Stella Mapenzauswa – The Mail & Guardian https://mg.co.za Africa's better future Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:16:26 +0000 en-ZA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://mg.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/98413e17-logosml-150x150.jpeg Stella Mapenzauswa – The Mail & Guardian https://mg.co.za 32 32 Zulu King MisuZulu fires traditional prime minister Thulasizwe Buthelezi, suspends ITB members https://mg.co.za/politics/2024-12-27-zulu-king-misuzulu-fires-traditional-prime-minister-thulasizwe-buthelezi/ https://mg.co.za/politics/2024-12-27-zulu-king-misuzulu-fires-traditional-prime-minister-thulasizwe-buthelezi/#comments Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:14:50 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=663457 Zulu King MisuZulu ka Zwelithini has fired his traditional prime minister Thulasizwe Buthelezi with immediate effect, saying he would give reasons for the move “in due course”.

The king has also suspended members of the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) — including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer — pending an investigation into alleged potential breaches of the Public Finance Management Act.

The Mail & Guardian reported earlier this month that MisuZulu was under increasing pressure to fire Buthelezi over what were seen as actions undermining the stability of the KwaZulu-Natal coalition government.

In a statement dated 25 December but seen on Friday, the king said the role of traditional prime minister was one of “unwavering service to the throne and the nation, embodying the sacred bond between the monarchy and the people (and) steeped in tradition, wisdom and a commitment to the well-being and unity of the Zulu kingdom”.

“Today, I address you with a heavy heart as I announce my withdrawal with the immediate effect of the name of Rev Thulasizwe Dominic Buthelezi (MPL) from this esteemed position. Reasons for the withdrawal are to be shared with traditional leaders and the nation in due course, as we are still observing uMkhosi until the end of January 2025,” he said.

MisuZulu urged the Zulu nation to unite behind the process of appointing a successor to Buthelezi, a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) who is also the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

Sources have previously told the M&G that provincial leaders from both the IFP and the ANC were concerned that Buthelezi was using the post of Zulu prime minister in a “destructive” way to build his profile.

Earlier this month KwaZulu-Natal premier Thami Ntuli, who is also the IFP’s provincial chairperson, scuppered the official opening of Buthelezi’s Ulundi office in a move seen as imposing his authority on the MEC.

King MisuZulu appointed Buthelezi as Zulu prime minister in January — despite objections from members of the royal family — to replace former IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi who died in September 2023, having served in the traditional role for a succession of monarchs.

The axed Buthelezi is also understood to have played a role in the breakdown in the relationship between the king and the ITB, of which he is the trustee and chairperson. MisuZulu has previously called for the dissolution of the board for refusing to enact his instructions, including appointing service providers to conduct an audit of the nearly three million hectares of land it administers on his behalf.

A separate statement from the king said the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and other implicated board members had been issued with a formal notice of suspension pending the outcome of investigations. It said interim governance responsibilities would be overseen by MisuZulu himself and the remaining unaffected board member. 

But the board members on Friday said the king did not have authority to suspend anyone in the Ingonyama Trust.

In a media statement, they said the suspension followed a “surprising” letter from the king in early December notifying them of the appointment of one Stephen Jabulani Rakwena of Van Rensburg Kruger Rakwena Attorneys to undertake specific trustee functions. 

MisuZulu’s letter, said the board, also conveyed that the monarch was commissioning an independent forensic audit of the financial affairs of the Ingonyama Trust, the Ingonyama Trust Board and the Ingonyama Holdings for the past five years.

The subsequent letters this week suspending the board members were distributed by Rakwena, they said, adding: “His Majesty, the chairperson obviously does not have authority to suspend anyone in the Ingonyama Trust, however he has purported to do so … Mr. Rakwena has not been appointed by the board or anyone delegated by the board hence he is not acting on behalf of the Ingonyama Trust.”

*This story has been updated with the king also suspending members of the Ingonyama Trust Board.

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Ordering in: A taste of home delivered to your doorstep https://mg.co.za/news/2024-09-21-ordering-in-a-taste-of-home-delivered-to-your-doorstep/ Sat, 21 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=655504 My mother loves to tell the story of how — as a first-time mum more than 50 years ago —  she tried her best, within the limitations of my father’s teacher salary and the confines of our semi-urban village, to do everything by the baby book when she had me.

She tried to put me, once I was old enough for solids, on a “modern” diet that many African mothers believed was better for their babies than the more traditional fare back in the 1970s, even though the items were usually pricey.

This included Pronutro infant cereal, store-bought pureed apples, bananas and carrots in a jar. But I was having none of the fancy “English” stuff, to my mum’s mortification. Give me isitshwala (pap) soaked in chicken gravy, however, and I would lap it up within minutes.

So began my lifelong love affair with African food. The problem is it’s not easy to get hold of when one lives in northern Johannesburg. At least, not until fairly recently.

I mean “real” African food. Like fresh “hardbody” chicken which I used to drive 50 km to a butchery on the outskirts of the city to buy. Because the bland-tasting factory-reared variety from the Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Checkers or Spar sometimes just didn’t cut it.

Even their “free range” chickens have nowhere near the same flavour you will get in their leaner, hardier cousins that are allowed to roam free and peck at whatever they want in rural areas. The meat is tougher and needs boiling before you fry it, but it is worth the extra effort.

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And then one day, some five years ago, while scrolling through Uber Eats and trying to decide, without much enthusiasm, whether to order pizza, Chicken Licken or Nandos for lunch, I bumped into an outlet advertising “traditional African food like your mother used to cook in the township”.

The menu offering blew my mind; pap or dombolo (homemade dumplings) with hardbody chicken, pork trotters, tripe or even amacimbi (mopani worms, one of my all-time favourites). They even sold real amasi (fermented milk) — the deliciously thick, creamy version I used to enjoy with pap during my childhood, not the watery supermarket stuff that comes in plastic bottles.

I had found culinary nirvana.

With just a few clicks on my Uber Eats app, I could order for delivery within half an hour whatever my craving dictated, be it the “Highfiridzi” dish from the Tsa restaurant in Fourways which comprises pap, beef stew and kale and draws its name from Highfields township in Harare, Zimbabwe. Or goat meat stew with jollof rice from Naija Lems in Bryanston if I’m hankering for a taste of West Africa.

When Uber Eats first launched in collaboration with 75 restaurants in Johannesburg in September 2016 — its debut on the African continent — its offering was fairly high brow, including the likes of Casalotti’s Pizza, Momo Baohaus and Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream.

Later, as the concept caught fire, the company expanded to fast foods, and Joburgers could now have order chicken from KFC and Nandos, seafood from Oceans Basket, burgers from Burger King and sushi delivered to the comfort of their homes instead of braving the foodcourts in shopping malls often teeming with shoppers.

But Gen-Xers like me, still needed to take a drive to Alexandra, Thembisa or Soweto for a taste of the homemade dumplings with amasi or inkobe (a mixture of corn kernels, ground nuts, monkey nuts and beans slow cooked often over a fire) that were a feature of our 1980s childhood.

And then eventually, to its credit, Uber Eats realised there was a huge market in townships and even suburbia waiting to be tapped by bringing traditional African foods to those consumers’ doorstep.

A common thread among those of us who love African food, is that we don’t like cooking it. I am still traumatised by teenage memories of washing smelly tripe repeatedly under my mother’s watchful eyes to get all the soil out. And the odour that would linger in the house for hours after cooking it. But eating it, made it worthwhile.

And now years later, Uber Eats was allowing me to indulge in dombolo (dumplings) with pork trotters without slaving over a stove for hours.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, like many consumers I have a love-hate relationship with Uber Eats — stemming from late deliveries, a nasty bout of food poisoning one time after ordering a meal that had probably not been prepared in the most hygienic surroundings. And some of the mark-ups and delivery costs that come with ordering ready-made food from the app are a downright rip-off.

But to my mind, that is a small price to pay for that plate of pap, ibhobola (pumpkin leaves fried with tomatoes and onions) and amacimbi that one must simply indulge in on a Sunday afternoon sometimes.

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Ten parties have now signed on to unity government, but stalemate remains over cabinet https://mg.co.za/politics/2024-06-23-ten-parties-have-now-signed-on-to-unity-government-but-stalemate-remains-over-cabinet/ Sun, 23 Jun 2024 08:31:59 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=645850 Three more parties have joined the government of national unity (GNU) since Friday, bringing to 10 the total number of political organisations that have signed up for the pact necessitated by the ANC losing its outright majority in last month’s general elections.

In a statement on Saturday night, the ANC said discussions among the parties on the formation of the executive were underway, and President Cyril Ramaphosa would announce appointments “in the coming days”.

This comes amid a stalemate between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance over the allocation of cabinet posts in the unity government. The joining of more parties could arguably blunt the bargaining power that the DA has as it pushes for more posts.

In its statement, the ANC confirmed that the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and Rise Mzansi had on Friday signed up to the statement of intent it had proposed to all parties that garnered enough votes for seats in parliament in the 29 May national and provincial elections. Al Jama-ah came on board on Saturday.

“Following two weeks of intense engagements, 10 of the eighteen parties with seats in the National Assembly have signed the GNU statement of intent, indicating their willingness to cooperate to put the people of South Africa first,” the ANC said.

“The first phase of parties to join the GNU initiative has therefore been concluded. The parties constituting the GNU together secured over 70% of the vote in the 2024 elections, ensuring broad representativity and a strong mandate to govern.”

It said any further parties wishing to join the unity government would be subject to clause 24 of the statement of intent which states that their joining would be discussed and agreed among the existing organisations.

Rise Mzansi said it had joined the pact to honour the wishes of South African voters “to be represented by new leaders who are capable, caring and ethical leaders”.

As of Sunday, there appeared to be no breakthrough in the standoff between the ANC and DA on who should be appointed to cabinet.

The DA argues that, according to clause 16 of the statement of intent, the government should “broadly take into account the number of seats parties have in the National Assembly”. This, according to DA negotiators, means the party should get “roughly 30%” of portfolios in the cabinet.

The ANC, on the other hand, insists that appointing the cabinet is the president’s prerogative.

“He will consult, as he always does with members of the ANC. This time he will consult with the other parties in the government of national unity. But there is no quota, absolutely not,” a senior ANC member close to negotiations told the Mail & Guardian last week.

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South Africa opens genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice https://mg.co.za/politics/2023-12-30-south-africa-opens-genocide-case-against-israel-at-the-international-court-of-justice/ Sat, 30 Dec 2023 10:12:34 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=623253 South Africa has instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel over alleged genocide in its retaliatory strikes against Hamas in Gaza since early October, which have left thousands of Palestinian civilians dead.

In a statement, the ICJ said South Africa filed an application on Friday concerning alleged violations by Israel “of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”, known as the Genocide Convention.

It said according to the application, “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.

The application says Israel has — in its retaliation against a Hamas attack on 7 October which left some 1 200 people dead while more than 200 were abducted — “failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide”.

The Hague-based ICJ said South Africa’s application requests the court to indicate provisional measures in order to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention”.

South Africa has been very critical of Israel’s strikes in Gaza, and in November parliament passed an Economic Freedom Fighters motion for the country to end diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv and close Israel’s embassy until a ceasefire was agreed upon in the conflict.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor last month said the instruments of the United Nations had “failed the people of Gaza” in the same way they had let down those of Rwanda and Bosnia in the 1990s. She called for their reform to change them from being “a tool for the most powerful countries”.

Pandor said the International Criminal Court should have already issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other decision-makers for violations of international protocols.

Health authorities in Gaza say more than 21 000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli’s strikes.

Established in 1945, the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, comprising 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the general assembly and security council.
Its role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN organs and agencies. The ICJ differs from the ICC, which is a criminal tribunal that will prosecute individuals.

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No escape for non-believers in deeply-Christian Southern Africa https://mg.co.za/news/2023-04-06-no-escape-for-non-believers-in-deeply-christian-southern-africa/ Thu, 06 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=544352 It had been a frustrating wait, sitting on the long-distance bus as my fellow passengers straggled in and porters loaded scores of bags in various shapes and sizes into the luggage carriage section beneath the seats.

Finally the driver revved up the engine, signalling we were ready to drive out of Johannesburg Park Station and begin our nearly 900km journey to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Then things got weird. The co-driver, who would take the wheel halfway through the trip to relieve his colleague, came and stood in the middle of the bus aisle — very close to me, in fact — and asked if someone would please pray for a safe journey.

“Hang on, is this a Christian-based bus company then?” I asked my neighbour in the adjacent seat in bewilderment. This was my first bus trip home. Previously, I had either flown, or travelled by car between Zimbabwe and South Africa. 

“No, all the long-distance buses do it,” she whispered back. “There is always prayer before the start of the journey, for a safe and accident-free trip.”

And so began another ritual that I’ve found myself “participating” in without really participating, as a non-religious person living in a deeply religious part of the world.

I gazed around furtively as the woman seated next to me, and most of the other passengers, murmured quietly alongside the volunteer who had offered to pray. Many had their eyes tightly shut, hands raised above them, nodding as the praying man beseeched God to clear the road ahead of any danger, and ensure a smooth passage for us through the Beitbridge border post. 

And as usual, I felt a deep sense of envy and isolation as the people around me murmured affirmations, seemingly in no doubt whatsoever that God was present in the bus, and could hear their supplications. 

In Southern Africa, you cannot escape religion, whether you are a believer or not.

Born and raised in heavily Christian Zimbabwe, before moving to similarly religious South Africa, I found you cannot extricate yourself from religious rituals, whether you believe in them or not. And so, you “join in”, so to speak. At weddings, funerals, family gatherings.

It is not really surprising when, as shown by a 2017 survey by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, just over 84.1% of the population is Christian. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism all sit below 1% each while just 4% of the country still follows traditional practices that abounded before missionaries came to Zimbabwe.

Then there’s the 8% who either don’t have any religious or spiritual beliefs or, like me — are not quite sure what they believe. I have struggled to find a label that most accurately describes me, but agnostic is perhaps the closest.

It can make for uncomfortable moments. Like each time I visit my maternal aunt whenever I am home, usually with a bag of groceries in tow (that is the done thing in Zimbabwe — you don’t visit your elders empty-handed). There are the usual hugs and tears, effusive thanks, and then my aunt will ask that we all kneel down so that she can pray for blessings on my behalf.

I have never been able to bring myself to demur. Partly because I know it would hurt her feelings, and also out of habit. After a while, it becomes exhausting to remind people that no, you are not religious and therefore you don’t pray. So you go along to get along, so to speak.

All my siblings are also deeply religious, although they have always accepted that I’m not, with no judgment. But even with them, I can never escape the rituals. Being a close-knit family, even now as adults with our own families, we have tried to stay in regular touch. With most of us living in Johannesburg, there have been numerous braais and long lunches over the years, which we take turns to host.

Which means I’ve sat at many dinner tables, holding hands for a prayer of gratitude for the meal to be consumed and for the opportunity we have to get together. Not many Zimbabwean families are that lucky, with political and economic strife having forced many people to leave the country for better opportunities in all corners of the world. Again, rather than getting up and leaving during the prayer, it just seems less dramatic to go with the flow.

My lack of religion is not for lack of trying. I was raised Christian, went to Sunday School as a child and learnt my Bible verses, was baptised and later confirmed and started receiving communion. 

The first time I admitted to myself that I had serious doubts about it all, I was shaken. Rudderless. Guilt-ridden, as if I was carrying a dirty secret I could not share with anyone. I still remember my mother shedding tears when I told her I was not really a believer and had stopped going to church.

Years later, she still holds on to the hope that I will somehow “find my way back to God”. But how do I find my way back to something, or someone, that I’m not sure I ever believed in to start with? So I smile, nod along, and let her hope. 

And I go along with all the Christian rituals that are woven into my daily existence as a black Southern African woman, because some spiritual battles are just not worth fighting.

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Eskom ramps up load-shedding to stage 4 https://mg.co.za/business/2022-05-16-eskom-ramps-up-load-shedding-to-stage-4/ Mon, 16 May 2022 13:31:48 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=516749 Eskom said on Monday it was ramping up the extent of its evening rolling electricity cuts,  which it has been applying daily for nearly a week, to stage 4, citing a further loss of generating capacity.

The beleaguered state-owned utility had said on Sunday it was only scaling up to stage 3 load-shedding on Monday and reducing that back to stage 2 for the rest of the week.

In its latest announcement, it said unit 2 of its Kusile power station had tripped earlier in the afternoon, taking 720 megawatts of generating capacity with it. 

“While this unit has since returned to service, it will slowly load up to full capacity during the night. This added loss of capacity regretfully requires Eskom to increase load- shedding to stage 4 from 5pm until10pm tonight. Eskom will continue to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary,” it added.

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Eskom reintroduces stage two load-shedding, citing constrained system https://mg.co.za/business/2022-05-09-eskom-reintroduces-stage-two-load-shedding-citing-constrained-system/ Mon, 09 May 2022 15:02:12 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=516279 After barely two days of a reprieve, Eskom said on Monday it was bringing back rotational power cuts from 5pm to 10 pm because the electricity system was severely constrained. 

The announcement came a few hours after Eskom said Phillip Dukashe, its head of generation, had quit after serving permanently in the position for only a year. 

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Eskom downscales to stage one load-shedding https://mg.co.za/news/2022-05-06-eskom-downscales-to-stage-one-load-shedding/ Fri, 06 May 2022 16:38:13 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=516201 Eskom said on Friday it was downscaling the current bout of load-shedding which has been in place since Tuesday, to stage one from stage two because of lower demand going into the weekend.

The power utility said in a statement load-shedding would be halted altogether at 5am on Monday.

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Eskom implements stage two load shedding https://mg.co.za/business/2022-05-03-eskom-implements-stage-two-load-shedding/ Tue, 03 May 2022 14:54:45 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=515919 Eskom said on Tuesday it would have to implement stage two load shedding from 5pm to 5am next Monday because of generation capacity shortage.

Eskom said this was caused by delays in returning generators to service, as well as nine generators breaking down. 

“Since yesterday, a generation unit each at Lethabo, Tutuka, Ingula, Drakensberg, Arnot as well as two units each at Hendrina and Matla power stations suffered breakdowns. Further, delays in returning generators to service at Arnot, Kendal and three units at Tutuka power stations have added to the capacity constraints,” the utility said, adding that it expected to return as many of these units to service as possible over the next few days.

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Eskom enforces stage-two rolling blackouts, citing tripped unit https://mg.co.za/news/2022-04-11-eskom-enforces-stage-two-rolling-blackouts-citing-tripped-unit/ Mon, 11 Apr 2022 17:18:57 +0000 https://mg.co.za/?p=514465 Eskom said on Monday it had been forced to activate rotational electricity blackouts for the first time in nearly a month, because of a tripped unit at its Medupi power station.

“Unit 5 of Medupi Power Station has just tripped, taking some 700MW (megawatts) [of] capacity with [it]. Regretfully, stage 2 load-shedding has been implemented immediately,” the state-owned utility said, undertaking to issue a full statement later.

Stage two load-shedding entails taking up to 2 000MW of demand off the national grid, to avoid overwhelming it.

Earlier on Monday, Eskom had urged the public to reduce electricity usage, because its power generation system was severely constrained. It said four units had suffered breadowns, and that the return to service of two had been delayed. 

“This, together with the inclement weather, which has increased the demand for electricity, has placed the power system under pressure,” Eskom said, adding that the constrained supply situation may persist throughout the week.

The state-owned utility’s R392-billion debt has hampered its ability to maintain some of its ageing coal-fired power stations and has led to 14 years of load-shedding.

Last month, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said Eskom’s debt problem may require some “fiscal intervention”, but only if the entity met certain conditions.

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