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Issue 28 - 2019

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18 - 25 July 2019

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Department to implement Kiswahili in SA schools

Minister Angie Motshekga

Johannesburg - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the department’s plans to implement Kiswahili in schools are underway, and pilot schools had started with the process.

Motshekga said South Africa has embraced Kiswahili, which is an official African Union language. “There is lots of excitement that South Africa will finally embrace Kiswahili language. I am even talking with the minister of arts and culture to say perhaps they should

be able to provide that for people outside school, because we will not be able to do it as the department.”

The department’s director-general Mathanzima Mweli said this year the department was only doing the piloting, mainly in Gauteng, intending to get ready for the implementation next year.

The minister said although there were still issues around the implementation of Kiswahili in South Africa, the country would have to deal with them as

language issues and not as educational issues. “The key thing in education is cognitive development and it’s best served in the language you are comfortable in. If most African homes now speak English, it’s fine in the homes if that has become their home language, its fine for them because it will assist them. I don’t agree with that assertion that any mother tongue instruction is not good. There are issues about language which we have to deal with as

language issues, and not as educational issues.” Motshekga said.

She added that according to the Constitution conditions would be created for the promotion of all the 11 SA official languages. “The council of education ministers overwhelmingly agreed to introduce Kiswahili in our schools.

Kenya and Tanzania have committed to assist with the training of educators and development of learning and teaching materials in Kiswahili,” she said.

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18 - 25 July 2019

Man saves money in ‘ten cents challenge’

For further information contact Boston on 011 551 2000 Email: info@boston.co.za Visit www.boston.co.za, or Facebook

Boston Sports Qualifications

By Michaelson Gumede I have the habit of striking random conversations with youngsters and ask them about their goals and ambitions, particularly in the career that they want to pursue.

I remember not so long ago I was walking to the gym; I made a quick stop at the park waiting for my gym partner. A group of five youngsters stood close by chitchatting.

I walked up to the lads and joined in their conversation only to steer it to the direction that I wanted. One of them said he is keen in a pursing a sports administrative course and another was caught between a rock and a hard place – struggling to decide between football administration and coaching.

For the sake of this conversation, let’s call him Themba. He singled out Orlando Pirates chairman Dr Irvin Khoza as his inspiration and idol, but was puzzled about what to study after competing grade 12. His friend, who we’ll name Jake, said he does not want to go to tertiary next year because he would love to be a fitness trainer.

And to him, being a fitness trainer requires one to be fit and that’s it.

That was when I realized that a lot of people who are interested about getting into the sports profession in whatever capacity, need to be told about Boston City Campus’ exciting sports qualifications. They cover all sporting codes and the various aspects in their respects.

My favorite one is the Sports Club Administration qualification.

This particular one would be tailor made for a guy like Themba and

Michaelson Gumede others who aspire to run football clubs or rugby franchises, just to name a few. If you are armed with this qualification, you will walk into the industry with an upperhand because you will possess a number of skills in your arsenal.

There is a module that touches the finer details of club management and administration, and with that in your back pocket, you are well on your way to follow in the footsteps of Dr Khoza and club owners alike.

I can recommend another qualification called Sports Management. Within that specialization there is a module called sports psychology, and in that, you can branch out and be a sports counsellor where you focus on counseling athletes because they tend to suffer from mental fatigue from time to time.

It does not end there, the opportunities are endless. For those in-

terested in sports events, there’s a module focusing on that within the Sports Management qualification – it’s called sports event management. With this you will be the guru of organizing sports events. Consider the Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Egypt - a continental showpiece that is watched by millions across the globe.

For someone who has the Sports Management qualification, you’d be well versed to host a live screening at busy location when Bafana Bafana plays, so that those who are not in Egypt can enjoy the game in one place in a patriotic environment.

The most exciting part is that the Sports Management qualification can lead you into becoming the “team doctor”. What most people are not aware of is that you don’t necessarily have to study medicine to become a “team doctor” in the sporting world. (You act more as body and mind consultant.) In this course there is a section focusing on sports nutrition, sports medicine and injuries.

These will put you in a good position to assess athletes when they are injured and based on the nutrition knowledge that you have, you’d be able to draw up diet plans for them if they are slightly out of shape.

Lastly but not limited to as Boston offers more than one can imagine, you can use the Further Education & Training in Sports Management certificate to become a dispenser of the knowledge yourself as a coach in schools as it touches on youth leadership, financial management in sport and how to supervise sports facilities in a community.

Analyst Bright Khumalo

Helena Wasserman

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very morning, Bright Khumalo, an analyst and portfolio manager with Vestact Asset Management in Johannesburg, sets aside an amount equal to the day of the year, times 10c.

On Tuesday this week, for example, he saved R19.70 - Day 197 of 2019 times 10c.

It’s called the “10c challenge” and by the end of the year he will have saved almost R7,000.

The simple savings strategy is easy, because only small amounts are needed every day, also, saving becomes a daily habit.

On January 1, while many South Africans were recovering from hangovers or struggling with the first challenges to their new year’s resolutions, Khumalo woke up, took 10c out of his wallet and set it aside.

On the following day, Khumalo, set 20c aside, and on Day Three 30c.

Since then, the first thing he would do every day is to set aside the day of the year times 10c.

This is called the “10 cents challenge”, and he got the idea from the UK blog Skint Dad. “When you wake up, you must remember what day it is and save that amount,” says Khumalo.

The challenge has proven a success with savers, as the routine of saving

The most useless expense is buying something you don’t need just because it is available at discount the money every day at the same time starts becoming a habit.

Also, the daily amounts that you need to set aside are small, and you can often easily rummage through your bag or trousers to get the target amount. If you don’t have loose cash on hand, some savers have a weekly ritual to transfer a weekly amount to reach their goals.

Khumalo has been chronicling his savings adventure on Twitter, under the hashtag #SavewithBright.

It takes you approximately 833 years to double your money in the bank. Saving money for storage isn’t going to get you far, save to invest in productive assets rather! #SaveWithBright The most useless expense is buying something you don’t need just because it is available at discount.

“The idea is to get everyone into the habit of saving from a young age. That’s why it is less about the money and more about the behaviour. The aim is to get the youth into the habit of saving.”

His goal is to eventually partner with a digital bank to set up a functionality which allows clients to automatically save small daily amounts in a fixed deposit amount.

Khumalo doesn’t yet know what he will do with his savings for 2019. “I want to invest it into something impactful,” he says. Business Insider

18 - 25 July 2019

Inner-city Gazette

Officials apologise for preventing prisoner from signing court papers Zoë Postman

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he Department of Correctional Services has committed to allowing a prisoner to sign court papers so he can proceed with litigation against the department.

Mbalenhle Nkosi, an inmate at Johannesburg Medium C Correctional Facility, was prevented by officials from signing court papers that he needs to submit to the South Gauteng High Court this week.

Nkosi, who is representing himself, is taking the prison to court for denying him access to his laptop which he needs for distance learning. He has accused the authorities of “infringing on his right

to further education” by restricting his study time to when the computer room is open.

“The prison seeks to unfairly, irrationally, unjustifiably and unconstitutionally limit my basic right to education by limiting and unreasonably dictating the hours during which I am permitted to study,” Nkosi said in court papers. “This, despite the fact that I am locked up in a single cell for prolonged periods without anything constructive to do in all of that time. This goes against the very fabric of rehabilitation, and is contra to me becoming a productive individual upon my reintegration into society.”

The case was supposed to be heard on 18 June but it was post-

poned to give Nkosi time to study the prison’s court papers and submit a replying affidavit. But when Ntuli’s brother brought the replying affidavit to prison for him to sign on 14 July, he was told by prison officials that he was not allowed in with the documents.

“I asked them to show me the policy that says I can’t bring court documents to my brother but they couldn’t show it to me,” said Bongumusa Ntuli. “I told them that I had brought court documents here before and it was not a problem so I didn’t understand why it was a problem now.”

Ntuli said he was told his family needed to be accompanied by a lawyer if he wanted to sign the

documents. But because he is representing himself in court, there is no lawyer.

But Zandile Mabunda, spokesperson for Gauteng Department of Correctional Services, said Ntuli should have been allowed to sign his documents. “It is not a regular procedure. The Head of the Centre was not aware that the family was not allowed to bring in the documents to be signed by the offender,” said Mabunda.

She said the family was contacted to bring the documents for signing on Wednesday.

Ntuli confirmed that the wardens apologised to him and invited Bongumusa to bring the documents to be signed. GroundUp.

News

Correctional Services spokesperson Zandile Mabunda

Fifty injured in gas explosion Johannesburg - About 50 people were injured last Friday morning after a chemical gas explosion at business premises in Olifantsfontein, according to ER24 emergency service personnel.

ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said paramedics and other services arrived on the scene to find numerous injured people lying on the outskirts of the premises on Industry Street.

“On closer inspection, medics found that the business had already been evacuated. Assessments showed that approximately 50 people had sustained minor to moderate injuries. Fortunately,

no serious injuries or fatalities were found on the scene.”

Meiring said the injured patients were treated for their injuries, and were later transported to nearby hospitals for further care.

He added that details surrounding the gas explosion incident were not yet known, but local authorities who included chemical experts and the police were there investigating the incident.

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18 - 25 July 2019

Police urge taxi rape victims to come forward When they arrived at the Bree Street rank, she requested to get out of the taxi, but the driver locked the doors and sped off to a secluded place. The suspect was captured on CCTV cameras dragging the woman into a bush and undressing her

Young scientists during the previous expo

Eskom Expo hosts regional science fair

Johannesburg - Students have been invited to showcase their scientific research at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists in Gauteng South’s regional science fair.

The fair takes place on Saturday, 20 July at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus.

Every year, Eskom gives four special awards to the best female, best development, best energy and best energy efficiency projects, selected from among the energy categories entered into the regional science fair.

Eskom Expo director Parthy Chetty said for the past 26 years as part of

Eskom Expo, this region has grown to include many new areas and new schools in the greater Johannesburg south area.

“Due to the commitment of the regional volunteers and partners like UJ, more learners are given an opportunity to pursue their passion,” Chetty said.

The fair takes place on Saturday at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus and the project setup will take place on Friday.

The Gauteng South expo is one of 35 regional science expos being held annually around the country, where

pupils compete for a chance to participate in the International Science Fair, to be held in Boksburg on 2427 September.

“This unique platform has been designed to unearth talent among our youth, to tackle real world problems using the sciences, and some end up representing South Africa overseas,” Chetty said.

The youths will compete for a variety of prizes at the event, which include the coveted chance to represent South Africa at international science fairs in Taiwan, Beijing, Kenya, Turkey, the US and Sweden.

Johannesburg - Police have appealed to women who have been raped by minibus taxi drivers while they were passengers in the taxi to come forward.

This follows an incident which led to a minibus taxi driver appearing in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court last week on a rape charge, police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele said.

Last Wednesday JMPD officers arrested a 31-year-old minibus taxi driver at corner Von Weilligh and Wemmer Jubilee streets, Mbele said.

He said a 23-year-old woman had boarded a minibus taxi from Naturena to the Bree Street taxi rank at 6pm. “During the trip, the taxi driver off-loaded passengers until she was the only one left. When

they arrived at the Bree Street rank, she requested to get out of the taxi, but the driver locked the doors and sped off to a secluded place. The suspect was captured on CCTV cameras dragging the woman into a bush and undressing her. Police officers were dispatched immediately and arrested the suspect,” Mbele said.

The suspect appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday and was being kept in custody, he said.

“We are appealing to the victims that were raped by taxi drivers while they were passengers to come forward. They can contact Sergeant Qondile Mkhabela of the family violence, child protection, and sexual offences unit at 076363-5770,” Mbele said.

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Inner-city Gazette

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Top Eskom official leaves office

Part of the scene soon after the shooting

Suspected robber shot dead Braamfontein - On Monday a suspected robber as shot dead by police at the corner of Juta and Station streets in Braamfontein, with two reportedly arrested and one thought to have escaped.

JMPD chief of police David Tem-

be confirmed that Bertha Street was closed off to traffic as a result of a shooting incident; with motorists advised to avoid the area and use alternative routes.

According to anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee a suspected rob-

ber was shot dead and that two had been arrested, and one fled.

JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar confirmed that the suspect was killed by SAPS and that the JMPD closed off roads in Braamfontein as a result of the shooting incident.

Forum supports young women Thobile Mbhele Empress South Africa is a Joburgbased online platform that focuses on beauty with brains and purpose.

It empowers women in business and also teaches the beauty contestants how to deal with rejection, and not give up in life.

One of the platform’s members is Ntokozo Nxumalo, 22, a tourism student and entrepreneur, who is one of the 120 semi-finalists for the current Gauteng beauty pageant.

“I was mostly shy and I never thought that in one of those days I would actually be in a beauty pageant. Empress SA teaches young women to stay focused on their hustle and never to allow low selfconfidence to stand in their way of conquering,” she says.

One of the activities involved is

engaging in community work or charity.

“Every Saturday I give a helping hand at the Methodist Church in Johannesburg, where we cook for the homeless and serve them food. My biggest fear in life is failure. The pageant has taught me to crawl out of my shell and become this strong young lady that I was born to be,” she says.

Ntokozo is also a brand ambassador for the Moto.Find.co.za. Her best support comes from her parents, who always tell her that rejection does not mean it’s the end of her.

“I most definitely look up to the well-known Bonang Matheba, she’s one real person who’s a go getter and that is what aspire to be in life,” she says.

Ntokozo urges the Gauteng and Mpumalanga residents to vote for

Ntokozo Nxumalo

her on Ntokozo N to 35334 at a cost of R3 a SMS. “Don’t tell yourself that you are not good because that’s what’s going to stick in your mind, always push yourself to working towards what you want,” says Ntokozo.

Johannesburg - Eskom has announced that group treasurer Andre Pillay will leave the power utility at the end of next month.

According to an ENCA report it was noted after the Monday announcement that this is the latest high-profile exit within the embattled power-utility after its chief executive Phakamani Hadebe quit earlier this year.

“Eskom supplies over 90% of South Africa’s electricity, but has implemented severe power cuts this year and is failing to generate sufficient profit. It is hinging its recovery hopes on a R230-billion bailout pledged by the government in February,” the report said.

Eskom treasurer Andre Pillay

Man robs his boss Fordsburg - Police have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly robbing his employer at Octavia Flats in Fordsburg, Joburg, according to police spokesperson Captain Xoli Mbele.

In a statement on Monday Mbele said the man was employed as a driver, and went to his employer’s residence to hand over car keys.

“A 32-year-old woman answered the door for him. When she opened the door she was surprised by five males, one carrying a firearm, who slapped her and she screamed for help. Her fa-

ther-in-law came to see what was wrong and they were forced into the bedroom where their hands were tied with shoe laces,” said Mbele.

He added that the suspects made off with cash, cellphones and jewellery.

“The employee left with the suspects using his employer’s car which was later found abandoned in Newtown. During his arrest he was found in possession of the car keys of the getaway car. Police are still looking for the other suspects,” Mbele said.

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Part of the deadly accident scene

Taxi driver missing at fatal accident scene Two learners shot outside school The shooting took place outside the MH Joosub school.

Woodmead - On Monday morning a man was killed and 15 others injured when a minibus taxi collided with a light motor vehicle at the Woodmead and Woodlands roads intersection in Woodmead.

ER24 paramedics spokesperson Russel Meiring said ER24 personnel, along with other services, arrived on the scene at 4.20am to find the taxi lying on its side against a traffic light.

“Most of the patients had already climbed out of the vehicle. On closer inspection, medics found two men trapped inside the taxi.

One man had already succumbed to his numerous injuries, while the second man had sustained numerous injuries and was in a critical condition,” Meiring said

He said the remaining patients were assessed and found to have sustained minor to moderate injuries. “Rescue medics had to use specialised equipment to free the critically injured man from the taxi.”

Meiring said once freed, paramedics treated the patients and provided the critically injured man with advanced life support interventions.

“The patients were transported to nearby hospitals for further care, while the critically injured man was airlifted by a private medical helicopter to a nearby hospital.”

He said it was understood that the taxi driver was not found at the scene. Authorities were on the scene for further investigations.

Lenasia - Following a shooting incident in which two learners were shot and wounded outside MH Joosub Technical Secondary in Lenasia on Tuesday, three boys have been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

School officials said the incident took place a few metres from the school gates, and two suspects had been arrested.

A local education official confirmed the incident. “We are offering our learners counseling, and parents who wanted to take their children home were allowed to do so, without disrupting learning and teaching,” he said.

One parent who lives near the school said he saw the incident.

“I was a few metres away from

the scene where a pupil pulled out a gun and fired at another pupil. After shooting the injured pupil ran to the school and the shooter followed him,” he said.

Police arrested three pupils aged between 14 and 17 following the shooting. Police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said they are investigating cases of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm. “One of the victims aged 19, who is being treated in hospital, was shot and wounded on the right leg below the knee and another, aged 18, sustained a graze wound on the leg. A 7.65mm pistol with six bullets was seized at one of the suspect’s house. Cases of attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearm are being inves-

tigated. The firearm found in possession of one of the boys and it has been established that it belongs to his father, who will be investigated to establish whether he is fit to possess a firearm.”

Police are investigating allegations that one boy was playing with the gun when the shot went off, injuring the two victims.

Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department had sent a team to support staff and pupils at the school, including the victims and their families.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said: “We welcome the arrest of the implicated learners; this is a sign of the cooperation with police to attend to such incidents occurring closer to our schools.”

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18 - 25 July 2019

Commuters board the Gautrain in Joburg

Gautrain to spend R2 billion on capacity constraints

Roy Cokayne

Gautrain executive Jack van der Merwe

There are plans to add between 18 and 35 coaches to the train network within the next 18 months

T

he Gautrain Management Agency is planning to spend up to R2 billion to acquire second hand additional rolling stock from the UK to deal with the capacity constraints.

Gautrain Management Agency chief executive Jack van der Merwe says a team has returned from the UK, where they identified three rolling stock companies they are now negotiating with.

Speaking at the Southern African Transport Conference this week, Van der Merwe said the agency is looking at bringing in between 18 and 35 coaches for the Gautrain;

probably within the next 18 months.

Van der Merwe says loan funding for the acquisition of rolling stock has been obtained from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and that the project will cost a maximum of R2 billion.

“You will be quite surprised to see what rolling stock we are going to run on the system. You all know it and have driven in it. I’m not going to spoil the surprise. We are going to run the new additional rolling stock from the airport on the eastwest line and then all the existing trains will run on the north-south line.”

Van der Merwe also provided an update of Gautrain 2, the next phase

of the project. He says the planned network for Gautrain 2 is from Mamelodi in Pretoria to Jabulani in Soweto, from Lanseria to Little Falls and Cosmo into Randburg and Marlboro, and from OR Tambo International Airport to Boksburg.

It will add 150km of railway line and another 19 stations to the network, with the first phase planned to be from Lanseria to Little Falls into Randburg and Marlboro.

Van der Merwe says Gautrain 2 is a strategic infrastructure project in the National Development Plan.

“If the president and cabinet give money to the NDP and start funding it, I expect us to start construction four years from now,” he says.

Van der Merwe says the publicprivate partnership (PPP) feasibility for Gautrain 2 has been finalised and the agency has applied to National Treasury for authorisation for the project.

He says Gautrain 1 has private sector debt of about 12%, with balance comprising provincial borrowings and budget allocations via national government. The agency wants to increase private sector funding to 33% with Gautrain 2, which, if built, will create 210 000 jobs.

Van der Merwe adds that the revenue generated by Gautrain 1 in the past three years covered between 90% and 105% of the system’s operating costs. Moneyweb.

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Inner-city Gazette

News

The Miss SA pageant finalists

Mr World SA Fezile Mkhize

Man wins Mr

World SA title Johannesburg - Top Billing presenter and doctor Fezile Mkhize has been crowned Mr World South Africa 2019 In the Saturday event in Joburg the hunky doctor was crowned the winner at the Mr World South Africa 2019 pageant against 12 other finalists.

“Thank you to everyone for all the support and kind sentiments.

It was a brilliant night and made that much more incredible; thanks to the 12 gentlemen I got to share it with, the phenomenal,” he wrote on Instagram.

The Top Billing presenter had also earlier been named as Cosmopolitan’s sexiest man for the year 2019.

Mkhize is now set to go and represent South Africa at the Mr World pageant on 23 August in Manila in the Philippines.

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Pic: Yolanda van der Stoep

Miss SA pageant for Women’s Day Johannesburg - The Miss SA top 16 announcement was conducted last Thursday, hosted by TV personality Bonang Matheba.

The star was also announced as the official host for the Miss SA pageant, taking place on Women’s Day, August 9, at the Sun Arena at Time Square, Pretoria, with her MCC, House of BNG, being the official celebration partner.

With the announcement of the top 16 also came some changes to the competition, which include members of the public being able to vote for their favourite contestant on the Miss South Africa website.

Two more awards will be given away by the Miss South Africa organization, the ‘Mother of the Nation’ award, recognising women who dedicate themselves to giving back to their communities, as well as the ‘Young Activist’ award, honouring future leaders of SA. Stephanie Weil of Weil Entertainment, which manages the pageant, said: “We will love the contestants and the public to nominate these people, and we will share our nominees and voting systems in time.”

Something else that differs from the year before is that this time around the pageant will only have one winner. In 2018, the competition crowned a Miss World South Africa as well as a Miss Universe South Africa.

The show will be broadcast live on M-Net (DStv 101) as well as Mzansi Magic (DStv 161).

The winner will walk away with close to R3 million in prize money and sponsorship deals.

The 16 finalists who will compete in the Miss South Africa pageant main event on Women’s Day have been announced. The top 16 were

Gunman killed in shootout with cops ‘Preliminary investigation revealed that he was wanted for murder, attempted murder, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and arson’ Johannesburg - A wanted suspect was shot dead in a shootout with police in Katlehong on Saturday afternoon.

Police spokesman Captain Mavela Masondo said the 41-year-old wanted man was fatally wounded in a shootout with police. He said police had received information about a man who was pointing a firearm at a resident in Katlehong and had responded swiftly.

“As police approached the armed suspect started shooting at them and a shootout en-

sued. The suspect was fatally shot while none of the police officers were injured,” Masondo said.

He said a preliminary investigation had revealed that the suspect was wanted by the police for crimes that included murder, attempted murder, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and arson. “The unlicensed firearm used by the suspect will be sent for ballistic tests to establish if it had been used during the commission of other crimes,” Masondo added.

revealed on Thursday morning at an event hosted by the pageant’s organisers and MC’d by Matheba.

The likes of Nompumelelo Maduna, Danielle Wallace, Kgothatso Dithebe and Chuma Matsaluka will

go head to head for a grand prize of up to R3 million in value. The grand prize will be made up of R1 million in cash as well as a car and other fabulous prizes. The first princess will take home R250 000 in cash.

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Inner-city Gazette

The Arts

18 - 25 July 2019

A scene in the production.

Pic: Jan Potgieter

UJ brings absurdist novel to life Lesley Stones

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Le-journal photographer Thozama Busakwe

Market Theatre scores big at arts festival Lusanda Zokufa

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he Market Theatre Laboratory and Kwasha! Theatre Company recently walked away with a combined four awards at the National Arts Festival this year.

On the student platform, Le Journal, directed by second year students Chris Djuma and Dintshitile Mashile, won the Best Writer Award, while the Best Actor Award was given to the full cast.

Last year, the Market Theatre Laboratory scooped the Best Production Award for Marose.

Le Journal, an exciting and relevant new play exploring the world of the neglected newsreel and the role of ‘the news’ in society, continues the Market Theatre Laboratory’s record of presenting excellent and watchable student theatre. It will be staged at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre from 26 to 29 August later this year, so those who missed it in Makhanda can still catch it in Johannesburg.

Kwasha! Theatre Company bagged two awards at the Festival: a Bronze Ovation Award and a Best Ensemble Award for their self-created work, Currently (G)old.

Directed by company members Sinenhlanhla Mgeyi and Aalliyah Matintela, and mentored by Market Theatre Laboratory alumni Prince Lamla, the play explores how young South Africans perceive and exercise

their human rights, using satire to interrogate and at times ridicule their relevance to the lived experience of many people in the country.

Currently (G)old will be presented at the 969 Festival from 19 to 21 July at the Wits Amphitheatre.

Promoting artistic innovation and theatre excellence are the motivations behind the National Arts Festival’s Standard Bank Ovation Awards.

Recognition such as this helps emerging actors and theatre-makers find their voices in a uniquely challenging industry, and the Market Theatre Laboratory’s success is testament to the work of a dedicated team devoted to the development of cutting-edge theatre that provokes public dialogue.

Market Theatre head Clara Vaughan says the consistent high quality of theatre shows a working model to empower emerging artists and arts leaders to achieve their potential.

“Everyone at the Lab, including permanent staff, teachers, students and artists, really give their all. It’s wonderful when that work is acknowledged and valued,” she adds.

hen the publicity material for a play hails the story as “one of the most widely read and influential works of 20th century fiction”, expectations are naturally high.

That’s the challenge taken on by University of Johannesburg students in the decision to present Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

The tale is an absurdist piece about a young salesman under huge pressure to support his parents and sister, who cracks one night and turns into a wriggling, hideous beetle.

Kafka used the novella to examine our feelings of inadequacy, guilt, conformity and isolation, and to show how love can endure or can crack when it’s tested too far beyond society’s norms.

The UJ production is taking place in the Arts Centre Theatre.

The action unfolds in the centre of the stage around a clever set where a giant chair is turned up and down to create different spaces.

Its legs and base are perfect for the acrobatic antics of Gregor (William Harding) who turns from mortal into beetle without the aid of any costume or props. His legs and arms, his expressions, squeaks and jittery yet fluid movements all let us see the insect inside as he dangles from below the leg or skitters around the base.

Harding handles the role brilliantly, whether speaking as the depressed and downtrodden salesman or making us feel pity for the ugly, isolated being he becomes.

His tone and actions combine to earn our sympathy, as well as admi-

ration for his strength and agility.

Director Alby Michaels has gone big on the absurdist side, with exaggerated, clownish movements by the rest of the family; emphasising the incongruity of ordinary life when everything has turned otherworldly.

The timing is perfect as mother, father and sister eat and drink in unison, and Craig Morris as the father is particularly good with his buffoonish bluster and big-man swagger.

He chides and criticises his children simply out of spite, or from his own deep-seated inadequacies, and Morris captures that confident façade over the inadequate reality perfectly.

Ameera Patel is also impressive, bringing a nice physicality to the role of the sister. Khutjo Green as the mother starts out a touch too shrill to hear all her words, but she settles down to deliver a nicely rounded set of motherly emotions.

Jack Mabokachaba as the lodger doesn’t have a lot to do, but he carries it off well. The sound effects were occasionally over-loud, however, sometimes drowning out the speech.

Students from 10 different UJ departments have been involved in creating Metamorphosis for the set, costumes, props, sound design and some great animation. In the end most of it comes down to the five professional actors on the stage, and they do it proud.

Metamorphosis runs at the UJ Arts Centre Theatre on Kingsway until Saturday 20 July.

For more visit https://arts.uj.ac.za

18 - 25 July 2019

Inner-city Gazette

The Arts

11

Wits group partners with Swedish theatre in youth festival Bridget van Oerle

D

rama for Life’s theatre company and the Swedish national theatre Unga Klara join creative forces at the Wits Theatre complex next month, to explore the role of the arts in building a child-centred society.

The collaboration will be at the 11th Drama for Life International Conference and Festival, with the theme Transforming Arts/Transforming Lives: Towards a childcentred society, reflecting binational investment in children’s culture in Southern Africa.

The programme runs from 8 to 17 August 2019, with cutting-edge research, performances, installations, dialogues, training, workshops and more.

Attendants will get a chance to interact with fellow artists, arts healers, therapists and educators, cultural leaders and managers, academics, researchers and activists.

Drama for Life theatre company, established in 2016 and supported by the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, will be officially launched at the festival.

The 10-member theatre company will perform a range of works aimed primarily at children aged four to 16.

Based at Wits University School of Arts, Drama for Life is an academic department for applied arts,

arts therapies and arts research, including a creative research hub.

It undertakes local, regional and international projects, using the arts to innovate for social change, transformation and healing.

Unga Klara is Sweden’s national theatre for young people. Its partnership with Drama for Life will form part of its 2019 worldwide tour. Unga Klara is renowned for its cutting-edge theatre work, tackling complex issues through heightened theatricality and innovative performance aesthetics.

Swedish Ambassador to South Africa Cecilia Julin says the embassy is thrilled over the cooperation between Drama for Life and Unga Klara. “Together they will unleash spectacular creativity and touch the lives of many children and young adults.”

The company will stage four productions during the festival: Because I Say So (for children aged three to six); My True Selves (a classroom play around identity, primarily for children aged eight to 12); Girls Will Make You Blush (a combination of dance and theatre about menstruation and puberty for 13-year-olds and older teens); and X (a play about colonialism and racism for teenagers aged 15 and up).

Drama for Life director Warren Nebe says collaborating with Unga Klara promises to be a major high-

Drama for Life members during a performance

Swedish Unga Klara performers on the stage

light. “Unga Klara’s work ties in seamlessly with our child-focused theme this year. It’s through partnerships such as these that we can harness the power of theatre, drama, poetry, song and dance, to reflect on, and attempt to understand the world we live in, and the world our children will inherit.”

Many South African children face high levels of violence, disease

and malnutrition, and lack access to early childhood development programmes. “Children are wholehearted, compassionate humans with an extraordinary capacity to make meaning of the world they live in. They are the cornerstone of our society’s future, the litmus test of our humanity; yet we continue to fail our children,” Nebe said.

The festival programme is fund-

ed by the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project; the Embassy of Sweden; the Swedish Arts Council; the Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the Wits School of Public Health; Business and Arts South Africa; Unga Klara; Assitej, Arts & Culture Trust, BUZ PR and Flow Communications.

For more visit https://www.dramaforlife.co.za.

In 2017, Gordonsplash released his first single under Splash Records Titled ‘She’s my kind of Girl’ which streamed in 9 countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Canada, United States and Australia.

Gordon Enyinnaya Chukwuma popularly known as Gordonsplash was born in Umuahia Abia State of Nigeria. He is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

Gordonsplash is a Nigerian Singer, Song Writer, Performer and a CEO of his own Record label known as Splash Records World Wide. He started his music career in 2006 during his university days when he and his friends of Six (6) people formed a group called (All 4 One Family) at that time he started writing his own songs to perfect his writing skills. He and his friends did a lot of covers of other artists song but didn’t release there own song.

In 2012 he started hosting music events in a Club at Okigwe Imo State where he was acting as a Hotel and Club Manager In Laommies

Hotels and Suits, in the prestigious event Centre SAMBA Louge Okigwe Imo State Nigeria, in 2017 he moved to South Africa in pursuit of a greener pasture and that was where he decided to go back to his first love music when he meet a friend call Mr Sky and he took him to a Soweto based Produces T-boss In 2017, Gordonsplash released his first single under Splash Records Titled ‘She’s my kind of Girl’ which streamed in 9 countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Canada, United States and Australia.

With over 850k streams and download on music platform, in 2018 Splash records become Splash record Wolrd Wide and Gordonsplash did his first collaboration when he dropped his moster hit song Ebelebe featuring South African

Singer Shabby and the song became a Street Anthem BOTH IN Nigeria and South Africa to the point his fellow artist and fans did a lot of video and Audio cover of the song Ebelebe and people started calling him Ebelebe In addition to his solo work, he also did couple of songs like ‘Your Love, Nwanyi gi feat moral, my phone rings ft Mr Sky, The way you move, Peace and love, Cinderila, where dem dey and couple of other songs Facebook: Gordon Chukwuma Facebook Page: Gordon Splash Facebook page: Splash Record World Wide Instagram: @gordonenyi Twitter: @Gordon88615118 Email: gordensplash@gmail.com Book call: +27734534488

112 Kerk Street & Mooi, 7th Floor Executive House, Jhb CBD, Close to MTN Rank)

Health Caregivers Course (Homebased Care) Child Minding Course HWSETA Accredited

Entry Level Requirements: Grade 9 - 12 or equivalent

Carling derby looms

for Soweto giants

‘The stage is set for another mouth-watering traditional rivalry’ Sports Reporter

R

ivals Chiefs and Pirates face each other in the Carling Black Label Cup on July 27 at FNB Stadium, a week before the 2019/20 Absa Premiership season starts.

Having taken a break last year because of the World Cup in Russia, the Carling Cup is back, as supporters get to pick their Soweto Derby starting line-ups for the occasion.

On their website Chiefs said: “Tickets for the much match are sold out.

The stage is set for another mouthwatering traditional rivalry. Kick-off for this Soweto Derby is at 15:00.

The match will be broadcast live on SuperSport and SABC TV.” Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo is set to start the Carling Black Label Cup final though his fitness has been in question. He has been leading the voting to start

against Chiefs ahead of counterparts Wayne Sandilands, Siyabonga Mpontshane and Joris Delle.

Justin Shonga and Augustine Mulenga are leading the voting in attack for Pirates. In midfield, Ben Motshwari, Luvuyo Memela Vincent Pule and Thembinkosi Lorch lead the voting.

Memela has been in top form in pre-season as he has hit three goals against TS Sporting and TS Galaxy. The back four remains unchanged with Mthokozisi Dube, Justice Chabalala, captain Happy Jele and Innocent Maela

Carling Cup action in the previous event.

leading the way in the voting.

Chiefs striker Lazarous Kambole is gaining plenty votes and could stand an outside chance of starting.

Amakhosi signed him last month and much is expected from the former Zesco United hitman.

While it seems likely he won’t be able to catch current starters, Leonardo Castro or Bernard Parker, the fact remains he had a recent surge in votes which gives him a shot.

Chiefs are the holders of the Carling trophy, having won it in 2017.