Latest news with #Biyela
The Star
5 days ago
- Health
- The Star
COPESSA unveils innovative portable shelter Biyela to aid the homeless and restore dignity
When Nthabiseng Nale fled an abusive marriage, she had nothing - no job, no support, and nowhere to turn. Today, she's part of a sisterhood transforming pain into purpose through a remarkable initiative called Biyela. Launched by Community-based Organisation for the Prevention of Violence Against Children and Gender-based Violence (COPESSA), Biyela is more than a warm, multifunctional jacket for the homeless - it's a symbol of healing, crafted by women rebuilding their lives one stitch at a time. The portable shelter is aimed at providing warmth, protection, and a sense of belonging for individuals living on the streets. The garment serves as a jacket, raincoat, bag, and sleeping bag all in one, making it a versatile lifesaver for the homeless and outdoor enthusiasts alike. Dr Nobs Mwanda, CEO of COPESSA, described the essence of the Biyela project, highlighting how it seeks to assist those without shelter and combat various social ills. 'The launch is really to put out the concept of this project, what it can do and how it can assist with all sorts of social ills, particularly those who do not have shelter. Homelessness is one of them,' Dr Mwanda stated in an interview with the Saturday Star . Dr Mwanda emphasised that the perception of homelessness is often misguided. 'People often picture the homeless as young people who ran away from home because they are naughty, but there is more to it. It could be you; it could be me. For instance, if you are in a relationship and something goes wrong, you can be pushed into homelessness overnight, left without a roof over your head,' he highlighted. Beyond its immediate utility, the Biyela is also positioned as a tool for disaster relief, with hopes that organisations involved in emergency management will see the value in purchasing the garment to aid their efforts. 'We hope that we can have a South Africa that affords everyone dignity,' Dr Mwanda said. 'How can you have dignity when you have no food on your table, when you have no shelter? These are just the basic needs according to Maslow's hierarchy. That is my greatest hope: to create a society where people can uphold their dignity and do not resort to violence as a means to solve their problems.' Central to the Biyela initiative are the Women of Worth sewing circle, a group of women reclaiming their lives after fleeing abusive situations. These resilient women have turned their tragic experiences into a force for good, actively participating in the creation of the Biyela shelters. For women like Nale, the project has been life-changing. She shared her journey from being a victim of gender-based violence to a beacon of hope for others. 'I joined COPESSA after my marriage fell apart, and I was seeking mental health care,' recalled Nale. 'I was hurt, unemployed, and frustrated. Thanks to COPESSA for providing such programmes to vulnerable communities. I have achieved a certificate in gender-based violence knowledge and am now proud to share the message that abuse is not a solution.' With the Biyela, she hopes to extend a lifeline to the homeless, providing them with not just a means of shelter but a multifaceted tool for survival: 'To provide the homeless with shelter, jackets, and raincoats which can be used as their grocery package because the bag is all in one. Aiming to practically provide the vulnerable with the means to escape violence.' [email protected] Saturday Star
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Richards Bay chairman quashes interference claims: We only care about results
Richards Bay chairman Sfiso 'Jomo' Biyela has rubbished rumours of management meddling, insisting his only priority is the club's success. Photo: Backpagepix Image: BackpagePix Richards Bay chairman Sfiso 'Jomo' Biyela has moved to quash ongoing speculation about alleged interference in team selection at the KwaZulu-Natal-based club, insisting that management is only interested in results, not control. The outspoken club boss was addressing media at the unveiling of the club's new signings ahead of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership campaign when he took the opportunity to speak on a narrative that has long followed not only Richards Bay, but several clubs in the league. Biyela's comments come after a turbulent three-year spell in the top flight that has seen the Natal Rich Boyz rotate through a carousel of coaches. ✍️ Richards Bay FC new signings ahead of the 2025/26 season: Mhango Mtshali Zuke Mangolo Vilakazi Nzama 7. Sboniso Madonsela Khumalo Mahala Nombengula Mbambo — Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) July 8, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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In the wake of these changes, murmurs — sometimes from the coaches themselves — suggested that Biyela and the management team may have had a hand in dictating player selections and matchday tactics. But Biyela dismissed those claims as baseless, describing them as a convenient excuse often used when results go south. 'We work very well with our current coaches, but there's a trend of assumption — not just at our club but across the league — that whenever a team loses, then there's interference from management,' Biyela explained, in Zulu. 'Who would want to interfere and influence his own team to lose? "If the coach has a good plan, why would I want to come in and change that? "Which chairman would do that in their right mind?' 🏆 𝐊𝐙𝐍 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐩 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 – Fixture Confirmed✅️ 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗖 will take on Midlands Wanderers FC in the first Semi-final 🏟 Umhlathuze Sports Stadium 📅 Sunday, 27 July 2025 ⌚ 09:00 AM ⚽ Richards Bay FC vs Midlands Wanderers FC — Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) July 8, 2025 Biyela was visibly frustrated at the perception that management meddling was a routine issue and questioned the logic behind such claims, especially when coaches are praised during winning spells but question motives when results turn. 'The only thing we need is results,' he added. 'There's no power struggle at our club just because the chairman wants to exert his authority. It doesn't work that way.' He continued: 'You never hear about 'interference' when a coach is winning matches. These things only come up when there's a losing streak. Then suddenly there's interference.' Richards Bay, now under the continued guidance of co-coaches Ronnie Gabriel and Papi Zothwane, are preparing for their fourth season in the Betway Premiership. The club enjoyed their best finish yet in 2024/25, ending eighth and qualifying for the MTN8 — a testament to the stability that management insists they are trying to foster. While Biyela admits results remain the primary focus, he also emphasised the importance of mutual respect between the boardroom and the technical team. He said his role is to empower coaches with the tools and resources to succeed, not dictate how they use them. With new signings in place and home games set to return to the revamped Mhlathuze Sports Complex, Richards Bay are hopeful of continuing their upward trajectory — and putting the interference rumours firmly to bed.
IOL News
12-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Community leaders demand healing and reconciliation on the fourth anniversary of the July unrest
Community leaders Selvan Govender and Chris Biyela called for peace during the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) commemoration ceremony for the July 2021 unrest in Phoenix on Saturday. Image: Zainul Dawood Emotions brewed when a July 2021 unrest victim's family member took the podium at the fourth-year commemoration of the tragic event in Phoenix on Saturday. Chris Biyela, a Bhambayi resident and a convener of the peace committee, remains resolute that there was still a long way to go for the reconciliation process unless people owned up to being racist. Biyela had lost a relative in the incident that claimed more than 30 lives in the Phoenix area. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) held the commemoration as a symbolic gesture to promote peace, friendship, humanity, reconciliation, social cohesion, and solidarity between the members of the African and Indian communities in the surrounding areas. Biyela firmly believed that the murders in Phoenix were racially motivated, and some in the crowd asked him to withdraw the statement. He advised people to allow the healing process to take place and admit they were wrong. Biyela said he was disappointed that people still deny the fact about what happened. 'After four years, people still believe we were killed because we were criminals. The truth is the truth, and people cannot sugarcoat the facts. People cannot come and deny that people were killed because of skin colour. We will unite this community by telling the truth,' Biyela said. He also wanted the Phoenix community to bring forth those who committed some of the murders so that they can be dealt with by the courts. 'Criminals who committed the crimes are still out there. We are no longer fools. You are not prepared to listen to the facts from our side. You want us to say it was nice to experience the death of our people. Where is your conscience?' he asked. On June 29, 2021, the Constitutional Court found former president Jacob Zuma guilty of contempt of court, resulting in a 15-month imprisonment. The SAHRC found that 40,000 businesses and 50,000 informal traders were affected, with 150,000 jobs put at risk. The financial damage of the unrest was estimated at R50 billion, and approximately 353 lives were lost. Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva, the CRL Rights commission chairperson, said for the healing process to begin, people needed to accept the fact that something wrong happened in July 2021. She said they were in discussions with several organisations to assist with future projects. 'We need to accept the pain of healing, which will take time. We will come back regularly and go through the particular process with the communities to build social cohesion and peace. We know the community is trying on its own with religious leaders. Trust the process and move forward,' she said. Pastor Selvan Govender, a Phoenix community leader, said that they gathered not only to speak of dreams and hopes, but to remember, to commemorate the lives lost, the families torn apart, the businesses destroyed, and the communities fractured during the violence that erupted. 'We pause to acknowledge that what burned was not only buildings and shops, but the fragile bonds of trust painstakingly built since 1994. The unrest was more than the destruction of property. It ripped away the bandage covering an old wound — a wound of inequality, resentment, mistrust, and unspoken fears,' he said. Govender said the unrest sowed deep divisions between Indian and Black communities, especially in Phoenix, Inanda, Ntzuma, and KwaMashu. 'We saw anger boil over, lives cut short, friendships betrayed, neighbours turned enemies. We must say today that we do not want their deaths to go unrewarded. We refuse to allow their passing to be meaningless. Their lives mattered. Their loss must weigh on us. Let us not dishonour their memory with silence or denial. The best reward we can give them, the truest memorial we can build, is a reconciled South Africa,' Govender said. Mxolisi Myeni, a community leader, advised that peace and stability are not going to happen unless everyone comes together. 'When we leave this place, we might have criticism, but we need to deal with the dilemma. We made it through the session because we have understood, the only way to resolve matters is through dialogue. We don't have to agree, but it's a social compact. I may not agree, but let me just hear you. I appeal to leaders to take the conversation and dialogue forward,' he said. [email protected] The CRL Rights Commission and the SAHRC held a commemoration ceremony for the July 2021 unrest in Phoenix on Saturday. Image: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers
IOL News
11-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
'We signed a striker, not a saint' – Biyela on new signing Mhango's lifestyle
GABADINHO Mhango in the colours of Marumo Gallants last season is now in the books of Richards Bay. | BACKPAGEPIX Image: Backpages Richards Bay chairman Sifiso 'Jomo' Biyela has defended the club's decision to sign Gabadinho Mhango, insisting goals matter more than the striker's controversial off-field reputation and drinking history. Speaking at the club's unveiling of new signings in KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday, Biyela refused to be drawn into a moral debate over Mhango's lifestyle, saying he's more interested in getting goals from the veteran forward than judging his past mistakes. 'I am not in a position of judging people. I am not Jesus. My role is to support people, try and get the best out of people,' Biyela said when asked whether Mhango would undergo counselling. 'Most of the time I look at the positive side of things and try as a father figure to deal with the negative side of things.' Mhango, 32, has made headlines for the wrong reasons in recent years, most notably when a video of him allegedly intoxicated surfaced last September after he crashed his car into a taxi in Bloemfontein. Yet Biyela remains unfazed. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading 'I don't want to be negative and suppress all the good things he [Mhango] has done,' the chairman added. 'The fact of the matter is, statistics are there in terms of the goals that he's scoring. Give me a player that doesn't drink who's giving those statistics… they don't drink but they don't score and they drink but they score.' The outspoken club owner, whose team is targeting a top-four finish in the Betway Premiership this season, made it clear that delivering results on the pitch takes precedence — though he admitted he would speak to Mhango to ensure his conduct doesn't damage the club's image. 'I am not in rehab… what do I want? Do I want them to score or do I want them to change their lifestyle? For the sake of the club's badge, I will sit with the player and make him understand that he's in the twilight of his career, so his off-field things mustn't affect his work,' Biyela explained. Drunk‼️ Frank Mhango crashed into a Quantum in Bloem & the Marumo Gallants star sustained an injury on his forehead. "He has 4 Bloem girls in the car… [The] community is angry because he's drunk... I feel sorry for his career now," 😢 💔 A-reece . Emtee . Home affairs . — Nathan Mbo🎧🇸🇿 (@NattyZay) September 30, 2024 Richards Bay, who finished eighth last season to qualify for the MTN8 for the first time in their history, are hoping the former Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu striker can offer the goals they've often lacked. Mhango arrives with a reputation as a natural finisher, but also as a polarising figure whose discipline has been questioned at multiple clubs. That doesn't bother Biyela — at least not yet. 'I've got a lot of good players who drink and some of them you [the journalists] don't even know they drink but I know they drink,' he said. 'But they play well and they're disciplined.' With Richards Bay setting bold targets for the 2025/26 campaign, the chairman is clearly banking on Mhango's boots rather than his behaviour. Whether that gamble pays off remains to be seen.
IOL News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Richards Bay eye top four finish after bold transfer unveiling
Richards Bay FC have declared their ambition to break into the Betway Premiership's top four in the 2025/26 season, with club chairman Sifiso 'Jomo' Biyela confident their recent reinforcements will elevate the team. The Natal Rich Boys enjoyed a historic 2024/25 campaign, finishing eighth in the league — their highest-ever placing — and securing qualification for the prestigious MTN8 competition for the first time since their promotion to the top flight. Biyela, speaking at the club's official player unveiling event in the Richards Bay CBD on Tuesday afternoon, revealed that a few missed opportunities from the previous season have strengthened his belief that a top-four finish is possible. 'If you look at games where we dropped points last season, especially matches we should have won, we could have easily finished in the top four,' he said. The unveiling featured 11 new signings — a blend of seasoned professionals and promising talent — with marquee additions such as former Orlando Pirates striker Gabadinho Mhango, ex-Golden Arrows midfielder Sandile Zuke, and playmaker Lindokuhle Mtshali headlining the event.
