Gigaba’s budget blow for poor

IDIDN’T watch the budget speech on TV but I happened to hear some of it on radio. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba was trying to be impressive but, instead he was rather sarcastic, showing no consideration for the poor and working class.

A [one percentage point] increase in VAT and 52c increase in the fuel levy will hit the poor and working class the hardest.

Gigaba forgets that people like him are earning +-R280 000 a month, which is more than a teacher, nurse or policeman’s annual salary. On top of this, they have luxurious benefits. They don’t feel the cost of petrol increases because they have petrol cards. Their vehicles are spared because they have government subsidies.

Gwede Mantashe approves this budget and says it will hit high earners. He is saying that people must continue to vote them to power so they can lead a better life – and we continue to live in poverty.

I wish to urge our negotiators to forget comradeship and negotiate for betterment of workers’ lives. They must not budge on our demands because an increase in the fuel levy is an increase in transport costs to work, and an increase in VAT is an increase in food and other necessities. If this government is for the people, all of us deserve a better life – not only a few and their families whom we vote in to power. We need value for our votes. We need a government that monitors the fiscal spending. Enough is enough. — Z Tikana, East Peelton with regard to the offside rule in soccer.

I have seen, from time to time, referees and/or linesmen make glaring mistakes as far as this rule is concerned.

For instance, a player can score a goal and be adjudged to have been offside, when he was clearly not, with the result that the goal is disallowed. In another instance, a goal can be scored from a clearly offside position and still be allowed. These mistakes have a bearing on the results of some of the games and can cause teams to unfairly lose important games – or they can even be unfairly relegated. I therefore suggest that the offside rule in soccer be rescinded.

As far as changing the rules in soccer is concerned, a precedent has already been set. In the past, a player could pass the ball back to his goalkeeper who could then pick it up. But nowadays, a goalkeeper gets penalised for handling a ball passed back to him by his teammate. I can imagine that soccer can still be an enjoyable sport if the dreaded offside rule no longer applies.

In this case, defenders from both sides would have to be mindful that the offside rule no longer applies and will have to ensure that no player from the opposing side is left unchecked – especially in the 18-yard area.

The cancellation of the offside rule would see the end to legitimate goals being disallowed for having, supposedly, been scored from offside positions.

I would like to hear what other readers of your newspaper, who are soccer fans or players, have to say about my suggestion. — Kievit Mamfengu Skyf Mbono, via e-mail of residential address. This was a landmark ruling that would eliminate corrupt practice's of “bussing” people from a different area to bolster numbers of a political party fraudulently in an area they knew they are in minority.

However, the IEC failed to apply that ruling nationally to ensure fairness in elections.

In the Buffalo City Metro Municipality there is an area in NU1 Mdantsane where residents are incorrectly registered to a ward that they belong to. The residents affected belong to unit areas 100, 200 and 300 and amount to hundreds of voters, thus they find themselves in limbo as far as service delivery is concerned because both councillors of Wards 12 and 42 are not keen to assist them.

As ratepayers, this community is not even represented in the Municipality Ward Committee Governance Structures, so how are they expected to exercise their constitutional rights as far as participatory democracy is concerned? They as Ward 42 demarcated residents were left out when the municipality launched a pilot project of wheelie bins trolleys at Ward 42. This matter has been communicated to the Office of the Chief Whip on several occasions – to no avail.

The call is therefore made to IEC to restore the constitutional right of the residents by correctly registering them on the voters roll and allocating them a voting station in close proximity. — Xola Toba, chairman, Sebenzanathi Community Development (NPO)