We owe so much to our aging Struggle heroes, writes a reader

Help a hospice – the benefits go both ways

I was quite surprised when I met Pavi Reddy from Chatsworth Hospice, who shared with me the remarkable work they do despite receiving no government support, relying heavily on donations and community support to provide essential care and services to those in need.

It is heartbreaking to think that such a vital organisation provides comfort and support to cancer patients during their most challenging times of their lives.

I feel compelled to share this story with you in the hope that we can work together to raise awareness and support for Chatsworth Hospice, ensuring they can continue the life changing work in our community.

I urge the community to rally behind our hospice and offer support in any way possible. Whether It’s financial donations, volunteer work, or spreading awareness, every bit counts. Volunteers can bring joy, comfort and companionship to patients during their challenging time. Young people’s involvement can bring a unique energy and perspective to hospice care. What is important is that they can also gain valuable experience and insight into the importance of end of life care. With young people’s involvement this can also help bridge the gap between generations and foster a sense of community spirit.

Many people find that volunteering to help at a hospice brings a sense of purpose, fulfilment and personal growth. and that can be incredibly rewarding. Remember “Compassion and care are the essence of Hospice”. My appeal to our community is: Please get involved with Hospice. | Dhayalan Moodley Mobeni Heights

We owe her and many others so much

With immense sadness the nation was told of the passing of ANC Struggle stalwart, Gertrude Shope.

An iconic symbol of true grit, a hero of the struggle to obtain quality across the world, her courage and strength made one stand in awe.

She never blinked. She gave hope to a generation of women, and was instrumental in the struggle for equality and played a crucial and pivotal role in our emancipation from racism. Women like her and many others made personal sacrifices that enabled us to shed our chains of enslavement and thrust upon us the virtues of liberty and freedom.

Sadly we have lost many stalwarts, during the past few years, which is why our nation endures.

Our future success is predicated on both our past and present. We will always remember those who were brutally tortured, not just with sadness, but also with respect and gratitude for the future they fought and died for.

We memorialise all those who gave their sacred lives for our freedom and the values we cherish so deeply. We enjoy the blessings of living in a democratic South Africa as a result of valiant men and women who fiercely fought, toiled and struggled to ensure we would have an unparalleled quality of life. This titanic battle was of heroism, selflessness, patriotism and a relentless desire for a secure and non-racial land. We will remember them as eternal symbols of individual excellence.

Generations to come will hardly believe that icons of this calibre walked on this earth. May their departed souls rest in eternal peace. The name Gertrude Shope, will be immortalised in our history books.

Hamba Kahle Gertrude Shope, daughter of Africa. | FAROUK ARAIE Benoni

Royal figureheads add true value to us

Did you know South Africa has 8 kings? England has only 1. While there are historical and cultural differences between the two countries, the symbolism of royal households remains very strong, and there is a reluctance to get rid of this institution. This shows that these figureheads add value to society, but many are asking whether this should translate to a value-added tax in some form. In South Africa, taxpayers pay the salaries of 8 kings. A king or queen will get an annual salary of around R1.4 million each.

Then there are principal traditional leaders, senior traditional leaders, headmen and headwomen, among others. More people are getting paid over the years and salaries are up 2.5% from the previous year. Recently, there was an outrage when 102 bakkies were donated to traditional leaders in Limpopo, costing R55 million. That is a pittance compared to the 150-millioneuros the British monarchy costs taxpayers, which is outrageous considering they don’t even get bakkies – often they have to resort to horse-drawn carriages during wedding ceremonies. Where does all the money go?

Anti-monarchists in Europe are up in arms about the mere existence of the royals when many in the UK are struggling to house their families or feed their children.It is a delicate balance between honouring the values of the past and embracing a modern social structure. Traditional leaders in various forms remain custodians of morals, good governance and a sense of collective accountability. In South Africa, however, they have become political pawns.

The British royals have similar virtues and vices, but with better jewellery, better castles and more scandalous press, which might be their ultimate value – for the rest of us to shake our heads in acknowledgement that even the powerful are human. It is no small contribution, considering that evolutionary psychology indicates that the ultimate driver of human behaviour is not power, it is the force of narrative and story.

We love stories of power. In particular, books like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings are best-sellers. We flock to the tabloids to pay for tales of royal divorce, a monarchic scandal or whiffs of paedophilia and deceit. So we are prepared to spend money on these chronicles, but not necessarily tax. If we combine the storylines of politics, legend, psychology, and tradition an obvious route seems to provide a solution – monetise royalty by making them influencers on their private TikTok channel.

Look at what Prince Harry has done since he broke free – he is his brand. King Charles can do the same, as can King Msizulu kaZwelithini. Did you know, there is an exciting scandal in the Zulu royal household at the moment?

King Misizului’s first wife tried to block his next marriage to an additional third wife. (Polyamory is a custom amongst the Zulu nation, but not recognised by Western civil law.) Queen Ntokozo kaMayisela appealed to the courts to prevent her husband’s union to Nomzamo Myneni, straddling the traditional and Western worlds in one masterstroke.

She did not object to a second wife, but a third one was crossing the line. She explained to the Pietermaritzburg High Court that if her husband had to take a third wife it would be illegal (according to civil law), and a source of strife for the traditional royal structures, already embroiled in a succession crisis, reminiscent of the palaver of England’s King Edward VIII. The Zulu queen made a good point. Many taxpayers would agree, since if the marriage went ahead they would in some way have contributed to the lobola (traditional) which had already been paid and the maintenance (civil).

The Queen tells a good story and if you have ever seen her, she cuts a keen figure in a photograph. She has movie-star qualities”.

The wedding was to go ahead at the end of January, but the King called it off, saying he never really wanted to get married anyway. He also summarily withdrew all allowances to his fiancé forthwith. Good riddance, according to some. The stunningly beautiful Myeni is bossy and manipulative, according to sources: Even her bodyguards were complaining saying she makes them carry bags for her. They are saying: "If something happens, how are we going to protect her?"

They don’t even carry their own bags. They said when they got inside the shops, they had to take out the credit card and money for her.”

The Brits will be more civilised, of course. They are not as backwards as South Africa. No second wives there, just third mistresses, problematic relationships with child-sex ring wranglers, bad teeth from centuries of incest, whoops-a-daisy, pomp and ceremony, and Bob’s your uncle (possibly also your brother.)But don’t stop there. The Real Wives of Nkandla would make a terrific TV show; gorgeous women, a battle for the largest tracts of land in South Africa and a firepool!

There is an intricate succession battle in the Bapedi and amaPondo royal households as well, giving the Zulu one a run for our money.

Educate yourself, entertain yourself, then toss them a coin – it feels better if you do it by consent rather than it being forced out of you by tax.

This is how you make the free market and the traditional system work.

Viva! Viva!

Long live the King! | Vivienne Vermaak Free Market Foundation

What if they all accepted Judaism?

Driven by despair, my naïve side asks the “what if” question :What if all Palestinians convert to Judaism?

Will they, the others become us?

Will they, too, have unfettered access to any and all land?

Will they too become semitic, or is semitic only Being and never Becoming?

Looking at it from an evolutionary perspective: The evolutionary tree of early hominid – Homo erectus, Homo Naledi, Homo Aferensis, etc., through to Neaderthalensis and into the modern sapiens-sapiens era – when is semitic becoming semitic?

Perhaps this is a clash between articles of faith versus articles of science?And given the epistemic principle of ‘incommensurability’, the one set of principle articles shall not sit in judgement of the other?

With the influx of millions of convert Palestinians, will the collective gene-pool be re-invigorated?

With millions more converts entering the standing army of a unitary Israeli state, will it lose its ultimate extortionist’s tool; ie, “security” or re-imagine it – as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc will fear this new stronger neighbour even more?

But then; another worse than worse event in Gaza, and the bottom fell out of my despair bucket – somewhere a god must be sleeping!? | Glenville Wyngaard Bredasdorp

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