RUTV 3

 

Locating Hlalani and Sun City Informal Settlement:

 

“Sun City”

The name Sun City is synonymous with luxury and leisure for most of us. However the sun rarely shines on the residents of Sun City settlement in Grahamstown. Although the name has connotations of hope and liveliness, the life of the residents at Sun City is anything but bright. Life here is characterized by rampant crime, daily police patrols and juvenile delinquency, but the problems do not end there. For Sun City a much graver problem looms on the horizon in the form of inadequate sanitation. There are only two taps (with many still using the bucket system) and two “public toilets” to provide for its 300 residents. This lack of sanitation is causing serious health hazards among its residents. Children are drinking tap water that is not safe, which is causing concern among residents over the health of the children. Sun City has grown as a shack settlement over the past 11 years but is yet to receive support from the municipality.

 

Poor sanitation:

There are only two public toilets for all the residents of Sun City. They cannot even afford the luxury of using toilet paper and instead make do with newspapers. Sanitation and hygiene throughout the area is bad and in need of improvement. People cannot live like this!!

 

A look around the typical house in Sun City:

Imagine a room with no windows as the Grahamstown winter approaches. Imagine a room where 7 people sleep on 2 beds. Imagine a house with no running water or electricity.Picture a room filled with rubbish and junk. This is what Sun City resident Freddy Pokbas calls home.

 

A resident complains about Sun City: 

Sun City residents lack basic services such as water, electricty and adequate hosuing. However, according to one resident this is because…..

 

 Link to Al Jazeera:

 Click here to see Al Jazeera’s report on housing in Sun City http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/13.19

“Hlalani”

Hlalani settlement on the other hand appears to be slightly more prosperous than Sun City. As we climb Mount Zion to overlook the entire settlement, we see the various RDP houses which have been recently built. Automatically we are convinced that Hlalani is a settlement undergoing development as it has been earmarked for upgrading. However while interviewing one of its residents we learn that the Mount Zion is in fact used as a toilet site. People who have no RDP houses still lack appropriate toilet facilities and continue to use the bucket system, as a supply of running water is not readily available. If not attended to by the government, settlements such as these will continue to grow as more people come to the inner city seeking employment and accommodation. This could lead to greater sanitation problems.

 

 Pictures of Hlalani Informal Settlement:

 Unhappy about life:

 This resident explains life in Hlalani Informal settlement, not only for her, but for the other people that live there as well.

 

 

Mvuyisile Nonyukhela:

He has been waiting for housing for 14 years, and  lives in a small shack which often gets flooded during the rainy season. He makes a living doing pettty jobs and everyday is a challenge for him espeically at his old age. He has norunning water or access to a toilet. Here more about his life….

 

 

                                 where-in-the-world-is-julius-malema-a-timeline2

This story about Julius Malema’s first visit to Rhodes campus caused quite a stir. People thought it was a rumour at first but then as soon as posters  were put up confirming the arrival of the ANC Youth League leader, people started to believe.

There were concerns that the event would be too big for Rhodes Campus Security and Grahamstown police to handle, with many saying that it could turn into a rally, with COPE and ANC supporteres clashing. The event was scheduled to be held at the Rhodes General Lecture Theatre which proved to be an unwise choice as it was too small to host the number of people that were expected to come. Students and lecturers alike were left stranded outside the venue as the GLT was filled to capacity. As journalist, we also found it difficult to get inside with security being very stringent on the amount of people allowed into the venue. We eventually did get inside because we pitched up quiet early and decided to set up our camera befoe the evnet had got under way.

Filming inside the actual venue was a diffucult process. We knew the venue would be packed with people: students, lecturers, journalists of all the kinds. There was hardly a clear space to even set up our tripod to get the visulas we wanted for the story. There was a constant movement of people up and down the aisles and people dancing everywhere, that getting good, quality visuals became quite tricky. The great thing though about a small venue with many people is the feeling of being close to the action. You are able to concentrate on indivulas as well as the group with ease. There was hardly a person we were unable to talk to. Everyone was accessible.

The man of the hour however, the one everyone had come to see, was a no-show. There were rumours swirling around that he had done this before on other campuses. There would be advertisements plugging his arrival, only for him not to show up. This had happened at UCT and UKZN, and many students were not surprised that he did not pitch. The fact that he did not come then became the story angle. It was just as juicy a story as one had he pitched. the various parties that were bringing various excuses as too why he was not there also proved interesting, with Rhodes admin and the ANC having a go at each other about him not arriving.

The final story proved to dfficult to edit as various subplots within the story could have been further expolored: the protest by the GAP members, the young dance group that encouraged people to vote for the ANC, the talk given by Young Commiunist League General Secretary, Bhuti Manamela, the small venue which left many disappointed people still waiting outside… I could go on. But ultimately the focus was on the non-arrival of Malema which proved to be the big selling point.

Isn’t it just great when you have friends partaking in controversial activities?  This is what i thought at first…A group of boys who i know, were scheduled to have their digs formal.  We negotiated at length until they agreed to let me film the beginning of their formal.  In true Rhodes style (and may i reiterate that this is a male digs!) they called me about half an hour before i was set to shoot, to cancel!  Their excuse was that their dates (who had been procured at the last minute) felt uncomfortable being filmed. 

 

So rushed phonecalls were made and i managed to secure another digs formal shoot on the same night!  And it turned out to be a success-we got great footage.  Everything happens for a reason…

 

Check out this short description from an anonymous source about the theme of a digs formal:

Watch this short video, from the same source, which talks about the games played:

Here is some footage on the actual digs formal.  Our camera was on while the ladies were setting up.  This snippet shows them blowing up condoms and putting in little cards which detail a game to be played (by the person who pops the balloon).  We had to step in to help them…taking journalism to a new level…

 

And last, but not least, a look at how they prepared their punch.  It seems even though it didn’t taste that great, it was consumed!

Die Banelinge, an Afrikaans plat written by Bouke Snymanm, will be appearing in the KKNK festival in Outshoorn in April. This is the first time that Rhodes University will be represented in the festival

The ANCYL President Julius Malema is making headlines all-over the country lately. His ‘controversial’ statements put him in the spotlight. This time around he was said to come and address Rhodes students, staff and Grahamstown community at large. People came in droves and we were there too to listen to ANCYL president delivering his talk. He never showed up and SASCO representatives cited Rhodes Management as the ones who did not allow Malema to come. This sparked an angery response from Student Services Officer Larissa Klazinga who said that SASCO was lying that Rhodes did not allow Malema to come. There was an exchange of rather harsh words between Klazinga and the ANC Loyalists due to the fact that after the talk by Bhuti Manamela there was no question and answer session as expected.

 The Gender Action Project (GAP) representatives attended the rally with clear intentions that they would challenge everything to be said in the rally. And at some stage there was a clash between ANC loyalists and those who stand for women right issues in conjuction with GAP. The activists were also not happy with the way they were treated at this rally. These activists were holding up placards with statements that have been said by ANC President Jacob Zuma and ANCYL President Julius Malema.

However, the rally continued with Bhuti Manamela Young Communist League Secretary-General addressing the crowd [podcast][\podcast]. Before Manamela could begin his talk the crowd was kept entertained by a group performing on stage. The hall was full to capacity and also outside the hall there were people in large numbers anticipating the arrival of Malema.

As reperters we could have taken any angle  for the story as there was so much happening in there. And due to time constraints we could not include all that happened in the rally. However, you can have a look at some inserts that were filmed during this ANC rally bellow…

Click bellow for the story

 Click bellow for more on GAPs President views

 

 Click bellow to view the performance…

 

 Bellow is the discontent activist…

Rhodes University 3rd year student Phakamani Lisa is COPING just fine. With the upcoming South African national elections on the 22nd of April 2009, she knows exactly where her ballot is going to go- for ANC breakaway party, COPE. With student apathy a major concern, Phakamani provides a refreshing perspective as to why she has placed her hope in COPE.