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Last Update: April 8, 2001 |
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Funeral of alleged victim of rugby players Northern Province premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi has condemned the murder of Tshepo Matloga who was beaten to death two weeks ago - allegedly by a group of rugby players, one of whom is believed to be a member of the SA National Defence Force. Addressing mourners at Matloga's funeral service on Saturday at Ga-Mokgethle near Bochum, outside Pietersburg, Ramatlhodi called for the purging of "racist elements" in the province. He also said he would support the re-opening of the case in Louis Trichardt where a Pep Stores manager was acquitted and an employee fined R1 500 for painting a young black girl with white paint. They accused her of shoplifting. Matloga, 17, and his two cousins, Alex Motlokwane, 17, and Melford Motlokwane, 21, were apparently caught poaching rabbits with dogs on the farm Eenderheken on March 25. Alex was shot in the leg, but managed to escape, while Melford got away uninjured. The five dogs were also shot dead. Matloga's body was found floating in a dam about 200km away during a week-long police search. Among the hundreds attending the funeral were representatives of the SA Rugby Football Union. Earlier in the day the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) in the Northern Province suggested that farms owned by "these racists that beat and kill our people" should be expropriated. Nafcoc's regional president, Tom Boya, paying tribute to Matloga, likened the deceased teenager to a flower which was starting to blossom. He asked if there was anything wrong with Matloga and his cousins hunting in the veld. "Is this not the land of their forefathers? Was it wrong that their skin colour is black?" he asked. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Hierdie is ‘n soort derdewereld verhaaltjie, ‘n mens sou verwag dat dit in Kuba of Rusland of Suid-Afrika sou plaasvind: Pype wat bars en geboue oorstroom en hierdie dinge gebeur mos nie in die Yank-land waar almal Voorsorg tref teen hofsake en al wat moontlike tragedie is nie. Tog is dit vir my so half ironies, ten spyte van smoke detectors en eerstewereldse tegnologie en goeie diens a.g.v van al die vreeslik mededingende kompetisie op die mark, is Insidente soos basements wat oorstroom en huise wat afbrand ‘n algemene verskyning. Saterdag-oggend kry ek ‘n oproep van die Baas. Die kantoor het oorstroom. ‘n Kraan het opgeblaas en die onoffisiele ambassadeur van Suid-Afrika se klein kantoortjie se mat is papwaternat. In ag geneem dat ons kantoor is soos ‘n massiewe lessenaar vol bokse met derduisende papiere, is dit dus ‘n mini krisis want al ons papiere is nat. Ons werk mos bo-op alle oppervlaktes, mat, tafels, mat, mat. Elke gaatjie op die tafels is vol goed, as ek moet skryf sit ek op vloer. Ons 3 by 10 lessenaar. Ons tik net by die computer, selfs lunchtyd sit ek op die vloer. Is daar baie damage, vra ek die Baas. Die Ou Man se bokse is onder water, se die Baas. Die Ou Man se lewe is oorstroom. Die Ou Man is die misterieuse karakter wie se bokse ons stoor in ons alreeds klein kantoortjie. My Baas, soos ‘n ambassadeur en barmhartige Samartiaan betaam, het jammer gevoel vir die Ou Man toe hulle uit hulle vorige gebou geskop is. Die afgetrede Ou Man het ‘n klein kantoortjie gehad waarin hy al sy goeters gestoor het, jare se banksstrokies en sertifikate en diplomas en penne en allerhande husse met lang ore. Soms sou hy by die kantoortjie opdaag en na sy lewe in die bokse kyk. En onthou. En sy pyp skoonmaak. Hy’t nerens gehad om sy lewe te neem toe hy sy kantoor verloor nie, en My Baas het gese, trek maar saam met ons in die nuwe kantoortjie in, jy kan ‘n donker weggesteekte hoek kry. Ek het altyd van die ou man gehoor, maar nooit vermoed hy BESTAAN regtig nie. Daar word altyd na die Ou man in die derde persoon as die Ou Man verwys, hy is ‘n soos ‘n fiksionele karakter, iemand uit ‘n film, of in my verbeelding. Om die waarheid te se, ek het altyd vermoed my baas gebruik die ou man as ‘n rookskerm vir sekuriteitsdokumente wat hy in die bokse stoor. Hy is mos immers die onofissiele ambassadeur en ons verdink die Baas mos juis van Covert Operations. Wel vanoggend daag ek toe by my kantoor op in die sakesentrum van een van die rykste voorstede van Washington DC. Ek stap in die gang af na suite 304, en gewaar ‘n pyp in die middel van die vloer. ‘n Dun, plastiek pypie, soos die soort in hospital en nog boonop vol deurskynende vloeistof. Die pyp loop dwarsoor die gang, onder deur die deur van die versekeringsmaatskappy se kantoor en is verbind met die drein in die mansbadkamer. “That looks nasty” se my buurman. Ek merk die oop deur van my kantoor en wonder watse destruksie op my wag. Instede daarvan vind ek die misterieuse Ou Man tussen ‘n klomp bokse, die pyn en verwarring op sy gesig kan ek nie mis kyk nie. Sonder om hopmself voor te stel, begin die ou man praat. “Al my bokse is deurmekaar en nat” se hy, moedeloos. Die bokse is regoor die kantoor in verskillend posisies staangemaak, sommige opgemekaar gestapel soos torings, ander oopgemaak om lug te gee. “Die bokse was in volgorde gerangskik” sug die ou man, na aan trane. Sy geel dokumente, sommige 50 jaar oud, is nat, se die storiekarakter. “Hy sal maar van die goed moet weggooi, en het ons dalk ‘n papershredder en hoe groot is die papershredder, vra die Ou Man. Hy bly aan praat, vertel my van sy heupvervangingsoperasie en sy voet wat onlangs geopereer is en hoe moedeloos hy is want al sy bokse was dan in volgorde gerangskik en nou is hulle regoor die kantoor… Volgens die Baas doen oumense dit. Hulle kyk na hulle goeters, na hulle lewens. Revisit their diplomas. Die Big Cheese daag op in die kantoor en sien die hospitaalpypie oor die vloer wat in sy badkamer inloop. Is daai weird man van die insurance firma te lui om toilet toe loop, vra my Baas. Om alles te kroon, staan die badkamer deur in die gang. Nugter weet of dit afgestamp is of afgeval het. Die ironie is, ons badkamers het presies ‘n maand gehou. Tydens Februarie het ons al die ander vloere se toilette beset omdat ons eie badkamers ge-revamp is. Guh. Nou is dit ‘n derdewereldse gemors en die insurance buurman dreig met hofsake want sy dik, rooi, velvet mat is vol water. Die water het dwarsdeur vloer drie geloop, en op die ceiling van die tweede vloer gaan le en toe breek die ceiling op plekke en daar is nou net swart gate in die dak en water op die vloer. En in ons suite is daar is bokse oraloor die kantoor. Die een of ander bekende Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaar wat dood is kunswerke verkoop die Baas mos, en die’t ook geswem. Daarom is die werke nou uitgesprei oor tafels en bokse in ons benoude kantoortjie. “Die klein Suid-Afrika hier in die VSA het ‘n risiko geloop” se die Big Cheese met groot oe toe die situasie so half onder beheer is. Presies. All ons ongeklasifiseerde sekuriteitsdokumente, propaganda, nuusbriewe, artikel, en brokke oor Suid-Afrika, ons onoffisiele argiewe is amper vernietg. In ons suite 304 vrot dit. Daarom het die water damage-organisasie wat veronderstel is om die wereld te red van muf na ‘n oorstroming, hierdie reuse masjiene nou in ons kantoor kom staanmaak en hulle blaaas koue wind uit. En die Kantoor ruik soos ons badkamers in Suid-Afrika as ons Dettol moes gebruik. Genoeg om vir my ‘n hoofpyn te gee op hierdie Amerikaanse Maandag Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Cape Town DA wants official red-light district Cape Town will create an official red light district to protect sex workers and their clients and reduce the industry's impact on residential areas - if unicity councillor J P Smith gets his way. Smith believes an officially sanctioned red light district in the city is "the only sensible solution" to prostitution, violence against women, drug abuse and other problems. Smith, the Democratic Alliance (DA) ward councillor for the Atlantic seaboard, wants to have an area zoned specifically for sex work. Anyone trading outside the zone would face prosecution. His efforts have been welcomed by Cheryl Ozinsky of Cape Town Tourism. Internationally, red light districts like the Walletjes in Amsterdam and Hamburg's Reeperbahn have become tourist attractions in their own right. But Ozinsky said that was not the intention in Cape Town. "We are not talking about promoting the sex industry and we never will," she said. "It is about regulating an already rampant industry to protect the users and those giving the service." "We are keen on a red light district because we have received several complaints from guest house owners and other businesses. Tensions are running high because of activities in the streets. It would therefore be beneficial to have a separate area where sex workers can carry out their activities." She added that a red light district could not be set up without consulting the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskteam (Sweat) and the national government would have to decriminalise the industry. Sweat preferred not to comment on the idea at this stage. Smith expects resistance to his plan even from within the DA. He said Provincial Community Safety Minister Hennie Bester had visited a number of cities across the world to see how they combated crime and believed the decriminalisation of prostitution could lead to a number of other criminal problems, particularly relating to organised crime. Smith said: "These are my personal views. I do not speak for the DA in this regard. The matter was raised by me at our caucus and in the future there will be some discussion about this, at the very least at the safety portfolio committee." Since the advent of democracy in 1994 and the drafting of one of the most liberal constitutions in the world, the number of so-called escort agencies and "independent" men and women offering a range of sex services, has grown exponentially. Under Smith's plan an area would be zoned specifically for sex work, similar to having areas for hawking and other businesses. "Prostitutes operating outside of areas zoned for sex work would be dealt with as land use violations and we as local government would then be able to police this matter ... and not be dependent on the under-resourced police," Smith said. He did not yet have a clear plan for where such a red light district could be situated. "There is not one particular part of the city that has the monopoly on prostitution problems. "The phenomenon exists along most arterial suburban roads such as Voortrekker/Strand roads in the case of the northern suburbs, along Koeberg Road in Blaauwberg, along Nooiensfontein Road and others in Oostenberg." Smith stressed that a red light district would have to be in a non-residential area. The reality was that prostitution and associated social problems were not going to disappear magically. "It is the oldest profession in the world. And I say profession as, increasingly, more people are recognising that the moral aspect of prostitution is not what is at stake, but that we should address the particular problems that result from the activities of sex workers as well as the other related problems like drug dealing, the pimps and public indecency." He emphasised that no decision on a red light district would be taken without public participation and the agreement of local residents. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Sizzling SA celebration set to wow UK South African culture and diversity will be the toast of London when the Celebrate South Africa campaign begins later this month, the high commissioner to Britain, Cheryl Carolus, said on Thursday. She said Londoners would have "their socks knocked off" with South African arts, crafts, music, dance, theatre, film, cuisine and song from April 18 to May 31. She was speaking to journalists in Pretoria via a satellite link from London, with Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma connected from Paris. The focus of the six-week programme will be to showcase South Africa as a nation in formation since achieving democracy in 1994. Carolus said: "Through Celebrate South Africa we hope to share our dreams and visions with our friends in the UK, and trust they will continue to support us on our journey." Dlamini-Zuma said it was an excellent platform to inform the world on progress made in South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, speaking from the Union Buildings, said: "We would not have achieved victory over apartheid if it wasn't for British support, and we thank you (Britain)." British high commissioner Ann Grant said: "I pay tribute to the coalition of goodwill between South Africa and the United Kingdom." A huge concert will be held in Trafalgar Square to mark Freedom Day. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] SA's floral heritage sold to US company The National Botanical Institute has sold off the patent rights to huge sections of South Africa's floral kingdom - worth millions of dollars on the world horticultural market - to a private American company. The deal, which was signed behind closed doors between the National Botanical Institute (NBI) and Ball Horticultural Company two years ago, hands over the rights to the giant multinational to develop South Africa's plants for the horticultural market in exchange for royalties for 20 years. This includes plants like the Namaqualand and Barberton daisies. A government official, who blew the whistle on the deal, said on Thursday: "This effectively hands over South Africa's floral heritage to a foreign company in exchange for a pittance in royalties. "It makes the Dolphin deal where Mpumalanga sold off their game reserves to foreigners seem mild in comparison." The NBI will get royalties varying from two percent to 10 percent. The deal gives the American company a minimum of 90 percent of the profits and ownership of all gene-pool plant material and marketable products. Ball gets the right to develop and patent any South African plant except trees, woody shrubs and succulents "unless these are specifically requested by Ball". "Ball can take just about any plant, say a Namaqualand daisy, develop a slightly different version by breeding a deeper colour, and then they own it. "They're a massive company with a world market at their fingertips, and we've handed them a monopoly on South African flowers," said the source. NBI staff are reported to have been collecting plants from the Cape, Transkei and the Drakensberg to ship to America. The NBI-Ball deal effectively kills off the potential of local companies to develop the floriculture export industry. The recent Kaiser Report, commissioned by the department of trade and industry, said our floriculture export industry, which generated about US$30-million (about R242-million) a year, was expected to generate a revenue of US$260m (about R1 955-million) a year in 10 years' time. So far, no payments have been made to NBI apart from a one-off grant of US$125 000 to kick-start the venture. Heather Sherwin of Gensec Bank, which launched a R40-million venture capital fund with Real Africa Holdings last month for the development of the local biotechnology industry, including floriculture, said on Thursday the NBI-Ball deal could have a major negative impact on the future of the country's biotechnology industry. "Floriculture has huge potential for job creation. With the NBI-Ball agreement, South Africa won't get those jobs, only minor royalties," Sherwin said. She said that for every R1-million of capital expenditure in the floriculture industry, between 39 and 59 jobs were created. "It is a huge market. In 1998, the Netherlands earned R24-billion from the export of plants like freesias, which were originally South African. "In the same year, South Africa earned R24-billion for gold exports. "We won't get that if we've already sold off our genetic resources," Sherwin said. Brian Huntley, CEO of the NBI, denied the deal had been struck behind closed doors, and said it had been workshopped with "stakeholders" in Durban and Johannesburg. "Overseas companies are taking our plants illegally without the country getting anything back. The Ball agreement seeks to control the development of our plants so that profits come back to this country," Huntley said. He was unable to say how much the royalties would generate. Asked where the money from royalties would go, he said it would go into a trust which was still "a concept" with no stipulated beneficiaries. He said the provinces would have a share in the profits. Cape Nature Conservation head Kas Hamman said that initially they had opposed the deal. After discussions with NBI, however, all nine provinces and the department of environment affairs and tourism had agreed to the deal. All provinces had issued the NBI with permits to collect plants for Ball. Hamman admitted none of the provinces had a legal contract stipulating that they would get a cut of the Ball royalties. Critics say Ball may not even be legally bound to pay the royalties, as the United States has not ratified the international convention on biodiversity, which binds countries to pay for intellectual property rights over floral or faunal material from other countries. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Afrikaans dictionary for new South Africa in US Cape Town - African National Congress Women's League President Winnie Madikizela-Mandela says claims she is involved in a plot to overthrow President Thabo Mbeki and that he is a womaniser are the work of right-wing elements. In a statement reacting to newspaper reports, Madikizela-Mandela repeated that neither she nor her office were involved in the leaking to the media of correspondence between herself and Deputy President Jacob Zuma. She was referring to a letter in which she asked Zuma to intervene on her behalf with the president, who believed she had spread rumours that he was a womaniser. "I am the ANC and for as long as I live the ANC will rule South Africa. We will not be divided by our enemies," the statement said. Madikizela-Mandela's spokesperson Alan Reynolds told Sapa: "These reports and those suggesting that she is a key figure in a plot to overthrow President Thabo Mbeki are not only untrue but are in fact in her opinion attempts by right-wing elements to destabilise the ANC by dividing it against itself." "Accordingly she urges ANC members and supporters to see the reports for what they are and to be vigilant against these and other attempts to attack the party," he said. The Citizen reported on Tuesday that outspoken journalist Max du Preez had said in a radio broadcast The Editors on Sunday that Mbeki was a womaniser. Du Preez further commented that there was "a perspective among white South Africans, almost the media as a whole, that Thabo Mbeki is untouchable, that, in the African mode, he will be President until he decides not to be. "Clearly that's not the case. There is a lively debate inside the ANC," he said, adding that the allegations of infidelity also contributed to such division. "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela sort of suggested that in her letter that was released, which is part of this whole struggle." Du Preez was referring to a letter by Madikizela-Mandela last year to Deputy President Jacob Zuma in which she denied accusing Mbeki of womanising. Last week Zuma issued a statement denying he had ambitions to take over the presidency. ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said on Tueday that the organisation took note of Du Preez's claims with shock and disbelief. Ngonyama said the comments made by Du Preez went beyond "acceptable journalistic ethics and bordered on hate speech and malicious character assassination. "This scathing attack and abuse of freedom of expression by Max du Preez ... was meant to cause harm to the image of the President, the African National Congress and the country as whole. "For The Citizen to publish such trash was proof that a leopard never changes its colours ... indeed The Citizen retreated to its historical laager, as a paper initiated to be the propaganda instrument of the apartheid regime," Ngonyama added. Ngonyama said the ANC regarded Du Preez's comments as a "declaration of war". "An attack on President Mbeki is an attack on the ANC and will not be tolerated ... To us in the ANC, this is indeed unforgivable." Thanks to IOL.co.za |
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