Ityendyana laseDebe lizibalula ngokulima

  

UAnele Tsiko, onamashumi amabini anesihlanu (25), inzalelwane yaseDebe,kwilali yaseMnqaba James, ozibalula kwicandelo lezolimo. Elityendyana ukulima likuqale ngonyaka ka 2013, esenziwa luthando nemeko yentsokolo akhule phantsi kwayo, nenxaso awayeyifumana kwisikolo samabanga aphezulu iKhulile apho azibalule khona ewongwa ngezatifiketi kwezolimo (Agriculture).

UTsiko ubengumfundi kwi Yunivesiti yase Fort Hare,esenza izifundo ze Nzulu lwazi (BSc Khemistry), ngenxa yalombono nokutshutshumbiseka kwakhe, akazigqibanga izifundo zakhe, waqala ezolimo.

‘’Ekhaya babengaxolanga kwaphela ukuyeka kwam kwiYunivesiti yaseFort Hare, kodwa ndabona ukuba ezolimo zingakwazi ukundiphilisa, kwaye zincede nosapho lwam, nabanye abantu akuhlaleni’’ utshilo uTsiko

UTsiko uhambise wathi ‘’Ndabanesigqibo sokuba ndisishiye isikolo ngo 2013, ndakubuya ndigqibezele, ndiqale ukulima. Ndiqale ukulima kwiigadi zasekhaya, ndaboleka neegadi zabantu, nangoku ndisalima kwezogadi ndizibolekileyo’’

UTsiko uphume ngokuzama-zamana namatile-tile empumelelo, uthetha thethane neenkampani ezinkulu ukubalula uSpar, Shoprite noCheckers, efuna ukuzinxulumanisa nazo, baphendule ngelifuna amakhaphetshu ayi 7000 kuTsiko, noxa iigadi zika Anele zikhupha amakhaphetshu ayi 3000 ukuya ku5000 wabe uphulukana nesivumelwano,nangona ekwasebenzisana neeMakethe noSpar wase Dikeni kwaNtu Spar.

Emva kokufuna uncedo ekuhlaleni, uAnele ufumene uncedo kusapho lakwa Mngaza, ngokumboleka iifama ezimbini kwilali yase Cumakala.

‘’Enye yengxaki endidibana nazo kukungabina zithuthi, nezixhobo zokusebenza, ezaneleyo, nangona nditye ndibeka ndaqokelela imali ndathenga isithuthi sokuthutha lamakhaphetshu’’

Elityendyana liluncedo hayi kusapho lwalo kuphela kodwa nase kuhlaleni, kuluntu olungena misebenzi, uTsiko ubaqesha kwiifama neegadi zakhe, ukwaluncedo kwizikolo ezilapha ekuhlaleni ephisa ngamakhaphetshu kubafundi ukuze batye, ekwabafundisa ngezolimo, encedisa nakumakhaya abantu abadala kwilali yaseDebe, ngoku babonelela ngamakhaphetshu ebakhuthaza ebafundisa nokulima.

UTsiko uthe ‘’Uncedo kurhulumente usandula kulifumana kwiinyanga ezimbalwa ezidlulileyo ngoku ndibonelela ngeengxowa ezingamashumi amabini anesihlanu zeetapile, oko ndalima bendiqala ukufumana ukuncedwa’’

UAnele Tsiko ugqibe ngelo kuxhobisa uluntu esithi ‘’Amathuba okuphila akhona maninzi into isemntwini nganye, masivuke sizenzele singa soloko sijonge ukuxhomekeka, kwaye nokuba izinto azihambi kakuhle masincekelele singatyhafi, imxinwa indlela eya empumelelweni, wonke umntu unako’’.

DIKELETHU NEWS SUPPORTS 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

NGO’s ARE A PREVAILING WEAPON TOWARDS 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM INITIATIVE

By LuviwePinda

As we approach the 16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, it is important that all non-government organisations take part in helping the victims, and give them support wherever they can. The campaign also includes the Universal Children’s Day and World Aids Day.

All churches across the country play a big role, and they’re regarded as the powerful weapon towards the initiative.

The campaign is supported by wearing a white ribbon, which symbolises peace, and commitment to never condone violence against women and children. Additionally, it helps us to realise how our own attitudes and actions could propagate sexism and violence. Rev Vukile Mngxuma of the John Wesley Methodist Church in Alice, under Aanshaw  Circuit, articulated on some of the circumstances they face such as this one, “In most instances, one or two people will come forward and request a session with the minister, due to reasons that they don’t want to come forward. They’ll rather hide it to themselves, and that becomes a major issue.”

Mngxuma also expressed that the most common concern, is the stigma that people have towards the victims, “The community will always have such comments, ‘she’s the girl that has been raped, what were we expecting, ‘she’s the woman that’s been abused by her husband!’

“The decisions, as a congregation, we mostly find difficult to take, is when a victim has been abused by a family member. We have to go on different straits when we approach for assistance within the communities, whether it could be the police, victim support centres or psychologists. There are often volunteers, who frequently assist with the victims.”

FULL STORY: NEHAWU PROTEST DISRUPTS PARLIAMENTARY SERVICES

BY AYABONGA NKALITSHANA

The National Education Health Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) parliamentary workers have vowed to continue to disrupt parliament proceedings as long as their demands are not met by the national assembly to ensure of proper working conditions, better pay and well deserved performance bonuses. This ensued after consultations between the workers task team and the parliamentary management came to halt with workers claiming that the settlement anticipated by parliament was too low.

“It will no longer be business as usual in parliament until our demands have been met”, said NEHAWU Chairperson Sthembiso Tembe. Today, they have disrupted all parliamentary services and have kept to their vow that all parliamentary services will be disrupted and not go as normal. Even the protection service staff are members of the union, and are on strike, meaning there will not be anyone to keep order in parliament, “We do not like what we are doing but we do not know what else to do”, said one protester, who wanted to remain anonymous as parliamentary disruptions continued.

These disruptions started with the portfolio committee that was to listen to the briefing on drought, afflicting areas of the country which was adjourned by its chairperson Machwene Semenya who said, “We are supposed to go for a sitting at 10am. I want to take this opportunity to adjourn this meeting, it is not because of what is happening.” This was followed by disruptions in the public gallery of the house when union workers stormed-in and started singing and dancing, drowning the voice of the chairperson of the house bringing parliamentary business into a standstill once more.

“If parliament knows what’s good for them, they will give us our performance bonuses today.  If Gengezile Mgidlana (secretary to parliament) knows what’s good for him he must come address us”. Some of the parliamentary members also showed disappointment with the way parliament was handling the matter, with police throwing stun grenades to peaceful marchers, “Parliament must not bring the police into this they must listen to the demands of the people”, said  Floyd Shivhambu of the Economic Freedom Fighters.

The picture the media is putting in my head:

BY: Misubukhosi Pienaar

Pray for France…? Is Anybody in France praying for Kenya?  

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a killing rate contest. But has anyone from France ever prayed for Kenya, Palestine, or Israel thousands of people were being killed by extremists groups with bombings, kidnappings and suicide bombs the world kept quiet like nothing happened.

Beirut, for instance, suffered a horrendous attack just 24 hours before incident in Paris; the ‘mainstream’ media completely ignored it.  However the coverage of Paris was so vast in support from seemingly all forms of mass media.

Has the media emphasised the later crucifixions of our fellow humans as much as they have with
France? Many African youth are speaking out on their views about the predicament as a “so what” expression. Many people in our continent are executed on a daily basis and a couple of hundred people die in France and the world come to stand still.

Here is a question for you. Have our girls returned while we pray for France? Or must they be of European decent to be acknowledged on a scale the French have been acknowledged on with an extremists attack. Either way, the threatening and attacking of human life is wrong and a unified effort to disclose all matters equally and taking of action to suspend such actions should apply to all of humanity.

Let’s hear your opinions.  

COURT APPLICATION AGAINST JUST ON COSMETICS  GRANTED BY EAST LONDON HIGH COURT

BY; AYABONGA NKALITSHANA

Court grants court application filed by Mark Nettleton, on behalf of Investec Bank  to secure Investec Security, in terms of a bond it held over Just On Cosmetics assets. The judgement was made at the East London High Court by Judge Lusindiso Pakade last week. Just On Cosmetics held a bond of R41.6 million which gave Investec control over moveable assets, should they default on the bond.  This follows after 500 employees were told to go home last month, following the closure of 43 stores across the country, with 35 of those stores being in the Eastern Cape.

Procurement manager Ricardo Calaca went on to say that the closure was as a result of their major suppliers who supplied 80% of the stock deciding to cut credit to these stores. He continued to say that they are now looking at possible blue chip buyers who are interested at buying a few of these stores or all of them. Just On fortunes changed when its founder Mike Naidoo died just four years ago.

One of the trustees in the Pocot trust which owns Just On cosmetics, Tony Cotterel poured R80 million a year ago in the once successful business which is now facing problems. Just On owes a number of service providers some money like the creditor Kobus Fourie, who owns Mapongu security which provided security services to Just On stores.

LOCAL MEDIA COMMUNITIES UNDER TERRORISATION

PICTURE: THAMI DICKSON

BY: Samkele Letese

The local community media is under threat. All forms of media, be it radio, TV or/and print. The ever looming threat is of course the competition they’re engaged with the larger commercial media, those huge corporations with vast resources in comparison to the community media.

The community media can’t compete with the resources of the larger commercial media houses. They lose a great deal of audiences to these media houses, and more importantly, they lose vital advertisement revenue.

There is, however, an important place community media in our societies, a very significant one. Community media offers information specific to the community it is designated to. These information pillars fill the void within the community the larger media houses miss. This is one of the reasons why the ECAC (Eastern Cape Aids Council) approached the local media houses to a workshop, to reach the gaps the larger media houses missed. The aim of the ECAC workshop was to reeducate the communities of the Eastern Cape about HIV and forming a strategy of how to reach the community at large.

There was workshop also served as a platform to educate media practitioners in the dos and don’ts when reporting HIV or Aids related stories or content. There was an extensive introspection for community media houses, especially with the way each sector reported on matters concerning the HIV and/or AIDS. The sharing of ideas with the esteemed and insightful SABC legend Thami Dickson was incredible.

The workshop, during the introspection phase of the workshop saw the challenges local/community media faced. It goes without saying that the community media have financial constraints, this is worsened when them (community media) losing advertisement revenue to commercial media. To delve into that, the vital advertisement revenue is one that doesn’t come from the private sector, but from government. There was mention of a power struggle between local media and government. Government knowing that these community media are in need of funding, and using that knowing to push their agenda, sometimes often the expense of the radio station, or TVs beliefs and mission statement. The paying stakeholder had the mentality that implied, ‘I am paying so things have to go my way’.

There was a question of how to get reliable information from government departments that was reliable. While looking through the possible answers for this question, another issue that posed a threat to community media arose. There was a degree of lack of respect some government departments had towards local media practitioners.

With so many challenges these local pillars face, they stand still, looking to grow and overcome adversity. During the ECAC workshop, the question ‘what can you do to reeducate the community about HIV?’ was asked, and each sector came up with ideas. Print sector shared ideas of relocating to cyber space were plenty, with space on the actual paper restricting creativity. Radio sector spoke of starting stories that would educate and inform the community about HIV. TV spoke of having local comedians set up a comic piece which would be broadcasted.