Sugar daddy affairs

When we discuss the sugar daddy issue, it always takes a shrewd and deliberate angle. We always seem to solely focus on the girl who is caught up in this immoral affair. We vilify her without putting much thought behind all factors that contribute to it. She's a lazy girl, with no morals, who loves money and old men. She's probably from a poor family and loves the allure of the easy life. She's exchanging sexual favours for financial favours. Glorified prostitution if one could put it more bluntly. This is the analysis we put together and we're satisfied by this analysis because it satisfies our point of view. We can judge the girls as from our system of reality we can assess all the hardships involved in completing a degree in a university with little to no financial support from our family.

Now, let's step out of our comfort zone for a bit. Let's analyse the true evil behind this issue. The reason it's so rife. Let's take a look at the role a dysfunctional marriage has in producing the main factor of the argument, the sugar daddy. A marriage is a union between two people. By this definition we can conclude that for a sugar daddy to exist, the marriage is dysfunctional. There's many reasons for a marriage to be dysfunctional, topic for another day. Let's analyse why the husband feels the need to prey on gullible girls who are easily lured by the facade of what seems to be an easy life.

To do this we have to analyse the current economic environment we operate in. We reside in the more unequal country in the world(according to a survey). This is already a recipe for disaster. Once people breach the financial stability line and can afford a big house in a nice suburb with a car that matches, they gain power. They gain power over those inspiring for a similar lifestyle. People look at them and marvel at the life they are living which from the exterior seems so easy and so opulent. The people in these positions are fully aware of the power they possess, this is where the true evil lies. The man exploits his new found power to lure the young ladies into a snare filled with lies, deception, vile sexual acts and punches her self esteem beyond recognition. The aim of the sugar daddy is not to leave his wife and marry his victim. The aim is to trap her mentally and financially, get her used to enjoying a certain lifestyle that she alone could never afford, make her financially depend on him. He makes her feel like this is also hers and she is safe as long as she stays and does what he wants. The same evil mentality behind the engineering of slavery. The wife is an enigma in all of this but she is probably as much to blame for this as the husband. She knows that he's not at late meetings, she knows he's not meeting only friends but she looks away because she's comforted by the lifestyle her husband has made her accustomed to.

To be continued...

You were the kaffir

Racist white man. Do you still walk around thinking of yourself as superior to all? Do you still believe that people of colour need to bow before you? You probably think black people are inferior because they are ignorant. Ignorant is the man who teaches his children to hate people because they have a different skin colour and then tell them on Sunday that God loves us all. Ignorant is the man who reads the bible and call themselves Christian but yet turn around and oppress others. Do you think God approved of your actions. Do you truly believe the same God who loves the poor and protects those who are suffering was in favour of white supremacy?

You called us kaffirs, a term Muslims use to refer to a non-believer. I'm here to tell you that you were the non-believer. You preached messages in church which you never followed. Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. That's one of the ten commandments which you failed to follow day in and day out. The Bible spoke about Moses setting His people free. We are now free and were led to freedom by Nelson Mandela and the many who fought besides him. Indeed, we are His people seeking the promise land. All along you didn't believe the message you were teaching because you're non-believers.

You didn't want to believe that one day black people would be free. You didn't want to believe that we are very smart people. You didn't want to believe that one day black people would rule the country. Even the Americas never believed that one day an African, who they thought was only good enough to be a slave, would be their president. You didn't want to believe that when black people took power they wouldn't seek revenge because you thought of us as savages. You have hatred that you can't explain it's origin towards black people but you still go to church and sing those hymns with that cloud of darkness covering your heart. It's ironic how you were always the non-believer. You were the kaffir.

Trapped in a world of bitterness, spreading hatred and fear just so you can live exclusively in comfort. Doesn't sound like the life Jesus lived when he was on this earth. Why do you believe in Jesus if you rather live like the devil? I hope next time you're in church you can feel God's touch and free yourself from hatred. I hope you can start looking at a black man and think of him as a brother or otherwise you will always be a kaffir.

A girl in South Africa

Trust was instilled in us as babies. I trusted my aunt to catch me when she threw me up in the air. I trusted my parents to always feed me and come attend to me when I cry. Gullible and naive 7 year old, my favourite uncle was the first to break my trust. Lured by sweets and ice-cream that he enticed me with, he violated me down there. Told to never tell a soul because I'd only hurt people, my world became dark. Can I ever trust again?

I'm now a teenager, just developed breasts and my body is taking shape. There's this cute guy I like but he's those cool kids and I might get hurt. My early life trauma still haunts me but it won't stop me from loving. He says all the right words to entice me, I think I'll give him a chance. I trust his words, they sound so sincere. 8 months steady with him and I find out about his other two girlfriends. Heart broken, left confused and full of questions. Why me? I treated him good, why would he do this?

I'll just start dating older men because they're more mature. In Varsity we know that old charmers hang out at chilled places where they play good music. I know a girl that goes to those places, I'll befriend her. These girls look like they like things but I need an older man so I'll just have to be cool with them. These old charmers buy me things, promise me good times, get me drunk and I love alcohol. I think they understand me more than these kids my age.

I find myself here, how did I get here? Sleeping with old married men who seduce me using their bank account. Finding comfort in designer labels, make-up and expensive weaves. Crazy nights and wild parties is what I look forward to, it's my escape from this reality I find myself in. Get me high, get me drunk and let me forget about the voice inside me questioning my lifestyle. My boyfriend is a player but two can play that game. My friends like him and he's cute so I won't leave him plus the sex is good.

What have I turned into? My mother just told me she doesn't know me anymore. We fought but truth is, I too don't know myself anymore. How did I get here? I want to find myself. I can no longer take comfort in being branded a hoe by my peers. What will my children think of me? My mother has invited me to a prayer meeting, I'll attend and see what good it will do. Maybe divine intervention is what I need, maybe the answers are found in God. All I know is that there needs to be change because I'm losing myself to the world.

Racial profiling

On the 28th of October 2013, a young rapper travelling home from a gig was mistaken for a kidnapper and shot at 6 times. Lucky none of the shots proved fatal. Khuli Chana escaped with his life. This brought about a lot of talking because this mistaken identity is a norm but was brought to media attention because of Khuli's fame.

People were angered at what a costly mistake the police had made. Many people shared their views and experiences on twitter. I proceeded to tweet, "The sad reality is that none of this would have happened to @KhuliChana were he a white man." It didn't sit well with many. I was branded a racist. I look back at that tweet and I still see its accuracy. Maybe the truth is a bitter pill to swallow. Had the police looked in that blue BMW (the suspect were said to be in a grey BMW) and saw a caucasian man of any age I don't think they would've fired 6 shots at him. Khuli just matched the description, not even the car matched the description. Any black man aged 20 - 35 in that position would have been thought perpetrator without question. This is the society we live in, whether you fear to look at it that way or not. The black man lives in fear in his own land.

Do the police have reason not to trust young black men? It goes without say that crime is a serious problem in the country. Is crime a racial problem? Black people are from a less privileged backgrounds due to racial oppression caused by Apartheid. Mentally and physically oppressed for decades by a system set up to benefit people belonging to one race. Robbed off our country's wealth and prosperity. This is no secret, something we all know. We are in a new South Africa now which gives 'equal' opportunity to every citizen. Its no revelation that many black man due to their impoverished backgrounds and lack of knowledge to commit white collar crimes have resorted to more violent crimes in order to get their way. This has led society to paint the average criminal as a black man between the ages 20 to 35. @JacquiThePoet tweeted "Black men are guilty until proven innocent, their crime is being black."

Khulane Morale, 31, got shot at 6 times for driving a car that resembled that off the criminals in question. Khulane also meets societies description of a criminal, a black man aged between 20 and 35. Without question he almost lost his life because of racial profiling. If me pointing this out makes me a racist then we have a problem. If speaking about racism or racial problems makes your back hairs stand then you're living in a cocoon, a world far from the truth. The truth is that society is racist, we stereotype everyday and those stereotypes lead to dangerous conclusions. @MTshwete tweeted "Where can I buy "I'm black but I'm not a criminal" car sticker.

Will we ever stop racial profiling so a black man like me can feel safe travelling the streets without being shot at? Is this mentality of stereotyping everyone you come across ever gonna stop? Are the wounds caused by Apartheid in this country ever going to heal? The more we talk about it more openly the more we can understand each others frustrations. Don't shush me because I have the guts to say my mind on racial issues because they make you feel uncomfortable. I'm here looking for a solution to the problem, keeping quiet is not working for me.

@Vusani_

Parental guidance

A child is more than money. Why are we careless with our children but careful with our money? Children are the greatest gift from God. As a parent, God has given you the privilege to raise and teach a child. You train your child young what you want him or her to become. Children should be taught how to grow up, they can't grow up on their own. Don't expect a child to be what they are not. God gives children the patents they need in order to become the people they're supposed to be. Wishing other parents or children is a sin.

Many times we teach them by our own lives. God had entrusted you with the task of bringing the child up. Don't bring up a child under threats. Threats are cruel and leave the child fearful and worried. Threats are not fair and are immoral. You can't build anything by threatening, you can only build a child by love. Encourage your child to do better. Teach your child responsibility. Don't confuse material for love. Spoiling and love are two different things.

A child makes a parent a better person. Every child helps a parent improve their character. You learn patience, acceptance, tolerance, flexibility, generosity, how to be joyful and giving as well as to accept who you are. Learn to be the best and you yourself will be the best to your children. Your daughter should be your best friend, you mother. Your son should be your best friend, you father. Every child needs guidance so they don't make mistakes. When they make mistakes, they need love and warmth. Never compare your children to anyone else.

When your child asks you to talk, stop everything and listen. When you close the door for your child to come confide in you, you have lost your child. You don't build anyone by criticising them. Stop looking for difficulty in your child and start looking for the opportunity in your child. Stop trying to toughen your child because you will end up destroying them. As a mother, you don't go by what the uncle or aunt say. Speak to your child and understand them. Never label your children and don't allow anyone to label your children. Stand up and defend your children from those who try and label them. A child with a good family foundation can never be broken down. Words stay until death. Some words are not to be spoken. Today you have to forgive yourself and your children. [Prophet Philip Banda] 

Free slaves

Apartheid and the era of slavery came and is now gone but are black people really free? What has accomplishing freedom done for our mentality? Are black people still suffering from inferior complex? We need to realise that servitude is not just about being in chains and calling the white man “baas” while being treated less than his dogs. True servitude is in the mind, the way you think, the way you view yourself and those who were your former oppressor.

Freedom has seen many black people thrive in this country. Multi-racial schools are a norm in society and we have come to co-exist with each other peacefully. This is nice and all but are black people really free mentally. This question I pose after observing how many black people still believe the DA could bring back apartheid if they came in power. People strongly believe the past can come back to haunt us if power is given back to the white man. We rather endure the constant abuse from the ruling party than to imagine a white man take over the hot seat. We’re trapped! We have moved to dodging rubber bullets and tear gas physically to doing it mentality.

We suffer from inferior complex even in the work place. A black person is more comfortable with a white manager than a black one, they assume the white man knows best. With all races, size and form attending various universities across the country, it’s only a trapped mind that makes us assume the white man knows better. This behaviour can be observed amongst teens as well where when a black teen associates himself with a white teen and forgets his roots and starts speaking in a pretentious nasal accent which is interpreted  to make you seem smarter than the normal speaking black man. A black teen would rather redesign his culture, religion and behaviour to mimic that of a white teen than to expect the white teen to do the same. This kind of mentality is the reason why I believe white people found it so easy to land on our continent and do as they please to the locals.

Many black people live to please the white man at his black brothers expense. It’s a mental  warfare and we seem to be lacking adequate ammunition to do proper combat. We don’t like reading, we don’t follow too much of the news, we hardly get out of our comfort zones and we downright ignorant. For the black man to transcend mentally in order to stop being modern day slaves, it will require great effort. We are at a very exciting time for our race and continent but to really grab the opportunities infront of us we need to awaken from our slumber and realise though we are not in chains we’re still slaves to our minds.

Short-termism

The black mentality is a very complex theory yet relatively easy to fathom. There are many components to the black mentality but today I divulge the short-termism that we suffer from. What is short-termism?  This is the type of thinking or planning that concentrates on achieving results in the near future rather than on long-term objectives. The average black man lives for today and at most tomorrow, any further than that is simply pushing it. This mentality is adopted to dealing with money, relationships and general living.

When you talk about investments you tickle the black mind and the sensation spreads through-out his body as this word is associated with getting rich. Why is it then that only white folk keep to be getting this investment thing right? Black men think they deserve immediate compensation if they are willing to put away their hard earned money. Very few black people are willing to stay in an investment that will mature in 15 years time. Is it because the concept of investment wasn’t properly explained so that the black mind can grasp it. We survive on our salaries and our loan re-payments exceed our savings. Maybe we hope not to live long and that someone can bear the grudge of repaying the debts that we are forever accumulating.  Wealth will never be achieved under this mentality.

Ask a black man where he sees himself in 10 years time and it feels as if you asked him to write you a 10 page essay explaining quantum theory. This has sadly become part of our culture, to think for now without ever considering consequences of the future...YOLO! The decisions being made by today’s youth would suggest that most of them have no ambitions of making a family or being parents that will lead by example. They live a reckless life for the thrill of the moment.

People get into relationships with someone for all the wrong reasons because we suffer from this mentality. Girls chasing guys with money because they want to be spoiled NOW! “Why wait for tomorrow, who promised us tomorrow?” Some of the things girls who chase sugar-daddies love to quote. Many black girls are not looking for a husband, they want a sponsor. They want someone who will provide a means for them to continue living this reckless life they have grown accustomed to. They’re too quick to give up on education because they haven’t thought to how far it can get them, they are unable to think that far. Guys are forever chasing pipe dreams because they trying to get rich quick and live the lives they see on MTV which they fantasize about.

This short-termism is a sad way to look at life. I have no immediate remedy for it but I will bring it to your attention so you can start looking at life from a new angle for a change.

Are we losing our culture?

What is it that you understand by 'culture'? Semi-dressed natives in animal skin attire, dancing about and singing traditional songs? Is that really what our culture has been reduced to? Have we been consumed so much by Western culture that we belittle our own culture and see it as ancient and rather an embarrassment to practice? Are we unwillingly succumbing to a new way of life, the 'modern' way where we neglect our culture?

Maybe I should first start by point out what exactly our (black people) culture is because I'm pretty sure most of us have no idea. One of the most fundamental aspects of our culture is the importance we attach to man. Ours is a man-centred society. We take comfort in associating with others. In a community, everybody knows everybody and we all know each other's problems and stories. We also believe in sharing. Enriching those who find themselves in a less fortunate position. This is called Ubuntu, that's our brainchild after all. In the words on Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, based from a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed"

Growing up all we knew was to go outside to play with other children. We didn't have to create an imaginary friend like our Caucasian brethren, we had a surplus of friends. This is one of the reasons we're loud, it's in our genes. We want to be heard by our many friends. Let them not shhh us because they're used to whispering to their imaginary friends. We love music, boy do we love music. Every game we played as children was with most certainty accompanied with a song. We sing when we're sad, when we go to war so we can combat the fear in our heart and most importantly, we sing when we're happy. We have rhythm so with song comes dance. We dance to express ourselves, it's the best form of expression we know. That's why they mock us when we strike and say we not angry about what we're marching about because we're dancing. They couldn't be any wrong, we are angry and we express our angry in march while singing struggle songs.

Our culture involves a lot of beliefs but one that sticks out is our believe of ancestral powers. A believe that the minority have dismissed as deficient. We are made to believe in Karma and Blessings instead. Some go as far as to say ancestral belief is going against God. This is NOT true. We need to embrace our ancestors, that's our culture. You can be a Christian and still give thanks to your ancestors. A lot of people will interpret the bible the way they see fit to match their culture and belief, don't be quick to listen to them. We believe in ancestors and we also practise lobola. Stop trying to look up every bible scripture to convince us that it's wrong, this is our culture.

We also slaughter animals when we are having family gatherings or celebrations. This is not barbaric. The animal is a token of thanks to our ancestors. It's easy to call us barbaric and then go off and buy your McDonald burger as if the meat fell from the sky like manna from heaven. We have a vast amount of cultures with different traditional attire. We NEED to feel proud of dressing in our traditional attire out in public without people thinking we're benighted. America dedicates a full month to celebrate black awareness and black history. The black people in America are the minority. Here in South Africa we are the majority but yet we have only one day to celebrate our culture. 24 September is Heritage day, the only day where you're not made to feel peculiar for dressing in traditional attire in the city yet we celebrate Good Friday and Christmas day with relative ease as if it were indigenous.

Who do we blame for this repudiation from our culture? Is it our parents who have neglected to educate us? Is mixing with Caucasians making us feel that their ways are better? Is it the influence we get from Western culture via television and social media? Whatever is it, it has to stop. We NEED to take pride in our culture, we NEED to embrace it, cultivate it and pass it down to our children and their children to come. No one will preserve our culture for us if we don’t, unfortunately. Let's take pride in our culture, behaviour and lifestyle. Let no one make us feel inferior for being ourselves.

follow me on twitter @JackBadane

Politically incorrect

We have all heard of the saying, "Politics is a dirty game." This is very accurate when referring to our current political situation.

The ANC is the ruling party and the party mostly responsible for bringing us freedom and "equality" in our country. We are forever grateful for their bravery and struggle. We are not however indebted to them because that's the perceptive we get from their die-hard supporters. As a country we are no longer fighting the same agendas we did back in 1988. Our main concerns now are fighting greed, poor service delivery, corruption and abuse of power.

With the obvious out the way, its time to divulge the core political issues in the country. The ANC have leakages compared to that of a tap after a 7 year old has brushed his teeth. This was evident during the last electoral campaign where people blindly voted for COPE, a runaway party from the ANC. They gave Thabo Mbeki a vote of no confidence as South African president, forcing him to step down as president of the country in 2008 and they voted Zuma as ANC president who later became the president of the republic. The same hypocrites of Mbeki's leadership methods are now trying to oust Zuma out of leadership in Mangaung this month. There's talks of another vote of no confidence towards President Zuma in February next year from opposing parties. President Zuma has reshuffled his cabinet ministers 3 times in his one term as president. This poses the question, "Does the ANC really know what they're are doing?" They seem to have a lack in judgement and they are too busy waging power fights among themselves to really notice that the country is getting gatvol of them. We read everyday of corruption in the government, abuse of taxpayer money, nepotism, labour unrests etc.

thanks to our ever vigilant media, the same media the ANC wants to disable by passing the secrecy bill and are forever badmouthing them when they post stories exposing the ANC's iniquitous ways. Our president has been in the media for all the wrong reasons, makes you wonder why he was elected to lead the ANC in the first place. We are all aware of the current state of our economy thanks to the Economists with their front page exposé with the heading "Cry the beloved country" and we all saw live on national television as men were gunned down for their pittance. Labour unrests have been rife and we have seen the most number of strikes, mostly due to unfair pay, in a presidential term under Zuma but yet the man is the most paid leader in a democratic state ever! Inequality in South Africa has remained the same post-apartheid era, it just changed colours. The political game is quite dirty indeed. The ANC promote the starting of small political parties to oppose them but have legislations preventing mergers of small political parties to form one big political party to run against them. This is another form of oppression in my mind but a very conniving and thoroughly thought out form of oppression. 

We can continue putting our faith in the ANC and hope things change for the better or we can look elsewhere but where? The DA? Ran by the ever so confrontational Hellen Zille, do we have hope for the country there. With crazy elitist ideals driving it, extremely focussed on the youth and gen-y a.k.a the boomers...it's a radical party that has two to three valid goals at best but operates within a "point fingers" framework. The DA went and put pit latrines outside black people's settlements and says, "we're doing what the ANC hasn't/ can't/ won't do" vote for us, vote for change. Then goes all elitist and preaches about economic freedoms for whites and blacks etc. Like, what do people from Khayelitsha and the deep rural areas know about financial freedoms? What is a pit latrine meant to do? Is it not better to do things right and build houses with proper plumbing systems and sewage facilities? Quick fix stuff isn't going to help the nation. My judgement of the DA is lacking in factual finding and the lack of knowledge about the DA is mostly due to the control the ANC has on the media.

Do we as the public really have power in this country, do we have a say or do they just tell us that we do to satisfy us and keep us quiet? If you look at it now, there is no "leadership" in African politics, there is what I'd like to call a "Bullying Right". Who gets to be the next one to pillage their nation under false pretence. [to be continued...]

(The view from the ordinary resident around Zuma's iNkandla's residence)

Don't ignore the economy

The word economy has been affiliated with an air of boredom and a stigma that suggests only the smart people should know about it. It is rife with discombobulated jargon to confuse the masses into not understanding how the world works. Understanding the economy will help you not just in terms of long-term decision making but even your day to day decision making. Its important that every citizen in a country understand her economy so not to be caught with your pants down. I hope this piece makes you wanna know more about the economy.

The economy is not just about fiscal policies, REPO rates, Prime rates etc. The economy is about the money in your pocket, the job you wake up every morning to go to. The economy affects your decision to buy a BMW or a Ford and also menial things like to buy albany bread or sasko bread. Understanding the economy will help you know why things around you are happening the way they are, why petrol is going up, why unemployment rate is going up etc. When your manager tells you the company is cutting on some costs to maintain the budget, you will have foreseen it from incidents leading up to this. We all on a mission to be rich and have no stress from monetary shortfall. Let me tell you a secret, with little to no understanding of how the economy works your chances of living in abundance are almost bleak. The first step to understanding the economy is to break away from the bubble of ignorance. A bubble where you think life is all about you and whatever happens around you doesn’t affect you. This is basic thinking because like it or not, as long as you're breathing in the confinements of a country...all that happens in and around it does have an effect on you. With that said let me give you a brief summary of the current state of the economy of South Africa. 

Our economy is not in crisis but we are certainly in distress. The number one reason for expecting difficult economic conditions ahead is the state of South Africa’s consumers. Consumers owe over R1 trillion to various creditors. Around 20% of people selling their homes in South Africa in the third quarter of this year did so “in order to downscale due to financial pressure.” “The vast majority of South African households are forced to restrict their spending by mid-month, regularly run out of money before month’s end, sometimes skip meals, and are often forced to borrow money to keep their heads above water.” Yet another sign of distress can be seen in the fact that over the next three years an additional 1m South Africans will become eligible for government grants. This is particularly alarming in light of the fact that, according to the latest Tax Statistics data published by SARS, only 4.3m or so South Africans actually paid income taxes over the last year (although all South Africans pay VAT and various other taxes), putting the ratio of income tax payers to grant recipients at close to 4:1. And as if all that isn’t enough, inflation is on the rise. Rising inflation eats away at spending power, and will further stress struggling consumers. With high unemployment, rising consumer debt and dependence on government grants, and ever-higher inflation, the outlook for South African consumers is not great. All of this, taken together with the ongoing negative impact of the wildcat strikes that shook the country over recent weeks, adds up to a very gloomy picture. While government is doing its best to manage the economy with prudence and care, there are simply too many deeply entrenched problems that are making it impossible for SA to grow fast enough to meet the needs of her citizens. Unless some radical policy ideas are implemented, or the global economic environment improves dramatically, South Africa is in for a slow and painful few years. [by Felicity Duncan]

The economy is part of your everyday life. From politics, exchange rates, your taxi fare, retrenchments at the work place etc. These are all effected by and will affect the economy. The economy can be both your friend and an enemy. If you know her she will treat you right but choose to ignore her and she will leave you in a devastated and desperate state. Don't ignore the economy.

Marriage constitution

Your wife is a gift from God to straighten your life. The wife is a mirror to the husband. The husband chooses the wife and not vice versa. A husband who makes his wife number one in his home and life, will succeed in life. If you honour and cherish your wife, you will grow rich. Cherishing your wife isn't a 90% effort but a 100% effort. You have to give your wife honour and prestige. Whenever she wants something, honour her wishes. As a husband, you should be considerate of your wife's needs. Treat your wife as a queen and she will make you a king.

A husband must strive to have peace in his home. Charity begins at home. When you increase peace in your home, income will also increase. Peace is the best vessel there is for all kinds of blessings. Marriage is senseless without peace in the home. The wife of a critical husband is broken, depressed, pained and has no power. Peace at home is impossible when you criticize your wife. Negative comments will destroy your wife's happiness. Direct all your compassion first to your wife.

A woman can stay single and alone with no hassles. Men NEED women to be our backbones. A person who's too occupied in finding faults in others won't ever find fault in themselves. If you grab a woman from someone else, you will not be free. If you crooked, there are better crooks than you. When you get attracted to other women, other men will be attracted to your wife. Play your role as the husband and see improvement in your home. We owe it to ourselves to have peace and tranquility in our homes.

[Prophet Phillip Banda]

Don't be afraid

Fear is a negative emotion induced by a perspective threat. Fear is the second name for the devil. Fear is the number one enemy of faith. Fear is a monster that paralyses, leaving you weak and helpless. Fear is destructive and produces misery. Fear will produce defeat and keep you in bondage where it will torment you.

When you get a bright idea you first see it manifest in your mind, all the bright things it brings but then you see the problems with your idea. At this stage its either you come up with a solution or you allow fear to grip your heart. If fear grips your heart, that's the end. Fools mistake fearlessness with ignorance. Seek wisdom as a wise man knows the difference. Being fearless is realising that faith can get you past a situation but ignorance is ignoring all the possible imminent dangers. There is a thin line between the two and a wise man can differentiate between the two. No great man in this world has realised their dream with fear in their heart, they all have one thing in common...they over-came fear.

Its time you realised your dreams. The bigger the dream, the bigger the risk and the least room for fear. If you inspire to do great things, you have to learn to fight fear. Its easier to take the easy route of giving up on a dream or vision but takes real courage to see them through. Fear and courage cannot exist in one matter or space. Today and for the rest of your life, I urge you to choose courage over fear. Be fearless, be a hero and change the world with your vision and courage.

Escape the black mind

The biggest challenge we black people have is money. Money for us doesn't equal liberty and prosperity; it rather leads to envy, greed, competition and pride.

How can we train our black mind so to not fall into the trap of money? The change is almost instant to a black man as soon as he starts making money. This is because he has entered unfamiliar territory with no previous experience. The results are over spending and no saving. Debts creep up on him worse than a thief in the night. Once debt has a firm grip, he becomes a slave to his paycheck. Debt will cripple you in ways unimaginable, it’s an evil system meant to keep you slave to the working force so not to venture your mind into other profitable areas. Interests have been cleverly set up so that paying back debt is near impossible without declining your lifestyle drastically. How do we stop this, how do we train the black mind?

The theory is simple, save more and spend less. If only it was this simple. Thing about the black mind is that money makes him feel superior and being superior means you have to show the rest of the world that you can afford. Everywhere he goes everybody must see that he has made it. We know that majority black girls love money so to date the best you must make the most. The pressure put on us by those who are supposed to be supporting us is immense. That is why our cars are more opulent than the houses we live in. We live to impress others. We give little to no support to our fellow brethren who are trying to make money because we hate being “left behind”.

The saying ‘charity begins at home’ should be a pivotal starting point in our mind set. Don’t try impressing the world if your family is struggling. The thing with a lot of black families is that there is always that one rich person but the rest suffer. What prevents that rich person from sharing his wealth with his own blood and empowering them so they too can have the knowledge to make their own money? Remember that it’s not called wealth until the whole family lives in abundance. We also don’t take the time to plan, we just want to make money and enjoy life. Very few black people have a will put in place let alone life cover. We are big fans of funeral cover though, forgetting that we leaving loved ones behind. We don’t care much for them. We live for us, we die with our money, leaving them to fend for themselves.

It’s time to train the black mind to know how to handle money so that it doesn’t just come visit us for a short period of time and then leave again. Know how to save, take interest in investments, spend within your means, buy cash and borrow less. We have heard all of this before but the lure of spending when money is in your hands is too strong. Here are tips you can use; from here on settle all your debts starting with the very small one. Spend minimal until you achieve absolutely zero debt barring your house and car instalments. This process can take up to 5 years so a budget should be drawn to remind yourself where your money is going end of the month. After you achieve this, start saving. Save for anything and everything you want and stay disciplined and strict to your saving. The more money you make the more you should improve your budget. These are just some helpful tips to help you.

End of the day we have a problem that money changes us and we are weak to its lure and promise of a lavish life. A life that we as kids saw on TV and have been dreaming of ever since. Only discipline and wisdom can help us. We have to understand that what we are doing is leaving a legacy for our children. Wealth won’t be achieved at our generation level but if we nurture our mind, harness our skills and start educating our children at an early age then future generations will enjoy living in abundance.

Blacks have hope!!!

Blacks are fools, blacks are stupid, blacks are greedy, blacks are lazy and thus blacks are poor...we have heard all of this and I say its ENOUGH bashing of our race. Its about time we stop pointing fingers at the problem and start finding solutions.

Let's address us being stupid first. For that we have to look at the core of it all, education. Public schooling at large is the course of this problem. No one inspires to be a teacher no more because of the salary they earn therefore only those that are left with no choice end up pursuing teaching. With a lack of teachers we end up taking whatever is on offer to be entrusted with our children's future. In private schools its very different. They only pick the cream of the crop to educate their children. With our background most of us can't afford to take our children to private schools. We are lagging in a cycle of basic education. Teaching has to be made a high priority, let them encourage people to be teachers by paying teachers more but yet making the curriculum more difficult so only the best make it to educate our children. Parents must also do their part and encourage their children to read more often.

Next let's address this laziness we have. The fact that we think because we took power away from the oppressor our lives must automatically be easy. We are the last to work but when people are benefiting, we the first to complain. We say we want change but we want someone else to get the change done. We must individually take a look at what we are doing to contribute to this change that we forever asking for. Get off your high horse and be part of the solution.

Next big problem is our greed. A black man finds it easy to spend R20 on a burger than to give his friend R10 so they can both enjoy a pie. This is because we always want to feel more important and that's where greed takes over. We once preached about Ubuntu, that was quickly forgotten. Indian people, white people and to a large extent coloured people work to enrich their communities but yet we work to leave our communities. Charity begins at home. Stop making everything about you and your wallet, let's begin working together to rid ourselves off poverty so future generations can live a prosperous life.

We have hope as a race. We couldn't see it before because we never had an example. Now we have Patrice Motsepe who is the richest man in South Africa and hails from soweto. If he can make it, why can't you? Stop tryna shift blame and start looking at yourself and the decisions you made to end up where you are right now. We are free now so let's act free and not only voice concerns but put actions to address this concerns. The fact that we see the problem means we very close to a solution. Blacks have hope!

Vusani Jack Jnr