Dagga use must be regulated

IEDITOR’S VIEW T WAS reggae icon Peter Tosh who famously sang Legalise it, don’t criticize it on his eponymous debut album in 1975.

Now Prince Phumezile Dinwayo of the Amantlane Traditional Council in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape’s Mpondoland wants the Medicines Control Council (MCC) not just to legalise the use of marijuana or cannabis for medicinal purposes, but unregulate it entirely and give the people in the district the monopoly over its production.

He believes it could revolutionise the lives of the people in the region for the better.

We have no doubt it would, dagga or cannabis is synonymous with what was once termed the Transkei, but always farmed and exported illegally.

Legalising it, much like legalising other softer social crimes like prostitution, could have immense benefits to everyone involved in the industry; quality standards for consumers, price protection and regulation for producers and a new revenue stream to the receiver too.

When you consider legalising it for medical use, as has been the case in certain states in the US and parts of Europe, there are even more compelling cases to be made here, we need think only of the late IFP MP Mario Ambrosini’s moving address to the House of Assembly – shortly before he died of terminal cancer in 2014.

But there are major downsides to the drug too, chief among them the role of cannabis as a gateway drug to hard drug use and associated addiction.

There is also the suspected, though yet unproven link to the development of psychological problems in later life, such as schizophrenia for habitual users.

We don’t believe that any recreational drug whether alcohol, nicotine or cannabis should be unregulated – the inherent dangers for the users and the broader society are just too great.

Whether or not cannabis should still be illegal particularly for medicinal purposes is a different matter altogether.

South Africans have until next Friday to tell the Medicines Control Council what they think about the proposed Medicine Innovations Bill and the possible legalisation of medicinal cannabis.

We hope they will use this opportunity to make their voices heard.

We need to respect religious differences

ROBERT de Neef voices the notion that growing numbers of peoples around the world believe that most religions “are much the same”.

Sri Ramakrishna of the Hindu faith first promoted the idea in the 19th century, and since the holding of the first World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, other Parliaments have been trying to promote the idea.

Some rather unscrupulous people like Iranian-American author Reza Asian try to give the impression that they have similar interests but make a mess of it for nefarious reasons. I, as a follower of Ramakrishna, once wholly accepted this teaching for its prudence.

But since my retirement from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, I have written at length on the serious difficulties that complement this idea.

The most urgent need at present is for deeply sincere people who wish to promote religious understanding to appreciate that it is all very well to talk about promoting peace and love. But we learn soon enough that words can be extremely cheap, sometimes for reasons of convenience.

Like De Neef, I too have very serious difficulties understanding both Christianity and Islam. To say so is to invite acrimonious, even rude responses, especially from Muslims.

This always makes me wonder if there is a Muslim anywhere in the world who would entertain the idea of explaining Islam in an intelligent, respectful, friendly way for the purpose of making that religion comprehensible to non-Muslims.

Understanding the religion of another is educational.

Promoting peace, harmony and respect among the different communities in South Africa through religion is an objective worth working for. THILLAY NAIDOO Durban North

‘Daddy, daddy, what’s a Zuma?’

I HEARTILY concur with the sentiments expressed in M Mitchell’s letter, “Country’s a joke, a scandal-ridden mess” (The Mercury, March 22).

Countless brave South Africans fought against the evils of apartheid, a struggle which cost many of them their liberty or their lives.

They took on a murderous regime and prevailed against what must have seemed like impossible odds.

Now that the battle has been won, however, many of these freedom fighters seem to have abandoned the fight for what is right and just, to the extent that they defend the indefensible and champion the cause of the corrupt and the morally depraved.

Any president with an ounce of integrity would have resigned following the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the Nkandla matter but Zuma is cheered to the rafters by his zombie-like acolytes.

And when this tragic period in our history is finally over and children ask: “Daddy, what is a Zuma?” the response might easily be: “Oh, nothing, darling. It’s just a four letter word.” JOHN GARDENER Howick

ANC, SAPS unable to cope with crime

THE recent tsunami of crime to hit our suburbs and neighbourhoods is traumatising families so much that people are like prisoners in their own homes.

We are arguing about colonial rants and making that a hot topic for discussion when there are more pressing issues to discuss like serious and violent crime in SA.

Crimes indigenous to SA like rape, hijacking and murder have become a pandemic and it seems that the SAPS cannot cope.

The blame for all this should rest on our weak ruling party.

The ANC cannot govern this country – period. Its focus is elsewhere, sport, live pop shows, parties and other money making projects.

They clearly are not visionaries, who should be putting their energy into building more schools, universities, colleges, dams, prisons, hospitals and securing our borders.

As citizens we pay taxes, where is all that money?

It is squandered by corrupt officials in our municipalities and government institutions. The ANC has failed us. We are at the mercy of callous criminals who know that the climate is conducive to carry on with their daily rituals of crime. B SANILAL

Westville

Shongweni: birdlife has disappeared

THIS letter is addressed to all who have been, and will be, engaged in the Shongweni toxic waste dump controversy.

I am a resident of Winston Park and have been for the past 38 years. I am an amateur ornithologist who has studied the birds of this region since settling here.

In recent times the birdlife in Winston Park has become almost non-existent. There are days when not a single bird is seen to pass into or through my property in this neighbourhood of Winston Park.

This trend began during 2016. I can only believe that the absence of birdlife can be attributed to the toxic air emanating from the Shongweni dump site which seems to be strongest at about the time rain falls and the wind direction changes.

Besides the departure of all birdlife from Winston Park I should add that there are specific times when the odour from Shongweni becomes Ndileka Mandela, please dont turn your back on the ANC

Open letter to my sister, Ndileka Mandela MY DEAR sister Ndileka, I read of your heart-wrenching decision with empathy and understanding. I am sure this was not an easy step for you to take as the ANC has been the heartbeat of our family for many years.

One can only imagine the many crises and challenges our grandfather, uTatomkhulu Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, lived through since joining the ANC in 1944. uNkosi Dalibhunga demonstrated that the way to resolve conflict was through engagement and perseverance – not turning one’s back. The ANC does not belong to any individual or group. It is our collective duty to set our house in order.

We were saddened, as were you, by the events that led to the loss of life in the Esidimeni tragedy. In the true spirit of our Struggle, proud family history and responsibility towards our nation, there must be accountability for such gross neglect and dereliction of duty. The ANC has expressed sympathy with the families of the deceased and called for appropriate action to be taken. It is a blight on a proud record of providing primary health care to millions over the past two decades of democracy. The preventable loss of just one life is one too many and nauseating. I have followed the public reaction to the problem facing the community and would like to make it clear to the City of Durban and the Department of Environmental Affairs that they are obliged

we must ensure that pressure is brought to bear so that the innocent lives lost were not lost in vain. Nobody is above reproach.

The facts of the social grants crisis are a matter of public record. It must and will receive the attention it requires. I can understand that you are upset. However, I want to assure you that the grants will be paid to the nearly 17 million recipients. That in itself is a great achievement of our democracy and in no small measure to the credit of the ANC.

In addition, I want to bring to your attention that the instruments introduced by the ANC government to deal with such crises remain intact. We have a functioning cabinet, organs of state and judiciary. Nobody is above the law. Again, uTatomkhulu demonstrated his willingness to subject himself to this legal process in his lifetime.

I call on you, Mafungwashe wasekhaya, to reconsider your decision. Please do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. What we are dissatisfied with in the ANC is our obligation to set right. Abandoning the ANC does not serve the people of South Africa; it serves only to weaken the ranks of those who want to restore our beloved organisation to the pride of place it deserves, and to strengthen the hands to address this crisis urgently.

Progress thus far has been far too slow.

Property prices are beginning to reflect the effects of this problem.

The question needs to be asked:

of those for whom democracy is an anathema.

The prophets of doom – they who yearn for the apartheid days of yesteryear – will rejoice in finding a new voice and feeding off the negative publicity.My plea to you is to be part of the effort to breathe new life into the ANC and re-inculcate the values and principles that secured our democracy.

We are reminded of the wisdom of Comrade Ahmed Kathrada when he said in December last year: “We are heartened that from within the ranks of our movement there are leaders like Madiba, with credibility, accountability, commitment to the people of SA and foresight. They are leaders who, like Mandela, are ahead of their times. Such leaders are able to rejuvenate and modernise the ANC so that it can meet the needs of the 21st century, while still valuing its old and wise traditions. Such leaders have been unafraid to put their positions to the test.”

It is my hope that you, my sister, will be remembered not for turning away when the house was on fire but for following the advice of our wise elder and helping to rejuvenate and modernise our political home, the ANC. NKOSI ZWELIVELILE MANDLA MANDELA Mvezo, Eastern Cape “Who is responsible for the management of the terms of the dumping licence granted to Enviroserv?” AM HYATT Fellow of the SA Institute of Valuers