© 2018 South Africa - The Good News
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By Jonathan Jansen
Why does South Africa not fall off the precipice? Economists are clear that if this economy does not grow soon, the prospects of new jobs are dismal and rising unemployment will be our fate. Educationists are clear that if the decline in education qualify and the high drop-out rates continue, schools and universities will fail to produce the expertise required to rebuild the economy. Political scientists warn that the continued increase in social unrest and lawlessness, coupled with the loss of trust in public institutions, threaten the long-term stability of this young democracy. Once again it seems as if the country is at the edge of the precipice – and yet, we never go over the edge. Which raises the puzzling question, what holds South Africa together?
The first is our remarkable capacity for self-correction. There were about a dozen books in the late 1980s with frightful titles that warned of a racial bloodbath because of an intransigent white government and a widespread black resistance to apartheid. John Brewer’s book, for example, put everyone on edge with its subtitle, Can South Africa survive – five minutes to midnight. And then February 2 happened, announcing the unbanning of liberation movements and Nelson Mandela walked out of prison, fist raised. With every crisis, including the imminent collapse of the economy under Jacob Zuma, we self-correct and now we have a new president with the massive task of reconstruction and development. Senior economists tell me we dodged a bullet and that we were on the verge of losing one of our major banks. But here we are.
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Her Majesty The Queen to honour young people from South Africa with prestigious Award for improving the lives of others
Her Majesty The Queen will present Siposetu Sethu Mbuli and Thamsanqa Hoza from South Africa with a Queen’s Young Leaders Award at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London, on Tuesday 26th June. The Awards recognise the work that young people from across the Commonwealth are doing to transform lives in their community and beyond.
Siposetu from Stellenbosch will receive a Queen’s Young Leaders Award for the work she is doing to develop new ways to end the stigma of albinism in South Africa. Growing up with albinism herself, and mindful of the misconceptions that still exist around it, Siposetu co-founded Love, This Skin which supports young people with albinism and their families.
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SA HERO SERIES: NEW CAMPUS FOR LEAP SCIENCE & MATHS SCHOOLS
Yet another example of the incredible work at the NGO sector is doing to help South Africa deal with the legacy of the past and ”pull itself up by its own bootstraps”
With a 100 percent Grade 12 pass rate and more than 83 percent of students able to pursue tertiary studies, the results of the LEAP Science & Maths Schools in Diepsloot, South Africa, speak for themselves.
Construction is well under way in Diepsloot, Gauteng where a brand-new LEAP school in partnership with Aveng is being built for 300 learners from the community. Currently 210 learners attend LEAP’s Diepsloot school which is operating from rented space in a converted warehouse. The new purpose-built school campus, which is set to open its doors in January 2019 will be the centre of an educational hub for local residents, complete with 11 classrooms, a learning centre, a library, a computer centre, administration block and a community hall.
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THIS WEEK'S FAST FACT
Location, location, location
Since 1930, the FIFA World Cup has been hosted in the European Zone 11 times, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The zone that has hosted the tournament second most often is the South American Zone, hosting the tournament 5 times. The African Zone has only hosted the tournament once, in South Africa. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is expected to be hosted in the Asian Zone which has only hosted the tournament once before, when Korea and Japan dual hosted in 2002. (http://bit.ly/2t47Pt6) Source www.Eighty20
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