Table of contents for 2024-11-13 in Post

LAUGHTER is the best medicine and Dr Riaad Moosa has just the prescription. But he will not be working alone at The Globe at Suncoast on December 6. He will appear in the comedy night, Dr Moosa Prescribes, along with Carvin Goldstone, Mark Banks and Joey Rasdien. Moosa started performing stand-up comedy at the Cape Comedy Collective’s free Comedy Lab workshops. Two months later, he won the One City, Many Comics Talent Competition. His career flourished with sold-out one-man shows in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Goldstone has performed several sold-out shows over a career spanning more than a decade. He is a regular headliner at comedy clubs. Banks, with a career spanning 25 years, has performed to packed houses. Rasdien’s comedy tackles the touchy subject of evolution. He is…

AS I reflect on my time at Durban Indian Girls’ High School, I am reminded of the profound impact it has had on my life. This institution was not just a place of education; it was a haven where lifelong friendships were forged and where values were instilled that have guided me through every stage of life. The rigorous academic curriculum prepared me well for the challenges of higher education and beyond. The dedicated teachers, with their unwavering commitment, ignited a passion for learning in me that still burns brightly. Their encouragement to think critically and strive for excellence has been a cornerstone of my personal and professional development. Beyond academics, they taught me the importance of community and service. The numerous extracurricular activities and community service projects fostered a…

OVERFISHING of shad during the closed season has sparked concern among fisherfolk and authorities tasked with protecting marine life. Fishermen who catch shad during the closed season, which is when the fish spawn, put the species at the risk of becoming extinct. Sadha Moodley, 57, has been living in Amanzimtoti for six years, and often fishes at Main Beach for leisure. He said he filed a complaint with the local ward councillor, Andre Beegte, and law enforcement officials at the beach, after he found that a group of fishermen was overfishing shad and filling several 25-litre buckets with shad daily. “There is a gang of about 15 poachers who illegally fish daily and are targeting the shad. These poachers blatantly disregard the law and catch buckets full of large…

THE Chinmaya Mission, one of the largest spiritual organisations in India that works globally, has taken up the cause of improving mental health. This will be done by imparting training and guidance for stress management. Addressing a seminar-cum-workshop for leading educators of the country, Swami Chidrupananda, a senior functionary of the Chinmaya Mission, reminded that to deal with stress and the growing challenge of mental health, they would provide spiritual guidance. “It is important to keep the expectations level low, and use knowledge as a transformative tool,” said Swami Chidrupananda. He engaged the audience with insightful questions like: "Why are we the way we are?" and "Why does society struggle with issues like corruption?" Swami Chidrupananda described spirituality as an energy that channeled and conserved inner strengths, enhanced problem-solving abilities…

DUE to a lack of employment opportunities and the desire for personal growth, more young South Africans are now leaning towards working as au pairs abroad. Pamela Chetty, the founder and CEO of Genesis Au Pairs, said while au pair programmes have been around for many years, there had recently been an increase in the demand among South Africans. “This stems from social media posts being shared by au pairs about the life they lead, while on the programme. Furthermore, due to the scarcity of jobs in South Africa, many are leaning towards employment abroad. They have found the au pair programme to be a more safe, easier and affordable way to live, work and travel abroad,” she said. Chetty said they received more than 2 000 enquiries from prospective…

ENOUGH is enough. Nothing less than the harshest punishment permissible must be meted out to the rogue eThekwini Metro councillor who hurled a racist jibe against Indians. Council speaker Thabani Nyawose has promised an investigation into the unidentified ANC councillor who said Indians should “return to Bombay” during a council meeting that was discussing a statue commemorating the arrival of Indians in South Africa in 1860. Nyawose said: “This is unacceptable as there is no room for racism in the council or in our country at large. I will investigate this unfortunate incident to find the culprit, and we will not hesitate to take serious action against any councillor who breaks the rules.” Several days after the racist remark was made, Nyawose has yet to deliver the cowardly offender. This…

CONGRATULATIONS to the Umhlatuzana Civic Association, in Chatsworth, which recently celebrated seven decades (70 years) of service and community commitment. The association has been a cornerstone of community service, dedication and leadership. Since its inception, this esteemed organisation has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of residents, promoting civic engagement and fostering a sense of community spirit. As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we reflect on the association's remarkable history. The community halls in Umhlatuzana are among the most popular in Chatsworth and surroundings. Special congratulations to the chairman, Vin Naidoo, vice chairman, Ronnie Govender, and their team for a job well done. The efforts by the organisation quickly gained momentum, addressing pressing community issues and advocating for positive change. Their dedication to the community is inspiring. This 70 year…

THE 1860 Cultural and Heritage Centre (1860CHC) evokes a cancel culture in the Girmitiya community. Girmitiya refers to those Indians who went abroad as indentured labourers under an agreement during the oppressive British Colonial Rule in India. It is unsurprising as this facility has assumed a persona that promotes and speaks patronisingly for an ethos that is now passe. Increasingly we despair at the 1860CHCs political bias, ideological manipulation and distortion of South Africa’s Girmitiya history that has been deliberately conflated with that of the wider Indian origin community. Thus, we note that in the 1860CHC celebration of Girmitiya Arrival Day 2024, Dr Vinay Lal, an American Indian, has been invited as guest speaker. Although a historian, Dr Lal has no track record as a Girmitiya activist or researcher in…

THE eThekwini Municipality speaker, Thabani Nyawose, in a statement, “strongly condemned the racist remark allegedly made by one of the councillors”. "This is unacceptable, as there is no room for racism in the council or in our country at large.” Nyawose said that a thorough investigation would be conducted to identify the individual responsible for this “divisive” behaviour. "I will investigate this unfortunate incident to find the culprit, and we will not hesitate to take serious action against any councillor who breaks the rules. “The eThekwini Municipality remains committed to upholding values of respect, inclusivity, and unity in all council proceedings,” he said.…

THE taxi industry regulators are calling on the government to regulate the “mushrooming” private transporters, which they claim were becoming a disadvantage to licensed transport operators. This follows reports of taxi owners in Mpumulanga harassing, intimidating and threatening motorists who provide transport and “fining” them R2 500 for using their private vehicles to transport passengers. Rebecca Phala, spokesperson for the South African National Taxi Council, said they did not condone the actions of taxi operators intimidating motorists. “We are working tirelessly to root out elements of suspected bullying and imposition. The taxi industry has no jurisdiction over people’s preferred transportation. In the viral case of Mpumalanga, a case was opened with police but the victim withdrew the case. We encourage people to report these incidents to the offices of local…

MAINTENANCE is the reciprocal obligation of both parents to care for the financial obligations relating to their children. It is not the father’s default obligation to pay and neither should the mother be expected to pay bills without assistance. Your duty to your child ranks higher than any obligation to any third party, including parents, siblings, etc. There is the misconception that maintenance determines your contact to the child. This is not true. We are plagued with a situation where parents fail to fulfil their obligations as parents, partly based on advice by lawyers, making strategic claims and encouraging parties to make unrealistic demands for maintenance, using the children as bait. Basic amounts for medical care, school fees, and food must be catered for. I have found qualified parents sitting…

Zakiah Ebrahim has carved a niche for herself in the worlds of food, fashion and entrepreneurship in Durban. Hailing from North Beach, the 37-year-old chef and owner of a restaurant and a modelling agency, will host the POST Burfi Confectionery Showcase and Heeramandi Fashion Expo on Saturday at the Pavilion Hotel on North Beach from 6.30pm. The event is aimed at empowering small businesses and promoting cultural preservation through food. Ten years ago, Ebrahim, who has a Master’s degree in media science, began this annual celebration of traditional sweets. The aim was to expose small businesses to larger markets, while celebrating heritage through food, particularly the burfi. Contestants had to submit samples of their burfi, which were then audited by judges based on taste, creativity and brand awareness. Contestants who…

SAMANTHA Ruth Prabhu recently admitted to making mistakes in the past. During an “Ask Me Anything” session on Instagram, she discussed her career choices and acknowledged that she had made some errors throughout her journey. Prabhu gracefully accepted that she had been going through a rough patch in her professional life. When a fan enquired about her preparation for the TV series, Citadel: Honey Bunny, she responded: “I made a promise that I’ll challenge myself with every role I take on, with each challenge being more difficult than the last. I agree that I made some mistakes in the past, and things haven’t really worked out, but I accept failure. I acknowledge that I might not have done my best in my last few films.” On her latest project, she…

THE basic plot of this third film in the franchise is retained – a ghost from centuries earlier haunts a castle that nobody wants to live in. Ruhaan (Kartik Aaryan), also known as Rooh Baba, is a con artists, who pretends to be a ghost-buster. He, however, does not really believe in ghosts. Ruhaan arrives at the castle after he was hired by a descendent (Tripti Dimri), who wants to sell the decrepit place. He soon tries to run away from the castle with his tale between his legs when he encounters the ghost. The ghost keeps taking over the bodies of various occupants of the castle to terrorise the rest of them. And here’s the cute surprise – Vidya Balan returns alongside veteran Madhuri Dixit, both looking stunning, especially…

3 tbs vegetable oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp jeera seeds 1 sliced onion 2 red dry chillies 1 sprig of curry leaves 1 tbs crushed garlic 4 fresh green chillies 1 tsp turmeric 1 small jam tomato, chopped ¼ cup boiling water thyme 6 boiled, chopped green banana ½ lemon juice salt to taste Boil the green bananas with the peel on until they are soft. This usually takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Once cooked, peel and chop the bananas. Heat the oil in a pot. Fry the mustard seeds and jeera seeds for about 30 seconds before adding the onions and dry chillies. Add the curry leaves, green chillies, and crushed garlic. Mix well and sauté the onions until they become translucent. Add the turmeric and…

Cake: 1 cup semolina 1 cup self-raising flour 1 cup toasted desiccated coconut 1 cup sugar ½ tsp cardamom powder 1 tsp vanilla essence a drop of rose essence 2 cups milk 250g butter Simple syrup: ½ cup white sugar ½ cup water pinch of saffron 2 green cardamoms (crushed) Garnish: 290g dessert cream 1/3 cup roasted almonds In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the vanilla essence, milk and rose essence. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Pour the batter into a well-greased baking pan. Bake at 180ºC for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre…

Dhal: 410g can of Saikav split pea dhal 2 cups water 1 tbs tamarind paste 1 tsp jaggery (optional) salt to taste 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 2 tbs sambar powder 1 onion 1 tomato 8 pieces drumstick (moringa) 2-3 bhindi 2-3 brinjal 1 tbs vegetable oil 3 cloves of garlic 2 green chillies Tadka (temper) 1 tbs ghee 1 sprig of curry leaves ½ tsp jeera seeds ½ tsp mustard seeds a pinch of methi seeds 2 dry chillies Heat the oil in a pot. Add the onions, garlic and chillies, and sauté for a few minutes. Incorporate the turmeric, sambar powder and Kashmiri chilli powder. Mix well and fry for an additional minute. Add the brinjal, drumstick, bhindi (okra) and tomato. Cook for 5 minutes.…

ON SATURDAY, November 9, I stood in a long colourful line of excited chattering women of all ages to register for a school reunion spanning five decades from 1950 to 1999. We were all joined by a common purpose, to celebrate our school years at my former high school, Durban Indian Girls’ High School, or DIGHS as it is now popularly called. Amidst the chatter, I called out to the young person at the table, “class of 64 dinosaur”. When she could not find my name on the list, she pointed me in the other direction only to sheepishly acknowledge that she was actually looking for the name “Dinosaur and not Devirani Moodley Rajab. We nestled into each other’s arms and laughed our heads off. It was quite a feat…

MY TIME at school was memorable due to my friends and teachers. I visited the school earlier this year when the steering committee met with the current staff to discuss our reunion plans. I was both nostalgic and happy as I walked down the corridors, going to my matric classroom, which was and still is the science lab. It remains largely unchanged, so the memories came flooding back of our time in that class with our beloved form teacher Miss Bethany, who sadly passed away. While walking on the grounds, I remembered us girls sitting on the tarmac or under the big tree, laughing and having fun. We did things that some might find silly but to us, they made memories. For example, we tweezed each other’s eyebrows, or we…

USHA Chilukuri Vance, the wife of US Senator and Vice President-elect JD Vance, stands as a remarkable symbol of cultural integration, demonstrating how traditional Indian values can coexist with American ideals. Born to Telugu-speaking Indian immigrants in San Diego, California, Usha’s story resonates deeply with the Indian diaspora, reflecting the journey of countless families who bring their heritage into a multicultural society, while embracing its diversity. Her life, marriage, and contributions highlight the values of social cohesion, cross-cultural understanding, and the significant influence of Indian Americans in the United States today. Usha was raised in the upper-middle-class suburb of Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego. Her parents, who migrated from Andhra Pradesh in the 1980s, are high achievers in their own right. Her father, a mechanical engineer, educated at the prestigious Indian…

ON THE eve of the 164th anniversary of the arrival in the then Port Natal of the first girmitiyas or indentured labourers from India, should Indians in South Africa still regard themselves as “Indian”? What is to be gained by recognising and celebrating November 16, 1860, when the steamship Truro arrived in Durban from then Madras (now Chennai) carrying the first 342 quasi slaves? Thirty years after the dawn of democracy, should Indians not regard themselves plainly as South Africans and dump the distinct racial identity? Our forefathers brought with them a rich cultural and religious heritage. From North India came nagara music and dance, which related stories from the Ramayan and other Hindu epics. From South India came therukoothu street theatre performances that depicted episodes from the Mahabharata and…

I CONDEMN the derogatory and despicable racist insinuation – “go back to Bombay, go to hell” – by an eThekwini councillor (against the Indian community), and demand immediate censure and action The apparent outburst by an evidently ignorant and pathetically racist eThekwini councillor (unnamed) during the council debate on plans to erect statues recognising and commemorating the arrival from India in 1860 on to our shores of a very contributory community (the Indian community) in that the councillor shouted the remark, “Go back to Bombay”, demands immediate censure and action of the severest nature. This remark is equated to the closet racism that still lurks in the minds of certain bigots still trapped in the laager mentality. The miscreant councillor, obviously a misguided charlatan of our constitutional democracy, who clearly…

THE 1860 indentured Indians left conditions of extreme poverty in the Indian sub-continent, made the perilous journey across the Indian Ocean and worked in slave like conditions in the sugar plantations of the British colony of Natal. In spite these egregious travails, many on completion of the period of indenture remained in the country and became market gardeners, while others worked in the hotels, mines and railways. Despite having to confront repeated discriminatory practices by the colonial regime and subsequently apartheid, they have made an immense contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the country, including their participation in the liberation struggle. The passenger Indians, mainly from western parts of India, arrived from the 1870s also escaping grim conditions of poverty. They too suffered the discriminatory practices of colonialism and apartheid…

AHEAD of the 164th commemoration of the arrival of indentured Indians to South Africa on Saturday, there have been loud calls for immediate action to be taken against a councillor who shouted “Go back to Bombay” during a recent council meeting. The comment was made while the DA’s chief whip in eThekwini, Yogis Govender, was addressing on an item to rescind a council decision and approve funding for the 1860 indentured labourers monument. “I had just rounded off my speech, which was scathing of eThekwini and the provincial government for taking almost 14 years to even start with this project. “I also placed on record that it was repulsive, insulting and disgusting to have a ‘slave bell’ and that there were threats that it will be taken down if it's…

A TONGAAT plumber was allegedly accosted by men who claimed to be from a private security company hired by the Waterloo Taxi Association, for “breaking the rules” and “transporting” his workers to site “It was around 6.30am and I had just passed the Waterloo Spar, after fetching my two workers, when a white double cab veered abruptly in front of my car with flashing lights. I immediately thought I was being hijacked. “I stopped and two guys jumped into my vehicle. My workers tried to jump off but the men grabbed them and pushed them back inside the car,” said the 58-year-old man. “They held up the peak morning traffic but they didn't care. I was still in the driver's seat. “They jumped back into their vehicle and indicated to…

CHILD protection organisations and single parents have welcomed the government’s move to blacklist child maintenance defaulters. Defaulters will be listed with the credit bureau in a bid to “force” parents to make good on their payments, enabling children to be better taken care of. Thembi Simelane, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Maintenance Online Listing of Defaulters Project with the Consumer Profile Bureau and the Social Justice Foundation, last week. “This marks the commencement of a groundbreaking epoch where we will develop a system to facilitate the forwarding of the details of persons against whom child maintenance enforcement orders have been granted (maintenance defaulters) to a partner credit bureau, who will in turn make this information available to all other credit bureaus…

Despite the challenging weather conditions over the past week and even a few days prior, the anglers along the KZN coastline have been rewarded on almost all facets of angling and certain areas with more species than others. Margate’s “purple patch” is boasting with edibles whereas the North Coast has sharks and skates are becoming more active as the warmer water creeps in. The North Coast has seen the bulk of the inedible catches. The more prolific areas are from Blythedale to Tugela for Blues and Greys. Should you not be into this sort of species, well Threadfin Kingfish has also been on the bite. Remember that these spots should be fished in a group as there have been incidents in the past. Bloody baits like mackerel and redeye have…

THE future of appreciation and enjoyment of live Tamil music looks bleak. A generation from now, will we ever be able to fill any seats in an auditorium for a live concert? I have my doubts. Attending Iliya Nila, a musical extravaganza at the Durban ICC Arena last Saturday evening, featuring renowned playback singer SP Charan, son of the late legendary SP Balasubramanium, accompanied by Vijay TV Super Singer stars, Madhu Iyer and Anand Arvindakshan and a host of India-based musicians, painted a bleak picture for me of what the time to come holds. Two things were painful for me. First, there was a sea of empty seats in the venue which can take up to 10 000 people. Second, almost the entire audience comprised middle-aged and older folk. Where…

1 cornish chicken Marinate: 20g mint, 20g dhania, ½ cup maas, 2 tbs Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 tbs boiling water, ½ cup fried onions, 3 green chillies, 2 tbs ginger and garlic paste. 1/3 cup vegetable oil 2 large onions, thinly sliced 1 cinnamon stick 2 bay leaves 3 star anise seeds 3 cloves 3 green cardamom 1 dry chilli 1 tsp fennel seeds thyme 2 sprigs curry leaves 3 jam tomatoes 6 tbs mixed masala 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp jeera powder ½ tsp dhania powder ½ tsp garam masala pinch of birth masala salt to taste 5 cups boiling water 10 UTD potatoes dhania for garnish Clean, cut and wash the cornish chicken before marinating. For the marinade, blend the mint, coriander (dhania), ginger and garlic paste, green…

STRONG bonds grow during our school years. The desire to rekindle these bonds during anniversaries is well known. We witness various reunions from time to time. Sometimes it is classmates coming together, at others it is people who lived in a common neighbourhood for generations coming together. A thread that binds us is the bond of love that grows from our common attachment to a school, or a neighbourhood. Through this attachment, we build up bonds with each other over the years of schooling together or living together. The bond extends to generations of people whom we do not know but the fact that they attended the same school as us, or they lived in the same neighbourhood binds us. These reunions help to ignite that bond, while transporting…

BUSINESSMAN and philanthropist, Noor Mohamed Ismail has been recognised for his dedication to uplifting communities and supporting humanitarian efforts, which have impacted countless lives in South Africa and around the world. Ismail, 91, of Pietermaritzburg, received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alkebulan Immigrants Impact Awards (AIIA) at an awards ceremony held recently at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Gauteng. The AIIA annually recognises immigrants and refugees for their achievements, positive influence and impact in the development of South Africa. Ismail was born in Porbandar, India, the same village as Mahatma Gandhi, in February 1933. In 1939, at the age of 6, he arrived with his family in Durban. He attended school for six years and at age 14, he joined his father’s family business. His daughter Zohra Sooliman…

A PHOENIX family is calling for an investigation into the death of a 2-year-old family member at a place of safety in KwaDabeka, near Clermont. Raymond Moodley, 45, a manager at an insurance company, said in October last year, his niece Katelyn and her 6-year-old brother had been placed in his care. “My brother and his wife were unable to care for the children and I did not want them to go to a place of safety. They lived in an informal settlement called White City, near Westham. I believe that this area fell under the juristriction of Inanda Child Welfare. “I brought the children home to live with me and through Inanda Child Welfare I followed the processes required to become a foster parent. I went through a criminal…

ALMOST a decade ago, Tarryn Manilal took a leap of faith to become an au pair - to fulfil her passion of working with children and to “live out her American dream”. Manilal, 28, of Durban, now works as an au pair in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US. “In matric, I had to do a speech on ‘What do you want to do after school?’. I wrote a speech and made a poster about being an au pair. I knew that being an au pair would enable me to work and study abroad. It just so happened that while packing to leave for the US, I found that poster,” she said. Manilal said after matriculating, she did more research on being an au pair. “I contacted the founder of Genesis…

November 16 marks the arrival of the first Indian indentured to the shores of Port Natal (in 1860). Amidst the celebrations of resistance and redemption, it is worth reflecting on the engine of the system that was designed to turn people into numbers, into cogs in a labouring machine. Hidden from view are haunting stories of those who, under the lash of whippings, fines, the meagre diets, sought escape through suicide. In this column, we seek to go beyond the statistics to look at the stories of those who decided to take their own lives. “We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five … We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” THE suicide rate of indentured Indians in…

IN SOUTH Africa, those with ancestral connections with indentured labourers who arrived in the country between 1860 and 1911, regard November 16 as “Arrival Day”. In many parts of the indentured diaspora, such as Mauritius, the Caribbean, Fiji, Grenada, and Surinam, Arrival Day has official national recognition and is deemed a public holiday, commemorating the history and struggles of the pioneers, recognising diversity, and celebrating Indian cultural heritage, all of which undoubtedly contribute to social cohesion and nation-building. Regrettably, in South Africa there is no official national recognition, let alone a holiday on November 16, Arrival Day of the indentured labourers. There is a superficial reference to indenture history in the school curriculum. The 1860 Heritage Centre in Durban, led by volunteer curator and director, Selvan Naidoo, “serves as a…

WE EXTEND our sincere condolences to the family of a KwaDukuza RTI officer, Desmond Arumugam, who was on duty last Monday. During a meeting of the province’s community safety and liaison portfolio committee held shortly after this tragic incident, we raised the issue of the ongoing violence and senseless killings of law enforcement officials and members of the public at large. While there will never be a zero percent crime rate in our province, every effort must be made to reach such a utopia. Not only does this demand increase visibility by law enforcement, it also demands acting without fear or favour. As the crime rates soar and innocent lives are lost, the lack of effective response from those in positions of authority is both unacceptable and irresponsible. Despite the…

LET me start this piece off with a conundrum. To be more accurate, a maths conundrum. We do the school life, primary school and then secondary school. We learn a plethora of different subjects to equip us for life. And then we have mathematics. Why, Lord, why? Let me explain my dilemma. In primary school we are taught the basics of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. That is kosher with me. Then in secondary or high school as it was known, they notch it up and bring in geometry, algebra and trigonometry. I honestly did not see the need to learn angles and degrees, etc. This was my viewpoint. My planned vocation did not involve maths with its convoluted theorems and stuff. I had learnt the basics and I felt…

THE unexpected closure of the Westville Hindu Primary School at the end of this term has left parents feeling helpless and frustrated as they scurry to try and secure placement at other schools for their children for next year The father of two daughters, aged 12 and six, who declined to be named, said the parents were called to attend an urgent meeting at the school on October 18. His daughters are in grades six and one. “At the meeting, we were informed by the principal that the school had outstanding rent and that the Shree Sanathan Dharma Sabha of South Africa, which owns the property, did not want to renew the lease. We were also told that the school owed money for the electricity and telephone bills…

THE four men accused of stealing millions of rand worth of fireworks have been released on bail. Bright Vusi Mamba, 43, from Queensburgh; Ndumiso Mzileni, 34, and Phinda Bonginkosi Zulu, 37, both from Swaziland but residing in Verulam; and Vishaan Ramsumair, 40, from Chatsworth, have been charged with theft. During the bail application in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday, it emerged that the stolen fireworks had been purchased from Facebook Marketplace by Ramsumair. Mzileni and Zulu have also been charged with contravening the Immigrations Act in that they were employed in South Africa with a visitor's permit and not a work permit. Mamba, Mzileni and Zulu were released on R2 000 bail, and Ramsumair was released on R5 000 bail. Earlier last month, a truckload of fireworks that belonged…

A 40-YEAR-OLD single mother of two from Chatsworth said her children’s father had stopped paying maintenance in 2020, leaving her with the financial burden of ensuring her children’s needs were met. “He is 46 years old and works for a trucking company. He drives a BMW but he comes to court and says he is unemployed and cannot pay. “The Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court had ordered him to pay R500 each for our two children, and R500 towards his arrears, which is over R60 000. “Our children are nine and 11 years old. This amount does not even cover their lunches for school for the month. I pay for everything and I work double shifts and overtime just to try to make ends meet, but it is still not enough. I…

EXPERTS say that public services, including health care, education and transportation, as well as employment, are still often inaccessible or insufficiently accommodating to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Dr Ashley Subbiah, the information access officer for the Disability Support Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said despite the government’s commitment to inclusivity, persons with disabilities experienced challenges. “Employment rates for persons with disabilities is 0.01% due to discrimination, lack of accessibility, and limited education and skills training opportunities. This results in higher poverty rates. “Employers tend to only recruit persons with disabilities to achieve an acceptable equity scorecard, rather than address inequities in the transformation of the workplace. “They are failing to acknowledge the abilities of persons with disabilities in the mainstream workplace, perpetuating discriminatory practices such as…

MOST indenture stories are dwell on Natal. Not many aware that a number of those shipped to the colony were forced to venture into other parts of Africa, notably Angola and the Congo in search of a better life. In this instance we look into what became known as the Lobito Bay Scandal. Latchman, colonial number 66095, was lucky to leave Lobito Bay alive. After being freed from indenture in Natal, he was in dire straits with the dreaded £3 tax and growing debt. The economic depression that followed the Anglo-Boer War made matters even more desperate. The Natal Government Railways on which he had worked since landing in 1897, had even lowered wages. Along with 2 207 others, he seized the opportunity in 1907 to work on the…

As golfers, we’re constantly seeking ways to improve our game. We invest in lessons, practice tirelessly, and scrutinise every detail of our technique. However, many golfers overlook a critical component of improvement: strength training. Building strength and endurance can significantly enhance your game, increasing distance, accuracy, and consistency. When you think of strength training, you might envision bulging muscles and hours spent in the gym. But for golfers, strength training is about functional fitness – building strength that directly translates to improved performance on the course. Increased distance is perhaps the most appealing advantage. Stronger muscles generate more power and speed, allowing you to drive the ball farther than ever before. But strength training also improves accuracy, as enhanced stability and control reduce slicing and hooking. Additionally, strengthening key muscle…

Questions are being asked of Manchester City’s title defence after they slipped five points behind leaders Liverpool at the weekend but centre back Ruben Dias has told the critics to write off City’s chances at their peril. City slumped to a fourth consecutive loss in all competitions with a 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday, marking the first time Pep Guardiola lost four games in a row in his managerial career. City, who are chasing an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title, were also dumped out of the League Cup by Tottenham Hotspur. “I would say, please doubt us, doubt us, feel welcome to do so,” Dias told British media on Monday. “When we did the treble, we even called it the dark…