The Bush Radio team travelled to various communities across Cape Town to get people to question the political parties contesting in the 2014 elections in a series of community debates which was also broadcast on 89.5fm and online. But the job is not yet done – the team will now be based at the Western Cape IEC results centre to bring you coverage of the results as they are made available.
Bush Radio’s flagship current affairs programme: “Newsline” will broadcast live on Thursday the 8th May 2014 at 7pm with Natalie Malgas and Freedom Raphela of “Everyday People” doing a build up show from 4pm.
Stay tuned to 89.5FM or online for more special crossing to the results centre as results are made available.
The final in our series of 5 debates around the national and provincial elections for 2014 takes place in Kraaifontein on Thursday, 1st May 2014 (Worker’s Day).
Please note this debate which will once again be broadcast on 89.5fm and online will be earlier – 2pm to 4pm.
Details:
Time: 14h00 – 16h00
Date: 1 May 2014
Venue: Bloekombos Community Hall, Sam Njokozela Avenue, Kraaifontein
Remember to join us at the venue or tune in and send your sms to 32158 to have your voice heard.
Today from 6pm to 8pm Bush Radio will again host a debate between the various political parties contesting in the 2014 elections.
Members of the community in Joe Slovo Park are invited to Sinenjongo High School where they will have the opportunity to pose questions to the parties.
Bush Radio listeners, or those unable to make it to the venue can send us questions on 32158 and tune in via 89.5fm or online.
Details:
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Date: Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Venue: Sinenjongo High School, 4 Khozi Drive, Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton
The third in a series of election debates will be from Mitchells Plain from 6pm – 8pm on Tuesday the 29 April 2014. Everyone is invited to attend but remember if you can’t get there it will be broadcast on 89.5fm and online.
The first of Bush Radio’s election debates last night (23/04/2014) in Khayelitsha had a massive turnout (see below) and political parties and their supporters had heated discussions.
Tonight we bring you another broadcast, this time from the Simunye High School in Delft. The debate, which is also broadcast live on 89.5FM and online, will start at 6pm.
Thousands of people flocked to the Cape Town Stadium to celebrate the life of the late Former President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday. Madiba died at his Johannesburg home on Thursday evening, at the age of 95.
The function started with performances from various local artists which was followed by the National Anthem where the crowed sung in unity.
Chairperson of the African National Congress in the Western Cape Marius Fransman saluted the former icon for the role he played in the struggle and uniting the people of South Africa.
Fransman said we remember you as a freedom fighter, a revolutionary, activist and the father of the nation. The spirit of tata Mandela is already affecting us, let’s continue emulating his legacy.
The atmosphere was joyous with several people holding placards of Madiba, with many wearing Madiba t-shirts chanting Rolihlahla.
After MC Shado Twala opened the service, Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille took the podium where she described Mandela as a leader, a visionary and the very best among us.
“I say that we must choose to live hope, I say that we must choose to live in the world of the vision of Mandela, I say we must make Tata Madiba to live forever in our efforts to make South Africa a country he will be proud of” De Lille added.
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille told the crowd of her privilege of seeing Madiba earlier in the day as he laid in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. She opened the stage by singing a struggle song “uMadiba abazenge bam’mbone,”
Zille said Madiba was in peace and his face symbolized what South Africa has become, one nation at peace with ourselves and the world, one nation building one future.
Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel closed by saying Madiba belonged to all of us and we will celebrate him together as the spirit of Madiba lives inside us all.
While the parliamentary precinct was buzzing with journalists, politicians and celebrities (see the slideshow) last night waiting for the 2012 State of the Nation address (SONA2012), Bush Radio was at the Portlands Indoor Sports Centre in Mitchells Plain with members of the community, local politicians and activists. (listen to the audio below)
Some of the people who shared their views were during the outside broadcast in Mitchells Plain:
Louis Botha – Deputy Manager of GCIS in the Western Cape
Councillor Solomon Philander – Ward Councillor for ward 79 & Deputy Chairperson for the DA constituency, Mitchells Plain
Councillor Xolani Sotashe – Chief Whip of ANC in City of CT
Shahied Keet – Mitchells Plain Backyarddwellers and Resident’s Association
Rudy Kronenberg – Eastridge (Smarty town) Resident
Nafeesah – Resident
Michael Jacobs – Community Police Forum Wayne McKay – local comedian and Bush Radio volunteer
Ismail Chotia – Universal Party
A visualisation produced by Bushradionews to highlight the most words used in the SONA 2012 - an interactive version is available on http://bushradionews.blogspot.com/
On the 18th of May 2011, South Africans took to the polls to put their mark in the fourth Local Government Elections. The race to the elections was an interesting one. Political parties pulled out all the stops to ensure that they received as many votes as possible, and the battle for the Western Cape was especially hotly contested.
With the help of these students, we brought you live reports from voting stations all over Cape Town. Together with our regular newsteam these students were our roaming reporters on the day as well as bringing reports and live programmes from the IEC results centre until the final results were announced.
Here the students share their experiences of being trained, working with, and reporting for Bush Radio with you:
“The 2011 local government elections were a nail-biting event, as it saw the leading party, the ANC and the official opposition the DA pulling out all stops to win the votes of the many registered South African voters. Being in the middle of this highly contested election was both a very nerve-wracking and very exciting experience for me. Reporting live for Bush Radio and speaking with both for time and regular was an experience that I will cherish for a very long time.”
Bhekimpilo Dungeni
“Working with Bush Radio is certainly great, but to get to cover the 2011 Local Government Elections and get to interview candidate councillors for different wards was an opportunity to die for. As a young and aspiring journalist, I had the opportunity to mingle with different political officials as they made their last minute rounds before the voting stations doors closed at 7pm on Election Day. It was a great experience being live on radio for the first time, although nervous at first, but it kept me on the edge and it became the drive for me to deliver the best of my ability. I am certainly looking forward to working with Bush Radio in future, and I thank the whole team at Bush Radio who went out of their way to make sure we were ready for the big day. Thank you to our CPUT colleagues and lecturer Mr Shepi Mati for believing in us.”
“When they told us we are going to be reporting live from our voting stations, I was nervous. I didn’t know how to feel, what to feel. When I started that morning it was cold but I made the most of it. As the time for my live cross approached, my heart was beating faster. But after that it went better. Despite me being nervous, I was excited at the time. I was going to vote for the very first time. That experience cannot be put into words. I sounded somewhat professional although I’m still a student. The Bush Radio team put a great deal of energy and faith into training us for this particular task and they are great for that. Not forgetting Mr. Mati for all his awesomeness.”
Thapelo Sodinga
“As a young journalist and a person who is studying journalism at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, being on the field is the most important thing that I always wished would happen in my career. On the 18th may 2011, I can say my dream had come true. The experience that I had during the IEC local government elections was quite a phenomenal one. My experience of the day is really indescribable working with Bush Radio. And of course talking with the Congress of the People (COPE) candidate Mr Phinda Siyo on the day was such an exciting moment for me. Getting to know the process of those elections was also a wonderful experience for me. Lastly, thanks to Bush Radio who gave us such platform to showcase our skills.”
Lauren Petersen
“The Municipal elections are always very exciting but this year it was even more exciting. The reason for this is because I reported live for Bush Radio about the events happening in my area on that day. At first I was nervous because thousands of people will be listening to me, not to mention my family as well. I’m glad everything went smooth though, and according to plan. I enjoyed every moment of it, even standing in the cold and coming home with a headache it was all worth it. Thank you to the Bush Radio Team for giving me the opportunity to be a real journalist for a day.”
Dylan Oktober
“Covering the local government elections was an exceptional experience from the time I arrived at the voting station till the time the voting station closed. It was exciting reporting the happenings of the day as well as interviewing people from different walks of life. I must admit that reporting for the first time was nerve-wracking and required a lot of work as the day progressed but I was able to handle the pressure and deliver a product with which I am satisfied with. I feel privileged for being given the opportunity to report for Bush Radio and I am thankful for the staff’s support throughout the day.”
Baden Gillion
“The experience of working as a journalist reporting on the local elections has been one of the highlights of my life and the memories will always stay with me. The highlights for me were reporting for Bush on the voting process at my local voting stations, to co-hosting the live radio show, Backchat, interviewing Marius Fransman, the Chairperson of the ANC. The absolute best moment was breaking a news story about an investigation into an IEC official before any other media house. This has been an amazing life experience and I’d like to thank Bush Radio for giving me this opportunity.”
“Bush Radio has granted me one of the greatest experiences in my life. For the first time since I’ve started my studies I felt like a “real” journalist. My highlights include every second spent at the IEC Results Centre, where I interviewed various politicians, lined up various politicians alongside my fellow student journalists, including getting the Tony Ehrenreich interview for the coveted 7 o’clock spot, ahead of other media institutions. Also co-hosting Backchat along with my fellow student journalists was a nerve-wracking but ultimately awesome experience. I would like to express my gratitude towards Bush Radio for handing us this opportunity which has helped us to become better journalists. Also a special thanks to Lusanda, Khanyisa and Freedom for showing us the ropes first hand, you guys were awesome.”
“Every student has a particular inclination or plateau within their chosen field of study which they aspire to, something that makes them say “I could do that” or “that will be me in ten years”. Personally, one of these inclinations has always been radio journalism, so when the opportunity to work and gain real-life experience with the Bush Radio team was made available to me, saying that I was excited would probably be the understatement of the year. From the very start of our “working week” all of the students involved were made to feel welcome and part of the team, even though we had very important tasks to perform under the Bush Radio banner: Live coverage in residential areas of the 2011 IEC Municipal elections and coverage of all the happenings at the IEC results centre afterwards, which culminated in myself and three of my class-mates co-hosting Backchat. I would just like to thank the Bush Radio crew as a whole, because by the end of the week I was looking at people within the journalism profession whom I admire and saying: “I did that” and “that was me yesterday”.
For the past few weeks we have been getting nine first-year journalism students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology ready to assist our newsroom trainees to ensure that we have on-the-ground coverage of the elections.
Our LGE2011 team will be bring you updates and live reports from Mitchells Plain to Khayelitsha, Kensington to Belhar and Wynberg through to Bellville. They will be filing reports from 7am through to after the polls close at 7pm.
Stay tuned for the newsteam’s wrap-up programme of the day’s events from 7 to 8pm.
We will also be based at the IEC Operations Centre until the final results are released, bringing you any alerts and results as they become available.
So tune into 89.5 FM or online and on your mobile.
An eyewitness account by Brenda Leonard, Bush Radio Managing Director.
The Mitchells Plain Backyard Dwellers invaded two pieces of land on Saturday, 14th May at 13h00. Approximately 2000 people invaded the first piece of land which is next to the Kapteinsklip Station. Over 4000 people invaded the second piece of land next to the Swartklip Indoor Sports Field. The City Police gave the invaders a warning and asked them to dismantle their structures and disperse, but people refused. When night fell, the City Police and SAPS withdrew from both sites. On Sunday, at about 10h15, the City Police and the Anti-Land Invasion Unit of the City of Cape Town moved in to demolish the structures at Kapteinsklip station, and they removed the materials that people used to build their structures. Four people were arrested.
At approximately 14h00 on Sunday afternoon, the City Police, SAPS and the Anti-Land Invasion Unit of the City of Cape Town moved in to demolish the structures at Swartklip Sports Field. People formed a barricade to prevent them from entering the site, and the City Police and SAPS then used teargas to disperse people.
When this did not work, they used a water cannon to disperse the crowd and to break down the shelters.
When people resisted the breaking down of the shelters, they arrested the people. The situation escalated and the SAPS and City Police used rubber bullets to disperse people. The invaders and surrounding communities retaliated and threw stones at the City Police and SAPS, causing them to withdraw from the site. The residents then burned tyres in the road trying to prevent the City Police and SAPS from coming back, and it resulted in thirteen people being arrested at Swartklip Sports Field.
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