Grassfires have lit up our city and black plumes of smoke have ascended over it too, but whether controlled or wild, these fires spark the debate of whether they are beneficial or not.
Imagine driving down the N1 highway when a white haze takes over the sky and obscures your line of vision. The car, truck or whatever in front of you an unrecognisable haze no matter how hard you squint. Hazards blink at double speed, a desperate safety warning that you are on the road too.
You can smell the scent of burnt grass, smoke filtering through your air vents. You try to close them, but it is too late, the car has already filled with dust and ash. A cough escapes as you wipe your watery eyes and then you see the flames engulfing the nature reserve you drive by every day. Bunnies hope, birds fly, and snakes slither away from the flames. You watch as the firemen throw water on the flames, get in their truck, and drive away.
Johannesburg’s Winter months have seen many grass fires blazing alongside highways and homes, but no one really understands if these fires are readying the ground for new life in Spring, or if they are random and just killing many species in their wake.
Sporadic fires and controlled fires look identical, with the only difference being the havoc they wreak.
The veld section part of EnviroServ’s property was reduced to ashes when an out-of-control fire swept up everything in its path. Photo: Victoria Hill
Veld next to The Meridian complex in Solheim was doused in smoke, creating a very ominous picture as residents looked on. Photo: Victoria Hill
AG De Witt Drive between Bedfordview, Solheim, and Dawnview had decreased visibility due to a roadside fire that was not under supervision. Photo: Victoria Hill
A fire on the corner of AG De Witt Drive and Kloof Road boarded on a private residence, causing harmful fumes to envelop the property. Photo: Victoria Hill
The small piece of veld next to Smit Street on-ramp in Braamfontein was smoking one afternoon whilst civilians laid amongst the flames and fumes. Photo: Victoria Hill
After a controlled veld fire, new blades of grass could be seen rising from the ashes, indicating the usefulness of grass fires in Winter months. Photo: Victoria HIll
Controlled burning of grasslands or velds are actually a common occurrence in Johannesburg and other parts of South Africa. Joburg City Parks says this acts as a firebreak so that if accidental fires do occur, they do not spread very far. However, they also act as an ecological resetter — fire removes dead matter from the ecosystem which could potentially house harmful insects, pests, weeds, or diseases.
Research says dead matter also holds onto nutrients that would otherwise be absorbed into the soil for other plants to use as food. The ash produced from grass fires can also act as a natural fertiliser for plant growth in the Spring as it contains vitamins and minerals like phosphorous, calcium, and potassium.
Examples of these sorts of fires can be seen in the black grass dressing Johannesburg’s velds. Many of us do not even realise a grass fire occurred because it was quick and controlled, but impactful.
Accidental fires, or uncontrolled fires, are not ecologically friendly as they just burn and burn until they are stopped — hopefully. They occur mostly near very dry grasslands, usually due to a lit cigarette being discarded or just bad luck. They sweep close to residential areas, cars, people, and anything else in its path.
Let us not forget the little creatures that never make it out alive like earthworms, spiders, ants, and other insects vital for aerating soil or biologically controlling pests. Bird nests also die in the blaze, including their chicks or eggs that were nestled inside.
An example of this would be the huge black cloud of smoke that covered Brickfield Road in Germiston on Saturday, August 10. What was meant to be a controlled burning of a large veld turned nasty when the wind swept the flames to a neighbouring plastic recycling plant. The smoke let off from these types of fires also contribute to air pollution as it contains harmful greenhouse gases. Bethany Augliere, a writer for Earth Magazine, says burning grass releases nitrogen pollution that harms air quality.
Another instance was on Sunday, August 11, when veld next to a busy main road between Bedfordview and Germiston was under a controlled burn but soon got carried away and closer towards boundary walls of residential homes. Because of the close proximity, this thick and polluted air was inhaled by humans and their pets which can have disastrous health implications. Firemen were told to keep the area on their radar to ensure the flames fizzled themselves out relatively soon, which they did.
Fire is a scary element, one that can burn anything in its path to the ground. As children, we were always told not to play with fire, lest our fingers get burnt. But then we watched phoenixes combust into a blaze on television screens, and saw a new creature emerge from the fire’s centre. So, is fire really just a killer or also a mother giving birth to new life?
FEATURED IMAGE: A huge black plume of smoke adorned the sky in parts of the East Rand on Saturday, August 10, after a veld fire spiralled out of control. Photo: Victoria Hill
Celebrating art can be about letting the art speak for itself, despite the artists internal doubts.
Wits Vuvuzela’s Ofentse Tladi doing what she loves most. Photo: Siyanda Mthethwa
As a writer, I consider what I do to be art, every sentence and turning over of a word a new brush stroke on the page in front of me.
In April 2013, I sat behind the my study desk and instead of scrambling through the never-ending Grade 5 maths homework, I wrote my very first story. It was not planned, the pen just kept going, writer’s block non-existent concept in my head at that point.
What stared back at me in that moment were pages and pages of what I now consider the worst thing to have ever been possibly written in human existence. A story about a girl trying to find herself amid her family’s chaos.
A story I’ve now learnt to partially like or at least, appreciate as a starting point. A story that now sits, cramped in the cupboard with many other pieces. Pieces that have probably long cried out to be heard but have been overshadowed by doubt, fear and many other endless reasons.
Doubt and fear – words that have somehow been ingrained in the minds of artists. Something is just never good enough, interesting enough, anything enough to be shared. It’s this constant battle between the artist and the art itself to be heard.
Your “April 2013” days have long passed now, and like the Grade 5 maths homework, you have to scramble through the very essence of what you do, the very essence of who you are.
To me, celebrating art is about learning to let your work speak for itself in its current state. To let readers, viewers and consumers delve deep in the imperfections of your creations and find beauty in that. It’s about building the trust you have in yourself as an artist and within the work you produce. It’s about attempting to revisit those “April 2013” days.
As a writer, when last did you sit and simply write a piece? When last have you blocked out the thousands of reasons your mind automates that make it ridiculously hard to simply just write? When last have you given your work a platform, a chance, a moment to simply just exist?
For art to be art, it must be born, with or without the doubt, the fear or the endless scrambling. It matters because it speaks. It is its own.
Time spent with a higher power is a perfect moment for self-introspection.
The Easter period and Ascension Day have come and gone without me showing my face in church. This has left me feeling guilty as if I have compromised and abandoned my spirituality.
The Very-Well-Mind website describes spirituality as a belief in something beyond the self which can be expressed religiously, traditionally, through meditation or in whichever form anybody desires.
Spirituality has been a very important aspect of my life that I have expressed through praying, reading the Bible and going to church. The time spent with a higher power is a perfect moment for self-introspection and finding out whether you like who you are, or the terms and conditions set by your faith.
I have experienced spirituality as a way of looking within and escaping from the physical world. It has helped me to find purpose and meaning in my life and to cope with stress and depression.
Research from Psychology Today shows that spiritually inclined people are associated with better physical and mental health, lower blood pressure, stronger relationships and improved self-esteem. This resonates with me because every time I have distanced myself from God, I have felt a sense of disorder and uncertainty in my life.
However, the indoctrination of religion by the people closest to us is a large contributing factor to feelings of guilt, shame and insecurity when we “derail” from what is expected of us. A 2015 academic paper says that feelings of guilt motivate more religious participation because of the pressure to conform and to be accepted by society.
This is true in my experience because my grandmother entrenched the idea of praying and going to church every Sunday. Therefore, not going on these essential days feels like a betrayal of her and God.
I questioned my faith after the death of my aunt in August 2021. I was furious because she had always been fiercely spiritual. How could she die? Most importantly, what God would take away a mother of two young boys, a sister, a daughter and aunt from her family?
A few months later, my neighbours invited me to youth sessions at their church, Christian Missionary Fellowship International based in Melville. For a change from other evangelical churches I had attended, I met people who did not claim to have all the answers about God.
Being with my peers also made it a more relatable experience as we were all trying to find our identities within the religion as opposed to trying to blend into something I did not comprehend. For example, we discussed complex yet relevant topics such as premarital sex, how to deal with addictions and how to create a better relationship with God.
This helped me realise that spirituality does not prevent bad things from happening, it just helps one to deal with them with a clear and hopeful mind.
The guilt I have been feeling since not going to church for Easter had nothing to do with societal expectations of me but my expectations of myself and my spiritual journey.
To forgive myself and move on, I have started the journey of nurturing myself through prayer and meditation. I believe that spirituality can die out like a plant when it does not receive enough water and sunlight. That is why I will keep working on myself to be the best version of me.
In a time where coalitions are the new reality for South Africa, will young leaders have the upper hand in next year’s national elections?
If the rollercoaster coalitions at municipal level over the past couple of years are a trailer for 2024’s national scramble, then we are in for a crazy ride with new key players emerging.
The 2024 national election is going to be an interesting one in South African politics – especially for the country’s youth. With an unemployment rate of 63,9% for those aged 15 to 24, and 42,1% for those between ages 25 and 34, things are not looking great for the youth – with some becoming fed up with the status quo.
For the first time in our 29-year democracy, the ruling ANC is largely predicted to receive less than 50% of the vote – however, these statistics fluctuate from poll to poll. This has already been the case across various large metropolitan councils, including Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekhuruleni, which has seen the frequent formation and breaking up of coalitions, resulting in unstable government.
We are likely to see this play out at a national level in 2024. Some parties, such as the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA, are already scrambling to form coalition pacts regardless of the outcome of the polls that are still 12 months away.
The question this raises is: what will the youth’s role be in coalition politics next year? Of 43 million eligible voters, 18 million are youth, however, only 10 million or so are registered to vote. As history has shown, the turnout rate may be much lower. In addition statistics show that the lower the voter turnout, the higher the percentage of votes will be for the ANC.
This article is not arguing the importance of the youth going out to vote. (Award-winning legal and development practitioner Karabo Mokgonyana did that very well in a Mail & Guardian article.) Instead, it considers a scenario in which the youth turned out in numbers to vote, and the ANC fell below the 50% threshold to form a government.
Witsies cast their votes in the 2016 local government elections at the East Campus Old Mutual Sports Hall voting station. Photo: File
Would young voters vote for a youth-based agenda, and if so, who would be calling the shots in coalitions? The question is relevant as there has been a flurry of new youth-oriented political movements and parties, while existing parties with young leaders in positions of power such as the EFF are maintaining their relatively large youth support base.
On the other hand, parties such as the DA, are not only losing support in elections, but are losing prominent young leaders such as Phumzile van Damme, Mbali Ntuli, Mmusi Maimane and Bongani Baloyi. The reasons for their departures are varied and complex, but they have also pointed to the disproportionate representation of youth in decision-making structures, which has allowed those in positions of power not only to disregard their needs but to underestimate the will of the youth to do something about it.
In terms of representation in addressing this, of the 446 members of parliament, only 51 (11%) are under the age of 35.
In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, former DA and ActionSA leader, and now founder and president of Xiluva, Bongani Baloyi,said that he believed that young people would vote for those pushing for a “youth-oriented agenda”. This agenda focuses on prioritising pressing issues affecting the youth, such as unemployment.
“Young people deliver better governance,” said Baloyi who, in 2013 at the age of 26, was voted as mayor of Midvaal municipality, a position he held until November 2021. His tenure was well known for clean governance.
With a large fragmentation of political parties in the country – 696 are registered nationally and 1634 locally – youth-oriented parties can pull support away from established parties with unrelatable leaders for young South Africans and play a crucial role in coalition politics.
With some parties already ruling out the possibility of talks with the ANC and EFF, youth-led parties such as Xiluva, Maimane’s Build One South Africa and Rise Mzansi which was launched by former journalist Songezo Zibi on April 19, can gain the upper hand in coalition talks, and to push “youth-based agendas”.
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