Black Congo Cannabis Can Help

I've heard of the wonder of the Congo Cannabis, it's resilience to mold and rot.

The beauty of a plant and a people so pure in a country of so much wealth human, natural and mineral, the potential without clothing to do all that is necessary to make a point.

"I can't harm you"

There are many pictures - DEPICTING - the injustice, and a clear - peacefull - demonstration by young and old. None that speak like this.

I am Naked - you are armed.

My thoughts and hopes and prayers are with the Congo at this time - the Heart of Africa!

Big Up Sunday Times!

it appears South African 'peace keepers' are NOT HELPING the situation:

SA peacekeepers ‘an embarrassment’


Shocking figures were released during a workshop organised by the SANDF’s operational law directorate in Tshwane this week. More than half of the military violations — committed between 2002 and this year — involved absence without leave, disobeying lawful commands and drunkenness. A further 230 serious criminal cases, including assault, indecent assault, theft, rape and murder, were tried in the military courts in Burundi, the DRC and South Africa.

"It brings shame and dishonour to the efforts of the military in making a contribution in war-torn countries. There is a direct link between alcohol abuse and the crimes committed"

"Democracy has been subverted and this will lead to chaos,"

South Africans give far too much power to the office of the president without any checks and balances to ensure that these powers are not abused.

This observation was made by Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and head of Henley Management College, during a workshop in Durban at the weekend to debate the "prerogative" powers conferred by the constitution on the president and the premiers of the provinces.

Addressing the workshop, organised by the Democratic Professionals Association of Southern Africa, Seepe said the "crisis" had begun in 1997 when the ANC gave the power to its president to appoint premiers, directors-general of departments and the mayors of major municipalities won by the party.

"Dictators will kill for these powers. I warned long ago about the dangers of the centralisation of powers which removes checks and balances," Seepe said.

Forty families left homeless

Forty families were left homeless when their shacks were razed by fire on Saturday morning, Durban police said.

Inspector Rani John said the fire was sparked by a candle in one of the shacks at Quarry road informal settlement outside Durban.

"Forty shacks were burnt down at 2am on Saturday but no one was injured."

"The local councillor was contacted and together with other locals managed to supply food, clothing and temporary shelter to the affected people," she said. - Sapa

Woodstock squatters defy city council

Squatters legally evicted from a Woodstock, Cape Town, premises the city council leased to the unregistered Al Noor orphanage, have moved onto an adjacent sports field in Mountain Road.

The five families, including 16 children, now live in tents donated to them by the community and hang their rain-drenched blankets and clothing on the surrounding fence.

One little girl, who stays in a tent with her parents and sister, was given a birthday cake on Wednesday by a couple from the neighbourhood. Cape Times

An innocent man died because an abscess in society has burst open

Farmers blamed for Loots' death;

Rawsonville - A new body for farm workers has put the blame for the death of rugby player Riaan Loots squarely on the way farmers in the Rawsonville area treat their employees.

Before Ben Zimri, 26, of Ceres and Wayne Matthee, 19, of Paarl, were released on Tuesday, they were ordered to appear in the magistrate's court again on September 8.

They have been charged with murder after the death of 24-year-old Loots.

Loots, the star flyhalf of the Rawsonville Rugby Club, died after a match between Delicious of Ceres and Rawsonville on June 23, during which he was hit in the throat in a stiff-arm tackle and then apparently kicked in the head.

Henry Gouws, chairperson of a new co-ordinating body for farmworkers which was founded on Tuesday at Stellenbosch, said an innocent man had died because an abscess in society had burst open.

Human-rights violations

"Farmers must ask themselves honestly: 'What was my contribution to the death of young Riaan? How do I treat my people and the people around me?' "

Gouws, who is also spokesperson for the Amwa farmworkers' union, said most of the complaints from farmworkers came from this area, and they were mainly about human rights violations.

He referred to a series of incidents, including one in which a farm manager from the area allegedly assaulted a woman farm worker.

When she wanted to lay a charge against him, he apparently threatened to evict her from the farm.

He claims the same manager also assaulted a young boy so severely that the child had to spend a day in hospital.

"The people go to the rugby field burning with frustration," he said.

"An abscess burst open and an innocent man had to pay the price for the deeds of others."

Farm evictions criticised

Die Burger

Sucksess - "The homeless are sick and tired of excuses"

The obstacles of this project - national Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

As a steady stream of luxury cars passed the crowd bound for the formal celebrations, the cries of “Sisulu is lying” and “Down with the ANC” grew louder.

Many of the hopeful residents had taken a day off work to receive their houses.

Cape Times

afriCaNN

CNN today announced its broadest ever focus on Africa with the official launch of ‘Eye on Africa’ in Johannesburg, a dedicated week-long initiative that spotlights the current developments and potential for hope taking place across the African continent.

The week of July 16-22, 2006 promises to provide the global viewer with a comprehensive view on the emerging Africa and the potential for hope on this vast continent.

Majority of poor people live on R20 a day

While some people spend more than R20 a day on breakfast alone, people in half of South Africa's households live on R20 or less a day.

This is according to a study by Eighty20, based on official statistics published by Statistics SA in Pretoria.

The study, reported in Business Report on Thursday, found that people in 5.2-million households were living on less than R20 each a day.

'It's painful to see them'

It also showed that 1.3-million households in rural areas and 990 000 urban households were unable to meet daily food needs. Pretoria News

HOUSEIT AFRICAN!

All Housing MECs are expected to be present when Sisulu launches phase two of the N2 Gateway project in Langa next week.

Against the backdrop of a fraud and corruption case being played out where previous MECs developed without thinking...

The Rurality of Cape Urbanism

The danger posed by stray animals to motorists is to feature in community meetings law enforcement agencies are to hold to make the N2's "hell run" safer.

"This is part of an overall plan to secure the freeway. We will have three mini imbizos with the residents of Delft, Wesbank and Khayelitsha to talk to them about safety on the N2. We want people also to be sensitised about the danger of stray animals," community safety spokesperson Makhaya Mani said.

His comments followed two incidents. On Monday, a Durbanville advocate struck a stray horse on a road parallel to the N2.

Janene Rheeder, the prosecutor in the murder case of designer Richard Bloom and his friend Brett Goldin, was treated for whiplash and other injuries.

On Tuesday a Metro police patrol vehicle was stoned. Cape Times

Calculating Housing Soccer...

The Total: R21 Billion will be sponsored by private enterprise.

If the private sector could mobalise the same amount of money for housing -

South Africa could RESOLVE the housing backlog in the Western Cape 3xOver!

When we...

Build from an appropriate affordable
proven green construction technology

• South Africa - Is the 3rd largest producer of Industrial Cannabis in the World!

We have the crop to resolve the housing backlog!

Mamma says look - a solution

Govt struggling to cope with housing demand - Minister Lindiwe Sisulu Business Day, South Africa - Oct 14, 2005

Sisulu appealed to the private sector and construction companies to help the government solve the housing crisis.

Rapid urbanisation 'a serious problem'

...Sisulu could not say how much of the government's housing money is lost to corruption...

She rejected the idea of turning dagga plants into bricks as a cheaper alternative to building materials.

"It's a very cooling method of building a house, (sic Energy Effecient) but not what we advocate." -- SAPA

Read M&G article

& re the world’s happiest country

“A place which is not a consumer-driven society. Life here is about community and family and goodwill to other people. It’s a place where you don’t worry too much.”

The Happy Planet Index, compiled by the British think-tank New Economics Foundation.

The index combines life satisfaction, life expectancy and environmental footprint — the amount of land required to sustain the population and absorb its energy consumption.

Lower down the list…

156. South Africa.

167 Botswana

171 Lesotho

175 Democratic Republic of Congo

176 Burundi

177 Swaziland

178 Zimbabwe - Bottom of the list.

Read More to find out who the winner is…

Poor quality housing for shack dwellers

Thousands of shack and plastic structure dwellers of a squatter camp in Limpopo are looking forward to moving into their new RDP homes. However, most of the houses are incomplete, while some are of poor quality. - SABC

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Mossel Bay RDP houses fall apart

Residents of KwaNonqaba township in Mossel Bay, who received Reconstruction and Development (RDP) houses 10 years ago, are today living in homes which are cracking and leaking, thanks to the legacy of poor workmanship and fly-by-night contractors during the first years of providing houses for the poor after 1994.

For years, the responsibility of who should fix the ramshackle houses has been passed backwards and forwards between the Mossel Bay Municipality and the provincial department of housing. - SABC

Police Stoned!

Faceless attackers have stoned a police patrol vehicle on the N2 Cape Town bound despite safety measures having been stepped up on the notorious "hell run". Full Story...

Three killed in Joburg shack fire

Three people, including an eight-year-old boy and his parents, have been killed in a shack fire in Lombardy East, north of Johannesburg.

Malcolm Midgely, the Johannesburg emergency services spokesperson, says the fire started at two this morning at an informal settlement, but firefighters were notified too late. When they arrived at the scene, the shack was completely destroyed and the family had been killed.

Meanwhile, Cofimvaba police in the Eastern Cape are investigating a case of culpable homicide after eight people burnt to death in a shack fire at Nququ Forest Sawmill. - SABC

Eight burn to death in shack fire, police inquire

Cofimvaba police in the Eastern Cape are investigating a case of culpable homicide after eight people burnt to death in a shack fire at Nququ Forest Sawmill.

Zamikhaya Qinisile, a police spokesperson, says four adults and four children were burnt beyond recognition. One man survived the tragedy.

Meanwhile, yesterday Southern Cape police have opened an inquest docket following the death of a 38-year-old man after his shack was gutted by fire at Qolweni informal settlement at Plettenberg Bay.

Malcolm Pojie, a police spokesperson, says the cause of the fire is not known at this stage. He has ruled out any possibility of foul play. Pojie says the incident took place early Sunday morning. The man only identified as Mxhakayi was the only victim of the fire. - SABC

Police eviction notices may lead to suicides, officer warns

One of 150-odd policemen served with eviction notices by Western Cape police management has warned that "this is the type of thing that pushes police to commit suicide".

The inspector is one of at least 50 police officers who have been given until the end of the month to vacate their police residences in Park Court flats, Kenilworth.

The inspector, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, said he would not be surprised if the punitive action by the police's top management resulted in displaced policemen "picking up a gun" as a away out.

Speaking on behalf of colleagues, who were afraid to talk to the media for fear of being fired, the inspector said: "We must fight crime for them (police management) but they do nothing for us. We are not animals." Cape Times

Three killed in shack fire

Three people were killed in a shack fire at an informal settlement in Gugulethu, the Western Cape, on Sunday morning, police Captain Randall Stoffels said.

A 60-year-old woman and her two grandsons, aged five and nine, inside the shack perished.

A 16-year-old boy sustained superficial burn wounds to the face and has been taken to hospital.

Stoffels said he was not certain whether the 16-year-old was the boys' cousin or brother.

The four have been identified as Mandaba, Npokozo, Solile and Xolani Peter.

No foul play was suspected and the cause of the fire was not yet known. - Sapa

Fabu-LAS Fuel Levy

As a member of the public HouseIT would like to take part in the public participation process with regard to the new fuel levy. Naturally according to the PAIA (public Access to information act) you have to request information from the information officer.
Information Officer: Transport and Public Works Mr Thami W Manyathi;
who is also the Department Head. Tel:(021) 483 5520/2826

In two days of trying to find out who what where:
05/07/2006: (021) 483 5520 Magdalene promised Jackie would get back to me when she got out of the meeting – This did not happen.
06/07/2006 Sheriniquie pa to Thami W Manyathi told me to call Treasury:
(021) 483-4709 Who told me to phone 483-5887 483-8683 There I spoke to Shirley Robinson’s secretary Gadija who said Anthony Phillips is working on the fuel levy she would leave the message for him to contact me regarding the time and place for the public participation process…

Orphanage puts Cape families on the street

The City of Cape Town is to investigate the eviction of six families, including 16 children, from a sought-after property in Upper Woodstock that is leased by a controversial unregistered orphanage. Full Story...

Finance Minister imposes levy without a public plan for transport

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has given his approval for a provincial fuel levy that will see Western Cape motorists paying between 10c and 50c per litre of petrol in addition to the existing national fuel levy. Full Story....

Now HouseIT - fully support an improved transportation system. This is very much key to a productive habitat - we all know getting around Cape Town's bad road system, and priority users (like Thabo Mbeki) who Zoom through the traffic as if they own the only road to town...

HOWEVER!

This is not the century to impose levies without a public plan that covers things like?

How much money will this levy raise?
How will it be put to use?
What transport infrastructure will be upgraded?
When?
Are those plans made?
Can we see them?
When will we be able to review the financial records?

etc... What am I paying extra for?

The proposal will go through a process of public consultation before it can be implemented. IAfrica

Click Here for Government Contact list:
Press Ctrl+F and search for Transport and Public Works

A Joint, Initiative, accelerated shared growth, & economic development

The South African government is engaged in a major drive to sell its two latest horrifying acronyms - Asgisa and Jipsa - to donor countries.

These two sound like terrible diseases but they are not, of course - at least not literally. They stand, respectively, for the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition.

Part of that misgiving relates to black economic empowerment. Some governments are a bit unhappy about South Africa tapping donors to finance skills training when skilled whites are available who have been put out of work by BEE. Full acyromonny

Asigsa & Jipsa yourself by building your own home!