South Africa

Pretoria - Ekurhuleni metro has started rolling out its contingency plan to clear the refuse removal backlog in Germiston, which is the result of illegal strike action.

Most South Africans see the New Year as a fresh start. It is a symbolic time to clean out the old and replace it with new aspirations and dreams. Some make quick mental resolutions, whilst others pen long lists of things that need to change. No matter the format, the intention remains the same: I want to better myself or my circumstances in the coming year.

This year South Africa enters the home straight as we prepare to celebrate 20 years of freedom and democracy in 2014. As a young nation we have come a long way in a relatively short space of time and have much to celebrate.

As the stadium clock slowly ticks towards 90 minutes, every face in the crowd and millions watching on television anxiously await the fourth official raising his timekeeping board to indicate how much injury time will be awarded.

We encounter policemen and women in blue almost every day but we seldom give their presence a second thought. They are like an extended shadow that keeps watch over us wherever we may go. Without being aware of it, their presence reassures us, makes us and our loved ones feel safer.

Annually the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Infantry Formation holds their Memorial Service at Fort Klapperkop outside Pretoria to pay tribute to South African soldiers who lost their lives in wars and peacekeeping operations.

In her column in the Daily Maverick on 1 February 2013, Ranjeni Munusamy erroneously attempts to paint a picture that the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), does not adequately fulfil its mandate of communicating with the public about government policies, plans, programmes and achievements. This assumption is flawed on a number of levels and needs to be corrected.

Ever since diamonds were discovered on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 mining has been at the heart of South Africa’s economic growth.

The annual State of the Nation Address (SoNA) is a significant event in the government calendar. The President delivers it to a joint sitting of Parliament where he outlines the key achievements and priorities of government.

The recent brutal rape, serious bodily harm which was inflicted, and subsequent death of 17-year old Anene Booysen shocked all South Africans. What was even more disturbing was that one of the attackers was her 23-year old former boyfriend - whom she identified before she died. Most of us found it difficult to understand how a previous partner could commit such an inhuman and cruel crime.

South Africa’s blue print for the next 20 years to steadily roll back unemployment, poverty and inequality is slowly beginning to take shape and is now firmly at the centre of our economic thrust.

At the height of the global economic crisis several countries found themselves floundering with their economies on the verge of collapse. Like a rudderless ship they were being pounded mercilessly by wave after wave of negative economic news.

A healthier nation starts with our children and health is vital for children to reach their full potential. Without proper healthcare, various medical problems could go undetected and untreated which could affect the development of a child.

As news broke of the behaviour of a few policemen who were recorded dragging Daveyton taxi driver Mido Macia down the street, South Africa expressed wholesale outrage .

It is often said not to concentrate on the past but to focus on the future. Tomorrow we have the opportunity to do both, to remember where we have come from and to make sure that we never venture down that dark road ever again.