A prayer of thanks and the incoming year

To Lord God Jehovah Almighty,
King and creator of all there is,
Benefactor of all men,
Wise, loved and most feared:
I am the most base of all creations
Yet you have, in all your works around the world,
Below and above
Chosen to sustain me
Through out all my failings
All your disappointments
And all your grief.
For all that I am grateful.
I am grateful the great grandmas you've
Given me.
Im grateful for my mother and sister
Grateful for my aunts and uncles,
For the smile I get whenever I see my shop attendant
The twinkling eyes the young Indian from my spaza shop gives me
Whenever I come to book yet another bag of sugar
The firm, unapologetic handshake my white Jehovah's Witness brothers and sisters in Christ give me every time I visit them
I am grateful for my stupidity.
For through it I have learnt humility and the courage to say I am sorry
I thank you for my time alone for it has given me
A space to reflect on myself, see my strengths and my weakness.
Thank you for the hard times,
For from them I have learnt the value of lack and the have experienced the beauty of family.
Thank you for the impossible times Jehovah
For through them I have learnt of the value of faith in you and the practicality of miracles.
I have not seen the hands of angels yes
But I have witnessed them comforting me through every pain Ive suffered
I have felt myself getting stronger every day because of their ministry.
Thank you for this past twenty eight years Jehovah
And thank you for the thousand more that are to soon come to pass.
I may suffer all there is today but
To know that your Son Jesus is in his first century as King of kings
Gives me great comfort and hope for soon enough
Paradise earth will be a reality and human kind will
Once again be free of all pain and long suffering.
In Jesus' name
Amen.

Look At What GMO feed does to mice

If you are a Southern African resident, chances that you too might end up like the above mice are not so minimal.

The picture presented is taken from Dr Seralini's research report as appeared in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology.

Seralini is a French doctor who is very critical of Monsato's push for the adoption of genetically modified food as food equal to the traditional natural farm food our fathers grew up eating. His research is never mentioned by seed retailers in southern Africa since it details the dangers presented to man by use of GMO food crops.

Seralini found that the mice fed with Monsanto's GM seeds caused abnormal cell growth.
As seen in the picture, some of the mice developed big mammary glands, had enlarged livers and most horrid of all, lost their ability to reproduce.

Does this danger easily translate to the same problems happening to human beings?
I doubt Monsanto would like this revealed. Please await The Opinionated Africans next post to find out. We are still researching.

#thinkUnchained

Why we will continue dying at sea leaving Africa for Europe.

Africa, the dying continent.
Did you know that according numbers released by the BBC, 4886 people fleeing Africa into Europe have died at sea this year alone.

We may cite wars and all other issues as the 'becauses' but that would be running away from the basic truth.
African's tend to be more inclined to choosing and supporting bad leaders into power. Leaders who tend to value their own agendas than those the people they must help enrich, protect and inspire.
There are many examples of these sort of leaders, I need only to mention a country and the ugly head will just show itself.

The main reason Africans choose run away is war. It has left entire villages empty. The second one, often cause for the first, is poor economic inclusion policies. Many of the farm lands taken off European hands now belong to government linked families who fail to make them produce. The companies left by the Europeans have died down and the infrastructure is broken. Communication between those governing the continet's countries and the people within the boarders is just one sided in favour of the state but as is evident in Eritrea, it is brutal.

Countries such as Swaziland are stable. But their stability is too dependent on the leader's character than any thing else. The institutions that look out for the people and protect them from abusive, often heartless powerful individuals are lacking. In Swaziland, a chief has power to not only tax a perceived wrong doer in cattle but he can even demolish your home(the kaShali demolitions). Living in Swaziland's rural area's, termed Swazi nation land, means you are bound by Swazi law to participate in kuhlehla, a form of taxation that involves working for your local chief. That is keeping the traditional aspects of his homestead, umphakatsi, up to standard. Those who have money to spare let their money do the work. Those of us who can not afford losing money this way are forced to work.
In this, Swaziland and Kwazulu, in South Africa are the same. We cough out money for all sorts of things even those which traditionally, the chief sees to himself. A Sibiya chief solicited public funds just so he may pay the pride price of some unknown lady. Zimbabwe's long time president-elected by Zimbabweans- all on his own destroyed Zim's economy and forced many a brilliant Zimbabweans into being domestic workers and criminals in South Africa while Swaziland is all too happy Swazis can run to nowhere since South Africa has locked its doors to even us who have South African blood.

The migrant crises being felt by Europe is far from relaxing. The waves upon waves of Africans leaving for better life in a well managed peaceful and nurturing country  in Europe will go on ever increasing. South Africa's leaving the ICC will not help in any way because corrupt leaders on the continent will exit ICC and go on doing evils without accountability. Unlike South Africa, many of my people do not have South Africa's chapter nine institutions protecting them. Instead, countries such as Swaziland possess a constitution that is biased in favour of protecting those in power rather than the people. We the ants are left being trampled over by the very folks who must protect us in principle.

As mentioned, the main reason 4886 people have died at sea trying to reach Europe is war. But in truth war is only a symptom. The primary root is wealth distribution failure. If Africans go on electing bad people into power, we Africans will continue dying on our way to Europe.
I'm going too...Dark or blue I'm going.

Is Swaziland's Monarchy Really Illegal?

US president elect, Trump, the Trumpet is accused of having expressed a wish to remove ,rid Africa of its dictators.
As we went on laying points during one of our Times of Swaziland Open Again forum discussions I gathered that we Swazis lacked knowledge as to the legality of Swaziland's monarchy.
With this in mind I went to visit a few sources, people who can help me understand the ruler-ship of Swaziland. A Ngwenya uncle of mine happened to be the perfect point to start digging since he was one of the people who was centre stage in the political upheavals that swept Swaziland circa 1960 to 1973.
My mother says the old man said that in 1962~63 the British government pushed forward the possibility of a constitutional monarchy.
A system born in Britain that retains kingship but gives real political power to the people by way of political power and free association.
It is said that the King of Swaziland, then paramount chief ,pushed for a way to counter this through the mbokodvo movement and was successful. The Swazi democratically elected Imbokodvo into power and set their king on the Swazi throne. Via this mistake, Swazis lost their only chance at democracy and in 1973, Ngwenya was exiled over to Nelspruit(orginaly from Mkhakhweni), political parties were shut out the walls of Parliament. And Kingship was made legal.
It is this legality that fascinates me and has me wanting answers to the following questions.
1. How was Swaziland's kingship made legal.
The constitution of Swaziland enshrines the kingship and points out how the king becomes king but can we say that it( the constitution) makes a king the king? If so, how did the constitution itself get such powers since people say they never made it. And yet the king signed it at Sibaya before the people.

2. Swaziland was a legal protectorate of the British crown via the foreign office. Can we then say a protectorate and a colony are both property of their conqueror in the same fashion. Was Swaziland Britain's farm and was Independence a simple ownership transaction?

3. An ideal kingdom is one where the are Earls~what we call chiefs. The earls control the land on behalf the king and the king provides protection to all via use of the Earl's serfs as soldiers should trouble disturb the state's peace. The serfs do not own the land and should pay homage to the earls and king. The question is, does Swaziland still need this arrangement. If so, is it laid out in the 'people's constitution' such that we each know where we stand with regards to the king such that we the people are in agreement with the king and each other and fearlessly view this the legal fashion by which Swaziland is ruled.

3. Did we really reject the constitutional monarchy as was proposed by the British foreign office in 1963. Did we have legal if not  traditional grounds to refuse Sobhuza as king or did we not.

4. The Arabian or Islamic kingdoms like that of Qatar are part of the UN. Does that make them legal and does that in turn make Mswati's kingdom legal. Would this change if we were to have oil, good wealth distribution and a benevolent kingship?

6. What dictates the legality of a monarchy. Is it the UN, a network of powerful allies, benevolent or brutal kingship or simply a country's people and nothing more.

I could go on and lìst my musings but they will not resolve any thing.
I feel we are too fixated on the Tinkhundla system that we fail to deepen our true quest. To make Swazis self conscious of the roots of SD's problems such that they themselves lead the fight for re-inventing Swaziland and we never lack a leader.
I say reinvent because I for one am not sure democracy is what we want as Swazis. But need it because our king is proving himself questionable.

What The China-Philippines improved relations could mean for America and China's African friends.

Good morning
I stumbled upon a Philippines development I think will result in Obama's administration leaving the White House as the most fail prone administration the US ever had. It could also compound Africa's challenges too! Read on to find out why and how.

You see, dw.de reports that Duterte, the Philippines' Malema like president has announced an end to the US-Philippines thirty year old military alliance.

You might find this quite boring to mind but it is big news. It signals a shift in world power and puts the White house under immense unwanted and unprepared for pressure to adjust things a bit more in its fight for economic power against Beijing.
Duterte's move will force America out of a region so key in America's fight for oil with China such that because of it Beijing is prepared and I gather very much willing to fund millions into Philippines' economy.

The report even tells us that the deal is so sweet, China and the Philippines have gone so far as to leave territorial disputes just so they be able to eat this cake.

An African might ask: and how is all these going to benefit us African residents?
Listen. In the late 70s China firmly established itself as a world super power contender. It needed resources for this and Africa proved itself well endowed in one very precious resource no growing world power could ignore. It made head way and tried to secure as much oil as it could get. The South China Sea region it contends over with the Philippines has oil. But this oil reserves are not only inaccessible to China but are also very unverifiable because the Philippines, Vietnam and others will not let China eat this sweet cake alone. Because of the above reason, Beijing opted for Africa which had even at the time large oil reserves and a very willing bunch of nations who's need for billions worth of development funds dear old China could easily meet. This is why then Duterte's shift towards China proves itself very vital to an African. The China-Philippines development could mean Africa loses a mutual benefit partner worth billions of dollars.

My mother's country, Swaziland and many like it currently have no means to give China the resource it needs most but Swaziland is partner to & is influential to the Southern African Development community. It has very strong ties with South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique(among others). It would be very strategic therefore, of China to partner with such a country so tenderly because the neighbours have got the resources China and Swaziland both need. Like Swaziland many other developing African countries are in need of China. She gives so well when she gives. Losing her over to the Philippines and the South China Sea.

#thinkUnchained

Life is hard but it sure is worth living.
Follow me @Masiza4000. Thank you for reading.

#dataMUSTfall-A personal review on how good Data Eye and Opera Max are at saving you data on the Android O.S.

Good morning.
Today I finally felt ready to develop The Opinionated African blog's cover and add a page on technology. I will try to update the page as often as possible. I hope not to disappoint you my readers by presenting each article from a laymen African perspective.
The page will consist of thenology deemed good/bad for Africans living in Africa. I hope you bear with me and help where possible.
Here's my first techno themed post.
I'm sure many of you are by now aware of the #tag fees must fall movement current going on in my part of the world (South Africa). Unfortunately the is another one geared not towards Deans and universities but to our beloved but most the time frustrating network carriers. We call it #dataMUSTfall.
While many are busy calling for this we have been on the look out for an android phone application that will at least for now help us cope with high data prices by monitoring the Android O.S's data consumption rate.
This article points out two of those applications and aims to explore at least one of them. Namely Data Eye from some world. And the much advertised Opera Max from the very skilled developers of the well received browser called Opera Mini.
As hinted above I will, at least for this article, tell you about Opera max when pitted against Data Eye.
Need:Opera mini browser, latest version. Adds blocked
Opera Max app
Data Eye app
A website of your choosing. I used Fashion Bloggers for this test.
AVG antivirus app with its data counter refreshed.
All apps except Opera Mini must be blocked
Restrict background data usage
Run Opera Max and block all apps but Opera mini browser must remain running and connect. Do the same in Data Eye.
After doing all the above and connecting to Fashion Bloggers for 2minutes on each data monitoring app. This is what I got.
>119kb in one click on data eye an opera mini
>238 in one click on opera mini with opera max
5 adverts each
1 minute time
>Opera max had all apps on mobile saving no app was blocked.
Max seems to have the ability to save data right on running apps
Data eye focuses on blocking apps to save data.
>The problem with Opera Max is that to really see data savings on it you ought to have your YouTube app turned on. Data will indeed go on slow motion. Meaning you will enjoy YouTube longer than when with Opera max.
>Data eye lacks the ability to save data while apps are on the run (unlike Max) but it does put to question the need to have Max turned on when Data eye saves two times the data running just a single internet connected application.
Pointers to be noted when using opera max
1.Opera Max confused me a bit (which is how and how I discovered Data Eye). It is advisable to read the "how to" manual first and go on to use it. Otherwise you hate it for no good reason.
2. The top panel lets you see foreground saving, background saving and last and most important of all total savings. WiFi saving tab is also included but why would you save on WiFi besides your battery.
3.The above 4 named tabs help you navigate your max panel easily but their icon (two top left squares superimposing each other) serves the same purpose.
3.Below these two is the help tap telling how to save data on Opera Max application management tab.
4. Is the management tap itself. It is easy if you read manuals but is a turn off and useless if you do not read manuals.
The management tab has got its left and its right side.
The left side houses apps that are currently running and therefore enjoying data saving on the run.
The right side of the panel houses the apps that will be blocked from using data. Tap the top right little squares to determine whether you want to save back ground data behaviour, foreground data behaviour or total data behaviour.
5. To determine which of your android phone applications you want to block.
6.The reason I used Opera Max was to save data. To see how much data Opera Max managed to save you: reason why I used Opera Max was to save data on my android phone. To see how much data Opera max really saved for you just close the app. When you open it again you will be presented with your Max's data savings statistics.
The statistics presented are for the day, the month and for all time.
The two tabs (green and blue) are for data for the period in question(blue) and that period's saved data (green)
Taping the blue icon will show you both background and foreground data consumption.
In my use of my android phone, I noted that Max showed that much of my data was used on app background operations. These operations took 30 to 50 percent more of my data.
In other words, while I went online to research on thing, my phone used just as much to do things I know not. Are they spying on me?
.Opera Max is Opera browser development team's answer to the Android OS's hunger for data. It offers Android users a way to compress data and offer VPN level connection that protects internet connections. This however, is the app's greatest turn of becausee it can not compress data from twitter mobile app since it is already protected, regardless of how bulky it is.
The upside of Data Eye is that it simple. I hope to write more on it in future. What I find pressing for now however, is that the app has a whole panel dedicated to bombarding you with adverts termed as offers using your very own data. Luckily my network carrier does not take part in this ad space otherwise I'd be in trouble. Also, unlike Opera Max, Data Eye does not save data on YouTube so it sucks on that too.
Overall Data Eye and Opera Max are good. One more point to of note is that Data Eye is frank about its abilities and failures. I expected more abilities from Opera though.
Opera Max is a good app but its main marketing point-saving data-is questionable.
I hope they improve it a little and maybe we will once again be vindicated against network carriers and their milking us off our money using data charges.
#thinkUnchained.
Life is hard but it sure is worth living.

Sorry for thinking Monsanto is dying

Good morning, well that is if you and I dear reader share the same time zone and also happened to be given the gift of rain at the same time.

While most of us farmers were busy praying for rain a couple of months ago, Bayer and Monsanto were busy courting each other.

I was busy looking for nice news (for a change) updates on Agriculture last week Monday on Twitter and as per usual I changed my twitter feeds and searched for feeds on dear old friend Agriculture in Africa. Many of the updates lived up to what I wanted. I hoped that for a change I will write and post something nice and maybe even inspiring this week. And well poor me I kept on looking and looking until, well there it was “Bayer and Monsanto to merge”.

Truth is I read the feed and took it as one of those tweets from fear mongers we seem to be farming on twitter these days. I therefore dismissed it and paid no mind to it.

This morning I came across a feed again that was from Dutch Welle talking about the two Agribusiness giants, Bayer and Monsanto merging and becoming one very happy family.

There it is; while we were busy thanking God for the rain blessings over the weekend, Bayer was very much thanking Monsanto for agreeing to wed him.

As pointed out by Mariam Mayet, CEO of Africa Center for Biodiversity (ACB)-South Africa, this wedding could result in negative impact for farmers and consumers.

Why does she say so? Well the the answer is very much as ever so simple. This merger will hurt us very, very much.

For starters, Monsanto’s relationship with its primary customer the African farmer, is strained because of the company’s bad track record. The company has had to suffer the humiliation of failing to have its GMO food crop deliver good yield to not only the African farmer but now, that of Europe as well.

Countries that been advocating for GMO food crops as the future and answer to the question of world hunger are now slowly but surely closing their doors to the GMO answer because people in those countries are becoming very vocal and choozey as to what they are to eat. The American market was once a very secure market for GMO food crops and seeds. Today the tides are very much changing and the public is choosing to listen to popular culture icons and eat the pricey organic alternatives.

It is therefore, easy to see the reason for Bayer’s need to marry Monsanto. The ultimate goal here is not just profit but rather the obvious well suited market Africa presents to Bayer and Monsanto. Bayer will become the biggest agri-business and Monsanto will be given a chance to redeem its tarnished image and be saved from death. The following little sample from ACB-Africa Centre For Biodiversity sums the whole Bayer and Monsanto problem in Africa quite nicely:

“The hype around the current wave of GM

research into non- commercial crops in Africa

is purposefully ahistorical and deceitful. It

does not mention past failures involving the

demise of Wambugu’s/Monsanto’s GM sweet

potato research in Kenya (DeGrassi, 2003;

GMWatch, 2015), or the quiet recognition by the

-Danforth Research Centre in 2006 that the GM

cassava it had developed had lost resistance

to African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) (ACB

and GRAIN, 2006). The recent case of Burkina

Faso’s reversal on GM cotton, due to the Bt

Cotton crop’s declining quality, is instructive

for Africa. Burkina Faso’s cotton companies

have committed to phasing out Bt cotton and

returning to the exclusive use of conventional

cotton, by the 2017/18 seasons. The sector is

seeking compensation from Monsanto for

the losses incurred and this is also extremely

telling (Dowd-Uribe and Schnurr, 2016)”.

(African Centre for Biodiversity).

Happy farming fellas…And sorry for thinking Monsanto is dying.

For more articles, please visit www.theopinionatedafrican.blogspot.com

#thinkUnchained

     

Ever wondered why Christ Agreed to suffer and die for you?

Ever wondered why it is that Christ agreed to come unto the earth live as man do do thirty three years and in the end allow himself to be subjected to the most unfortunate and unforgiving inhumane treatment and death ever imagined and carried out?

As is shown the Gospel, the reason for such a death was his Father's and his own personal love not just for mankind but for you who is now reading.
In Romans we are told for God so loved the world that he gave up his only begotten son to die for it.
The obvious reason the bible gives is love. In deed it is the prime reason but does it stop there.
No. The other more interesting reason for this is justice.
It is written that sin entered the world through one man and through sin we man reap death.  Romans 3:23 sums it all up in that it reminds each and every Christian that the mercy he got from Christ's death in his stead is actually undeserved. It was carried out because we who are born of Adam are by default sinful. But God being just chose that we be not wiped off the face of the earth but be first offered a fair chance and time for us to have a short  at his love and the eternal life he set for us in the beginning. More over the Devil had also sinned in that he converted Gods right to rule. So we are not the only players here.
The book of Job shows this clearly. Consider the reason behind Job's suffering. The angel Lucifer or Sameza disputes that Job is faithful for no other reason but because he knows that God protects the just against pain.
God let Lucifer try his luck to prove this and in the end Job's love for God is vindicated and the devil is proven wrong. Man can love God more his own comfort.
By leaving the comfort of heaven and living among man in perfection, Christ proved to the Devil Lucifer that Adam the perfect man could have lived perfectly had he chose to do so. In other words God's Justice towards Adam is just and indeed fair.
It also proves in our eyes that we can do it too.

In short: Christ death is more than a buy back. It shows you a way in which if u so wish you can live.
Praise Jehovah.

Can Revelations 21:4 be believed?

From Revelations 21:4 we read And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Can all these be true?
Before we answer the above question let us first ask ourselves one simple question. Can it be that the above words spoken by God himself could be true?
To validate the above words we need to look at the following.

Who spoke these words
The promise above was made by non other but Jesus Christ. Prince of all of heaven and the Son of God. In John 1:1~3 we learn that he is God's spoke man and in Genesis 1:26 Christ is hinted along side God in the design and creation of man. And again in the four Gospels he is shown as not only God's only Son but a faithful one at that.
In a number of passages Christ is shown as Jehovah's champion warrior and principal defender. The book of Jude and that of Daniel show him carrying out his fathers will down to the letter.
Unlike most man Christ proved himself loyal even to his own death. The Gospels show in detail his power. The very power he chose not to use even when his life was being taken from him. .Not many of us and maybe even angels would use that much restrain.
Why then would you not believe the promise as uttered by Christ. Such a faithful person?

Be heartened. Christ made the promise at Revelation 21:4   on Jehovah's behalf. It shall surely come to pass.
Praise Jehovah.

Praise Jehovah

For a time, I have increasingly found it difficult to go on being Christian because of my own personal failures and those of my fellow Christian brothers and sisters.
It took me a chat with a young non JW Christian girl to understand and perceive the value of what I lost in my life while I was busy rebelling against Jehovah because of failures I saw in my fellow Jehovah's witnesses life.
In doing so I ended up discouraged and hurt. My dispaire grew as I saw my life useless in light of being unable to provide for my family and being a constant nuisance to my relatives and friends.
My perception of life darkened every day and I constantly felt it more viable for me to die than to live and waste Jahs time.
My eyes were not on the Christ. As such it became easy for me to forget that Christ had walked my path. Peter had walked it too and as impossible as it was he finished it and is today among the twenty four elders ruling the heaven with Christ.
Christianity is not easy. It is hard way of life and it is not every day that Jehovah will answer your prayers the way you want them answered. Unfortunately once you have heard God's word you are compelled to change and know him at deeper level than usual.
I have grown from my 10yr old life struggles. It took me a 17 yr old non Jehovah's witnesses Christian child to do that.
Praise Jehovah.

Of What significant am I

Of what significance am I really?
I
Of what significance am I really?
To use the tongue
To hold my roots spell bound
Me!
Remind them who they are
What they stand for
Reduce them
To what they aren’t
Remind them of everything forgotten
 
That once upon a time they were more than black sweaty bodies
Sooty and sticky
Smelly, purely disposable;
Reduced to
Nothing
 
That a dog was once much
Better than they
That a whoring bitch-dog was to them, once of saintly
Status
 
That the oppressor’s tongue
Reduced my fathers,
My kings:
To nothing more than a wee-wee’s sound
Their back flesh wrenched in shreds
Like a tractor’s work in the fields they worked.
Big ,broad, strong hungry shoulders wet in sweat;
 
They are soldiering on,
Panting as they go
That’s who they were once
That’s who we were once
That is me
That is who I was.
 
Oh my tongue; soap is not enough to wash this off.

Trump the Changeling

About three days ago the US President Mr Obama is said have endorsed Mrs Clinton for President.
A day and some hours after that the Julius Malema of the US, Mr. Trump came out guns blazing and told Sir Obama he ought to be running the country instead of endorsing Clinton for President.

There is something I do not like here. Something's off. You see, A few hours ago Mr Trumpet has completely turned around. He has just told people who were at his new hotel party that this very same Obama he has been busy trying to chase out of office 'was born in America. Period'.

What I find troubling here is that eghm we all know who was behind the Obama not very American conspiracy theories. Not to mention that he once upon a time told supporters to get black lives matter supporters out of one of his racially charged rallies. Oh and there's this message about making America great again.
Does that include an America clear of blacks, Hispanics and all otherwise non Americans?

You should also remember that if the ant holes news are anything to go bye, Mr Trumpet is also a big business player in the US. Now would it be nice to,on top of being a business man you also become your country's most powerful man. Its President!
My misgivings in all of this is that this office affords a man still very racially charged power so great it could change the way we Africans in Africa and internationally live literally over night.

Africa is already dying...The Trumpet changes its tune much too quickly.

No Trumpet for US President
#thinkUnchained

The end of Affirmative action in RSA

Hi guys. I hope you are well.

I'm also well. Unfortunately it isn't so for the RSA government.
You see. word is, the UN seems to be pushing for answers as to why it is that the Government of South Africa still uses race based means to gather information about its citizens.

According to www.polity.org.za UN summited a report to the CERD (committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) and in so doing got the ANC in water because this policy is instrumental in balancing the rich and the poor people's scales. The whites-notable the Afri Forum-view it as an equivalent to Apartheid policies because it limits their economic activities in a country they love.
It is reported that the Afri-Forum summited its own shadow report on the issue.

If it so happens that the CERD is not convinced with RSA's reasons for using the policy, the UN will push for an end of the policy in the next committee meeting in year 2020.

#thinkUnchained

Did you here?

Dear MTN Vodacom and Cell C: Is South Africa kissing cheap internet access good bye?

One of the greatest challenges in today’s Africa is presented by the advent of the internet.

For us the internet presents not just a means though which we satisfy our need for entertainment but it is now very instrumental in our fight against poverty, ill-health and miss-information.

The spread of feature mobile phones across most if not all of Africa has been good to us because it has made it possible to access cheaper internet. Unfortunately the arrival of Android smart phones is changing this chance and we are-all most on a daily bases finding internet  access more and more difficult as the value for a good data bungle is being devalued. The amount of time we spend on the internet is smaller than that which was the norm last year. You need not use statistics to prove this so. You simply have to go over your own memories and you will find that most of your friends were changing mobile phone networks almost on an hourly basis because the was a war going on between MTN, Vodacom and Cell C. Non of the afore-mentioned three can come out and claim itself a victor but I personally find it easier to point out Cell C as the better warrior-if not man of the match because it did manage to rake in a good number of fans who were attracted by the cheaper and longer lasting data bungles.

Vodacom and MTN saw this and were forced to rethink and restructure their data

Photo added from www.businesstech.co.za March 7 2013

packages. Always the more adept in strategy Vodacom began to add more buy options. They first brought us promotional data bungles which we bought by the numbers. The market was good for them so they upped their game by adding more options to their standard data bungles and extending their promotion times while laying in more lanes that catered not simply for the youth but went far enough to provide bungles accessible only to youth of specific ages.

MTN came in and adapted its data packages by offering its pay as you go customers’ data bungles that are bulkier than Vodacom’s but restricted by time. The thirty days data bungles are for example very small (5MB) if you low on cash (R3 to R5) but are much more reasonable if you have enough ( R35 for    100MB). They all last quite long enough if your internet experience is restricted to text based browsing.

Cell C managed to counter Vodacom and MTN by simply increasing its marketing space while balancing its data bungles against a very competitive price. They offered us 50MB for R7 and 100MB for R15. This was not just cheap: it was irresistible and thus made Cell C the carrier of choice even though its network coverage had nothing on both MTN and Vodacom.

The battle has now shifted and is very different from that of last year. Cell C seems confident in its market share. It now advertises not as aggressively as it once did. This is evident in its shift from serious pointy finger advertising to lets party slice of life advertising. Their bungles have gone up in price and they no longer give as many pecs as they did when you buy air time.

MTN is as expensive as ever when it comes to data, they still seem keen on relieving you off of your air time through sneaky services you joined with no consent from you and they are not lazy to let you “join” maybe two of these.

They now have very agreeable bungles if you using internet via a computer (R50 twenty four hour internet access unlimited, R10 1Gig Night express and

R5 250MB night express). To top it all up their speed is the best I have by far experienced.

Vodacom has for a long time been perceived as a carrier for the moneyed-and old. In trying to change that image they have begun to again do what they do best. They re-imagined the company’s image by splashing our screens with beautiful baby faces we were powerless against. They made me a fan of the company again but it failed to make me leave Cell C and MTN (polygamy is natural to an African). I latter came across Vodacom’s other projects and fell head first into a dam full of remorse for I have not for a very long time known and therefore appreciated the effort the company is putting into making South Africa a better place for all. Vodacom Millionaire has sisters from both Cell C and MTN but I personally do not find then any closer to the value of Vodacom’s e-School.

What bothers me however is the question of whether or not any one bothers himself to learn from it and add value to his own living condition.

The internet is not just for porn. It is an engine for change. Its greatest appeal to me is that it needs no greater resource for it to provide Africa the change it needs. Only my time and my beautiful brain: Rise African.

Please note. The above article intends only to show one man’s own hopes and frustrations about his need for internet access. He views it as a human right, values its contribution to his country and continents food chain and understands, appreciates and encourages the mobile network’s efforts to make internet accessible in Africa and South Africa specifically.

He is however worried that these efforts are becoming more and more profit driven and doing so on a continent still not well placed for humane profitability. 

Playing pick-a-booh with the sentiments of color : Black or white we never chose to live like this!

The trouble with being today's African is that often, we today live in a way we as Africans-white and black-never chose. It was chosen for us by our ancestors who no longer now care about the mess of life they left for us.

Life with good neighbors is sweet; life with bad neighbors is bad but life with indifferent neighbors worse. You do not know where you stand with them. South Africa and indeed southern Africans are a divided people. There is this thing they are calling social cohesion(in South Africa) but this thing is-if at all working-rather too slow. To some of us and especially me, it is an even stranger animal than the segregation (apartheid). The problem is not really that I am bred-as some would put it-to hate my European neighbors. Rather, it is that I am afraid of them because I, as a person, do not know where I stand with them.

I do not fear their rejection of me as an individual but I find it hard to stand in front of them for if I do stand in front of them, I as a person-the most intricate part of me will be judged and the judgment will scale my being as somehow very lacking.

To me, my skin color should be very unimportant. My lips and my buttocks shape should not be a bother. The shape of my hips and penis' measurements should never be a thing of question. What I miss about apartheid is that I knew where I stood in their eyes. Yes it made me angry but at least my anger was not unjustifiable because I and my white neighbors knew the reason. There was no elephant waiting to crush any person in the room.

In today’s southern Africa my being is the source of my every day fear. I as a person am forced to, every minute of every day evaluate my own value against theirs. It is as if they are normal and I am somehow inadequate and as such must strive to fit or be ejected.

The advent of social media and TV is to my dismay only helping to make things worse. The white neighbor called Penny Sparrow is a good example of this. The woman, somebody’s mother, actually went onto facebook and posted the whole thing (she called black beach goers monkeys). What bothers me is that this happening made me ask myself “am I still so much less in the Europeans eyes?” Do these people, our own brothers (1640 is a long time ago) still believe in this social programming…Were their long dead ancestors so thoroughly brain washed that it is effective even today?

The USA has been free from racism for over fifty years now-well at least that’s what you would be led to believe if only your country’s US embassy had its way. Look at the news however and you will soon discover how racially charged the USA is. South Africa is no better and they keep quiet about the whole thing only to raise it up again come elections. The Afrikaner supported Afriforum speaks as would a highly censored convict. Everything they say must be clean of racism and racial undertones. They represent not just the average white South African but the Afrikaner. And that is itself the beginning of their greatest of challenges come elections.

The EFF being young and all has the luxury being the only clown inside the ANC palace. They are therefore not at all shy and can point every other person’s flaws and never get punished for doing it.

The ANC and the DA are the main contenders. The DA represents both white and black-well at least that’s what we are told. They speak out very boldly against the ANC but their angel status is falling apart. This is because Lindiwe Mazibuko’s departure from parliament left many questions in our minds. The girl was no fan of Zuma but she latter begun to be not so friendly with Helen Zille. ANC was once a god but that day is long gone. They speak for blacks but we do occasionally hear Britain speaking. The Guptahs made matters worse. We have long suspected a third force in the country but we did not for a minute think they would be powerful enough to bring the ANC such an embarrassment. 

What bothers me however is not what happens in parliament but rather the ignored mess that we face because of it. Twenty one years from 1994 we South Africans are still verily a divided people.

I have for years dreamt of going into a white suburb and be accepted there as a person not just as a legal entity as is currently the case. My way of life allows me to go over to my neighbor’s house ask and be given a cup of salt whenever I find myself lacking. It is not that I cannot do that here. It is rather that I cannot afford to do it. The risk is too much. You see, my being in the suburbs means that I am now an ambassador on behalf of every other black man a white man who is my neighbor will meet out there. My going over to ask for salt will not serve any good to bring us together past our geo-location. What it will do is rather to reinforce an over a century old stereotype. You see we blacks are thought of as a people who cannot take care of themselves. This is a half a millennia old false stereotype and asking for salt from my white neighbor in today’s South Africa doesn’t help remedy the belief at all.

What’s even more depressing is that being white in black South Africa can be even much worse.

Did you know there are white squatter camps in South Africa? I know there are some of you who believe this thought. You even go so far as to even ask why not? Well I’ll tell you why. Being a white person in South Africa means being rich, period. A toilet cleaning Indian South African is toleratable but a white person doing the same thing is plain right depressing. Very depressing. There are a number of factors that could explain why this is but the most obvious one is the perception whites inspired back when they made themselves a better people than the black man. They were elevated over us black folk and the result is a divided people to such a degree that even though a poor black brother can go ask salt when in lack a white brother cannot. The white man who happens to be poor is frowned upon. Even by the people he deems his own. The misfortune of being a poor white South African is not viewed as a matter of misfortune but is taken as a sign of personal failure. Failure not born of ill luck but rather lazy born of failure to take the chance at wealth apartheid afforded the white South African at before 1994. How then can I being such a person be able to ask my black brother to help me?

Social racial separation in South Africa is everywhere. It is not institutionalized-there is no need for this-but is rather psychologically ingrained in our psych. It is able to automatically show itself in almost everything we do and everywhere we are. The sad part is that those of us who grew up seeing segregation will go on seeing it even when there is no need for us to see it any more. We-both black and white-grew up being taught to see it. Perceive it even in its subtlest form.

I have had the rare chance of being in to a University. They are on the main still very much segregated to an extent but I have seen the hardest crossover take place right in front of me. I have seen black boys go up and pursue the heart of a white woman and actually win it. I have seen them marry and have seen them integrating into each other’s families with no major hiccups. You might think I am a sucker for white men’s company but I assure you that that is not really the case. I simply do not hate them. I love them as would any other man love his fellow citizen. I do not want to see the obliterated or chased away from their country just because some hateful man sees not fully African enough. I would also hate to see my child being denied an excellent western education just because the color of his skin is not pale.

If we go on harboring the sentiments of color will not ever get to realize the fruits of the peace we South Africans enjoy. We will never see the end of White privilege and we will go on hearing foul cries over the presence of policies akin to Affirmative Action. Black privilege will rise and South Africa will fall into a war of the races. I do not want to see this. What I want to see is a country bound by common interest, interests that will advance the peace and the beauty of this country.

Playing pick-a-booh with the sentiments of color will not help us. What will help us is to have our politicians stop raising up the race card whenever things fail to go their way. This is the main reason we fail to truly reconcile with one another. The day we remove such politicians is the day we will move forward and prosper peacefully as a nation.

                  

Playing pick-a-booh with the sentiments of color : Black or white we never chose to live like this!

The trouble with being today's South African is that often, we today live in a way we as Africans-white and black-never chose. It was chosen for us by our ancestors who no longer now care about the mess of life they left for us.

Life with good neighbors is sweet; life with bad neighbors is bad but life with indifferent neighbors worse. You do not know where you stand with them. South Africa and indeed southern Africans are a divided people. There is this thing they are calling social cohesion(in South Africa) but this thing is-if at all working-rather too slow. To some of us and especially me, it is an even stranger animal than the segregation (apartheid). The problem is not really that I am bred-as some would put it-to hate my European neighbors. Rather, it is that I am afraid of them because I, as a person, do not know where I stand with them.

I do not fear their rejection of me as an individual but I find it hard to stand in front of them for if I do stand in front of them, I as a person-the most intricate part of me will be judged and the judgment will scale my being as somehow very lacking.

To me, my skin color should be very unimportant. My lips and my buttocks shape should not be a bother. The shape of my hips and penis' measurements should never be a thing of question. What I miss about apartheid is that I knew where I stood in their eyes. Yes it made me angry but at least my anger was not unjustifiable because I and my white neighbors knew the reason. There was no elephant waiting to crush any person in the room.

In today’s southern Africa my being is the source of my every day fear. I as a person am forced to, every minute of every day evaluate my own value against theirs. It is as if they are normal and I am somehow inadequate and as such must strive to fit or be ejected.

The advent of social media and TV is to my dismay only helping to make things worse. The white neighbor called Penny Sparrow is a good example of this. The woman, somebody’s mother, actually went onto facebook and posted the whole thing (she called black beach goers monkeys). What bothers me is that this happening made me ask myself “am I still so much less in the Europeans eyes?” Do these people, our own brothers (1640 is a long time ago) still believe in this social programming…Were their long dead ancestors so thoroughly brain washed that it is effective even today?

The USA has been free from racism for over fifty years now-well at least that’s what you would be led to believe if only your country’s US embassy had its way. Look at the news however and you will soon discover how racially charged the USA is. South Africa is no better and they keep quiet about the whole thing only to raise it up again come elections. The Afrikaner supported Afriforum speaks as would a highly censored convict. Everything they say must be clean of racism and racial undertones. They represent not just the average white South African but the Afrikaner. And that is itself the beginning of their greatest of challenges come elections.

The EFF being young and all has the luxury being the only clown inside the ANC palace. They are therefore not at all shy and can point every other person’s flaws and never get punished for doing it.

The ANC and the DA are the main contenders. The DA represents both white and black-well at least that’s what we are told. They speak out very boldly against the ANC but their angel status is falling apart. This is because Lindiwe Mazibuko’s departure from parliament left many questions in our minds. The girl was no fan of Zuma but she latter begun to be not so friendly with Helen Zille. ANC was once a god but that day is long gone. They speak for blacks but we do occasionally hear Britain speaking. The Guptahs made matters worse. We have long suspected a third force in the country but we did not for a minute think they would be powerful enough to bring the ANC such an embarrassment. 

What bothers me however is not what happens in parliament but rather the ignored mess that we face because of it. Twenty one years from 1994 we South Africans are still verily a divided people.

I have for years dreamt of going into a white suburb and be accepted there as a person not just as a legal entity as is currently the case. My way of life allows me to go over to my neighbor’s house ask and be given a cup of salt whenever I find myself lacking. It is not that I cannot do that here. It is rather that I cannot afford to do it. The risk is too much. You see, my being in the suburbs means that I am now an ambassador on behalf of every other black man a white man who is my neighbor will meet out there. My going over to ask for salt will not serve any good to bring us together past our geo-location. What it will do is rather to reinforce an over a century old stereotype. You see we blacks are thought of as a people who cannot take care of themselves. This is a half a millennia old false stereotype and asking for salt from my white neighbor in today’s South Africa doesn’t help remedy the belief at all.

What’s even more depressing is that being white in black South Africa can be even much worse.

Did you know there are white squatter camps in South Africa? I know there are some of you who believe this thought. You even go so far as to even ask why not? Well I’ll tell you why. Being a white person in South Africa means being rich, period. A toilet cleaning Indian South African is toleratable but a white person doing the same thing is plain right depressing. Very depressing. There are a number of factors that could explain why this is but the most obvious one is the perception whites inspired back when they made themselves a better people than the black man. They were elevated over us black folk and the result is a divided people to such a degree that even though a poor black brother can go ask salt when in lack a white brother cannot. The white man who happens to be poor is frowned upon. Even by the people he deems his own. The misfortune of being a poor white South African is not viewed as a matter of misfortune but is taken as a sign of personal failure. Failure not born of ill luck but rather lazy born of failure to take the chance at wealth apartheid afforded the white South African at before 1994. How then can I being such a person be able to ask my black brother to help me?

Social racial separation in South Africa is everywhere. It is not institutionalized-there is no need for this-but is rather psychologically ingrained in our psych. It is able to automatically show itself in almost everything we do and everywhere we are. The sad part is that those of us who grew up seeing segregation will go on seeing it even when there is no need for us to see it any more. We-both black and white-grew up being taught to see it. Perceive it even in its subtlest form.

I have had the rare chance of being in to a University. They are on the main still very much segregated to an extent but I have seen the hardest crossover take place right in front of me. I have seen black boys go up and pursue the heart of a white woman and actually win it. I have seen them marry and have seen them integrating into each other’s families with no major hiccups. You might think I am a sucker for white men’s company but I assure you that that is not really the case. I simply do not hate them. I love them as would any other man love his fellow citizen. I do not want to see the obliterated or chased away from their country just because some hateful man sees not fully African enough. I would also hate to see my child being denied an excellent western education just because the color of his skin is not pale.

If we go on harboring the sentiments of color will not ever get to realize the fruits of the peace we South Africans enjoy. We will never see the end of White privilege and we will go on hearing foul cries over the presence of policies akin to Affirmative Action. Black privilege will rise and South Africa will fall into a war of the races. I do not want to see this. What I want to see is a country bound by common interest, interests that will advance the peace and the beauty of this country.

Playing pick-a-booh with the sentiments of color will not help us. What will help us is to have our politicians stop raising up the race card whenever things fail to go their way. This is the main reason we fail to truly reconcile with one another. The day we remove such politicians is the day we will move forward and prosper peacefully as a nation.

The present day South African never chose to live like this. Why must we not throw it away.

                  

The Opinionated African: A prayer from a weak man’s heart

The Opinionated African: A prayer from a weak man’s heart: I have always believed in you I have always sensed a part of Who I am watching Watching over me,   Warning me, Directing m...

South Africa Without President Mandela. How are we going to Define ourselves without him?

So Baba is gone.

Well, I need no answer to that question, I know he’s gone. That much is not the problem. The main problem here is how are we to define ourselves without him?

I mean, I know we going to eat, drink and study-I mean even be rich. But how on earth am I and my family going to define ourselves without him?

I am not sure if you going to see the comparison but, it is sort of like ‘How is South Africa to define itself without him-President Dr Nelson Mandela-I mean? Are these people of ours still going to associate themselves with the old man’s ideology, are we, the people still to remain seeing ourselves as did the Icons of our country? Are we to carry out and carry over the things, the values and pangs that Mandela and our fathers stood for?

The King of the Zulu sees no enemy in the now Zulu Briton,the ideal Mandela sees no enemy in DeKlerk’s people and the Swazi see no profit in pursuing the wrongs of the British to their country, Swaziland.

Mean while the Zulu is content with his statehood remaining as is. The once upon a time rumbling and tumbling Kingdom of the Zulu, etched stiff in memory but only a fabled dream in reality.Is the proud African white still to hold still his blood in its cry for self determinism or is he to let it run as free as an angry and warring Zulu warrior. Blind to death and the uncertainty of things that comes with it? Are we the people to remain South African or is each soon to run to his perceived own?

The answers to this questions are many and too theatrical. It is therefore quite wasteful to answer them all right now but to us and the many who love many a sad things I dare say let’s start talking and pointing the fingers.

Here goes:

1.     The Afrikaner and The People’s Council

These (the Afrikaner) are a people born, bred and bared by the hills and valleys of Africa in all manner of the words but one. They happen to be of European decent. They, along with the major players in South Africa’s history-bad means or not- built this country. They fought the mistreatment and cruel rule of the British, lost 26000 people to the Anglo-Boere war and suffered phi-dogs living conditions in British war camps around the country. They worked hard enough to-by 1960s- have moved from running the Free State and Transvaal Republic to running Zimbabwe, Namibia and old mother South Africa herself. They achieved this using various means: some diplomatic, some deceitful and inhumane and some downright human degrading in nature and purpose. They end result was a strong dualistic state capable of great innovative inventions. It was heaven for most of the white but hell for the morally tortured white and especially the Black man who sought life in the cities.

Due to the call for a multicultural-political state, the Afrikaner inspired state died-well in many respects-and we became one people under democratic South Africa.

We however, who hunt and see things we shouldn’t are aware of the People’s Council; an Afrikaner movement which became notable in 2011, September. They are calling for a separate state for the Afrikaner people, state where they hope to rekindle their nation, culture and tradition. They hoped to start the discussion for such a dream with the government of RSA late last year (August 2014).

And so here comes fracture number one  dear mother South Africa.

Go to www.volksraad.co.za for more.

2.     The Zulu Nation

The Zulu are a people born of so called Negro people of Africa. Well that is according to the so called Africanist researchers of Europe. Our tradition however dictates that we are Bantu of the Nguni stock born of South Egypt and Nubia. We came to South Africa a thousand years ago via the Mountain of Asembo (Embo) in Kenya, and left a trail of evidence along the way, from Egypt to modern day KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

We, along with the Boere and British are among the role players of South Africa’s history. Shaka Zulu our main founding king united many a chiefdoms, clans and tribes into one rumbling thunder of a nation…Our domain went from a tiny spec of dominance to rivaling, the then mighty Mthethwa nation, Zwide kaMashobana kingdom of the Ndwandwe to shocking the world when we defeated the mighty British war machine at Isandlwana. We lost our dominance over a very large portion of land in South Africa not because of the British but through the ingenuity of the Afrikaner commandos who divided the main House and thus pitted brother against brother in a series of bloody and fruitless wars and finally razing down the Ulundi Royal Palace and taking our last militarily mighty king (His Majesty king Cetshwayo of Ondini) to exile in the Island of St. Helena. We were left with no king but thousands of warring chiefs who had no means to fight the British and their then Afrikaner partners.  Thus was the mighty giant put to sleep-with all its viciousness, splendor and power.

We have been in such a state ever since those days. We lost our customs, our traditions and mostly our way of life.

Even though we have a king, we fear we are not ever to regain our statehood, our young are more adept to the English tongue than to using their own, politicians have ravaged our chiefdoms in their aim to get more votes in this new South Africa, they have done so in the king’s name and that of ending poverty. We are a dying people: our nationhood is constantly being attacked and degraded to a tribe’s level, our girls are frowned upon when they go to virginity test, our Umhlanga-reed dance ceremony is a hot bad for molesters, our chiefdoms are being reduced into puppets by local municipalities and our chiefs are now referred as local leaders-as if they were some nameless soul picketing over the building of toilets instead of houses.

Although it has never been uttered in the media, the general feeling among the Zulu chiefdoms is not entirely that of loyalty to the government of the day. Many a Zulu are loyal to their chief and their king. But the advent of politics is slowly but surely corroding this in such a way that soon enough we will be Zulu only by name. It is good for the unity of the country geographically and maybe politically but the returning of mainly the ceremony of Ukweshwama/Incwala and uMhlanga in truth means that the Zulu are reviving their nationhood. This I say because Incwana/Ukweshwama and uMhlanga ceremony are ceremonies meant to concentrate the king’s power over the people and also to confer unity among the chiefs, tribes, clans and families.

So long as the king does this, our people are verily marching to nationhood oh and the king is slowly but surely becoming independent of the RSA government’s funds…guess what is next. Well I’ll tell you: the Ingwenyama Trust Board is a board developed to protect the land of the people living in KwaZulu-Natal. It looks after and protects much of the which used to be Zululand. Now, the black African being hungry for land-and the New South Africa’s founding fathers’ mistake in not adequately dealing with the difference between conquered land and stolen land-forced the ANC led government to re-open land claims. The Ingwenyama trust took it upon itself to quantify land lost to Zulu kingdom and also submit the land claim on behalf of the king and his people. The claim is to be submitted March this year(2015)…Oh so we here.

The king, His Majesty Zwelithi has as of yet not being heard saying any thing about this land claim on radio or TV. As such, we are in no postion to verify or falsify this news but Ukhozi FM did tell us that there might be such a claim last year(2014). If true, it would seem the Zulu are well on their way to becoming a nation with its own land; beautiful and all boarded. A big chunk of South Africa gone. Be it ends up so or not, this spells out one huge crack, can Mandela’s cement hold it?

Oh and we are livid over the changing of King Shaka’s Day into this Heritage Day of theirs. Why? Well who is the Zulu without his father, the Great King of the Zulu nation?

Here comes prospective fracture number two.

3.     The ANC

Ah the hero of modern day Republic of South Africa. The ANC is a popular and very strong political party that is currently the government’s ruling party.

It is multicultural, adaptive to the times and has traditionally very strong leaders as its head. Examples are, Nelson Mandela, Chief Luthuli, Pixie (?)  KaSeme and many others… The ANC has a very long history, they moved from a movement of Black African Southern African kings like king Sobhuza of Swaziland, king Dalindyebo(?) of KwaXhosa, African elites and many others to being a movement of the people almost across Southern Africa and not just South Africa.

Its crowning glory is the Freedom Charter and its statement; “South Africa Belongs to All who live in it”. The party has endured many a tribulations, from being horridly persecuted by the then apartheid government to its members being at odds with the Inkatha Freedom Party(IFP). 1994 was the year the ANC became the ruling party of South Africa. It took the people to the world, gave them peace, gave them land and houses of their own, promoted the opening of universities to African blacks and many more Indian Africans, free education to the black African and many more opportunities previously closed to us African blacks. They made many promises two.

The issue of land is a big head-ache for the ANC. Why? Well, because many a black Africans deem themselves a people with no land-well we Zulus retained much of ours. They still see themselves as sojourners right in the land of their birth. Because of the Afrikaner, they, today have no land. Their land along with their graves, kraals, and main house ruins are under the control and mercy of the hateful Afrikaner…Even today: in new democratic South Africa.

It does not stop there. To make matter even worse, the Agreed upon “willing seller willing buyer” land repatriation principle adopted by the ANC to bring people their land is very much a head-ache to the ANC. On one side is the African black, very much in love with his ancestral land, on the other is the Afrikaner who sees himself not as a colonialist or even conqueror of the land but verily the discoverer and founder of that very same land the African black wants.

The willing buyer, willing seller principle is therefore not an easy exercise for poor ANC.

Then comes dear old money and its so called economy. Much of South Africa’s economy and therefore money, banks and everything was made by the Briton and the Afrikaner off the breaking back bone of the African black, South Africa today is a democracy, that being so, means little to us the poor of this country besides off course that me still in money terms still as we were back then when we toiled and bled under the National Party and its apartheid.

On top of that is the poor delivery of the syllabus by mostly the poor schools, unruly and often very scary school children and their hopeless  hurts and love for short cuts. Oh, and the EFF is pushing for not just Nationalization of mines but also for the removal of Mr. President Jacob Zuma from the presidential seat. They did this right in parliament when they asked the president to “Pay back the money” used by the state to secure and upgrade his home at Nkandla.

Ah dear crack, the ANC affiliated speaker used the so called white shirted police to remove the EFF out of parliament. Oh and somebody used a portable military grade signal jammer to disrupt mobile phones, radio and TV signals-when are them soldiers coming in dear crack?

The above are but only signs that the country as is, is in trouble. I am no politician; I simply wish not to go back to the old days: back when living in my country, on my mother land KwaZulu-Natal was a horrible thing.  So Babe is gone, I know we are still going to eat, drink and even be rich. But how are we going to define ourselves without him? President Madiba is gone, how we South Africans going to define ourselves without him?

Fix these cracks or verily the rainbow colors will simply go their separate ways.