THIRTEEN months later and with a commission of inquiry investigating circumstances surrounding the massacre still far from being concluded, a riveting book detailing events prior, during and after that fateful August 16 day has been released. A first-hand account by six award-winning journalists who covered the Lonmin mine’s unprotected strike and its aftermath, is translated in a book published by Tafelberg Publishers, released on the day of the massacre’s first anniversary last month, and titled We Are Going to Kill Each Other Today: The Marikana Story. This is a must-read piece of work which sheds light and brings insight into events that unfolded behind television cameras, days before and after that fateful massacre. Authors, former Daily Dispatch news editor Thanduxolo Jika, and journalists Lucas Ledwaba, Sebabatso Mosamo and Athandiwe Saba, produce riveting accounts, in a well edited publication which gives a human face to the Marikana story. The book takes you back to the days before the massacre when 10 people including a security guard and two policemen were killed during strike-related violence, right to the days after blood had flowed and dust settled. Award-winning photographers Felix Dlangamandla, and Leon Sadiki, showcase a stunning collection of mostly unpublished photos,...
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Gripping account of Marikana horror
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Merc count cost of BIG cash meltdown
NOT one vehicle has come out of the Mercedes-Benz plant for four weeks. One boss has called the rolling strikes that brought production to a halt in East London a “tragedy”. As one of the city’s largest employers and a fulcrum of the local economy, losses to the car giant are felt far beyond production lines. “This is a tragedy irrespective of your perspective – there are no winners,” said Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) vice-president of manufacturing Arno van der Merwe. “It is imperative that the process of strikes comes under the spotlight in weeks to come, as the country continues to count losses from this ‘strike season’.” The company declined to comment on its actual losses and financial implications. The Daily Dispatch earlier reported MBSA builds about 250 vehicles a day but a source yesterday said the number was up to about 260 units a day now. That translates to lost production of over 5700 units since August 19 – an estimated R2.3-billion in retail terms, said economist Chris Hart. The production losses began when workers at all original equipment manufacturers downed tools for three weeks, after which car parts workers embarked on mass action that has lasted a...
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Naidoo lambasts leaders
SOCIAL activist Jay Naidoo yesterday called on South Africans to confront the abuse of power by politicians who had abandoned the poor and forsaken the public system. In a hard-hitting address during the annual Neil Aggett Memorial Lecture at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, Naidoo slammed corruption in the government and civil service. In particular, he slated the theft of some R800-million from the health department during 18 months, saying the money had all gone to “feather the nests of the parasitic elite living off the [poor]”. “How many vaccines could we have given, how many X-ray machines and incubators could we have bought? How many doctors and nurses (could we have) employed?” He dismissed Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s announcement that the theft would be investigated by a special team. “We don’t need any more investigations. It’s been done. We need people [who] have stolen (the money) to be put in jail. We need people [who] are cognisant to be put in their places.” Referring to a mass march in Bhisho yesterday, he said the message was clear: “We want our political leaders to listen. We want them to stop this corrosive, systematic corruption that festers in our ship of...
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Dispatch Dialogues
Former education MEC Mkhangeli Matomela recently caused a stir when he labelled the ANC as part of the “anti-Christ” and no longer belonging to “God” or the people of South Africa, but to certain individuals infiltrated by the works of Satan. He has now launched a new political party, the Kingdom Governance Movement. He will go head to head with the ANC’s provincial chaplain, the Reverend Andile Mbete. When: 6:45pm Tuesday September 17th Where: Guild Theatre, East London
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EL’s homegrown Color Run
DESPITE missing out on the national Color Runs taking part around the country, East London will today host its own version of the popular event thanks to a local estate agency. Color Runs (spelt the American way) have been gaining in popularity around the world and several Holi festival celebrations and national Color Run festivals have taken place across South Africa recently. Cheryl Petzer, principal of Jawitz Properties in East London, said although the East London event was not part of the national Color Runs, the local version would give residents a chance to take part in the popular event. She said it was also an opportunity for Jawitz Properties East London to celebrate its second birthday. “We wanted to share in this with our community and thank them for their support,” she said. “(The local color run) does not differ in anyway (from the other Color Runs) apart from it being homegrown… We decided that because the bigger, national Color Runs would never make it to our side of the world, we would bring it home.” The run – or walk – takes place over 5km and entrants can wear anything but it should preferably be white. During...
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Many local doctors snub rural hospitals
MOST hospitals in rural Eastern Cape are staffed by foreign doctors, who have travelled continents and countries to come and serve where South Africans prefer not to venture. One such example is Manuela Veling, a 31-year-old doctor from Holland who chose to work at Canzibe Hospital in Nqeleni. The hospital was identified as one of those that young doctors who benefited from the provincial department’s bursary scheme refused to work at. Together with another doctor, Veling serves a population of about 143000 people. Even with the language barrier, through the help of the nurses she is able to consult and treat patients. “I chose to come work here because I want to work somewhere where I’m actually needed, where people need you, which is obvious in this place because nobody wants to work here. “I want to work here,” she told the Dispatch earlier this year. Veling came to Canzibe in 2011 and keeps a blog about her experiences at the hospital. “There are more people who want to come here [South Africa], especially from abroad, but it’s being made very difficult for them,” she said about Canzibe. Veling went into medicine so that she could work in countries...
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Matanzima slams ‘drunk, corrupt and lazy chiefs’
DRUNKENNESS, laziness and bribery were called “demons” destroying traditional leadership in the country. Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders (ECHTL) chairman Ngangomhlaba Matanzima said the dignity of traditional leaders was being destroyed as they worshipped the bottle and forsook their “God- given responsibilities to look after their subjects”. Matanzima was speaking at the enrobing and installation of Ntombizodwa “Zwelinzima” Msutu – the first woman to head the Msutu Traditional Council of AmaZizi. The ceremony was at her Qhetho Great Place in Peddie on Saturday. “Alcohol abuse among traditional leaders is the rot and demon that is destroying traditional leadership and makes us seem nothing but a bunch of drunkards, instead of being leaders of note and role models,” said Matanzima. “This is a sad scenario and needs to be denounced.” Matanzima said some traditional leaders were a shame to their subjects as instead of embarking on initiatives to develop their communities, they became drunkards. Other traditional leaders entered into deals unwittingly while drunk, selling their lands and compromising the entire community. He also lashed out at traditional leaders who abused their authority by soliciting bribes from subjects in exchange for certain services. “A traditional leader is supposed to be...
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101% performance – or zero bonus
BUFFALO CITY METRO municipal manager Andile Fani says his bonus, based on his new R1.6-million salary, will only kick in if his performance is rated “101%”. Fani, whose salary went up 20% this month, signed a 10-page agreement in July with mayor Zukiswa Ncitha that sets out what the city’s top-paid executive must do in the coming year. BCM spokesman Keith Ngesi explained: “If he does his job as expected, that is a 100%. “If he was assessed to have gone over and above what was expected, only then does he start earning his bonus.” Ngesi said Fani’s pay was the lowest received by any metro manager in South Africa. Fani pointed out that 27% of his salary went to his pension fund and other deductions, such as medical aid, insurances and compulsory policies. The bonus, in terms of the annual performance agreement, holds out the promise of a payout of 5% to 14% of his “inclusive annual remuneration” – R80000 to R224000 plus. Ngesi said BCM’s remuneration committee had been mandated by council look at Fani’s pay and that of his senior managers, and the human resources department had conducted a survey of packages for city manager and senior...
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Female head sparks royalty debate
Ascendancy to the throne of two princesses in the Eastern Cape is believed to be signalling the end of patriarchy in traditional leadership institutions and heralding a paradigm shift on the male primogeniture-based succession. Traditional reporter tells PRINCESS Ntombizodwa “Zwelinzima” Msutu, 50, of AmaZizi was installed and enrobed as the head of the Msutu Traditional Council of AmaZizi tribe in Qhetho Great Place near Peddie on Saturday. She is in charge of eight villages and has three headmen under her. While AmaRharhabe Kingdom welcomed Ntombizodwa as the first woman chief among its permanent traditional leaders, AbaThembu have since February also appointed 27-year-old Princess Fezeka “Ngangentaba” Siziba as head of Nqanda Traditional Council in Hlabatshane near Mqanduli. These are the first approved cases of that nature in the Eastern Cape and it is believed that more women are now going to claim their constitutional and rightful positions. In both cases, the appointments were not through court order, but amicably resolved by the royal families and those males who were in line of succession welcomed the move. Both their late fathers left an unusual wish with their respective families that their daughters succeed them. Ordinarily, the heir is the first-born son of...
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Syria – a choice of evils
SOUTH Africans need to consider four basic facts, when trying to work out what can (or can’t) be done about the slaughter in Syria. This follows on the criminal use of nerve gas against civilians in Damascus and the probable use of a military strike – in some fashion – by the US against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, as the Daily Dispatch editorial “World watches Syrians burning” (September 2) movingly brought to readers’ attention. The first fact is that governments and the electorates in mainly nonIslamic countries, including the vast majority of South Africans, generally know nothing about the religious sectarian divisions which lie at the heart of the civil war in Syria. This ignorance is no basis for an informed decision on military action in a charged and complex theatre of war. The second fact is that the religious division which lies at the heart of the civil war in Syria – just as it was in the internal divisions in Iraq before, during and after the second Iraq war of 2003-2011 – is more than 1 300 years old. This civil war derives basically from the historic division between two very large and opposing schools of Islam,...
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VAVI THROWN A LIFELINE
A DECISION on Zwelinzima Vavi’s fate at the helm of Cosatu will go to a special congress, throwing the suspended general secretary a political lifeline. Pressure from Vavi’s supporters had mounted all week on the labour federation’s central executive committee (CEC), which has been meeting for three days in Johannesburg, to convene the congress. Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said they would comment today. “We will hold a media briefing tomorrow morning, so I can’t talk more on the matter,” he said. Vavi also refused to comment. President Sdumo Dlamini, bound by Cosatu’s constitution, must now convene the congress. “Dlamini was told that a third of the federation’s unions are calling for a special congress and he must do as they say,” two union leaders told the Daily Dispatch yesterday. “He was reminded of the federation’s constitution and he should do as it says.” This latest twist could spell the end of either Dlamini or Vavi’s future within Cosatu as the congress is likely to call for an election, which could see both men’s positions being contested. But the decision for a special congress is a victory for Vavi’s supporters, who have long called for the federation to let its ordinary...
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Beloved art teacher leaves rich legacy
ACCLAIMED painter and sculptor Jack Lugg, who gave more than three decades of his life to East London art students, has died. The 89-year-old, dubbed the “grand master”, died on September 16 following a bout of pneumonia. Artists influenced by Lugg said he would be sorely missed, and lovingly remembered for his teachings and legendary artworks. Lugg, who was born in Pretoria, dedicated 72 years of his life to art, 35 of them as an influential head of the then East London Technical College Art Department, now known as Buffalo City FET College. Campus head Eva Janson said Lugg was a remarkable man who had placed the East London Technical College on the art education map. “He devoted his life to the college and its students and brought glory and fame to East London through art. “It is with great sadness that we bid him farewell,” Janson said. Lugg’s early inspiration was Walter Battiss, who was his art master at Pretoria Boys’ High School. He later furthered his studies at the art department of the then Natal Technical College in Durban, where he won the Emma Smith Scholarship. The scholarship enabled him to further his studies in London and...
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New-look Equity Bill ruffles some feathers
PARLIAMENT has disregarded objections from business and adopted in principle several key labour law amendments. The in-principle approval of the Employment Equity Amendment Bill‚ with only a few changes by the committee on Tuesday‚ follows in the wake of the passage of the controversial Labour Relations Amendment Bill. Both bills reflect the views of Cosatu‚ which believes tougher enforcement of the employment equity law is necessary because of what it views as the corporate sector’s failure to transform the economy in the past 15 years. In terms of the Employment Equity Act‚ employers are required to prepare‚ implement and report on their employment equity plans‚ which aim at ensuring that the workforce is representative. Business Unity South Africa (Busa) executive director for social and transformation policy Vanessa Phala said the trend of the labour committee passing bills without considering the views of business was “very‚ very worrying”. She said it called into question why business should make comprehensive and lengthy submissions on legislation during parliamentary hearings when its views were then ignored. Phala added that the bill would be burdensome for small business and impede job creation. Labour expert Andrew Levy said he was left with a “deep sense of...
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Young initiate ‘dying at home’
THE mother of a 16-year-old initiate who was rushed to hospital after a botched circumcision earlier this year claims her son is now dying at home. The teenager’s mother, Nophakamile Mdleleni, from Tsolo’s Goqwana village, says her son was discharged from hospital last month despite being in pain and unable to walk. Mdleleni said her son, Elvis, has been begging her to return him to hospital, but claims she has been told there is nothing more that can be done for him at this stage. “It’s agony to hear him crying at night. He begs me to ask the nurses to take him back. He is now waiting to be given a date for his penis to be cut off, it’s sad. I need help,” she said. Mdleleni, a mother of six, is the breadwinner at home as her husband is not working. When the Daily Dispatch visited her last week she said her life had taken a terrible turn. “We are an impoverished family, as I am the only one working. When this [botched circumcision] happened to my son I was scared,” she said, adding that when she heard his friend had died as a result of his...
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Fierce debate over claim that ANC has ‘lost God’
TO SAY the ANC was part of a global anti-Christ movement and had “lost God” was like saying the 11 million who voted the party into power had lost their minds. This is according to Eastern Cape ANC chaplain Bishop Andile Mbethe, who was defending the party against claims by former member Mkhangeli Matomela that the ANC has eroded morally and lost its Christian values. Mbethe, the province’s SA Council of Churches (SACC) president, was speaking at the Dispatch Dialogues, hosted in conjunction with the University of Fort Hare on Tuesday. Mbethe said so-called revelations of the emergence of dark forces or agendas of secret societies that are said to be out to take over the world was not a cause for panic in either the ANC or the SACC. “To suggest that we’ve lost God, was tantamount to saying we’ve lost our mind,” said Mbethe. “As the guardian of these forces, I am not panicking. The ANC has not survived 100 years for nothing. It is because God is with us. “There is no evidence that the ANC has lost God. If we had, we would basically be living in darkness,” said Mbethe, who also said God was...
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Marikana evidence ‘tampered with’
LAWYERS at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry yesterday accused the SA Police Service (SAPS) of lying and concocting the evidence that they presented to the commission. At the Marikana Commission yesterday‚ evidence leader Mathew Chaskalson‚ SC‚ said proof had been unearthed that police had expertly tampered with the evidence they presented‚ including deleting some video evidence from a computer hard drive. Chaskalson said this pointed to a deliberate attempt at “skewing” the version of events of what had occurred on August 16 last year‚ when 34 miners were killed at Lonmin’s Marikana mine in Rustenburg‚ in SAPS’ favour. Fellow evidence leader Geoff Budlender‚ SC‚ said the evidence leaders had found certain documents that the police had previously said did not exist. “This is a serious allegation‚” Budlender said. “We do not make this statement lightly. The SAPS’ version as described in their initial evidence to the commission is seemingly not the truth. “But we realise we must give the SAPS the opportunity to explain what we see for there might be a reasonable explanation.” He then asked for a postponement to allow the SAPS to consult with their legal teams and for evidence leaders to have time to gather...
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Storm leaves trail of havoc – Share your experience with us
STRONG gales and heavy rain left at least one person dead, others seriously injured and many homeless, as it cut a trail of destruction from Queenstown to Mthatha yesterday. If you have any pictures of the storm damage please email them to: gugup@dispatch.co.za Dale Brudvig’s Experience Here are some pictures while travelling in the storm between Queenstown and Cathcart on the N6 and some in Cathcart how the municipality store/garage building collapse onto a car the man just got out of the car just in time as he just walled into the shop the wall collapsed onto the car Damage at the Plaza Mall at Mthatha
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BLOWN AWAY
IT was the storm that no one saw coming and which caused massive human suffering. Thousands of Eastern Cape residents were left devastated this week as an unpredicted storm wreaked havoc through the province. With winds gusting up to 76km/h, the storm left three people dead and 15 reported as seriously injured. Many victims were taken by surprise as there had been no warning from the SA Weather Services. Damage is estimated to be in the region of millions of rands. Towns were left without power and roofs blown off. This type of storm is known as a dry microburst, and was caused by dry air after the province and Free State experienced very hot weather on Thursday. Weather Services senior forecaster Quinton Jacobs told the Saturday Dispatch yesterday the stormy weather was a bolt out the blue. “There were no warnings since certain weather criteria need to be reached before a warning can be issued. A dry microburst due to very hot conditions generated the thunderstorm,” said Jacobs. Jacobs said the windy weather had started in Bloemfontein and blown to the Eastern Cape through areas such as Queenstown, Cathcart, Cofimvaba, Ngcobo and Mthatha. “We do not know yet if...
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Tug-of-war over house ends
A TUG-of-war between the Jesus Christ Family (JCF) Church and a Cambridge couple over the ownership of a property is finally over, with the court ruling in the couple’s favour. Enoch and Kholiswa Qutywa told the Saturday Dispatch they were relieved with the outcome of the court case, which has been dragging on for almost three years. In 2010, it was reported the dispute was over an agreement of sale Enoch entered into with the church regarding the Cambridge West house in 2008. The relationship between Enoch and the church soured when some members of the congregation took occupancy of the Qutywa home. Enoch agreed in writing to sell the property to the church on condition it assumed responsibility for the bond repayment of R6193 a month. Upon settlement of the bond, the property would be transferred into the church’s name. However, Qutywa claimed the church owed him more than R200000 – R20151 for damages incurred to the property, R149500 for unpaid rent over the 23-month period and R30455 in unpaid wages and missing items. The church disputes this, saying they kept up to date with all bond payments and paid R42000 in municipal rates. This week the Qutywas said...
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Everyone sees double at Dordrecht high school
16 sets of twins enrolled this academic year THERE must be something in the water in Dordrecht. Masikhanyise High School has enrolled a whopping 16 sets of twins this academic year. But according to principal Peter Tose, who has headed the school since 1996, this was not a rare occurrence. Tose said at one point the school reached a record high of 20 sets of twins. “This is not a first for this school at all. Twins are common in the area. We once had a father with three sets of twins and all six came to the school,” Tose said. Tose said siblings were not necessarily placed in the same class and in some cases were not even in the same grade. “We have a situation right now where one twin is in Grade 8 and the other is already in Grade 12; so they are not always necessarily in the same class or at the same level,” he said. Teacher Thozama Maseti said although she had been teaching at the school for years, she was still amazed by the phenomenon. “We have had many twins at the school but never so many at the same time,” Maseti...
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