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VIETNAM’S role in South Africa’s rhino poaching scourge appears to be more apparent as new figures reflect how many of the animals are being killed or targeted by people from that country, both legally and illegally.
Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa told the national assembly that of the 384 foreign nationals who have hunted rhino in South Africa since July 2009, some 185 were Vietnamese.
In reply to a written question from DA shadow minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Gareth Morgan, Molewa said 24 of the rhino hunted by Vietnamese were in the Eastern Cape, 133 in North West, 28 in Limpopo, 22 in the Free State and 14 in KwaZulu-Natal.
The only other nation to be significantly represented was the Czech Republic whose citizens hunted 34 rhinos in North West.
Furthermore, according to Eastern Cape anti-poaching intelligence coordinator Rodney Visser it is known that, of all foreigners arrested for illegal rhino poaching, about 58% are Vietnamese.
South Africa has now barred Vietnamese nationals who have applied to hunt rhinos in the country, Bloomberg reports, “because it hasn’t been assured that they won’t illegally sell the animals’ horns, which are worth much more than their weight in gold”.
In April Molewa was quoted as saying that all 23 rhino hunting applications by Vietnamese residents this year had been rejected.
“A majority of the people that are being arrested here, a lot of the permits that are being applied for here, come from Vietnam,” Molewa said, adding that there was “no clear record of proper processes that need to be followed.”
This week Molewa said nearly 60% of rhino hunting requests since the beginning of 2010 had come from Vietnam, where rising prosperity had fostered demand for the horn, which some believe could cure ailments including cancer.
The horn can fetch as much as R48 0000 per kilogram.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

Robyn Rohm has written a book about her time on Bird Island.

By Barbara Hollands

SPENDING three years on a deserted island the size of four rugby fields amid heaps of bird guano and “skinnering” about penguins is not a lifestyle choice for many – but for Eastern Cape nature conservationist Robyn Rohm the experience was an adventure that helped define the rest of her life.
As newly married nature conservationists working in Namibia in the early 1990s, Rohm and her husband Sean were on the lookout for an island to work on, but when he landed a job on Bird Island, 60km north of Port Elizabeth, neither of them had ever heard of it.
During her three-year island stint her interactions with African penguins and gannets came to represent her social life and Rohm kept a candid daily journal which has now been published as a beautiful book called I(s)land: Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea, complete with photographs and whimsical illustrations by Sean, who is also an artist and poet.
“I started my diary the day before we arrived at Bird Island in 1993 until the day I left, three years later, but it was never actually meant to be published,” said Rohm, who now lives with Sean and her two children, Heath, 9, and baby Tanna, in Morgan Bay, where the couple own the idyllic Yellowwood Forest Campsite on the Inchara River. While she initially looked forward to her short stints off the island every six weeks and flew to Port Elizabeth armed with copious lists of things she needed, Rohm eventually chose to forego her visits to civilisation.
It took a year, but the Rohms eventually caved in and started feeding abandoned penguin babies rather than watch them die.
“Sometimes when life is chaotic I can tap into it,” she said. “Bird Island was our first home as a married couple and I would love to visit it again. I lost my heart to a small wind-swept island and I will always be connected to it.”
I(s)land: Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea will be available in bookstores in the next few weeks.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

Staff at Green Leaf Cafe (from left) Megan Kroutz, Nobesthu Ndlovu, Thando Lunge, Sonwabile Tobi with manager Jean Rigby. Picture: Mike Holmes

By Ina Randall

COULD there be a better way to while away a sunny winter morning than sitting on the Donkin, looking out over the historical heart of Port Elizabeth while savouring a cup of steaming coffee? I think not.
It is a memory place, and not only for the late Sir Rufane Donkin who built the little pyramid in memory of his beloved wife, Elizabeth, and then named the city after her. Close by a row of charmingly sculpted metal people line up to vote, with Madiba at the head and one approaches the coffee shop over a beautiful stretch of mosaic depicting maritime themes.
Since the establishment of the Green Leaf Cafe in the Donkin pyramid building, many older patrons have recounted tales of days gone by to Jean Rigby of the Wilderness Foundation, who currently overseas the coffee shop. “They remember how they used to walk over the Donkin to get to buses in Main Street,” says Rigby.
Describing this eatery as a view with a bargain is probably just the ticket, because its prices are very reasonable.
To this end the cafe serves a series of traditional dishes, including roosterkoek (R22), bobotie (R38), beef stew with samp and beans (R38), tomato bredie (R38) and koeksisters (R15).
A variety of sandwiches, quiches and salads are available. The rosa tomato, roast pepper and caramalised onion quiche (R32) and the beef fillet and Moroccan cous cous salad (R46) are definitely among my future taste plans.
My most recent visit was for breakfast and the croissant with scrambled eggs and bacon (R36) proved a winner.
A sweet tooth person myself, I have opted for their scones with jam and cream on several occasions and have found the scones just the right mix of soft and crispy, a bargain at R14.
The Green Leaf at the Donkin is open from 8am to 4.30pm on weekdays and from 9.30am to 3.30pm on Saturdays. Their contact number is (041) 582-1303 and the venue is wheelchair friendly.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

CYBER bullying is rampant at Eastern Cape schools with pupils abusing cellphones and social media to torment their peers – some of whom are being treated for depression as a result.
Pupils spoken to this week said cyber bullying had become so ruthless that the faceless bullies are even drawing “inspiration” from violent social media videos like the notorious viral video of a mentally-ill girl being gang-raped in Johannesburg.
Psychologists say the level of cyber bullying at schools is now critical, mainly because there is little defence against it.
The rising concern about escalating abuse of cellphones and social media to terrorise and ridicule other children comes in the wake of a call by the National Association of School Governing Bodies earlier this month to place a blanket ban on cellphones at schools.
While pupils interviewed said such a ban would not be practical as cellphones were now an integral part of everyday life, all believed it was important that education authorities – and parents – were made aware of just how serious cellphone bullying had become.
“Parents don’t have a clue how bad this situation is, because the person being bullied is only known to those invited to a specific Facebook or BBM [BlackBerry Messenger] group” said one 16-year-old girl who attends a top school in Port Elizabeth.
The bullying tactics employed by users of BlackBerry – the most popular smartphone from Grade 6 to matric, pupils said – and Facebook at Eastern Cape schools include:
Posting a picture of someone deemed “ugly” on a profile and opening him or her up to ridicule by way of group comment;
Vilifying a girl who may have wronged another girl or boy by posting their picture and identifying them as a “slut” or “slag”;
Hacking into a peer’s Facebook account and making use of that person’s profile to make disparaging remarks about others, thereby making the victim unpopular;
Boys stalking girls who have refused their advances. They then bully them out of spite by posting derogatory remarks about the girls.
Another 16-year-old said the proliferation of cellphones among schoolchildren had sparked a ruthless “culture of ridicule”.
“Parents don’t know about these things because their kids never tell them about it. That comes from peer pressure” she said.
“I know of guys who read the news on websites and what to most people is a horrific story they see as funny. It’s like they draw inspiration from it and think about how they could do the same to hurt someone.”
While Eastern Cape principals’ reaction to the National Association of School Governing Bodies call has been mixed, most agree cyber bullying is extremely difficult to police.
“I don’t think banning them is an option but they definitely need to be controlled and age-related rules need to apply,” said Woodridge College principal Craig Neave.
“When cells first came out most schools banned them. Now they’ve become part of a person’s identity and a lot of parents rely on cellphones for security for their children.”
Neave said verbal bullying has always been difficult to curtail and “cellphones are just another medium” to do it. “But we need to be educating children on cellphone etiquette. We’ve got to learn to deal with this.”
Although bullying did occur at Walmer High School, policing the theft of cellphones was proving most problematic.
“The pupils fight when their phones are stolen,” said principal Lunga Dyani. “I had to go out and mediate because a young boy had his phone taken at knife-point. There’s even been a case where a boy in Walmer was stabbed to death over a cellphone.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

RISING fuel and food costs are changing the face of the Eastern Cape household as many homeowners can no longer afford to employ domestic workers and gardeners.
As Statistics South Africa announced that for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the first quarter of 2011 a total of 46000 people in the province lost their jobs it has also emerged that employment in private households dropped by 45000 – or 32.4% – from 139000 to 94000 over the same period.
While many residents have suspected the trend, the figures have put a harsh light on just how desperate the situation has become for both homeowners and their employees.
Labour brokers, employers and domestic workers have laid the blame squarely on the escalating cost of living, particularly petrol increases, as the reason people are no longer able to afford to employ home help.
BC Labour Service staffer Debbie Krull said domestic workers who dropped off their CVs with the East London company revealed they were looking for jobs because their “madams” could not afford them anymore.
 “A few have told me the issue is mainly about taxi fares. They say employers haven’t got the money to give them more because taxis have become so expensive. It’s killing a lot of jobs,” Krull said.
The owner of an East London domestic cleaning business who did not want to be named confirmed business had picked up in the past year.
“People say they don’t want the labour-related hassles of having a domestic worker and that a full-time domestic is a luxury these days.”
But while South African Domestic and Allied Workers Union president Hester Stephens said the job losses were “very sad”, she believed some employers “made excuses” when they said they could no longer afford to pay for help.
“The economy of the country would be in tatters if domestic workers decided to strike because South African employers can’t leave their children or their homes alone without us.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

THE first routes on the long- awaited Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) between Motherwell, Njoli Square and Greenacres, and Uitenhage and KwaNobuhle will start running from July 1.
A report to the Nelson Mandela Bay council on Friday said that following a workshop on Wednesday it had been agreed that during peak hours in the morning “express buses” would run directly from Motherwell to Greenacres via the freeway. Others buses would link Njoli Square and the shopping centre.
At peak periods, the buses will operate at 10 minute intervals “so there is no demand for more buses in the Motherwell-Njoli area”.
The buses purchased for the 2010 World Cup will be used and divided between the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage routes.
The launch of the IPTS follows an agreement between the municipality, Laphu’milanga Secondary Cooperative – which represents the taxi associations – and the Algoa Bus Company.
The report says a “high-level dispute resolution and political structure” has been put in place involving the politicians and the chairman of the secondary cooperative.
Seven work streams have been set up to address outstanding issues that include loading facilities at Motherwell and Greenacres, finalisation of bus stops and removal of speed humps.
The next route on which the IPTS will be rolled out is Cleary Park, from January next year.

This is a version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

BAY Stars managing director and businessman Tony Lovegrove has slammed a move by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality – in particular Mayor Zonoxolo Wayile – to buy Premier Soccer League (PSL) team Maritzburg United as a slap in the face for local football development.
An angry Lovegrove said on Friday that politicians and officials “did not care about the great talent in their own back yard” and were demonstrating that they did not think locals were “good enough”.
Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron confirmed the initiative, which insiders told Weekend Post will cost the metro R30-million in relocation costs alone.
“I can confirm that the municipality is in the advanced stages of negotiations with Maritzburg United Football Club. This is towards maintaining the sustainability of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium,” Baron said.
According to a source close to the deal, Wayile instructed Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency Pierre Voges to negotiate with Maritzburg United and that the deal had to be closed before May 18 or 19 due to a Safa deadline dictating the cut-off date by which clubs have to declare their home stadiums.
According to another source, the team might not even be permanently based in the region, but would simply be “rented for some PSL games”.
The new development comes as a massive blow to Bay Stars, which was created out of the former Bay Academy Football Club with extensive financial backing from local business and with the aim of representing the metro in the PSL within three years.
 Lovegrove believed a contract signing with Maritzburg was imminent.
He said Bay Stars was formed after Safa contacted local businessmen to assist in the former Bay Academy team. “We looked at the PSL model and we formed a team, which has full technical support, with the aim of getting it into the PSL in three years. We’ve done all the right things; put all the correct structures and support systems in place. We had an MOA [memorandum of agreement] with the mayor, who publicly supported the team and its aims, and we are on track to develop this team, which has great talent,” Lovegrove said.
Lovegrove questioned why tens of millions would potentially be spent on importing a franchise when they had battled to get R4-million worth of repairs done to the team’s home ground, the Wolfson Stadium.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

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