Authors Magazine November 2014 Edition by Authors Magazine

November 2014

Plus: G.Illustrative Nompumelelo Runji Lhente-Mari Pitout The MacDonalds Thebigzill Onair Neo Gcabo

60+

spendid pages with Willow Ridge High

Melissa Delport 1

2 Publisherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note 04

Melissa Delport 40

Thebigzill Onair 56

The MacDonalds 59

Nompumelelo Runji 62

Lhente-Mari Pitout 78

G.illustrative 84

Neo Gcabo 88

In A Native VIllage 94

Authors Magazine ÂŠ 2014 All Rights Reserved. Excerpts may be used as long as this publication is credited as the source. Longer versions of our content may only be used with the written permission of the publisher. Whilst we have taken care in preparing this publication, the publisher & editorial team does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. We retain the right to edit all content. Advertisers are responsible for their material

Issue 2 Nov 2014

Table of Contents

From The Publisher Issue 2 Nov 2014 Thank you for all your feedback since the launch issue. We will be gradually adding the great suggestions and ideas you have shared with us to make this publication even better. Welcome to issue number 2. Authors Magazine - where writers and readers hangout is all about encouraging more people to read and write. Books are the food of the mind. Africa can also become a growing society of thinkers. In the words of Franz Lebowitz “Think before you speak. Read before you think.” Our cover story features Melissa Delport, author of 6 books. She takes us through her journey of writing The Legacy Trilogy. We'd like to thank her for going 25 extra miles to make everything go well. We’re pleased to give you our first book launch story, featuring Nompumelelo Runji - a political researcher and policy analyst. She addresses the question “Does South Africa need electoral reform?” On the airwaves - he’s known as “Thebigzill Onair“, and he’s on the rise. See how perseverance has its rewards. Congratulations to the “UPYC” on their recent participation and achievements in the World Choir Games in Latvia. We speak to visionary conductor Lhente-Mari Pitout. Appearing on TV screens every week, we chat with the MacDonalds. Viva Othelo. We listen to G.Illustrative as he’s “Shifting Paradigms”. He’s our guest poet. Based at Berklee College of Music - Boston, Massachusetts (USA), Neo tells us how she connects with life as she sings stories and the poetry behind lyrics. For the joy of reading, we include a short story published before many of us were born. It’s called “In a Native Village by Louis Becke” - a village has an interesting way of welcoming a new Australian trader. “Bahl’ abantwana Bagezile” (They just look stunning). It was matric farewell at Willowridge High School. See it for yourself. We’ve spread their beautiful pictures all over this issue. We wish all matriculants success in the 2014 final exams. Get in touch with us if you want us to come to your school next year. Let’s begin… Mtho

Published by Point It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date. After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London. Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Published by Harper Teen What's a Princess to do? It's Mia's senior year, and things seem great. She aced her senior project, got accepted to her dream college(s), and has her birthday gala coming up . . . not to mention prom, graduation, and Genovia's first-ever elections. What's not to love about her life? Well . . .Her senior project? It's a romance novel she secretly wrote, and no one wants to publish it.Prince Phillipe's campaign in the Genovian elections isn't going well, thanks to her totally loathsome cousin Rene, who decided to run against him.Her boyfriend, J.P., is so sweet and seemingly perfect. But is he the one? And her first love, Michael, is back from Japan . . . and back in her life. With Genovia's and her own future hanging in the balance, Mia's got some decisions to make: Which college? Which guy? How can she choose? Especially when what she decides might determine not just the next four years, but . . . forever!

Published by Egmont USA Quigley Johnson has, reluctantly, given up the rest of her last year of high school to take part in her best friend Ann's Betterment Plan, which will turn them into the best-dressed, most soughtafter, most admired girls at their senior formal. Because - hey - who doesn't want the perfect prom, complete with a dream dress and a devastatingly handsome date? But the prom costs money - lots of money - and even though the girls could easily have Ann's mom design their dresses (she's only Victoria Parisi, one of the most famous designers in the world), Ann insists that they pay their own way. And that's how Quigley gets stuck making artistic topping masterpieces on frozen pizzas canvases, before becoming a live model for Ms. Parisi's fashion design class, where she meets Zander. He's cute, and cool, and funny, with a killer design sensibility (even if he can't sketch). But is he too good to be true? And what about David, the hot, talented artist at school, who's also kind of a jerk, but won't leave Quigley alone? And Ann - she started the Betterment Plan to improve Quigley and herself, but it seems like it's ripping their friendship to shreds. This road to the prom dream may just end in disaster. Published by Fleming H. Revell Company Daisy Crispin has 196 days to find the right date for the prom. There's only one problem--her parents won't let her date or even talk to a guy on the phone. Oh, and she's totally invisible at school, has to wear lame homemade clothes, and has no social skills. Okay, so maybe there's more than one problem. Can she talk her parents into letting her go to the prom? Or will they succeed at their obvious attempt to completely ruin her life? With hilarious and truthful writing, Kristin Billerbeck uncovers the small--and large--mortifications that teen girls encounter. Readers will fall in love with Daisy's sharp wit and resourcefulness as she navigates the world of boys, fashion, family, and friendship.

Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers Sophomore year, Nicolette Antonovich was dumped two days before prom by the hottest guy at school. As a result, she became the proud owner of one unworn, perfectly magical pink vintage dress. But Nic is determined to put that night behind her for good. She's a junior now— older, wiser, and completely overwhelmed by a new set of problems: (1) The bank's ready to foreclose on her childhood home. (2) Her father's too busy with his "replacement" daughter to care. (3) Her best friend's brother is an eternal thorn in her side. (4) Her best friend isn't exactly the rose attached to that thorn. (5) Rumors are flying around school that could get her kicked off the volleyball team, which would (6) ruin all chances of a college scholarship. (7) She still likes the boy who dumped her in the first place. (8) And what in the world do you do with an unworn prom dress, anyway? Strangely, it's getting to the bottom of this last dilemma that just might hold the answer to all Nic's problems.

Published by Speak Philadelphia high school who doesn’t care about the prom. It’s pretty much the only good thing that happens there, and everyone plans to make the most of it—especially Ash’s best friend, Natalia, who’s the head of the committee and has prom stars in her eyes. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money and Ash finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance. But she has plenty of help—from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat’s eccentric grandmother, from the principal, from her fellow classmates. And in making the prom happen, Ash learns some surprising things about making her life happen, too.

Published by Simon Pulse Will you go to the proms with me? It was love at first sight for Emily and Ethan. But then Em lost his number and, with it, all the hope of finding a real boyfriend before the end of senior year. All she knows about Ethan is his first name, that he has a supercute smile, and that he's going to a prom this month. Which high school? That's anyone's guess.... Em enlists the help of her three best friends, who quickly score formal wear and hail a limo. Together, Emily, Max and Sid vow to find Ethan, to find a cure for senioritis, and most important, to find true love -- one hilarious prom night at a time.

Published by Scholastic Paperbacks Prom night. The stress. The dress. The hype. The anticipation. Nothing ever goes the way it's planned. Whether it's the girl whose date turns out to be more of a frog than a prince. Or the guy who wants to get up the courage to say "I love you"...to his best friend's date. Or the girl who decides to plan a backwards prom--a morp--to protest the silliness of a regular prom. Or the girl who wants a picture-perfect movielife prom...no matter what. It's a near-universal high school experience. And here at least 21 of today's bestselling and up-and-coming authors riff on it. Authors include: Libba Bray, Jacqueline Woodson, Ned Vizzini, John Green, Sarah Mylnowski, Melissa de la Cruz, E. Lockhart, Jodi Anderson, David Levithan to name a fewâ&#x20AC;Ś

Published by Simon Pulse HOOK UP. BREAK UP. THROW UP. P-DAY. Molly (prom committee chair) is positive that something will ruin her night...and she has no idea how right she is. Ben (last-minute date) tells himself he's just along for the ride...but he's got something very real at stake. Allison (loyal best friend) plans to make a move on her crush...who's there with his girlfriend. Victoria (alpha girl) thought she had a lock on the prom queen crown...until gorgeous exchange student Karolina came on the scene. Matt (star athlete) comes to claim his rightful place at the top of the social chain...but ends up surprising everyone, including himself. Rachel (girl with no clique) is there to shake things up...but there's more to her than meets the eye. From the PITY DATES to the way-too-early HANGOVERS to PROM QUEEN DISASTERS to the AFTER-PARTIES, this is ONE NIGHT THEY'LL NEVER FORGET (no matter how hard they try).

Published by Point Taffeta and tuxes and dresses and drama! This adorable trilogy chronicles the weeks leading up to prom, culminating in the big, unpredictable, magical night itself.

Best friends Jordan, Tara, and Nisha are psyched for the senior prom. All three are loving the dress and shoe shopping. The limos have been ordered. Beautiful Jordan is a shoo-in for Prom Queen, bossy Tara is head of the Prom Committee, and sweet Nisha is in love with her wonderful boyfriend. But what happens when Jordan decides to rebel, Tara HAS to find suitable date in time, and Nisha's strict parents say no to her boyfriend -- and to prom? Some serious, clock-ticking drama

Published by Simon Pulse Nicole is committed to making the world a better place, but first she wants to get to her senior prom. So when the guy she's had her eye on for months unexpectedly invites another girl, Nicole decides to transform her grungy next-door neighbor, Chase, into a dream date. "With droll humor, Nicole and Chase tell their stories in alternating chapters, bringing to life the frenetic intensity of the high school social scene".

Published St. Martin's Griffin Dorks, Dweebs, Debutantes, and Jocksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Where would you fit in? Being the new girl is toughâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just ask sixteen-yearold Rio Jones. A New York transplant, Rio has no clue how she's going to fit in at her fancy new private school in Southern California. Plus, being late, overdressed, and named after a Duran Duran song doesn't make the first day any easier for her. Then Rio meets Kristi. Beautiful, rich, and a cheerleader, Kristi is the queen bee of Newport Beach. And Kristi isn't friends with just anyone, so Rio is thrilled when she's invited to be part of the most exclusive, popular clique. Of course, like any club, Kristi and her friends have rules: Always smile (even if you don't mean it), always dress cute (and never repeat outfits), and always flirt (but only with jocks, preps, and rich college guys). At first Rio is having a great time, but as she becomes more immersed in this jet-set crowd, she figures out there is one last rule that her new friends forgot to mention: Don't cross Kristi . . .

Published by Spea Chloe Thomas is going to the prom. Of course, she doesn’t have a date, she needs a dress, and she’s the last person anyone expects to see there. But her two oldest friends asked her to go, and she said yes. Right away things start to fall apart. Laura and Jace are too busy with their own preparations to help Chloe, her “real” friends think she’s insane, and her parents are so excited that she can’t even be in the same room with them. Why on earth did she agree to do this? With drama, humor, and a touch of prom magic, Blake Nelson delivers a story as memorable as prom itself.

Published by Candlewick Press Three unlikely allies team up for a night of rebellion, romance, and revenge in a high-stakes dramedy from acclaimed young author Abby McDonald.

They’ve spent years at the same high school without speaking a word to one another, but that’s all about to change. Popular Bliss was having the perfect prom until she found her BFF and boyfriend making out in the back of a limo. Bad girl Jolene wouldn’t be caught dead at the prom, yet here she is, trussed up in pink ruffles, risking her reputation for some guy - some guy who is forty minutes late. And shy, studious, über-planner Meg never counted on her date’s standing her up and leaving her idling in the parking lot outside the prom. Get ready for The Anti-Prom, Abby McDonald’s hilarious, heart-tugging tale about three girls and one unforgettable prom night.

melissadelport.com

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Melissa Delport The Legacy just came to me. When I thought of the plot, The Legacy as a title came with it. It's the same with my children, they were named while still in utero (laughing) – I had to have a name to connect with them. For the second book it was even easier as I had already referred to the Legion in the first book, so I already had a working title. But the real problem came in when I had to name the last book. I needed a name that fitted well with the theme and it had to be an L word. I just couldn't find the right one. I went through the dictionary, looking up all the L words until eventually my husband said: "Why don't you name it after me and call it The Legend?" ...He thinks he is one... Tri-la-gee...although Sam Marshall of SABC’s Morning Live Show calls it a "thrillogy" (laughing)... I love that because it makes it sound so exciting - it's a thrillogy! I didn't set out to write a trilogy. I set out to write one book but as the story progressed I realized that I wasn't going to fit everything into just one book. As first time author it’s not advisable to write a very long book because, quite frankly, what if nobody ever reads it? (laughing). So shortly into the first book, I thought "there's going to have to be a sequel." Then, shortly into the sequel the plot took a new direction and the trilogy was born. (laughing) It's me! {tell us about your background} I studied English at Varsity. I did my degree in Psychology and English, and I completed a year of English honours in Victorian and Shakesperian Literature - so that was interesting. I have always loved the written word. And just like you, I love reading. It started at a very early age - in school I used to win those “bookworm” awards. In my teens I wrote a lot of poetry. In my early twenties I started a few books that I never finished – which is a good thing, I realize now when I read them back {why good?} (laughing) they were terrible! So it's always something I wanted to do. About 2 years ago I was driving home from work and the story just came to me. I thought "you know what it's time"... I just knew that the time was right, and the story was right. Everything fell into place and I sat down and started writing.

melissadelport.com

Well I was avoiding a traffic camera, so I was driving very slowly at the time. But I had been reading a lot dystopian fiction and was a bit disappointed (don't get me wrong, these dystopias are sold and marketed to the young adult market, so the characters are usually young adults or teenagers) - but I thought, honestly, if the world was going to end, I don't know if it would be the teenagers or ordinary people that would survive. Surely trained individuals would be more likely to survive, if not thrive, in a dystopian environment, as opposed to ordinary people? I figured if I ever wrote a book set in this genre, I would make my main character exceptional – with the necessary military training and skill set to make the story really believable. That’s when the character of Rebecca Davis came to me, and the story developed around her. She inspired me!

(laughing) You're not the first person to bring that line up. I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't have put it there! Although it introduces a theme that unfolds later on... In order to make the story more believable - because if there was going to be a World War 3, I just think America would be more likely to be in the thick of it. We here in SA are very far removed, and we have our own issues to worry about, but on a global scale I don't think we would feature much. I also chose the U.S to appeal to an international audience. South Africa generally has a smaller readership, particularly in the fiction market. I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy this story, regardless of race, sex or nationality. South Africa has a very unique local slang and colloquialism, and a lot of people outside of our country tend to struggle to understand it - we have a very “colourful language” that an international audience might find jarring in this genre of book. So for me, America was a logical choice.

melissadelport.com

No, I’ve never been there, but I did a lot of online research. Actually the research took almost as much time as writing the book did. I was talking about it the other day - how I would be writing a scene and all of a sudden my main characters had “stepped” over the Mississippi River. I checked Google Maps and thought "that's not likely!” (laughing)... You have to research. You don't want to be caught out on facts because people get irritated if you don't do your homework. Fortunately, I think I got it all right, because nobody has pointed out any factual errors… yet.

Simply put, it appeals to me. I write romance too, and I find it easier to write, but it’s not my favourite genre. To me, "The Legacy" is very much my type of book. I love explosive action – I had to do a lot of research into hand-tohand combat and fighting - and I love a strong female protagonist. All of my books feature a strong woman in some way, shape or form. I’m pretty sure there’s a message in there, somewhere!

I love superhero stories. I love the idea of people having exceptional gifts and being able to do things that we "cant". With the way technology is going, it's not even that unbelievable anymore – the idea of super soldiers, and bridging the gap between “man” and “superman”. I think we're getting closer and closer to that becoming a reality. I did a lot of research, and thought the “super soldiers” would be an ideal fit for The Legacy. Otherwise it would’ve consisted of ordinary characters fighting an ordinary war. I wanted it be little bit more exciting…not that war is not exciting! It’s awful! But you know what I mean! (laughing) Yay! That's a word every author wants to hear...

Rebecca never had the same bond with her biological father compared to her relationship with Jonathan. I drew on my relationship with my own stepfather (also Jonathan!) for the bond they shared, even though he wasn’t her blood. He was the one who raised her and the person she felt was her father. She didn't see her own father that way and it was her passion for the cause, rather than any familial loyalty, that made her to go with him.

It is! In a lot of dystopian fiction there's not enough back-story explaining how things became that way. I wanted to explain that first, but at the same time it makes for a slower start. There's a lot of telling in the initial chapters of The Legacy (book 1), before you delve into the action of the present. But with The Legion (book 2), I could just dive straight back into the plot. I also found that my writing had matured so much – this was the third book I had written. I actually wrote myself into a corner because I put so much plot into The Legion I feared I might have given too much away, and that the third book might not live up to everyone’s expectations. Fortunately, I think the third book is just as good. It makes Eric Dane look like a marshmallow (laughing)...makes him look like a good guy compared to the new villain. (laughing) That's me! I know some people sketch every chapter in advance. They'll have the basic storyline and break it down into chapters, and then expand on those. For me, I start with a very basic plot - the primary storyline - but the secondary plot and secondary characters, I let flow as I write along. As I’m writing, something new will occur to me and I can add it in easily, because I am not restricted by a full chapter sketch. Sometimes I really feel like my characters are dictating their story and I'm just the vessel writing it down. I'm very lucky because when I get to the end, there's very little that I go back and change. My first draft is usually very close to the final story. The second book is slightly longer than the first, but generally it takes me about 6 months per fulllength novel. I always aim for a 100 (meaning 100,000). Whether I get above or below that, I'm happy, as long as it’s around that number. This year, the first year I'm not working a full-time job, I've already written 2 books. The more time you have, the easier it is. And the more books you write, the easier it gets. It depends. On some days I'll literally write though the day, breaking only to fetch my children, give them something to eat and plonk some form of entertainment in front of them. Then I'll go back to my computer and write until midnight. On a day like that, I can write a lot of words – my record is 11,000. But if I have a day like that, I won’t write for a week because my eyes are wrecked and they swell up (laughing). Such a big writing session can be emotionally draining, and you need to recover and rejuvenate, mull over what you've written, and think about where the story is going. There are some weeks where I'll write consistently every day - 1500 or 2000 words - but I don't set myself a strict daily or weekly goal. Instead, I give myself about 6 months to complete a project, which gives me room to manoeuvre.

It's easier this year. The publishing contract has allowed me to write full time. I can now write during the day. Last year I was writing everything at night. Work in the day, kids in the afternoon… and then, when everybody went to bed and the husband had been fed, I would sit down and write. (laughing) He doesn't read, generally, unless it’s the newspaper. He's one of those people that falls asleep even while watching TV. But he's never made me feel guilty about taking time away from him to write. He's very supportive, and very proud. He doesn't read any books, though, so I don't expect him to sit and wallow through mine! After my interview at the SABC, my eldest daughter (aged 7) went to school and told everybody that "My Mom is famous" (laughing) She thinks anyone who has been on TV is famous. I can't wait for the day she starts reading my books. She's in grade 1 this year and learning to read. At the beginning of the year, she was put into one of the lower reading groups and I was devastated! I thought, I can't be a writer and have a daughter who can't read, this is not going work (laughing) so we really practiced. And this term she's been moved up…(shew!) In junior school I used to write stories about dinosaur eggs and other such stories. One particular teacher used to type them out for me on the school's computer. She would print them out for me on that old paper that had holes on the sides. When I moved on to high school, she signed my autograph book with the words "Keep writing! I hope to see a bestseller on the shelves one day." I’m still aiming for that! English continued to be my favourite subject throughout high school.

melissadelport.com

When I finished my first book (The Legacy) I was faced with the decision whether I was going to selfpublish or submit to mainstream publishing houses. I've never been particularly anti self-publishing. I've subsequently heard of authors who say that they've heard that self publishing is "a death knell on your writing career” and that any author who self publishes is not worth their salt... But the thing is, I started my own business when I was 24. I’m fearless, and it never occurred to me that I might fail. I wasn’t afraid to invest in my own book and to get out there and do it myself. But I also thought it prudent to go through the proper channels and submit it as well. Publishers take a long time to come back to you, so in the interim, I published my own version. I wanted people to read it - there's no point writing a book and letting it gather dust. So I self published and also submitted to mainstream publishing houses. A few came back with rejection letters. As hard as it is, I didn't take it personally. So many of my favourite authors were also rejected initially, and I’d been reading a lot of self-publishing success stories. No-one has a more vested interest in the success of your book than you do. But it is a very difficult thing to do - not the printing - but the marketing. Thousands of books are released every day, and getting yours to stand out is hard! Someone then told me to contact Tracey through her "ilovebooks" platform. I didn't know at this stage that she was a publisher. So I sent her a copy of the book, hoping for, at best, a bit of book promotion, and then I forgot about it. A few weeks later I received an email from her saying she loved the book and from there, a publishing offer was forthcoming. I was blown away...I think my book simply landed on the right desk at the right time. You know she actually specializes in non-fiction, but she loved my book and it was such a validation. That’s the publisher I wanted. Someone who would be as passionate about my books as I am. And she was - from day 1. She wasn't like "Okay look I'll give it a shot.” Quite the opposite – her enthusiasm for this project was inspiring! And for me, that's who I want on my team. I indie publish certain titles and Tracey takes care of the others. But with each book I write, she is the first point of call, because I like her ethics, the way she works, and I'm comfortable with her. She believes in her authors. She's not just a publisher, she's a friend.

Even though it's such a cliche, don't give up. Chances are if you write one book, you're probably not going to get very far with it. Building a writing career requires a lot of work, time and dedication. I had written my fourth book by the time I got offered a publishing contract. If I had simply stopped writing after the first didn’t shoot to the top of the best-seller lists in six months, I would have never gotten to where I am today. I kept writing. As soon as The Legacy went for editing, I started writing Rainfall. In less than two years, I had four books out there, and the publishing contract came only after that... So keep writing. Some people want overnight success. They tend to write one book and think they're the next JK Rowling. It doesn't happen that way. Unless you write 50 Shades of Grey (laughing) then you might have a shot! Marketing your book takes time. Even the physical process of publishing itself takes time. It can take up to eight months to a year for your books to appear on the shelves. I finished the last book of the trilogy in August, but it's only launching in February next year. I just keep writing. As long as there's a reader out there who wants another Melissa Delport book, I'm going to write it.... *** We asked Melissa to sing us a song she had mentioned earlier on in the interview. You know she laughed the whole way through and eventually sang just one line of the “Frozen” hit single: "Let it go"… We'll be back for the rest of the song. ***

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PROLOGUE World War Three began on the third day of September, the year 2016. The war lasted twelve days. Twelve days was all it took for mankind to destroy a civilisation that had taken thousands of years to evolve and to almost eradicate our own species. No victor emerged from the ashes and billions lost their lives. Reports later estimated that less than one per cent of the nuclear weapons ready for war were actually detonated, but this was more than enough to devastate the earth. At that time the United States and Russia alone had more than two thousand strategic nuclear weapons on high alert, mounted on hundreds of missiles capable of launching with only a three-minute warning. The lack of reaction time contributed greatly to the massive loss of life. The nuclear attack came out of the blue. The scrabble for what little remained of the earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil supply had resulted in broken alliances and a global power struggle. The United Nations had lost all credibility and endless peace treaties were violated. And yet, even though preceded by a deteriorating global political situation and a conventional war with conventional weapons, the imminence of nuclear attack was only made public a few hours before the first blast tore through New York City. In that city alone more than a million people were killed and nine hundred thousand were injured in a matter of minutes, which, as it turns out, was not the worst. That was yet to come. While hundreds of thousands were killed in the initial blasts, billions died later all over the globe from the fallout effects and the famine that followed. Those who survived were left to fend for themselves in the bleakest of winters, as nuclear firestorms in the burning cities created thick black radioactive smoke which blocked the sunlight and caused unprecedented damage to the ozone, allowing dangerous ultra-violet rays into the atmosphere. Our warming sunlight was then blocked by this smoke causing the earth to cool rapidly, resulting in a moderate nuclear winter. The prolonged cold, decreased sunlight and rainfall, and massive increases in harmful UV light shortened growing seasons for over a decade, resulting in ongoing food shortages. The effects of the fallout on plant and animal life were devastating â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whole species were eradicated. In ten years the population of the United States was reduced from over 314 million to a mere 15 million people. Less than five per cent of the population survived. In a dark world, where hunger, cold and sickness were now commonplace, food, water and shelter became scarce resources worth dying for.

The entire west coast, California, Oregon and Washington State, and the eastern seaboard from Maine to Virginia were destroyed, and all neighbouring states suffered fallout damage. Many of the survivors in the northern states fled into Canada, and Mexico experienced an influx of immigrants from Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. As far as we were told, few made it out of the targeted states alive, and those who did now live in exile in the barren lands. Over and above New York, Washington DC, Arlington County, Virginia and San Francisco, among others, were also targeted and suffered direct hits. This successfully disabled the US Department of Defence at the Pentagon and the Financial District of Wall Street, and took out many of the most populated cities in the United States. More importantly, in hitting the Capital, all three branches of the Federal Government – Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court – were reduced to ash. Without law and order, humanity did what it does best in times of crisis. It panicked. We looted, we pillaged, we raped and we killed. In the absence of hope, society crumbled and lawlessness, chaos and disarray followed. Civilisation was stripped down to its very core, to the most basic and primal form of existence: survival above everything else. Our world was limited to the continent of America; we had no contact with the rest of the world, nor do we know what became of it. And so it remained for almost a decade. It was a bleak time, when humanity was at its lowest point and the fate of man hung in the balance. Then, just when it seemed that we would destroy ourselves completely and plunge the earth back into an era of extinction, one man stood up and changed the world. While his methods may have been extreme in some cases, his was the only way. He restored order to the chaos. He envisioned a world where society once again had structure. He devised a way to combat the aftermath of the war, to end the struggle. He sacrificed a few to save many. The radiation had affected thousands, and a new breed of monster had been born of the disaster; genetic and birth defects resulted in mutations. Exposure even to relatively low doses of radiation generates genetic damage and this damage can accumulate over several generations. Those affected by the radiation became colloquially known as Rados. There were also those who were unaffected by the radiation but, as a result of living amidst the affected and the ongoing water and food shortages a new form of barbarism emerged. Insanity was rife, and cannibalism common and these “deranged” tended to live in isolation, lack of human contact driving them to even deeper levels of madness. This hero of our time had the strength to do what was necessary to protect the healthy. Through his guidance a new era emerged and, under his rule, society evolved and adapted. Out of the ashes a new order was born. Nobody opposed him when he assumed the role as ultimate leader of the new world; no one questioned that he was the best man for it. The undertone of autocracy was overlooked in the desperate craving for justice and the return of civilisation and a social order. This man is followed by those of us who remain. He is exalted, idolised and worshipped as the hero who saved us from our own demise. He established a new Capital in Chicago, Illinois and herded the healthy into the Mid-West states, with the exception of Ohio and Kansas. In so doing, he ensured that we remained near the Great Lakes; the single largest water source on the planet – constituting 21 per cent of the world’s fresh surface water. He segregated the ten habitable states from all the others and built the boundary fences to keep us safe. He implemented border controls and established ways to ensure that the radiation poisoning would not be passed down through the generations. He brought food to the hungry and warmth to the cold. He asserted a new regime and restored law and order, so that we could once again sleep soundly in our beds without fear of attack. He rebuilt and advanced technology so greatly that in the cities it was almost impossible to remember where one civilisation had ended and another had begun.

This man is the hero of the people, the man who saved us. He is the President of the New United States of America and is the most heavily guarded man on the planet. He is also my husband, and my greatest enemy.

CHAPTER 1 I press my forehead against the cool glass of the mirror and rest it for a minute, gathering my thoughts and calming my inner turmoil; putting on my First Lady face. I draw in a breath of air and exhale slowly, through gritted teeth. I pause for a moment and put on my public smile. My reflection smiles back at me, looking every inch the glossy, glamorous icon I have groomed myself to be. I was blessed with good genes. My dark hair is shiny and sleek, falling to the middle of my back in a curtain of good health. My grey eyes are probably my most striking feature, changing according to my mood, from startling silver to dark and stormy. My lips are full and my cheeks are rosy. I have an innocence about me that makes me look younger than my twenty-six years. My looks have served me well; they take most of the credit for the position that I am in today. I leave the bathroom, flicking off the light as I go. I haven’t taken two steps when I am grabbed from behind and twirled high, around and around. I scream with mirth. “Eric!” Gasping, I correct my balance and he lowers me to the ground, his lips turned up in that slightly mocking smile of his. “One for the woman I love,” he croons, pulling a red rose from behind his back. Roses are a rare and exotic flower serving very little purpose and thus not worth the energy and effort expended in growing them. “And one for my best friend,” he continues and with a flourish he produces a second rose, red as blood. “Oh, Eric.” For a moment I am lost in the beauty of the flowers, examining each closely and losing myself in the intoxicating perfume. I touch the petals, the stem. “Where did you get them?” I breathe. “I have my secrets, love,” he smiles, and for the first time I notice a few fine lines around his sapphire blue eyes, although his hair is still black as ebony with no hint of grey. Eric turned thirty-five just a few weeks ago. Time is passing us by, I realise. We have already been married for almost three years. “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady,” Eric says. He bends to kiss me, and I stiffen involuntarily, silently cursing myself. I have long learned to control these impulses. “Ouch!” A thorn has pierced the soft flesh of my finger. I immediately stick my finger in my mouth. Eric laughs. “You know that’s not hygienic, Rebecca!” He grabs my hand and leads me to the bathroom where he holds my finger under the tap. I stand meekly, hopping from foot to foot to minimise the contact of my bare feet with the cold floor. “Becca!” Eric scolds me, laughing at the same time, and it is one of those rare and crazy moments when I lose sight of my mission, my purpose, and glimpse a man I might have loved in another life. He throws me over his shoulder and smacks me on the backside, then drops me unceremoniously onto the king-sized bed. “I’ll deal with you later.” He winks and then he is gone.

I wait five minutes and then change into a pair of jeans and a sweater, and pull on my comfortable trainers. I creep downstairs, careful to avoid the third step which creaks. I don’t want to alert anyone to my presence. As I approach Eric’s study I hear the steady hum of men’s voices speaking in low tones. Quinn is in there, undoubtedly. Eric is never anywhere without his shadow. Darius, too, probably. No one would dare oppose Eric or make an attempt on his life while their combined strength and speed are present. Another two voices I don’t recognise; one is raised and agitated. I catch phrases, words here and there: “Trans-humanism . . . rebels . . . claiming hubristic . . . argument centred on ethics.” A feeling of frustration builds inside of me. I know this already. I glance around; searching fruitlessly for a better way to eavesdrop. Suddenly Eric’s voice rings out questioningly. It is only one word, but it is absolutely all I need to hear: “Kansas?” I scarper, there is no need to hear anything else; I have all the information that I care about. For this moment I no longer care about the cause, about the bigger picture and the best-laid plans. All I know is that I need to get word out now. I fly down to the basement, fear lending me wings, and out of the cellar door into the garden. It is eerily quiet but I know that the patrols are scouting the property and I need to be quick to make sure I don’t run into any of them. I would be shot on sight for breaking curfew without permission, no matter that I am the President’s wife. I head south towards Chinatown avoiding the perimeter fence as this is always the most heavily guarded. Five minutes later I am in Wentworth Avenue and I scurry up a steep flight of stairs. Bursting through the door, there is no time to knock, I pant out the words. “Kansas is compromised. They know. He needs to leave. Now!” I don’t wait for a response; I know that my instructions will be carried out immediately. I turn and race in the opposite direction. Ten minutes later I hear raised voices in the hall and a minute later the front door slams. “Hi.” Eric leans against the bedroom door frame, his royal blue silk shirt clinging sexily to his lithe, muscular frame. He reminds me of an Arabian stallion, all sleek, sinewy beauty, but completely unpredictable. He is holding a crystal glass in his hand. “Hi,” I grin. He swirls his Scotch and drains it in one swallow. Placing his glass on the nightstand beside me, he taps my nose with a long, manicured finger. “I believe there is some sorting out we need to attend to, Mrs Dane?” he murmurs, and I laugh despite myself.

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Thebigzill Onair {an imaginary conglomerate we had while we were kids named after the combination of our surnames Zulu and Ngwenya} You see, those days were very fundamental and I think in a way, we shaped each other right there sitting on the pavement after playing soccer. We hated a calculator that could not count billions (laughing) - we didn't like those little calculators, we thought of them as a waste of time. A lot has changed in terms of focus, but the mindset remains the same. I discovered only when I got to Pretoria that I could do radio. Up till then - it never dawned on me that I could have a career in radio. I've learnt that your passion for something can often result in your career. In many instances we underestimate the things which are second nature to us. By the time I was at Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria) - they had just opened campus radio (TUT TopStereo) and it used to broadcast about 6/7 hours a day before I joined. The following year they placed ads on campus looking for presenters and we had to submit demos. I'm a motivational speaker also, so I just wanted to go there and do motivational talks. The station manager (Jeremy) asked for my demo. In my plan - the show was centered on 3 of us doing it - one lady and another guy who'd take care of playing the songs while I motivated people. But the challenge was that the guy was from UNISA

@Thebigzill

So I was the only one who could get in. I had never done a demo before and they wanted 30 minutes - (which by today standards I know it is completely useless to do it because at best they only listen to about 3-5 minutes). So that's how I joined. I was partnered with a lady who did entertainment and another guy who did politics, but the practicalities made it impossible to work. All of us were new and wanted to shine, so there were many disagreements as we all wanted the spotlight, and it didn't make good radio. So we had a meeting and eventually came with a plan to divide ourselves into the different days of the week. The plan was a success. I remember my first call in, it was a lady from one of the residences... She said "You know I must tell you, you sound great alone" (laughing) - So I guess that also motivated me towards radio even more.

I used to go to some Church where everybody aspired to be rich. Even the messages preached were to that extent. I met a friend called “California” and we use to call each other “Millionaires”. A couple of months later I elevated and called him a “Zillionaire” and as usual he responded and called me the same. Because he was popular there, other people started calling me “The Zillionaire”. So when I got to radio, I wanted to use a cool name for myself and decided to use the one they called me at that Church. A few months down the line, Metro fm hired a lady who goes by the name "Zil". I was worried - here's one of the stations I would like to work for in the future - and it already has someone with a similar name to me. The following week I called the station. "Hey people you're disturbing me" - imagine you're in a community radio station and calling a commercial station just to tell them that you have a problem with the name of one of their presenters. Back then I saw no problem with that.… perhaps it's one of the beauties of being new to things. Ofcourse that plan didn't work. But I later discovered that her name was actually different to mine. She was called "Zeal" for zealousness and I was "Zill" for zillionaire. Because radio is all about what you hear, I decided to remix my name to "The Big Zill On Air" so I could focus on building my brand without disturbing other people. So it all worked out in the end.

Unemployment brought me back. I was pursuing all the ideas I had, my marketing studies at TUT slacked and I eventually deregistered. There was no drive anymore, but only went because parents paid for it. But at some point I couldn't take it anymore and so I left. A problem came. I could not continue working on campus radio as a dropout. I told my parents of my decision and we made a deal. They’ll support me for a year and after that point, I’m on my own. During that year I tried getting myself into real estate, but it didn’t succeed. I became tired of going door to door in Arcadia and Sunnyside (Pretoria) looking for properties. Some of the buildings would just chase me out as I was basically invading. The biggest lesson was learning to accept rejection. It is something that usually causes a lot of people to give up on things. Secondly, I learnt how to deal with people in general - people of different backgrounds and cultures. But overall there came a time where I needed to focus on what I'm going to do with my life. Fortunately a friend took me in when the time came to be on my own - things were not yet moving. Within a few months he accepted a job in another town and I was on my own again. Several months went by without anything happening. My parents were getting very worried about matters and those kind of things get to knock you hard as a person. Being educators themselves, they identified many opportunities for me to join teaching, but I was set on getting to radio. Eventually I applied to MBT (Mpumalanga Broadcasting Television) but that never went anywhere. Even the early demos I brought to local stations didn't yield much and things were really low for me. Eventually I volunteered my way into Barberton Community Radio and today I'm working the afternoon shift on RISE fm, perserverence is paying off. The one author that really drove me crazy was Robert Kiyosaki. I honestly think it was books such as "Rich Dad Poor Dad", and "Cashflow Quadrant" that influenced me to the point of taking the decisions I did. I also read the books from the advisors which are part of the same series. Robert was the main culprit though (laughing). As I got deeper into entertainment, I neglected reading and experienced a sense of mental hunger and emptiness. I went to the same books again and the principles I learnt from that guy are so important to me that even today, I'm still working on achieving the same financial freedom he speaks about. Another book I recently read was the "4-hour work week" which taught me that I can maximize how I approach my work in terms of time allocation - so I can have more time to do other things. I actually want to reread this specific book again and see all the other things I missed the first time. There’s a book I’m even planning to give away (to our followers) is a book that deals with matters that affect the mind. it's called "The Prosperity Bible" which is actually a collection of ancient books that really shift the mind to good thinking.

(L)I just felt I was wasting time. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that "office" was not it. Nobody around me was inspired. It was people who sort of settled for things and I thought to myself "there must be something better in life than this." I woke up one day and told myself "not today" and that was it.. I still had no idea where and what was next, but the way I saw it, it was time for change and things became even more clearer as I started.

MacDonald

(L) Oh yea, definitely. I would have never met my wife had I not made that decision. (M) I was in Joburg to watch the Othello theatre production. At the time I was doing my matric upgrades and had to do Othello for the English class, but I decided to also go watch it. And when the play started, he (Loyiso) was playing Othello. When I read the program and noticed his surname, I asked myself "why is this guy using a fake surname?" (laughing)â&#x20AC;Ś After the show, many school kids were running and screaming to the cast, all the good looking guys, but my friends and I left. I forgot about it until I saw his advert on TV, something about the World Cup 2010â&#x20AC;Ś so I found him on facebook and we started talking from there. Somehow I squeezed his number from him. We started chatting on the phone and he came to see me in Joburg and that's how we met. (L) Thank you Othello, for if I stayed in that office and had no Othello part to play, there would have been no Joburg and no wife. H (L) We find it quiet easy, at least for me. I never got into the industry to be famous. She didn't become a musician to be famous. It's all about priorities at the end of the day. If we were both chasing fame, you'd be reading about us in the newspapers having squabbles somewhere. And that's the kind of publicity that many associates in our industry use - to sell stories to the newspapers. We don't do that. We don't live in that typical Hollywood culture... So it becomes a lot easier for us to live our lives, it's a career. When we come back home, we lead normal lives. We're not constantly going to events and putting ourselves out there. It's about priorities for us. (M) And I think our relationship matured before we got into the spotlight. He was still in Durban and I was still studying. It's not like we met with the spotlight already there. We had a chance to ground our relationship in solid things. By the time this phase of our lives came, we didn't even notice.

Loyiso & Mathunzi @loyisomacdonald

(L) At the moment I think we're just trying to ensure that we both grow. We want to develop as individuals and together as a couple before we start a family. We don't want to live in regrets. We want to see ourselves as full rounded human beings.

(M) It's very tricky. But as Loyiso said, it goes back to the reasons that people have for going into it. For me, it's a work platform and a place where I earn my living. So I'm not affected by the finicky stuff. It's not what I'm about. If I was a person who desired fame, I'd have major problems. My goals are greater and that gives me enough drive to survive the irritating stuff. I love the arts. It's something I enjoy. Unfortunately there are industry dynamics that come along with it, but it doesn't bother me. My work is based on quality and personal fulfilment. I was exposed to it an early age. My uncle works in the same industry. I was prepared. (L) Even when I was working at a call center where I was dealing with many personalities and issues, I learned to remain calm and keep focused.

(L) It's hard to pick one, but I'd take any of the Shakespearean characters. I really enjoy that. Othello and the others are big productions with a lot of stuff for an actor to sink into. Unlike TV and Film, it's rare that you play a character which has been played for so many times that the audience is usually familiar with what you're supposed to say. No actor wants to mess that up. As soon as the scene starts, most of the audience already know the monologue that's coming. And what we as actors usually find interesting with Shakespeare - is that he wrote with such knowledge, understanding and empathy for the human condition - thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why all the characters are fully rounded. So any of the Shakespearean plays would be real fun again, a great challenge. (M) I did a year of musical theatre, but first let me put it out there... I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do Shakespeare... I'm okay with a script of an hour to 1 1/2 hour, not 3 hours (laughing), but I remember playing Nancy in Oliver Twist and back then I was much younger and didn't fully get what was going on, but now it's very clear. It would be nice to do some South African theatre too, like Sarafina but I'm concentrating on television now.

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(M) After getting married, my mom gave us “Adventist Home” and it gave us a very nice perspective on relationships. Life is about relationships and a lot of my life is about family and so the values I learnt in it helped me get grounded on how I want my home to become. I also liked “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” - that was first time I really just wanted to read for the sake of reading. I loved "To Kill A Mockingbird" - it's stimulating to the imagination and has contributed to my style of writing. (L) I'd say "Roots" - Its size, in grade 8 that's a big book. I chose the book without knowing what was going on, and just found myself deep into it. It inspired me to imagine what it would be like to be this guy who's taken from his home and thrown into a place he didn't want to be in or even knew anyone. In a big way, the essence of why I became an actor was because of reading such incredible stories. It stretches your imagination and your empathy as a human being. I remember reading one scene where he tries to escape and has to face the punishment later. I could almost feel the pain. So much hope and desperation to get away from the situation and then suddenly it's taken away. So the story fascinated me, I didn’t even feel the many pages. That's the great part about reading, you're not being spoon-fed. You're being asked to imagine a place, how it would smell and feel and all those things. And somehow as human beings we're able to do all those things, a wonder of the mind. Even though we don't know exactly what the same person would feel like, we can identify with disappointment or anger that he went through. (L) She does... (M) Yes, a lot of fiction stuff lately...

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Nompumelelo Runji

researcher and policy analyst

Well, politics is about leadership I think. It's about people looking for other people to lead them to a better tomorrow. It's also about management of resources. Governments are there to allocate resources to the people and ensure there's equitable distribution. Politics also involves an element of justice as well, making sure that everyone in society has the best chance of making it, and that's why we have democracies in particular. So in relation to me, I'm all for justice, I like the idea of everybody getting a chance to make something of themselves and not prevented by circumstances, and that's what government is about - creating an environment where people can thrive, and make choices - and depending on their choices, they get the outcome from there. It's about protecting peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s freedom to think, to grow and to be, and I really believe in that.

I believe that we were all created with a purpose, created with talents and something to give to this world and that we should be provided with the environment to do so. I'm very happy to live in a country like that. I think that's what politics is about. I also believe that leadership is not something that other people do. We all have to lead in our spheres. One of the mantras I have is that "you can't lead other people if you can't lead yourself"... So you have to know what you're going to do with your life, and follow that vision - which is what leadership is about. You have to have some sort of drive and motivation, and you wont be able to fulfil the vision if you're not motivated. When you have that vision and are motivated, there has to be an element of service. It has to have some value for society and that's what leaders do. That's how I see similarities in a way even though I'm not a politician. Another thing is that you can't sit back. You have to participate. If you don't participate, you'll just be taken with the wave. It's the same in politics, it's not just what the leaders are doing at the top there, but what every member of society is doing as well. We've got rights, but we also have responsibilities. A country I really admire is Germany. I love the way the people feel they have a stake in what goes on in their country. The politicians understand that. Politicians in Germany, the way I read it, are not so overarching like in many other countries. Even if you look at the structures they have, there's a lot of vying and appealing to the people, and the people have a stake in what actually goes on. It also has to do with how they've organized themselves, their history - Nazism that brainwashed people - I think that made them more circumspect about the power that they give to their government and individuals. There's coalition politics for instance, no one party is more dominant than another. The elections are exciting, you're never really know who is going to win, it's tight competition even though you know there's a front runner. It's balanced. And when you look at the values of their society, like hard work, individual creativity and application of skills. They teach people skills and the people work with their hands. Inequality is not that high. They have great a public transport system and take care of their workers. They are leading the world in so many aspects. Even though they have their own problems too, they have that ideal democracy when I look at it. It's amazing how they are holding the European economy together when a few decades ago they were the problem. They show us that you have to learn from your mistakes. The past must be your great teacher. You can't just have a wretched past and not learn anything from it. I admire that country for those reasons. I've been seized with the idea of accountability for a long time. In the work I've done so far I've noticed that the one key issue that really dominates - international criminal justice, terrorism issues and democracy in general - is this concept of accountability. It's an issue across the world. How do we hold powerful governments accountable for their actions? Accountable for the decision they make and the things they neglect? How do we make them understand that they have their power in trust by the people.

There's a tendency by those in leadership to think they can do whatever they like once they are in power and so that's why I've been interested in electoral systems. Elections are the key means of how the people exercise their choice. People vote on the basis of the promises the parties make because they feel like those promises appeal to what they want and need. So the people who are elected are supposed to represent those people with that power and not go and do their own thing. So I wanted to study the relationship between elections and this concept of accountability. The other side of it was - in the lead up to the 2014 national elections here in South Africa, there were a lot of people coming out - even the Economist magazine for instance had an editorial commentary about South Africa, and one of the things they suggested was we ought to change our electoral system from PR (Proportional Representation) to something that includes (CBR) Constituency Based Representation - where society can actually elect those in power individually and not just as parties only. We also had someone like Mamphela Ramphele who came into the political scene and also said we ought to think about changing our electoral system to guarantee accountability. Even the manifesto of the DA also mentions this issue of electoral reform. There seems to be a movement towards that thinking. And it's not a new suggestion. When South Africa became a democracy after 1994 elections, the system that we use right now was considered an interim system. There was supposed to be a sort of conference to decide on an electoral system which was done under Mangosuthu Buthelezi. He appointed the Van Zyl Slabbert Commission to research this subject. In 1996, the majority view felt that we need to keep the electoral system and not change it. One of the reasons is that PR guarantees inclusivity. It ensures that even the minirities are included. It's representative nature allows more different views in parliament. The CBR view is not that way entirely, so you can easily loose a lot of those minority voices. But then again, the argument is that it speaks more towards this question of accountability. I don't think I dealt with it hecticly. But one of the things we see with South Africa is that when democracy came, the people felt "now we've got our saviour and we're going to be rescued from all our problems" and they stopped doing the vibrant community participation that was there before democracy came. The apartheid government was not interested in helping people with many things. Communities had to fend for themselves. There were street committees and people were involved with what's going on in their communities. Democracy came and people thought the government is now there to do everything and we're entitled to things and no longer have to do anything ourselves. And I think that's problematic. Democracy is like a clean canvas. The institutions we have are tools like paintbrushes. How we use those tools becomes the painting we see on the canvas. We decide and determine how this democracy is going to look like, and that's the opportunity. We decide how this whole thing is going to turn out. We don't just get a constitution. Yes the text is there, but it is tested by the circumstances that arise. We're seeing it play out even now. We've got a defiant President who has been charged with spending exorbitant amounts of money and has taken even the Public Protector lightly. The Public Protector is the institution that is supposed to hold public officials accountable to the constitution. And there's a tug of war between them. We also have a legislature that protects the President, keeping him from accounting. So what our democracy will look like 20 years later is what we've been doing with the paintbrushes over the years and we've got to ask ourselves if there are things we've need to changeâ&#x20AC;Ś

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You see public voice is not about coherence. Plurality is part of democracy. Democracy is supposed to accommodate diversity. It says that every voice must be heard, not just the biggest voice. And that's the type of society our constitution is trying to create. A place where every member of society has space, hence unity in diversity. So it's not about saying the same thing or saying the same thing loud enough, but about recognizing all those voices and give them the opportunity to speak. And one of the things I look into is the question of what happens after people vote. People get together to vote once every 5 years and so the question comes, how does that public voice become heard between the elections. It's one of the big cries even with e-Tolls. The public was not consulted to hear their voice. It was not solicited. We didn't get to participate and same with the "Arms Deal" and this new Russian deal... why have they not consulted Parliament which also represents the voice of the people? Society wants to know it has a say on the decisions that are made about their lives because whatever the government does, it always comes back with implications to the people, both now and future generations. We need to get to a point where our government engages people so that they become part of what's going on. Due to the costs involved, we can't have too many elections. Also we have a staggered election system where we elect different levels of government every 2 and 3 year cycles and this is one of the ways of mitigating and give society that public voice. However, it should not be just about choosing a political party. People want to be involved in making some of the policies that come up after elections. Our government does have processes of consultation for every piece of legislation, but the question we must ask ourselves as society is "Do we make use of these facilities?" But the flip side is that they may hold these committees and a great majority of people show up with valid submissions only for the government to ignore them and still proceed anyway, example - eTolling, the Secrecy Bill, etcâ&#x20AC;Ś.so people are also asking themselves what's the use to participate if they are not being listened to. There's a close relationship between transparency and accountability. You can't hold someone accountable for something you don't know. There must be publication of matters so the society has a way to tell if what was supposed to be done was done and thus a "well done" be appropriate. So we can't separate transparency. It helps us determine if our government is doing well or badly. There's a book called Maru by Bessie Head, I really enjoyed that book. She deals with deep issues of discrimination. Very sociological issues in such a poetic way. That book made me interested in sociological type of matters and I went on to specialize in that when I went to University - it make a great impression to me. I started wondering about society and how it's organized. How do we make societies better so people can have more choice. Another one is the History of Inequality in South Africa by Sampie Terreblanche and the follow up to it also. Being an economic historian, he tells a compelling history - all the way from colonial times to some of the challenges we're facing even today. Another one is by Alex Borrain, "What's Gone Wrong" - he also looks into some of the themes I look into. My preoccupation is "How do we make our country better?" and so even with the columns I write, itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; about to get people to think what contribution they can make, especially to make their lives better and that leads to a better society overall... I'm very passionate about such matters...

CHAPTER 1

The Opportunity Democracy does not guarantee success, it guarantees opportunity. Reverend Jesse Jackson, Mail & Guardian, 2013 God gives opportunities; success depends upon the use made of them. Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, 1890

In the lifespan of a human being, the ﬁrst two decades are considered the years of assimilation in preparation for later life. During this stage bonds are formed, beliefs are entrenched, the brain together with the body develop to maturity and identity is established. The knowledge, experience and development garnered during childhood and adolescent years are evidenced through adulthood when the individual establishes his place and makes his contribution - constructive or destructive - to society. Unfortunately, the same does not follow in the world of politics. From day one, newly democratic governments are expected to assimilate and apply in tandem. Government experiments have real time impacts and establish the course for future ascendancy or decline. Governing in the 21st century is especially difﬁcult as globalisation, the expansion and advancement of information and communication technologies mean that government has the pressure to deliver locally at international standards. There is additional pressure on South Africa as one of the youngest democracies on the African continent to learn from the mistakes of its counterparts and to leapfrog them in its own democratic experience. The pertinent question is what use is South Africa making of its democratic opportunity?

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The foundations of South Africa’s democracy South Africa’s transition from a long history of racism and apartheid to democracy has been said to be a miracle. However, the peaceful transfer of power that was realised through the 1994 general election was not merely a product of an inexplicable supernatural phenomenon. The very decision by the nationalist government and the liberation movement to trade the battlefield for a roundtable was key and the outcomes of those negotiations were the ingredients for and the foundation upon which a democratic South Africa was built. Because of the decisiveness of leaders on both spectrums of the race and political divide, South Africa escaped the fate of many countries the world over, whose transitions to democracy were realised through civil war. But this was only the beginning. There was much still to be done to transform South African society. The engines of the newly democratic government ran at high velocity from day one. The large work of reconfiguring a legal system that was premised on institutionalised racial segregation was the first thing on the agenda. Parliament was up for the challenge. After the elections on 27 April 1994, the National Assembly and the Senate formed the Constitutional Assembly, which wrote a new Constitution and subjected it to two years of public consultation and debate. In 1996 the new Constitution was adopted. The work of the first democratically elected Parliament was so impeccable that the Constitution is esteemed highly as the most progressive Constitution in the world. This Constitution is the foundation of the country’s democracy. In it are contained the values of the nation such as: “human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms; non-racialism and non-sexism; supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law; and universal adult suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness.” (4) Chapter nine of the Constitution provides for the creation of institutions supporting constitutional democracy. These include the Public Protector, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural and Religious and Linguistic Communities, the Commission for Gender Equality, the Auditor General and the Electoral Commission.

These institutions are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law. They exist to safeguard the values, rights and principles enshrined in the Constitution and to ensure that all citizens comply, whether they be in the highest echelons of political ofﬁce, commercial entities or ordinary citizens. The democratic government has succeeded in making the state more accessible to all its citizens. It has broadened participation, ﬁrstly through supporting the Electoral Commission to deliver credible elections in which all eligible citizens can participate. It has deepened transparency by enjoining government departments to publish annual reports, and by passing the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) of 2000 that creates a framework for citizens to access information primarily in the possession of the state. Potholes in the democratic path Despite the progress that has been made in the country’s democratic development, challenges remain. Community protests have escalated – popularly known as ‘service delivery protests’. These protests generally have as their theme as discontent and frustration with the level and quality of delivery by government. However, some have a political undertone as they are spill overs of factional battles within council structures and municipalities that are dogged by political wrangling the root of which lays in the cadre deployment and the blurring of lines between party structures and municipal authority. Adding to the malaise is spiking public sector corruption. Together with the concerning rise of corruption is the evidence of poor capacity of government departments, at all levels, to manage budgets and implementation of policy. World bodies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Economic Forum, have highlighted government failings that have contributed to the serious economic challenges, including unemployment and slow growth that the country is facing. Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded South Africa’s bond rating on 27 September 2012 sighting concerns about political instability and labour unrest, given the spate of unprotected strikes in the mining industry from August 2012, which continue intermittently.

Moody’s observed the following in substantiating the downgrade: “Moody's reassessment of a decline in the government's institutional strength amidst increased socio-economic stresses and the resulting diminished capacity to manage the growth and competitiveness risks. Shrinking headroom for counter-cyclical policy actions, given the deterioration in the government's debt metrics since 2008, the uncertain revenue prospects and the already-low level of interest rates. The challenges posed by a negative investment climate in light of infrastructure shortfalls, relatively high labour costs despite high unemployment, and increased concerns about South Africa's future political stability.” (5)

Moody’s has attributed rising instability to government’s institutional weakness and declining capacity to manage risks. This substantiates forebodings about the declining state of governance. Indeed government’s own assessments concur with Moody’s. The results of the management performance assessments for the 2012/2013 financial year, released by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, which is located in the presidency, presents evidence of weaknesses in governance. These assessments were conducted using the MPAT (Management Performance Assessment Tool) that assesses the quality of management practices. MPAT is based on the theory that the quality of management practices has a significant bearing on the quality of services delivered to society. Shortcomings in service delivery suggest a lowering quality in management practices in government. And the report reveals that the cause of poor service delivery in all government departments is weak administration. Government cannot deliver on its mandate unless it has “an efficient, effective and accountable public service” (6) which is currently not the reality. The Basic Education Department’s failure to deliver textbooks in provinces like Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, intermittent shortages of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) in hospitals across the provinces, government departments failure to pay small businesses within 30 days, failure to enforce social labour plans in the mining sector and lapses in policing leading to incidents of police brutality, among others, are all consequences of bad administration.

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upyouthchoir.co.za

Lhente-Mari Pitout Conductor - UPYC

We've grown from strength to strength. We're coming from the Choir Olympics and everyone is on top form. We just finished the Lilizela Awards where Unathi (Idols SA) and Katlego (Expresso) were the hosts. But that was actually a tourism industry event where they award the best institutions like B&Bs to hotels, etc and so the choir sang there. I took about 20 singers with me, not everybody. We started a few more corporate things... We've been working hard to build sponsorship. What we're doing is youth development, sort of like a creative finishing school where the kids leave as very well rounded individuals who like South Africa. The choir is a vehicle for something much bigger. So we're still working on securing more sponsorship so we can include everybody. I'm very interested in politics because I'm interested in the future of our country. My brother immigrated to Austria and I wasn't very happy with him. He was very influencial and so I asked him, "If you gonna go, whose going to fill your shoes?" and he said to me "I love South Africa, but I can't sleep soundly at night with all the crime going on". So I'm very interested in politics and to see what's going on and my whole hope for this country is to have the new generation get into power, it will be the most fantastic country. At the moment, we're still dealing with a lot of pain and heartbreaks. A lot of people in power at the moment feel like life owes them something. They still blame a lot. And the generation that we have now is different, they want good education and a nice life and are willing to work for it. So if we can just get this young educated generation in power, then we'll be okay. We still need a transition of about a good 20 years more so we can get heartaches out of our system. The political parties have their own agendas and we need a clean slate. It depends what their character is because you get corrupt musicians as well. There are many that sell out and just do it for the money...

I was very lucky, when I was in University, we were recruited for the World Youth Choir and that's where the big change happened for me. I grew up in an Afrikaans community. I matriculated without even learning a single thing about who Nelson Mandela was. I never heard about him until he became President. A lot of people forget that apartheid actually kept our lives completely separate. At home we were not rich, my parent were teachers but we had enough. The only African people that I came into contact with were the ladies that helped my Mom in the house. Even though we didn't know much, we could see there was a lot hatred going on in society. And then I matriculated and Nelson Mandela became President. All of a sudden, many neighbours where afraid that there was a civil war going to happen and I remember others buying lots of groceries and even immigrating because of fear. Once in University, I was then recruited to the World Youth Choir.

upyouthchoir.co.za

For the first time in my life I met people from other countries. I went to Japan for a month and it was like culture shock. Here I was with 80 singers my age from 30 different countries. I met a great friend that year from Cuba. It was the first time I was allowed to mingle with people from other races so freely. That project shaped my whole life. Beyond the good music and singing, it was about learning who I was as a person. Seeing people not for where they come from or what colour they are, but completely seeing them for the talent they have and the personalities they have, and it completely changed my life. The project is so highly esteemed that very good musicians want to be associated with it along the way. And that's how I met Bobby Mcferrin. In 2002, he was the host conductor and he came to work with the singers from all those countries, going through his workshops and getting to know his style...

upyouthchoir.co.za

You know the people who are really brilliant are exactly like you and me. It's the people that are not sure about their talent who are usually the fake ones - foul attitudes, etc - but the people who are genuine and true are exactly like normal people, it's amazing.

It depends on who you speak to. The biggest impression many have about us is that there's some energy here that you don't find anywhere else in the world. I was speaking to a Dutch exchange student recently and when I asked her if she's enjoying her time here in South Africa, she said she doesn't want to leave. And so I asked her further if she doesn't miss her country were things are advanced and where she doesn't' feel threatened and so onâ&#x20AC;Ś and she said to me, "you know what, the rest of the world has become so jaded." That got me thinking about the same danger we as South Africans are starting to have, being too westernized that we lose our energy and culture. It's so sad at times because I have so many kids in my choirs that don't speak their home languages. Sometimes when I need help with translations I would ask for help, but many just tell me they speak English... I understand the background, but it's not good that people loose their identity. The biggest challenge is UPYC. Every year it gets bigger and better. And I have to stay on top of my game. The singers that are excellent attract other excellent singers and people want to be associated with it. It grows and evolves the whole time. We're even working on maintaining that momentum even after World Choir Games. Cause before the games you work work wok, but after that what happens? So we've completely changed the programme of the choir and we're doing this massive musical next year. The musical itself is about South African inspiration and is written in all 11 official languages. It embraces the best of our cultures. The other choirs strive to be part of UPYC, so my work with them comes together in the big choir.

Not in South Africa. Here, it has become extremely popular to be in a choir because it's not just about singing, but more about community. People want to belong to a group. As soon as people enjoy their time, they always want to join another group whether a church choir, a community choir or an ensemble. Cause you're in a group where you're accepted and you make fifty friends immediately. And with so many big fences around us, it's a part of community that's become rare every year.

upyouthchoir.co.za

Internationally, depending on where you are, it's a different picture. They usually struggle with the boys in terms of getting them to sing - there's a stigma with choirs, especially with the pop culture pulling so many of them. But we're fortunate here our boys singâ&#x20AC;Ś

I was very emotional when I grew up. I fought against it because my friends were not that way. But then I had a fantastic teacher that told me "If you're not emotional, you wont make a good artist" and so I was always the romantic type. I love old stories, beautiful romantic stories. Like so many people, I picked up that little book "The Alchemist" and it really changes your life in such a simple tale. Taking every opportunity to make the best of life. I love Roald Dahl stories because they have a way to take your mind somewhere else. I love Maya Angelou, especially that book she wrote "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fantastic part in the book where she says she didn't allow people to say negative things in her house because she believed the negativity will go into the furniture. It was so interesting and so true. If you surround yourself with negative people, you're going to live a negative life. Oprah Winfrey opened so many doors for me because of her show. We were exposed to books, singers and musicians that we would have not have known otherwise. I used to watch her show religiously. I came across singers like India Arie on her show, Josh Groban, and countless authors... Starting with 9 singers, now I do more than 600 auditions a year, I'd love to write about my experience in the choir. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to find out from the kids how, at that critical point in their lives, did the choir play a role for them. So hopefully in a few years I'll get to track them and hear what they say.

upyouthchoir.co.za

G.Illustrative It's a bit complicated. I got into poetry through rap. It was introduced to me in my high school years. My friends used to write a few things and so I decided to join them and become part of the cool kids. I suppose that's how I got into writing poetry. But as time went on, my writing changed as well. I found myself falling in love with "conscious rap" - which is more about things that are within the parameters of your awareness. Through rap I developed a sense of rhythm in poetry. From there I branched into performance poetry. Yes... Oh my goodness - it saddens me. The one thing that irks so many other poets as well, is that poets are still seen as beggars who cannot be choosers. We usually perform in prestigious venues as opening acts for the big artists, including people from overseas. Those artists get great treatment, but with us, they don't even ask if we would like to have water on stage... Anyway, we go and fascinate their audiences, and most people like what we do, but the organizers don't really care much. You know, I've had to pay to perform in certain places just because we shared the stage with the big guys. When I think of South Africa as a whole, I don't think most people have been exposed to what we do. I don't think we can blame them yet... I've performed in places where people even ask us "where have you been all along?" - they want to support and follow us, and because we're not yet an industry that's well organized, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not easily accessible. But we're still growing.

There's a lot actually. One thing I've noticed with many poets is that they don't take their craft seriously. They look at poetry as a hobby and don't see themselves as artists. There was a time when I thought that way too. But I have since matured and appreciated poetry more. The thing is that I'm consistent... I enjoy writing. I enjoy reciting and being on stage… And the people who surround me now that take their craft very seriously. I don't think many poets see it as a craft just like a painter treasures his own paintings. I know of one poet who took things so seriously that he sacrificed his rent money just to organize a poetry show. He basically didn't have a place to stay. Today though, he gets upper five digits on just one poem. He took it seriously and that's what we all need to do without going the same route as he did. There are many ways to be successful. Today he's mentoring many other poets - myself included - reach platform we'd never get easily. Another problem is that you find poets who just don't want to help other poets. They are only interested in showing that they are better than you. To be specific. Honestly for me, it's all the places and platforms that I've been to. I never saw myself at the National State Theatre or at the Soweto Thetre, that's history right there. I never thought I'd find myself performing next to great people like Lebo Mashile, Genetics and Ezekiel and many others, people I really respect. Personally I don't think much about money, at least as far as art is concerned, and have been pleasantly surprised as to how it has financially looked after me. For some reason, many people think of poets as these hungry people...there are jokes like "If you don't want to have a house, marry a poet"… but honestly speaking, if you take it seriously, poetry is also lucrative. I know of so many colleagues who have travelled the world just because of poetry. There was a business conference in Rustenburg where I was performing. So one them (who happened to own his own private jet) approaches me after our performance and asked me if I had a passport. Unfortunately I did not. He was willing to invite me to their next conference. I missed that one because I didn't have the travel documents, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Honestly, there have been some like that.. In fact last year was the worst. As much as I don’t like it, I just work around the situation and keep moving. I don’t let it distract me. At the end of the day, I want a great performance.

Penseed Poets was founded by a guy called Manda. Although he wasn't a poet himself, he watched KB (one of the members at Penseed) perform and liked what he saw. He wanted to work with poets who could produce what he saw when he watched KB. So he thought there could potentially be a movement, and he needed only to get guys who saw the same thing. Our aim is to build, entertain and preach positive messages of the Kingdom in a practical way. We work in a variety of environments and do a lot of corporate events too. We're artists who try to cater to different audiences. Right now we're trying to get a minimum of 25 poets. We want the Penseed movement to be able to cater whenever we're called without being worried about lack of availability of other poets. We're trying to become an organization that will treat its poets better. We’ve been doing it for just over 5 years and we’re wiser and better organized. So if you're serious about your craft and are interested in being a Penseed poet, just get in touch with us. It’s a good career - but one that takes a lot of hard work and patience. You must be willing to stay in it a number of years before you are recognized. Ifyou're invited to gigs, go. Don't argue. Use every opportunity you get.

The beat, beat, beating of my heart. The beat of the waves that crash on the shore. The world is beating, it's breathing, it sighs. Tuned into the cry of unborn life, of a world that's hurting, People are hurting. We hear the beating of the universe and learn to play along. It stinks of beauty, and wonder, and passion in every pore. It sounds like violence, and gunfire, victims of war. Cause people don't play their part right, they just turn and ignore. It feels like a need to reach the needy, feed those that need feeding. Stop following the crowd! Cause the worlds screaming so loud. How we not heart it? But in the chaos, the corruption, the cries for more and more, there's a melody so small. Singing love into the confusion, speaking truth into the delusion, within it lies the solution. It's in the beat of my heart, in the sound creation, in the brush of a gentle breeze. It whispers love, Sings love Speak love Shout love! it weaves love through the madness man created, and places love in the centre of it all.

It's so much more when there's weakness. It leaves us speechless, It lifts us into a generation, who aims to lead a nation. With love!!

Given Illustrative Masilela

Neo Gcabo Vocalist Wow! Berklee was never really part of the plan. I had started off at the University of Pretoria, knowing I was going to complete my 4 year degree there. After that, I saw myself going into jazz performance. However, as time went by, I found myself seeking more out of life. Where I was at the time, was not enough for me, in fact I had a friend who was already studying at Berklee and this motivated me to apply. I suppose I thought if somebody from South Africa can do it, so can I. However, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I realized the magnitude of what was about to happen. When I started the application process, I was determined but nervous. All I knew was that Berklee was one of the best music schools in the world and I wanted to be a part of that. The image I had of myself was of a conservative Pretorian, who would spend her life in the slow lane, clutching simplicity by its horns, little did I know the surprise that was waiting for me. This taught me that it is okay to make plans, in fact planning is important, but its imperative to be open to spontaneity. This was my moment to spread my wings and average thinking or planning was not going to cut it.

Choir has been such an important part of my life, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t image myself living without being in a choir. So I decided, when I got to Boston, finding a choir would be on my priorities list. When I got to berklee, it did not go according to plan, it seems I may have been more interested in pursuing other areas of my career, however by my third semester, I had found myself amongst a group of eager women who enjoyed the sound of harmonies interchanging to create beautiful melodies. I joined the Womens Concert Choir at Berklee for one semester. It was extremely different from what I knew. In South Africa, choir was never part of your academic program, however at Berklee, you take it for credit and you would only be in it for 1 semester, which is about 4-5 months long. Choir back home was not only about the music, but it was about building a family filled with members who share the same need to fulfill their musical obligation. Through this, I have made some lifetime friendships owing to this passion and desire to sing. I learned to count on the voices that surrounded me because without them there would be no balance to the music, it would be incomplete, I believe there is a life lesson in that. We have been put on this earth for a purpose however nobody ever succeeded without help. It takes support from people to conquer and thrive. However, after coming to Berklee, I was able to explore a solo career and I was exposed to different genres such as NeoSoul, Jazz, Pop, RnB. Not to say I was not familiar with these genres, I never had the opportunity to perform them as much because I was classically trained.

Hmmm, this was not an easy one, but it all boils down to “Irish Blessing”. This is a piece I leaned whilst I was a member of the University Of Pretoria Tuks Camerata. The words are touching in their simplicity and have a way of bringing a sense of gratitude and blessing. The reason it has such significance to my life, is that everytime we could have a performance, we would perform this piece standing scattered in the audience, with one hand on the shoulder of whom ever we were closest and sing the following words from the depths of our hearts “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back.. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields.And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.” It is a combination of lyric and melody that make this a heart-felt piece, furthermore, the intent to interact with somebody whilst singing this blessing over their lives, to know that we are not sure of this road that we are on but we pray that God will continue to bless you and keep you is the reason I have tears in my eyes when I sing this song. Flashbacks flood in when I listen to this piece. It was such an honour to be in the presence of a Grammy-award winning artist. I usually have to say that a few times before in settles in my mind. To think that I have had the opportunity to sing behind an artist of her stature is completely mind-boggling. I am somewhat in awe a few weeks later as I take the time to reflect. During the sound-check I was a wreck, on the verge of tears really, but once the show started, the music simply took over I had so much fun. I was able to feed off of her energy and this gave me confidence to sing my heart out and support her. How it came about? Hmmm, this is one of the biggest blessings I have had, Berklee has an ensemble named after her first album “Radio Music Society” I found out about it from a friend, and asked to be part of the ensemble, I was given the go ahead and this lead to us performing with her. I never imagined that I would be the one sharing a stage with this mogul.

There are men and women who are dedicating their lives to music, teaching it to a number of people with as little resources but with vast knowledge. I believe there is always more that can be done to improve and expand in certain areas, music education is one them. I believe Africa has so much to offer yet is limited in their resources. Its time we take what we have, expand it, refine it, polish it and send it out into the world. We should not be limited by the world if we want to take our music to the world, we should be using our knowledge to formulate a way to preserve and spread our music. With the knowledge and opportunities I receive and gain from Berklee, I am hoping to come back and build the idea that music can in fact be a career and music can change lives. Hmmm, this is not an easy one, however, a book titleâ&#x20AC;? The Force of Favorâ&#x20AC;? has been in my hands recently. It speaks about how we can receive the favor of God in every aspect of our lives. It is also a motivational book that teaches on principles of problem solving, excellence, and obedience.

I have come to realize that It is not necessarily my love for books, but my love for lyrics that has shaped me. Every song I sing tells a story and has poetry attached to it. That poetry is yearning to be accurately represented by the music. I have always been told to sing with meaning and the way that happens is if you sing the words like you mean them. There are so many songs I have sung that have had a special place in my heart because of the lyrics. Ha! How’s that for reading? Even though, I have not had too much time to read, when I do read sometimes I think to myself, “man, I will never finish this book, I just want to keep reading this chapter over and over again” I say this because sometimes I am grabbed by what is being said and in awe of the thoughts of another person. I can’t believe how I am impacted by their words. I definitely need to read more.

Funny enough, I have been told I look like an author, not that I know what an author looks like, I was asked if I had ever thought of writing something. Truthfully, I have never seen myself as a writer, but I have thought about it once or twice. It may be somewhere in my future. I journal as often as I can, perhaps these thoughts may translate into a book. I do find myself writing a sermon or two, this is when I have found something inspiring in the Bible and I feel the need to express what I have received from it. The best way to keep in touch with my activities is through Facebook. I am yet to develop a full artist page or website, but I am alive and active on Facebook: Neo Gcabo

It is so important to know that you are a woman who is loved and is capable of so much more than what the world is presenting to you. Maya Angelou once wrote a poem titled “Phenomenal Woman”, where she simply prides herself in her inner beauty, unashamed in her walk knowing that she is full of greatness. You as a woman are fearfully and wonderfully made. Interwoven in the womb with a divine purpose, filled with dreams that are to be lived and turned into a reality! Never think that you are not worthy of success or greatness, in fact you were made for success. It took me a while to understand the meaning of this extract by Marianne Williamson, I always thought, well, I am not worthy, not good enough, not beautiful enough and not talented enough until my dreams started to become a reality. That showed me the power I have within, is far greater than any fear: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others.” You may be young, but the light inside of you is already shinning bright, release it to the world, you are wonderful, you are worth it and you are enough.

Neo Gcabo

*** When I first settled down on this particular island as a trader, I had, in my boundless ignorance of the fierce jealousy that prevailed between the various villages thereon, been foolish enough to engage two or three servants from outlying districts--much against the wishes of the local kaupule (town councillors), each of whom brought me two or three candidates (relatives, connections or spongers of their own) and urged that I should engage them and no others. This I refused to do, point blank, and after much angry discussion and argument, I succeeded in having my own way, and was allowed to choose my servants from villages widely apart. In the course of a few weeks some terrific encounters had taken place between my women servants and other of the local females, who regarded them as vile usurpers of their right to rob and plunder the new white man. However, in time matters settled down in a measure; and beyond vituperative language and sanguinary threats against the successful applicants, the rejected candidates, male and female, behaved very nicely. But I was slumbering on a latent volcano of fresh troubles, and the premonitory upheaval came about a month after our head nurse, Hakala, had been fined five dollars for using English Seafaring' language to another woman who had called her a pig. As Hakala could not pay the fine--being already in debt to me for two months' wages paid in advance--I settled it; for she was a widow, and had endeared herself to me by the vigorous manner in which she had pitched a large, fat girl named 'HekĂŠ out of the house for stealing some sugar from my store-room. The members of the kaupule (the village parliament) were pleased to accept the money, but wrote me a formal letter on the following morning, and remarked that it was wrong of me to encourage brutal conduct in any of my servants--wrong and un-Christian-like as well. 'But,' the letter went on to say, 'it is honest of you to pay this woman's fine; and Talamaheke' (the sugar-thief) 'has been sentenced to do three days' road-making for stealing the sugar. Yet you must not think evil of Talamaheke, for she is a little vale (mad), and has a class in the Sundayschool. Now it is in our minds that, as you are an honest man, you will pay the fines owing on the horse.' I had a vague recollection of my predecessor telling me something indefinite about a horse belonging to the station, but could not remember whether he said that the animal was in the vicinity of the station or was rambling elsewhere on the island, or had died. So I called my Samoan cook, Harry, to learn what he knew about the matter. Harry was the Adonis of the village, and already the under-nurse, E'eu, a sweet little hazel-eyed creature of fifteen, and incorrigibly wicked, had succumbed to his charms, and spent much of her time in the kitchen. At that moment Harry was seated outside the cook-house, dressed in a suit of spotless white duck, playing an accordeon; also he wore round his brown neck a thick wreath of white and scarlet flowers. Harry, I may remark, was a dandy and a notorious profligate, but against these natural faults was the fact that he could make very good bread. 'Harry,' I said, 'do you know anything about this horse?' and I tapped the official letter. He smiled. 'Oh, yes, sir. I know all 'bout him. He been fined altogether 'bout two hundred and fifty dollar, an' never pay.' 'What do you mean? How can anyone fine a horse?' Then Harry explained and gave me the horse's history. The animal had been brought from New Zealand for some occult reason, and had behaved himself very badly ever since he landed. Young banana trees were his especial fancy, cotton plants he devoured wholesale, and it was generally asserted that he was also addicted to kicking chickens. My three predecessors on the station had each repudiated the creature, and each man when he left the island had said that his successor would pay for all damage done. 'Where is the brute now?' I asked.

Looking cautiously around to see that no one was within earshot, Harry informed me that until a week previously the nuĂ˘ had been running quietly in the interior of the island for many months, but since my arrival had been brought back by two of the deacons and was now feeding about the immediate vicinity.

'Why did the deacons bring him back, if he destroys banana trees and kill chickens?' Harry looked very uncomfortable and seemed disinclined to speak, but at last let the cat out of the bag and revealed a diabolical conspiracy--the horse had been brought back for my undoing, or rather for the undoing of the strings of my bag of dollars. 'You see, sir,' said he, confidentially, 'these people on this island very clever--all dam rogue' (his mother was a native of the island), 'an' 'bout a month ago, when you give two dollar to help build new church, the fakafili and kaupule{*} (judge and councillors) 'say you is a very good man and that you might pay that horse's fines. An' if you pay that horse's fines then the people will have enough money to send to Sydney to buy glass windows and nice, fine doors for the new church. An' so that is why the deacons have bring that horse back.' 'But what good will bringing the horse here do? That won't make me pay his fines.' 'Oh, you see, sir, since the horse been come back the people take him out every day into some banana plantation and let him eat some trees. Then, by-and-by--to-morrer, perhaps--they will come an' ask you to go and look. Then you will look an' say, "Alright, I will pay five dollar." An' then when you pay that five dollar the kaupule and the judge will say, "Now you mus' pay for all the bad things that that horse do before you come here." An' s'pose you won' pay, then I b'lieve the judge an' headmen goin' to tapu{*} your store. You see they wan' that money for church very bad, because they very jealous of Halamua church.' * Tapu, in this sense, means boycotting. 'Jealous of Halamua church! Why?' 'Oh, because Halamua people been buy a foolpit for their church--a very fine foolpit from California; an' now this town here very jealous, and the people say that when you pay that horse's fine they will buy pine windows, pine doors, and pine floor, and give Halamua church hell? The novel (but in some cases exceedingly correct) pronunciation of pulpit pleased me, yet my wrath was aroused at this scandalous revelation of the plans of the villagers to beautify their church at my expense. It was as bad as any church bazaar in Christendom. As Harry surmised, I received a visit from a deputation the next morning. They wanted me to come and see the destruction done to their plantations by my horse. 'But it's not my horse,' I said. 'I decline to hear anything about a horse. There is no horse down in my stock list, nor an elephant.' A dirty old ruffian with one eye and a tattooed face regarded me gravely for a moment, and then asked me in a wheezy, husky voice if I knew that Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. 'Of course,' I replied promptly, 'I saw them struck. My uncle in England had them buried in his garden to improve the soil. And why do you come here and tell me these things about a horse? If there is a horse, and it eats your bananas and sugar-cane, why don't you shoot it?' This suggestion staggered the deputation, half of which scratched its head meditatively. Then a tall, thin man, with an attenuated face like a starved fowl, said sneeringly in English,-'What for you want to make gammon you no savee about horse?' His companions smiled approvingly; not that they understood a word of English, but they evidently regarded the fowl-like creature as a learned person who would give me a dressing down in my own language. I looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then said to Harry,--

'What does this man say, Harry? I can't talk German. Can you?' Harry grinned and shook his head; the rest of the deputation looked angrily at the hatchet-faced man, and the member seated next to him told him he ought to be ashamed of himself to pretend to be able to vogahau faka Beretania (talk English). For some minutes no one spoke. Then the youngest member of the deputation, a jolly, fat-faced young deacon, dressed in a suit of white flannel, laughed merrily, and asked me for some tobacco. I gave them a plug each all round, and the deputation withdrew. So having successfully repudiated the horse and all his works, I felt satisfied. *

Pigs were the next trouble--my own pigs and the pigs of the general public. When I landed on the island I had brought with me from Sydney a lady and gentleman pig of exceedingly high lineage. They were now the proud and happy parents of seven beautiful little black-and-white piglets, and at any hour of the day one might see numbers of natives looking over my wall at the graceful little creatures as they chased one another over the grass, charged at nothing, and came to a dead stop with astonishing rapidity and a look of intense amazement. One fatal day I let them out, thinking they would come to no harm, as their parents were with them. As they did not return at dusk I sent E'eu, the under-nurse, to search for them. She came back and told me in a whisper that the father and mother pig were rooting up a sweet-potato patch belonging to the local chief. The piglets she had failed to discover. Enjoining secrecy, I sent E'eu and Harry to chase the parents home. This was effected after considerable trouble, but the owner of the potato patch claimed two dollars damages. I paid it, feeling his claim was just. Next morning the seven piglets were returned one by one by various native children. Each piglet had, according to their accounts, been in a separate garden, and done considerable damage; and 'because they' (the piglets) 'were the property of a good and just man, the owners of the gardens would not hurt nor even chase them,' etc. Glad to recover the squealing little wanderers at any cost, I gave each lying child a quarterdollar. Next day I had a piece of ground walled in with lumps of coral and placed the porcine family inside. Then I wrote to the councillors, asking them to notify the people that if any of the village pigs came inside my fence and rooted abyssmal holes in my ground, as had been their habit hitherto, I should demand compensation. His Honour the Chief Justice stated in court that this was only fair and right; the white man had paid for the damage done by his pigs, and therefore he was entitled to claim damages if the village pigs caused him trouble. (I had previously squared his Honour with the promise of a male sucker.) One day the seven young pigs escaped from their mother and went out for a run on the village green. They were at once assailed as detestable foreign devils by about two hundred and forty-three gaunt, razorbacked village sows, and were only rescued from a cruel death after every one had lost its tail. Why is it that pigs of different breeds always bite off each other's tails? I claimed fifty cents per tail, and was awarded $3.50 damages, to be paid by the community generally. The community refused to pay. His Honour then notified by the town crier that I was at liberty to shoot any pig that broke into the station grounds. I put a cartridge into a Snider rifle and told my servants to call me if they heard a grunt in the night. Three days after this, as I was discussing theology and baked fowl one night with the local teacher in his own house, a boy burst in and said that there was a strange pig in my garden devouring my crop of French beans. In two minutes I was back in my house, snatched up the Snider, and ran to the garden wall. There was the brute, a great black-and white beast, the biggest native pig I ever saw. His back was turned, but hearing my steps he 'went about' and faced me. 'Twas a bright moonlight night, and the bullet plugged him fair between the eyes. Over he rolled without a kick. Then I heard a shriek or laughter, and saw half a dozen girls scuttling away among the coco-palms. A horrible suspicion nearly made me faint. Jumping over the wall I examined the defunct, and could scarce forbear to shed a tear. 'Twas mine own prized black Australian boar, daubed over with splashes of coral lime whitewash. And the whitewash came from a tub full of it, with which the natives had that morning been whitening the walls of the newly-built village church. The one-eyed old scoundrel of a deacon told me next day it was a judgment on me.

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