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Last Update: January 14, 2002 |
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World looks to Mbeki to rein in Zimbabwe President Thabo Mbeki arrived at a crucial summit of southern African leaders in Blantyre, Malawi, on Sunday night, carrying the hopes of the international community that he would rally regional leaders to strong action to defuse the deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. The special summit of the Southern African Development Community was set to start on Monday. British Prime Minister Tony Blair phoned Mbeki on Saturday to talk about Zimbabwe. While the contents of the call were not divulged, it is believed Britain wants South Africa and SADC to take a tougher line on Zimbabwe. At a meeting with Zimbabwean ministers in Brussels on Friday, the European Union issued an ultimatum to Zimbabwe, threatening sanctions if it did not agree within a week to allow international observers and the media full access to the March presidential election. Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge indicated readiness to invite the EU to send international "observers" but not "monitors" of the elections. For Zimbabwe, the difference is that monitors may tell Zimbabwe how to conduct the elections while observers may merely watch. Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon on Sunday night urged Mbeki to use the "full force" of South Africa's influence in the region to support the EU's ultimatum. He said the Blantyre meeting should not be used to undermine the EU ultimatum. But South Africa and other SADC officials dismissed the idea of sanctions on Sunday. Malawian Foreign Minister Lilian Patel said after a meeting of the SADC ministerial council that the ministers had rejected the idea of sanctions. "Zimbabwe is a sovereign state. The problem there is an internal problem," she said. South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad also rejected sanctions, saying it was not an alternative to the "quiet diplomacy" SA had been following. He also dismissed calls for "smart sanctions" - freezing foreign assets and banning foreign travel for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his elite - that analysts say would be supported by the EU. Patel said a report by a task force of SADC ministers who had visited Zimbabwe last month was expected to be presented to the summit on Monday. Renowned rocker Bono, of U2, and Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs jetted in to Blantyre to consult SADC leaders on their plans to boost African development. "I'm just coming to learn about this great continent and see what we can do to help from Washington, London and Paris," Bono said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Kytie koekblik vir die nuwe jaar Enige droom-oog Suid-Afrikaner wat vir die eerste keer na Los Angeles toe gaan, sal sekerlik vir Hollywoord gaan soek. Maar nie die onoffisielle ambassadeur van SA nie. Hy is die ware jakob, 'n regte egte patriot. Ek praat natuurlik van ene Big Cheese, die man met die mentaliteit van 'n Amerikaner wat na 15 jaar in die VSA steeds die hart van 'n Suid-Afrikaner het. Die Alpha Female dring aan op 'n familie vakansie en die Big Cheese stem toe in en koop die kaartjies vir die hele familie plus aupair na San Diego. San Diego is mos die Kaapstad van Amerika. Nou kyk, die Big Cheese en die Alpha Female se idee van 'n vakansie verskil hemelsbreed. Die Alpha Female verkies 'n luilekker beach holiday die Big Cheese trek nie eers sy wit sokkies en vellies uit op die strand nie. Die Big Cheese se, "I grew up in Cape Town, the beach is no big deal. You know how the JO'burg people are about beach hey" Die Big Cheese verkies om na obskure lande te travel waar hy allerhande eksotiese disse soos aligator sal eet. Of hy sal 'n stukkie Suid-Afrika in Kuba of in hierdie geval, LA en San Diego, gaan soek. Volgens die Big Cheese is California 'n klompie koppies wat connected is met freeways. So kort voor Kersfees, besluit die Alpha Female om die twee kinders en 'n aupair in haar trop, na Disneyland te neem. Nou kyk, die Big Cheese sal jy nie naby Disneyland of Disneyworld of Ratanga Junction kry nie, hy se dit gaan geheel en al teen sy beginsels in. Maar die Alpha Female het haar voet neergesit en besluit die hele familie gaan, met of sonder die Big Cheese. SO die Big Cheese ry toe met hele spulletjie na Disneyland toe in hulle rental car, 'n massiewe klassieke wit cop car. "Disney seems like its got magnetic power, especially on commercialised South- African Americans like the Alpha female" se die Big Cheese. Daarom besluit die Big Cheese toe om iets meer honorable te doen as om na Disneyland te gaan, en dit is om Suid-Afrika in LA te gaan ontdek. Na 'n lang gesukkel kom hy toe op die African Hut af, nou wel nie 'n hut nie maar 'n doodgewone storefront in Laguna Beach. Dis juis die bekende Sa flaggie wat 'n mens maklik met die Amtrak flag kan verwar, wat hy van die South Coast highway 101 raakgesien het wat hom die hut laat ontdek het. Buite die African Hut is glo 'n "definitely a japie with a springbok cap on playing what appears to be a pretend violin," vertel die Big Cheese. Ongelukkig kies die baas toe die week voor Kersfees om 'n draai te maak by die African Hut. Die klomp SA expats het die hele stoor leeggekoop vir Krismis presente. African Hut het meer as 60 Christmas en holiday hampers per dag aan ekspats geship oor die holidays. Klaarblyklik het selfs die UPS man gekla. Die Big Cheese kon nie sy lus vir biltong satisfy nie. (selfs diabete mag biltong eet) SOLD OUT. Al wat in die stoor oor is was 'n paar cadbury's en crunchie chocolates, wat diabete nie mag eet nie. Daarom koop die baas toe maar persentjies vir sy Disneyland crew. Maar die baas het steeds 'n lus vir biltong in sy sisteem en daarom besluit hy toe om die tog aan te pak Beverley Hills toe. Nie vir die Beverley Hills sign of filmsterre soos enige ander toeris nie, maar vir biltong. Hy spoor toe vir Gary Troub op iewers naby West olympic boulevard. Mr Troub is 'n Duitse sausage maker immigrant wat biltong maak, ingedruk in 'n klein 2 by 4 winkeltjie in die beste deel van Los Angeles tussen al die moviesterre en rykes. "I want to recommend this man for honorary South African status" meen die onoffisiele ambassadeur. Volgens hom maak Mr Troub fenomenale biltong en boerewors. Mr Troub het selfs 'n SA grocery section met atjars en chutneys en als. So Mr Troub save to the onoffisiele ambassadeur se lus en sy dag. "I found the needle in a haystack" se die Big Cheese oor sy enigste mission in Los Angeles. "I navigated LA with pinpoint accuracy." Die Big Cheese ry toe terug na Disneyland toe met moviese chunks biltong en droewors. "My ten hours in exile from Disneyland was worth every bite of it," se die Baas. Ek dink ek wil nogal LA en San diego gaan uitcheck. Blykbaar laat die plek jou glo baie aan SA dink. Vygies soos die soort in die Kaap, het blykbaar Californie ge-invade omdat die klimaat so lekker is soos SA s'n. Volgens die Big Cheese skryf hulle selfs in die plaaslike koerant oor die "invader" van Suid-Afrika. Die Big Cheese het darem die Alpha Female en haar trop na die dieretuin vergesel tydens hule Kersvakansie en daar in die zoo ontdek hy toe 'n hele Suid-Afrika in plante. Fynbos, succulents, bome, die meeste van die plantelewe in die dieretuin is uit Suid-Afrika en bordjies dui aan dat sommige uit die ou "Transvaal" en die "Orange Free State" is. Die dieretuin is dus nie heeltemal polities korrek nie en het nie aangepas by die changing times nie. Terwyl die Baas sy Suid-Afrika in LA en San Diego probeer vind het, het ek die Amerikaanse familie tradisies ge-explore. Kyk, ek is mos nou deesdae ge-preoccupy met hierdie nuwe Misterieuse Rollerblader wat ek my boyfriend of novio noem. Met die dat die Alpha Female en die Big Cheese op holiday is, was ek sonder my U.S. family die Big Cheese se kinders noem my hulle "South African sister." So die boyfriend het my ge-entertain. Eers was ons op sy company se staff cruise op die Odessey, hierdie luxury boot wat reg rondom Washington ry op die Potomac river. 'n Band speel ewe die mooiste tunetjies en die bow-tied-waiters dra delicatessen aan en ek word aan die Baas en co-workers voorgestel as "my girlfriend." Kersfees-aand was ek saam met die boyfriend se familie na 'n restaurant en na die tyd het ons in sy lounge gesit en persente oopmaak. Ek sal altyd terug kyk op Kersfees-dag 2001 as een van die mees bizarre Kersfees dae in Kytie se lewe. EK moes vroeg-oggend opstaan om by die ice-rink te gaan werk. 'n Somtotaal van omtrent 4 mense het geskaats; en Bethesda was so stil soos ek dit nog nooit gesien het nie, 'n eerie stil. Ek het besluit om myself vir lunch te treat. Ongelukkig was selfs die restaurante toe en op die ou end het ek in so 'n tipe padkafee-take-out joint gaan sit wat Asian food verkoop. Toe die blues my tref het ek op die stil treine geklim en huis toe gegaan. My Jewish housemate was gelukkig by die huis, en ons besluit basta met die stilte en die bog. So toe klim ons op die foon en ons organiseer 'n partytjie met 'n paar vriende wat nie na die uithoeke van Amerika vertrek het vir hulle holidays nie. Al ons Washington weeskinders in een happy huis, en al my melankolie verdwyn toe toe ek besef hoeveel goeie mense ek hier ontmoet het, en hoeveel mense ek in die vreemde stad, Washington DC, ken. Op Kersaand toe is ons nou eers lekker corny, ek en die boyfriend. Toe vertel ons so ewe vir mekaar dat ons vanjaar mekaar se "krismispresente is." Binnekort hou Kytie ook alweer partytjie. Een van hierdie mooi dae, word ek 24. Sjeez, ek raak ook nie jonger nie. Ek check nou die dag so om my oe en sien die lyntjies. Maar ek is heel trots op hulle. Hulle vertel mos vir jou, Kytie lag baie. Hierdie jaar beplan ek om nog meer te lag! DISCLAIMER: Die Alpha Female is "the dominant or highest-ranking female in a social group of animals." Die Big Cheese noem sy vrou 'n "Alpha Female. Sy is een wat definitief nie nonsies gaan vat van enige chauvinis nie. Ek wil dit duidelik maak dat ek nie die Big Cheese se vrou Alpha Female gedoop het nie. 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 ] Soaring food prices will hit poor the hardest South Africans are going to have to tighten their belts - some quite literally - as food prices soar, spurred by the decline of the rand. And there is little the government can do about it, other than make major policy changes or get the rand back on track, industry sources and economists said. The maize price has rocketed almost 120 percent since last year. Higher stock-feed prices make meat, poultry and milk more expensive and a higher sunflower price increases the cost of oil and margarine. Some projections anticipate increases of between 20 and 40 percent for red meat, poultry, dairy products, margarine and sunflower oil. The price of bread is expected to rise by 30c a loaf. The price hikes will hit poor people - who spend half to two-thirds of their income on food - the hardest. The plunging of the rand by almost 40 percent last year is being seen as the biggest culprit for the increase in the maize price. In a statement this week the Congress of South African Trade Unions expressed concern about the broader economic and social implications of the devaluation of the rand. It said it would request the National Economic Development and Labour Council to define measures to reduce the impact on food prices. "There is no simple solution," said Andile Mazwai, the chief executive of stockbroking company Mazwai Securities. "High prices will attract competition and prices will fall, eventually. But some people won't be able to ride through that period." Any action the government takes to manage prices, he said, would be a "major political move". It is highly unlikely that the government will relax tariffs, or give tax breaks, he said. "The bottom line is that trying to manage prices leads to all sorts of perverse situations, as we have seen in Argentina." The government has said it will monitor the situation and discourage unwarranted price hikes. But in the end, it will continue to let markets decide on prices. The end of regulation and price setting for agricultural products in 1994, along with international trade liberalisation processes, left the South African agricultural industry exposed to a free market system virtually overnight. The prices of locally produced grains are now directly linked to the Chicago exchange, which determines the world price of grain in dollar terms. The cost increases have not appeared overnight with the falling of the rand, said Ben van Wyk, senior economic analysis manager at the department of agriculture. Price increases started six months ago, he said, with a sharp incline from September. Price increases were due not only to the rand's slide, he said, but the "culmination and combination of different factors". Unseasonal rain last year forced farmers to plant late, and the short-season varieties they planted will yield a smaller crop than usual. "Climatic conditions have led to a lower yield per hectare than estimated in December," said Steve Shone, general manager of Grain South Africa, representing 8 000 grain producers. "There may well be a shortage this season and we may have to import." Van Wyk confirmed that the department expected a smaller crop than last year. Low yields and increased exports mean South Africa will increasingly be forced to import maize to make up the shortfall. All the government could do to reduce increases, Shone said, was to encourage the rand. "If they could eliminate the speculation, it would have a significant impact on the price of maize." Van Wyk said that the government was focusing on a number of initiatives "to give long-term stability in the agricultural market". President Thabo Mbeki, he said, had asked the department of agriculture to develop a strategy "so the private sector and the government are talking the same language". The framework would "in time have a big effect in terms of these short-term crises," Van Wyk said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] The world's oldest works of art ... in SA Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest works of art in the world - two slivers of rock on which Stone Age artists etched symbolic patterns about 77 000 years ago. The rock art, found in a cave in South Africa, is twice as old as Stone Age cave paintings in southern France and demonstrates that humans living at this time possessed "modern" patterns of thought. Scientists believe that the cross-hatched engravings were carefully etched on to the red ochre stones. Stone Age societies used red ochre symbolically as body paint, and possibly also for skin protection and for tanning hides, but this is the first known example of the ochre being used in art. Christopher Henshilwood, professor of archaeology at Bergen University in Norway, led the team that made the discovery at the Blombos cave, 288km east of Cape Town near Stilbaai. He believes the stones show a representation of conventions to express mutually understood concepts. "They may have been constructed with symbolic intent, the meaning of which is now unknown," Henshilwood said. "These finds demonstrate that ochre used in the middle Stone Age was not exclusively utilitarian and, arguably, the transmission and sharing of the meaning of the engravings relied on syntactical language. "To try to explain what the representations stand for is unfortunately beyond our capacity at the moment. But do they indicate a modern brain? I think the answer is yes. "The surface of the ochre has been very carefully prepared," the professor added. "This is almost certainly not a doodle. They are symbolic." The 5cm-long rocks were excavated in 1999 and 2000 but their discovery is only now being published in the journal Science, after two independent dating studies. "This shows the people in southern Africa were behaviourally modern 70 000 years ago," Professor Henshilwood added. It is the ability to think, and to translate these complex thoughts into actions, that distinguishes modern humans, "Homo sapiens", from earlier human species, and from other species in the animal kingdom. Key among these thoughts and actions is the use of symbols, including geometric shapes. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - If you ever happen to stay over in Baltimore (and I’m sure, in several other American cities and towns too) on a Saturday night and you are looking for cheap entertainment, here’s the thing to do. Find the nearest television set, preferably without any access to cable or paid channels, and turn it on between 3am and 5am. (Not much else to do anyway, because all the bars have already closed by then.) You see, by that time the local television networks have exhausted all their programming options (which sadly, includes entire vintage – okay, let’s be blunt and say ancient – episodes of Saturday Night Live.) and then they resort to that artful genre known as the Infomercial. For the purpose of bringing you, dear readers, the journalism excellence that you’ve grown so accustomed to by now in this here column (don’t smirk!), I performed the lavish experiment of staying up the whole night last Saturday to watch Infomercials on your behalf. I know. I’m so entirely selfless. Don’t mention it. Here’s what I’ve discovered. An infomercial should NEVER be confused with an ordinary, run of the mill, television commercial. Ooh, no. They are in a class all their own, which is why they are rarely seen during prime airtime. For one, they are much, MUCH longer (I’m talking 30 minutes for some) and they include teasers (media jargon roughly meaning "coming up later in this programme") that will keep you helplessly hooked throughout the entire thing. Of course, an Infomercial’s entertainment value also increases drastically when you have an open bottle of wine within reach while watching it. What may otherwise have been perceived as dull and unimaginative may even become positively hilarious after a sip or two. Like the people starring in these Infomercials. Whether the Infomercial is promoting fitness products, mental self-improvement (which can, mind you, only be attained through that particular series of videocassettes promoted in the Infomercial, usually valued at $250, but for the duration of the Infomercial, will be available at the bargain price of a mere $149.99. And yes, dear mathematics impaired viewers, that is INDEED (and barely) more than $100 off the original price! What’s more: if you call the toll-free number within the next five seconds, they’ll throw in the matching Mental Self-improvement tablets which not only improves memory, hand-eye co-ordination and flexibility in your feet – ESSENTIAL to your overall well-being and usually worth $900 – for absolutely FREE!), the bad actors used in these Infomercials all basically look alike. With their too-good-to-possibly-be-true hair (I’ve never seen hairstyles that so suspiciously look like toupees on both men and women!), sparkling smiles, fake laughs, "I-ought-to-be-in-pictures" attitudes and oozing but-still-obviously-fake enthusiasm, the actors all look as if they were rejected at the last round of auditions for some soap opera, and were immediately whisked away to shoot Infomercials instead. If you look very closely, you may in fact still glimpse a hint of the sadness at the sorry state of their (already withering before it even took off) careers in their eyes. Some of the products they push are really laughable (even without any sips of wine.). Last Saturday, for example, during my marathon Infomercial research, I stumbled upon an Infomercial for a bracelet. But like most Infomercial products, the bracelet is not just ANY type of bracelet, as it may appear to the untrained eye. ("Don’t feel dumb, dear viewers, it’s a common mistake.") It’s really – gasp! – a miracle bracelet! In this particular Infomercial, some of those aforementioned failed actors were disguised as "real" people, walking about, the bracelet safely secured around their wrists. "Yesterday," a slightly out of breath woman managed, "I could hardly walk because I was in so much pain." On cue, the camera then pans out to show the woman wildly skipping rope. (Which explains why she is slightly out of breath.) "Then my husband brought me this bracelet, I immediately put it on even though I was sceptical, and look at me now!" To me, personally, she looked as if she was on her last leg, but never mind. I’m a natural cynic. It’s an occupational hazard. Throughout the Infomercial, many such heart-wrenching before-bracelet and after-bracelet stories of awesome wonderment were shown, the people all crediting the miracle bracelet for changing their lives around, curing them of ailments and for making them jump straight out of poverty into Beverly Hills kind of wealth. ("Because, since wearing the bracelet, I have as much energy as a hyperactive two-year-old before the invention of Ritalin, which was the only thing I needed to secure that dream, overpaying career.") These Southern Baptist-like testimonials all lead up to the ultimate climax: how an undeserving viewer such as yourself can get your own hands on and through that miracle bracelet. The so-called "inventor" flashes his bleached teeth at the camera (but by 3:30am, he is very sincerely talking to ONLY you.) and discloses the toll-free number. "You can have this beautiful bracelet and gain much, much more by simply making four easy payments of $24.99," he gushes in a tone that would really put a Southern Baptist preacher to shame. "And," he leans slightly forward to disclose – can you possibly contain all your excitement by now? – yet another big confidentiality. "If you call within the next five minutes, we will send you one more bracelet for your other wrist for HALF PRICE!" Who would have known that all it took to be a perfect human being, with a fabulous, fit, flexible body, flawless skin, improved memory and an ability to read 36 000 words per minute, is as easy watching Infomercials and picking up the telephone to order whatever they advertise? So, on second thoughts, if you’re not careful, watching Infomercials may not be such cheap entertainment after all. (Lock the phone away and chuck the credit card out the window, just to be on the safe side.) Because no matter how cynical you are, there comes a time, just before sunrise and after about the tenth bottle of wine and the hundredth Infomercial, that those guys become REALLY convincing. Say, ever since wearing this bracelet my typing speed has drastically improved, I’ve lost about ten kilos and I’ve volunteered to be an aerobics instructor at a fitness boot camp, all with tons of excess energy to spare. And to think that I’ve only been wearing it since yesterday… © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Is your laaitie ready for school? Prove it... If you think your six-year-old is smart enough to be enrolled in primary school, you have to prove it with either a psychologist's report, a teacher's progress report - or your own evaluation. This is according to guidelines from Education Minister Kader Asmal, after he backtracked on a policy that restricted Grade 1 admission only to children turning seven in 2002. The guidelines are vague, do not lay down any standard tests and it might take more than two weeks before provincial superintendents-general, whose word is final, can pronounce a child school-ready. After a parent has submitted any of the three required reports, the guidelines require that "the principal should consider all application forms and accompanying documents, and if he or she is of the opinion that the admission of the learner can be justified to the satisfaction of the superintendent-general (also called the chief executive officer (CEO)... then the child should be granted temporary admission to be confirmed at a later stage by the CEO". The principal is required to submit the application forms of a pupil, who has been granted temporary admission or whose application has been rejected, to head office within seven days. "Each of all these applications must be accompanied by a motivation by the principal about how the decision for admission or non-admission was arrived at. The CEO will carefully consider each application for the admission of a child... then the child should be granted temporary admission to be confirmed at a later stage by the CEO. "Admission of a child who does not turn seven years of age in 2002 (should be on) its own individual merits, based on sound educational grounds," according to the Gauteng department of education's version of the guidelines. "Parents will be informed before January 30 about their children's... superintendent-general... then the child should be granted temporary admission to be confirmed at a later stage by the CEO." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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