A North West game farmer has applied for a permit to breed ”zonkeys” — zebra-donkey hybrids — as an exotic attraction for canned animal hunters. This was revealed by Minister of Environment Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk at a press conference on hunting policy recently. The idea was to make zebras slower by cross-breeding, creating easier targets for hunters.
Students at the University of the Witwatersrand have had enough of parties who are out of touch with their political needs. At the recent student representative council elections, the African National Congress Youth League/South African Students’ Congress alliance lost all 15 seats it won in a clean sweep last year.
A Welkom community comprising the poorest of the poor lost a total of R640Â 000 after housing consultants backed by politicians encouraged them to participate in a housing scheme. Among those accused of promoting the scheme is former Free State Premier and now national MP Winkie Direko.
When European settlers landed in South Africa, they hardly saw the locals as cutting-edge scientists and health practitioners. In fact the indigenous people harboured a treasure trove of remedies for all kinds of diseases, knowledge of how to farm effectively and principles of good nutrition.
Sarah Simatlane came to Johannesburg in 1978, from Kimberley, hoping for a better life. Instead, she was instantly arrested for violating the Group Areas Act and sent to the notorious Number Four prison in Braamfontein. Simatlane still shivers every time she steps into the jail, even though she thought she had laid her ghosts to rest.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s announcement that the ”willing-seller, willing-buyer” system is to be reviewed is unlikely to bring radical changes to land purchases in South Africa, land specialists say. But Mlambo-Ngcuka’s announcement was a clear sign that the government realised South Africa’s land-reform programme was not yielding the desired results
Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, visited South Africa recently. She spoke to the Mail & Guardian about her views on South Africa’s environment and what African leaders are doing wrong.
The art of wrestling crocodiles is usually reserved for icons such as Crocodile Dundee and the Discovery Channel’s Crocodile Hunter. It is unexpected to find the role being played by a spunky woman lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch. When Alison Leslie tackles a crocodile, however, it is not to boast and show off her skills but usually to examine a sick animal or to collect data.
Dispossessed communities who missed out when the application process for land claims restitution expired in 1998 are pressuring the government to reopen applications ahead of the national Land Summit at the end of the month. The reopening of the process is expected to be one of the most heated debates at the summit.
For Grace Dinkwanyane, her community’s cows are miracles. They have become the gift of self-sustainability, she says, smiling at her own miracle, a Jersey cow named Beest. Dinkwanyane, a 45-year-old farmer from Groblersdal, says the cows owned by her and nine other women in her community have given them pride and confidence, as well as providing food for their families.