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Filmmaker brings Frances Baard to life

Determined, strong and resilient. These are words that have been used to describe struggle stalwart Frances Baard and her relentless fight against the racist apartheid government.

South African filmmaker Mercia Wechoemang (33) – who hails from Kimberley, the same town as Baard – has produced a documentary about Baard’s life showing her resilience on the big screen.

A filmmaker for the past eight years, Wechoemang says the documentary, titled The Spirit, is her best work yet.

Play recounts the story of apartheid’s double agents

If you think South Africa has documented enough stories and films about the torturing and killings of citizens under the apartheid regime, you are mistaken. There is more the public needs to know about.

One story that needs telling is that of the freedom fighters who became double agents and deadly assassins for the infamous Vlakplaas death squad. Their story is told in Askari, which runs at the South African State Theatre from 27 September to 16 October.

Alternative energy resources for South Africa

Mfanelo S’phelele Calvin Ndlela (30) from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal is the founder and director of Electri-Coal Technologies, a company that uses natural resources to generate renewable energy.

The company’s vision is to assist with the energy and water challenges faced by South Africans.

One of its innovations is a remotely controlled biogas unit, which can provide electricity to rural communities. Cow dung, wastewater and organic waste are fed into the biogas digester, which then extracts methane gas and converts it into electricity.

Skills development for rural women

Over 5 000 underprivileged learners are set to benefit from 25 rural cooperatives that have been set up and funded by the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) to manufacture uniforms for schools in their communities.

The initiative, which has ensured that all of the cooperatives are women-led, was launched at one of the factories in Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, recently. 

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