Parliament – An Economic Freedom Fighters MP was booted from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday for comparing President Jacob Zuma to a giant wave.

“Today we are listening to a man whose view of democracy is as twisted and dangerous as a tsunami telling us about what ought to be done to ensure democracy benefits all South Africans,” Vusiwana Mtileni said as he responded to Zuma’s annual address to the NCOP.

ANC MPs jumped to the President’s defence, and asked that Mtileni’s comments be ruled out of order.

NCOP chairwoman Thandi Modise agreed, saying: “In this particular instance you are deliberately impugning on a member of this Parliament.”

Zuma ceased to be a member of Parliament after MPs voted him into his position during a National Assembly sitting in May last year.

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The Pan South African Language Board in the province has said the death of philanthropist Dietrich Masher was a huge blow but his life was worth celebrating.

Masher was born in 1937 and grew up in Bodenfelde village in Western Germany.

He studied theology at Heildelberg and Göttingen from 1957 until 1963.

He joined the Hermannsburg Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church where he learnt Tswana to the point of teaching the language.

Masher was buried in Jericho near Brits at the weekend.

The PanSouth African Language Board (Pan SALB) provincial spokesperson, William Manana said: “It is with great sadness to lose a person of Dietrich Masher’s calibre.”

Masher was a recipient of the PanSALB Multilingualism Award (2009-2010).

He came to the country and contributed towards the development of Tswana.

“We encourage people to learn from Masher’s life. He came all the way from Germany and defied all odds. He spoke the Tswana language fluently,” Manana said.

“Masher registered for a one-year language study, which was largely Setswana, at Witwatersrand University shortly after he arrived in the country.”

Since 1966, he worked in various places in the Tswana language area as a pastor.

In 1972, he was elected as a dean for a six-year period.

“In 1979, he was asked to train young missionary couples in Setswana. He had since then taught the course to many others, mostly to people from a foreign background.

“He conducted the studies at Wits, but had many innovations especially where Tswana was taught consistently as a tonal language.”

Manana pointed out that the positive reactions from Masher’s students led him to delve deeper into the issues of language use and policy in South Africa.

“Another important milestone for his interest in language policy was teaching a course in Hebrew in 1983 and 1984 through the medium of Tswana, which led to interests in other African languages like Oromo (the third largest language in Africa).

“A subsequent visit to Prof B Heine in Cologne was extremely instructive.

Reading the Perestroika in 1987 and other books on Leninist policy, especially G Simon’s important book, Nationalismus and Nationalitatenpolitik in der Sowetunion (Baden-

Baden: 1986) made a great impact on him.”

An initiative of language practice was spearheaded by pastors in Kgetlheng circuit.

The initiative was later joined by teachers to open up the discussion of language use, especially in education.

Bishop Marcus Ditlhale said: “We lost a warrior in Dietrich Masher. He never let any challenges stand in his way.

“He was born a German, but died as a South African. Masher dedicated his life to developing the African child.

“He was deployed at a Hermannsburg Mission. He worked over 40 years and administered in Tswana.”

He learned Tswana and spoke it with eloquence and precision. Masher was a researcher in issues of mother tongue education with European experience.

“He visited countries like Germany, Serbia and Ireland. He also played a pivotal role in influencing the Batswana and authorities to apply mother tongue education.

“He also served as an advisor in the office of the MEC for education on language in education in the province,” he said.

Masher was the first foreigner to serve on the Tswana National Language Board for over six years.

He was also a former director of the board of governors for the then Setswana Academy in the erstwhile Bophuthatswana.

-TDN

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THE farming community of Mamphoku Makgoba, near Rustenburg, is pleased a long-running battle over the control of its farms has finally been settled.

The community has been fighting to gain control of 39 farms it won through the land restitution programme from a trust whose members were refusing to leave office.

The farms are said to be worth more than R120m and they bring in income of about R89m a year from rentals and lease payments.

However, residents complained that they were no longer benefiting after a community trust, established in 2004, was clinging on to power.

The community approached the courts and on Tuesday, the North Gauteng High Court ordered all members of the trust to resign and pave the way for new elections in 30 days.

For more http://www.thenewage.co.za

This weekend, Zimbabwe’s newly crowned “Mister Ugly” hitched up his slouching coveralls and smiled widely as supporters poured beer over his head to celebrate the 42-year-old’s win in the country’s annual anti-beauty pageant. Mison Sere beat out 35 other entrants for the coveted title, surviving three rounds of runway modeling at a nightclub in Harare.

The purpose of the event — to look as ugly as humanly possible — is simple. The stakes are anything but: The winner takes home a grand prize of $500, roughly half the annual income in hyper-inflation wracked Zimbabwe.

This time around, though, the fourth-annual competition turned even uglier than usual, when sore losers claimed Sere simply wasn’t ugly enough to be named the winner.

Sere, whose grin shows a huge number of missing teeth, used his alarming need for orthodontia to his advantage by contorting his face to highlight his dental shortcomings. William Masvinu, who had held the title of Mr. Ugly since 2012 until this weekend, took the loss especially personally, even though his long reign over the title was due in part to the fact last year’s competition was canceled over funding issues.

“I am naturally ugly. He is not,” Masvinu said after the results were announced. “He is ugly only when he opens his mouth.” And Masvinu, who was a runner-up, wasn’t the only one who thought the judges should have looked past Sere’s teeth to recognize that with his mouth shut, he doesn’t look that bad at all.

Another contestant, Patrick Mupereki, suggested that Sere’s decaying teeth gave him an unfair advantage.

“Do we have to lose our teeth to win? This is cheating,” he reportedly shouted after the results were announced.

But the judges who crowned Sere weren’t fazed by the losers’ complaints. In fact, one judge, university student Abigail Mataranyika, suggested that some contestants thought they were ugly enough to get away with not putting in any effort.

“Sere made tremendous effort to enhance his ugliness by pulling facial stunts,” she said. “Masvinu thought he is so ugly that he didn’t need to try hard. That cost him the crown.”

Masvinu refused to acknowledge his loss, shouting after the event that he is still number one and that participants “need to redo the whole thing.”

Sere, on the other hand, said it was time for the losers to move on.

“They should just accept that I am uglier than them,” he said. “I hope to get a TV contract. I already moved around schools performing and showcasing my ugliness so this is a chance to make it on TV.”

Ironically, this is the second time in less than a year that Zimbabweans have been disappointed by the results of a pageant. Last time, though, critics had the opposite problem: They claimed Emily Kachote, winner of the Miss Zimbabwe beauty competition, wasn’t pretty enough for the crown.

And in the end, they got their way. Kachote, just like her predecessor, was forced to cede her title after nude images were publicly leaked.

Foreign Policy

BY REGINALD KANYANE
NORTH West police encouraged communities to take measure steps and be cautious while swimming. This came about after a child drowned at local swimming pool in Potchefstroom.

Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Paul Ramaloko said the divers were called to the scene amid drowning.

“Police divers retrieved a body of a child at Boskop dam Game Reserve near Potchefstroom. The incident took place in the afternoon on November 20. We appeal to communities to be cautious at all times. Make sure your children are on sight and play where they can be monitored,” Ramaloko said.
-TDN
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THE ANC in the province said the preparations for the party’s anniversary were underway. The province will host the ruling party’s anniversary in 2016. ANC will be turning 104 years in existence.

The provincial secretary, Dakota Legoete said the event will be held in Rustenburg.

“We are expecting close to 100 000 supporters globally. The party will be celebrating its 104^th anniversary. Preparations are underway and this coming Friday, we will be having carnival in the area. The event will be hosted at Royal Bafokeng Sport Palace. The event will boost the economy of the province. We will also use it to gather more voters ahead of local government elections in 2016. Rustenburg and Potchefstroom are two sturdy municipalities we targeting.

“We know that Rustenburg is a battlefield for all political parties. However we are very adamant that ANC will emerge winners. We are celebrating 104 years of the existence of the party. We are the descendants of many warriors who fought against colonialism. The vision of the movement needs to be executed further. It is our task as torchbearers to take forward the vision forward,” Legoete said.

According to Legoete, the build-up to the event will commence on December 15. He further added that build-up will commence until next year.

“We are aware that the party experienced unsatisfactory behaviour from some of our members. We hope the anniversary will bring peace and remind every member his/her role within the party. Our people entrusted us overwhelmingly. They believe we can give effect to the will of the electorate. We must do so according to the mandate upon which we were elected. Therefore, let us give meaning to service to the people and serve them with humility and dignity,” he said.

-TDN

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ACTING North West police commissioner, Major General Jacob Tsumane said they were concern about the hit list linked to the death of the late businessman, Wandile Bozwana. Tsumane said they noted with concern media reports and comments regarding that hit list.

“We urge those who are making serious allegations through media to refrain from that. As the police, we are grateful to those who are coming forward with the information. But we want to encourage anyone with information to go through proper channels,” Tsumane said.

He said the police in the province were ready to deal with any acts of intimidation.

“Anyone with any information regarding the hit list must report it. There is information regarding the hit list rumoured to be making rounds within the province. The information pertaining to the murder of Wandile Bozwana can be reported to Gauteng Investigating Team led by Major General Leshabane,” he said.

North West premier, Supra Mahumapelo welcomed the arrest of two suspects on the killing of Wandile Bozwana. He urged the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on the matter.

Mahumapelo said: “We call upon anyone with credible information that could assist law enforcement agencies to approach them. We believe with such information, the perpetrators could be brought to book. We congratulates the SAPS for their swiftness in the arrest of the two suspects as this may shed light in uncovering the truth on the brutal killing of Wandile Bozwana,” Mahumapelo said.

-TDN

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In an effort to cushion small scale farmers from the effects of the drought, the provincial government donated fodder to 21000 farmers on Wednesday.

The fodder was purchased by the provincial department of rural, environment and agricultural development (Read).

Premier Supra Mahumapelo and MEC Manketsi Tlhape distributed the fodder in Gopane village near Zeerust as part of the ongoing Setsokotsane programme.

“We started in Gopane today and its neighbouring areas. From Gopane, we will be in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district. The roll-out programme will be spread across the province. We have the manpower to distribute the fodder as soon as we can to all our people. We have reprioritised our budget. North West has already spent its 97% of its budget and we are only left with 3% which equally to R25m. We also waiting for the grant from national treasury after North West province was declared as drought disaster area,” Tlhape said.

Mahumapelo said: “We would like to advise macro farmers to sell-off some their livestock to counter the effects of drought. By doing so, they will at least manage to buy more livestock after the drought has passed.

“The provincial government has decided to provide fodder to livestock farmers in an effort to mitigate the drought gripping the province,” he said.

Further assistance will be available to the 21000 registered farmers from a R25m facility set aside for them.

North West is experiencing one of its worst droughts due to weather patterns associated with the El Nino effect.

Livestock is dying due to lack of food and water in areas across the province.

One of the beneficiaries, Paulinah Bootse said: “We highly-appreciate the help we receive from the government. We have been hit harder by the drought but hope for the better. Our livestock is dying and that affects us financially.”

Agri-North West CEO, Boeta du Toit said the current situation was so bad that rains were needed urgently.

“Cattle farmers have started reducing their stork, they sell heifer and even those in breeding are selling the animals to cut on costs. This is because there is no profit in the sector due to drought.

“However, the consumer will start to suffer once good rains come because that would mean less meat on the market and prices may go up,”

Du Toit said.

He also bemoaned the absence of a functional drought relief scheme to bail out commercial farmers at times like this.

“This year, we have 21000 small holder farmers in North West who have applied for relief already. The government has availed R220m for this but the money has to be shared among provinces and it will amount to almost nothing,” Du Toit said.

He said there was a need for billions of rand to make sure that animals do not die in drought situations.

“If we get good rains soon, the situation will be fine but our worry is that weather predictions are not positive. The situation has become particularly bad in communal areas where rivers and other water sources are drying up,” Du Toit said.

-TDN

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