk Sat 09 March 2013 11h00 R15 – R50
IMBO/ ISSUE 14/ 2013 89
90 IMBO/ ISSUE 14 2013