Letters to the editor, October 28

When the boss is also the landlord

Sir,

Your edition of Thursday, October 23, Court Halts Eviction Of Woman Fired After Romance Turns Sour, refers.

This is not a new concept in our law and when employment is tied to accommodation our courts including magistrates and judges are obliged to take into account whether the termination of the employment was fair or otherwise.

If the termination of employment is challenged, then the civil court is invariably obliged to stand back to wait for the labour adjudication bodies to rule on the fairness or otherwise of employment. In many instances employees seek reinstatement, which is the first port of call in any labour litigation. If the reinstatement is given then clearly the accommodation will go with it.

The risk for all employers who have employees staying on the premises or in work related accommodation is that it won’t be easy to terminate the accommodation benefit.

Especially in domestic service relationships where domestic workers stay at the home of the employer this becomes a serious problem. | MICHAEL BAGRAIM Cape Town

Rule of law prevails in Albanese case

Sir,

Why was service of the summons for defamation on Francesca Albanese irregular and couldn’t be served on her?

By now, readers are probably mulling over the summons instituted by pro-Israel Christian groups or alleged defamation against Albanese, Special UN Rapporteur on the Gaza genocide. And they’re wondering why was the attempted service of the summons upon Albanese “irregular” and, therefore, unlawful.

SA is premised or foundational on the constitutional principle of the ‘rule of law’. Period. In other words on the principle of legality.

Let’s not ignore the fact that Albanese is persona-non-grata in the US and therefore denied entry into the US even in the course and execution of her duties.

The SA Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, an overseeing body, established that the service of process was effected without the knowledge or approval of either the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development or the Director-General, who serves as the Head of the Central Authority, as is required by Section 40(2) of the Superior Courts Act, 2013 (Act 10 of 2013).Section 40(2) requires that a request for the service of any civil process on a person in the Republic received from any state or territory is transmitted to the registrar of a division by the director-­general of the department, with an intimation that the minister considers it desirable that effect should be given to such service.

Service of process is the formal, legal procedure of delivering court documents, such as a summons to a person, based on a request from another country.

I hope that I’ve simplified and contextualised what transpired in case that our printed and electronic media spins otherwise with fabricated chaff to hide the kernel of facts inside. | Saber Ahmed Jazbhay Newlands West

Justice for the first people of the land

Sir,

I have no inclination to show general support for any political party in this country except perhaps the ANC, for their somewhat solid Constitution. (So much the sad pity that wanton corruption still reigns within this party!)

However, I agree with Grant Marais’ take in your sister publications, The Mercury, on October 21, Khoi And San Communities Urgently Deserve Justice And Recognition.

All “ original” people that once lived in any land should be given preference over whoever who came later. The rest of us all become “occupiers”, “ settlers” and “colonists” – just as in Palestine.

The FFP have a good logical point: If the ANC demands that Palestine belongs to the original Arabs (Muslims, Christians, Jews and others) that once lived there from “Dada Adam’s Days”, then it’s only fair that the ANC does likewise for our very own indigenous people.

At least let’s give those people that have always been there more than a fair deal, democratically, instead of doing, as is the vogue elsewhere, everywhere. | Ebrahim Essa Durban

When safe zones become war zones

Sir,

Intimidation and violence at schools has become a vexing issue.

It is a sensitive subject that provokes anxiety because it arouses emotions and negative images, which requires courage to face squarely. To admit to the existence of learner violence in schools – traditionally a place of learning and growth – is particularly painful. As a consequence, violence often slips off the official agenda and out of public debate on education.

Schools are meant to be safe zones, not war zones. The schools of our past era were imagined as havens of courtesy and benign behaviour – in vivid contrast to the perception of today’s drug- and violence-ridden conflict arenas, where teachers daily risk their lives and worthy children struggle to learn. It is a monumental tragedy that unruly scholars revel in the pain and despair of others.

Student violence in our schools has reached alarming levels. Without firm discipline, a new culture of thuggery will envelop our educational institutions. There is hardly any issue in education that has generated more serious discussion and concern. The escalating menace of violence, crude bully tactics and intimidation is a ticking time-bomb. Teaching today is a far cry from what it used to be. Transgressions now include physical and verbal violence, incivility and, in some schools, substance abuse and assault. Many teachers spend an inordinate amount of time managing classroom conflicts.

What is most alarming is that violence has become so commonplace that it is viewed as the norm rather than the exception. Exposure to violence, so graphically choreographed on television, obscures the boundaries between good and evil, public and private, shame and pride.

It is imperative that those in charge of education remove violent learners from class to protect the rights of motivated and well-behaved students. Scholars must take responsibility for their actions. Parental discipline is sadly lacking. Parents too often assume their unruly children are innocent and teachers are at fault. Scores of distressed teachers are leaving the profession.

If this tragedy continues, society will inherit a generation of semi-literate, under-educated pupils, unfit to compete in a world driven by 21st-century technology. | Farouk Aarie Benoni

Healing begins with remorse

Sir,

The recent incident at Milnerton High School, where a junior learner was assaulted by older students, has rightly sparked public outrage.

As a physician and advocate for ethical conduct, I feel compelled to reflect on the deeper implications of such violence – especially when it occurs among our youth.

Physical pain, we learn through experience, often heals with time. But the emotional and moral consequences of violent actions – particularly when they are made public – can haunt a person for life. The shame of having inflicted harm, the loss of respect from peers and community, and the internal reckoning that follows are burdens not easily cast off.

Yet there is a path forward. It begins with accountability – not the kind that is imposed from the outside, but the kind that comes from within. A genuine, public expression of remorse is not only a balm for the victim – it is a necessary step for the perpetrator to begin healing and transformation. It also sends a clear message to others: violence is not a rite of passage, nor a show of strength. It is a failure of character.

Let this incident serve as a turning point. Let it remind us that schools must be sanctuaries of safety and respect. And let those who have erred take the courageous step of owning their actions – not to escape consequences, but to grow beyond them.

In a society increasingly plagued by aggression, we must teach our youth that dignity lies not in domination but in restraint and respect for others. That is the lesson we must all carry forward.

Our characters should not be defined by brute strength, but by compassion, empathy and moral fortitude. | Dr EV Rapiti Cape Town

Brand South Africa’s false narrative

Sir,

Financed by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the claim by Brand South Africa that the country’s “reform path is winning back investor confidence” (Business Report, October 24) is propaganda at its worst because it evades truth and reality.

Neville Matjie, Brand SA’s CEO, asserts that despite geopolitical flux, “South Africa continues to distinguish itself as a nation of endurance and depth”.

Since unpacking how this experience distinguishes us would contradict his narrative, Matjie avoids doing so and instead forges into the pastures of pretence.

He holds that the EU’s €11.5 billion investment package “is recognition that confidence in South Africa is not misplaced.” But one wonders who is fooling who? The EU’s confidence has everything to do with advancing its globalist strategy which, through indebtedness, enables it to increase its leverage over South Africa.

Brand South Africa is naïve if it thinks the EU is unaware of the broken state of municipal infrastructure where only 41 of 257 municipalities are financially viable; that the EU is unaware that South Africa under the ANC is a kleptocracy which adheres to the failed ideology of socialism. It knows that the only reforms occurring are the tightening of the discriminatory BEE regulations and new restrictions on mining so as to transfer mineral ownership, piecemeal, to “the people,” as the holy writ of the Freedom Charter dictates.

The “endurance” we display as a nation concerns having to endure increasingly unaffordable costs for an unstable electricity supply since 2007; rising unemployment since 2008 coupled with increasing labour costs; declining manufacturing output since 2007; gold production down 40% since 2013; GDP stagnation since 2018.

The “depth” to which Matjie says distinguishes South Africa realistically concerns the depth of despair at the extent to which every aspect of state governance is corrupt. Other “depths” of the sad experience we “endure,” which Brand South Africa dares not mention, include having among the lowest education outcomes in the world, ranking uppermost globally in crime and murder rates and the extent to which bribery and theft by criminal syndicates and cartels constitutes governance.

Brand South Africa regurgitates the false narrative that decarbonisation will promote social upliftment and employment. Besides the lack of scientific evidence, justifying this, the purveyors never explain how, without coal and oil, mining and manufacturing can occur and how alternative employment opportunities would materialise. .The only redeeming aspect of Brand SA’s propaganda piece is the tag Business Report’s editor appended to it:

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media. | DUNCAN DU BOIS Bluff

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