Page 4 of 16

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:14 am
by TheGreenGoblin
This is more like it... let's hope it is correct, or even possible, given the parlous run down of the South African military, once a potent force, in the decades since 1994.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
SA authorises largest SANDF troop deployment since 1994
On Wednesday night Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced that the military will be providing a surge of troops, bringing the total deployment in trouble spots up to 25,000. Mapisa-Nqakula stressed that the President has assured the Department of Defence not to worry about the money, although even just finding the personnel for such a large deployment will be a monumental task. Cooks, clerks, technicians, perhaps... If the number is even close to 25,000, the SA National Defence Force may well be providing the security net that KZN and Gauteng has lacked until now.
From The Daily Maverick

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:48 pm
by AtomKraft
Best just to stand back and let the blicks get on with it.

Africa is a true shithole. For a period, due the efforts of a bunch of civilised Europeans, it had some decent patches, but those days are mainly over.

What Africa really needs is a huge fence built around it.

To keep the fcukers in.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 2:42 pm
by Woody
Shouldn’t laugh really, but WTF :)) :))


Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:39 am
by ricardian

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:19 pm
by TheGreenGoblin
ricardian wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:39 am
Apologies for aviation content
No reason to ask for excuses to discuss Pelaneng Airport (IATA: PEL, ICAO: FXPG).
The high elevation, unmarked airstrip sits on a narrow ridge south of the confluence of the Pelaneng and Malibamatso rivers, with rising terrain to the west and a 400+ ft drop into the river valley off the east end. Another higher ridge lies 2,500 feet (762 m) off the east end, requiring an angling final to runway 29. Landing east is less obstructed, but the downhill slope, short runway, and dropoff make it inadvisable.

Latest aerial imaging shows an embanked roadway has been cut across the runway, rendering the runway unusable.
- From Wiki...

Only in Effrika would people be stupid enough to ruin a perfectly useable runway in an area with so few similar facilities.

Full text relevant to those wonderful photos in the link ricardian posted.
I was working with Binnie & Partners on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and was instrumental in the making of the airstrip. Read on:

But the airstrip had still to be built. And here a pair of Land-Rovers did what few have ever done: grade a runway.

Whilst it was possible to drive two bulldozers – for the airstrip, a Caterpillar D6 and a D7 – over the steep passes to Pelaneng to do the heavy work, bringing in either a conventional grader or a sheep’s foot roller (the irregular pattern type used to compact soft ground by imitating the way sheep compress soil with their pointed toes) was out of the question.

After saying, half-jokingly, “Why not use sheep’s feet?” to a table of AMICEs, I found myself rounding up close to a hundred cattle, oxen, horses, ponies, donkeys, goats – and sheep – and having them walk up and down the bulldozed headland for the best part of two days, until the ground had been compacted evenly over the whole length and width of the 2,160 foot long runway area.

Next came the question of how to smooth out the myriad of pockmarks left by the scores of tramping animals. My first idea – of using sixteen oxen hooked to a lorry’s flat load bed that, for reasons unknown, had been left on the headland – came to nought; they were just not used to working in unison as a single full team. They usually worked in pairs – pulling a cart, or a plough, or threshing corn by walking over it, round and round in circles – and that was all.

I looked at the faithful sons of Solihull. We attached one Land-Rover by chains to the lorry bed – with its upper smooth side now facing the ground – but at an angle like a grader blade, and started off. The single station wagon was straining a bit at the amount of drag, so we hooked the second one on in tandem.

It worked like a charm. The two vehicles went up and down until all the bumps and roughness were gone.

Another job for the Land-Rovers was removing great lumps of bedrock too massive to be dug up by the bulldozers. Left where they were, they would have been a potential hazard to aircraft. We dowsed the bedrock with petrol or diesel and set it alight. With the rock well heated, we chilled it with cold water. Chunks broke off, and were loaded onto the lorry load bed to be driven away. One big boulder did not break apart and needed towing or rolling away. As with the improvised grader, one Land-Rover was not enough, so, with two chained again in tandem, the task was completed – leaving Pelaneng Airport (IATA code PEL) at 7,200 feet altitude ready for its first arrival. George Hallowes – the engineer I worked with for most of my time with Binnie’s – flew in on the first plane. Shortly afterwards, on 12th June 1971, I went in and out on a Cessna 210.
Vol-18-No-34-JPEG.jpg

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:06 am
by Mrs Ex-Ascot

FFS

Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2021 2:11 pm
by TheGreenGoblin
https://www.defenceweb.co.za/featured/c ... newsletter
There’s been at least one objection to the Reserve Force regiments/units name changes. It was made by the City of Cape Town and has no bearing on either the apartheid or colonial part of the part-time units in its municipal boundaries.

Mayor Dan Plato pointed out in a letter to then SA Army Chief, Lieutenant General Lindile Yam, soon after the new names were announced in October 2019 retaining “Cape Town” and “Cape” in Reserve Force regiment names is necessary to ensure the brands continue to exist.

The Mother City’s first citizen points out public communication has it all stakeholders were consulted adding, to the contrary, “we are not aware of any approach made to the City of Cape Town to comment on proposed name changes”.

“The city is an interested stakeholder because there are units within its boundaries whose staffing is drawn from citizens of the city. Further the city has granted Freedom of Entry to a number of units. We have a responsibility to ensure the Cape Town brand continues to be promoted.

“We are concerned the name changes would result in the loss of the words ‘Cape Town’ from all units while other cities and town continue to hold the privilege of units which include their names.

“There are currently two units with Cape Town in their names – Cape Town Rifles and Cape Town Highlanders. Two other units – Cape Field Artillery and Cape Garrison Artillery – have Cape in their names.

Cape Town Rifles, popularly “The Dukes”, is now Chief Langalibalele Rifles and Cape Town Highlanders is the Gonnema Regiment with Cape Field Artillery now the Nelson Mandela Artillery Regiment and Cape Garrison the Autshumato Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

“All four are slated for name changes that will remove location” Plato wrote giving the examples of Durban Light Infantry, Kimberley Regiment, Johannesburg Light Horse Regiments, Pretoria Armour Regiment, Johannesburg Regiment, Tshwane Regiment and Regiment Umzimvubu.

There was, at the time of publication, no indication Plato’s letter was answered.

As of this month (August) new heraldry and insignia has been approved for just three of the 52 renamed Reserve Force units which have another 13 months to make changes. New heraldry and insignia application are in progress at five “authorities” involved. Those awaiting approval are iHawu Field Engineer Regiment (formerly 3 Field Engineer Regiment), Umkhonto Field Engineer Regiment (formerly 19 Field Engineer Regiment), Ukhozi Parachute Engineer Regiment (formerly 44 Parachute Engineer Regiment), iNgobamakhosi Carbineers (formerly Natal Carbineers) and Solomon Mahlangu Regiment (formerly Transvaal Scottish).

The approval list is headed by the State Herald and SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Heraldry with approval also needed from the regiment/unit involved; the relevant SA Army formation, for example air defence, armour or infantry with current SA Army Chief Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha last on the list.
All these idiots in governement are capable of doing is making useless name changes and rewriting history. For the rest, on the basis of the lack of good government, the country can go to the dogs.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:09 pm
by Woody
I know that you’re a generous bunch on here, so dig deep to help out the embattled Mr Zuma :ymdevil:

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafri ... s-20210824

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 11:12 am
by Ex-Ascot
Botswana:
Alcohol sales were banned for a total of 103 days in 2020 and as at August 30, had been banned for another 117 days in 2021.
:-q

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:34 am
by Ex-Ascot
What is it with locals here? They are afraid of practically everything that moves. We have just had a monitor lizard in the garden. The housekeeper legged it and the gardener would not go anywhere near it to disconnect a hosepipe which I did. Even harmless snakes they make a fuss about. I once picked a chameleon off the road by the airport to save it from the traffic. A lady walking by nearly had a fit about me handling it. Yet, they will go swimming in rivers with crocs and hippos in there.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2021 9:14 pm
by ricardian

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 6:39 pm
by ricardian

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2021 8:31 pm
by Woody

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:08 am
by Karearea
^ I see that had some scathing reviews on IMDB, which is often a sign of a film I'd enjoy. Which I did - a cheery little film, thanks for posting. :)

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:33 pm
by ricardian
Cape Town: Major blaze rips through South Africa parliament building
The building's sprinkler system had not functioned properly...
...parliament's fire alarm only rang when firefighters were already on site

The gooks are in the compound!

Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2022 1:40 pm
by TheGreenGoblin
What happens when you have boneheads in control!

https://www.news24.com/news24/southafri ... e-20220102



Looks like it was arson. Bunch of coonabobs! They wreck everything they touch.

Where was the security?

Oh yes! "NEHAWU says there was no one taking care as there wasn't money to pay them overtime."

I am beside myself with anger at this outrage and the dimwits who have allowed it to happen.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2022 4:46 am
by TheGreenGoblin
Kak.JPG
Kak.JPG (28.71 KiB) Viewed 2833 times

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2022 12:42 pm
by Ex-Ascot
I have got 9 of these photos you will never see in travel brochure. Will try to post one a day. This one is the leopard guarded outside shower. Actually we have got pretty close to this at home.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 7:52 am
by Ex-Ascot
The next photo that you will never see in an African travel brochure. A real 'oh *****' moment.

Re: Only in Effrika

Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2022 1:29 pm
by Woody
Met the author of this book, he actually lives in the same development as our apartment, not sure if it’s been on here before

Image