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Last Update: March 25, 2002 |
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Groote Schuur opens its heart to UK patients Cape Town's medical fraternity is agog with the news that British authorities want to send hundreds of patients to Groote Schuur Hospital for heart operations. The scheme, which is a move to cut the hefty hospital waiting lists in Britain, could see between 500 and 1 000 British patients sent to Groote Schuur annually for cardiac bypasses alone. The National Health Service in Britain already sends patients, all expenses paid, to countries in the European Union for operations. If British legislation is passed to allow South Africa to be included, the patients could be sent to South Africa within weeks. "We're very chuffed," Norman Maharaj, the chief director of Groote Schuur Hospital, said of the scheme. "It shows faith in Groote Schuur's capability and its surgeons. But our first priority would be our own patients. "We have our own waiting lists. We have the surgeons and the capacity here to perform more operations, but we need more money. For every one person from the United Kingdom who is given an operation, we would be able to afford to operate on two of our own people." It has been reported on BBC radio that the Labour government has already made about R1,6-billion available to address the UK's waiting lists. There are hundreds of people waiting to have heart valve replacement operations at Groote Schuur, and a large proportion of these are poor or indigent people. A heart valve alone costs between R20 000 and R30 000. The operations on patients from the UK would be performed in Groote Schuur's private wards. Groote Schuur would draw up a business plan for the scheme, but fees charged would need to be approved by the Department of Finance and the Treasury, Maharaj said. Ivan Toms, Cape Town's director of health, said it was "quite scary" that the National Health Service could afford to fly patients to South Africa from Britain for operations while "we can't afford to do them for our own patients". "But cross-subsidisation could make it possible for us to do more of these operations. We are in a unique situation. We have the experts and the infrastructure, just not the money," said Toms. A proposal would probably need to be drawn up by British and South African health authorities to determine selection criteria; how patients should be cared for before and after the operations; and how their families could be accommodated in Cape Town, Maharaj said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Ek maak die deur van my ge-airconditionde kantoor agter my toe en voel die son op my bleek arms waarvan die eens blonde haartjies in hierdie winter bruin geword het. My lyf is die kleur van ‘n eierdop just about - nie ‘n spierwit mass-produced eier nie maar daai gewone organiese soort wat "menskleur" of "velkleur" is. Ook net Afrikaners sal 'n wit mense se vel kleur "menskleur" noem. Wat 'n on-PC term, ek hoop en bid dit is lankal nie meer in gebruik nie en dat skool kinders nie die woordtjie geleer word nie. In elk geval, ek is nou daai regte bleek kleur. Tydens my dae in "Afrika" was ek altyd - selfs in die winter, so 'n ligbruin. 'n African waarvan die binnekante van my arms my blouwit verraai het. Nou lyk g’n niks meer soos ‘n African nie, ek lyk soos ‘n spierwit Amerikaner met die buitekante van my arms dieselfde kleur as die binnekant. “You have a fair skin” hoor ek deesdae i.p.v. “Jy brand seker lekker bruin.” Maar die winter is verby. Unfortunately beteken dit dan ook die einde van my kort loopbaan as Rink Guard by die buitelug ysskaatsbaan, maar ek is nou bereid om enige opofferings te maak ter wille van son. Lente aan die ooskus is mos die mees ongelooflikste tyd van die jaar wanneer die humiditeit nie jou volvuis in die gesig slaan as jy buite te toe gaan nie. En orals is die kaal-arm bome nou oortrek met bloeisels. Die winter, is finally amper verby. Admittedly was ons mos geseend met ‘n baie lou winter vanjaar, maar in vergelyking met die Grahamstad winters waarin ek soms in die middel van Julie met moulose kleertjies kon rondhol, was dit steeds bitterlik koud in my opinie. Enige winter wat jou forseer om handskoene te dra is ‘n koue winter. As ek daaraan dink dat dit so amper-amper lente is, kry ek daardie tipiese Vrydag-middag gevoel, asof jy op vakansie gaan en al die energie losbreek in jou kop. Ek gaan juis op ‘n kort trippie San Francisco toe saam met die Misterieuse Rollerblader volgende week. San Francisco is mos een van daai plekke waarop jy grootword in SA: Dis ‘n destination in jou kop so onwerklik soos Mars; ‘n stad met ‘n movie naam. Soms dink ek aan die Kuilsrivier-kind wat altyd gedroom het van Hollywood en New York en LA en Washington DC. Daai stede was magiese plekke en Amerikaners was God’s gift to the world. Nou is ek mos ouer, meer wereld wys, ek waag dit om Amerikaanse kultuur te kritiseer en soms generalise ek en se “Americans are superficial.” En ek verlang terug na die warmte van kleindorpie Afrikaners, terwyl ek eens op ‘n tyd nie kon wag om te ontsnap nie. Nou is Washington net nog ‘n plek en soms moet ek myself knyp om te onthou dat ek nie maar altyd hier gewoon het nie. Nou het Kaapstad daai eksotiese smaak in my kop. “Yes I was born in Africa.” Soms kan ek dit nie glo nie. Ek’s African?? Ek weet nie. Ons het mos grootgeword met die illusie dat Suid-Afrika nie in Afrika is nie. En Kaapstad is mos die een of ander klein planeet op sy eie, die mediterranean city waarin ek grootgeword het. “I’m a Capetonian” se ek soms. Ek weet nie eers of Capetonians wragtie Suid-Afrikaners is nie - selfs ons weer is anders as die res van die RSA. Nou dat ek skielik besef ek is oppad na San Fran toe, is dit asof ek van vooraf besef:Ek wat Kytie Koekblik is, is in ‘n vreemde land besig om vreemde dinge te doen soos om met ‘n Misterieuse Amerikaanse Rollerblader uit te gaan wat baie anders is as ‘n boerseun of ‘n liberal Afrikaner cityboy. Ek het ook skielik onthou toe ek die eerste keer ON THE ROAD deur Jack Kerouac gelees het. Frisco en die jazz clubs en die Beatnik kultuur was my Amerika. Ek het myself verbeel ek is die female reincarnated version of Jack, asof sy spirits in my voortleef en maak dat ek frantic skryf asof daar ‘n einde gaan wees aan woorde. Nou is ek oppad na Jack se Amerika, sy Frisco (ander mense se San Fran) en ek gaan dit myne maak in my kop en ‘n foto neem van myself in Jack Kerouac straat en ek gaan dit stuur aan al my buddies in daai klein developing world country waar ek vandaan kom. “Kytie Koekblik in Amerika.” gaan ek daarop skryf. EN ek gaan vir ‘n oomblik vergeet van die AIDS en die CRIME RATE en die korrupsie en die poverty en unemployment en die scars van rassisme en ek gaan onthou hoe ek ‘n happy Kytie was in daai landjie met drome. En dat San Fran ‘n droom is wat waar word. Ek kan nou wel 24 wees en ‘n raps meer sinies en minder droom-oog en meer realisties en meer materialisties en al daai boring goed wat die grootmenswereld bring, maar dis nogsteeds ‘n tienertyd-SA droom wat ek hierdie volgende week gaan laat waar word. 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 ] Wheels come off corrupt traffic department Cape Town City police chief Mark Sangster has promised sweeping changes after independent auditors found his traffic department's fines section to be a breeding ground for fraud and corruption. A private company, instead of traffic officials, will soon be used to deliver summonses and warrants, he announced. Sangster said the city police, whose services range from the bobbies on the beat to traffic control and law enforcement, would jack up their service and implement new initiatives including employing a private company to serve summonses and warrants. The report by auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers, leaked to the press on Friday, found that city traffic officials, ordered to serve at least eight warrants of arrest on a colleague, claimed they could not find him - although he worked in the same building in the licensing section at Gallows Hill in Green Point. This was only one of thousands of suspected irregularities costing the city untold millions in lost revenue which prompted an investigation into the department's fines section. The auditors report found the fines section to be a breeding ground for fraud and corruption with more than 10 000 tickets and summonses disappearing last year. The auditors also found that from June 2000 to July last year almost 94 000 cases were abandoned because offenders were untraceable, costing the department R14,2-million. Prosecutions in 578 cases with a possible fines of R88 900 had also been dropped because of possible document forgeries by traffic officers. Sangster said the aim of appointing an independent auditor was and would always be to render the best possible service to the city. "Shortly after the appointment of the auditors we started to implement new initiatives to address some of the obvious shortcomings. "These include a vehicle registration plate recognition system, the establishment of a call centre and the amalgamation of resources," he said. "The first trial of the number plate recognition system will commence towards the end of this month. The call centre will contact offenders in an attempt to secure payment for fines before summonses are prepared. Through the unification of the old administrations within the borders of the city we will free valuable resources to augment service delivery." Other initiatives were the outsourcing of the summons serving and warrant execution process and the establishment of a dedicated tracing and tracking unit. Tenders for the summons serving service closed on Friday and the adjudication process would commence shortly. Sangster said senior traffic department managers would study the interim audit report and comment on Tuesday. These comments would be forwarded to the auditors to compile a final report. "I am satisfied that the audit process will run its natural course and provide us with the strategic input for future planning. We will continue with the implementation of the various service improvement initiatives. Where necessary we will investigate any wrongdoing and act on the outcome of such investigation," said Sangster. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] KZN's most wanted dies in clubland gunfight An alleged hijacker died in a hail of bullets after a vicious gun battle in which three bystanders were also wounded outside a Durban nightclub on Sunday. Police identified the dead man as Skopo Mkhize, 27, who was wanted for about 10 hijackings, attempted murder, armed robbery and escaping from police custody. Superintendent Willie Olivier, of the Serious Violent Crimes Unit, described Mkhize as "dangerous and ruthless". Olivier said that detectives had been looking for Mkhize for several months: "We established he was the mastermind behind a vehicle hijacking syndicate operating in the Durban North area." Olivier said detectives received information that Mkhize was at the White House nightclub on the corner of Pine and Aliwal streets in Durban. "At 4am yesterday Mkhize came out of the club. As the detectives approached him he pulled out a gun and fired. "We had to call for reinforcements and the Dog Unit and Flying Squad responded. In a fierce gun battle Mkhize was shot dead. "The detectives also came under heavy gunfire from the occupants of a BMW which was driving past. We suspect they may have been members of Mkhize's gang," said Olivier. Three bystanders who were outside the nightclub were wounded, but are in a stable condition in hospital. Superintendent Vasie Naidoo said police had yet to establish whether the three men were wounded by the police or by Mkhize. Police took possession of Mkhize's 9mm pistol which they believe was stolen from a policeman. The serial number had been filed off. Olivier said Mkhize was also wanted in Newcastle for armed robbery and escaping from police custody. Meanwhile, Naidoo said another man wanted for a reign of terror in KwaMashu's Besters area was arrested by the Durban North Task Team. Naidoo said the suspect was wanted for three murders and 10 attempted murders and police had been looking for him for more than a year. On Friday night detectives arrested the man in a shebeen in Umlazi. He is to appear in court on Tuesday. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - The trees are bursting with the bold colours of the assortment of plastic shopping bags sticking to their branches. Aaah, spring has sprung in Baltimore. There’s the supermarket tree consisting mainly of Giant and Safeway bags. At the pharmacy, it’s not too surprising to see the pharmacy bags stuck onto a nearby tree. As I watch from the passing train, I see the wind picking up more discarded plastic bags off the street. It plays with it for a while, tossing it about on the street before letting it take off. One of the billowing bags swirls and twists and turns mid-air before finally finding a branch of its own. Baltimore is in full "bloom". On this frigid vernal equinox the same sharp wind that is decorating the trees has pedestrians ducking into their coats, their heads and ears seeking solace and warmth by sinking deeply into upturned collars and scarves. I had suspected – a bit pessimistically – that the past mild mid-Atlantic winter was too good to be true. This spring cold-spell confirms it: El Niño or La Niña has clearly been wreaking havoc over the Pacific again. But even though the weather certainly isn’t spring-like, there are some other indications that spring has finally arrived in Baltimore. The neighbour a few doors to our east – the one who is obsessed about being the first to have the different holiday decorations on display in her garden every year – erected a plastic blow-up Easter bunny that is clasping egg-shaped balloons and is now sitting on her front porch, shortly after Valentine’s Day. Just as expected, she was back in the front yard early in the freezing morning on the first day of spring, despite frost warnings, replanting the flowers that were ripped out with military precision on the first day of autumn last year. (And the first day of autumn last year was more spring-like than this first day of spring, but that just gives you an idea of how seriously she takes this whole seasons-according-to-the-calendar business. I suspect her worst nightmare would be if someone should decide to scramble up the seasons without her knowing about it. There’s also no telling how she’d deal with life and its reversed seasons in the Southern Hemisphere! I think she’ll have a nervous breakdown to have Christmas in the middle of summer.) Needless to say, her flowers didn’t last through the first freezing night of spring, but wilted, dead or not, I guarantee that they will remain there until the first day of autumn this year. But she isn’t the only neighbour aiding me to keep track of the seasons. No matter how confusing the weather, one merely has to walk down the street to look at the variety of Easter decorations outside houses to know that it’s March. Yes, my friends, garden decorations (in the form of fake flower fans with leaves spinning in the breeze, flags, balloons, gnomes, dwarves and plastic pink flamingos balancing on one leg) are all the rage in my neighbourhood. And in case I at any point forget where I am (believe me, I’m a bit of a scatter-brain, so it’s no stretch to say that I’m a bit "misplaced" at times…), patriotism around here is very trendy. So I only need to look out the window to see the Star Spangled Banner proudly waving right next to whatever holiday flag it’s time for, to remind me that I’m in the good ol’e USA. In case I was still in doubt about the realness of spring though, the neighbours immediately to my left finally convinced me. It’s two guys (a fact I had first merely suspected, because I never saw them until the first Sunday after spring day.) and they moved in some time during the winter. Their move went largely unnoticed, except for the fact that there was suddenly a truck parked outside the house with a huge floral couch on the back, which is where it remained for months afterwards, exposed to all the elements, until it quietly disappeared one night. I was relieved about the new neighbours, because the last guy had a live-in girlfriend whom he abused very audibly (the walls are paper-thin around here.). So the sudden silence next door, apart from footsteps up or down the stairs occasionally, was another clue that we had new neighbours. Alas, the silence didn’t last long… A few nights after the arrival of the truck and the couch with its floral motif, I heard someone strumming a guitar. At first I really enjoyed it (despite the fact that it was clear that the guy couldn’t keep a tune and only managed a few uncoordinated chords.), because I admire anyone who is able to play an instrument… or, at the very least, try to learn one. Boy, was this guy diligent! He played his chords over and over, night after night, week after week… it must’ve been after one more of those weeks that the novelty of it all wore off for me. And then, as if on cue, he got an electric guitar and an amp. And he turned it up so that the whole neighbourhood could share in his musical delight. Unfortunately his talent didn’t markedly improve when he upgraded his equipment. What’s more, his jam sessions moved up to much later in the night. We never saw them. It was clear that these guys kept strange hours. (I started wondering about vampires and if they were really just a figment of Ann Rice’s imagination.) I only knew that there was another guy because I sometimes heard them speaking to each other through the walls. This past Sunday, a different sound emerging from the house next door woke me up. I nearly fell into a coma from shock when I realised that it was the sound of a vacuum cleaner and that it was INDEED coming from their house. They were spring cleaning… and they were doing it with just as much vigour as the guy displayed when playing his guitar. Then they finally emerged into the daylight, carrying boxes, newspapers, empty beer and wine bottles filled with cigarette butts and ash. Unfortunately I couldn’t see anything remotely guitar-shaped in that rubbish heap. Seeing the guys was another surprise. They were undeniably pale, yes, but nothing particularly ghostlike. I was almost disappointed… So spring is here. If not confirmed by the weather (yet), the burst of Easter decorations around us and our neighbours’ spring cleaning mission are a good sign that the days will soon be long and hot. But let’s not get overexcited. The guy has just hooked up his guitar and amp again and he has started to play his same set of repetitive falsetto chords. The new season has clearly made him more ambitious though, because this time he is attempting to sing too… © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] TV presenter Pieterse was 'stabbed 28 times' Author and television presenter Pieter Pieterse, who was murdered in Komatipoort last week, died of 28 stab wounds, Mpumalanga police said on Monday. Superintendent Izak van Zyl said the results of a post mortem released on Monday afternoon showed Pieterse had suffered multiple stab wounds to the heart, head and lungs. Van Zyl said police were revising their initial theory that the murder weapon was an axe found in Pieterse's swimming pool. The wounds were inflicted by a sharp object and probably not an axe. Meanwhile, the police were still searching for two men believed to have been involved in the killing. Witnesses spotted them apparently carrying stolen goods near the murder scene. The 66-year-old Pieterse's badly decomposed body was discovered by his wife Jenny at Marloth Park on Thursday afternoon. Van Zyl said the exact time of Pieterse's death was not clear, but that he had been dead "for days" when his body was found. "Mrs Pieterse arrived at the couple's home around noon after visiting her family over the past week. She found the decomposed body of her husband outside their house near a swimming pool," Captain Amelia Smith said earlier. "His arms were tied behind his back with a length of nylon rope." When police arrived, the body was clad only in shorts. Mrs Pieterse told police that she last spoke to her husband on Saturday via a cellphone. According to information he was last seen alive on Sunday attending church. Police found no sign of forced entry to the home or a caravan on the property. Both were unlocked when they arrived. An overturned table and laptop computer were found outside near the caravan. They also found a blood-stained pillow near the table. A firearm, television set, video recorder, and cellphone were among items missing. Family members and friends paid their last respects at a memorial service in Pretoria North on Monday morning, SABC radio news reported. Among the mourners were Zack du Plessis and Danny Pretorius of the television programme Maak 'n Las, of which Pieterse was a co-presenter. Pieterse and Du Plessis took over presenting the ever-popular Afrikaans story-teller's show after veteran comedian and story-teller Tolla van der Merwe died in a car accident - also in Mpumalanga - in August 2000. Pieterse published his first short story at the age of 20 in 1956. After that he wrote more than 30 novels. Fourteen were translated into English and one into French. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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