Only about half of those surveyed in the 2019 Barometer report say they have experienced reconciliation or believe that SA has made progress with reconciliation. Despite that, there is a strong sentiment of patriotism.
Image: Sandile Ndlovu
South Africans are patriotic but afraid – showing distrust towards each other as violent crime endures, and towards other Africans.

This is according to the SA Reconciliation Barometer 2019, released by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).

“Xenophobic sentiments are pervasive, with roughly four in 10 South Africans agreeing that they are likely to prevent people from other African countries from accessing certain services and from participating in certain activities,” the report stated.

“Debunking myths that xenophobic attitudes are present primarily among poor people and those with limited formal education, further investigation of the barometer’s data shows a greater extent of xenophobic sentiment among educated groups in comparison with groups with limited formal education, and a greater extent of xenophobic attitudes among higher socio-economic measures (SEM) groups in comparison with lower SEM groups.

“In addition, younger age groups also show a greater extent of xenophobic beliefs in comparison with older age groups.”

A passenger who took a Shosholoza Meyl train that got stuck for three days wants a refund.
Image: Chuck Coker (Flickr)
One of the passengers stuck on a Shosholoza Meyl train for three days wants a refund for the “horrific” experience.

Zak Benjamin had been travelling with his ailing mother from the Northern Cape to Cape Town on Sunday.

The pair was among hundreds of passengers who were allegedly exposed to an unbearable stench from unflushable toilets. They were also without food and water.

Shosholoza Meyl told TimesLIVE on Tuesday that it had arranged buses to ferry passengers from Laingsburg, but Benjamin said it was too late, as he had already asked a cousin to fetch him and his mother.

“The train managers told us when we were in Laingsburg that they had arranged alternative transport for us. By that time I had asked my cousin to fetch us,” Benjamin said.

He said he and his mother still had to fetch their goods from the train.

“When I come back from my holiday I will take the issue up with Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of SA]. I will start bombarding them with e-mails now. I am seeking a refund because the experience was horrific. It was horrible.

“People did not have food, no drinking water, the loos were overflowing into the cabin and the smell was unbearable,” said Benjamin.He said his mother, who had a heart problem, was struggling to breathe.

“There was a passenger who was using an oxygen tank. Imagine if he had run out of oxygen. A lot of people were even sleeping on the floor. It was an uncomfortable experience,” Benjamin said.

Shosholoza Meyl spokesperson Daisy Daniel said buses that had been arranged to ferry passengers from Laingsburg arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon.

She said they did not refund passengers and had not received any claims from people wanting their money back.

“We only refund when a passenger didn’t reach the destination. For any passenger who will submit a request for a refund that will be treated differently. There are no requests for refunds.

She said Shosholoza Meyl had measures in place to deal with emergencies.

“In terms of incidents, we deal with them through our emergency plan. For instance, when locomotives fail we provide rescue locos, should the delay be more than four hours. We provide alternative transport and, lastly, we do have an office that monitors all our en-route trains,” said Daniel.

One of the cars was left burning after the cash heist. Image: Crime Air Network (REZA) An armed gang made off with an undisclosed amount of money after they bombed a cash van on the N4 near Bronkhorstspruit on Tuesday, police said. “Four occupants of the security vehicle were forcefully taken out of the vehicle after it was rammed off the road by a sedan,” national police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili said. Muridili said the gang, armed with rifles, fled the scene in three cars, while the car used to ram the cash van was left burning. The incident happened at about 3pm. No injuries were report

A total of 98.82% of pupils passed the 2019 Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate exams, it was announced on Tuesday.

The IEB pass rate decreased from 98.92% the previous year, its CEO Anne Oberholzer said in a statement.

IEB 2019 matric results are out! Here are your results

Writing examinations in October and November were 11 818 full-time pupils and 779 part-time pupils.

She said 89.51% qualified for entry to study a degree, while 7.91% qualified for entry to study a diploma and 1.4% for studying at the Higher Certificate level.

“Umalusi has monitored all aspects of the 2019 examination process and has declared the results to be fair and valid,” said Oberholzer.

The closing date to apply for re-marking is January 13. Results from re-marking will be released on February 6.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the national matric pass rate later on Tuesday evening.

The Department of Basic Education will release the National Senior Certificate matric exam results on Wednesday.