Mama is popular for selling vegetables

SIBUSISO NDLOVU Glory Mahlabane, 52, from Mambumbu travels approximately 20 kilometers to Acornhoek everyday to sell her vegetables. Mahlabane started her small business in 2000, a popular hawker is known by selling vegetables. She sells her vegetables across the road near Spar parking. Despite the fact that there are negative stereotypes about hawkers, this mean nothing to her as she keeps on expanding her business every day. People know her as Mama Glory, selling vegetables helps her to generate money to support her family. “Life is too hard as I have seven children who are depending on my small business, my husband is unemployed”, said Mama Glory. Mama Glory says she doesn’t think that working in a hawker stall is a good idea, as people think that she is crazy, “this negative stereotype affect me emotionally because every day when I have to go to work I have to deal with criticism it is painful to know that I don’t enjoy the work that I’m doing”, she said. Lungile Dlamini is a student at Ehlazeni FET College and also Mama Glory’s customer, he says to be a hawker is difficult for many people. Dlamini thinks that the most difficult thing about it is to build a customer base. “I urge people to stop criticizing hawkers because these people they have skills even though they are uneducated but they know how to attract customers”, said Dlamini. Lessons can be learn from country like Singapore where citizens prefers to buy food from hawkers than to buy in big shops, Singaporeans have proved us wrong that our perception and stereotype towards hawkers is false the perception that many people have is that hawker are just uneducated people therefore they don’t deserve support.

Burkinafaso on top of the League

Sibusiso Ndlovu Chavelagaza- Burkinafaso top-up their point by beating Juventus 2-1 in a super league match on Sunday. The league was played at the White Hill sports ground in Chavelagaza. Both stars Thabo Mahlangu and Afel Mdhlovu made it possible for the team to remain on the top of the league, Burkinafaso is leading by 13 point which puts them on the top of the super league. Besides the red card given to the All Blacks star fumani Kubayi, the star Hlayisani Nkuna for the same team made it 3-0 in the 36th minutes, a brilliant strike that left the ASA keeper with little chance to catch the ball. At the end of the match All Blacks manage to gain 03 points which top-up their points to 07. ASA moved from its previous position number 10 to the bottom of the league number 11; the team played 05 matches and manages to obtain only 03 points. In the 30 minutes of the third round of the league, the weather stared to change with strong wind and rain, but this did not stop All Blacks to beat Anjos 6-3. In the first ten minutes of the match Stars simply put eleven men behind the ball and kick every ball that came their way into the stands, this created a chance to Difference Khosa for scoring 02 goals to the net. Anjos negligently created a penalty that left them hopelessly with star Thulani Sithole hitting straight to the net.

Sophiatown is a way evoke memories

Sibusiso Ndlovu Acornhoek- Sophiatown music and dresses is the way of celebrating and evoking memories of a vibrant, creative, multicultural community. The management of Delacasa and BAAM crew has dedicated it’s time to celebrate the memories of artists, writers and musicians who flourished, against the odds, in an atmosphere of racial tolerance. Delacasa- Sophiatown is a way of paying tribute to the generation of 1960s, who promoted the spirit of harmony through music and dresses. Artwell Muganda is a Delacasa staff member says the event aims at bring old memories, where everyone dressed up for the occasion. “During the event the guys wore old hats and waist coats, you really felt like you are transported back in time”, said Artwell. It is said that this year’s event was successful and the organizers plans to run the event after every three months. The next event will run on February next year where the best dress coat will win a prize.

The league is about to conclude its hot season

Sibusiso Ndlovu Mgidi-After a long and exciting season, the 2013 Timbavati Football League known as Acornhoek League will come to the end of its season this coming three weeks, two best teams will be the last to play the match, the match will determine which team will get the opportunity to play for Castle Light, the league have had passionate support from the community. Last Saturday White Hill beat Swastika 2-1 at All Blacks playing ground, both winning goals were scored by the striker number 11 Thulani Sithole, the second goal he scored it by a penalty which created by the fault of the keeper who got yellow card. The match ended with both players Vusi of White Hill and Promise of Swastika been given a red card. Bongani Nkuna of Swastika tried to equalize but failed, he had managed only to save his team from getting zero goal and scored his lucky goal which concluded the match by 2-1. On Sunday on the same ground Vultures was granted free two points this was as result that Acornhoek Soccer Academy (ASA) the team that Vultures was supposed to played with did not showed-up the match had to be cancelled and grant the present team free points. On the same day Rasta made unanticipated move by beat Anjos 3-2.

Deputy Minister celebrated the environmental monitors day

Sibusiso Ndlovu SWADINI-The Deputy Minister of Water and Environment Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, in collaboration with South African National Parks (SANParks) celebrated the environmental monitors’ day at Swadini Forever Resort on Monday 02. She was accompanied by Charles Sekoati, MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in Limpopo. The day marks the achievements of Environmental monitors of the Kruger to Canyon Biosphere. The Kruger to Canyons Biosphere is one of the Department of Environmental Affair’s six biosphere reserves in South Africa. The programme is registered about Eight years ago under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It has a combination of protected areas, forestry, agricultural and rural landscape.



The task of the Environmental Monitors is to do a research about environmental problems, and also increase conservation capacity within South African National Parks. The Deputy Minister says that the department has joined part with both private and public sectors in showcase that the programme is running smooth. “We have joined hands with the universities and our monitors who are assisting us in spreading the messages to communities by raising community awareness, and helping to do the research. Our monitors have been doing the good job in patrolling the areas to curb poaching as well as monitoring of biodiversity integrity in and around the protected areas”, she said.
 The Kruger to Canyon Biosphere has managed to appoint 862 Environmental Monitors and 168 jobs were created especially for youth. The Deputy Minister says the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere is rated the third largest biosphere reserve in the world. “K2C Biosphere programme is an extensive community-driven initiative that provides additional support to Kruger National park as well as numerous private host institutions bordering the park”, she explains. The MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in Limpopo Charles Sekoati, says K2C is the largest mammals species and that it will continues to be like that, this is evidence by the research done by the Environmental Monitors. It is an Expanded Public Works Programme funded by the Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Programmes (EPIP) of the Department of Environmental Affairs implemented by South African National Parks (SANParks).

 “Our Department has in a small way made a commitment but also a contribution to assist the biosphere to fulfill its mandate of education and research, key amongst the priorities is the protected areas expansion programme, stewardship programme, clement change approach and community based natural resource management. The Environmental Monitors are working several areas of the Mpumalanga natural reserves and Limpopo tourism reserves, most of people and schools surrounding the areas of reverses will sooner benefit from the programme”, he explains. Maritinka, the organiser of the event says it was simple for her to organise the event because everybody was working together in making sure that the day be the successful one, “all the stakeholders were willing to participate even the Minister and her constituency were willing also to come on board, we hope that we will celebrate the day every year”, conclude Maritinka.

A man expresses joy over RDP house

Sibusiso Ndlovu Wisani Village- In 1994, government introduced the Reconstruction and development Programme (RDP) which aims at building houses for people who earns R1, 500- R3, 500 per month. More than two million houses have been built since 1994, according to Census 2011 report around 2 to 3 million South African households still are need of housing. The Department of Human Settlement aims to build 220, 000 housing units per year, in the period 2010 to 2011 the department has only managed to build 121, 879 units. While housing remains a problem in South Africa a 73- year- old man Boyi Phala from Wisani village, who has been living in the area for the past 52- years without a proper house, was granted an RDP home last week. Boyi has three children who are depending on his old age grant which is R1, 220 per month. He raised his children in a small shark. In 2003, he decided to leave the place together with his family to stay with his relative in Belfast. In 2011, Boyi came back to the village to apply for the RDP house, one year later after the application of the house he was told that his house is on the list and that is ready to be constructed. Xap Xap news visited Boyi on Sunday, 24, November. The house was almost complete except for the roofing. “It’s unfortunate that I spend most of my live struggle to find a proper place that I can settle in and enjoy life like other people, I thank god that at last I have a proper house to stay”, said Boyi. What makes it difficult for people like Phala to get RDP houses is corruption and lack of proper administration by the officials involved as a result of this some of the houses are allocated to people who are not suppose to get it, some of these people counterfeiter their document so that they can easily get these houses after getting it they sell it at a low-price.

Mega City opens with larger queues

Sibusiso Ndlovu Acornhoek Mega City- Residents of Acornhoek went in larger numbers to celebrity and witness the opening of Mega City shopping center, previously known as Acornhoek Plaza. The opening of the center opens a new chapter of the town, with new name and old shops been renovated. The shopping center opened on Thursday, October 31, it has about 18 biggest shops. While opening was a topic of the day, people started to form larger queues to purchase clothes, food and other valuable products, the queues started early in the morning lasted until mid afternoon. The “extravagance” shopping was as results of sale from all 18 shops. Historical people of Acornhoek used to travel distance to buy products. Madala Ngobeni, one of the residents says indeed this is a new chapter to open, “I wish our forefather can come back to see what we are seeing here, It seems like I’m dreaming. We will now spend our money here at home, it won’t take me even an hour to reach the shopping center, it’s a nice move indeed, we thank the owners of this shops for seeing the need to invest in us”, said Ngobeni. While on the shopping center Xap Xap news interviewed an 89-year-old “magogo” from Thulamahashi, who refused to be named, Magogo says that she used to stay in Acornhoek area and it was imported for her to come and witness the opening. “Acornhoek has changed about 40 years back this place used to be a bush and we use to plough our indigenous food and grassing our cows here, now the place has change you won’t even notice that is the same place that I am talking about here”, she explain.

Street vending help to fight unemployment

Sibusiso Ndlovu ACORNHOEK PLAZA- Sewing and selling traditional clothes is a way of generating money to Florence Mathebula. The 62-year old lady from Ka-Zitha has been selling traditional clothes for more than 29 years at Acornhoek plaza. After her husband left her for some years she became a street vendor in order to support her three children, who were four and ten years by then. Like Florence many poor people enter vending business because they cannot find jobs in the formal economy. Street vending thus serves as a “refuge occupation” for them, where low barriers to entry makes it possible to earn a subsistence income. While poverty, equality and unemployment remains a problem in South Africa, it is likely that in the coming few years we may see many people especial young people joining the vending business. Sewing is not an easy task as it consumes time and energy but for Florence this is a time for “fishing” money. Today, many people purchase traditional clothes for a number of reasons, such as to promote a cultural identity. Godfrey Hlayisani Ndlovu is an expert in Public Management, Ndlovu says street vendors sell their product at a cheaper and reasonably price unlike formal business sector. “What is more interesting is that informal business sector is growing, we are likely to see in the coming few years to witness the high number of people flow to street vendors because consumers are slowly withdrawing their support from formal business sector to street vendors”, explain Ndlovu. Street vending is one of the most significant categories of informal work for women. The low costs of entry and flexible hours make street vending an attractive option for poor women; for many, it is the only option. In South Africa, women represent the majority of street vendors.

Foundation reaches out to needy and underprivileged people in the community

Sibusiso Ndlovu ACORNHOEK KA-ZITHA-One of the tasks for community base organisations is to contribute towards improving the lives of poor and underprivileged residents, while this is not an easy task to do. The Meriwether Foundation at Ka-Zitha village, about 7 kilometres from Acornhoek, has been helping the community in provide free education, food, water and medical treatment to underprivileged, unemployed and poor people in the community. Chris Katuli is the manager of Meriwether Foundation at Ka-Zitha branch, Katuli says the foundation is divided into three main projects which include healthcare clinic, agricultural projects and free education classes. “This is part of our contribution as a foundation to the community. We cannot sit and watch while other people suffer. We have to give the little we have," he said. Refilwe Manyama, an educator at the foundation says the foundation helped her to recognise the needs of the poor and vulnerable people in the community. “Now I am no longer working for money only but also for helping these kids to make their dreams come true. I started working at the foundation in 2011, when it opens. I teach Art, Music, English and Maths. In our education division we have about 110 kids aged 3-4years we provide them with free education”, Exaplain Manyama. Xap Xap news quoted Nana Meriwether a co-owner and the former Miss Maryland USA 2012, on their foundation’s website, saying through her work with the foundation in Southern Africa, she has been blessed to engage in wonderfully enriching experiences. “The foundation focuses on helping communities in terms of medical assistance and healthcare clinics”, Said Nana.