State capture in a different guise

THE article “Protest disrupts municipal hearing” (Sunday Tribune, March 18), on members of the Federation for Radical Economic Transformation who are affiliated to the Amadelangokubona Business Forum disrupting the disciplinary hearing of suspended head of ethekwini Municipality supplychain management Zandile

Sithole, refers.

When he was in power Jacob Zuma collected a crowd of sugar daddies – the Guptas, Roy Moodley, Vivian Reddy and other blessers fed his insatiable parasitism.

A change in the ANC leadership in December brought state capture to a thundering halt. Or so we thought. It now appears state capture has moved to KZN.

This time it is not the Guptas but Amadelangokubona, a group of thugs masquerading as businessmen. They parade with arms, intimidating labourers, construction companies, business executives and municipal officials in defiance of the law.

The mayor of ethekwini, Zandile Gumede, has yet to condemn them. Also, the ANC in Kwazulu-natal and the police appear to be turning a blind eye to their criminal activities.

It’s a sad indictment of the police, who seem to be reluctant to take the necessary action against this new brand of Mafia. MORGAN REDDY

Verulam

Job creation vital for SA’S growth

OUR new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is keen to steer South Africa to prosperity after Jacob Zuma almost brought the economy to a standstill through state capture and corruption.

A key performance area is job creation to stimulate the economy. This can only happen if big business gets involved.

Once the land restitution issue is resolved, investor confidence will return. The government should be looking at weaknesses within certain departments and use these as opportunities to create jobs.

For instance, the Department of Health could be a potential job creator. The Esidimeni tragedy and listeriosis outbreak show there is a dire shortage of caregivers and food inspectors – this could create hundreds of jobs.

Police Minister Bheki Cele should look at how the SAPS operates and consider creating an administrative department at every police station. Why use officers trained at the academy for tasks like taking statements and issuing bail receipts?

Higher Education Minister Naledi Pandor has said there should be a focus on TVET colleges to produce the skills needed to bolster the economy.

These could cater for the needs of the health and police sectors.

VIJAY SEWTAHAL Clare Estate Heartfelt thanks for statins facts

THANK you for the item in the Sunday Tribune Herald explaining the functions and effects of statins.

Dr Mohanlall couldn’t have made it clearer how our bodies function using LDL and HDL in the bloodstream – we are fed junk by some doctors who give the impression that should we not feed our bodies this confusing drug we are sure to croak at a young age.

My reading was a normal 4.5mmol/1 and I was advised to register with my medical aid that I needed to be on their chronic list. I was given a six-month repeat script to take a 20ml statin every day. I had all the side effects described in the article such as sore joints and insomnia.

Due to circumstances, I had to change doctors and after the path lab tests with my new doctor my statin script was changed to 10ml.

I decided not to take the tabs after I did some research and stored them in a cupboard.

I am a strict vegetarian and aware of the dangers of junk food.

I like your statement, doctor: “statins were not made to prevent heart disease; nor can they break down and remove plaque as some believe”.

“It is advisable to rather use natural products for prevention.”

Thank you for a most helpful and interesting article.

CHRIS DE JAGER Bellair