EN PASSANT
WHENEVER daylight saving is recommended, it is always by somebody in the Western Cape (“Daylight saying makes sense”, The Star, November 14). The fact is that South African Standard Time (SAST) is based on a position of 30º south and 30º east. Cape Town is actually 50 minutes behind SAST.
While the sun sets at 7 in most of the country in summer, it sets at 8 in the Western Cape. Strictly speaking, they should be on a different time zone, but this would be difficult for business.
Daylight saving would serve no purpose in the rest of the country.
Lynette Rens
Westcliff, Joburg THE PICTURE on the front page of The Star of November 17 of EFF supporters in front of a meeting venue in the Northern Cape, armed with machetes and rocks, is really the most negative publicity for a country boasting democratic values. Or is it just keeping up with trends on the continent?
Sulaiman Martheze
Mitchells Plain, Cape Town CONGRATULATIONS to Luan Grundlingh on hitting a double century at age 13 (“It’s double delight for cricketer, 13”, The Star, November 11), but I suspect there may have been several younger double centurions.
Two prominent examples follow. According to his father, Herschelle Gibbs hit a double century in an under12 match for St Joseph’s College against St Agnes (in a 25-over match), while former Western Province captain Andre Bruyns reminded me that Mike Procter hit a double hundred for Highbury Prep School against a Transvaal schools side when presumably he was no more than 12 or 13.
Colin Bryden
Stellenbosch, Western Cape TEN THINGS our government has perfected ending with “tion”. 1) Maladministra-tion 2) Miscommunication 3) Disrup-tion 4) Destruc-tion. 5) Deprecia-tion 6) Contamina-tion 7) Manipula-tion 8) Humilia-tion 9) Frustra-tion and 10) their trademark “tion”, Corruption.
Keith Chipiwa
Randburg MUCH has been written about the shortage of power in South Africa, but I would like to ask what is being done to rectify the situation.
It is a tragic state of affairs when a silo collapses, as was the case with Majuba: Was this not foreseeable on routine inspection?
It would appear that gross negligence is involved.
A growing population and expanding economy demands more, not less.
Please study the experiences of developed and developing countries and come to rational, unbiased conclusions.
We need a balanced energy mix.
Sorella van Hoogstraten
Cape Town IT IS never a good thing to artificially divide people. The 25th anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall was celebrated with due/undue pomp and celebration recently.
What is not mentioned in the media is the fact that Germany was the direct cause of two catastrophic world wars that killed hundreds of millions of people of all nationalities and caused infrastructure damages that are still being addressed today.
Sulaiman Martheze
Cape Town WE MUST applaud the government in repatriating the remains of the South Africans who died in Nigeria. These people went there voluntarily but a caring government had to assist the families.
However, our government did not show this empathy when the police mowed down the working class in Marikana or when Andries Tatane was killed. The workers killed in Marikana had the same soul as our people who died in Nigeria. I am appealing to President Jacob Zuma and his deputy to start a fund for Marikana widows and children.
Pastor Felicity Nyawuza
Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape