Durban – The ancestors are displeased with government and warned that more natural disasters were on the way if South Africans did not do more for the environment.
After igniting some impepho (incense used to facilitate communication with one’s ancestors), Pietermaritzburg sangoma Nomagugu Ngobese, 60, relayed how South Africans would fare in the new year.
The former principal said the ancestors addressed many of the problems facing South Africa, including #FeesMustFall and the drought.
“Students are making South Africa ungovernable. There is no such thing as free education,” she said. “Students must be taught the reality of things. Nothing is free.”
She said the economy was going to drop and students must think twice about the campaign and factor in the consequences of their actions. There was too much protesting and not enough learning, she warned.
Ngobese said the ancestors were calling for people to go back to their roots to end the drought. “I am witness to the good that brings,” she said.
“I have been to the mountains with the virgins. There we fasted and prayed to the Goddess of Rain and then received rain. People don’t respect the world they live in and now nature is fighting back. Science has also been destroying nature with chemicals, and when they have conferences to discuss the problem of global warming, they don’t want to include us (spiritual healers).
“For centuries there were no natural disasters. If we do not take care of the environment now, people will die, not in the hundreds, but thousands.”
She said the ancestors stressed that politicians had lost their way and were more concerned about money than working for the people.
“They (the ancestors) are also angered at the fact that today we forget those who fought for our freedom. Politicians pick and choose who they want to reward. South Africans need to do more to recognise those who have fought in the struggle.”
Ngobese says the government should invest more in educating children and getting more skilled teachers, but believes this year’s national matric pass rate will not be any worse than last year’s. The results are expected next week.
She said one problem with educating the youth was smartphones, which had a negative impact on their reading and spelling.
“The matric pass rate for 2015 was a disgrace,” she said.
Unfortunately, she could not see the rand improving in 2017, but said the solution to that lay in agriculture, and called for people to pray for rain and fertile soil.
Negligence had angered the ancestors, and one contributing factor had been the erection of houses on sacred land, she said.
But there was some good news – according to Ngobese, the ancestors said South Africa’s unemployment rate would improve in 2017 if politicians did justice to their job and brought monopolies to an end.
Also, the Proteas would keep up their winning ways and bring Sri Lanka to their knees in the second Test in Cape Town starting on Monday.