One on one with Vazaya

This time  The Only Truth blog website have a  one on one with one of the son of the soil,  the all rounder of Xitsonga music,  get to know the artist who has an impeccable talent,  Mr Mackson Shirinda.

The Only Truth: When did you start your music career and What inspired you 
Vazaya: I started my music career in 1998 and was inspired by my father General MD Shirinda.  He is a great singer and has spiked zeal for me to want to sing, I wanted to emulate and walk on his foot steps. I also mingled with artists like Matshwa Bemuda whom I liked his music so much,  it also kept my dream to be a singer alive.

The Only Truth:Your place of birth
Vazaya: I was born in a village called Makhasa in Malamulele,  under the Hosi Maxeleni 

The Only Truth: Can you briefly give us your background
Vazaya: I would not say things were rough when I grew up,  I had almost everything a child needs that includes the necessary support and guidance. My family encouraged me and my siblings to go to school and learn.  I followed the music career because of the the desire and passion instead of everything else.

The Only Truth: how can you describe your music career in detail 
Vazaya: like I said I  started singing in 1998,  we  formed a group called miyakayaka na vo  makwavo and released two albums.  I left the group and worked with penny penny and was playing drums for his Makhwaya albums. I also worked with  Gezani Thomas Mzamani where I  also played drums and key board.  I was also a drummer for Flora and Sunglen when they were recording,  in a nutshell I worked with lots of artists.  Having played drums to lots of artists,  I ended up starting my own thing Producing people like Xindendefu and also people like Minge swikoti Magaza.  I have produced almost twenty artists,  I have got a mini studio for programming and also work with other people for further production.

The Only Truth: How would you like to be remembered 
Vazaya: I want to be remembered as a person who sings songs that empower people with knowledge and teaches them the way of life.  Most of my songs talks about family issues and also guide and teach those who are single

The Only Truth: How is it like to work with Rhangani and Dumusani 
Vazaya: it is life changing,  I have been uplifted from the place I was in the past.  I  have personally grown up and working with these two guys has changed some of the things in my life.

The Only Truth: Is this your first  CD
Vazaya: No,  actually it is my  8th, but we can say it is the first because I have twirled the style of singing and the first in my collaboration with Rhangani and Dumusani,  and for this reason we call it goal number one.

The Only Truth: Why did you feel it was important to sing about bushiri track no 6
Vazaya: when I walked around people have been talking a lot of things about Bushiri.  Some  talked good of him while others bad mouthed  him.  I then asked people who believe in his teachings and they told me a lot of good things about him.  I then realized that what people perceive about Bushiri  is not true,  I then decided  to write a song to  change people perceptions  and to make them realize that judging other people without facts is wrong.

The Only Truth: how do you compare yourself with other artists 
Vazaya: Other artists just compose music for dancing with no message what so ever.  There is no intent to build the nation nor to educate the public.  As much as I  make people dance I also share my knowledge in life and educate the public

The Only Truth: Thank you Vazaya for your time 

Vazaya: Thanks 

Loise van schoor being a government beneficiary a huge contradiction

I read with shock an article on the Sunday times 22 may 2016,  it is alleged that Van Schoor is benefiting from a government multi million Rand land reform programme. The  land reform programme main objective is to redress the injustices of the past and inequalities in South Africa.  

It is well documented that South Africa is one of the most racially unequal countries in the world.  In fact If one of the developed countries like America still experience the racial wealth Gap, in which a typical White household has 16 times the wealth of a Black one,  then what about South Africa? (forbe magazine, 26 March 2015). 

Let me rather not dwell much on the wealth gap,  which is a very sensitive issue currently in South Africa

The department of Agriculture is the only one that can tell us how did  the mass murderer ended up being the role model and an important member of the the public.  I mean the guy can not even tell how many people  he killed,  during apartheid he haphazardly shot at everything that moves. Killing people  like birds.. Pha!  Pha!  Pha! One by one .. Today he is the man of the people,  he is giving back to the same people by securing himself a paying job from government.. Mmmm! Maybe one would understand if he was volunteering,  I have seen remorseful sinners who turn up to be good Samaritans.  Remorse is the first step when you want forgiveness. 

Shock and pain does not just vanish  like what we see in Nigerian movies.  The dead are still dead, and sleepless nights of sorrow might be dragging on to the victims family. However, we are a forgiving nation! Let us not contradict the land reform,  let us rather build an equal Society   

Vuwani residents experiencing systematic forced removal

We pride ourselves and even go as far as coining phrases that has become the statement of core principles,  phrases like "people shall govern".  This is the most powerful phrase that made people to believe in themselves and spiked lots hope and  strength. 

Vuwani used to be a nice, quite and peaceful place that you would go to relax and to enjoy the state of solitude in a diverse and beautiful vegetation that surrounds the area. Today it has been turned into a no go area,  schools are burnt left, right and center,  while the vegetation is used as a shield and hiding place for protesters against the police.  More than 60000 learners have been left stranded,  denied their constitutional rights to education. 

But  if you look at it critically,  the government is the one that has engeniered the problem.  There would not be a protest,  had the demarcation board not made such declaration that vuwani be incorporated into a new municipality.

All the vuwani residents are saying is that they do not want to be incorporated into the new mysterious municipality.  They say you can form another municipality but please don't include us because we are happy where we are. 

Another problem is how the municipality was formed,  remember that the malamulele community also burnt tires and properties calling for a new municipality to be formed.  So the municipality was not formed peacefully.

This is the problem that will never be solved unless the process is reversed.  If the demarcation board succeed in imposing the new municipality to vuwani people then I foresee lots of service delivery protest to come.  Any dissatisfaction fication would amount to violence protest because you have incorporated bunch of unhappy people.

Blesser and blessie pure evil

Some people glorify the Blesser and Blessie trend as a proper arrangement where two parties are direct with one another with no strings attached. For people to even think that the Blesser Blessie is a new trend is pathetic and being ignorant to say the  least.  Suger baby and Suger dady has been there  for ages. The only thing that is new is  the word "blesser",  coined by those who are determined to continue to exploit the have not. If  you critically analyze and scrutinize the age gap between the Blesser and the blessie you would realize that the gap is huge.  It is not the peers having this particular kinda like business relationship. Pure prostitution!!!! of course, It depends on how you define it. Those in denial would even call a black colour  white just to protect their course. Honestly, humans have exchanged money and goods for sex
for thousands of years, and indeed it
seems that any society that begins to develop material wealth soon develops some form of prostitution. People think it is  ok for a "Blesser" to hand over a token to a "blessie" in return for a specific sexual  favor because they view
postitutes as a "special"  group of outcasts walking the streets half naked or bare.

The Bible says the rich rule over the poor.. Amen!!.. Most people accept that life is not fair, but the word fairness gets used a lot when we talk about income inequality. Is it right that some have so much material comfort and security, while others have so little? On the other hand, is it proper for the poor of the poorest to engage in prostitution just because they have nothing ?

I fully agree with Barbara when she said "it is actually more expensive to be poor than not poor."  for example as she highlighted,  If you can’t afford the first month's rent and security deposit you need in order to rent an apartment, you may get stuck in an overpriced residential motel. If you don’t have a kitchen or even a refrigerator and
microwave, you will find yourself falling back on convenience store food, which in addition to its nutritional deficits is also alarmingly overpriced. If you need a loan, as most poor people eventually do, you will end up paying an interest rate many times more than what a more affluent borrower would be charged.

This where those who have means,  the rich and wealthy come in.. They come at a time when you are vulnerable and stranded, and dangle the carrot that is difficult to refuse.