Letters to the editor: We need a good attitude to work together and fix South Africa, no 'holier-than-thou' sentiments

IOL News

6 hours ago

We need a better attitude to fix SA
The visit to America by Freedom Front+ leaders is an undermining of the authority of the President and his cabinet.
As a sovereign state, South Africa has the right to make its own decisions and not be 'coerced' by American requests'. Being 'coerced' is the impression I got, because the implication is, if we don't meet their demands, our economy will suffer'.
The President has already made himself clear on the denouncement of 'kill the Boer'. It should not be taken up literally, because if it were so, we would have already seen a real genocide.
The small group of Afrikaners who exchanged their identity to become 'Amerikaners', is testimony to the fact that there is no genocide. The colonial conquest of South Africa included acts of genocide by a 'Christianing' Europe against the Khoi and San people.
I speculate that descendants of these colonists (possibly AWB, FF+, their family and circle of friends) have probably shouted during apartheid 'slaan die hotnot' and 'skiet die k****'
People of colour have lost more lives during the Struggle due to police brutality, than present day farm murders.
As a product of 1976, other students and I had to run for our lives across a field when the police shot at us. Who can forget the brutal murders of Ashley Kriel, Robbie Waterwitch, Colleen Williams, the Cradock 4, Chris Hani, Steve Biko, Hector Pieterson, et al?
If they (the FF+ and other colonialist descendants) are genuine in getting South Africa back on track, I would appeal to them not to fly to America, but to come forward on home soil to repent for the sins of their forefathers and start the process of restoration, reconciliation and restitution.
This will lay the platform for the spiritual, social and economic revival to eradicate poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Let's leave the holier-than-thou attitude behind and be humble enough to get our hands dirty in order to clean up the mess that the majority of South African find themselves in 'Helping Hands for A Better Future'. | Clive Solomon Goodwood
Poultry vaccination a game changer
The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-­Natal welcomes the announcement by Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen that South Africa will begin its first-ever national poultry vaccination programme against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
This is a decisive step in protecting the agricultural economy – and in KZN, it could be game-changing.
KZN is home to a significant and growing poultry industry. From large-scale commercial operations to emerging black farmers and subsistence producers in rural municipalities, poultry farming remains the single most important source of both affordable protein and agricultural employment in the province.
Recent outbreaks of avian influenza have devastated producers across the country. For KZN, where rural livelihoods are often centred around backyard poultry operations or smallholder commercial ventures, the economic risks of HPAI are immense.
By proactively rolling out vaccinations, Minister Steenhuisen is not only protecting South African poultry – he is safeguarding food security, rural incomes, and economic stability in provinces like ours.
We further call on the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to:
■ Ensure full alignment with the national rollout plan, with special emphasis on rural and small-scale poultry producers;
■ Deploy veterinary support and training teams to all districts to assist with safe vaccination and biosecurity awareness;
■ Prioritise emerging black farmers and cooperatives to prevent inequitable access -to disease control interventions.
We are especially encouraged by this action as a signal of a more responsive, science-based agricultural policy environment under the new Government of National Unity.
The DA, in its role in the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in KZN, will continue to monitor implementation and provide oversight to ensure that this programme reaches every farmer – not just the biggest, but also the most vulnerable. | SAKHILE MNGADI, MPL DA KZN spokesperson on Agriculture
AI being willfully misused in law
As a practicing attorney and someone who has been at the side bar for almost 40 years, I'm seeing more and more attorneys using Artificial Intelligence for not only their research but also their letters.
Fortunately, their letters are completely see through and one can pick up the stultified manner in which AI writes letters.
In one particular case, acting Judge DJ Smit had the lawyer (advocate) admit that the citation emanated from AI. In a previous case lawyers have been referred to be disciplined at the Legal Practice Council.
We are probably going to see more and more of this.
However, what is becoming a real nightmare is that when you do see clients and they ask for an opinion on a legal issue or on the strength of their case, they come armed with AI advice to not only challenge you but also to second guess. The advice that they pick up is sometimes enormously problematic and wrong.
I have had quite a few clients advising me that they are going to go rather with the AI advice because it suits them better. This has had enormously destructive consequences for the clients. I suspect that they don't even bother to go and get the advice checked out by a lawyer. | MICHAEL BAGRAIM Cape Town
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