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Northern Cape

} Boipelo Mere

THE final push to convince theundecided voters to considervoting in favour of either theANC, the DA or the EFF came toan epic end as the three politicalparties rented bigger venues fortheir Siyanqoba, Ayisafani andTshela Thupa rallies respectively.

The ANC displayed their superswag with close to 95 000 support-ers inside and more supportersoutside the FNB Stadium andabout 10 000 in the Northern Cape,however not the 20 000 that wasexpected to attend the event in theGaleshewe Stadium where Pres.Jacob Zuma’s speech was broad-cast live on a big screen.

According to estimations, therewere 20 000 supporters in theWestern Cape, 20 000 in theEastern Cape and 30 000 inKwaZulu-Natal attending rallies inwhat the ANC call outflow areas.

An all in all estimation of245 000 people attended ANCrallies in one day.

Close to 5 000 people attendedthe DA rally in the Coca-ColaDome, Johannesburg.

The new kid on the block, EFF,managed to gather more than30 000 people in Atteridgeville intheir closing rally.

It was however a disappoint-ment for supporters from outsideKimberley who were bussed in tohear on their arrival in Galeshewethat the president would not bethere in person, but that theywould have to listen to a livebroadcast from the FNB Stadium.

Zuma was his usual self, leadinghis die-hard supporters in singingthe Madela kufa song Ide lindlela.

His speech, filled with statistics,was stately as if for diplomats andfar removed from the electioneer-ing mood reigning in the sta-diums. Almost half of the peopleleft the stadium, and the samehappened in Galeshewe. JuliusMalema, on the other hand, gave amouth-watering speech in Sepedi.He spoke off the cuff, addressingevery day problems. Malemabrought the stadium down withlaughter as he described how onhis imagined first day in parlia-

ment he and other members of hisparty would attend in overalls andtheir berets as a sign that theywere going to work.

Earlier when the EFF startedtheir rally, the Gauteng premiercandidate Advocate Dali Mpofu

demonstrated how the physicalremoval of the e-toll system wouldbe done if they were to rule thatprovince.

Analysts agree that the ANCwill win this election, probablynot with a two third majority,

while the DA will retain theirofficial opposition status. The EFFis poised to be third on the listwith the possibility of being partof a coalition government inGauteng.

A challenge for the official

opposition in the Northern Cape,Cope, is that some of their highprofile leaders recently defected tothe ANC. Cope’s national chairper-son, Pakes Dikgetsi, thinks thatthe party is still in good standingand is not affected by that move.

Battle lines drawnD­Day for parties after epic end to election campaign 2014

MAKE YOUR MARK: With a simple X you will ensure that South Africa remains the best place to live in. Express encourages all its readersand Free State citizens to go out and exercise their hard­won right to vote. Remember to visit the voting station where you are registeredand vote before 21:00.

2 EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014

} Emily van der Merwe

MOTHER THERESA once said:“If I looked at the masses I wouldnever act”. Maybe all youngvoters who have lost faith shouldstop looking at collective powerand start considering how poorour democracy would be withouttheir individual vote.Student apathy remains a

much-debated topic, but ironical-ly is always addressed to thewrong group and thereby hangsthe phrase of “preaching to theconverted”.Looking at students on the

whole (and disregarding individu-ality for the sake of this exer-cise), there is a multitude ofthings that we simply do notworry about: global warming,women’s rights, civil unrest inthe Central African Republic andour annual Student Representa-tive Council (SRC) election.

Last year, less than 16% of allstudents at the StellenboschUniversity voted in the SRCelection.Accordingly, there are very few

things that students, in general,care about. So few indeed, that Ihave had to think quite hard tocome up with examples.From afar, it would seem that

most students simply cannot bebothered with anything beyondtheir immediate lives (academics,friends, internet connection-speedand parking restrictions). This is,if we accept that enthusiasm, ismanifested by mass-participation.But I have reason to think that

this approach is incorrect. For ifwe are to believe that one personcan make a difference by caring– cue Dr Seuss: “Unless someonelike you cares a whole awful lot,nothing is going to get better. It’snot.” – We cannot possiblymeasure contributions by

numbers.I am part of a generation of

South Africans known as“born-frees”, or people who havebeen born since the dawn ofSouth Africa’s democracy.Many believe us to be the

“wind of change” in SouthAfrican politics when we vote for

the first time in May. This is notonly an unfair burden to place onthe shoulders of a group of20-year-olds, it is also veryunlikely to be the case when wedescend on voting stations on 7May.Of the possible 2 million

born-frees who are eligible tovote, only 680 000 have registeredthis year, according to theIndependent Electoral Commis-sion.Even if every one of them does

cast a ballot, theirs will amountto less than 3% of the total vote.It is thus highly unfeasible thatthis group should pose a seriousthreat to the ruling party.But again I rely on the notion

that numbers are not the onlything that brings about change.There is something to be saidabout the enthusiasm of theindividuals who do take votingseriously and who do believe that

they can contribute, no matterwhat the statistics say. Becausethe simple fact of a democracy isthat every vote counts.It is therefore not student

apathy or indifference thatprevents born-frees (and theirslightly older counterparts) frommaking the difference they areable to, but perhaps rather adisbelief in the power of theirvote.While born-frees account for a

very small percentage of votersin this year’s elections, estimatessuggest that by 2019, when thenext presidential election is held,one third of South African voterscould be born-frees.It remains to be seen if these

numbers will lead to change. Butfor my part, the change willoccur when I make my firstmark on an election ballot on 7May, confident that my vote issignificant.

Voting not about numbers only, every vote counts

} Boipelo Mere

THE audience ended up singingalong, clapping, dancing, ullulatingin jubilation after the stunningperformance of Letlhogonolo Nche.Nche is a member of the

Mayibuye Dance Academy, whogave the dance performance ofMy gift during the Northern CapeDance Stages over the weekend.Ignoring his dream, he decided

to rather take his career theprofessional route and become adoctor, which was the biggestmistake of his life, as his lifebecame a mess after he could notconcentrate on his job.Whatever he did, he could hear

the rhythmic beats and ended updancing to it. He would even usehis office desk to dance on, on adaily basis.Life only went back to normal

after he had faced reality andfollowed his dream of becoming adancer.That was the message that he

was sending to his audienceduring his performance.At the end of the show he told

the audience in short that dancingwas not something to talk about orto discuss, it was all aboutperforming.The Northern Cape Dance Stages

was organised by the academy,where Letlhogonolo and his fellowdancers, who are post-matricsecond-year students, performed.Letlhogonolo’s piece alone

communicated about dance as achoreographer’s gift.It touches the stories of follow-

ing one’s dream no matter whatmay come your way.It is further aimed at inspiring

people to start taking their talentseriously and build their careersout of it in order to do somethingthat one loves and that is fulfillingat the end of the day.Although the event was not as

successful as expected, it surelybrought hope that theatre could berevived in the Northern Cape.According to the Spanish

associate choreographer at theacademy, Lizelle Julie, she wasimpressed by the dedication shown

by the dancers in their firstshow.“It took them some time to start

showing the evident emotions andexpressions on stage,” she said.Referring to the message that

the group dancers were displaying,Julie said they were indeedsending the right message to theaudience, which was an opportuni-

ty to relate to what was happeningon stage.She confidently stated that it

was quite disappointing to see themany empty chairs at the event,even though all the tickets weresold out. But due to other eventshappening in Kimberley, it wasevident that arts and theatre stillhad a long way to gain recogni-

tion.She, however, said the academy

would work hard in gettingtheatre back to Kimberley.“We promise a more successful

show next year as we would havecreated more awareness about ourexistence,” added the choreogra-pher.A youth member in the audien-

ce, Onalenna Sellwane, saidbringing theatre back was a goodthing.“This shows that there is still a

lot to be done to revive theatrehere. It also shows that people donot know how to appreciate arts.”) Go to www.express-news.co.zafor a video on the group perform-ance and Letlhogonolo Nche.

Important to follow your dream

NEWS

THE second­year post­matricstudents of the MayibuyeDance Academy mesmerisedtheir audience on the stageover the weekend.

Photos: Boipelo Mere

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014 3

NEWS

} Tladi Moloi

ALBERT LOUW (62) says he wishes Maywasn’t on the calendar.

He has requested the South AfricanMunicipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) tohelp them forget what they had gonethrough 11 years ago.

Louw is one of the ten survivors of theSaulspoort Dam bus disaster which killed51 Cosatu-affiliated trade union memberswho were travelling from Kimberley to amajor May Day Rally in Qwaqwa when thebus they were travelling in plunged intothe Saulspoort Dam near Bethlehem.“Every year at this time I can’t sleepbecause of bad dreams. I hear the voices ofpeople screaming for help and those arelate comrades,” he says.

Louw says for the past 11 years he hasstruggled to put the event behind him. Hesays that he will suffer from this pain forthe rest of his life.

“I was forced to watch when my com-rades died because I could not help them. Iwant to thank Len Slabbert, because hesaved our lives that day. I would not behere celebrating today if it were not forhim. I, however, believe that somethingcould be done to help us forget.

Counselling of some sort will do. I am

calling on Samwu to help us,” he says.Louw spoke during the May Day Bus

Disaster commemoration service whichwas organised by the Dihlabeng LocalMunicipality in conjunction with the SolPlaatje Local Municipality from Kimberley.

Tjhetane Mofokeng, the executive mayorof Dihlabeng, thanked members of Cosatu,Samwu and the families of the deceasedfor honouring their request to come andcommemorate the day with them. “Alto-gether 11 years ago at this time we werewoken up with bad news.

We could not believe it when they toldus that a bus full of people had plungedinto the dam. It was very cold that dayand when I got there, there indeed was abus in the dam,” he says.

David Molusi, the executive mayor of theSol Plaatje Municipality, said he washappy that the mayor of Dihlabeng hadseen it fit that they could come to Bethle-hem to celebrate the lives of those whohad died in the dam. “God is great. I havebeen the mayor for four months and Louwwas one of the people who welcomed me.We want to thank Slabbert who bravelysaved our comrades,” he says.

) Visit express-news.co.za for morepictures.

Disaster stillnot forgotten

NEO LITHEBE (sur­vivor), Tjhetane Mo­fokeng (executivemayor of the Dihla­beng Local Munici­pality) and DavidMolusi (executivemayor of the SolPlaatje Local Munic­ipality) at the SolPlaatjie Monumentin Bethlehemwherewreaths were laid inremembrance of the51 Cosatu­affiliatedtrade union mem­bers who died in2003. Photo: Tladi Moloi

} George Mutloane

IT has been six months now since theposters appeared.

The posters first encouraged SouthAfricans to register for the elections andonly later did the posters about canvass-ing appear.

Today those who have registered, arebound to line up at their different votingstations to secretly give the thumbs upto a party of their choice.

But what has this elections broughtus?

Apart from Malema and his EconomicFreedom Fighters and Agang SA of thehighly respected academic Dr MampheleRamphele, these elections brought thereality that indeed millions of SouthAfricans are suffering and they needhelp urgently.

The problem is, both the ruling partyand the opposition always shelve thesuffering of the people until the nextelections.

The opposition will remove this fromits can of worms and dangle the suffer-ing around for all to see, while thegovernment will open its own bag anddangle a myriad of deliveries for all tosee.

This normally lasts until the eve of the

elections andafter the elec-tions, the samepolitical partieswho have beencalling eachother names, willmeet at anappointed placeto share the

spoils, each according to the X’s accumu-lated.

The problem with the elections is thatyou cannot have all these people inparliament, because the constitution ofSouth Africa demands that we only send400 people to the national parliament anda varying number to provincial legisla-tures.

A practical choice would have been tosend them all to the legislative institu-tions in equal numbers, give themdifferent listed tasks and see whoamongst them do a diligent work.

It would help if they were assigneddifferent tasks and the citizens got anupdated result biannually.

That is not to be, accordingly since weare heralded all over the world as havingthe best constitution, it is proper forNorthern Cape Express to proclaim thefamous phrase: May the best party win.

The big day is here

4 EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014

NEWS

} Boipelo Mere

THE Freedom Day Oratorscompetition turned out to be aneye-opener for both learners,teachers and the South AfricanLocal Government Association(Salga).

This one-day event for learnerswas held at the Salga offices lastweek as part of Salga’s FreedomMonth celebrations.

Although the competition onlyresulted in one winning school,the topic of the day, A better placeto live in, proved to be a fun andeducational experience.

The learners had to elaborate onthe topic by touching on sub-top-ics, including Learn about thevalue of freedom and the painSouth Africa went through inorder to achieve it; Replace thenegative perceptions about servicedelivery (in local government) tomore positive ones of appreciatingwhere we are now in comparison towhere we come from; and Celebrateand appreciate the attainment offreedom and democracy in SouthAfrica.

The Dr EP Lekhela SecondarySchool, St Boniface High Schooland Northern Cape High Schoolwere the three schools thatparticipated in the debate in thepresence of educators, parents,and stakeholders from the officesof the executive mayors of the SolPlaatje and Frances BaardMunicipalities.

The event was also graced bythe presence of the runner-up forMrs South Africa 2014, LizzyStaffa, and a Noord-Kapenaarnominee of the year, Mark Kotze.

According to Tsholofelo Mhikoof the St Boniface High School,who was declared the winningschool, to them (learners) thecompetition was not aboutwinning, but a platform to expressthemselves as the youth.

She said the reason why theyhad won the competition is

because they had spoken aboutwhat they are experiencing asyoung people.

“It is an honourable privilegefor us to have won, but this wasnot about competing with otherschools; it was about us express-ing our thoughts about how wefeel about South Africa being abetter place as compared to othercountries.”

Ntesang Kgechane of the Dr EPLekhela Secondary School appre-ciated the platform for expressingtheir views. She said the pro-gramme was motivation for herinactive school debate team andadded that it would give themmore exposure.

According to Kgechane, shewould love to partake in a similar

session in the future as theylearned a lot from one anotherduring the interactions.

“It sounded like we had expe-rienced the oppression and ineq-uality that our grandparents wentthrough. What we have to do is tomake the best of this situation.”

Kamohelo Lebakeng and JoyMokgoroane of the Northern CapeHigh School said it was a greatexpe- rience to brainstorm withtheir groups about how they couldchange the negative experiences oftoday’s freedom into positives andto use it to their own benefit asyoung South Africans.

Staffa, who delivered a guestspeech, encouraged the youth tovote as a- form of practising theirfreedom of speech.

“That is why you have to vote;it is a way of contributing to thefuture of this country.

She said she had learnedthrough her personal experienceas a finalist that today’s freedomhad to be utilised fully.

“It is through this freedom thatI was a finalist in the Mrs SouthAfrica pageant, otherwise it wouldstill be limited to others.”

Willie Johnson, the chairpersonof Salga in the Northern Cape,said the programme was aimed athearing from the youth about howthey felt about freedom since 1994.

“We need to get a sense of howthey feel, then assess and evaluatewhether they are ready andunderstand how they feel,” hesaid.

Johnson added that theyintended to engage with otherdistricts to persuade them to havesimilar programmes at educationlevel. He highlighted that althoughthey (Salga) noticed the confidenceand eagerness of the learners inparticipating in the programme,they were still not as well in-formed about Salga.

“We need to approach theschools in order to educate thelearners about ourselves. We willembark on a programme in duecourse to implement a programmewhen the schools reopen,”promised the chairperson.) Go to www.express-news.co.zato listen to a St Boniface HighSchool learner telling how theywon the orators competition.

The freedom to talk about freedom

} Boipelo Mere

THE Northern Cape soupkitchen cooks will from nowearn a stipend of R1 552,98 forseven months which is bound toincrease to R1 688,20 for theremaining five months of thefinancial year.

This was announced by theMEC for the Department ofSocial Development in theNorthern Cape, Tiny Chotelo,when she launched the partner-ship programme between herdepartment and the Departmentof Roads and Public Works inWarrenton last week.

The programme, from which333 cooks in the province willbenefit, enables the Departmentof Roads and Public Works tocontribute towards the paymentof stipends from their respectiveExpanded Public Works Pro-gramme (EPWP) budgets for the2014-’15 financial year.

Unlike in the past when thecooks used to be paid from thefunding provided to the soupkitchens, they will now be paiddirectly from the EPWP.

According to the MEC, whowas flanked by Kgadi Moloi, the

executive mayor of the FrancesBaard District Municipality,Bisto Monopole, the Magarengmayor, and councillors, itpreviously meant that a consid-erable portion of the fundsallocated for the daily operationsof the soup kitchens were forsalaries.

She also highlighted that thepartnership was an effort by thetwo departments to ensure thatthe soup kitchens would operatefive days a week.

She elaborated on allegationsthat cooks stole and mismanagedfunds for food and the proce-dures for accounting for everycent allocated to them. Choteloalso said the partnership wasaimed at bettering the lives ofthe cooks.

Chotelo encouraged thecommunity to stand together andsupport their needy neighbours.) Go to the Express website atwww.express-news.co.za andlisten to Chotelo elaborating onhow they monitor the soupkitchen funds.

Also go into Express videos onthis website and see how being asoup kitchen cook has changedMagdeline Marumolwane’s life.

Cooks now paid

THE executive mayor of the Frances Baard District Municipality, Kgadi Moloi, led the National Anthemduring the event. Behind her is the MEC of Social Development, Tiny Chotelo. Photo: Boipelo Mere

THE three schools that participated in the Freedom Day Orators competition, organised by Salga, together with with their motivational speakers.Photo: Boipelo Mere

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014 5

NEWS

} Oteng Mpete

THE heart of South Africa isembracing an idea that wouldhave been unthinkable 20 yearsago: interracial relationships.

In 1927 the Immorality Act wasdesigned to ensure that the unionbetween whites and non-whiteswould be illegal.

This act allowed their homes tobe raided. Those found guilty ofsuch unions would be arrestedand intimate artefacts from theirhomes would be used as evidencein court of their blatant defianceof the law. Once the ImmoralityAct was repelled in 1985, it wasclear that white rule was comingto an end.

Black and whiteWith the celebration of our

20-year-old democracy came also achallenge to find positive storiesthat have transpired over thisperiod.

Lerato Modise and DylanMyburgh are a handsome pair andat first glance one would beoblivious to the fact that they arean interracial couple.

“When I realised that he wasnot perfect I knew I had to bewith him,” said 25-year-oldModise.

“I realised that she was ablessing,” said Myburgh, the26-year-old manager of Bella-Sarmie.

The one thing that they bothagree on is that they never tookeach other’s race into considera-tion.

Myburgh and Modise are one ofvery few couples that are fortu-nate enough to receive supportand understanding from bothsides of their families. This isprobably because both Modise andMyburgh are children of mixedrace couples.

They both will be voting in theupcoming national elections.

They assertively express thatthe state of current politicalaffairs is purely based on anticsand gimmicks.

They hope that in time SouthAfrica’s government will providesocietal transparency and consist-ency.

The couple believes that thereshould not be any racial classifica-tions for South Africa to become acolour blind society.

“We have never experienceddiscrimination as a couple,” saidModise.

Myburgh retorted: “There arecertain places that make meuncomfortable. We get stared atand are given dirty looks. I canhandle being stared at by five orten people. However, when 30people are making it difficult forus to enjoy our dinner, then I feellike we are being discriminatedagainst and I leave.

“If South Africans wouldadopt a humanist approach,interracial couples would notexperience hostility,” said My-burgh.

Not a new thing in South AfricaInterracial couples are not new

in South Africa; some iconiccouples include renowned 90stelevision personality Dali Tamboand his wife of 15 years, RachelTambo. The now divorced politi-cian Mosima Tokyo Sexwale andJudy van Vuuren, who weremarried for 20 years is anotherexample.

East and westGrant Richardson, an assistant

researcher at the University of theFree State’s Medical Faculty,knew he had to be with 24-year-old professional nurse Jo-Anna Luthe moment a mutual friendintroduced them at a braai.

Richardson was concerned abouthow his family would react thefirst time they met Lu.

“Within the first five minutes ofmeeting Jo-Anna, they loved her,”said Richardson.

“My family is old school andthey grew up in that (conserva-tive) era. My great-grandfathercame to South Africa during theBoer War, that is how white I am,but my decision to be withJo-Anna was unconscious.”

For Lu her decision to be withRichardson was a natural one.Lu’s parents are of differentethnicities.

“My mother is a white womanwith blonde hair and blue eyesand my father is Taiwanese.

“We have never experienceddiscrimination as a couple,” saidLu.

Lu has had her fair share ofdiscrimination; she recollects:“When I was in high school, a boytold me I was not white enoughfor him to date. I have sincelearned to overlook such com-

ments and ignore the bad.”Lu has been exposing Grant to

Asian dishes. “Chicken feet aredelicious. Grant is trying and isopen to suggestion but he does notalways like what I try and forceon him,” chuckles Lu.

“We want children and mixedbabies are the best. Our childrenwill be taught and will understandexactly who and what theirparents are,” said Richardson.

The couple will be votingtogether. They both think thatSouth Africa is headed in theright direction.

“If we can be given all theprinciples of good governance, wewill have a better South Africa.We need justness and fairnessfrom our government,” said Lu.

Grant’s sentiments are that itwill take up to four or fivegenerations to justify and correctthe injustices of apartheid but itwill happen.

It is now easier to fall in loveOn 27 April 1994, the one-man-

one-vote dream became a reality.The realisation of this dreammeant a new South Africa. ASouth Africa that would eradicateall unjust laws from the apartheidera, ultimately ensuring thatSouth Africa belongs to all thosewho live in it. Nelson Mandelaurged all to forgive and reconcileand these very messages resonatethrough the relationships of theseinterracial couples.

Love in the age of technologymakes interracial interaction fareasier than going up and talkingto someone of a different race.More than half of South Africa’spopulation never willingly engagea person of a different race. Thisis according to a study done by

the Institution of Justice andReconciliation.

Mild and spicy“The first time I met Shiraz was

when I found out that he waswhite,” said Faheeza Morris, a26-year-old Indian women.

“We met online in a chatroom; Iwas 17 years old. We physicallymet when I was 20 years old, infront of Sweets from Heaven inMimosa Mall.

“I knew that I was going tomarry this woman,” said WernerShiraz Morris, 28.

Faheeza grew up in Wepener, asmall town near the border ofLesotho. Faheeza recalls that sheand her sister were the onlychildren of colour in the school.

The community was predomi-nately white Afrikaans in 1993,but they accepted our family. Inever experienced any discrimina-tion,” said Faheeza.

“My father wanted me to bewith a good Indian man fromIndia so it was hard for him toinitially accept my relationshipwith Werner.”

Shiraz was born in Hermanusand comes from a staunchAfrikaans home. His decision tobe with Faheeza was not receivedvery well by his family.

“Right up to our engagement,my mother thought that myrelationship with Faheeza was aphase and that I would eventuallyget over it. My family is veryAfrikaans; my ancestors wereprobably on the same boat thatJan van Riebeeck came on,” saidShiraz.

The couple decided to betogether even though they werecompletely different people.Morris converted to Islam for his

DYLAN MYBURGH and Lerato Modise.

GRANT RICHARDSON and Jo­Anna Lu. Photos: Conrad Bornman

THEmarried couple Faheeza en Shiraz Morris.

Love is (colour) blind

bride because it was important forher grandmother. He did that fortwo years and he followed all therites and passages to becomeShiraz, his Muslim name.

The couple had to have twoweddings to accommodate theirfamilies; a traditional Indianwedding with a red dress and atraditional church wedding with awhite dress. Since their wedding,both families have reconciled withthe couple and support theirunion.

The couple has been married fortwo years, with no plans of havingchildren any time soon.

“We are still learning how toenjoy each other and workthrough all the quirks we faceeach day,” said Shiraz.

The couple shares completelydifferent viewpoints on politics.Faheeza will be voting alone. Eventhough she has not made up hermind about which party she willbe voting for, she knows what sheexpects from the government.“Transparency and a governmentthat is not selfish is important.”

“I have no interest in politicsbut I do believe that South Africahas a great future. We were ableto achieve what most countriescannot; a democracy without waror bloodshed. I can be proud ofthat,” said Shiraz.

Faheeza’s hope for South Africais that South Africans can learnto open up to people of differentethnic backgrounds.

Even after apartheid, SouthAfrica remains largely a raciallysegregated country, in that thedifferent racial groups leadseparate existences. The consensusis that most South Africans agreethat reconciliation and movingforward is essential.

Keep our future safeThe responsibility of rectifying,

this past lies with the currentgeneration of young people, notonly simply taking up the inher-ent role of being the custodians ofthese freedoms, but also theburdening role of being the safekeepers of the constitution of therepublic.

The urbanisation of Bloemfon-tein will indeed create opportuni-ties for people of different ethnicbackgrounds to interact, eventhough South Africans find iteasier to identify with people whospeak the same language or sharethe same cultural and ethnicbackgrounds.

Interracial couples break theseconstricts and create a story thatis worth telling; a story thatcelebrates the growth of ouryoung democracy, a story ofprogress, hope and determination.A new South Africa was indeedpossible and not a misplaceddream.

6 EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014

} Christo van Staden

THE SANParks exhibition at theBloem Show has won theVolksblad Floating Trophy forthe best indoor exhibition on theshow this year.The exhibition, designed by the

SANParks’s Honorary Rangers’Free State Region, focused on theGolden Gate Highlands NationalPark and Mokala National Park,the two parks closest to Bloem-fontein.The region every year takes

responsibility for the SANParksstand at the show and membersdo duty at the exhibition, side byside with personnel from SAN-

Parks.Together they answer questions

and inquiries from the public,promoting all the parks underSANParks’s management.Victor Mokoena, newly-appoint-

ed tourism and marketingmanager of SANParks’s NorthernCluster, who also did duty at thestand, congratulated the team,who also won a gold medal thisyear.“I have been to a number of

SANParks’s exhibitions where wehad a stall, but this stand wasthe most beautiful I have everseen,” he said. “The trophy iswell-deserved. Clearly a lot ofwork has gone into the exhibi-

tion.”Mokoena said SANParks was

really honoured to have honor-ary rangers with this level ofcommitment in the region.Div Bosman, chairman of

SANParks’s Honorary Rangers’Free State Region, described this“as a major achievement for usas a team after many years ofhard work on this project”.He expressed his thanks to

all the team members whoworked together to make thispossible.The stand received numerous

compliments from the publicvisiting the show, that ran from24 April to 3 May.

Exhibition a winner

THE stand also attracted visitorsfrom other provinces. With honoraryrangers Veronica and Louis van derWesthuizen (Free State region) areEngela Strydom from Vryburg andRenier Botha from Jan Kempdorp.

NEWS

} Boipelo Mere

IT was a big surprise for the ChildWelfare South Africa manager, ElmineFredericks, when she received a call twoweeks ago to attend a fund-raising event atthe Flamingo Casino.She said she had only been told that her

NGO was going to receive a donation afterAbel Mjila, the chairman of the NorthernCape Gambling Board, had paid a visit totheir premises in Galeshewe last year onMandela Day.She was not aware that the organisation

was going to be turned around for thebest.“It only dawned on me when I was

called to the stage to accept a cheque ofR120 000 that sometimes people do see thehard work you put in and good work thatyou do,” she said.Child Welfare was one of the first two

organisations to receive a donation fromthe newly-launched Teemane NorthernCape Community Trust (TNCCT).The other donation of R187 000 went to

the Dr Izak van Niekerk Primary Schoolin Bergsig, Springbok.

The TNCCT was launched to administerdevelopment funding to communities inneed of socio-economic change.The trust is reported to have become a

direct shareholder with the FlamingoCasino and will utilise the dividents itreceives on community upliftmentprojects.The TNCCT has also been working

closely with the Gambling Board toidentify the two projects for the launch.“I didn’t think that it would be such a

huge amount. Even after Mjila hadobserved everything and asked me to makea list of everything we needed.“It was something like a wish list,

because we knew that we did not havemoney.”According to Fredericks, their next step

is now to determine between the needsfrom their three service areas wherefinancial contribution is urgentlyneeded.Revealing Child Welfare’s three service

areas, Fredericks said it was the Sino-thando Child and Youth Care Centre, twoof their childhood development centres andtheir social service unit.

Donation welcome surprise for ChildWelfare

PETER GUTHRIE, general manager of the Flamingo Casino, Alvin Botes, MEC for Coopera­tiveGovernance, HumanSettlements and Traditional Affairs, Elmien Fredericks, ChildWel­fare SouthAfrica: Kimberley, Jacob Babuseng, a trustee, UgenGovender, Sun Internationalcommercial manager for Casinos South Africa, and Peter Palweni, a trustee. Photo: Supplied

} André Botha

“IF you dig, you find yourstrengths and then you becomeindependent.”This is the lesson that Mark

Kotze tries to teach youngpeople – the lesson he learnedwhen he was in prison.Kotze was sentenced to ten

years’ imprisonment in 1998(of which three years weresuspended) for his part in arobbery at the former TrustBank in which R502 000 wasstolen. He was a clerk in thebank and his role was to calmthe staff.He served four years of his

sentence before he was releasedon parole. Then he worked forthe National Institute for CrimePrevention and Rehabilitationof Offenders (Nicro).Now he manages the Tsosolo-

so Community Centre inVergenoeg where a soupkitchen, as well as literacyclasses, are operated.He also offers motivational

talks at community centres andalso has his own comedy showin which he transmits amessage the comical way.“I realized when I was in

prison that I had no direction. Ihad an idea of my strength, butdid not realize how much Ihad.”He said after he came out of

prison, he walked into anotherprison.“I had a label. I began to

realize who I really was, that Ihad the strength in me.”Now he teaches others to find

their inner strength and todiscover that they do own thepower.The community centre for

young people and the agedbecame a place where they didnot only get food, but alsolearned valuable life lessons.Kotze also wrote a book titled

Arrested . . . without the right toremain silent.

Kotze shows strength

MARK KOTZE, a nominee forVolksblad and Kumba Iron Ore’sNorthern Cape Personality ofthe Year Competition, speaksabout his work in the communi­ty. Photo: Emile Hendricks

} Boipelo Mere

“VOTING for me will be liftingthe Northern Cape flag high,because I have a vision thatwill benefit everyone in theprovince.”These were the words of the

Northern Cape runner-up forthe Mrs South Africa 2014competition, Lizzy Staffa,during her campaign at therecent Freedom Day Oratorscompetition for learners.“I will unlock opportunities

for everyone.”According to Staffa, the SMS

votes which she is pleading forfrom Northern Capers, are forMiss SA Public Choice.She still has to work hard, as

it is still within her to win.Staffa dismissed reports that

the Northern Cape was stilllagging behind when it came tosupporting its own throughSMS or poll competitions.She said she refused to

believe that she would notstand a chance if that was the

only way to win the pageant.“I am confident that I will get

good results, because I havebeen receiving a lot of supportfrom the province. It started offslowly, but it is getting there.”To vote for Staffa, SMS the

Lizzy Staffa to 35959 or like herFacebook page (Lizzy SebatiStaffa).

NC beauty needsyour support

THE Northern Cape runner­upfor the Mrs South Africa 2014competition, Lizzy Staff, needsyour vote. Photo: Salga NC

FROM the left with the VolksbladFloating Trophy for the best indoorexhibition are Des Bothma, NECmember of SANParks’ honoraryrangers, Victor Mokoena, new tour­ismandmarketingmanager of SAN­Parks’ Northern Cluster, ChristoLouw, vice­chairman of the SAN­Parks Honorary Rangers' Free Stateregion and co­ordinator of the exhi­bition project, Zwidofhela Netshau­lu, SANParks sales and marketingdepartment, and John Martiens,camp duty manager at Golden GateHighlands National Park.

EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE , WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014 7

} Christo van Staden

THE Glen Reenen Rest Camp inthe Golden Gate HighlandsNational Park is not only theoldest camp in the park, but alsothe heartbeat from where most ofthe activities in the park arelaunched.

The restcamp is situatedbetween the well-known sand-stone cliffs in the park, and theideal position from wherevisitors can enjoy the brilliant,colourful shades cast by the sunon the sandstone rocks, especial-ly the imposing BrandwagButtress, keeping vigil over thecamp.

The restcamp, erected in 1963with the proclamation of GoldenGate as a national park, consistsof 31 self-catering chalets, allfully equipped and with a neat,comfortable and classy interior.

Nine of the rondavels aredivided in two – interlinked witha door. The other rondavels havea loft serving as a secondbedroom.

There are also family cottagesin the camp, accommodating fourto six people.

Apart from the hiking trails aswell as the horse trails that allstart here, there is also a naturalswimming pool next to the camp.

Glen Reenen is a destinationfor every nature lover who needsto break away to a haven ofpeace, beauty and hiking.

For more information on GlenReenen and Golden Gate, go towww.sanparks.co.za, or call thenational park on 058-255-1000.) Express and SANParks todaystart a brand-new competition inwhich one lucky reader who

enters before 28 May stands achance to win a weekend stay fora family of four in the GlenReenen Restcamp.

All you need to do, is to visitthe Express website atwww.express-news.co.za andfollow the instructions to enter.

You only need to answer an easyquestion. The closing date is 28May.) The winner of a weekend forfour at the Basotho CulturalVillage in Golden Gate is JosephRantseke. This competition ranin April.

Win a breakaway atscenic Golden Gate

ABOVE: The rondavels at theGlen Reenen Rest Camp againstthe backdrop of the winter land­scape in the park.Photo: Victor Mokoe-na

THE interior of the chalets. Photo: Victor Mokoena

BELOW: To the left of the pictureare the green roofs of chalets atGlen Reenen. The trees are hidingthe caravan park, and to the rightis the Brandwag Buttress. Photo:Supplied

NEWS

Application for the trial release ofgenetically modified organisms

Monsanto South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 69933, Bryanston2021, hereby announces that an application will be made forauthorisation to conduct confined field trials with geneticallyimproved maize. These confined field trials form part of alarger field trial program to develop and evaluate droughttolerant maize hybrids for sub-Saharan Africa. These trials willbe a continuation of previously approved field trials with thesehybrids in South Africa.

The recombinant DNA in these maize hybrids is derived fromthe bacterium Bacillus subtilis and codes for the production ofa protein, cold shock protein B, which enables maize plantsto be more tolerant to abiotic stress conditions. Neomycinphosphotransferase type II gene was used as a selectable markergene. The transformation method used was Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of embryonic maize cells.

The trial release will take place in the Northern Cape(Hopetown district) and Free State (Orania district).The trials will be approximately 6-10 ha in size. Theenvironment immediately surrounding the trial sites mayinclude vegetables, maize, soya beans and natural veld.Further information regarding the application can beobtained from the Registrar.

All interested parties should submitcomments/objections to:

The Registrar: Genetically Modified OrganismsDirectorate BiosafetyPrivate Bag X973Pretoria 0001.Fax (012) 319 6329

All comments/objections must be received within 30 days frompublication of this notice.

PUBLIC NOTICE

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Success lies in one solution

A MASSIVE march by parents,children and the community asa whole was held on Thursday.People from Colville, De Beers,New Park and Galeshewemarched and prayed to showthe concern for the situation inKimberley regarding social ills.

The Prophetic Generation 13(PG13), is a Christian movementstarted in Kimberley to addressseveral social ills such assubstance abuse, brokenfamilies and Satanism. Itcomprises stakeholders such asthe Kimberley community,SAPS Men for Change, SAPSWomen’s Network, Nicro,Sanca, Famsa, Childline,Business Against Crime,Community Police Forums,Youth Against Crime, Women

Against Crime, NGO’s andschools.

Lt. Sergio Kock, policespokesperson, says in Kimber-ley and Galeshewe children asyoung as ten years fall prey toglue sniffing, smoking daggaand Madrax and the use of okkapipes mixed with drugs. Kocksaid the movement handed overa memorandum to CouncillorDaniël Lekoma (representingthe Sol Plaatje Municipality)requesting a drug rehabilitationcentre in Kimberley.

“It is proposed that thecontents of this memorandumbe discussed with the relevantstakeholders such as thepremier of the Northern Cape,MEC for Health and theMayoral Committee.”

Social ills addressed

A MARCH by the community as a whole was done on Thursday.People from Colville, De Beers, New Park and Galeshewe marchedand prayed to show their concern about the situation in Kimberleyregarding social ills. Foto: Supplied

8 EXPRESS NORTHERN CAPE, WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 2014Haveyoumissedanissue?

Gotowww.express-news.co.zato

readExpressNorthernCapeonline.

} Boipelo Mere

BUILD IT in Christiana promisestheir community another, moresuccessful, local soccer tourna-ment on their home ground.This came after the company

has fully sponsored an u.13tournament at the GeluksoordStadium the previous weekend inan effort of developing thecommunity.Build it sponsored the winning

team a kit that consists of a teamtrophy, players trophies, bags,balls, as well as a player of thetournament trophy.They also presented an officials

kit that consists of players bibs,match balls, corner flags, refereeoutfits and water bottle sets fromthe South African FootballAssociation (Safa). This can beused after the tournament tofurther develop soccer in thecommunity.The company promised to work

on all their weaknesses that theyhad noticed and experienced.The successful launch of the

tournament saw young talentunleashed as 16 u.13 soccer teams(six school teams and ten leagueteams) from across the town tobattle it out.Nana Bikwane, the owner of

Nana Stars FC, was the proudwinner to lift the winning trophyafter her team had bravely beatenAsec Mimosa 1-0 in the final. Thetournament was Safa recognized,regulated and supported.According to the community

members, for a change thetournament succeeded in ratherdrawing the flow of traffic fromthe nearby taverns to the stadiumon Saturday.“It was fantastic,” said Michelle

Muller from Build it Christiana.According to the president

of Safa in the region, TeenageLeslie, they feel honoured forhaving organized this kind oftournament.The tournament is expected to

be a boost for the junior leaguethat has been running with nineteams.He said the tournament had

made a great impact as it wouldencourage local teams, including

schools, to participate in thejunior league.He said that 320 children were

fully participating in the tourna-ment, including in differentactivities, all sponsored by Buildit.Concerning the community

support on the day he said: “Seefor yourselves, the support issuperb. If we managed to pulltogether 16 teams on one day,then we can improve soccer intown. We (Safa) have set a baseof taking soccer forward and wehave already made an agreementwith all the coaches to participatein the league.”He added that the tournament

had also opened doors to turnthe youth from alcohol andcriminal abuse like they usuallydo.Thabo Sellwane, the Kwalaketso

Primary School principal, alsosang the same tune. He apprecia-ted the initiative of the sportsequipment donation.“We have never had such a

successful sporting event before.This will also encourage us asschools to make time for sports

events.”The ward committee member

Elias Kwena said the tournamentwas a great way of guiding youngchildren and showing them thateducation and sports could take

them somewhere.“This is a good initiative. It

shows that parents can showsupport to their children.“If parents and teachers can

notice their children’s talent, they

can guide and encourage them togo further.”For the player of the tourna-

ment picture and for morepictures, go to Express’s websiteat www.express-news.co.za.

THA Nana Stars FC were the team to lift the winning trophy after beating Asec Mimosa 1­0 in the final game. The proud winners receiveda winning team kit that consists of a team trophy, player trophies, bags and balls, as well a player of the tournament trophy, all from BuildIt. Photos: Boipelo Mere

THE Asec Mimosa team that made it to the semi­finals.

Tournament ahuge success