Latest news with #Verwoerd
Daily Maverick
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Watch – Judge Mbenenge on trial: Power, emojis & South Africa's judiciary reckoning
When is a peach a peach and an eggplant an eggplant? What does the ear with the hearing aid mean, or the dripping syringe? Daily Maverick's associate editor Marianne Thamm has been following following the tribunal proceedings closely as they unfold. Marianne Thamm is a South African journalist, author and stand-up comedian. She is the assistant editor of the Daily Maverick and has written several books. In 2016, she released the memoir, Hitler, Verwoerd, Mandela and me. If you like this video, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more. Would you like to become a Maverick Insider and support our journalism? Click here for all the details.
Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
Watch – In the name of God? The secretive Christian sect under FBI investigation
A shadowy Christian sect known as the Two by Twos (2x2s) — also called The Truth, The Way, or the No-Name Church — is at the center of a shocking global child sexual abuse scandal. A Daily Maverick investigation reveals that South African members have also come forward with disturbing allegations. The FBI and SAPS have confirmed an active investigation into historic sexual abuse within the church. Marianne Thamm explains. Marianne Thamm is a South African journalist, author and stand-up comedian. She is the assistant editor of the Daily Maverick and has written several books. In 2016, she released the memoir, Hitler, Verwoerd, Mandela and me. If you like this video, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more. Would you like to become a Maverick Insider and support our journalism? Click here for all the details. DM
Daily Maverick
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Watch – Flying too close to the sun(s): Floyd Shivambu, SA's political Icarus
Once a firebrand of the EFF, now a brief resident of Zuma's MK party, Floyd Shivambu is re-emerging, this time with plans to launch his own political movement. But after being sidelined in yet another party power struggle, is this a comeback or just more political wandering? Marianne Thamm unpacks the theatrics, the ideology, and the irony. Marianne Thamm is a South African journalist, author and stand-up comedian. She is the assistant editor of the Daily Maverick and has written several books. In 2016, she released the memoir, Hitler, Verwoerd, Mandela and me. If you like this video, subscribe to our YouTube channel for more. Would you like to become a Maverick Insider and support our journalism? Click here for all the details. DM
IOL News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Youth Day: Education, Inequality, and AI: The New Frontlines of Youth Struggle
The Soweto Uprising, as it is now known, was a seminal moment in our nation's history. Image: File ON June 16, 1976, thousands of young black school children courageously stared down the barrel of a gun to defy an oppressive system that sought to dictate their education and future. The Soweto Uprising, as it is now known, was a seminal moment in our nation's history. The apartheid government's attempt to impose Afrikaans as the primary language of instruction was not just a linguistic shift; it was a deliberate act of subjugation, reinforcing Hendrik Verwoerd's vision of racial segregation and inferior education for black children. The youth of 1976 understood that education was a battleground, and they bravely confronted the brutal system armed with nothing else, but stones. That is how determined they were not to be silenced. Verwoerd carries the title of 'Architect of Apartheid' because of the significant contribution he made to the creation of an unequal state-owned and controlled educational system through the implementation of the Bantu Education Act of 1953. This Act was designed to ensure that the black majority never achieves full equality with white people by deliberately creating an inferior educational system to render them permanent servants of the white minority. For generations, the apartheid state used education as a propaganda weapon against Black people to reinforce white supremacy. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ The Bantu Education Act served several purposes. It ensured that Black schools received significantly fewer resources and less funding than white schools. In 1975, the government spent R644 per white student and only R42 per black student. Black teachers were poorly qualified compared to their white counterparts and had to teach large numbers of learners at a time, in dilapidated under resourced schools. The pit latrines that exist in our educational system today are the remnants of apartheid education. The act also ensured that the educational curriculum was designed in such a way that black learners would only qualify to work as manual labour, thus making access to higher or tertiary education almost impossible. This is why the actions taken by the students that day are permanently imprinted in the annals of our history. They sacrificed their lives because, despite the terrible odds they were facing, they hoped for a better future. Their courage ignited a movement that shook the foundations of apartheid, forcing the world to confront the brutality of the regime. But nearly five decades later, the question remains: has the struggle for dignity, equality, and freedom been won? Today's youth face challenges that, while different in form, are deeply connected to the injustices of the past. During Apartheid, race was the barrier to achieving a decent life; now, the barrier is class. South Africa's youth unemployment rate stands at a staggering 46.1%. For the first quarter of 2025, close to five million young people between the ages of 14 and 24 years old, are not in employment, education or training. The promise that education would be the key to economic opportunity has failed many young people, particularly Black graduates who find themselves locked out of meaningful employment. Poverty remains entrenched, with 55% of South Africans living below the upper-bound poverty line. The post-apartheid economic system, shaped by decades of neo-liberal economic policies, has prioritised profits for a tiny elite over the well-being of the majority of people, leaving millions in precarious conditions. The wealth gap continues to widen, reinforcing the structural inequalities that apartheid set in motion. The generation of 1976 fought and died for equality, and yet South Africa today is the most unequal society in the world. The failure of post-apartheid neoliberalism proves that economic justice cannot be achieved through policies designed to maintain corporate wealth at the expense of the majority. This current age that we are in is characterised by rapid technological advancement, bringing with it Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is reshaping our industries. While progress should be welcomed because it can significantly improve the lives of the majority of people, the owners and creators of AI are not motivated by a desire to improve society for the benefit of all. They are eagerly unleashing this technology for the benefit of tech billionaires and obscenely wealthy entrepreneurs whose aim is maximum profit-making, in the shortest time possible. The early adopters of this technology are the already privileged, and this will lead to a digital divide that threatens to deepen economic exclusion. AI-driven automation is projected to displace millions of jobs globally, and South Africa is not immune. Without proactive state-driven policies, the rapid deployment of AI will disproportionately harm those who are already marginalised, widening the gap between the technologically empowered and the economically disenfranchised. While one can acknowledge that the Department of Communications has developed a national AI strategy, it does not go far enough to mitigate against these risks, which may result in the country lagging behind in the global digital economy. The lack of access to AI-driven opportunities will further entrench inequality, making it imperative for policymakers to ensure that technological advancements serve all citizens, not just a privileged few. What the owners of AI did not consider was the possibility that displacement would mean that millions of workers, including professionals, would be unemployed. Therefore, how will these people support and sustain themselves and their families if they are not working? They also did not consider the fact that if these people have no income, who will consume their products? These are important questions which require creative solutions. If we fail to find practical mechanisms to prevent this looming catastrophe, then the current triple threat of poverty, unemployment and inequality can only worsen. To truly reclaim the future, South Africa's youth must demand an economy that includes and uplifts them. This requires urgent educational reform to align primary and tertiary curricula with real market demands, ensuring graduates possess employable skills, while expanding vocational training and apprenticeships through government-private sector collaboration. Beyond traditional job creation, the state must invest in community-based enterprises and worker-owned cooperatives. Proven models like Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which pioneered microfinance to empower rural entrepreneurs, and Mondragon in Spain, a cooperative employing nearly 100 000 workers through democratic business structures, have demonstrated that social entrepreneurship can play a progressive role in improving the lives of the people. At the same time, AI regulation and digital equity must be prioritised to safeguard jobs against automation-driven exclusion. This means upskilling workers, launching free digital literacy programs nationwide, and establishing a regulatory body to monitor AI ethics, ensuring technology serves the majority rather than widening existing inequalities. Only through bold policy shifts and youth-led activism can South Africa secure an inclusive economy that breaks the cycle of poverty and systemic exclusion. The most important change that we can make in our society is to fight for our sovereign right to govern in a way that results in meaningful change for the majority of people. It is unfortunate that since the ANC was elected into government in 1994, it surrendered its power to the dictates of neo-liberalism and the demands of international financial institutions. These bodies insisted on the implementation of austerity and privatisation, over radical people-centred policies that can truly uplift the majority of the population. Policies like Employment Equity, Affirmative Action and even BBBEE were a positive intervention, but much more is required to ensure meaningful transformation to reverse the terrible impact of Apartheid. Nationalisation policies directed at our mineral endowment would have empowered the state to fund policies to sustain genuine transformation and improve the lives of the masses.
The Citizen
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
Foot-and-mouth disease outbreak rocks South Africa's cattle industry
The confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease at Karan Beef's Heidelberg feedlot has further thrown South Africa's cattle industry into crisis. Farmers and organised agriculture are concerned about the outbreak of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease in South Africa, which is having devastating financial consequences for farmers, but is not harmful to humans. A case of FMD was confirmed at a feedlot of Karan Beef near Heidelberg in Gauteng this week. Karan Beef spokesperson senior feedlot veterinarian Dr Dirk Verwoerd said a case of FMD was confirmed at its feedlot facility in Heidelberg on Monday. Outbreak will 'disrupt national supply chain' 'The outbreak is during peak weaning season and will significantly disrupt the national supply chain. Farmers may be forced to hold calves longer than usual due to limited feedlot capacity. Karan Beef has suspended all exports,' he said. Verwoerd said there was no risk to human health but local beef supply may be affected in the short term. 'Immediate action has been taken in collaboration with provincial and national veterinary services to contain the outbreak and ensure the ongoing safety of South Africa's beef supply. 'Despite Karan Beef's strict adherence to biosecurity protocols, including multiple individual inspections, 28-day quarantine periods and mouthing examinations over the past two years, FMD can still be transmitted by subclinical carriers that do not show visible symptoms, making detection extremely challenging.' Verwoerd said 120 000 cattle were currently housed at the Heidelberg facility. 'Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the outbreak. Approximately 2% of the herd is currently infected.' ALSO READ: Farmers 'on the edge' over crippling foot and mouth disease Agriculture sector blames state for delayed response He said a controlled slaughter-out process will be implemented once vaccinations are completed under veterinary supervision. Southern African Agri Initiative president Dr Theo de Jager said the organisation has been engaging with the department of agriculture since December 2024, when the first rumours of FMD began circulating. 'It took months before the outbreak was officially declared and resources were mobilised to combat it,' he said. De Jager said farmers have since reported seeing cattle being transported on trucks or trailers to auctions daily, especially in the Mpumalanga highveld. Calls for stricter livestock movement and containment 'This crisis originates with the state. The department of agriculture, supported by local private veterinarians, must act immediately on observation of symptoms, identify the infected area and quarantine it. 'Failure to act swiftly ensures the further spread of the disease and causes devastating damage to the cattle industry,' he said. De Jager said if the state was unable to control the movement of livestock from infected areas, successful meat and dairy production would no longer be viable. Farmers left without income as prices rise 'Producers are not the only victims – consumers are likely to pay more for meat. Farmers in the expanded infected area, however, will not benefit from these higher prices, as they are prohibited from selling their livestock.' ALSO READ: Will SA run out of beef and chicken? Animal disease hits SA's top producer — what it means for consumers De Jager said if farmers cannot sell their livestock, their farms have no income. TLU SA and the Red Meat Producers' Organisation have urgently appealed to the government to put a disaster management programme or emergency fund in place to aid producers. TLU SA chair Bennie van Zyl said grassroots-level producers are in a dire situation. 'Farms are effectively being removed from circulation without any support.' Highly contagious According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact. It affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. 'The disease is rarely fatal in adult animals, but there is often high mortality in young animals due to myocarditis or, when the dam is infected by the disease, lack of milk.' FMD is characterised by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves. 'The disease causes severe production losses, and, while the majority of affected animals recover, the disease often leaves them weakened and debilitated.' NOW READ: Bird flu ban: Brazil suspension takes chicken and polony off South African tables — prices set to rise
