Mulday Mondays: Day Zero in Cape Town, South Africa

This is an oldie but goodie in explaining Water Security. 

CAPE TOWN 

In the beginning of the month, we touched on just how close Cape Town, SA was to Day Zero of having no water supply. The imbalance in distribution of water across the region including weak water policies have contributed to the water shortage in Cape Town. Other issues such as failing waste water plants and poor water system infrastructure to treat sewage that needed a major upgrade also made this situation worse. South Africa is the largest food producer for Southern Africa, the agriculture sector consumes about 60% of all water use in the country. This water shortage crisis in Cape Town will result to water stress towards neighboring countries that will also lead to Food, Water, and Energy security towards the entire region.

GOVERNMENT RESPONDS WITH A POINT SYSTEM

Cape Town has officially announced that each person in the city will be given an allowance of 25 liters a day (6 gallons) of water. Yet the public has heard no immediate solutions from the government on making sure this catastrophe does not repeat itself years later. Cape Town has failed to look at the other dangers that come with hygiene and water access.  

This is repeated so often in discussions with water access and challenges that face women in global south spaces, Menstrual Hygiene. The inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene for women brings more challenges than solutions and should never be gambled or minimized.

Put aside that poor menstrual hygiene leads to a host of health issues such as: UTI’s (ask any woman in your life just how great this feels), Constipation and a Range of infections.

What do you think school attendance will look like for girls attending school in the region compared to boys?

“Do you know that washing your hands can prevent over half of the water borne related illnesses? Granted the WATER IS CLEAN.
”

— Handwashing

Inadequate W.A.S.H(Water Sanitation and Hygiene) affects Public Health, Waterborne Diseases, Vector-Born Diseases, Nutrition, Gender, Education, and Disaster Management. Inadequate W.A.S.H(Water Sanitation and Hygiene) affects Public Health, Waterborne Diseases, Vector-Born Diseases, Nutrition, Gender, Education, and Disaster Management. The Cape Town government has been reactive and not proactive even at this moment. While Citizens are being asked to sacrifice their health and wellness, the government is still not working on the real issues.

The city recommends people take no more than 2 showers a week

The city also encourages using the ocean for washing. However, if people cannot flush often, care to guess how quickly Open Defecation might be an issue?

How much water do you use daily? Try this Water Calculator out!

                         TOURISM TAKES A HIT

It is reported that numbers of tourists are cancelling their trips to Cape Town. You can imagine tourists might not be okay with one flush a day, personal hygiene in the ocean or showering twice a week.
 

   CAPITALIST SEES ONLY SOLUTIONS 

RAINBOW GASTRONOMY WITH NO WATER

Cape Town Food Designers, are making the best of no water in Cape Town, by making sure to use only salt tolerant vegetables. This is the type of unique ingenuity expected from Chefs of the “Rainbow Cuisine”. Rainbow Cuisine is the term used to describe South African Gastronomy. This ingenuity makes South African chefs, cooks, and food designers important players in the overall narrative of African Gastronomy. This is also a tool that can be used for their niche Gastrodiplomacy in interacting with other countries that are experiencing similar water shortage issues.

DRY BATH-BATHING WITH NO WATER BY MR. MARISHANE

If you had to walk a mile for a jug of water every day, as millions of people do, it's unlikely you'd use that precious water to bathe. Young entrepreneur Ludwick Marishane tells the amazing, funny story of how he invented a cheap, clean and convenient solution: DryBath, the world's first bath-substituting lotion.

Want to know more about his products?

See you next  Mulday

.

CASSAVA TUESDAYS: LIBYA KIF H'ALEK? (Are you okay?)

The Flag of Libya

Currency: Libyan Dinars

Capital: Tripoli
Population: +6.2 Million
Official Language Spoken: Arabic
Vernacular Languages: Varieties of Berber, Tedaga and Domari
*You can also speak Italian, English and French in the country. 
 Religion: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judiasim

 

LIBYANS ARE AFRICANS, ARE WE CLEAR??

“If you dey chop fufu..Nah African you be...

Fufu by any other name nah Fufu”

— Water & Cassava

Proper African Child... (My dad eats fufu with cutlery, it really hurts my feelings..)

Asida "Boiled Pudding".... All North African countries eat Asida, maybe different styles but this is usually eaten in the morning.  SMH!!! FUFU IN THE MORNING, YOU ARE SO AFRICAN!!!

“Sub-Sahara African Countries know fufu in many ways, in Libya they say Asida. You know the drill, eat with your right hand and if you can use your index and middle fingers, you my friend are an AFRICAN. ”

— Water & Cassava

MAN MAY LIVE ON FUFU ALONE

Bazin, Libyan style. Barley Fufu. This could be lunch or dinner

Sub-Sahara African Cassava Fufu with Egusi and vegetables

what is north africa? what is sub-saharan africa?

There are some extremely disturbing answers to this question which is surrounded around my beautiful Sahara. Have you visited? I had the opportunity of visiting the entrance to the Sahara through Morocco. The most popular arguments are
 

North Africa is part of the Arab World

“We all understand that the Arabs colonized North Africa and took part in the slave trade, right? ”

— Water & Cassava

Imagine terms like “British West Africa”??Damn I forgot, my maternal grandfather was born in a space that no longer exists, that is another issue with words like country. He was born in British West Africa in a space known as British Cameroons. 

“My maternal grandfather is a Bakwerian from Cameroon”

— Njoku People

Geography as a Divider
The argument is around my beautiful Sahara! Do you know there are some folks out there that use terms like North Africa and Sub-Saharan based on the line of the Sahara? The Sahara is part of the following African Countries: - Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia. My visit to Morocco, I had the pleasure of meeting people from the Sahara that do not wish to be called Arab. They find it offensive and rude. 

Similarly, to people that listen to American Hip-Hop songs that mention the N* word. These people believe that ending it with -ga compared to -er towards any black person or anyone for that matter is perfectly okay. 

“Read this twice: I know many people that will beat the breaks out of your body for using the N* word, please do not let your favorite rapper send you to the hospital...”

— PSA from Water & Cassava

But in the words of X…..You don't know....Who We Be?

Best of DMX: https://goo.gl/LVLFFu Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/RLFjLM Music video by DMX performing Who We Be. (C) 2001 The Island Def Jam Music Group

---

HISTORICAL BACKDROP OF NORTH & EAST AFRICA SLAVERY 

TIPPU TIP:  THE AFRICAN SLAVE RUNNER

Slave runner or in my books a SOB but his parents named him Hamad bin Muhammad bin Juma bin Rajab el Murjeb. My primary school teacher referred to this man as Tippu Tip, a name forever stamped in African History. He was born in modern day Zanzibar, owner to 10,000+ slaves and sold people throughout North and East Africa. 

Let us use his name in a sentence: -
Hamad bin Muhammad bin Juma bin Rajab el Murjebi be tip man!  

.. THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE WAS NOT THE SAME AS THE ARAB TRADE??

“These are the folks in the plantation, please avoid them... RUN AWAY”

— Daughter of Bantu Folk

STUDY YOUR MAPS, PAY ATTENTION TO DATES....

You know about this story....

EXHIBIT A- EGYPTIAN SLAVE MERCHANT

Slave merchant, Cairo, c 1865 - National Maritime Museum. Slave sellers. (Pinterest)

Read that date as many times as you need to wash that disease of colonialism. 

exhibit b-COLONIAL TRAUMA ON AFRICAN SEXUAL LIBERTIES

The Arab slavemasters refer to some of those stolen men from the map above as Chamba. Chamba are Eunuchs. Now with your new map, see those spaces and let them stay in your brain. These men from those African spaces, had their penis sliced off their bodies.

 After slicing the penis from the body, hot coals were pressed on to the fresh wound. You can guess many of those men did not survive such injury. The female slaves were kept for the sick depraved sexual privileges from Arab colonial masters.  

Do you understand now why we argue African Sexual Liberties and our Sexual Ontology is thoroughly corrupted? We spoke of this topic on our Public Health Wednesdays entries. 
 

“...Before we discuss the modern day slavery in Libya, we need to be aware of certain issues. We are not
Believers in Historical Revisionism but......
”

LEADERSHIP IS COMPLICATED IN LIBYA...

There is a version of this story that begins with a young boy born in a colonial space, known as Italian Libya. Child to a camel and goat herder in the arms of economic oppression and a minority twice from foreign invaders and as a reality. Italian Libya previously colonized by the Ottoman Empire, a young boy growing up in a colony as his illiterate father’s father.
As a young man he would admire champions against colonialism such as Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein and in a very short time, he would be an associate to his hero.

“Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was a G.O.A.T. ”

— Water & Cassava

This man will be celebrated as a leader/hero to those from occupied spaces particularly in North Africa. However, for others, this man was a monster and nightmare that lasted for decades. 

“Redistribution of Wealth or Buying Loyalty??
Free Healthcare, Electricity, Interest free loans, push gifts for mothers, newlyweds got money for homes and citizens got some money from the oil sales of Libya.” ”

— Asking for a friend...

“Push Gifts: Your partner gives this to you after you push the child.....Apparently, he gave out $5k a push!”

— Water & Cassava

Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi is now dead and long gone. However Libya is left with a plate of complications.

This is the Prime Minister Fayiz Al-Saraj of Libya but depending on whom you ask.....it is complicated

HOW THE HELL DID LIBYA GET HERE?

On this day five years ago, a NATO-led coalition began its military intervention in Libya. French fighter jets were deployed over the African country on March 19th, 2011. The operation triggered a series of events that changed the face of Libya. RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air Subscribe to RT!

ABOUT THE ARAB SPRING AND LIBYA.......

DEAD BODIES ON THE SHORES OF LIBYA

The bodies of migrants headed across the Mediterranean desperate for a better life wash up on the shorelines of Garabulli, Libya. Christiane Amanpour reports.

AUCTION, AUCTION

Smugglers in Libya are auctioning migrants off as slaves. At a property outside Tripoli, CNN's Nima Elbagir witnessed a dozen men go under the hammer in the space of minutes.

EXPLOITATION

Hundreds of African refugees and migrants passing through Libya are being exposed to harsh realities in their quest to reach Europe. Many are held for ransom or subjected to forced labour or sexual exploitation. Leslie Mirungu now brings us the story of returnees from Gambia.

MALTREATMENT AND CHILDREN

Sky's Alex Crawford uncovers evidence of beatings and poor treatment inside overcrowded detention centres which house thousands of migrants moving through Libya to try to get to Europe.

“Slaves in 1850 cost on average $400 -$1600, currently in Libya a slave is sold for $400”

“Our Top 7 Reasons for Modern Day Slavery in Libya”

— Water & Cassava

1.   Civil War & Isis

Shit is bad in Libya and there are no ways to mince words about this very clear fact that some wish to be in denial about.

The Government House of Representatives were democratically elected in 2014, while the global community accepts this as fact, in Libya it is just complicated. The rival party General National Congress (AKA, National Salvation Government) in addition to countless rival groups that rule different regions of Libya will not come together as one government.

This is the definition of insanity and madness. The same people killing each other came together to kill Gaddafi but cannot come together for their country.
Well as the Libyan people are slaughtering each other, ISIS is enjoying the oil reserves of the country.

A couple of days ago, there was an issue with Tobruk airport and the Government House of Representatives not allowing the plane to land

2.   Academia

During the days of Gadaffi, Libya had the highest literacy rates in Africa. Schools and Universities were completely free because of all that oil! After his death, infrastructures of schools and constant bombings made it very difficult for students to access education. It is very difficult to understand your instructor as bombs drop around you or as classmates and teachers get killed daily.

3. Banking
Constant robbing and bombing around the bank makes it difficult to conduct business. The inflation rates are so high in Libya and there are barely any foreign investors trying to invest in the country.

Central Bank of Libya Governor Saddek Omar El-Kaber speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using CI Glass during IMF World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, DC. October 14. 2017

4. Oil Production

The country of Libya is home to one of the largest reserves on our big blue planet with over 45 billion oil barrels. During the reign of Gadaffi, the country produced over 1.6 million barrels of oil a day but now that has dropped to 260,000 barrels.

5. Liquor and Drugs

Alcohol consumption in Libya is now a norm and people are making their own stronger versions of vodka, this is also killing the people.

6.  Who oversees Libya?

There are no governing bodies and no agreed legal frameworks!... We have two “governing bodies" again I use governing bodies very loosely as they cannot agree on anything. Ministers and Government officials at anytime can be killed, kidnapped or assaulted. There are no functioning hospitals or staff members to treat the people. These dysfunctions with daily bombings is just a brewing pot for the current issue.

7. Slavery/Human Trafficking

The new thriving economic despicable nauseating industry since the death of Gadaffi. Proximity to Europe makes it a popular passage for immigrants from Libyan’s southern neighbors: Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. Smugglers can enjoy their new business because there is not a functioning government in the country.

THIS IS THE FAULT OF ALL MENTIONED COUNTRIES AND LIBYA.

 On Monday we discussed the Blue Economics of Africa, but we also discussed the need for agreed frameworks which would prevent such tragedies.

See you next Cassava Tuesday