IT Solution For the University, By The University and of the University

In an effort to improve IT support services to students, ICS has introduced a dedicated Call Centre to deal with IT related problems. This Call Centre will complement the current services that are already offered by ICS and provide support primarily to students who are unable to present themselves in person at the ICS Walk In Centers which are conveniently located on all 5 campuses.

To access the dedicated Call Centre facility, please call ext. 4000 from within the University or alternatively 031 260 4000 from off campus. The operating hours are Weekdays from 08h00 – 16h30.

In addition to the Call Centre, an email facility has also been introduced that will allow students to receive support via email. If you would like to make use of this facility kindly send an email to the following address: itstudenthelp@ukzn.ac.za

The existing IT Online Help facility remains unchanged and can be accessed using the “IT ONLINE HELP” icon which can be found on the desktop of all ICS student LAN PC’s. This application provides students with instant messaging capabilities to Call Center agents who will be able to assist.

This is life made easier for all the students who always had problems with the IT system of the University. However, it does not stop the lazy students from blaming the IT system, like always, for not submitting in time.

Polygamy Is For Failures

Polygamy has and is still a very sensitive topic to write or talk about to many people but it is a topic that needs attention, especially as it is a woman’s month. This is because some people consider it as part of their culture. Polygamy is marrying more than one wife while you’re you are still married. Different people have given this culture different meaning and some have and still vow for it as a solution to many family problems, such as when the wife can’t give birth. Some people argued that it shows one’s masculinity amongst other man in a community. It shows how much a man can afford. But polygamy is for failures regardless of who is practising it and if there are still young people in the 21^st century who want to practise it they are failures too.

When a man decides to take another wife it’s a sign that he has failed to love the first one and is looking for an alternative. The word alternate refer to different things, it can mean replacement, substitute, other or another, different. A woman who is in polygamy is nothing but a replacement, the other, a substitute. No matter how people and the media can justify it but the truth is that there is no love in polygamy. Loving more than one woman is one thing but marring more than two women is another thing. It is impossible to love two women equally. Men who seek to have another woman as a wife while he is still married has failed. He has failed himself and failed the love/marriage institution.

This bad habit of thinking one can love more than one person starts when man are still young and dating. Most young man find it as a way of getting over another woman when they start dating another one in the presence of the other. But this is a sign of failure and men who fail to love one woman and pretend to love many should not be trusted with anything. It’s a pity because we have prominent leaders in Africa who have taken more than one wife and we still trust them even when they fail in everything. The most confusing part is seeing this practice carried and pasted from one generation to another even in this century.

Polygamy is nothing but lack of love and when the love is gone one make an excuse of his failure by taking another wife. Man should respect woman and stop treating them like objects. Having many does not mean you can take woman for granted and change them like a pair of socks. Sometimes they feel a need to be married and as a result they settle for less. In that moment man should not take advantage but should give support and proper guidance instead of fooling around with them. Woman should not settle for less but should be in charge of their lives and stop thinking they have past the clock of being married. Polygamy has resulted in many women cheating in their marriage because they are not given the attention they deserve, and as a result whole whole family get infected with HIV/AIDS and STIs.

Nakedness Does Not Make You Attractive

It might look as a fashion nowadays to visit the mall, go to school or the gym without fully dressed especially to the ladies but it can cause a lot of damage. Most ladies they are either in their crop tops or mini skits these days. On Monday 03 August 2015 at the Virgin Active fitness centre near The Workshop in Durban people witnessed a tragedy. It was the early morning hours when virgin active club holders where busy enjoying and steaming out the month end alcohol in their bodies when an old lady, assumed to be in her 40s came from the change room with only her swimming cushion going to the swimming pool. People started staring at her and guys enjoyed their normal habit they call washing their eyes while she was swimming.

It was when every man was enjoying staring the amusing body of the woman, according to an eye witness who didn’t wanted his name to be mentioned, when another man fell to the swimming pool. The witness argued that the man was presumably hypnotized by the woman who was diving in the pool forgetting to focus on his way. He was busy looking at the swimming woman behind her girlfriend when they were both trying out some weights. The man, who fell into the swimming pool, refused to give his side of the story because he was embarrassed since he was with her girlfriend, and walked straight out to the changing rooms leaving her girlfriend shocked. The old lady continued with her swimming lessons and ignored the drama laughing at how weak men are, according to the witness.

Ladies, who witnessed the drama, had mixed emotions; as some argued that ladies must grow up and love themselves and stop going around showing off their body to all man. Another woman added that it is the same thing at schools, universities or at the mall. They are afraid of going out with their boyfriends because all they look is naked woman either showing of their boobs, also known as cleavage or buttocks, in their miniskirts. It is a foolish thing to think going out naked as woman will win you a man, added another woman who seem to be in her early 20s, but it only make you very cheap. Some defended themselves saying they never invite any one to look at them and after working out so hard in the gym they will not stop showing off their body.

Five Steps To Graduate Employment

1. Review your online presence.
Most employers today check out applicants on the Internet and Social Media sites. What they find out about you will either increase your chances of being hired, or eliminate you. Recruiters, employers and hiring managers say that almost 40 percent of the applicants they review are rejected because of what they found out about them online, with Facebook and YouTube postings as the main sources for rejection.
Before they begin their search for work, every graduate should answer the question: “What would a search of the Internet reveal about me?”
2. Don’t rely on advertised positions.
One of the biggest mistakes graduates make is to focus on advertised positions. The vast majority of employment opportunities today are never advertised and learning how to find them is a skill you must develop.
3. Focus on small companies.
Most employment opportunities are to be found in small companies, which includes self-employed people who have more work than they can handle. Increase your chances of being hired by emphasizing that you’re open to part-time, temporary, and contract work.
4. Learn how to sell yourself.
Many graduates are very uncomfortable with this area but it’s a skill you must develop. The good news is anyone can learn how to do it. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how effectively you can sell yourself once you understand how the process works.
5. Create a LinkedIn Account.
Learn as much as you can about LinkedIn before you do this. Spend as much time creating your LinkedIn account as you would creating your resume and make sure the information on both of them is consistent since recruiters, employers and hiring managers will be looking at both of them.
Keep your account up to date as you gain more experience and pick up new skills.

Having helped thousands of graduates to find work, I know that very few follow these steps. Those who do follow them will increase their chances of finding meaningful employment and being contacted by recruiters, employers and hiring managers.

Ron McGowan is the author of the bestseller “How to Find WORK – In the 21st Century”, currently in use at hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide. The sixth edition is now available from the Thames River Press, Amazon, and other booksellers.

http://www.thamesriverpress.com/en/Book/9777/How-to-Find-Work-in-the-21st-Century.html

http://www.howtofindwork.ca

Is it lack of understanding or lack of consistency in our politicians?

Not long ago the country witnessed a number of protects against the statues representing the colonial rule in South Africa. The campaign was first initiated by the students of the University of Cape Town. There were number of statues which were attacked and destroyed and some were successfully removed. The statue of Cecil John Rhodes was one of the statues that were unlucky. Politicians and many people supported the removal of the statues and some went further to ask government to change some of the street names and buildings. Many universities who have statues of the colonial rule were forced to review the existence of their statues and the relevance they have in the current South Africa.

Durban is one of the South African cities that have a lot of statues of the colonial rule especially those that represent the British Empire. However, it is so contradictory to find the very same city that supported that the statues should fall today hungry and up and down preparing to host the Commonwealth Games. It raises a lot of questions about our politicians and the people of South Africa.

For those who don’t know the history and the origin of the Commonwealth Games follow my lead. The Commonwealth Games also known as the British Empire Games from 1930–1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954–1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970–1974 is an international, multi-spot event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations . It is a sporting competition  bringing together the members of the British Empire  which was first proposed by the John Astley Cooper in 1891, when he wrote an article in The Times suggesting a Pan-Britannic-Pan-Anglican Contest and Festival every four years as a means of increasing goodwill and good understanding of the British Empire.

If Durban wants to host this games what does it says about us in the entire world? Few months ago we didn’t want anything to do with Cecil John Rhodes, King George, to mention but a few. We wanted their statues to be removed because they represent people who made many South Africans to suffer. But today we want to be part of a celebration of the British conquering the whole world. If we really want to host these games does it mean, to the entire world that when we say something we don’t mean it? Does it mean we don’t know what we believe in and strongly stand for? To me the whole campaign was just nothing but something nothing to blame and we used the statues. It shows that we are always afraid of facing the reality and to fix our problems without blaming the next person.

I was going around Durban using the public transport and I listened to every person who wanted to get off from the tax. They all used the old names for the roads when they wanted to tell the driver their next stop. Nobody is using the new names that were given to the streets of Durban. Do we badly want the names of the people who made our forefathers suffer to be removed from the streets and if so, why do we still use their names when the streets have new names. Many politicians, such as Malema of the EFF, wanted the statues to be removed. It’s a matter of time South Africans to walk the talk and practice what we preach.

The Chairperson of South African Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) during the progress of 2022 Durban Commonwealth Game and delivery plans Ms B Dlulane (ANC) briefed the Committee on the current status and planning for the bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, bid status and the plan to deliver the Games. The entity said that delivery of the games would cost R3.3 billion annually, over a seven year period starting in 2015. R1.6 billion from that amount would go to capital expenditure whereby R1.3 billion from the 1.6 would go towards human settlements and R300 million would be for the refurbishments of standing infrastructure. South Africa had decided to bid and its only competitor, Canada, had withdrawn at quite an early stage, leaving South Africa the only contestant. It was pointed out that Durban already had a lot of the infrastructure that would be needed. It was further argued that legacy of these games would promote youth sport. The main question is that is Durban municipality together with ANC lead government ready to ignore, like always, the poverty, increase of electricity cost, shortage of water, and host the game which is wealth so much billions. Who is going to die if South Africa doesn’t host the games? How many RDP houses could be built with such amount?

It seems to me we have not learnt a lesson in trying to empress the world. The 2010 world cup has left the country with nothing but empty stadiums which are hardly used. The Moses Mabhida Stadium is nothing but a cost to the Durban Municipality but we want to create another useless infrastructure. If they want us to host the games why don’t they allow us to use the available infrastructure? To me it look like South Africa is trying to be a first would country in the entire world while the truly status of the country is not even fully second world country.

SAPS locked me up for helping

The Durban SAPS are doing their job I will first acknowledge that, especially because they are always accused of not doing their job. It was on Monday the 20^th of July in Durban at The Workshop early in the morning. I was seating helping a young lady who was in need of a job when three police man came to arrest me. I was too shocked because I was never arrested before and there way they grabbed me they were sure they found a serial killer.

According to the lady I was helping, the police got a tip off from a friend who was with her early because he thought I was the type of man who kidnap woman and use them. The lady whom we were to meet for business purpose told the guy friend that she is looking for a job and she is meeting me so that she can join Avon Justine and start marking a living because she is not working. According to her things were made worse by the fact that she have never met me before and as they were talking he mentioned how dangerous it is to meet someone you don’t know and he even quoted UKhozi fm DJ Sgqemeza’ words that there are people who scamming people, promising them jobs.

If it was not for my manager whom I was forced to call to come to the station to confirm who I was, I would have stayed in there until I gave them enough proof that I am not a scamming people. She tried telling them that she is not scammed but they insisted that I call my manager to come for my rescue. After I was rescued I was grateful for their fast reaction when it comes to woman and I wish they would also do that when a man is robbed or scammed. The most interesting part was that they are up to date when it comes to crime that is being done out there because in their explanation they mentioned that in Durban, especially at The Workshop; a lot of people are robbed and scammed their money.

Independent Newspaper and Media South Africa: changes that have taken place in the ownership, control, structure, regulation and content from 2013 to 2015 .

Abstract

 

This study attempts to analyse the changes that took place in the Independent Newspaper and Media South Africa (INMSA) in their structure regulations, control, ownership and content. The paper uses political economy as a theoretical framework to analyse the business changes that occur when the company changes its ownership. INMSA changed their ownership in 2013 when Sekunjalo Media Group brought the company from its Irish owner. This resulted to a lot of changes which brought a lot of consequences normative, socially and economically. The paper will investigate the consequences and how they changed the company to what is seen today. The content change of the new ownership will be also investigated, especially how it affected the company.

 

Introduction

 

South Africa’s change into a democratic state in 1994, made a mark in the entire world. Electing the first black president provoked a lot of changes in the country. This change have inspired into the media industry which is reflected in this study. The study investigates changes in Independent Newspaper and Media South Africa (INMSA) in terms of ownership, control, structure regulations and their content after the company was bought by a South African company called Sekunjalo Independent Media Group in 2013. As Tomaselli (1997: 4) stipulated that “The termination of sanctions in the early 1990s witnessed significant shift in the previously stable South African commercial media industry. These took the form of acquisitions by international capital, and the procurement of previously white-owned and firms by domestic black empowerment groups. Changes also occurred in political and ideological allegiance of each of the media corporations which entered the 1990s”. Black South Africans, through the aid of the Black Economic Empowerment, are now able to own newspaper companies which resulted in a shift in content, Paterson and Malila (2013). These changes were warmly welcomed, especially by black South Africans who were able to buy in to the previously white owned newspaper groups. Duncan’s (2012) comment, when looking at the change in ownership in the Independent Newspapers, was that potentially the change in ownership might be good news for journalism and media transformation but the INMSA has observed some of the most brutal cost-cutting in recent journalism history, leading to mass retrenchments, economizing of key aspects of the business and centralisation of newsroom functions, which will result in less news diversity within its stable of more than 30 newspapers. Although Coetzee (2009) differed, arguing that the South African newspaper industry has not changed over the past fifteen year since democracy, even though the government want the media, especial print media, to be accessible to every citizen of the country.

INMSA is a prominent newspaper group in South Africa, which publishes more than 30 daily and weekly newspapers (local and national) around the country. This company before it was bought by Sekunjalo Media Group it was owned by Tony O’Relly, a business man born in Dublin in Ireland. It was based in Dublin while it operated in South Africa. The newspapers under this company include the Cape Times, Cape Argus, The Mercury, The Star, Daily News and Pretoria News, Isolezwe, Post, Sunday Tribune, The Sunday Independent, The Independent on Saturday, DFA, Saturday Star. The company also owns a number of weekly community newspapers in the Western Cape and has investments in the community newspaper markets in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. INMSA owns and runs Independent Online and publishes three Conde Nast international magazine brands: House & Garden, GQ and Glamour. Its weekly sales range from 2,8 million copies in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape and the newspaper group currently receives 48% of the total advertising spend in the paid newspaper market which doubles that of any other newspaper group and reaches 63% of English newspaper readers in the above areas.

There reason for conducting this research is because many scholars have done their research in the field of media industry but few have looked specifically at print media, especially the effect of the change in ownership from foreign white hands to black South African hands, such as what happened when the INMSA came back home, as it was alluded by Duncan (2012). Researchers like Coetzee (2009) did their researcher enquiring mainly about the competition structure in the South African newspaper industry. Although Tomaselli (1997) unpacked the Ownership and control in the South African print media but the concern was mainly at the black empowerment after apartheid. Tomaselli’s article offered an analysis of the historical relations between apartheid language and the media discourses of opposing ideologies and a breakdown of the shifts in media ownership and allegiance between the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, Tomaselli (1997). Hadland (2007) also did a study on the South African print media but it was only about the change in the media that occurred because of the end of apartheid and the inquiry was about the print media as a whole. Its focus was mainly on the changes that took place economically in the print media companies. However, this research will be a continuation from what many scholars looked at. Many of them have not yet looked at the changes in ownership, control structure, regulation. Even if some of them have done a research on the above, this research will give an analysis of what happens to the content of the newspaper when a new boss takes over. The INMSA had changes since it had a new owner, Duncan (2012).

The researcher has recognised that there have been a lot of problems when there company was in foreign hands. The change of ownership made Professor Jane Duncan to believe that it has the potential to reverse some of these extremely negative trends, Nevill (2013). So the research want to find out if the claims did came true or things continued to be worse more than before. This will be done by examining the normative, economic and social consequences that came with the change of ownership, control, structure, regulation and the change in content. However, the researcher is bound to use majority of the company’s publications as a sources of information because there is nothing much available that is written by somebody outside. However this might make this research to be bias but the use of empirical data such as financial reports and numerical statistics will help neutralize the biasness that might be observed.

Methodology

For the researcher to achieve the above objectives and get to answer the question brought by the research topic different methods will be used. Firstly, a comparative system of research will be used because in a comparative research, the researcher compares two or more things with an aim of discovering something about one or all of the things being compared, Jochen (2004). In the case of INMSA with their change in ownership the researcher want to find out the consequences that were brought by the change, which will be a comparison with the old ownership of the company. The research will be a very simple research because it will use the information that is already available. This will be written journals, newspaper articles, company reports, financial statements and many more information that will be accessible to the researcher. It will also apply content analyses approach, especially when analysing the data collected. A content analysis method is when a researcher tries to conduct a contextualized interpretation of various documents in order to retrieve the meaningful information from the documents, Denzin (2013). So in this research the same method will be applied because an analysis of the available documents and the newspaper content that is already available will be made. The researcher will make sure to remain un-bias throughout the analysis of the data. The data will be obtained from the internet, newspapers, company reports and the company website. Since INMSA is a huge publication company and it has a lot of newspapers and online publication, few newspapers will be used of the more than 30 newspapers that it has. In particular these newspapers will be those who are available in hard copies because they are easy to find and are easy to analyse. These newspapers will be The Mercury and the Daily News.

 

Theoretical approach

The research will use the theory of political economy as an analytical tool and a theoretical framework in analysing the changes that took place as the INMSA has a new owner. This theory is rich because it help one to understand the politics of business and when understood very well it answer the questions of why was the INMSA sold back to South Africans after exploiting them so much. Looking at the state of politics in South Africa it is relevant for one to consider political economy as a tool of analysis when studying business because politics has great influence in many businesses. It is possible for politics to influence everything including the business because according to Heywood (2013) politics is everywhere, even in the bedroom. Political economy as a terminology is a big and complicated phenomenon. It is believed that in economics, which is business in our current terms, politics cannot be separable, Drazen (2000). Drazen (2000) separately defined politics as a study of power and authority and the exercise of both and on the other hand defined economics as the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means that have alternative uses. However, Leipziger (2009) defined political economy as an analysis that studies the linkages between politics and economics, drawing on theories of economics, law as well as political and social sciences. Economic theory traditionally focuses on market decisions. This theory can be traced back from Adam smith’s “wealth of nations” and by that time it meant the conditions of production organisation in nation state, which is what is known today as economics, Leipziger (2009).

The theory therefore shows much relevance and it fits better because this research wants to find out the outcomes of the INMSA with its new ownership. It will look at how the change in ownership affected the running of the company in many spheres. These spheres include the government of South Africa and many shareholders of the company. The pressure from political organisation, South African Unions and the public at large, as President Jacob Zuma stipulated during the launch that most South Africans including himself hopes the company is now in good hands because it is back to South Africans, Ndenze (2014). Political economy also looks at the market and the decisions that are made looking at the conditions of the market, Leipziger (2009) and it is therefore relevant for the theory in this case study because the study will also enquire how good the market is for the INMSA.

The ownership, control, structure, regulation and content of INM-SA from 2013

 

South Africa experienced a grate change in the print media in 2013 when it was officially announced that the prominent INMSA has a new owner and is totally controlled and managed in South Africa. Mail and Guardian revealed that Sekunjalo Media Consortium is the new owner of INMSA, bringing the company back into the local media fold. INMSA executive chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé pointed out that his buying of the company will have profound implications for the country and the media sector, Ndenze (2014).

The Cape Town based company was bought from its Irish owners for R2 million and the aim of Sekunjalo Media Consortium for purchasing this big company was to begin a new strategy to invest in newspapers across Africa, and to focus on developing digital and other cross-media opportunities, Daily News (2013). This purchase resulted in many changes and brought hope to the journalism industry, workers and the whole country at large. President Zuma, as a guest speaker during the launch and announcement of the new ownership, mentioned that the modifications to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act should also make a way for transformation in the print media sector, including the whole chain of publishing, printing, distribution, advertising and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). He further argued that the Employment Equity Act should also encourage the print media industry to diversify the newsrooms. He added that the media is not only a watch dog of the nation, as it considers itself, but a business and a good business. He hoped the new leadership of INMSA wants to do the right thing and do business correctly, Ndenze (2014). The President statement showed that there are a lot of expectations from the people, shareholders and the government from this company. These make one to wonder if the President is himself a shareholder in the company or he wants the company’ newspapers to ignore the scandals that are done by his government because in his statement he further mentioned that “Ours is to be informed so that we can take informed decisions. It sounded like a breath of fresh air to hear the leadership today make this point,” said Zuma, Ndenze (2014). He was confident that the change in ownership of the company, which had been under foreign ownership for 20 years, would result in a more local look and perspective in the content of its products.

The change in ownership meant that the company will be now controlled in South Africa and by South Africans. As a result the two main shareholders are Sekunjalo Independent Media (Proprietary) Limited consortium with 75%, and the Government Employees Pension Fund acting through its authorised representative, the Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited (PIC), with 25%. The main shareholders and key consortium members include Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (Proprietary) Limited; trade union investment companies, Cosatu investment company, Kopano Ke Matlaka represented by Collins Matjila; Sactwu Investments Group (Proprietary) Limited, represented by Andre Kriel; the Food & Allied Workers Union (represented by Basebenzi Investments (Proprietary) Limited and Katishi Masemola and a special purpose vehicle which would house a 10% stake reserved for employees of the company. This lead shareholder grouping would represent 63% of the consortium. The remaining 37% in SIM would be made up of a number of broad-based value adding partners, including the Black Business Chamber (Western Cape), represented by Mntuwekhaya Cishe and Sizwe Seun Ngqame, and independent South African Women’s business community organisations spread throughout the country, represented by Lindiwe Barbara Ngcobo, and Manemele Maria, (Web 1).

In addition Sekunjalo Digital Media (Proprietary) Limited is responsible for driving the digital and mobile growth strategy; the Mvezo Development Trust represented by Mandla Mandela which would provide for the development of Eastern Cape communities; the Umkhonto Wesizwe Military Association (through the Military Veterans Trust), Western Cape Development Trust that would focus on the provision of bursaries for journalists from black communities. Other shareholders were prominent entrepreneurs and business people such as Sandile Zungu, and media advertising personalities such as Tim Modise and Groovin Nchabeleng of Blue Print Group. However, the Sekunjalo grouping will at all times have control of INMSA with a number of funding partners sharing in the equity of the company, (Web 1).

Looking at the control of the company through different shareholders who are South Africans it is clear that the company will bring a huge difference in the print industry. However, looking at the way the company has a number of political shareholding the theory of political economy become relevant because it is clear that there are few scenarios where politics do not influence the economy of any given company. One can assume that the company was bought by politicians when looking at the way it is controlled. When taking a closer look at the number of percentages Sekunjalo Independent Media (Proprietary) Limited consortium has there is still hope that the company will run as a business company like all companies. They also stipulated that they will always have total control of the company and funding will come from banks, international banks, trade union investment companies to avoid being controlled by certain individuals, (Web 2). There are also bursaries that will be offered to journalism students, especially in rural areas, which shows that the company is ready to set foot in the right direction and doing business that will not only benefit the company and its shareholders but the people of South Africa.

Change can be good or bad sometimes and it always creates two groups within a society. As some people celebrated the change of ownership in the INM-SA there were those who had doubt in the new ownership. One would think, when observing the old and social media space, that the country was happy about the change in power, so noisy, consistent and well-orchestrated its detractors campaign has been but you would be wrong. This is because the majority of the readers of Independent’s titles either support the ownership change or are indifferent, The reality is that a small but very fortunate and racially definable minority still controls the tools of public discourse, including the bulk of private commercial media and almost all the mainstream newspaper groups, Mde and Brown (2014). The same white minority group of people were not comfortable with the change of ownership. According to Mde and Brown (2014), who are members of the editorial team of INM-SA, argued that this group has a problem with blacks in control of any media asserts especially because some of the people are too close to the ANC. They added that this group has resisted and fought against transformation of the media, be it in ownership, management, or in newsrooms. They’ve grown adept at paying lip service to the goals of transformation and media diversity, but in truth they remain against them, as their joint and individual actions demonstrate, Mde and Brown (2014). Within the leadership of the company there is also lack of trust towards Survé, who have been accused of too much association with the ANC and has been portrayed as the worst anti-press freedom bogeyman. These indicate that the change in ownership of the company comes with a lot of political influence. However, as much as Surve has links to the governing ANC, an organisation that is often at war with the media, he insisted that he is independent and he will make sure that reporting is fair and editors are free to report fair, Nevill (2013).

As it was expected by many, the change in ownership did come with good things such as the increase in capital in the company. Starting with job opportunities, the company restored a lot of confidence in many employees because it tried to avoid retrenchment unlike many media press companies. Comparing from the previous owners there were 3000 people who lost their jobs. Nevill (2013) quoting Professor Jane Duncan, of Highway Africa Chair of Media and Information Society at Rhodes University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies, pointed out that the fact that the company is now owned in South Africa is great news for journalism in South Africa. This is because the group was subjected to, over a decade, cost cutting and profit extraction by its Irish owners, leaving the group a shadow of what it was, or what it could have been had it remained locally owned. The change of ownership has the possibility to change some of these tremendously negative trends.

Moreover, the company has been able to withstand, with the help of the new ownership, the rough economic conditions, the JSE rules and the impact of consumers migrating to digital media are disrupting mainstream print newsrooms in South Africa, Speckman (2013). Many newspapers like the Media24 and BDFM, Times Media Group and Naspers, units of major media houses, respectively had each reduced staff numbers at least twice during the year 2013. The Mail & Guardian was also completing a restructuring process that has included retrenchments.

In spite of the achievement of the new ownership of the company a report, by the Print and Digital Media Transformation Task Team (PDMTTT) released September 2013, has shown an outcry about the ostracism of black South Africans in the commercial print media industry which has been swept under the carpet by the major media owners, raising questions about their commitment to racial transformation 20 years after the demise of apartheid. It showed that there is huge exclusion of blacks, especially woman, in the structures, management positions and boards that control big media companies, Speckman (2013).

The normative, economic or social consequences of the changes

The company showed a great improvement compared from the way it was when it was in the hands of the Irish owner. In overall the company started practicing what is expected from a media company. As Dr Surve has promised to ensure integrity and fair reporting, the company workers worked freely and with commitment. A good example that showed commitment of journalist was during the passing of Dr Nelson Mandela. A talented team at The Cape Times poured their hearts into the coverage of the legacy of the father of the nation, Abarder (2013). This indicates that when workers have a boss who gives them space to be independent thinkers there is more commitment. Analysing the content of some of the newspaper randomly selected in a period of two weeks, it shows few instances where the newspapers reported a story in which the source is not stipulated within the article. This indicates that journalists of the newspapers conduct their work ethically and honest because a story without a reference or source is hard to believe. It also reflects the morals that are expected in the new South Africa.

Gasant Abarder, editor of Cape Times when he was appointed in 2013 testified for The Cape Times team of journalist, revealing that he have worked with them for just a few days, but he was moved by their professionalism and they revealed that they don’t work for just any ordinary publication, Abarder (2013). Also his declaration, when he took the job, was that the newspaper will safeguard its independence and integrity at all costs; it will not pander to the interests of its owner, political organisations, commercial entities or any other individuals or bodies. It will abide by the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, be guided by the spirit of the Bill of Rights, and strive at all times to function within the confines of the South African Press Code, especially in the context of fairness, accuracy and balance, but giving special attention to limiting harm and having due respect for the rights and privacy of children, Abarder (2013). These words of declaration indicate that South Africans have fought for freedom of expression and freedom of the press. It means the media can be now trusted in reporting everything that needs to be reported and it indicates that there are people who are prepared to lose their jobs as long as they are ethically. These ethical working conditions reflect the new South African society; a society that is democratic, which has unions and organisation that make sure that companies do not infringes human rights.

Economically, the company is regarded as the best in the country in the media industry. The financial performance status since the company come back home is highlighting an improvement. It is impressive to learn that in trying to acquire profit the company do not use South Africans as means of production, reaping them without benefits. The way the company conduct its business is different from the time it was foreign owned. A report by the Media Workers Association of South Africa to the National Treasury about the INM-SA in response to the document ‘A review framework for cross-border direct investment in South Africa’, August/September 2011 indicate that the company, during the Irish ownership, it come to South Africa with an aim of generating higher profit for the Irish owner and shareholders in expense of the South African citizens. It also attempts to highlight the constant pressure to repatriate profits to Ireland regardless of the trading conditions prevailing in South Africa, MWASA (2013).

Comparing the financial statements before and after it changed its ownership it shows that the company still make a lot of profit, although before the company was sold all the profits would go to one person. But currently the company reflect the new South African society because, as much as Sekunjalo Media Group owns majority of shares, but the company is not owned by a single person or family. Due to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) companies have mixed races in their ownership. The financial performance between 1994 and 2010 reflect nothing but a constant increase in profit, MWASA (2013), which use to go to one person or family. In 2014 it was reported that the company jumped by 20.9% profit increase, from R16.2 Million to R19.5 million, Cairns (2014). This increase in profit do not only means something to the owners of the company today but it means a lot to black South Africans in the rural areas because they get bursaries from this company. Although it showed a decline in cash flow from operating activities in 2013 but their defending argument was that it was due to R9 million being used for increasing stuff and other requirement that were needed, Cairns (2014). Those declines were consequences of the change in ownership but the company has paid off those consequences because it remains the best print media company in the country.

Socially, the company is trying by all means to remain what is expected by the media industry from a print media company. Socially, newspapers supposed to be watchdog and at the same time play a role of nation building. They should not be bias or in favour of a certain race. They should always be fair when reporting and be driven by its readers, Skjerdal (2001). However, it is sometimes difficult for the company to report fair, especially when it comes to stories about the ANC, because the owner is close to the ANC. But through its ethical workers the company is able to report stories that touches the ANC. Another social consequence that the company is facing, since it is owned in South Africa, is that it should pay back to the community. This is done through bursaries that are given to learners who want to study journalism in the poor black communities and it also employs South Africans. In doing so the company fulfil Survé’s dream of development, end to hunger and poverty in this country, essay access to proper education for all young people and a country with economy and political systems that enable innovation and critical thinking, Sefara (2014). Lastly, the company is one of the best companies in the print media industry and at all times it has to maintain its standards because people trust it.

Data analysis

The data was collected from two newspapers, The Mercury and Daily news, for a period of two weeks. Both newspapers are daily newspapers and they are national newspapers. The reason for data collection is to analyse the content of this two newspapers in order to investigate if there were any changes in the content due to the change in ownership and control of INM-SA. The content will be investigated through the use of front cover stories on both newspapers from 8 June to 19 June 2015. When analysing the content, the focus point will be the type of news reported (crime, sports, politics, general etc.), the place where the story happened, and sources used.

Starting with Daily News, they were 24 news stories that were published in a period of 10 days. Out of the 24 news stories there are five news stories about crime and the crime stories reported by the newspaper they all happened in Kwa-Zulu Natal in Durban. There were eight news stories about politics and out of eight there were four stories that covered South African politics and four that covered international politics. In the South African politics there were two that were about the ANC and one about the DA and also one that includes the IFP, NFP and DA. There was only one news story that covered sport and there eleven news stories about general issues which include entertainment, music, developmental and research. Out of the eleven news stories that reported general news there were seven news stories that were South African stories and five were international news. In the total news stories published in a period of two weeks there were seventeen that used people who were either involved in the or police, company spokesperson and people who were witnesses. Six quoted other newspaper and all the newspapers that were quoted are international newspapers, such as the Routers News and The Independent. Only one newspaper copy had their source from internet website. In addition, all the 10 copies used had advertisements on the cover page. In the ten days the Daily News out of all the copies there were 2 copies who had four news stories on their cover pages, 5 copies that had three news stories on their cover pages and lastly, there were 3 copies that had two news stories that had two stories on their cover page.

When analysing the data it can be suggest that there is a lot of political news coverage that has been covered by the newspapers but out of the news coverage within the period of two weeks there are only two times where there are news report about the ANC. The affiliation of the owner and the control structure in politics did not stop the newspaper to report on stories that involve the ANC, especially, President Jacob Zuma. The newspaper still shows that it was once foreign owned because all the ten copies of the newspaper had an international story at the cover page. All the foreign news stories they are sourced from international newspapers which show that the company as much as it is now owned entirely in South Africa but it did not cuts its international relationships with international newspapers. The reporting of local news and local issues shows that the company cares about and covers news fairly. It shows that the ownership is now in South Africa and there are a lot of political people who are part of the shareholders. The news coverage of the newspaper reflects the contemporary South African society.

On The Mercury there were also ten copies that were analysed in a period of two weeks. There were 21 news stories that were reported in a period of ten days. Out of 21 news stories there were seven news stories that reported crime and four of the news stories they reported crime that happened in South Africa, Kwa-Zulu Natal. The rest (three) was crime that happened outside the country (International news). There were seven news stories that reported general issues, such as religious, music, development and about religion. Unlike the Daily News, The Mercury had only four news stories that reported political news and the political content was about COPE and the ANC. There were four news stories that reported sports news although half of them were politics in sports and the other half was general sports news. Out of the 21 news stories eleven of them were South African news, from the South African news there were five that were from Durban, where the company have its offices. Ten news stories were international news, such as USA, Berlin, London or New York. Out of the ten newspaper copies there were ten newspaper stories that used people as their sources and this people were either witnesses, government officials, and police. Nine used international newspapers as their source of information for their news stories and two used documents, official statements and people. In addition all The Mercury newspaper copies had advertisements on their cover page or front page.

When looking at the content of both newspapers they both reflect that they are South African newspapers and they are managed and owned in South Africa. They also reflect the new South African society because they report local news. However, the change in ownership is reflected from how freely the editors are when they report this news. They don’t show biasness from the way they report but they report almost all the categories. However, the newspapers still show that they were once foreign owned because from all the newspaper copies in the period of ten days they had international news. There is more news coverage in Durban when comparing both newspapers than in any other places, which might be a short coming for the company in the short run. This is because both The Mercury and Daily News are national newspapers, so when they report more news in Durban or Kwa-Zulu Natal it might lose customers. People do not want to read a Durban newspaper when they read Daily news but they want to read a newspaper that has news coverage across the country.

Conclusion  

When completing the research findings showed a huge impact in the INMSA due to change of ownership, control, structure regulations and the content from 2013. The company management structure change from foreign ownership to mix races of South Africans. The shareholding changed from one person or family to many shareholders and stakeholders in the company. Although the majority shareholding goes to Sekunjalo Media Group but it does not mean they have the entire control of the company. The public is involved now and they play a role in driving the product of the company. The company now reflects Dr Nelson Mandela’s dream of a rainbow nation. There are now black people in the media industry, especially the print media industry. This has paved a way of the BEE notion of empowering black people in the previously white owned companies and allowing them to be in business with other races.

It has also been observed, during the research, that the company had consequences because of the change in ownership, control, structure regulations and the content. There were financial costs that the company went through, beside the actual money used to by the company. There was a decline in cash flow in the because the company had to invest more in human labour and equipment to make it the best print media company as it is today. The company is now entitled to fair reporting and ethical working conditions. There were also positive outcomes from the change of ownership of the company. There newsroom is now free from total control by its owners, they are free to report what they have to report. The involvement of political people in the company, including the owner, has brought balance in reporting because people are expecting to see if the newspaper does report ANC related stories. There are also bursaries that are awarded to young poor black people who want to study journalism, which was not happening during the old ownership.

The change in ownership also brought change in the newspaper content, although the research was limited to two newspapers (The Mercury and Daily News) that were used to collect data. Amongst the things shown by the data, the newspapers cover more local news. This might a good thing for one but also be a bad thing to another person. The good part about local news coverage is that it reflects that the company is now owned home and it has to cater for more local news. But the bad side might be the market of newspapers because the company has to make profit. The newspapers have news stories that criticized the government and it allow people to participate through writing to the editor in the opinion column. There is huge improvement, which goes together with responsibility, in the company. Today it remains the best print media company in terms of sales and operation.

TO: The University Community

In supporting students to gain access to quality education, the University of KwaZulu-Natal provides assistance to financially disadvantaged students through loans, bursaries and scholarships.  Financial aid resources are limited and the University is committed to ensuring that funding intended for financially needy students is directed accordingly and that the neediest and most deserving academically performing students are assisted with funding. 

 Given the limited funding that is available for financial aid, not every needy student can be assisted with funding.

 The University views the provision of false information on financial aid applications—which constitutes fraud—in a very serious light. It is for that reason that the purpose of this communication is to warn students against such practices and to encourage members of the University community to report any suspicion and/or knowledge of false information submitted on financial aid applications in an attempt to access financial aid.

 Disciplinary measures will be instituted against any student who provides false information in their applications and anyone found guilty of fraud will be charged accordingly and be required to pay back any amount acquired through such fraudulent means.

 Thank you for realizing this after 10 years.

Do not fix a problem with another problem EFF

When the EFF come to the political arena some of us had hopes that South Africa has done it again. As young people we had hope that the youth of 1976 has risen to take the country forward and rescue it from continues corruption that is ignored in this country. i was hoping the youth month will be respected. But what they did in parliament on Thursday 18 June 2015 was a total disgrace to everybody in the country. Disrupting a democratic seating and the proceeding of the parliament was out of order.

I believe young people of this country were starting to realize that this country need young, energetic and vibrant young people such as the leaders of the EFF but today I am very disappointed. I always thought the only political party that enjoys disappointing its people is the ANC but I was wrong. I wish the leaders of the EFF can grow up and know that you don’t fix a problem with another problem. I use to think changing membership from one political party to another was just political prostitute but today I know why people leave their political parties to seek a better home. How is disrupting parliament discussion going to make President Zuma pay back the money?

Thank you to all opposition parties who were first fooled like everybody that the EFF want to truly represent the poor South Africans. They have realized now that the EFF has nothing to do with poor people but the party is a vehicle used to settle a personal score between President Zuma and Malema. Using poor people to settle your personal problems is not worse than what the apartheid government did. There is no difference today between President Zuma and Malema; they have all deceived the poor people. All we see and hear ever since the EFF came to parliament is “Bring back the money”. It was the DA at first, complaining about everything but now we have the EFF. There are no discussions that are to benefit the country in the parliament anymore. The biggest question, left without an answer, is: should we vote in the upcoming elections, as young people and if we should someone should give be a better explanation on why we should vote.

Open Letter To Examiners and Markers

Dear Examiners and markers. I find it suitable to write to you at this time of the year where majority of learners and students are busy writing, carving their future in many parts of the country. I write this letter as a teacher, invigilator, student, examiner, and a marker. It is interesting that somehow I am part of what I will be discussing.

I want to appeal to you as a maker and an examiner, where ever you are, that when you start setting exams and marking the scripts from the learners and student please be sympathetic. There has been many times where somebody’s future is dragged down the drain by somebody, because of his/her problems at home, with his/her spouse, children, work, sickness or drugs. I want to remind you that this leaners and students have spent their entire time trying to study and some had sleepless night trying to prepare for your exams. Please make sure you have a clear mind before setting their exams and marking their scripts. It is so painful to realise, during script viewing and remarking, that many lectures and teachers make a lot of errors.

There are many learners and students who could have completed their qualifications or move to the next grade but because of how you hate your work, do not care, have problems with one of them, drink too much, they are still doing the same grade or level. It is hurting to many who are still paying for their education to realize that they should haven’t repeated that class but your negligence has made them pay for the same course for more than one year.

It is grate and on the same time very bad that South Africa has different races and people of different colours because some people still use that to punish many innocent students when they are marking. Let as set aside the issue of race when we marking because this young leaners and student have got nothing to do with what happened in the past. Above all let us have love for our work and for the leaners and student. Even if he/she happened to deny you a date it does not mean you need to fail him/her.

To all leaners and students shifting blame to your lecture and teacher for your laziness has never worked for anyone. What I have learnt in my years as a student is that lectures and teachers are people who prepare your food and you don’t mess up with somebody who prepare your food because you will eat shit. Working very hard as a student has always paid back. Be embarrassed when you see yourself repeating the same class more than once.