Darlington Majonga
Bloemfontein
SERAME Molefi is 56 but he looks much older than his age.
To keep himself warm on this wintry Sunday afternoon, he is clad in soil-stained khakhi trousers, a worn-out military-green polo neck, weather-beaten waterproof jacket and a floppy black woollen hat.
“Look at me . . . this is the only decent – if I can call it that – pair of shoes that I have,” he says, pointing with a trembling finger to his battered brown leather shoes.
Molefi, condemned to penury in a poor suburb in Bloemfontein, is one of the thousands of South Africans who were jailed for political crimes during the apartheid era.
In 1979, Molefi was slapped with a 10-year jail sentence for participating in what the apartheid regime termed “terrorist acts”.
After dropping out of a Bloemfontein school in 1975, he did not want to go back to the “farms” in Petrusburg where his father was struggling to fend for the family.
“I left my books and my future was bleak,” recalls the father of one, speaking in fluent English which he says he perfected while in prison.
“At 18, I was liable to pay tax and I just told myself I was not going to do that,” he says, choking up with anger.
“I was not going back to the farms and my only option was to fight.
“I was inspired by the Mozambique revolution, the 1976 uprisings and in 1977 Steve Biko died.
“The struggle was my home, I was convinced . . . and in 1978 I left for Swaziland to join a training camp so that I could play my part in forcibly removing the evil regime.”
The following year he was arrested and sentenced to 10 years for his political activities.
On appeal, Molefi’s sentence was halved to five years.
He served part of his sentence at Robben Island, the infamous prison where South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, spent 27 years.
Life only got tougher for Molefi when he was released from prison in 1984.
Every time he got a job, his employers would be “pressured” to ditch him because he was seen as a troublemaker.
“I briefly worked at Metro through the influence of my uncle where I was introduced to merchandising, stock counting and stock control,” he says.
“The police special branch then visited and asked the management why I was employed there.
“I was expelled, after working for only six months, because I was a political activist . . .
“This was also the time trade unions were mushrooming.”
A stint at Coca-Cola suffered a similar fate, Molefi says.
For the next 20 years, he was either unemployable or simply could not find a job.
His only relief came in 2004 when the EPPC Free State leadership pleaded with the provincial government to give him a security job within the then public works, roads and transport department.
But for the past four years he has had to scrounge for food and money to foot his medical bills – he suffers from the skin disease eczema which he says he contracted at Robben Island.
“Having suffered so much makes me bitter,” Molefi says.
His is not the lifestyle befitting a man who sacrificed his future for a free South Africa, he reckons.
After surviving torturous years behind bars, dozens of former political prisoners are fast losing hope they can conquer their latest battle – poverty and disease.
More than half of the 60-plus members of the Ex-Political Prisoners Committee (EPPC)’s Free State wing are jobless and struggling to put food on the table.
The organisation estimates the total number of South Africa’s ex-political prisoners is up to 5 000.
HIV and other chronic illnesses are wreaking havoc among the anti-apartheid heroes.
The EPPC, formed after Mandela led a reunion of ex-political prisoners at Robben Island in 1995, says approximately 40 percent of its members are disabled or chronically ill.
Only a few of the ex-political prisoners in the Free State, among them former Mangaung mayor Playfair Morule and education MEC Tate Makgoe, can be said to be probably enjoying comfortable lives.
The majority of them are languishing in abject poverty, according to EPPC Free State secretary Mpho Ramakatsa.
A handful of them receive an average of R600 a month – enough to buy 10kgs of beef – from the special government pension fund for struggle veterans who were at least aged 35 in 1994.
Yet they, including many other ex-political prisoners who cannot qualify for the pension, have to foot electricity and water bills as well as medical and school fees.
What makes the “forsaken comrades” bitter is that the Makana Trust – set up in 1996 to help thousands of South Africa’s ex-political prisoners and their dependants – has allegedly forsaken them.
The trust has a business arm, Makana Investments Corporation (MIC), which was established to make money for the education, healthcare and general welfare of former prisoners and their dependants.
EPPC national deputy secretary Mpho Masemola this week admitted the organisation had let down its members.
He says “comrades keep on dying because they can’t get help from their organisation”.
“I’ve been betrayed! Why can’t they live up to their promises?” says Molefi.
Before he even finishes saying this, tears are already welling up in his bloodshot eyes.
For Sechaba Moahloli, 54, his destitution has come at a huge cost: separation from the mother of his two young children who is working as a nurse in Cape Town, 1 200km from Bloemfontein.
He is a former commander of one of the uMkonto weSizwe camps set up by the ANC’s military wing in Angola during the apartheid era.
Moahloli was arrested in 1987 for trying to launch attacks against South Africa’s then racist government and incarcerated at Robben Island until his release on April 6 1991.
That was a year after Mandela, who was jailed for 27 years, was released from the notorious prison.
Moahloli was hoping their years of sacrifice would be rewarded with a better life under a democratically elected government.
He says he has been tempted many times to engage in criminal activities to fend for himself.
Moahloli was last employed in 2007 as office manager at the Free State’s then public safety and security department.
Gilbert Moshou, 47, who spent four years at Grotvlei Maximum Prison for politically motivated crimes, believes their plight would have been alleviated if the Makana Trust was serving the purposes it was formed for.
What worries him now is that the companies formed by the EPPA Free State are struggling for survival, especially with MIC engaged in a legal fight with the provincial business entities.
Moshou, a father of one whose wife suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, has never had a permanent job since he was released from prison in 1989.
He has relied on piece jobs with the ex-political prisoners’ projects in the Free State to eke out a living.
“There are many days when I go to bed without eating anything,” says Moshou, showing an old water tap he intends to sell to scrap-metal collectors.
“This is copper so if I sell it I will have some money for food.
“At least today I have five potatoes for my sechabo (normally a meat or vegetable dish eaten with pap, a stiff maize-meal mix which is South Africa’s major staple food).”
MIC has filed an application at the Bloemfontein High Court to stop the EPPC Free State from using the name Makana for any f its companies.
This comes after the Free State structure said MIC had forfeited its interests in the provincial projects because it had allegedly failed to honour its obligations.
According to Ramakatsa, who leads Makana projects in the province, MIC was supposed to provide financial assistance and mentoring to the Free State companies.
People like Molefi now allege only a few, mostly MIC executives, are enjoying lavish lifestyles thanks to the ex-political prisoners’ business wing’s ventures.
What aggravates his ire is that he has also allegedly not received what he was promised after appearing before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The TRC was a court-like restorative justice body set up by Mandela after the end of South Africa’s 300 years of supremacist white-minority rule.
It recommended education, housing, healthcare and welfare support for all apartheid victims who testified.
“Where is the TRC? Why are they not living up to the promises?” Molefi says, trembling with anger.
“Now also the (Makana Trust) office run by revolutionaries of the past does not care.
“Why are the national leaders not calling them to account?”
For now, he says, he is grateful Ramakatsa and the EPPC businesses in the Free State have been able to assist them in some instances.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The leaders we deserve
IN a democracy the people get the government they deserve, so goes the cliché credited to the philosopher Joseph de Maistre.
But does this mean the people of the Free State have wrought upon themselves the tribulations that embody their existence under the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party?
Talk about sewage flowing in the streets of Clocolan and Hobhouse.
Talk about the potholes on the Senekal-Marquard road.
Talk about the people of Ladybrand going for weeks without water supplies.
Talk about Eskom threatening to cut off power supplies to Parys, Vredefort, Heilbron, Koppies and Edenville.
How about the people of Viljoenskroon, in this century, squatting on open toilets when nature calls?
And the residents of Leratswana having to live in darkness because they have no electricity supplies?
These are critical issues as South Africa braces for its third municipal elections since local governments were re-organised on a non-racial basis in the wake of the collapse of apartheid rule.
The first municipal polls after the re-organisation were held in 2000.
The ANC has since then won almost all the municipalities in the country.
Little suggests the trend is likely to change come May 18 – never mind the squabbles over candidate selection processes that have rocked the ANC in the Free State.
In Botshabelo this week intra-party skirmishes saw protestors barricading roads with burning tyres and heaps of garbage.
The party’s supporters accuse senior ANC officials in the province of imposing candidates on them.
The ANC’s secretary in the Free State, Sibongile Besani, has put down the intra-party fighting to “misunderstandings” over how the party’s electoral processes worked.
We are a democratic party, he insisted.
Yet ANC candidates, whether popularly elected or imposed, have largely prevailed in local government elections.
The appeal of the ANC as a liberation movement cannot be over-emphasised.
So too can we not belabour the point that the Democratic Alliance remains in the peripheries of power because it is perceived as a white party.
Needless to say, these perceptions will still be crucial when people vote.
This paper is not so much worried about which party will win the forthcoming municipal polls.
It’s about the quality of the candidates, stupid!
Some of the ANC-led municipalities in the Free State, by the party’s own admission, are at the mercy of incompetent councilors and managers.
Greedy officials are lining their pockets through corrupt tender deals.
This is not the leadership that the people of this province deserve.
That’s why we found it critical to remind incumbent councillors and interested candidates of what the citizenry expects from them.
Generally, councils are required to make decisions and set directions for promoting the social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being of their communities.
This, in short, should translate into properly planned residential areas, the building of roads, the provision of water and electricity as well as sanitation facilities.
The challenge is quite enormous but not insurmountable.
We hope the next time our politicians open their mouths they will be talking about how they intend to influence positive change and to, ultimately, make life better and enjoyable for Free Staters.
Evidence on the ground clearly indicates that the current crop of councillors has either failed in this regard or that they had no idea what they were doing for the past five years they have been in office.
It is important that those who seek to be elected as councillors this year understand that they are seeking a very crucial responsibility in our society.
We the people who are led have a big responsibility too.
We have a duty to elect people who understand our problems.
We have a duty to demand proper and timely service delivery.
People need clean water, proper roads, refuse collection, hospitals and schools.
If your councillor has no clue about these basic needs, your choice come May 18 should not be hard.
But does this mean the people of the Free State have wrought upon themselves the tribulations that embody their existence under the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party?
Talk about sewage flowing in the streets of Clocolan and Hobhouse.
Talk about the potholes on the Senekal-Marquard road.
Talk about the people of Ladybrand going for weeks without water supplies.
Talk about Eskom threatening to cut off power supplies to Parys, Vredefort, Heilbron, Koppies and Edenville.
How about the people of Viljoenskroon, in this century, squatting on open toilets when nature calls?
And the residents of Leratswana having to live in darkness because they have no electricity supplies?
These are critical issues as South Africa braces for its third municipal elections since local governments were re-organised on a non-racial basis in the wake of the collapse of apartheid rule.
The first municipal polls after the re-organisation were held in 2000.
The ANC has since then won almost all the municipalities in the country.
Little suggests the trend is likely to change come May 18 – never mind the squabbles over candidate selection processes that have rocked the ANC in the Free State.
In Botshabelo this week intra-party skirmishes saw protestors barricading roads with burning tyres and heaps of garbage.
The party’s supporters accuse senior ANC officials in the province of imposing candidates on them.
The ANC’s secretary in the Free State, Sibongile Besani, has put down the intra-party fighting to “misunderstandings” over how the party’s electoral processes worked.
We are a democratic party, he insisted.
Yet ANC candidates, whether popularly elected or imposed, have largely prevailed in local government elections.
The appeal of the ANC as a liberation movement cannot be over-emphasised.
So too can we not belabour the point that the Democratic Alliance remains in the peripheries of power because it is perceived as a white party.
Needless to say, these perceptions will still be crucial when people vote.
This paper is not so much worried about which party will win the forthcoming municipal polls.
It’s about the quality of the candidates, stupid!
Some of the ANC-led municipalities in the Free State, by the party’s own admission, are at the mercy of incompetent councilors and managers.
Greedy officials are lining their pockets through corrupt tender deals.
This is not the leadership that the people of this province deserve.
That’s why we found it critical to remind incumbent councillors and interested candidates of what the citizenry expects from them.
Generally, councils are required to make decisions and set directions for promoting the social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being of their communities.
This, in short, should translate into properly planned residential areas, the building of roads, the provision of water and electricity as well as sanitation facilities.
The challenge is quite enormous but not insurmountable.
We hope the next time our politicians open their mouths they will be talking about how they intend to influence positive change and to, ultimately, make life better and enjoyable for Free Staters.
Evidence on the ground clearly indicates that the current crop of councillors has either failed in this regard or that they had no idea what they were doing for the past five years they have been in office.
It is important that those who seek to be elected as councillors this year understand that they are seeking a very crucial responsibility in our society.
We the people who are led have a big responsibility too.
We have a duty to elect people who understand our problems.
We have a duty to demand proper and timely service delivery.
People need clean water, proper roads, refuse collection, hospitals and schools.
If your councillor has no clue about these basic needs, your choice come May 18 should not be hard.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Free State gets English language newspaper
CHANTELLE BENJAMIN
Published: 2011/03/14 06:39:02 AM
AN ENGLISH language newspaper was launched in the Free State on March 11 2011, and editor Darlington Majonga believes it will go some way to filling the void left by poor coverage of the province in established papers.
Lack of regional coverage by national publications has been one of the criticisms raised by the African National Congress when calling for reform of the media sector. Cost-cutting measures have seen the closure of many provincial offices linked to national newspapers, but Mr Majonga said national newspapers also tended to focus on broader issues and dedicated little space to stories "they deem not to be of national importance".
"This is one of the few provinces that has for a long time been largely uncovered by the media. The publisher, Africa Media Holdings (AMH), felt it was imperative that the province had its own paper.
According to census data, Sotho and Afrikaans predominate as the home languages of 76,3% of the province’s population (Sotho at 64,4% and Afrikaans at 11,9%). SA’s last census took place in 2001. It is generally accepted that many African language speakers choose English over Afrikaans.
Mr Majonga, commenting on the website set up to accompany the newspaper, fstimes.co.za, said: "Everyone in this province is entitled to learn and know what is happening in their villages, communities, towns and districts, as well as beyond its borders."
The broadsheet, the Free State Times, is at present a weekly selling for R5, but Mr Majonga said once the paper was established it would become a daily.
In the meantime, the website will be updated daily . There are also plans to expand the various sections in the paper with the intention of their eventually becoming separate sections.
"It is serious and fun, with analysis, politics, sport and entertainment — everything relevant to our readers," Mr Majonga said.
AMH launched Lesotho newspapers the Lesotho Times and Sunday Express, both of which Mr Majonga edited.
In Lesotho AMH started with a weekly. -- Business Day.
Published: 2011/03/14 06:39:02 AM
AN ENGLISH language newspaper was launched in the Free State on March 11 2011, and editor Darlington Majonga believes it will go some way to filling the void left by poor coverage of the province in established papers.
Lack of regional coverage by national publications has been one of the criticisms raised by the African National Congress when calling for reform of the media sector. Cost-cutting measures have seen the closure of many provincial offices linked to national newspapers, but Mr Majonga said national newspapers also tended to focus on broader issues and dedicated little space to stories "they deem not to be of national importance".
"This is one of the few provinces that has for a long time been largely uncovered by the media. The publisher, Africa Media Holdings (AMH), felt it was imperative that the province had its own paper.
According to census data, Sotho and Afrikaans predominate as the home languages of 76,3% of the province’s population (Sotho at 64,4% and Afrikaans at 11,9%). SA’s last census took place in 2001. It is generally accepted that many African language speakers choose English over Afrikaans.
Mr Majonga, commenting on the website set up to accompany the newspaper, fstimes.co.za, said: "Everyone in this province is entitled to learn and know what is happening in their villages, communities, towns and districts, as well as beyond its borders."
The broadsheet, the Free State Times, is at present a weekly selling for R5, but Mr Majonga said once the paper was established it would become a daily.
In the meantime, the website will be updated daily . There are also plans to expand the various sections in the paper with the intention of their eventually becoming separate sections.
"It is serious and fun, with analysis, politics, sport and entertainment — everything relevant to our readers," Mr Majonga said.
AMH launched Lesotho newspapers the Lesotho Times and Sunday Express, both of which Mr Majonga edited.
In Lesotho AMH started with a weekly. -- Business Day.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Chigumbura named Zimbabwe's new cricket captain
By Darlington Majonga
HARARE – Big-hitting all-rounder Elton Chigumbura is Zimbabwe’s new cricket captain after Prosper Utseya was apparently asked to step down.
Utseya had been skipper since 2006.
The 25-year-old off-spinner was handed the captaincy after stand-out performances with the ball at a time Zimbabwe’s national team had been deserted by experienced players over off-field problems.
Chigumbura, 24, Zimbabwe’s brightest prospect with bat and ball, said he felt “humbled” to be named the new captain.
A statement from Zimbabwe Cricket said Utseya – who made his ODI debut at 19 against Sri Lanka – had resigned with effect from May 11.
The board did not give reasons why he had quit but insiders said stakeholders had lost confidence in the soft-spoken bowler.
"It has been a privilege for me to captain Zimbabwe for the past four years,” Utseya was quoted as saying in the statement.
“It has been an experience that has been fraught with many emotions.
“I am glad to say though that, overall, I have enjoyed the experience immensely and would not have wished for it to be otherwise.”
Utseya’s resignation came after Zimbabwe were bundled out of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament currently taking place in the West Indies without winning any of their two group matches.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Ozias Bvute said the union regretted Utseya’s decision to quit.
"I had a long and honest discussion with Prosper and although it is clear that he is honoured to have served the team, he feels strongly that the time has come to resign," Bvute said.
Chigumbura has immediately taken over, with his first assignment being the home triangular series against India and Sri Lanka starting on May 28.
"I am humbled by the confidence that the cricket committee and the ZC board has shown in me to select me for this role,” the new skipper said.
“It is a privilege to lead a team that I have been growing and playing with all these years and I look forward to the challenge.
“I am grateful to Pro for the support he has given me as an individual and as captain and I look forward to his continued guidance and support."
Utseya had played only one Test match when he began his reign and he leaves the captaincy without adding another cap because Zimbabwe voluntarily stepped out of Test cricket in 2005.
He has however amassed 106 ODI caps and 35 Twenty20 matches.
Chigumbura, on the other hand, has played six Tests and 106 ODIs as well as 31 Twenty20 matches.
HARARE – Big-hitting all-rounder Elton Chigumbura is Zimbabwe’s new cricket captain after Prosper Utseya was apparently asked to step down.
Utseya had been skipper since 2006.
The 25-year-old off-spinner was handed the captaincy after stand-out performances with the ball at a time Zimbabwe’s national team had been deserted by experienced players over off-field problems.
Chigumbura, 24, Zimbabwe’s brightest prospect with bat and ball, said he felt “humbled” to be named the new captain.
A statement from Zimbabwe Cricket said Utseya – who made his ODI debut at 19 against Sri Lanka – had resigned with effect from May 11.
The board did not give reasons why he had quit but insiders said stakeholders had lost confidence in the soft-spoken bowler.
"It has been a privilege for me to captain Zimbabwe for the past four years,” Utseya was quoted as saying in the statement.
“It has been an experience that has been fraught with many emotions.
“I am glad to say though that, overall, I have enjoyed the experience immensely and would not have wished for it to be otherwise.”
Utseya’s resignation came after Zimbabwe were bundled out of the ICC World Twenty20 tournament currently taking place in the West Indies without winning any of their two group matches.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Ozias Bvute said the union regretted Utseya’s decision to quit.
"I had a long and honest discussion with Prosper and although it is clear that he is honoured to have served the team, he feels strongly that the time has come to resign," Bvute said.
Chigumbura has immediately taken over, with his first assignment being the home triangular series against India and Sri Lanka starting on May 28.
"I am humbled by the confidence that the cricket committee and the ZC board has shown in me to select me for this role,” the new skipper said.
“It is a privilege to lead a team that I have been growing and playing with all these years and I look forward to the challenge.
“I am grateful to Pro for the support he has given me as an individual and as captain and I look forward to his continued guidance and support."
Utseya had played only one Test match when he began his reign and he leaves the captaincy without adding another cap because Zimbabwe voluntarily stepped out of Test cricket in 2005.
He has however amassed 106 ODI caps and 35 Twenty20 matches.
Chigumbura, on the other hand, has played six Tests and 106 ODIs as well as 31 Twenty20 matches.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Beast tames British and Irish Lions
DURBAN - South Africa won the first Test against the British and Irish Lions thanks in large part to a stunning display of scrummaging by loosehead prop Tendai Mtawarira.
Nicknamed the "Beast", the Zimbabwe-born forward stands 1.88m tall and weighs in at a hefty 118kg and whenever he features on the pitch, the faithful Bok supporters roar out his moniker.
Mtawarira let opposite number Phil Vickery feel the full force of his imposing frame from the first scrum in the Springboks' 26-21 win over the Lions.
Vickery was immediately penalised for popping up under the pressure of the Bok prop.
The England World Cup-winning prop then seemed to start boring in under his weight, conceding a hatful of penalties, three of which were successfully kicked for valuable points in an encounter made all the more tense by two late converted tries by the Lions.
Capped 10 times by South Africa, 23-year-old Mtawarira was hailed by captain John Smit, who had been moved from his customary hooking role to tighthead.
"He played a really big role today. He flew in his fiancée for the week so we'll have to keep her around a bit," he joked of his front-row teammate.
"He was up against a hardened tighthead in Phil Vickery, who's a seasoned campaigner. In the opening period, the accuracy he showed at scrum time helped us build pressure on the Lions."
Mtawarira, who had the pleasure of seeing Vickery replaced after a torrid 45 minutes, admitted: "Phil Vickery is a great scrummager but I worked hard on certain things and got it right today.
"There's a lot of work to do," he continued. "We've got a platform but next week will be much harder."
Smit agreed, saying: "All the talk was about the scrummage. We've had a lot of sessions against the Emerging Boks which was pretty tough.
"All the build-up made sure we did our homework.
"We'll have to keep on working because the Lions will come back twice as strong after that."
Lions captain Paul O'Connell said that New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence had complained that Vickery had been "constantly going in".
"Phil's a very experienced prop. How he can be seen making that same mistake at four or five scrums is beyond me," he said.
Ian McGeechan, the Lions head coach, will be seeking some clarification on what is expected of tighthead props ahead of next week's game.
"Vickery feels a bit disappointed. He's an experienced prop who has played at the highest level. We have to be clear what's required of the tightheads," McGeechan said. -- AFP.
Nicknamed the "Beast", the Zimbabwe-born forward stands 1.88m tall and weighs in at a hefty 118kg and whenever he features on the pitch, the faithful Bok supporters roar out his moniker.
Mtawarira let opposite number Phil Vickery feel the full force of his imposing frame from the first scrum in the Springboks' 26-21 win over the Lions.
Vickery was immediately penalised for popping up under the pressure of the Bok prop.
The England World Cup-winning prop then seemed to start boring in under his weight, conceding a hatful of penalties, three of which were successfully kicked for valuable points in an encounter made all the more tense by two late converted tries by the Lions.
Capped 10 times by South Africa, 23-year-old Mtawarira was hailed by captain John Smit, who had been moved from his customary hooking role to tighthead.
"He played a really big role today. He flew in his fiancée for the week so we'll have to keep her around a bit," he joked of his front-row teammate.
"He was up against a hardened tighthead in Phil Vickery, who's a seasoned campaigner. In the opening period, the accuracy he showed at scrum time helped us build pressure on the Lions."
Mtawarira, who had the pleasure of seeing Vickery replaced after a torrid 45 minutes, admitted: "Phil Vickery is a great scrummager but I worked hard on certain things and got it right today.
"There's a lot of work to do," he continued. "We've got a platform but next week will be much harder."
Smit agreed, saying: "All the talk was about the scrummage. We've had a lot of sessions against the Emerging Boks which was pretty tough.
"All the build-up made sure we did our homework.
"We'll have to keep on working because the Lions will come back twice as strong after that."
Lions captain Paul O'Connell said that New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence had complained that Vickery had been "constantly going in".
"Phil's a very experienced prop. How he can be seen making that same mistake at four or five scrums is beyond me," he said.
Ian McGeechan, the Lions head coach, will be seeking some clarification on what is expected of tighthead props ahead of next week's game.
"Vickery feels a bit disappointed. He's an experienced prop who has played at the highest level. We have to be clear what's required of the tightheads," McGeechan said. -- AFP.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Southern Africa musicians set for big UK festival
By Darlington Majonga
SOUTHERN African artists are set for what is billed to become one of the best music and cultural festivals in the United Kingdom in years to come.
Zimbabwe’s chimurenga music legend Thomas Mapfumo and South Africa’s kwaito outfit Trompies will share the stage at the inaugural Southern Africa Music Airwaves (SAMA) Festival scheduled for August 29 in Leeds and August 30 in Luton.
There will be a special appearance at SAMA Festival 2009 by the Noisettes, one of the hottest indie rock bands in the United Kingdom led by Zimbabwean-born vocalist and bass guitarist Shingai Shoniwa.
The festival will also unleash urban grooves talent from Zimbabwe in the form of Roki and the group Mafriq as well as dancehall ragga sensation Winky Dee.
Zambian idol Danny, of the Yakumbuyo fame, will also feature at SAMA Festival 2009.
Organisers of the festival, Y2K Entertainment Promotions, have promised an unforgettable concert that they say will also be an excellent marketing opportunity for businesses with interests especially in southern Africa.
Y2K Entertainment Promotions, a United Kingdom-based entertainment company started by southern African entrepreneurs in 2000, has since its establishment held several successful shows involving high-profile performers such as Mapfumo and Nigeria’s Labagja.
“It’s going to be a memorable open-air event,” says Fredrick Matenga, one of the Y2K Entertainment Promotions directors.
“We have looked into different genres such as chimurenga, R&B, rock, reggae and kwaito and we have come up with some of the best acts from southern Africa.”
He adds: “Shingai and the Noisettes, the chart-topping and one of the hottest acts in Britain seen in a popular Mazda ad on TV, will do a guest appearance at the festival.
“She is from Zimbabwe, but very few Africans have seen this phenomenal talent in action.”
Matenga says Y2K saw it important to introduce some of Zimbabwe’s upcoming artists on the international stage.
“SAMA Festival 2009 will give a platform to exciting talent such as Roki, Mafriq and Winky Dee to show the UK and the world what they can do,” says Matenga.
“Mapfumo and the Trompies need no introduction. We are only expecting the best yet to come from these legends.
“Add the impressive Danny from Zambia and the result will be an unforgettable family show.”
Roki, of the Chidzoka fame, says he will not be overwhelmed by rubbing shoulders with some of Africa’s top entertainers.
He says he is looking forward to giving a great performance at SAMA Festival 2009.
“I’m humbled to be offered to perform at the festival with big musicians such as Mukanya, Trompies and others,” says Roki, the 24-year-old performer whose full name is Rockford Josphats.
“It’s a good thing for us as a young group but we’ll show how we have matured over the years.
“Entertaining is our job. Every day we perform we’ll be doing it with London in mind.
“I’ve been studying the map of England and, yah, all I can say is we’ll rock them.
“We’ve new things and we’ll just show how serious we are in this business.”
Pauline Gundidza, the leading vocalist of the Afro-pop group Mafriq, is also excited about the festival.
“We’re very excited about this opportunity and our band has been doing a lot of rehearsing and rebranding ahead of the festival,” says Pauline.
“We are also learning new stuff from a traditional group which we’ll incorporate into our acts.
“Our music is urban but we are trying to keep it cultural.”
Pauline hopes SAMA Festival 2009 will open up opportunities for the exciting Harare group.
“Mafriq has a 20-song album which we’ve been holding onto because we couldn’t get a good record deal as a result of the economic situation in Zimbabwe,” she says.
“But the songs have been doing well on local radio and we believe playing at the festival is a platform to showcase to the world what we can do and who knows we might get an international record deal.”
· For more information on the performers, dates, venues and tickets, visit http://www.y2kpromotions.com/ or email contact@y2kpromotions.com .
· You can get in touch with FREDRICK MATENGA at fredrickmatenga518@msn.com or phone him on +44 7877 196 217; ALEX MARAPARA at alexy2kp@aol.com or phone him on +44 7525 741 060/+44 7847 187 432.
· Released by DARLINGTON MAJONGA on behalf of Y2K Entertainment Promotions. Email him on dmajonga@yahoo.com for further details.
SOUTHERN African artists are set for what is billed to become one of the best music and cultural festivals in the United Kingdom in years to come.
Zimbabwe’s chimurenga music legend Thomas Mapfumo and South Africa’s kwaito outfit Trompies will share the stage at the inaugural Southern Africa Music Airwaves (SAMA) Festival scheduled for August 29 in Leeds and August 30 in Luton.
There will be a special appearance at SAMA Festival 2009 by the Noisettes, one of the hottest indie rock bands in the United Kingdom led by Zimbabwean-born vocalist and bass guitarist Shingai Shoniwa.
The festival will also unleash urban grooves talent from Zimbabwe in the form of Roki and the group Mafriq as well as dancehall ragga sensation Winky Dee.
Zambian idol Danny, of the Yakumbuyo fame, will also feature at SAMA Festival 2009.
Organisers of the festival, Y2K Entertainment Promotions, have promised an unforgettable concert that they say will also be an excellent marketing opportunity for businesses with interests especially in southern Africa.
Y2K Entertainment Promotions, a United Kingdom-based entertainment company started by southern African entrepreneurs in 2000, has since its establishment held several successful shows involving high-profile performers such as Mapfumo and Nigeria’s Labagja.
“It’s going to be a memorable open-air event,” says Fredrick Matenga, one of the Y2K Entertainment Promotions directors.
“We have looked into different genres such as chimurenga, R&B, rock, reggae and kwaito and we have come up with some of the best acts from southern Africa.”
He adds: “Shingai and the Noisettes, the chart-topping and one of the hottest acts in Britain seen in a popular Mazda ad on TV, will do a guest appearance at the festival.
“She is from Zimbabwe, but very few Africans have seen this phenomenal talent in action.”
Matenga says Y2K saw it important to introduce some of Zimbabwe’s upcoming artists on the international stage.
“SAMA Festival 2009 will give a platform to exciting talent such as Roki, Mafriq and Winky Dee to show the UK and the world what they can do,” says Matenga.
“Mapfumo and the Trompies need no introduction. We are only expecting the best yet to come from these legends.
“Add the impressive Danny from Zambia and the result will be an unforgettable family show.”
Roki, of the Chidzoka fame, says he will not be overwhelmed by rubbing shoulders with some of Africa’s top entertainers.
He says he is looking forward to giving a great performance at SAMA Festival 2009.
“I’m humbled to be offered to perform at the festival with big musicians such as Mukanya, Trompies and others,” says Roki, the 24-year-old performer whose full name is Rockford Josphats.
“It’s a good thing for us as a young group but we’ll show how we have matured over the years.
“Entertaining is our job. Every day we perform we’ll be doing it with London in mind.
“I’ve been studying the map of England and, yah, all I can say is we’ll rock them.
“We’ve new things and we’ll just show how serious we are in this business.”
Pauline Gundidza, the leading vocalist of the Afro-pop group Mafriq, is also excited about the festival.
“We’re very excited about this opportunity and our band has been doing a lot of rehearsing and rebranding ahead of the festival,” says Pauline.
“We are also learning new stuff from a traditional group which we’ll incorporate into our acts.
“Our music is urban but we are trying to keep it cultural.”
Pauline hopes SAMA Festival 2009 will open up opportunities for the exciting Harare group.
“Mafriq has a 20-song album which we’ve been holding onto because we couldn’t get a good record deal as a result of the economic situation in Zimbabwe,” she says.
“But the songs have been doing well on local radio and we believe playing at the festival is a platform to showcase to the world what we can do and who knows we might get an international record deal.”
· For more information on the performers, dates, venues and tickets, visit http://www.y2kpromotions.com/ or email contact@y2kpromotions.com .
· You can get in touch with FREDRICK MATENGA at fredrickmatenga518@msn.com or phone him on +44 7877 196 217; ALEX MARAPARA at alexy2kp@aol.com or phone him on +44 7525 741 060/+44 7847 187 432.
· Released by DARLINGTON MAJONGA on behalf of Y2K Entertainment Promotions. Email him on dmajonga@yahoo.com for further details.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Zimbabwe education bears brunt of crisis
By Karin Brulliard & Darlington Majonga
HARARE -On many weekdays last year, Kundai Kanyemba, 16, donned his high school uniform, sat in the library and studied textbooks titled Geography Today, Focus on English and General Mathematics, tattered volumes he hoped would prepare him for year-end exams.
There was no one to ask whether he had selected the right books -- teachers were on strike because their salaries had become pittances.
This year, Kundai has not attended school at all, like many Zimbabwean children. Half of public schools are closed, while teachers at others have returned only if parents pay fees in US dollars, which Kundai's family cannot afford.
Last year's exams remain uncorrected, preventing him from starting the next grade anyway. So Kundai spends days watching soccer matches and missing the "very, very fascinating" chemistry experiments he did when he had teachers.
"It's a basic right to go to school," the soft-spoken boy said. "Children should go to school."
As recently as the 1990s, Zimbabwe's public education system was considered the best in sub-Saharan Africa, producing a literacy rate that still hovers around 90 percent. But the system is now on the brink of collapse, and the new unity government says rescuing it is one of its most immediate challenges.
A decade of economic decline and skyrocketing inflation has gutted education coffers, leaving schools devoid of desks and chalk and driving teachers to quit for better opportunities. School attendance fell to about 20 percent last year, the United Nations says, and experts warn that a society that prizes learning is being transformed into one in which children see that street skills bring more prosperity than degrees do.
"In the long term, education is the only thing that will drive this country. . . . This is a serious threat," said Tsitsi Singizi, a UNICEF spokeswoman in Harare, the capital. "If we just have loads of children who won't be able to access education, they'll just sit at home and think it's normal."
Zimbabwe's teachers unions agreed a fortnight ago to return to work, citing the US$100 government allowances issued to civil servants for February and government pledges to address their demands. But they want salaries comparable to those in South Africa -- at least US$1 200 a month, said Oswald Madziva of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.
Their most recent pay was worth about US$2, he said.
But returning teachers to the classroom will hardly repair the system. According to the union, about half of Zimbabwe's 120 000-strong teaching force has left, most moving to other nations. So class sizes, now averaging 50 students, will remain bloated, Madziva said.
One former high school math teacher, Leonard Makhankhula, said he would not be lured back until teachers get housing benefits, not to mention classroom supplies. He quit in 2007, after the black-market trading he was doing to supplement his earnings too often prompted him to abandon lessons to go make a deal.
"It's pathetic," said Makhankhula, 39. "You look at children and they are innocent souls. Other people have made their mistakes, and they are doing it at the expense of innocent souls."
The new education minister, David Coltart of the Movement for Democratic Change, likens the situation to a post-war zone and said in an interview that more than US$400 million was needed to begin to rebuild the system.
The Finance Ministry, he said, has already set aside US$4 million to pay teachers to correct last year's exams. He said he hopes foreign donors wary of giving to a government headed by the man who plundered Zimbabwe's coffers, President Robert Mugabe, might give directly to the education department.
"If all our revenue flows have to come from our end, it's going to take years," Coltart said in his office in the dingy Education Ministry.
While costly private schools remain world-class and moderately priced religious schools are managing, the public schools that educate about 95 percent of students spent just 18 cents per pupil last year, down from about US$6 in 1991, according to a recent US Embassy report.
One high school history teacher in Harare described what she and other teachers call their "floating pool" of 20 aged textbooks, which rotates from class to class and is used by 240 students. School toilets, she said, function only because parents paid to drill a borehole; city water long ago stopped flowing.
Coltart said the "vast majority" of students have no desks.
And last year, many had no teachers -- leaving students, in some cases, to teach themselves.
Two years ago, Lovemore Kuzomunhu, 19, had teachers for just two of his four classes. So Kuzomunhu and his physics classmates gave each other lessons. He taught forces and electronics, using textbooks he bought from street dealers.
Kuzomunhu finished high school last year. But with no exam results and therefore no degree, he is now teaching an 80-student math class at his alma mater. Administrators seem to trust him, he said; none has ever stopped by to assess his skills.
"It's very difficult to start on your own," Kuzomunhu, who lives in the southern Harare suburb of Chitungwiza, said of his decision to teach this year. "You don't know if it's wrong or if it's right."
The schooling that has continued survives on donations from international charities and Zimbabwean parents' steadfast dedication to education. Many scrimp to send their children to bare-bones academies known as "private colleges" which charge about US$40 a month per subject. Last year, many paid striking teachers US$5 to give their children one private lesson.
This year, with government permission, parents associations at many public schools drew up school budgets and determined fees -- typically US$50 to US$150 per pupil for each four-month term -- sufficient to attract teachers and buy toilet paper, chalk and gas for the school bus.
But those fees are out of reach for many Zimbabweans. On a recent afternoon in a township on the western edge of Harare, a tiny and barefoot Michael Muchuchu, 14, leaned against a tree in his front yard, waving at friends passing by in khaki uniforms and striped ties on their way to school.
The US$25 term fee was too much, said his aunt, Petronella Muchuchu, 34, a security guard who said she made Z$150 trillion last month, "which doesn't even buy you a loaf of bread".
An aspiring electrician, Michael seemed beset by a sort of malaise.
"Uh, nothing?" he said, describing what he had been doing on this Thursday morning. "We don't have a TV. Books, I don't have any."
A few blocks away, about a third of the student body was present at the high school Michael should have been attending. In one classroom, 11 second-year math students worked on an exercise with no teacher in sight.
Nearly 20 teachers sat chatting in the staff room or soaking up the midmorning sun on outdoor benches.
"Coming doesn't mean we have started working in the real sense of the word 'work,'" said Preston Pundo, a geography and woodworking instructor, who said he had been paid US$50 so far, short of the US$300 monthly salary the parents association promised each teacher.
"It's only a matter of setting students on some work, and then we idle around wondering where we would get the money to survive."
In downtown Harare, Kundai also wondered about his future, which he has determined will be "bleak" if he does not get his exam results and return to school. But where would the money come from? His mother is dead, he said, and a mysterious illness caused his father's leg to swell so enormously that he stopped working as a taxi driver.
Considering the circumstances, Kundai thinks he did well on the tests, particularly on a history question about the Treaty of Versailles. He is not so sure about math -- that textbook, he discovered on test day, was too advanced.
"It was very unfortunate," he said. "You can't really do math by yourself and expect to be excellent." – Washington Post.
HARARE -On many weekdays last year, Kundai Kanyemba, 16, donned his high school uniform, sat in the library and studied textbooks titled Geography Today, Focus on English and General Mathematics, tattered volumes he hoped would prepare him for year-end exams.
There was no one to ask whether he had selected the right books -- teachers were on strike because their salaries had become pittances.
This year, Kundai has not attended school at all, like many Zimbabwean children. Half of public schools are closed, while teachers at others have returned only if parents pay fees in US dollars, which Kundai's family cannot afford.
Last year's exams remain uncorrected, preventing him from starting the next grade anyway. So Kundai spends days watching soccer matches and missing the "very, very fascinating" chemistry experiments he did when he had teachers.
"It's a basic right to go to school," the soft-spoken boy said. "Children should go to school."
As recently as the 1990s, Zimbabwe's public education system was considered the best in sub-Saharan Africa, producing a literacy rate that still hovers around 90 percent. But the system is now on the brink of collapse, and the new unity government says rescuing it is one of its most immediate challenges.
A decade of economic decline and skyrocketing inflation has gutted education coffers, leaving schools devoid of desks and chalk and driving teachers to quit for better opportunities. School attendance fell to about 20 percent last year, the United Nations says, and experts warn that a society that prizes learning is being transformed into one in which children see that street skills bring more prosperity than degrees do.
"In the long term, education is the only thing that will drive this country. . . . This is a serious threat," said Tsitsi Singizi, a UNICEF spokeswoman in Harare, the capital. "If we just have loads of children who won't be able to access education, they'll just sit at home and think it's normal."
Zimbabwe's teachers unions agreed a fortnight ago to return to work, citing the US$100 government allowances issued to civil servants for February and government pledges to address their demands. But they want salaries comparable to those in South Africa -- at least US$1 200 a month, said Oswald Madziva of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.
Their most recent pay was worth about US$2, he said.
But returning teachers to the classroom will hardly repair the system. According to the union, about half of Zimbabwe's 120 000-strong teaching force has left, most moving to other nations. So class sizes, now averaging 50 students, will remain bloated, Madziva said.
One former high school math teacher, Leonard Makhankhula, said he would not be lured back until teachers get housing benefits, not to mention classroom supplies. He quit in 2007, after the black-market trading he was doing to supplement his earnings too often prompted him to abandon lessons to go make a deal.
"It's pathetic," said Makhankhula, 39. "You look at children and they are innocent souls. Other people have made their mistakes, and they are doing it at the expense of innocent souls."
The new education minister, David Coltart of the Movement for Democratic Change, likens the situation to a post-war zone and said in an interview that more than US$400 million was needed to begin to rebuild the system.
The Finance Ministry, he said, has already set aside US$4 million to pay teachers to correct last year's exams. He said he hopes foreign donors wary of giving to a government headed by the man who plundered Zimbabwe's coffers, President Robert Mugabe, might give directly to the education department.
"If all our revenue flows have to come from our end, it's going to take years," Coltart said in his office in the dingy Education Ministry.
While costly private schools remain world-class and moderately priced religious schools are managing, the public schools that educate about 95 percent of students spent just 18 cents per pupil last year, down from about US$6 in 1991, according to a recent US Embassy report.
One high school history teacher in Harare described what she and other teachers call their "floating pool" of 20 aged textbooks, which rotates from class to class and is used by 240 students. School toilets, she said, function only because parents paid to drill a borehole; city water long ago stopped flowing.
Coltart said the "vast majority" of students have no desks.
And last year, many had no teachers -- leaving students, in some cases, to teach themselves.
Two years ago, Lovemore Kuzomunhu, 19, had teachers for just two of his four classes. So Kuzomunhu and his physics classmates gave each other lessons. He taught forces and electronics, using textbooks he bought from street dealers.
Kuzomunhu finished high school last year. But with no exam results and therefore no degree, he is now teaching an 80-student math class at his alma mater. Administrators seem to trust him, he said; none has ever stopped by to assess his skills.
"It's very difficult to start on your own," Kuzomunhu, who lives in the southern Harare suburb of Chitungwiza, said of his decision to teach this year. "You don't know if it's wrong or if it's right."
The schooling that has continued survives on donations from international charities and Zimbabwean parents' steadfast dedication to education. Many scrimp to send their children to bare-bones academies known as "private colleges" which charge about US$40 a month per subject. Last year, many paid striking teachers US$5 to give their children one private lesson.
This year, with government permission, parents associations at many public schools drew up school budgets and determined fees -- typically US$50 to US$150 per pupil for each four-month term -- sufficient to attract teachers and buy toilet paper, chalk and gas for the school bus.
But those fees are out of reach for many Zimbabweans. On a recent afternoon in a township on the western edge of Harare, a tiny and barefoot Michael Muchuchu, 14, leaned against a tree in his front yard, waving at friends passing by in khaki uniforms and striped ties on their way to school.
The US$25 term fee was too much, said his aunt, Petronella Muchuchu, 34, a security guard who said she made Z$150 trillion last month, "which doesn't even buy you a loaf of bread".
An aspiring electrician, Michael seemed beset by a sort of malaise.
"Uh, nothing?" he said, describing what he had been doing on this Thursday morning. "We don't have a TV. Books, I don't have any."
A few blocks away, about a third of the student body was present at the high school Michael should have been attending. In one classroom, 11 second-year math students worked on an exercise with no teacher in sight.
Nearly 20 teachers sat chatting in the staff room or soaking up the midmorning sun on outdoor benches.
"Coming doesn't mean we have started working in the real sense of the word 'work,'" said Preston Pundo, a geography and woodworking instructor, who said he had been paid US$50 so far, short of the US$300 monthly salary the parents association promised each teacher.
"It's only a matter of setting students on some work, and then we idle around wondering where we would get the money to survive."
In downtown Harare, Kundai also wondered about his future, which he has determined will be "bleak" if he does not get his exam results and return to school. But where would the money come from? His mother is dead, he said, and a mysterious illness caused his father's leg to swell so enormously that he stopped working as a taxi driver.
Considering the circumstances, Kundai thinks he did well on the tests, particularly on a history question about the Treaty of Versailles. He is not so sure about math -- that textbook, he discovered on test day, was too advanced.
"It was very unfortunate," he said. "You can't really do math by yourself and expect to be excellent." – Washington Post.
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