Letters by editor

Happy New Year!

To the matric class of 2016, well done to all of you who will be going on to your respective tertiary institutions to further your education. We wish you all the best.

Of course, to those who did not do that well, bad as it may seem right now, failure does not necessarily have to mean the end of the road for you, your schoolbooks and your dream to achieve success through education.

To the hundreds more desperate young unemployed and unemployable youths whose numbers in the townships grow each year, perhaps it is time you took your life into your own hands and began changing your mindset.

If you’ve realised that up to now, your prospects of finding a job to sustain yourself have gotten dimmer and dimmer, perhaps it’s time you started thinking of doing something positive with your life to get yourself out of the dire situation you may be in right now.

I’m not not saying it’s going to be easy, but without doubt, South Africa is awash with opportunities for those who are willing take a step towards success and get their hands dirty in order to change their life for the better.

The fact that 68 per cent of all operational informal businesses in the townships are owned by immigrants, many of whom came to this country with nothing but the clothes on their backs, should spur you on towards attaining your dream.

Do something!

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But please, don’t go bleaching your skin.

Just when we all thought it was “cool” to be Black and proud, sadly some of our brothers and sisters in high places have suddenly started bleaching their skin.

And couple this with media reports about one of our popular “celestial” female celebrities going into debt worth several thousand Rand – R10 000 – to be exact, for purchasing “bleaching creams” from a naturally light-skinned African Swazi businesswoman tells you a lot about what some dark-skinned men and women think of themselves.

Why some dark-skinned people have embraced this bleaching craze is beyond my imagination.

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“Killer mom” details under wraps for now

Upon a special request made to the police by the suspect before she was detained, and to maintain the newspaper’s long-standing relationship with the local police, I have agreed to temporarily withhold the name of the female suspect in the story on Page 3.

This was after I learnt that, upon being informed of their daughter’s shocking arrest, her ageing parents had immediately requested that, even if she is locked up for what she is alleged to have confessed to, details of her arrest should not be disclosed to the media by the police.

A rather desperate and futile request, one may think, considering the seriousness of the crime allegedly committed by the suspect and the perpetual shame it is likely to bring upon her and her family. I am neither judge nor juror in this case, but my duty as a news reporter is to probe and present the facts.

Therefore, I have my reasons for agreeing to abide by the police’s request (for now). I strongly believe that at this early stage of a story of such tragic proportion, often, both the suspect and her family need to be given time and space to grieve and comfort one another to overcome their shock at the tragedy that has befallen them.

I also applaud the suspect for her bravery in handing herself over to the police.

Your favourite Lokshin paper will keep you posted!