You strike the women you strike a rock

Lebohang Pita
@LeboPita 

Miss Mamelodi Sundowns urges students to take education

 seriously.

“Is being a woman determined by the number of children you can bear or is it determined by the number of men you can attract? Is it determined by the curve that you have or is it determined by the amount of money you can make?”

Reigning Miss Africa and Miss TUT Soshanguve residence, Kutloano Mopai asked students in a female only motivational and networking seminar at TUT Soshanguve South Campus on August 03.

According to Mopai a woman is “someone who stays positive when everyone around her has lost hope, someone who keeps trying even when all doors (of opportunity) are shut in front of her. She is someone who loves even those who have hurt her.”

Mopai was amongst the successful women invited by the TUT student life and governance to motivate and encourage female students to plot their own future rather than depending on the opposite sex.

Smangele Ngwenya, chairperson of young women’s network-a female structure at TUT, called on the students to celebrate being young, black and gifted.

Inspired by stalwart and struggle veteran Albertina Sisulu for her selflessness and compassion, Ngwenya said South Africa should pay homage to women for their brilliant work in making the country a better place for all.

“Women are not only home makers, they work in factories, offices and are professionals who contribute to the nation’s economy and therefore they must be celebrated.”

She encouraged students to carry themselves with confidence and partake in university initiatives as it is the right place to network.



Reigning Miss Africa Kutloano Mopai motivates woman to

embrace their womanhood.



Property consultant and motivational speaker Evah Sathekge believes that to succeed in life, you must create opportunities for yourself and not wait for someone to help you climb the ladder.

“This is your chance, your time. Own up to it, take any advantage and don’t sit around and wait for people or opportunities…you need to create opportunities for yourself and go out there and make your mark.”

She encouraged students to avoid making apartheid the scape-goat when things do not fall for them.

“We are attached to the word; previously or historically-disadvantaged and we are being seen that if you want an opportunity you must be historically-disadvantaged. The minute I tell myself that I’m previously disadvantaged, I’m going to sit around and wait for an opportunity that will never (come).”

Malesela Rachel Tema, creative and founding director of PLUS Fab-a fashion line for plus-sized ladies, shared Sathekge’s sentiments and said nothing will come to you freely unless you work hard for it.

“(The) future belongs to those who prepare for it today. (If) you choose not to prepare for it today, don’t expect success in the future. You need yourself to get to where you want to be.”

Tema said they should not rush to get out of university because such institutions help in nurturing a person.

“Don’t rush to get out of these walls because as confined as they are, they produced prominent and phenomenal people in the country. You need to believe in yourself, you need to believe that you are in this place to learn and grow.”

Reigning Miss Mamelodi Sundowns Rose Mantsho encouraged the students to put education above all things.

“Education is important. It is very important and you need to be here to develop yourself and acquire knowledge.”

She said the women of 1956 will be ecstatic when they see women today living life to the fullest and fighting all sorts of inequalities against women.

 

Rainbow nation must be seen everywhere-Lamola



        ANCYL deputy president Roanald Lamola says nationalisation is

         a done deal.

 Lebohang Pita
@LeboPita

“We cannot continue to be told about the rainbow nation that we only see during soccer matches and rugby world cups.” African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) deputy president Ronald Lamola told TUT students at the TUT Soshanguve campus on Tuesday August, 07.

“You must not wait to go to Loftus to see a rainbow nation…The rainbow nation must be seen everywhere-in the Metro rails-we must not only see it in the Gautrain.”

Lamola was addressing Public Management and Local Government students on the role of a public administrator in an event organized by the South African Association of Public Administrator and Management (SAAPAM) TUT student charter.

He claimed that South Africa will only be united if we all had the same economic means and nothing else.

“We are not going to be united by the rugby world cup or the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). We will only be brought together if all of us have the same economic means to go to the same restaurants, hospitals and the same areas that will befit a nation at one.”

Lamola reiterated that they are no longer talking about whether or not the nationalization of mines will happen because it is a done deal.

“Where we are now, we are no longer speaking about whether nationalization is going to happen or not. Nationalisation has already happened.”

“What we are debating now is what must be strategically nationalized…we are now scouting the natural resources we are going to nationalize.”

He said public administration is the core of service delivery and the key driver of the economic imperatives of the country.

Lamola claimed that all over the world nations were being driven by young people and urged young South Africans to plot their own future instead of letting old people plan the future of this country.

Lamola (C) says SA will only be united by the economy.

He said the revolution has always been a festival of young people and South Africa was liberated because of an organization (ANC) formed by young people.

“To be able to able to redirect the economy of South Africa, young people’s minds must be harnessed properly because the youth of South Africa used their energy and creativity to create certain things in terms of how they must create crime and so forth.”

“If you have got a huge number of unemployment, the only thing they will think about creatively is how they must deal and commit criminal activities.”

He called on the youth to partake in the administrative duties and political activities of the country.

“We need a group of educated public administrators that will be able to interpret the legislations and policies of government, that will be a capable cadre in public administration. A person who will enter into public administration and understand that his role is firstly to serve the people of South Africa.”

Lamola said the youth must be worried when the current crop of public administrators fail to fulfill their mandate.

He added that South Africa needs a system that will allow public administrators to resign voluntarily if they have failed the people of South Africa without being pushed to quit by South Africans.

“If a person has failed, he must voluntarily resign. People must not wait for us to toyi-toyi and move up and down and run around the streets for them to resign for what they have failed to do.”

“You must take responsibility and the best way is to say-South Africans I have failed my mandate in terms of the key service delivery requirements and indicators that I have signed with the president (of the country). I am therefore apologizing for all the mess that I have created.And for that apology, it must not come alone-I am also resigning as a minister.”

Citizen journalism a threat to journalism

Lebohang Pita

The core values of journalism are no longer intact today because every Tom, dick and harry has the capacity to impart information using the new forms of digital media that comprise facebook, blogger to say mention a few. A journalist is known to have the best interests of people at heart but the emergence of the so-called citizen journalism has compromised the core values of journalism of reporting truthfully, accurately, fairly and in the public interest.

Before any information that might change history can be disseminated to the public, a journalist has to delve deeper into the matter at hand so as to avoid misleading the masses and sensationalising the news. That is responsibility on the part of a professional journalist but can a citizen journalist do that?

What is citizen journalism though?

Pundits say it is the kind of journalism that enables everyone to disseminate information or voice their grievances when they feel hard-done by either government or any jurisdiction. Here, normal citizens make it their obligation to inform, without any verification. Without checking the truthfulness of the subject, they just turn to their social networking sites and pass the information to the public at large. And this kind of reporting has the ability to mislead and distort facts. So this means people are now becoming journalists without any formal training from any institution. With many now entrusting these social networking sites, does this mean the profession is doomed?

One can say yes because of the fact that it no longer requires formal training to become a journalist. And I can attest to the above fact because journalism has been demoted to a mere average profession.

Citizens are now able to sniff news but do not know when to report in the public interest. This has thus put the profession in the unlikeliest of situations, to introduce quick measures that will enhance reporting. Citizen journalism is a threat to the profession for the mere fact that unverified and untrue news are now passed to the public and it has become clear that due to its immediacy, people are fully consuming news on social networking sites. In a few years time, we will be told that journalism is no longer considered a career.

On the contrary, hardcore training to write an article or a radio or TV news script is required. And it takes a dedicated and passionate journalist to keep the people abreast of any issue of detrimental or entertainment nature. Conducting interviews for a report not to mislead requires time and energy. The brief letters you call reporting on social networking sites are OUT!!!

Therefore, reporting should be left to PROFESSIONALS!!!