A festive full of strangers
Friday, January 09, 2015
Quality time: Christmas allows families to catch up, but not everyone does. PIC KAGISO ONKATSWITSE
It is Christmas 1988 and everyone is gathered in the homestead. The monotonous buzz of excited chatter filters through from the kitchen as the women catch up, gossip and laugh while preparing a feast. Some boast about their perfect marriages and what their husbands have done, while others moan about their awful spouses.
Outside, men from different generations are seated by the fire at the kgotla deep in discussion about the rains, ploughing, government policies, community issues and good old days. The younger men keenly observe their elders, taking the conversational cue from them and never attempting to lead discussions. The fireside chats are, after all, a time-honoured tradition with unwritten but unyielding rules.
According to a report elsewhere in this publication, various district councils announced that a one-bedroom home now costs over P130,000 more, a near-unthinkable 32% increase. This isn't just a minor adjustment, but a devastating blow to the dream of affordable home ownership for ordinary citizens.What is most alarming is not just the scale of the increase, but the profound confusion it has exposed. Minister Ramogapi has publicly...