* Welcome back, readers. Hope you had a well-earned rest during the summer recess. It’s back to the salt mine for many and school for the majority. Let’s work harder and make 2018 a more fruitful one.
* I have been tasked to source advertisers for this publication. It is my intention to help derive advertisements for the Ladysmith Gazette, as well as the Eyethu, because we are part of the same family and I have always maintained that advertising is a MUST for any business to prosper. Not advertising is like winking in the dark – you know what you are doing, but nobody else does. There was a time when I would have sold ice to the Eskimos, but my first few days on the field have proved that the economic climate has changed vastly and the competition from digital technology demands a move away from myopia. I am determined to promote any business to improve its profit margins simply because if that establishment grows, I get more commission.
* One of the most pleasant surprises I received when I entered the Gazette den was news that Sameera has been promoted to Editor. I remember introducing a somewhat shy school-leaver to the management, who needed a student on a learnership journalist programme of the Caxton group. This happened many summers ago and the fact that this young lady is now entrusted with charting the courses of both Gazette and Times is a true reflection of her grit and determination to improve her quality of life, to be better at her work and yet to retain her humility and over and above everything else to ensure that these weekly publications sustain their rightful places as part and parcel of life of the communities of Ladysmith.
For me to fill her shoes in the advertising section is Mission Impossible, but I will do my best to ensure that our business community and readers continue to have their pulses on the vein of our town. Methinks her appointment even filtered to Anfield, where her team played especially for her!
* The decision from the MEC for Transport has not only alleviated the hardship of commuters, but also injected positivity among businesses in our town. The taxi ban hit business people during a period when the ringing of tills would have played musical tunes right up to their banks.
The waver of the taxi ban has been a blessing for parents of school-going learners.
A high number of learners crammed into classrooms designed for only 30 children is not conducive to disseminating quality education. Educators are expected to spend more time doing paperwork than going the old-fashioned, tried and tested route of the blackboard.
Another concern of educators is the mounting pressure applied by school governing bodies.
There is an allusion that educators are answerable to these little Hitlers of the SGBs. Even some principals resort to “Prozac” at the sound of an approaching SGB member to his or her school.
* There is a hue and cry about the interruption, almost on a daily basis, of water services. Why?
* I have followed world news and have marvelled at the leadership qualities of many prime ministers and / or presidents. Our president, Jacob Zuma, has carved a niche for himself and his service or lack thereof to our country is well documented. But when you read comments from the president of the USA, you wonder if this so-called land of glory is, perhaps, headed by a buffoon. After US lawmakers raised the issue of protections for immigrants from African nations, Haiti and El Salvador, Trump reportedly demanded to know why the United States should accept immigrants from “s%*t-hole countries” rather than – for instance – wealthy and overwhelmingly white Norway.
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