Readers’ Views ‘Big boys’ clean out co-ed school of its promising rugby players
IREAD your article, “How money moves rugby schoolboys” (November 17), with interest. I have taught at a co-ed school, Kingsway High School, on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, for the past 29 years and have witnessed how these “big boy” schools come in year after year and “clean us out” of boys with sporting potential.
The sad thing is that these boys may be stars in our community, but when they get into a school where there are 220 boys, few make the A, B or C team.
When they want to come back to the local schools, they cannot because they were given bursaries that they have to pay back before leaving, and their parents do not have the R30 000 or however much to buy them out. Often the boys lose their bursaries in the Grade 9 or 10 year.
Our school fees are in the region of R17 000 a year, whereas the boys’ schools charge about R27 000, which gives them R10 000 a pupil extra to use to entice the “bursary” students to their school.
They will offer a child school fees, travelling money, uniform, sports uniform, books and even tuck shop vouchers. How can we compete?
We battle to field one decent team in each age group because of this “cleaning out” process.
Often players with potential who stay at Kingsway do well after they leave school. One such pupil was Clyde Rathbone, who was constantly approached but stayed. He went on to captain the South African under-21 team and played for Australia. — Bev le Roux, by e-mail
Luxury amid a sea of effluent
YOUR article, “Nkandla: The Inside Story” (November 17), refers. Looking over your excellent photograph of and guide to President Jacob Zuma’s multimillion-rand estate of excessive luxury and opulent grandeur staggers one. And this while the squatter towns burgeon, shanty houses slide into the sloot at every heavy rain and roadways swim with effluent and rubbish. — S Bradbury, Stellenbosch
Nkandla delay shows contempt
THE continuing delay in the release of the Nkandla report does little to suggest that there is even a modicum of respect being shown to the voting public.
The very notion of any secrecy around the report only amplifies the public’s perception, suspicion and imagination in terms of what is being concealed. Who cares how many basins and bidets are in the bunker, let alone any other architectural features. It is who paid for it, and why?
No 1’s greatest chance of support is through the absolute trust that no secrets are being harboured. Come clean and stop insulting us, or reveal the fetid flouting by fiscal fiddling and allow the majority to be the jury through the ballet box. — Charlie MacGillivray, Karkloof, KwaZulu-Natal
Thuli stands up to bullyboys
I WAS going to write to you simply to thank public protector Thuli Madonsela for clear-sightedly standing firm on the Nkandla debacle. That was until I read her comments in “Thuli: I’ll go to jail over Nkandla” (November 17), in which she said it was “strange” that the security ministers had suggested she did not have the expertise to decide what was a security risk to Zuma; that she did not feel threatened by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s warning that releasing her report without their authorisation carried a “criminal penalty”; and, most impressive, that she was willing to go to jail “if needs be” on her stand to uphold the constitution and her conscience.
Thank you, Thuli Madonsela, for displaying such courage in the face of the bullyboy tactics employed by the ruling party’s leaders. — Jill Jones, by e-mail
ANC has a top-secret plan
I PREDICT that the ANC, with its back against the Nkandla compound fence, will advise Zuma to sign the secrecy bill into law. The bill will be signed within the next 22 days and the first order of business will be to classify Nkandla “top secret”. — Mike, Newlands
Nasty timing on exposé
EXPLAIN the personal “exposé” by Chris Barron — at this of all times — in “The conscience the ANC wishes it didn’t have” (November 17). Makes the Sunday Times look like it’s trying to curry favour. Nasty. — Disgruntled, by SMS
Well-balanced portrait
I FOUND the article “The conscience the ANC wishes it didn’t have” to be the most well-balanced article in a very, very long time. Well done, Chris. — Khonzi Fulela, KwaNzimakwe, KwaZulu-Natal
Matter of Fischer’s honour
AS an advocate of long standing at the Johannesburg bar, I was sad to read of the death of Doug Shaw in “Douglas Shaw: Formidable advocate and legal mind” (November 10). He was, as the obituary sets out, a person and a lawyer of outstanding qualities.
The purpose of this letter is to deal with an aspect of the obituary that concerns advocate Bram Fischer. I am concerned that the reader unfamiliar with Fischer may gain the impression that Fischer, by estreating bail, behaved in a dishonourable manner and was rightly struck off the roll of advocates.
Fischer was, in fact, a man of impeccable integrity, the highest moral standing and one who sacrificed his profession and status as a highly regarded leader of the bar to engage in the struggle for the transformation of an oppressive society and the achievement of equality and human rights for all.
At the time that Fischer was arrested, he was practising as a senior advocate and in that capacity he had been briefed in a matter that was due to be argued on appeal in the Privy Council in London. Fischer felt committed, in the interests of his client, to argue that appeal notwithstanding his arrest. An application was made for his bail conditions to be extended to enable him to travel to England to argue the appeal on the basis that he would return to South Africa to stand his trial — which he did.
After about three or four weeks of trial, Fischer failed one morning to arrive at court, but sent a letter explaining that he had decided to “go underground” and would not be attending the trial any longer. He was rearrested about a year later and charged in the supreme court with the infinitely more serious charge of treason. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
It may well be that Shaw, in his position as a leader of the bar, felt constrained to say what he did at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. But in the estimation of all who knew Fischer and who, over many years, benefited from his friendship, his humanity, his work as an advocate and politician and his sacrifices for a better world, Bram would not have been denigrated by the stance taken by Shaw. He was seen as a hero. — Denis Kuny SC, Johannesburg
Confused about Malema
JUJU, can you please tell us where did you get money to buy and build your houses and farm? We are confused when you say you are not taking from the poor and that you are not corrupt. — Zizi, Alexandra
No rights for three little girls
TO the rapist of the three little girls found on a dump heap, who suffered the agony of excruciating pain and blinding fear before being raped and strangled: you are alive. You have human rights. The little girls lying broken in their graves never had and never will have human rights. — Justice Gone Wrong, Pietermaritzburg
PLEASE NOTE: All mail should be accompanied by a street address and daytime telephone number.
The Editor reserves the right to cut letters to fill available space.