By Madibeng Kgwete: posted on 06 June 2009
The letter in The Star newspaper, written by one Afrika Katze, “Being black or white is a gift from on high” (01 June 2009), purports to analyse and discourage racism in post-apartheid South Africa; but anyone who read carefully would have noticed the author’s hidden agenda.
Katze writes, somewhere in the middle of letter, that: “The somewhat sadistic and deliberately brutal attacks perpetrated mostly on white South Africans under the guise of crime, to me qualify to be classified as racism.”
Katze effectively claims, without any shred of evidence, that the majority of white victims of crime are being targeted because of their race – an outrageous claim, if you ask me.
He also effectively alleges that there is some secret motive behind these “brutal attacks” on white South Africans. Does Katze have any proof? Does he know something the rest of us do not know?
Whilst observing that “people of a disliked hue (read blacks) often never reciprocate racial hatred”, Katze, however, suggests that black South Africans are an exception.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Are linguistic pedant loosing the battle?
By Madibeng Kgwete: posted 15 May 2009
I have to admit, after a few recent experiences, that so-called linguistic pedants (people who are strict with language and punctuation) are fighting a losing battle.
I thought it was just local pedants facing defeat, but now it turns out that even their British counterparts (first-language English speakers) are not yielding positive results.
I had an English teacher who would circle every little grammatical and punctuation error; and, soon, I got used to reading and re-reading my documents before sending to the next person. Even with an SMS, I have to read it at least three times before sending – just to make sure that there are no errors.
But, to some of my friends, this obsession with grammar and punctuation is irrelevant to them. As long as the message is clear, they say, everything else is unimportant. Which is why they continue to write me emails informing me of “house’s” and “car’s” for sale.
The British newspaper, The Telegraph, recently carried an article in which it was revealed that a study of CV blunders has found, for example, someone who wrote in a CV that he was “responsible for fraudulent claims” and another who is “highly adept at multi-tasting”.
I also have a picture (in my cellphone) of a large board in a certain liquor store warning: “Anyone under the age of 18 is not aloud”.
Sometimes, just putting a punctuation mark at the wrong place or not having it at all in a sentence may have you say things you didn’t intend saying. For example (courtesy of The Telegraph): “My interests include cooking dogs”.
In South Africa, where the majority of us are second- and third-language English speakers, some of these grammatical errors are understandable, but why would the British also join the assault on their own language?
In this era of SMSs and short-hand speech, we have become accustomed to “C u later”, “4 sure”, "cum c me 2moro", "2nite".
Although spellcheckers make it inexcusable to have spelling mistakes, these modern devises also have limitations. For example, a spellchecker will not correct you when you write “loose” instead of “lose”, “quite” instead of “quiet”, “its” instead of “it’s”.
Although some errors are permissible, applying for a job in the corporate communications industry and saying, as one of your skills, that you have “excellent poof-reading skills” puts you in a really high risk of being disqualified.
The question now is: should linguistic pedants put their red marking pens down and admit that language evolves – or what should they do? Maybe its time to admit that a linguistic pedant are loosing the battle!
I have to admit, after a few recent experiences, that so-called linguistic pedants (people who are strict with language and punctuation) are fighting a losing battle.
I thought it was just local pedants facing defeat, but now it turns out that even their British counterparts (first-language English speakers) are not yielding positive results.
I had an English teacher who would circle every little grammatical and punctuation error; and, soon, I got used to reading and re-reading my documents before sending to the next person. Even with an SMS, I have to read it at least three times before sending – just to make sure that there are no errors.
But, to some of my friends, this obsession with grammar and punctuation is irrelevant to them. As long as the message is clear, they say, everything else is unimportant. Which is why they continue to write me emails informing me of “house’s” and “car’s” for sale.
The British newspaper, The Telegraph, recently carried an article in which it was revealed that a study of CV blunders has found, for example, someone who wrote in a CV that he was “responsible for fraudulent claims” and another who is “highly adept at multi-tasting”.
I also have a picture (in my cellphone) of a large board in a certain liquor store warning: “Anyone under the age of 18 is not aloud”.
Sometimes, just putting a punctuation mark at the wrong place or not having it at all in a sentence may have you say things you didn’t intend saying. For example (courtesy of The Telegraph): “My interests include cooking dogs”.
In South Africa, where the majority of us are second- and third-language English speakers, some of these grammatical errors are understandable, but why would the British also join the assault on their own language?
In this era of SMSs and short-hand speech, we have become accustomed to “C u later”, “4 sure”, "cum c me 2moro", "2nite".
Although spellcheckers make it inexcusable to have spelling mistakes, these modern devises also have limitations. For example, a spellchecker will not correct you when you write “loose” instead of “lose”, “quite” instead of “quiet”, “its” instead of “it’s”.
Although some errors are permissible, applying for a job in the corporate communications industry and saying, as one of your skills, that you have “excellent poof-reading skills” puts you in a really high risk of being disqualified.
The question now is: should linguistic pedants put their red marking pens down and admit that language evolves – or what should they do? Maybe its time to admit that a linguistic pedant are loosing the battle!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Did New African plagiarise Sunday Times profile?
Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 16 April 2009
In its April 2009 edition, the revered New African magazine published a profile of ANC Youth League President Julius Malema. The profile seems to have been lifted directly -- often word-for-word -- from an earlier (15 March) Sunday Times profile of the same man. Spot the “difference” below:
Sunday Times: Former Limpopo premier Sello Moloto — who at one stage almost traded blows with Malema and who has also been on the receiving end of his insults — says there is little respect for Malema in his home town.
New African: So what does his home town think of Malema? Sello Moloto, the former premier of Limpopo, who has had several run-ins with Malema, says there is little respect for him.
Sunday Times: “Limpopo is very conservative. Every old person is asking, ‘Who is this child? Who are his parents and family and why are they allowing him to behave the way he does?’”
New African: “Everybody is asking, who is this child? Who are his parents and family, and why are they allowing him to behave this way?”
Sunday Times: But Malema finds a champion in Marcus Malebatse, a teacher at Malema’s former high school. Malebatse blames the media for provoking Malema to make his outrageous statements, claiming the coverage of his past pupil was merely to “sell newspapers”.
New African: His former teacher, Marcus Malebatse, however has a different opinion. He charges that the coverage of Malema’s utterances was merely to sell newspapers. That as a young man, he should be given space to mature in the political arena.
Sunday Times: ANC Women’s League president Angie Motshekga last month told a congregation in KwaMakhutha, south of Durban: “I know you will ask me why you should vote for the ANC if it still keeps Malema, who is a problematic child. I will reply and say that no home is without someone who I can refer to as a black sheep.
New African: The ANC's concern (about Malema's utterances) was evident when Angie Motshekga, the president of the ANC Women's League, opined: “I know you will ask me why you should vote for the ANC if it still keeps Malema, who is a problematic child. I will reply that no home is without someone is a problematic child. If you have children you do not throw them into the dustbin or eliminate them to solve a problem.”
In its April 2009 edition, the revered New African magazine published a profile of ANC Youth League President Julius Malema. The profile seems to have been lifted directly -- often word-for-word -- from an earlier (15 March) Sunday Times profile of the same man. Spot the “difference” below:
Sunday Times: Former Limpopo premier Sello Moloto — who at one stage almost traded blows with Malema and who has also been on the receiving end of his insults — says there is little respect for Malema in his home town.
New African: So what does his home town think of Malema? Sello Moloto, the former premier of Limpopo, who has had several run-ins with Malema, says there is little respect for him.
Sunday Times: “Limpopo is very conservative. Every old person is asking, ‘Who is this child? Who are his parents and family and why are they allowing him to behave the way he does?’”
New African: “Everybody is asking, who is this child? Who are his parents and family, and why are they allowing him to behave this way?”
Sunday Times: But Malema finds a champion in Marcus Malebatse, a teacher at Malema’s former high school. Malebatse blames the media for provoking Malema to make his outrageous statements, claiming the coverage of his past pupil was merely to “sell newspapers”.
New African: His former teacher, Marcus Malebatse, however has a different opinion. He charges that the coverage of Malema’s utterances was merely to sell newspapers. That as a young man, he should be given space to mature in the political arena.
Sunday Times: ANC Women’s League president Angie Motshekga last month told a congregation in KwaMakhutha, south of Durban: “I know you will ask me why you should vote for the ANC if it still keeps Malema, who is a problematic child. I will reply and say that no home is without someone who I can refer to as a black sheep.
New African: The ANC's concern (about Malema's utterances) was evident when Angie Motshekga, the president of the ANC Women's League, opined: “I know you will ask me why you should vote for the ANC if it still keeps Malema, who is a problematic child. I will reply that no home is without someone is a problematic child. If you have children you do not throw them into the dustbin or eliminate them to solve a problem.”
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Lest we forget ...
Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 25 March 2009
One of Jean-Paul Sartre’s observations in his famous preface to Franz Fanon’s book, The Wretched of the Earth, is that, during the colonial period: “The European élite undertook to manufacture a native elite,” singling out promising adolescents and branding them with the principles of western culture.
According to Sarte, the colonisers would take these promising young people to Western countries for indoctrination and then sent them home, whitewashed. “These walking lies,” Sartre says, “had nothing left to say to their brothers; they only echoed.”
For it to succeed, “the national revolution must be socialist; if its career is cut short, if the native bourgeoisie takes over power, the new State, in spite of its formal sovereignty, remains in the hands of the imperialists.”
When the colonizers come knocking, dressed up as liberators and modernizers, Sartre warns that “everything will be done to wipe out [the traditions of the colonized societies], to substitute our language for theirs and to destroy their culture without giving them ours.”
But how will that be done? Well, Sartre explains: “Sheer physical fatigue will stupefy them. Starved and ill, if they have any spirit left, fear will finish the job; guns are levelled at the peasant; civilians come to take over his land and force him by dint of flogging to till the land for them.
“If he shows fight, the soldiers fire and he’s a dead man; if he gives in, he degrades himself and he is no longer a man at all; shame and fear will split up his character and make his inmost self fall to pieces.”
The reason so many different tribal groups in former colonies fight against each other is this: “they cannot face the real enemy,” says Sartre — “and you can count on colonial policy to keep up their rivalries.”
Look at Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for example. When President Mwai Kibaki was announced as winner after the December 2007 elections, the opposition, led by Raila Odinga, disputed the results; and what happened? The poor went on rampage on the streets, fighting along tribal lines.
In the midst of the riots, between 700 and 1000 people were left dead, with an estimated 260 000 more displaced because of violence, fought along narrow party political and tribal lines. And what would Sartre say? “They cannot face the real enemy” – the power-hungry leaders who incite violence and fight for positions using the poor.
Whatever our fate as Africans, we can’t say we were never warned. We can’t always quote Greek philosophers when we had amongst us the likes of Fanon and his fellow comrades in the struggle for freedom: freedom from colonialism, imperialism, hunger, fear, as well as economic and cultural dependence on former masters.
One of Jean-Paul Sartre’s observations in his famous preface to Franz Fanon’s book, The Wretched of the Earth, is that, during the colonial period: “The European élite undertook to manufacture a native elite,” singling out promising adolescents and branding them with the principles of western culture.
According to Sarte, the colonisers would take these promising young people to Western countries for indoctrination and then sent them home, whitewashed. “These walking lies,” Sartre says, “had nothing left to say to their brothers; they only echoed.”
For it to succeed, “the national revolution must be socialist; if its career is cut short, if the native bourgeoisie takes over power, the new State, in spite of its formal sovereignty, remains in the hands of the imperialists.”
When the colonizers come knocking, dressed up as liberators and modernizers, Sartre warns that “everything will be done to wipe out [the traditions of the colonized societies], to substitute our language for theirs and to destroy their culture without giving them ours.”
But how will that be done? Well, Sartre explains: “Sheer physical fatigue will stupefy them. Starved and ill, if they have any spirit left, fear will finish the job; guns are levelled at the peasant; civilians come to take over his land and force him by dint of flogging to till the land for them.
“If he shows fight, the soldiers fire and he’s a dead man; if he gives in, he degrades himself and he is no longer a man at all; shame and fear will split up his character and make his inmost self fall to pieces.”
The reason so many different tribal groups in former colonies fight against each other is this: “they cannot face the real enemy,” says Sartre — “and you can count on colonial policy to keep up their rivalries.”
Look at Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for example. When President Mwai Kibaki was announced as winner after the December 2007 elections, the opposition, led by Raila Odinga, disputed the results; and what happened? The poor went on rampage on the streets, fighting along tribal lines.
In the midst of the riots, between 700 and 1000 people were left dead, with an estimated 260 000 more displaced because of violence, fought along narrow party political and tribal lines. And what would Sartre say? “They cannot face the real enemy” – the power-hungry leaders who incite violence and fight for positions using the poor.
Whatever our fate as Africans, we can’t say we were never warned. We can’t always quote Greek philosophers when we had amongst us the likes of Fanon and his fellow comrades in the struggle for freedom: freedom from colonialism, imperialism, hunger, fear, as well as economic and cultural dependence on former masters.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Will the Doubting Thomases ever be satisfied?
Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 17 March 2009
Not so long ago, South Africans marked 500 days to the start of the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Various stakeholders involved in delivering the soccer spectacle - and soccer lovers across the country and the world - used the occasion to reflect on the road travelled up to now, and what remains to be done.
We got together to celebrate the great opportunity accorded to us as a young democratic county. Many in the international media celebrated with us, dedicating significant space and airtime to help us communicate the message that, indeed, "Africa's time has come: South Africa is ready."
Considering the amount of work done so far on 2010 projects, there should be no need to be issuing out assurances that South Africa will be ready to host a successful FIFA World Cup come 2010. The work now speaks for itself. Our country is now literally a construction site.
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup will be taking place in a few months from now; and there is no doubt that all the four host cities will be ready come the day. Everything is shaping up and tickets to both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup are already on sale.
Whilst many of us are preparing to welcome soccer lovers to our shores next year, sceptics remain unconvinced that we'll be able to host a successful tournament.
They ask a lot of questions about a wide range of issues, ranging from crime, match attendance to the very usefulness of hosting the biggest soccer tournament in the world.
Ideally, the sceptics shouldn't be asking questions at this stage of our preparations, because the work now speaks for itself.
But, they continue to ask:"What if criminals take advantage of unsuspecting tourists? Will the police be up to the task? Will our hotels be able to accommodate the volume of spectators expected? What if the fans don't pitch and the stadiums are empty?"
Some even go as far as asking: "What is the point of spending so much money on upgrading infrastructure for the world cup when so many South Africans are poor and in need of state intervention? Aren't the tickets unaffordable, particularly given the levels of poverty in our country and continent? Won't the stadiums become white elephants after 2010?"
These are justifiable questions, except for the fact that some of the most vocal Doubting Thomases asking these questions look the other way when presented with facts.
Some of them, though, ask these questions innocently, acting out of utter ignorance.
There are certain realities the 2010 sceptics do not want to admit; and these include the fact that:
* The FIFA World Cup is coming to South Africa; and there is no turning back. Africa's time has come: South Africa is ready.
* People are already benefiting from 2010 opportunities. Just ask the construction workers in the stadiums, on the roads, on our telecommunications infrastructure, in the offices.
* 2010 is a great opportunity to market South Africa internationally; and some of the soccer tourists will hopefully return years after the tournament.
* Many of the stadiums are actually multi-purpose centres, to be used for a variety of occasions well into the future.
NB: This article also appears on News24, available on the following link:
http://www.news24.com/News24/MyNews24/Your_story/0,,2-2127-2128_2481133,00.html
Not so long ago, South Africans marked 500 days to the start of the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Various stakeholders involved in delivering the soccer spectacle - and soccer lovers across the country and the world - used the occasion to reflect on the road travelled up to now, and what remains to be done.
We got together to celebrate the great opportunity accorded to us as a young democratic county. Many in the international media celebrated with us, dedicating significant space and airtime to help us communicate the message that, indeed, "Africa's time has come: South Africa is ready."
Considering the amount of work done so far on 2010 projects, there should be no need to be issuing out assurances that South Africa will be ready to host a successful FIFA World Cup come 2010. The work now speaks for itself. Our country is now literally a construction site.
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup will be taking place in a few months from now; and there is no doubt that all the four host cities will be ready come the day. Everything is shaping up and tickets to both the Confederations Cup and the World Cup are already on sale.
Whilst many of us are preparing to welcome soccer lovers to our shores next year, sceptics remain unconvinced that we'll be able to host a successful tournament.
They ask a lot of questions about a wide range of issues, ranging from crime, match attendance to the very usefulness of hosting the biggest soccer tournament in the world.
Ideally, the sceptics shouldn't be asking questions at this stage of our preparations, because the work now speaks for itself.
But, they continue to ask:"What if criminals take advantage of unsuspecting tourists? Will the police be up to the task? Will our hotels be able to accommodate the volume of spectators expected? What if the fans don't pitch and the stadiums are empty?"
Some even go as far as asking: "What is the point of spending so much money on upgrading infrastructure for the world cup when so many South Africans are poor and in need of state intervention? Aren't the tickets unaffordable, particularly given the levels of poverty in our country and continent? Won't the stadiums become white elephants after 2010?"
These are justifiable questions, except for the fact that some of the most vocal Doubting Thomases asking these questions look the other way when presented with facts.
Some of them, though, ask these questions innocently, acting out of utter ignorance.
There are certain realities the 2010 sceptics do not want to admit; and these include the fact that:
* The FIFA World Cup is coming to South Africa; and there is no turning back. Africa's time has come: South Africa is ready.
* People are already benefiting from 2010 opportunities. Just ask the construction workers in the stadiums, on the roads, on our telecommunications infrastructure, in the offices.
* 2010 is a great opportunity to market South Africa internationally; and some of the soccer tourists will hopefully return years after the tournament.
* Many of the stadiums are actually multi-purpose centres, to be used for a variety of occasions well into the future.
NB: This article also appears on News24, available on the following link:
http://www.news24.com/News24/MyNews24/Your_story/0,,2-2127-2128_2481133,00.html
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Open letter to President-elect Obama
We look foward to a change of heart in the White House
Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 005 November 2008
First of all, let me congratulate you on your historic election to the high office of President of the United States of America.
I would also like to congratulate the American voters for making history by electing you as the first African-American to occupy the position of president of the United States.
As you are well aware, your election comes at a time when the world economy is shrinking and America is fighting a controversial and illegal war in Iraq.
You may also be aware that the international community, and the African continent in particular, has welcomed your election with the hope that the imminent change of leadership in the White House will bring about a change in the manner in which America has related with friends and foes abroad.
Because of your history as a descendent of the Kenyan people, we Africans see you as one of us. We therefore look forward not only to a change of leadership at the White House, but also a change of heart in the manner in which America relates with Africa.
In your victory speech, you mentioned that change has come to America. We in Africa would also appreciate it if the winds of change blowing in America could also blow towards our continent – which is also your ancestral home.
I am particularly keenly waiting to see what will guide your foreign policy towards Africa, your ancestral home and therefore your continent as well. Up to now, American foreign policy towards Africa has been guided mainly by self-interest, selective justice and double standards.
For example:
(a) In America, funding of political parties by foreigners is prohibited. However, America funds opposition political parties in African countries. The most obvious example is Zimbabwe.
(b) America preaches freedom and equality internationally, but the same America and her allies reject efforts to democratise the United Nations (UN), particularly the UN Security Council.
No other continent has as many members at the UN as Africa. Yet, Africa is the only continent without a permanent seat at the powerful UN Security Council.
(c) America is a fervent advocate of peace, security and prosperity. Yet, at a time when the world’s poor are getting poorer and hungrier, America continues to spend trillions of American taxpayers’ money buying weapons.
(d) Africa is rich in natural resources, ranging from minerals to agricultural products. However, America and her allies at the World Trade Organisation and other international gatherings continue to negotiate unfair trade deals favoring the rich and powerful over the poor and vulnerable countries, most of which are African.
(e) The American constitution emphasises justice and equality as being amongst the basic tenets of freedom. Yet, in practice, America and her allies have sponsored efforts to apply selective justice at the International Criminal Court and other juristic bodies.
Your soon-to-be predecessor, President George W. Bush, has damaged America’s reputation internationally with his “war on terror” – arming the troops with weapons to fight an ideology oversees.
We in Africa are now elated that a man we can easily associate with has been elected to the high office of the President of the United States of America. We therefore look forward to change – change of leadership style and change of heart in the White House.
Under your able leadership, we in Africa – your ancestral home – look forward to a US that not only preaches but also practices freedom, equality, peace, security and justice at home and abroad.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
We forget Prof. Mphahlele at our own peril
Posted by Madibeng Kgwete: 29 October 2008
The silence of our country’s academics, political leaders and the intellectual community at large following the recent death of Prof. Eskia Mphahlele is regrettable for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, our silence suggests that we do not value our intellectuals and ambassadors of goodwill. We do not seem to have placed any significant value in the wealth of knowledge and talent that Prof. Mphahlele possessed.
Worse still, we are bound to forget not only the man himself and his personal struggles in pursuit of political and intellectual freedom for the African people; we are also bound to forget his wise counsel and his vision.
Knowledge, as they say, is power; and when we ignore the power of the likes of Prof. Mphahlele’s knowledge, we voluntarily submit ourselves to amnesia. Who, then, will our heroes be?
Mphahlele deserves, at the very least, a provincial funeral and, for future purposes, the channeling of more resources to the Eskia Institute and other memorials in his honour to allow for the transfer of his knowledge to younger generations.
The silence of our country’s academics, political leaders and the intellectual community at large following the recent death of Prof. Eskia Mphahlele is regrettable for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, our silence suggests that we do not value our intellectuals and ambassadors of goodwill. We do not seem to have placed any significant value in the wealth of knowledge and talent that Prof. Mphahlele possessed.
Worse still, we are bound to forget not only the man himself and his personal struggles in pursuit of political and intellectual freedom for the African people; we are also bound to forget his wise counsel and his vision.
Knowledge, as they say, is power; and when we ignore the power of the likes of Prof. Mphahlele’s knowledge, we voluntarily submit ourselves to amnesia. Who, then, will our heroes be?
Mphahlele deserves, at the very least, a provincial funeral and, for future purposes, the channeling of more resources to the Eskia Institute and other memorials in his honour to allow for the transfer of his knowledge to younger generations.
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