North West University graduate Boitumelo Molefe said values embodied by Herman Mashaba through his platform, The People’s Dialogue, gives her hope and ignites a passion for serving South Africans.

Last week, TimesLIVE reported that Molefe, who is unemployed and holds a degree in public governance, turned to Twitter to ask Mashaba for an opportunity to serve in his party, which will launch in JuneThe 24-year-old from North West said while she is not a politician, she decided to associate with the former Joburg mayor because she believes he will serve in the best interests of South Africans and give them back their voice and power.

“My decision to approach Mashaba has nothing to do with securing a position but a passion to serve the people. I want to be in administration and address issues such as corruption and looting. People feel like their opinions don’t matter, and Mashaba seems like he wants to serve in their best interests.”

Molefe said she has always had a passion for law and governance, and believes she has the qualities of a leader.

“The more I learnt about public governance, the more I fell in love with the idea of being a leader and serving the public. I do have the qualities of a leader as I enjoy engaging different people and learning about their issues.”

In January, Mashaba said his party would contest the 2021 government elections and called for volunteers to join him in “shaping a new political formation to fix SA”.

eople at Cape Town International Airport wear face masks on March
US, China trade barbs over coronavirus

A spat between the US and China over the novel coronavirus escalated on Tuesday as President Donald Trump angered Beijing by referring to the pathogen as the “Chinese Virus.”

The two countries have sparred over the origin of the virus for days, with a Chinese official promoting conspiracy theories claiming it was brought to China by the US army and American officials using terms seen as stigmatising a nation.

“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus,” Trump tweeted on Monday night.

Trump’s allies had previously referred to the pandemic as the “Chinese coronavirus”.

Beijing said on Tuesday it was “strongly indignant” over the phrase, which it called “a kind of stigmatisation”. The United States should “immediately stop its unjustified accusations against China,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.

The novel coronavirus virus was first detected late last year, with China’s own health officials initially saying its source was a live animal market in the central city of Wuhan, whose government had initially tried to cover up the outbreak. But China has sought to distance itself from the virus, saying the origin is still unknown, while seeking global goodwill by offering aid to countries facing serious outbreaks.

The State Department on Friday summoned the Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai, to denounce Beijing’s promotion of a conspiracy theory that had gained wide attention on social media. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian suggested on Twitter last week that “patient zero” in the global pandemic may have come from the United States.

“It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation,” tweeted Zhao, who is known for his provocative statements on social media.

– AFP

Driver safety amid Covid-19: Gautrain bus services suspended in Rosebank

People are buying toilet paper in bulk as they fear the spread of coronavirus.
Image: 123RF/Maitree Laipitaksin
On Monday, the health ministry confirmed 11 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the number in SA to 62.

Here’s how coronavirus has flipped the switch in the country in the past few days.

What’s the lowdown? In short, the surge in coronavirus cases has Mzansi in a P-A-N-I-C!

Say what now? Every day, more cases are being announced, sending shock waves around the country.

Why, exactly? You didn’t hear? OK, here’s the 411: On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the pandemic a national disaster.

His address to the nation came after Mzansi demanded government take more action to protect the population from the outbreak, under the hashtag #LOCKDOWNSOUTHAFRICA.

And what did Ramaphosa do? He gave the people what they wanted, revoking travel visas from high-risk countries.

He also banned social gatherings and events with more than 100 people to enforce social distancing. Say goodbye to living your best lives at nightclubs and so forth.Haaibo! Social distancing? Yes! Time to start getting to know yourselves better or you could use this as an excuse to cut ties with people #SelfIsolating.

Sjoe, no nice time at all? No nice time at all! Even some of the country’s major events have been cancelled or postponed. Nothing is cute.

How is Mzansi handling this? LMAO, how about panicking AF? Many have taken to panic buying, leaving supermarket shelves empty and others with no options. Panic buying? It’s rife amid the global spread of Covid-19, with people around the world stockpiling goods such as latex gloves, hand sanitiser, canned foods and hundreds of rolls of toilet paper. Sh*t is real.

This trend has seen stores increasing sales of certain products.

So joke time is over? In Mzansi? Never! South Africans’ reactions to adverse conditions remain unmatched — from dance routines to Ramaphosa being the latest trending meme on social media with his elbow greeting.

Oh wow: Yeah, Mzansi turns to humour to cope with just about everything!

So what’s going to happen? Well, we’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime wash your hands thoroughly, don’t touch your face, don’t panic and don’t spread rumours!

The University of the Free State has also suspended its academic programme.
Image: via Wikimedia Commons
More universities have suspended in-person academic programmes.

The University of the Free State (UFS) said its academic programme has been suspended until April 13.

“Alternative methods of teaching and learning are being assessed. Students will be informed regarding these methods as soon as possible,” rector and vice-chancellor Professor Francis Petersen said.

Information about the June examination will be communicated later.

UFS said the arrangements did not apply to long-distance-learning students.

The university has also cancelled graduation ceremonies, open days, sporting and official events.

Students in residences must vacate their rooms by March 20.

All residences will be closed until April 13.

Petersen said a suspension has been placed on all international travel for staff and students until June 30.“This moratorium also extends to international guests visiting the UFS.

“Local travel for official purposes is discouraged and may only take place for essential travel. Instead, staff is encouraged to use the necessary technology at their disposal.”

Petersen said staff and students who had travelled abroad in the past three weeks must self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of their return.

Staff members are expected to work to ensure operations and essential services continue.

“Staff are requested to maintain social distance and to meet, if possible, only when essential.”

Alternative meeting methods such as MS teams, Skype for Business, and e-mail should be considered.

At the University of Cape Town, where some students threatened an #Occupy protest in reaction to a request to vacate their residences, management has announced travel measures to support students.

The measures include ensuring immediate payment of allowances to all students who are on financial aid, working with external travel agencies on possible travel plans for students, working with the department of home affairs in cases involving foreign students and making provision for the safe storage of students’ personal belongings.

“The decision to close residences was taken following extensive discussions with experts in the field,” UCT said.

“The residences, where large numbers of students live in close proximity, pose a high risk in terms of spreading the infection. In addition, it presents a risk of a mass outbreak and this could add enormous further strain on a health system that will be stretched to capacity in the next weeks. By all accounts, the prevention of the virus is key to fighting the pandemic and avoiding disaster. Keeping the residences open would not be responsible and would have added significantly to the risk of the virus spreading rapidly.”

Stores said on Monday that they were starting to limit the number of items people could buy, amid panic buying in the wake of the coronavirus.
Image: Aron Hyman
Empty supermarket shelves have revealed products we might soon realise we were taking for granted.

Rice, dried peas, beans and lentils – and nearly all cheap canned goods – seemed to be the first products to go as shoppers prepared for possible shortages linked to coronavirus.