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College students protest bursary cuts, evictions

by Binwe Adebayo

Eastcape Midlands College, UitenhageStudents of the Eastcape Midlands College are currently protesting after certain students were denied full bursaries by National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). As a result, local landlords have threatened to evict those affected.

After some students were evicted on Monday night 24 February, a large crowd of students gathered to protest at around 11pm, many wearing pyjamas. The students moved up along Hill Street and up along Milner Road in Uitenhage.

Some protesters jumped over the College’s fence, before three police vehicles arrived at the scene. The crowd dispersed at around 12.30pm but the protest resumed early this morning and is set to continue until their demands are met.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) is adamant that this is an issue which requires resolution, especially because the deduction from the promised R1 600 to R550 has been enacted across all eight campuses of the Eastcape Midlands College.

Students carrying placards are protesting outside the school, which has deployed HiTec guards to protect staff and the premises. Police vehicles have also driven past the site of the protest during the course of the morning.

Despite cold weather and rain over last night and this morning, the crowd of protesting students has grown. Even those who are not on bursaries have pledged their solidarity.

“If one of our students is affected, we are all affected. People must be angry, this is not fair treatment,” said Office Administration student, Anathi Gongqa.

“We will stay here all day and even tomorrow if needs be. The College needs to help defend our rights. We are their students,” said one student, who declined to be named.

Many of the students with whom Grocott’s Mail spoke refused to give their names as they had been told by officials of the College that this could result in immediate expulsion.

The students, along with Student Liaison Officer Lithemba Busakwe, hope to meet the Department of Higher Education at the Eastcape Midlands College’s head office in Uitenhage.

Despite calls to the College there has been no public response so far.

source: Grocotts Mail

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Service Delivery Protests continue in Uitenhage

Rioters in Uitenhage disrupting access to certain areas by barricading roads with fires. They are protesting over service delivery and want houses of their own to live in. Roads shown in this video include: Corner of Cannon Street and Middle Street (Kabah), Kamesh Road close to Blikkiesdorp and Kamesh Road in the Thomas Gamble area.

Thanks to Rostin van Heerdan for providing the footage. This does seem to be a continuation of what started in 2013 here:

November 15 – Uitenhage community members claim police used live ammunition to disperse protesters on Thursday. At least one person has been taken to hospital with what’s believed to be gunshot wounds in both legs.

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Is the Citrix Virtualization Learning Path Right for Your Certification Needs?

If you are interested in earning the CCEE for Virtualization certification, you may wish to pursue the Design Phase of the Citrix Virtualization Learning Path. This phase requires you to take the CVE-401 Engineering a Citrix Virtualization Solution course. You can also use ExamTrace to learn the skills you’ll need in order to pass the certification exam. Some of the skills you’ll need to successfully earn the CCEE for Virtualization certification include building a virtual infrastructure for desktop and application delivery, building farm to deliver servers and desktops, integrating XenApp and XenDesktop, and integrating XenServer with third party storage solutions. This path is best for you if you are interesting in working as a systems engineer.

If your goal includes being a systems administrator, you may wish to pursue the system deploy phase. For this phase, you’ll need to be responsible for knowing how to create, manage and deliver virtual desktops. You’ll also be responsible for managing applications in the datacenter. Installing and configuring storage and provisioning concepts are additional essential skills.

The maintain phase is targeted towards those individuals hoping to work as a system analyst. The primary tasks you’ll be responsible for include monitoring, maintaining, and optimizing virtualized environments.

For both the deploy and maintain phases of the learning path, you are required to take four training courses. After successfully completing the phases, you are eligible to receive any of the following certifications: CCA for XenDesktop 5, CCA for XenApp 6, CCA for XenServer 6, and CCAA for XenApp 6.

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Finishing Last: The Red Lantern

Raise the Red LanternThe original title of this blog by marketing wunderkind Seth Godin made me remember the book and subsequent 1991 film by Zhang Yimou. This message is clearly directed at parents and teachers who often ignore follow the carrot and stick method to discipline and have no clue about perseverance.

My own persistence even when I may be perceived as finishing last comes from my uncle Andrew Arries, who turned 87 years recently in Uitenhage. Even at this age he has never stopped giving more than he receives, helping to raise my sisters children, helping to look after my mother’s house, and also taking care of his own needs from cooking, to cleaning to shopping.

Two weeks ago his 2nd brother died. He has one brother and sister remaining, and may yet be standing when I look at his energy levels and love for life. He was like my grandfather and father rolled into one.

…. from the Seth Godin blog ….

At the grueling Iditarod, there’s a prize for the musher who finishes last: The Red Lantern.

Failing to finish earns you nothing, of course. But for the one who sticks it out, who arrives hours late, there’s the respect that comes from finding the strength to make it, even when all seems helpless.

Most parents (and most bosses) agree that this sort of dedication is a huge asset in life. And yet, as we head back for another year of school, I can’t help but notice that schools do nothing at all to encourage it.

The coach of the soccer team doesn’t reward the players who try the hardest, push themselves or put in the hours. He rewards the best players, by playing them.

The director of the school play puts the same kids in leading roles year after year. After all, the reasoning goes, we need to have tryouts and reward the best performers, just like they do in real life.

But school isn’t real life. School is about learning how to succeed in real life.

Natural talent is rewarded early and often. As Malcolm Gladwell has pointed out, most of the players in the NHL have birthdays in a three month window, because when you’re 8 years old, being six months older is a huge advantage. Those kids, the skaters with good astrological signs, or possibly those performers with the genetic singing advantage–those are the kids that get the coaching and the applause and the playing time. Unearned advantages, multiplied.

If we’re serious about building the habits of success, tracking is precisely the wrong approach. Talent (born with or born without) is not your fault, is not a choice, is not something we ought to give you much credit or blame for.

How do we celebrate the Red Lantern winners instead?

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Is South Africa’s public service too large or ineffective?

Government Civil ServantsFRIGHTENING! Government statistics – MIND Boggling: Government statistics

Silly questions receive unbelievable answers.

We have 34 ministers, 33 deputy ministers, 159 directors general, 642 deputy director generals, 2 501 chief directors and 7 782 directors. This information was supplied in Parliament to Mr Mulder by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

Mr Mulder replied that 40 years ago there were 18 ministers, 6 deputy ministers and 18 directors general.

In the first quarter of 2013 more than 44 000 public servants have been appointed, bring the number of public servants to 3.07 million, or 22.6% of the total labour force of South Africa.

The Auditor General had noted during a recent audit that our large public service spent nationally on consultants during 2008 and 2011 R102 billion, namely R33.5 billion by national departments and R68.5 billion by provincial departments.

Without including gross corruption, waste and incompetence, watch for a financial implosion if the smaller private sector cannot continue to carry this ever-increasing public service disaster.

The above is 2013 info.

Nice to know where your tax rand is going!

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Survey: Unemployment remains Uitenhage’s biggest challenge

Uitenhage Business HubIn a recently online survey, 57% of respondents agreed Uitenhage’s biggest challenge remains unemployment. With Youth unemployment approaching 50%1 in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro according to 2011 Census data, two entrepreneurs have decided to launch the Uitenhage Business Hub on Monday, 2 September 2013.

“Many students after graduating with a degree or diploma relocate to Gauteng or Cape Town to find employment and opportunities that is not available in Nelson Mandela Bay Metro,” says Elaine Camoetie, co-founder of Uitenhage Business Hub. “Most of those who leave Uitenhage never return and therefore economic growth is either flat or declining in real terms.”

Over the last 10 years there’s been a growing resentment among the people of Uitenhage after the merger with Port Elizabeth and Despatch into the Mandela Bay Municipality. Most people cannot articulate their frustration because they feel economic development and job creation is skewed towards Port Elizabeth. Despatch, an even smaller town and neighbour to Uitenhage, probably gets the shortest end of the stick, let alone black townships like Kwa-Nobuhle.

The combined population of Kwa-Nobuhle township and Uitenhage is about 200,000 from estimates based on the Census data. The biggest employers are Volkswagen SA, Goodyear and mostly factories providing products to the motor manufacturing industry.

“High unemployment among the youth is likely to reinforce apathy, increase crime, teenage pregnancy, drug & alcohol abuse,” according to Ramon Thomas, an entrepreneur who relocated back to Uitenhage after 15 years in Johannesburg. “Entrepreneurship teaches you to take responsibility for creating your own future, your own opportunities, before expecting anything in return.”

The Uitenhage Business Hub co-founded by Elaine Camoetie, Yusuf Moses and Ramon Thomas has mission to create 20,000 jobs the next 20 years. The Hub will provides shared office space, Internet access, and will launch large scale Learnership programmes from the mICT SETA in 2014.

Informal partnerships exists with Raizcorp, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), CommunityLED, and the Media Workshop.

Thomas confirms, “with only 28 respondents it is not statistically valid to rely conclusively on the online survey, and a follow-up study is planned among the community via cellphones before 2014.”

— END

Media Contacts

  • Elaine Camoetie: mobile 078 002 6918 email e@uitenhage.org.za
  • Ramon Thomas: mobile 081 4399 555 email r@uitenhage.org.za
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Learn to Be Thankful for What You Already Have

7 Strategies for Wealth by business philosopher Jim RohnIs thankfulness a survival skill? Perhaps most of you would respond with, “No, thankfulness is not a key to survival,” and I would tend to agree with you. Most of us have probably already solved the necessary problems of survival, gone beyond that and are now working to achieve our desires. But let me give you this key phrase, “Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” I believe one of the greatest and perhaps one of the simplest lessons we can learn in life is to be thankful for what we have already received and accomplished.

Both the years and the experiences have brought me to where I am today, but it is the thankfulness that opened the windows of opportunities, of blessings, of unique experiences to flow my way. My gratitude starts with my parents who raised me, gave me an incredible foundation that has lasted me all of these years and continues with the mentors that I’ve met along the way who absolutely changed and revolutionized my life, my income, my bank account, my future. I am also very thankful for the people, the associations, the ideas, the chance to work and labor, and to produce results; all of that has brought me to this day, to this weekend. I’m grateful for it all.

What a unique opportunity each one of you has, to appreciate the uniqueness of our own experiences that has brought us all together, to learn new skills and sharpen old ones. For the countries, towns and cultures we represent, we have freedom and liberty. These are extraordinary times. Just a few years ago the walls came tumbling down in Germany and the peoples of South Africa were set free from the bondages of Apartheid. It started a wave of democracy and freedom like the world has never seen. We as a country and as a world have so much to be thankful for. Always start with thanksgiving; be thankful for what you already have and see the miracles that come from this one simple act.

Now thankfulness is just the beginning; next, you’ve got to challenge yourself to produce. Produce more ideas than you need for yourself so you can share and give your ideas away. That is called fruitfulness and abundance. Here’s what I think fruitfulness and abundance mean: to go to work on producing more than you need for yourself so you can begin blessing others, blessing your nation and blessing your enterprise. Once abundance starts to come, once someone becomes incredibly productive, it’s amazing what the numbers turn out to be. But to begin this incredible process of blessing, it often starts with the act of thanksgiving and gratitude, being thankful for what you already have and for what you’ve already done. Begin the act of thanksgiving today, and watch the miracles flow your way.

via Anthony Larter in Port Elizabeth

written by Jim Rohn R.I.P., business philosopher

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Shared Office Space For Small Business in Uitenhage

Entrepreneurs, move your home-based business to the best location in Uitenhage.  We offer a complete business support and ongoing training, as well as help with securing funding. Don’t miss out on the daily interaction and collaboration with other business people.

We have found an brilliant building that’s centrally located with plenty of space. So we are recruiting small business owners or non-profit to share this space with us at the new Uitenhage Business Hub. So if you are looking for affordable office space to move your business from your house, here’s two packages on offer at present:

GOLD PACKAGE @ R1,000 per month

  • Your own desk, chair
  • Daily use of your own PC with training
  • Access to Printer, Copier & Scanner with 5 pages per day included
  • Telkom line with 100 minutes FREE per month to landlines including 0861
  • Receptionist who’ll take messages and do follow-ups
  • Unlimited, uncapped wireless ADSL Internet
  • Access to our shared PO Box in Uitenhage post office, collected twice a week
  • Access to data projector for presentations
  • Free unlimited coffee for you and your clients
  • Hours 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday

SILVER PACKAGE @ R500 per month

  • Your own desk, chair
  • Access to Printer, Copier & Scanner with 5 pages per day included
  • Receptionist who’ll take messages
  • Unlimited, uncapped wireless ADSL Internet
  • Access to our shared PO Box in Uitenhage post office, collected twice a week
  • Access to data projector for presentations
  • Hours 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday

– update, Feb 2015: We closed down our shared office space!

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Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo nutured by the ANC turns on Jacob Zuma

AS A proud African traditionalist who has just built his own Great Place at Nkandla, President Jacob Zuma should be deeply concerned that the traditional leader of one of South Africa’s biggest tribes has become critical of him.

Most black traditional leaders in South Africa are meekly deferential to the government, as indeed they were to the old apartheid regime, which they served as paid administrators of the Bantustan system.

Since liberation, they have dutifully herded their subjects to the polls to vote for the African National Congress (ANC), in return for which the government has rewarded them by keeping traditional powers in their hands. For one of them to step out of line now must come as a shock to Zuma and the ANC.

Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo - Zwelibanzi, is a king of the abaThembu Of course, the individual concerned, Paramount Chief Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo of the Tembu, has some clouds of his own hanging over his head.

He is well known to be a heavy dagga smoker, although that is more a tradition than a crime in our country. More seriously, he has a conviction of culpable homicide involving the death of a villager in his area awaiting the hearing of an appeal.

But that aside, Dalindyebo’s sudden emergence as an outspoken critic of Zuma’s leadership and the ANC in general poses a significant threat to the ruling alliance.

He is an influential figure as the king of the largest tribe among the Xhosa-speaking people of the Eastern Cape, which is the traditional heartland of the ANC, but where its support is now on the decline after years of maladministration and deepening poverty.

Depending on how Dalindyebo plays his cards — he has said he may vote and perhaps even campaign for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in next year’s elections — he could conceivably turn the Eastern Cape into a marginal province.

At the very least, his support would surely be enough to enable the opposition to win the province’s main metropolitan centre, the emblematically named Nelson Mandela Bay Council, which encompasses the city of Port Elizabeth, the nearby towns of Uitenhage and Despatch, as well as surrounding rural areas in the next local government elections in 2016. In 2011, the DA came within a hair’s-breadth of winning the council, gaining 49% of the votes to the ANC’s 51%.

Such a coup would be a huge psychological blow for the ANC

read the full article on Business Day website

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Strike closes traffic deparment offices

Traffic Department UitenhageThree traffic department offices in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro were closed on Wednesday because of strike action, a municipal official said.

Municipal spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said the offices in Korsten, Sidwell and Uitenhage were affected. He said preliminary information suggested about 30 staff members were striking because of salary gradings.

“The management is currently in consultation with the striking employees to bring the situation to normality. For now, we cannot confirm when the offices will re-open.”

People who had appointments on Thursday were advised to keep their documentation as proof when re-scheduling. The municipality apologised for the inconvenience.

source: IOL / SAPA