Asimile Siyaqhuba

 

Why Your Vote Is Important

 

By Fred Felton | Oct. 27, 2021

The South African municipal elections will be held on 1 November 2021. This is to elect councils for all districts, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country’s nine provinces.

Malusi Msomi, IEC Outreach and Communications: eThekwini Metro giving some key insights into the upcoming election. | Photo: Fred Felton 

Malusi Msomi, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Outreach and Communications: eThekwini Metro gives some key insights into how the election will work and some interesting facts about the voters.

The voters roll is available to the public for objections.

There are also some key dates to take note of. The 30 and 31 October is set aside for Special Votes. This is for voters that cannot travel to a voting station where they are registered because of physically infirmity, disability or pregnancy. For these people a home visit will be done to enable them to vote at home.

For those that cannot vote on voting day they will be able to go on the Special Voting Days to the Voting Station to cast their vote.

The 1 November 2021 is the main Election Day and by law the results have to be declared in 7 days from then.

‘’You might be surprised that some new registrations are people over 65,’’ said Malusi Msomi, IEC Outreach and Communications: eThekwini Metro.

Many of the new registrations are in the age group 18 to 19 years old. The most new registrations are in the age group of 20 to 29 years old.

It is also pleasing to see that many registrations are female especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the eThekwini Municipality region there will be 50 political parties contending in the elections.

There will be 111 ward councillors in the eThekwini Municipality region.

‘’EThekwini holds the bulk of the voting stations,’’ noted Malusi Msomi, IEC Outreach and Communications: eThekwini Metro.

Umhlanga Life did a snap survey around Durban and it seems that most people are eager and keen to make their vote on the Election Day.

‘’I always do vote and I care about my Country. So I will go forward for all the people who live in South Africa,’’ said Addington Beach resident Cindy Polydorou.

Another person who will be voting in the election is Umbilo resident Carol de Wet. ‘’I feel one has no right to complain if you don’t try change the status quo,’’ noted Carol de Wet.

The eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda encourages the people of eThekwini to come out in their numbers to cast their vote on 1 November to ensure that the municipality continues to deliver quality service.

‘’Over the past five years, the City has made great strides in delivering over 20 000 housing opportunities. Over 1 million households have access to refuse removal services. Over 1.1 million households receive clean water and 720 households have access to electricity. These services are also provided to our 582 informal settlements and over 370 000 rural households. We have committed ourselves to do even better on service delivery,’’ noted eThekwini Municipality Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda.

Dates for your Diary:

30 and 31 October 2021 – Special Votes for the Election

1 November 2021 – Election Day

Please take your ID with on the day to the nearest Voting Station in your area where you are registered to vote and remember that all Covid-19 regulations will be in place so please wear your face mask and take along a sanitizer.

For any queries and to check if you are registered to vote call the IEC toll-free number on 0800 11 8000 from a landline.

To check if you are registered to vote you can also SMS your ID number to 32810 (SMS charged at R1 per SMS).

Review of the Samsung Galaxy A22

 

By Fred Felton | October 14, 2021

The Samsung Galaxy A22 is a great entry-level device for those looking to get their first smartphone device and packs an amazing amount of sophistication into a cell phone.

The Samsung Galaxy A22

This week I was invited to try out this Samsung device for myself and it certainly is impressive. The Super Amoled screen with 90Hz refresh rate will certainly dazzle your eyes. It has a 5 000mAh battery which will keep you in the game for quite some time before you need a charge. It also comes in a variety of colours including violet, mint, white and black.

The A22 has four rear cameras

“The Galaxy A22 is an impressive device at excellent value that builds on our growing Galaxy A Series portfolio”, said Justin Hume, Director: Integrated Mobility at Samsung South Africa.

Here are just some of the key features that might just impress you:

Camera

The device has four cameras on the back and a front camera for selfies.

The back cameras include an ultra-wide camera 8MP (F2.2) for those panorama shots.

The main camera boasts 48MP (F1.8), Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS).

The macro camera is 2MP (F2.4) for close-up photography and a depth camera 2MP (F2.4) which will help you if you are looking for that bokeh effect.

The front camera is 13MP (F2.2)

The A22 cameras take rich, vibrant images. | Image: Fred Felton

So for all of you photographers out there you can be guaranteed of hours of fun playing around with these cameras and deciding on which image to upload to your Instagram.

An example of the zoom feature on the camera. 

Professional photographers can also play around with the settings to get the best shot.

Memory and Storage

This is probably one of main selling points for any device besides the battery. The A22 comes with 4GB Ram and 64 GB Internal Storage. Some models can also have 4GB / 6GB Ram and 128 GB Internal Storage which will mean that you have plenty of space and if you run out of space the device has capacity for a memory card if you need one.

Processor

The device comes with an Octa-Core (Dual 2GHz and Hexa 1.8GHz) processor.

Display

This A22 comes equipped with 6.4 inch³ HD and Super AMOLED, 90Hz Infinity-U Display.

Network

This device comes with LTE and some devices are also equipped with 5G as well.

Security

The A22 has a range of security options for you from the side-mounted fingerprint detector to facial recognition, pattern codes and normal security codes so you can rest assured that nobody will be getting into your device but you.

Extras

To power up the device press and hold the side key for a few seconds. The A22 takes around 30 seconds from start-up to initialization.

The size of the device is adequate and it should fit into your pocket with no problem.

Some of the added features I noticed which did impress me was the introduction of many more ringtones which included a rich variety including classical music like Mozart to disco, tech, dance and even love songs. Notification sounds have also been given an update and there are many more nifty little sounds to choose from for those messages you need to hear.

The nifty side volume keys have become more visual with visual displays to show you the various volume settings to choose from.

The device also comes with Dolby Atmos for a richer sound experience.

Dark mode has also been included for all of your display options.

An eye comfort shield has also been introduced which limits blue light and uses warmer colours. This makes it easier to use at night as well.

Screen zoom also makes it a pleasure to read all of those messages and documents.

Although the A22 comes equipped with a 90Hz screen refresh rate you can also use the standard option with 60Hz screen refresh to save on battery.

As with all the other Samsung models this device comes with all the bells and whistles including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Flight Mode, Torch, Power Saving, QR Code scanner, Screen shot, NFC and Contactless Payment and much more.

Apps include Samsung Notes, Samsung Apps, Google Apps, Microsoft Apps, Samsung Members, Galaxy Store, Play Store, Facebook, Spotify Netflix, You Tube Music and the Samsung Game Launcher, Voice Recorder, AR Zone and even a Radio to listen to tunes.

The calendar has a much more visual appeal to it and you can even add emoticons, stickers and voice notes to a calendar entry which is a nice touch.

The calculator features a much more updated version which can calculate anything from area, length, temperature, volume, mass, data, speed, time and scientific calculations.  

Find My Mobile is a good setting to activate to ensure you never lose your device.

Final Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A22 is great device if you are looking to get your first smartphone. It currently retails for a price of R3999. Some retailers are selling it cheaper so you might even get it at a bargain price.

If you want to score yourself an even bigger bargain you can take advantage of getting a cashback towards this device by trading in your older device with Samsung.

For more information visit: www.samsung.com/za/trade-in/

Rating

7/10