Sheepdonkey Does A Brilliant Job

Until now the sheepdog "looked after" sheep - now in South Africa the donkey (Sheepdonkey?) have taken over the job.





As stated in the video, Sheepdonkeys have reduced the loss of lambs to predators, something which I don't believe Sheepdogs achieved.

Part of a feature from AgriTV

Not True, Even in Black and White

The bottle of juice calmly claims to be "100% cranberry juice" containing apple, cranberry and other fruit juice.



What it should be is 100% pure fruit juice with cranberry! Quite a different claim for the heath conscious consumer looking for the benefits of cranberry, but getting a mainly apple juice.

Hi Blood

While I am often annoyed at the level of English in South Africa, especially where it can effect efficiency and effectivity, I am also fascinated by some of the words we use.

In English we are used to biro meaning pen, scotch meaning cellotape and hoover meaning vacuum cleaner but as a white South African I miss much:

"high blood" is even used in the INTERNET e-commerce for a herbal remedy for hypertension

"checkers" for a plastic bag and brilliant advertising for checkers

"look up and runs" for packets of chicken head and feet

"zo zo" for a small room in the back yard of a house

"hippo" for the round roofed township house

just a few really interesting words, but there must be thousands - send them in and I'll start a Colloquial South Africa Website and publish if we get enough.

By the way a look at the web shows many lists, but to me mainly uninteresting Afrikaans based slang - I am sure there's something much more interesting out there.

• http://www.capeoptions.com/slang.htm
• http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/634bf/
• http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-south-african-slang-words
• http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/links.htm
• http://www.southafrica.info/plan_trip/travel_tips/questions/saenglish.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_slang_words
• http://www.southafrican.za.net/sa-slang.html

Changing Place Names - A Solution?

A few weeks ago I wrote about the changing of street names in Machadodorp, quite liking the idea but seeing some of the interesting issues around the process.

I didn't, however, address the one that effects me to some extent - how to remember the new names and match them to whats still in my map. What about this from www.iol.co.za ?

I first put this up with my tongue in my cheek, thinking it was rather weird. But maybe while the old sign is still usable, its not a bad idea, especially for all those tourists we want to attract.

A final thought - what a difference between all that Durban's Point Road represented and what the Great Mahatma Gandhi represents.

Machadodorp Musings III

Helping Hawkers?

The hawkers (under the tree & in the insert), the old unoccupied building (across the intersection) and new building shows a flawed process. I have seen in many places including KwaNgwanase, Bazana, Soetfontein and am sure it happens over and over again.



Local government (with a desire to help the poor) see the hawkers and, maybe pressurised by some of the old guard, want to get the hawkers off the road. They don't think of using the empty buildings nearby but build new ones. They presumably consult (but not well enough) the hawkers and design and have something built like that at Maschadodorp. They expect to attract the hawkers and get them to move into the new building.

However, the hawkers don't find any advantage in moving, possibly for one or more of the following reasons:

• the rent is too high - anything is a lot more than nothing (happened in Mellville)
• its too hot inside as its just a corrugated iron roof (I have seen this in Soetfontein)
• it doesn't meet the behavioural needs (women sit on the ground in front of counters selling from the floor in KwaNgwanase)
• its not as pleasant and socially open
  

I of course can't assure you these are the real and the only reasons, but then its not my job to build these centers. I have informed the municipal manager of this post & given her the right of response.

However, with all the failures, I believe its the duty of local government to identify the real problems and share there experiences so that others don't blunder after them.

These small stalls obviously were not an enormous cost but the problem is that similar errors are made with many public buildings (including many similar stalls, Majadje Food Processing Center in Limpopo, Community Center on road from Josini to KwaNgwanase ... - all possible future stories.)

Innovation in Department of Home Affairs?

Morning Live, the SABC morning TV news, had another gem today. Talking of the


they said "... the plans includes a crack down on corruption and incompetency and other innovations include the separation of immigration ..".

Yes, it is unfortunately rather innovative to address address corruption and incompetency in this department.

Related was the comment by the minister that they needed unemployed & retired chartered accountants on a part time basis, who should co-operate to serve their country - had she stopped to think how the country served those who were pushed out of the very places which now need them.

Machadodorp Musings II - Street Names

The street name change was facinating and a bit comical and full of symbolism. The old black and white sign showing its age and not really standing straight.


A block down the road two young guys in some sort of official bakkie putting up the new coloured sign (Batina Jele) onto the old pole. The assistant to the "sign attacher" said Jele was a local comrade in the struggle but that he wasn't sure exactly what he did because "I am still too young"

The questions is raises is why has it taken so long for the majority of the population of the area to get the street renamed and why didn't we use entrepreneurs to do the job?

Machadodorp Musings I

Sitting in the car on the corner of General Smit and Potgieter streets in Machadadorp four things catch my eye:

• the hawkers across the road selling fruit and other food under the tree - there were others on other intersections
• the empty buildings all around
• the two new buildings each with 4 rooms with road facing counters
• the two guys down the street changing Potgieter street to Batana Jele street
  

and one my ear

• Trevor Manual on radio presenting a "internationally benchmarked budget" illustrating governments growing expenditure and real successes

Together they lead to questions that are important to success in South Africa

• why do we move so slowly
• why does development not reach the "Machada dorps" of South Africa
• why don't we learn from others

that maybe link back to one answer

• we don't have capacity and expertise in the organisations spending the money

with one solution

• truly involve those who used to do the job as mentors and teachers for those who now have to do it.

A Quick View of News

The 06:00 news on SABC 2 today had 6 stories

• one on civil unrest
• five on crime
  

Is this an overzealous crime reporter or does it reflect the state of crime is South Africa - SABC is after all close to the Government, who feel its a waste for people to talk about the problem.

Just to build on my previous comment on the state of English in the civil service. The mayor of a considerable town said

"... we have rebuilded houses ... we have managed to provide our people stormwater...given them services as far as sewer is concerned ....."

In another part of the story a shack dweller complained that his home was always flooded - thanks Mr Mayor. Sarcastic I know and maybe not critical here but the man runs a town, which gives rise to possible errors!

Public Service Capacity

The following exerpt from a call for bids in the Northern Cape got me thinking


what should we really expect from the English of Public Servants - can we really accept being

"..herewith invited to the supply of ... "

should we worry that they want

"..a broiler house typical to that of a poultry farm.."

or is that just being pedantic. But lets hope the same level of English is not used in the call otherwise we start to get difficulties in adjudication and in the contract otherwise...

But at a more significant level this is obviously the start of an attempt to create jobs with taxpayers (my) money by getting into the private sector. Lets hope at least they have an experienced business man (lets not train someone with no drive to be an entrepreneur) to run things. Otherwise it will go the way of many project, examples of which I can relate from experience:

• build something fancy but most often not approipriate
• put up the sign saying who did it
  
• get the minister to cut come and cut the ribon
• see it all on TV and the Good News site
• try, with out sufficient capacity, to get it to work
• forget about it - infact don't tell anyone what didn't work, which would be very useful
• go on to the next one

Then one level more what of the municipality - well they have obviously made a bunch of people happy finding a new name and developing a great logo (only excuse the quality it was a scan from the Sowetan) but does the poor work in publishing their call reflect their real capacity.

If you can't communicate how can you manage anything, let alone a municipality and what do you do with taxpayers money - interfere with the business men who really know how to manage and control. OK so they are not all supermen, but they are not using/loosing my money.

Its all very cynical, but what can we contructive can I do about it?

High Level of Violence in Robberies

Today I was going to start posting on retirement, but heard this on the news.

... a police spokesman said they were beriesabout the high level of violence in home robberies...

Implying that they were not worried or couldn't address the robberies.

I dont want to rant and rave about how bad things are and how its going downhill - they aren't and it isn't. Rather I want to ask if the problem is not one of management in the Police Force. I have heard from a aquaintance, in charge of a small township police station, that the majority of the people there simply "don't care".

Don't we all see this in our contacts with the public service? I also know that people at the higher levels of government are worried about the Public Service not serving the Public, but don't seem to be able to get things to happen.

All we need is for people to want to serve the Public! and to be told how we can help!

Why I Started Today

I have been thinking about a blog for some time and was definitely going to start talking about my experiences as I move out of formal employment.

I have also always wanted a place to comment on the things (little and big) that make South Africa so different - the Good, the Bad & the Wierd. I have tied websites at times but that's difficult to do regularly. But today I heard my first posting on SABC News.

... tour of superb performing schools in this region, to find a way to galvanise this begining and ensure that end of year results are able to be even more improved and much better ...

I am not a good English writer, even though many tried, but this kind of waffle makes me smile!