Heritage Day

"Mama, why are people wearing old clothes today?"

"It's Heritage Day today, people celebrate they traditional, diversity of beliefs and cultural roots, mama explain to her little daughter in a taxi. Today is 24 September the Heritage Day, a public holiday in South Africa. The aims are preserving our cultural and diversity.

To me this day is a short! Why can't we have heritage day, every day. I know every day won't be 24 September, every day, but let the spirit live on every day. I admit in this lifetime of globalisation, neo-colonisation, fragmentation of identity and 'American dream' it’s impossible to retrain an absolute cultural roots especially Africanism. My concern is the way in which we have aborted our simple and inexpensive selves. Why don't we greet each like today? I was riding in a taxi to Johannesburg. All people were greeting each other in their respective home languages. And ironically none predicted to be ‘deaf’. There was just unconditional enthusiasm to our respective cultures, even the usual uncompromising Zulu taxi driver neither didn't predict to be non-Zulu deaf today. Just ' ke wa fologa mo stop sign' didn't prompt the usual risk of ' khuluma isintu' the daily reply aimed at undermining other constitutional entrenched languages and the risk of been ran off with at least 500 metres away.

My concern runs afar off this 'simple-suppose-to-be-daily life and a national braai day. Why do we Africans speak English at our homes and still blame Western world of suppressing our roots? When we know language is a tool to un-chain us and a profound instrument of preserving our heritage. When are we going to be ourselves again? Why do we have this day to preserve our Africanism, only to abandon ourselves 24 hours on? Why are we so friendly to each other as was the case in the taxi only to rebel each other tomorrow onwards? What does that say about us?

Personally, I still dream of President Jacob Zuma addressing the parliament in his traditional Zulu attires. So it can be known that our cultural clothes are not for Heritage Day only, like the mama taught her daughter in the taxi. So people can see and know our culture every day. So young ones don't be sceptical of our culture anymore.

The National Heritage Trust explores South African heritage and aims to develop the concept more meaningfully. The national heritage paper aims to make societies and communities lives more fulfilling, that allows societies members to development communities to nurture social wellbeing. And to establish and maintain societies in which heritage is an asset rather than a public holiday, cultural fashion parade and national braai day. The paper state that development can take place only as people become actively involved in development processes.

Let's have Heritage Day, every day! Let's work and live towards National Heritage Trust goals, everyday!

Abolish the away goal rule

Abolish The away goal rule!

Kaizer Chiefs could advance to the MTN8 finals without winning their semi-finals clash against Urban Warriors.
All thanks to the away goal rule. The turned-notorious rule was introduced in 1965 to encourage scoring football especially for the visiting team, as back then, visitors enjoyed packing the bus. And played not to concede. Even today, the general consensus is it encourages attacking football blessed with lots of goals. But really?
Let's me analysis Kaizer Chief vs Ajax Cape Town. The two teams played to an uninspiring goalless draw in Soweto, the home venue of Kaizer Chiefs, prompting the worse scenario - Kaizer Chiefs don't have to win in Mother City to advance to the finale. A goal scoring draw is a requisite for the glamour boys to book the 8 million finale date of 10 September.
Most pundits and supporters wrongly think the away goal rule count as double. No! Then what is the away goal rule? "The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football, when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored MORE goals "away from home" will win if the aggregate scores are otherwise equal" http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_goals_rule. In lay man's terms, away goal rule wins games if aggregate score is equal. The team that scored more goals away wins BUT only in case overall score is equal.
Ajax Cape Town did not score in Soweto therefore one odd all draw in Cape Town secures Kaizer Chiefs the ultimate 10 September finale date.
Great injustice, Kaizer Chiefs wins without winning! It logs-in my debate well.
46 years later, the away goal rule created the opposite. And achieved the absolute opposite. First leg home teams are reluctant to concede, seeing a goalless stalemate as good result. Making defending their primary objective. Causing first leg a miserable affair. Knowing any goal scoring draw in the return fixture will see them through, let alone a victory.
In the Carling cup, in the United Kingdom. The away goal rule is applied after extra time in the second leg. Should MTN 8 semi finals does the same? No, there are better alternative! Because still no outright winner can book the 8 million grand finale without 'really' winning the semi finals. That mean one all draw in the second leg after 30 extra minutes can still wins semi finals. At the end, after extra time away goal rule injustice is just merely delayed.
I suggest the away goal rule be wholly abolished. Only outright winner wins. If Kaizer Chiefs draw Ajax Cape Town, extra time be played and if still no outright winner. Then lottery penalties to determine the winner.
Using the outright winner will be just as teams that real won goes to the finals.