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AMERIKAANSE STUDENT LEES SELWYN SE GEDIG

Selwyn Milborrow - Poet, Novelist and Researcher

Veerle Vrindts is a published Belgian writer

South Africa at risk of becoming a failed African state – Selwyn Milborrow

South Africa at risk of becoming a failed African state – Selwyn Milborrow

I speak for many South Africans when I say that we are all dismayed‚ but not surprised by the farcical findings of the Nkandla report. The irony is that this comes weeks after we experienced the terrifying xenophobic attacks and the much celebrated Africa Day.

Somali born author Nuruddin Farah, recently said that if you throw a stone at the guilty it never reaches the guilty party; it always reaches the innocent ones. “It's because the guilty protect themselves with walls that you cannot go beyond…” he said. Many believe that this was the case with President Jacob Zuma, who was absolved by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko. He said the swimming pool – now called a fire pool after it was queried, an animal enclosure, the amphitheatre, and the visitor’s centre were all security features. And all this while corruption continues to stifle growth on the African continent, and its citizens being confronted with corruption and poor access to basic services on a daily basis.

Inertia is one of the menaces practiced unabated by government officials in South Africa. The Nkandla report has subsequently become the official green light for South African and African leaders to act with impunity, and further demonstrates a continual failure to hold our leaders accountable‚ most often at the expense of us the taxpayers. In 1964 at the famous Treason trial, Nelson Mandela said, “Today I am attracted by the idea of a classless society, an attraction which springs in part from Marxist reading and, in part, from my admiration of the structure and organisation of early African societies in this country. The land, then the main means of production, belonged to the tribe. There were no rich or poor and there was no exploitation.”

The present situation is farcical in the extreme. President Jacob Zuma made a mockery of the opposition in Parliament the day before his police minister, Nathi Nhleko, exonerated him. He made a mockery of parties who found his plundering of the country's finances objectionable. By implication their concerns about overspending at Nkandla is seen by the president as upper middle-class snobbery. Many believe that the money should have been spent on infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, medical equipment, education and the like. The Auditor General has confirmed that the government in its 20 years of governing the country, has spent - or is it lost - the absurd amount of R 880 billion on irregular, unauthorized, and wasteful expenditure. Steven Friedman from the Centre for the Study of Democracy wrote, “Anyone who has spent any time talking to working-class and poor citizens will know that most are as angry about corruption and waste as anyone else - which is why they frequently appear on the streets in actions that are wrongly labelled “service delivery protests” but are in reality a demand for government that accounts to citizens.”

I was part of the South African freedom struggle during the eighties, and understandably happy to have witnessed the fall of apartheid and subsequent dawn of a new South Africa. I thought that all of us would stand on our own feet while living out the dream made possible for us through sacrifices. This dream has now turned into a nightmare. One would think that the right thing to do now is to step down and allow someone - more capable of integrity - to turn this nightmare around, but that is wishful thinking.

South Africa longs for a president that is at one with his own people. With the 2016 municipal elections only a few months away, many of the older voters offended by Zuma’s caricature may stay at home in disgust, but not enough to change election results in much of the country. This is because, research shows, they remain loyal to its traditions. However, there might be light at the end of the tunnel. According to a survey the “born-free” generation will make up a third of the voting population by the 2019 general election. Whatever the outcome at the polling stations, let’s hope that Zuma’s predecessor will apply Nelson Mandela’s servant leadership skills by being prepared to take the opportunity, and prevent South Africa from descending into another failed African state. Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika! – Selwyn Milborrow (CNN iReporter, author)

SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS GROW ORGANIC GARDEN FOR NEEDY STUDENTS

South African university students grow organic garden for needy students

Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Five years ago, Agricultural students from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) established a vegetable garden to provide nutrition for needy students at its campus clinic.

Dr Tim Pittaway, a lecturer in the Agriculture and Game Management Department, teaches the plant production module to students. He said that the organic garden is an important vehicle to help students gain practical experience. It is used as a simulator to teach them the agricultural process of crop production, from nursery, to soil preparation, to planting, to harvest, and then finally packing.

Apart from it contributing to the agricultural students’ plant production practical marks, it builds student confidence, provides an environment for them to experiment, and encourages appreciation of nature and a sense of environmental stewardship. Dr Pittaway added that nutrition is key to good health, and the garden supports the university’s green initiative. No chemicals were used and it is the only source of fresh, nutritious vegetables for the programme.

Sandisiwe Mkhize, an agriculture student, could not contain her excitement at the sight of vegetables being harvested and donated to the campus clinic for its student feeding programme. Lwando Vava, a student, said he used to collect food parcels from the clinic, and praised the students for their hard and selfless work to bless the needy.

The project is managed by the students and provides nutritional support to 1200 students. Dr Pittaway said that the garden was financed by the university’s Agriculture Department. The programme exposes students to learning beyond the classroom, and it is expected that it will be key to shaping rural communities where household incomes are low.

DESSA SPEAKS TO STUDENTS AT NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

I had the honour of meeting Dessa, a rapper, hip hop artist, singer, spoken word artist, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota in the USA. She was in South Africa to deliver a Critical Theory Seminar at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.

The audience attending the seminar were diverse and interactive during discussions on feminism, race relations and the creative process of writing and performing rap music. Dessa is a member of the indie hip hop collective Doomtree. She spoke on the ethnic and cultural differences between the members of the group, and thought those differences to be part of their strength.

Dessa doesn’t write or sing as a form of therapy because she thinks that’s what friends and therapists are there for. She prefers to only share personal information when doing so seems to be in the service of a promising song or essay.

She knows what it feels like to be exposed to sexual and racial discrimination, but doesn’t consider herself to be a "feminist" because it is a term that has been evolving with each wave of feminism.

Dessa attended the University of Minnesota, where she earned a B.A. in philosophy, before becoming a full-time artist. Since 2005, Dessa has appeared on numerous Doomtree albums, as well as on the other members' solo albums. Dessa's debut solo EP, False Hopes, was released in 2005.

She completed and released a book of creative non-fiction titled Spiral Bound. Dessa's first solo album, A Badly Broken Code, was released in 2010. In 2011, she released Castor, the Twin, and in 2013, released Parts of Speech.

Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s, and performed particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx. It is a populous form of art and expression whether by the people of for the people. More than any genre of music the crowd plays a role in performance and movement. Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music, or hip-hop music, consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.