Please Respect Big built Ladies- Woman desperate after taxi drivers charge her double because of her weight

41-year-old Lizeka Gongxeka of Jabavu Street, in Cape Town's Langa says she is desperate because her whole community laughs at her and taxi drivers charge her double because of her weight.

"I was born like this," said mother of four who weighs 250kg, "I'm not a big eater, but I'm always out of breath.

"I want to lose weight so that I look thin and have a well-proportioned body."

"My mother comforts me every day because it's nerve-wracking to be obese. I've been diagnosed with high blood pressure and recently visited a doctor as we're worried because my bones ache, especially when it's cold."

Lizeka said doctors get cross with her for missing appointments and insists that it's not her fault since taxi drivers want to charge her double for taking up two seats.

"I don't have enough money - just my child support grants," said Lizeka. 


Local taxi driver Morris Sandi said: "I force stout passengers to pay extra.

"Lizeka must understand she's got unusual weight and has to do something about it," said Morris. 

Lizeka said: "I go job hunting, but employers don't even look at me.

"They say no one will employ me because I am too big. It's frustrating. It's hard for me to clean the house or even take a bath as I have only a small basin."

Her friend, Nomonde Jack, said: "She's not lazy. Things are just tough for her.

"I keep suggesting that she sees a specialist so her fatty tissues can be removed. But the problem is money. It's so bad she has to call for help as she struggles to get through her own doorway!" 

YouTube Pays $1billion to the industry of music

Adverts on YouTube are still a driver of profit for the digital music industry. YouTube recently announced it had paid out over $1 billion to artists and labels in the past 12 months.

This, even though music subscription services like Spotify and Apple Music are growing rapidly.
Robert Kyncl, YouTube chief business officer, says this demonstrates how multiple experiences and models are succeeding alongside each other.

According to the report, global music revenue increased 3.2% as digital revenue overtook physical for the first time. Digital sales contributed 45% of industry revenue, and streaming revenue is up 45.2%."Last year was a bright one for music – after several tough years of declining revenue, the industry started growing again, spurred in large part by the growth of music streaming subscriptions," says Kyncl, citing the IFPI Global Music Report 2016.



However, to reach audiences that do not subscribe to one of these services, artists upload music to YouTube and earn money by allowing YouTube to play adverts before the video starts.
Kyncl says this is just the beginning: "As more advertising dollars shift from TV, radio and print to online services, the music industry will generate even more revenue from ads.
"In the future, the music business has an opportunity to look a lot like television, where subscriptions and advertising contribute roughly equal amounts of revenue, bolstered by digital and physical sales. To achieve this, there is a lot of work that must be done by YouTube and the industry as a whole, but we are excited to see the momentum."
Spotify leads the music streaming market, with approximately 40 million paid subscribers (however, it is not officially available in SA), followed by Apple Music, which recently reported 20 million subscribers. Other paid music services include Google Play Music, Deezer, Tidal and Pandora.

Jehovah's Witnesses Organize Disaster Relief After Back-to-Back Typhoons Hit Philippines

Jehovah’s Witnesses are assisting their fellow members as well as other victims of Typhoon Sarika Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) struck in 2013.

(locally known as Karen) and Typhoon Haima (locally known as Lawin), which buffeted the island of Luzon, in the northern Philippines, on October 16 and 19, 2016, respectively. Typhoon Haima, a Category 4 typhoon, is one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines since the deadly

None of the 200,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines were killed or seriously injured in these disasters. However, initial damage reports indicate that the strong winds, flooding, and landslides caused by Typhoon Haima damaged at least 1,058 of their homes and 43 Kingdom Halls, or places of worship.

The branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines has organized a disaster relief committee based in Tuguegarao City, Luzon, and is collecting relief goods, such as food and potable water. To date, eight truckloads of relief goods have been delivered to affected areas. The branch office is also initiating the construction of temporary relief homes as well as the repair work on the damaged homes and Kingdom Halls.

The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is coordinating the disaster relief efforts from their world headquarters, using funds donated to the Witnesses’ global ministry work.

South Africa alcohol consumption vs the world

South Africa’s alcohol consumption rate has climbed, with the country now ranked as one of the top 20 biggest drinking nations in the world.

This is according to a statistical update from the World Health Organization, tracking alcohol consumption per capita, across 194 countries.

The data shows that in 2015, pure alcohol consumption (per litre) in South Africa is at 11.5 litre per capita per year – up from 11.0 litres in 2014.

This pushes South Africa up to the third biggest drinking nation in Africa, and the 19th biggest drinking nation in the world, tied with Poland.

Among the drinking population (excluding abstainers), South Africans consume in the region of 27 litres of pure alcohol per capita per year, one of the highest rates in the world.

South Africa’s average alcohol consumption is almost double the WHO African region average of 6 litres, and is expected to increase to 12.1 in 2025.

More than a quarter of the drinking population in South Africa are considered binge drinkers, consuming at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol in one session within a 30-day period.

The world’s biggest drinking nations (litres per capita, 2015)

#	Country	Alcohol consumptions
1	Maldova	17.4
2	Belarus	17.1
3	Lithuania	16.2
4	Russia	14.5
5	Czech Republic	14.1
6	Serbia	12.9
6	Romania	12.9
8	Australia	12.6
9	Slovakia	12.5
9	Portugal	12.5
11	Hungary	12.4
12	UK	12.0
13	Finland	11.9
14	Ukraine	11.8
14	Namibia	11.8
14	Gabon	11.8
17	Croatia	11.7
18	France	11.6
19	Poland	11.5
19	South Africa	11.5

Alcohol problems

According to the WHO, alcohol use disorders constitute a significant disease burden in most regions in the world, with the exception of the Eastern Mediterranean region where alcohol consumption is limited.

Worldwide alcohol consumption in 2015 was projected to be 6.3 litres of pure alcohol per person aged 15 or older.

In 2010, 38% of the world population aged 15 or older had drunk alcohol in the past 12 months, with 16% of them engaged in ‘heavy episodic drinking’.

In 2012, about 3.3 million deaths – or 5.9% of all global deaths – were attributable to alcohol consumption; 7.6% of deaths among males, and 4.0% of deaths among females.

South Africa has been highlighted as the worst country in the world for drunk driving, where as much as 58% of deaths on SA roads can be attributed to alcohol consumption.

Delete bank statements from your inbox immediately: Sabric

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) has launched its #Skelm

campaign, advising people to “Wise Up and Watch Out” to avoid becoming victims of cybercrime.

In the past few years, cybercrime cases have increased – with people being defrauded of billions of rand online.

“It affects business sectors and consumers, and this has called on security measures to be put in place to protect assets and important information,” said Kalyani Pillay, Sabric CEO.

“The responsibility of protecting yourself against cyber-crime and increasing your cyber-security lies with every single one of us.”

Security tips from Sabric

Sabric said consumers should ensure their PC and mobile phones are updated with the latest updates and anti-virus software.

It further advises creating a new password directly after updating software, and the use of a secondary email address for financial matters.

Sabric also warned that public computers are not safe for banking. “They are prone to spyware and malware and should be avoided at all costs,” it said.

It is also important to delete sensitive information like bank statements from your inbox, moving them to a secure folder.

Scratch out your credit card CVV number now: security expert

Professor Basie Von Solms has advised consumers to scratch out the CVV number which is displayed on the back of their credit card.

Professor Basie Von Solms, Director of the Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Johannesburg, has advised consumers to scratch out the CVV (Card Verification Value) number which is displayed on the back of their credit card.

The CVV number is an anti-fraud security feature which helps online retailers verify that you are in possession of the credit card you are using.

The CVV code is typically a three-digit number located on the back of MasterCard, Visa, and other credit or debit cards.

Von Solms said that anyone who steals your credit card has access to all the information needed to make an online purchase: your name, credit card number, expiry date, and the CVV number.

However, if you remove the CVV code from the back of your credit card, the criminal will not be able to purchase goods online from retailers which require the code.

Von Solms said consumers must memorize or write down the CVV number somewhere safe before removing it from the card.

African Funerals. Where Do We Draw The Line?

Is there a line to start with? Who determines what and how things should be done at funerals? Have we stooped to the level where the society dictates on how we should conduct funerals?

Some few decades ago, funerals used to be a dignified, solemn, somber occasion. Families, friends and neighbors would gather together to comfort one another. Sometimes a night vigil would be held and at that occasion, the life of the deceased is remembered. On the funeral day the surrounding area would be quite. No noise of children playing, no sound of music would break the thick gloom over that family. I don't know where things changed. What we have today can make many of the long gone turn in their graves! The black nation has experience a huge revolution in the way funerals are conducted. I can';t even explain where did it all start.

Was it City Funerals, by introducing glamorous limousines as hearses and family cars to the African market? Was it the 80s, at the height of township riots where 100s were dying on a weekly basis, that our weekend were spent mostly at funerals than at home to relax? Was it the increase of deaths from HIV-related diseases that made us callous to the seriousness of death? Was it hunger at home, knowing that the best cuisine will be at the funeral? What went wrong where? Does it matter?

The funeral management industry and insurance companies saw this gap and took advantage of it, unfortunately to the detriment of the living. How so. Poor families cannot afford to pay for funerals because even a basic coffin has been made so expensive that it's unaffordable. Coffin manufacturers make the basic coffin look so ugly that the family is psychologically pushed to upgrade to a 'better', meaning more expensive coffin. In order to meet these rising expenses families are having stokvels or funeral policies which can meet with these expenses. Many families rather go hungry or with less necessities that miss a stokvel payment. It seems we have invested more in death than in life.

And then there comes the part now where we have turned funerals into parties. My goodness! It's shocking, appalling, to name a few. Girls dress and dance semi-naked. DJs are hired to entertain the mourners. The funeral procession has become more of a wedding celebration than a funeral. Booze flows like rivers, to music blaring at every car with the best sound system one can afford. See video on heavy dancing at a funeral in Dance at a funeral Where do we draw the line? Does it matter?

Look at other nations around us, more richer than us. Just take time to observe their practices and compare it with our funerals. We can't even claim that this is how Africans do things. We have been made puppets of funeral commercialization, all in the name that we want to bury our loved on in dignity. Yes, there's nothing wrong with dignity, but at what cost? What legacy and lesson are we leaving behind for the generations to come? Is this how we want to remembered?

R1 gets you a Gautrain bus straight to the SAB World of Beer

Hop on a Gautrain bus straight to the World of Beer this December and January. Photo courtesy of Gautrain

Travelling to the SAB World of Beer is about to get a whole lot easier – and cheaper too. From 5 December 2015 to 17 January 2016, you can hop on any Gautrain bus for just R1 per trip. One rand? A hundred cents? Yep, we could hardly believe it either.

This offer makes getting to the World of Beer so much easier. Simply hop on the Gautrain to Park Station, get on the bus for a mere R1 (let’s say that again: one rand) and make use of the Gautrain bus’s new route (applicable over the festive campaign) straight to the World of Beer.

What’s more, if you join us for a beer tour during this time, we’ll give you R5 off your ticket price. To qualify, all you have to do is collect your voucher at Park Station as you get off the Gautrain. Travelling this way also affords a little bit of freedom if you’d like to stay for a pint or two in our Tap Room afterwards.

It’s worth mentioning that travellers who will be making use of the Gautrain will also be able to park at any Gautrain station for R1 per day, depending on space availability and when taking a return Gautrain trip.

During the promotion, be sure to keep your ears tuned to Jacaranda FM, 947 and Kaya FM for more incredible prizes brought to you by Gautrain – you could win cash prizes, vouchers and special packages, including tickets to the World of Beer for beer tours, and tour and tasting combos.

Get ready to hop on the Gautrain for a fun, stress-free and super-cheap outing. Roll on December!