Tabla de contenidos para 2021-12-21 en Mercury

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE LONG-AWAITED unbundling of Eskom into three separate units, generation, transmission and distribution, has begun, with the utility issuing a notice yesterday of having executed the separation of its transmission division in line with an end-December deadline set in a restructuring plan. It said in an announcement to debt investors that it had executed an order to transfer the transmission division to wholly-owned subsidiary, the National Transmission Company South Africa SOC Limited. The process remained subject to conditions, including obtaining the applicable consents from creditors. Under the plan, its generation and transmission units have to be separated by the end of this year and the distribution division by December next year. Analysts have suggested, however, that the deadline would likely be missed, and the completion of the…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za STELLENBOSCH University PhD student Takunda Gwanzura has invented a diagnostic biosensor that claims to do rapid testing for Covid-19 in 15 to 30 seconds. Currently the gold standard method of testing is the PCR test, which has a turnaround time of 24 hours or more due to the laboratory processing required. Gwanzura said in a telephone interview yesterday that the new technology, called the Covidometer, could deliver results within 15 to 30 seconds, and was a portable device that required no lab work. The device would allow large-scale screening of groups of people as they enter a space where social distancing may not always be possible. He said most of the validation work had been done with the help of the PathCare pathology laboratory group. There are…

THERE is an expression that says: “You cannot please all of the people all of the time”, and we acknowledge the truth in this. However, the move to generate greater levels of local procurement in both the public and private sectors is not about pleasing people. It is part of the country’s social compact known as the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan and is a well-considered response to our economic circumstances and to the ever-rising levels of unemployment. It is designed to improve the former and reduce the latter. Detractors of localisation as a policy claim that it reduces competition, stymies sectoral growth and results in higher prices for consumers (being the public and private sectors as well as individuals). They also claim that it leads to less innovation in…

Sacha van Niekerk sacha.vanniekerk@inl.co.za When it comes to Christmas decorations, there are so many ways to get creative with your ornaments than simply settling for plastic store-bought options. Try these eco-friendly decoration ideas for your Christmas tree: Forage for decorations The outdoors is home to some of the most beautiful ornaments, to rival even the most expensive store-bought offerings. Pine cones, green foliage, seashells, leaves, flowers (fresh or dried) and seeds of all sorts can be foraged for. You can get creative, turning what you find into something even more exquisite, or let the natural beauty shine through. Metallic permanent markers, paints and glitter glue can be used to draw festive designs on anything from leaves to rocks. Use wooden pegs or yarn to tie ornaments to your tree. Dried…

Keith Urban’s marriage to Nicole Kidman is one of his biggest achievements. The 54-year-old musician singled out getting wed to the Big Little Lies star – who he has daughters Sunday, 13, and Faith, 10, with – in 2006 and getting sober as some of the most significant moments in his life. Asked his biggest achievement on Living & Learning with Reba McEntire, he replied: “There’s a lot of things. Marrying the right person, massive. Marrying for the right reasons, getting sober 15 years ago, a big turning point in my life.” Before he got sober, Urban never “had specific goals” beyond playing music. He said: “(I just wanted to) live in Nashville, wanted to write songs and make some records and hope the radio plays them. “Some people come…

Mwangi Githahu and Mthuthuzeli Ntseku NEARLY half of all South Africans have been unable to pay debts and have lost income during the past six months, according to the 2021 SA Reconciliation Barometer (Sarb). The 2021 Sarb is a nationally representative public-opinion survey conducted regularly by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) and aims to provide a measure of several aspects of public opinion including South Africans’ experience of the Covid-19 pandemic. IJR project leader Mikhail Moosa said: “To better understand the scale of the disruption caused by the national lockdowns, the 2021 Sarb asked respondents a series of questions specifically about Covid-19 and reflecting on their personal well-being and distress.” The survey found that close to 50% of all respondents said they had been unable to pay debts…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof SOUTH Africa has some of the most notorious drivers in the world. Our roads have become killing fields. An average of 12 500 lives are lost annually on our roads. The main causes are alcohol, reckless driving and speeding and a flagrant disregard of road rules. During the lockdown when alcohol was banned, road fatalities decreased significantly. Breaking road rules has become more of a habit than an exception. Our motorists drive so fast that they often fly off the roads. In fact, they drive anywhere but on the roads – on the shoulder lane, over the barrier line, on the pavement and even in the wrong lane against on-coming traffic. Jumping robots? It’s so common you see it every day on our roads.…

LINDI ZANTSI | Durban The issue of the influx of foreign nationals into the country needs to be addressed. Many stay in the country illegally and do illegal things while taking jobs. The foreigners think they deserve more than the citizens of this country. The “Special work permits” for Zimbabweans and Lesotho nationals is completely unconstitutional. As for Zimbabwe, it was not long ago, boasting that their economy is leading in the region by its growth, but now the country’s citizens want to stay in South Africa where everything is not going well with growing unemployment. The Covid-19 grant given to foreigners is also unconstitutional as the Immigration Act says foreigners must be financially sound when coming to stay in the country. As the ANC is busy selling…

FAMILY matters, immediate and extended family matters – positive and negative – will tend to surface and re-emerge during the festive season and other times of celebration. Togetherness will do that. Not only will togetherness do it, it will be exacerbated when there are outside pressures like the pandemic, disappointments and financial pressures. Don’t be surprised if tempers are short and fuses are even shorter when the family congregates for a day or two of celebrations. There are, limited as they may be, several choices we have in times of family stress. We can escalate or de-escalate, push harder or retreat, turn away or turn toward. We can forgive and we can love. There are no easy options and there is no set formula for our unique family constellations, shared…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile has revealed that the governing party was in talks with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana about increasing the government’s funding of political parties and was optimistic its request would be granted. Mashatile said the talks were among the solutions that the party was working on for the future. “We have requested the government to consider party funding, we have engaged with the minister of finance and their teams. The response has been quite positive for next year but we obviously have to survive until the end of this financial year, which is March, and we will have to continue to talk to the private sector organisations,” he said. The ANC received R89.8 million from the represented political party fund, which is administered by the…

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) will be encouraging drivers to take regular breaks during long-distance travel and discouraging drinking and driving as part of its WHOA! road safety campaign. Sanral’s general manager of communications and marketing, Vusi Mona, said fatigue and drunken driving continued to be major contributing factors to crashes on the roads every year. As part of its road safety campaign, Sanral is holding activations on highways across the country and offering head and shoulder massages for drivers and a flavoured oxygen bar, both of which aid tension relief. He said while Sanral’s core mandate is to engineer safer road infrastructure, the agency realised that roads are built first for people and then for vehicles. “As such, it is important for us to engage these stakeholders…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za An eThekwini Municipality employee who drove through Galleria Mall in eManzimtoti last week in a municipal van has appeared in court on a charge of malicious damage to property. Video footage of the incident last Wednesday went viral on social media. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said a case of malicious damage to property is being investigated by the police. “It is alleged that on 15 December 2021 at 19.28, a 45-year-old suspect was arrested after he drove a vehicle into a mall and damaged property,” she said. Mbele said the suspect appeared in court on Friday. Galleria Mall confirmed the incident and said the vehicle was impounded and that the municipal worker was arrested when he exited the mall. The municipality said it had no…

Police Minister Bheki Cele was on hand to destroy confiscated alcohol yesterday as the annual Safer Season Inspection Tour got under way in the Western Cape. Several bottles of confiscated alcohol, ranging from whiskey to beer, were dumped by Cele as well as other police officials in Belhar, Cape Town. The alcohol Cele destroyed was confiscated by the police from illegal establishments across Cape Town between October 15 and December 16, Police Ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said on Twitter. Images of the police storage depot in Belhar, where Cele destroyed the confiscated alcohol, shows it filled with bottles of alcohol. The police minister’s message to police officers was straightforward: increase police presence and respond immediately to calls from the public. “We’ll have to go and saturate all places, saturate all…

THE destruction and neglect of the country’s railway infrastructure under the ANC government is both shameful and embarrassing to witness. The country’s economy does not stand a chance if the government is allowed to get away with what can arguably be described as the biggest service delivery failure since 1994. From Kliptown in Gauteng to Volksrust in Mpumalanga our railway infrastructure has been allowed to deteriorate to alarming levels, thanks to government neglect and inefficiency. Railway infrastructure is not only the primary mode of transport for millions of poor people in the country, it is also the lifeblood of the economy in terms of the transportation of goods and services. The use of freight to transport cargo from the Durban harbour to the rest of the country has also played…

LONDON: Britain yesterday refused to rule out curbs on gatherings, a day after the Netherlands imposed a fourth lockdown prompted by the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus and as other European countries considered putting a squeeze on Christmas. Omicron infections are multiplying rapidly across Europe and the US, doubling every two or three days in London and elsewhere and taking a heavy toll on financial markets which fear the impact on the global economic recovery. The variant was first detected last month in southern Africa and Hong Kong and so far been reported in at least 89 countries. The severity of illness it causes remains unclear. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a shutdown on Saturday, ordering the closure of all but essential stores, as well as restaurants, hairdressers,…

The top UN rights body agreed to send international investigators to conflict-hit Ethiopia amid warnings of looming generalised violence, in a move slammed by Addis Ababa. Following an emergency meeting, the 47-member UN Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favour of ordering the probe into a wide range of alleged violations by all sides in Ethiopia’s 13-month conflict. Ethiopia had objected to the special session and the resolution, with Ambassador Zenebe Kebede saying ahead of the vote that the council was “being used as an instrument of political pressure” and had been “hijacked by a neo-colonialist mentality”. The council decision came after the UN and dozens of countries took the floor to voice alarm at alleged atrocities, including mass killings and sexual violence, since the conflict erupted in Ethiopia’s northern…

TEHRAN: Iran has executed a Kurdish man for armed rebellion despite international pressure for his life to be spared, activists said, after a trial that was alleged to be unfair with forced confessions. Heidar Ghorbani was executed on Sunday in Sanandaj prison in western Iran’s Kurdistan province, the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) NGO said, adding that neither his family nor his lawyer had been given prior warning. UN human rights experts had urged Iran to repeal his death sentence over “serious concerns” that he did not receive a fair trial and was tortured during pre-trial detention. Campaign groups say that Ghorbani was convicted and sentenced to death in 2020 in connection with the killing in 2016 of three men linked to the pro-government Basij militia. He had been jailed…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Cricket South Africa suffered another blow yesterday, with the decision to postpone the 2022 version of the Mzansi Super League, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tournament, which was cancelled last season as well because of the pandemic, was scheduled to take place in February next year, but was called off for what CSA described as difficulties in making it a “premium international T20 tournament”, because of the increased travel restrictions imposed by a number of countries against SA. “Restrictions such as stricter travel possibilities, the bio-secure environment frustrations, fear of the new variant, and the weak Rand/US Dollar exchange rate are some of the main reasons why CSA has taken the decision to call off the 2022 version of the MSL,” CSA said in a…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com The PSL yesterday announced that it has formally declined a request by Kaizer Chiefs to postpone all their Premiership matches during December. At the start of December, Chiefs informed the PSL that 31 individuals (players, technical and support staff) tested positive for Covid-19 when Gauteng was hit by the fourth wave of the pandemic. As a result, Chiefs were unable to field a team and their base at Naturena was closed down. Chiefs felt that they would be unable to fulfil fixtures against Cape Town City, Golden Arrows, Sekhukhune United and Royal AM. Yesterday the PSL finally declared its decision to decline Chiefs’ request and issued a statement which read: “On the December 2, 2021, Kaizer Chiefs Football Club wrote to the (PSL) requesting ’the postponement…

ARE CITY CHAMPIONS-IN-WAITING? Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool served up a festive classic on Sunday, but sadly it was referee Paul Tierney and VAR that dominated the post-match analysis. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was infuriated by several decisions that went against his side in a 2-2 draw and with some justification. Tottenham’s Harry Kane was only booked for a dangerous tackle on Andy Robertson with VAR deciding not to upgrade it to a sending off. Yet Robertson’s equally rash tackle on Emerson Royal later was changed from yellow to red. Liverpool also had what looked like a clear penalty not given when Diogo Jota was shoved in the back by Royal as he prepared to shoot - with VAR not intervening. Earlier in the day, Newcastle United were denied what looked…

Tottenham Hotspur's European campaign for this season is over after Uefa awarded Rennes a 3-0 victory in their final Uefa Europa League group match yesterday. Spurs were unable to fulfil the December 9 fixture due to a swathe of Covid-19 cases in the squad. No agreement could then be reached between the clubs for a rearranged date before the deadline of December 31. As a result, Tottenham finish third in the section behind group winners Rennes, who progress directly to the last-16, and Dutch side Vitesse who now face Rapid Vienna in a knockout play-off. "The Uefa Appeals Body took the following decision: to declare the 2021/22 Uefa Europa Conference League group stage match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Stade Rennais FC, that was initially scheduled to be played on…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE RAND firmed to a two-week high yesterday, ignoring investor concerns about the fast-spreading Omicron variant that drove a risk-off sentiment against emerging markets currencies. The wide spreading of the Omicron variant saw new restrictions being introduced in Europe and New York recording the highest cases on record, forcing emerging market currencies to trade softer yesterday. The Turkish lira, for one, fell to an all-time low after the country’s central bank slashed its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14 percent, meaning the currency has lost nearly 50 percent of its value since the beginning of November. However, the rand regained its strength by 0.04 percent back to R15.78 by 5pm to the greenback on the back of the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s Just Transition journey, the shift from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy set to peak by 2035, got off to a good start this year with France, Germany, the UK, the US, and the EU throwing their hats into the ring for the rainbow nation to suckle on a R131 billion ($8.25bn) funding lollipop as it ponders its baby-steps. It is no coincidence that South Africa is the blue-eyed boy of energy transition. Boasting ample sunlight for VHF capacity, wind capability, ample gas reserves, a varying geographical incline, technical expertise fodder, an ailing coal fleet and best of all pressure to conform, it is a no-brainer as a poster child of the developed world’s aspirations. The country has certainly displayed its milk-teeth.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za TIGHTLY-HELD Onelogix Group’s share price shot up 27.5 percent to R3.06 yesterday morning after it announced a plan to de-list from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The logistics and supply chain solutions group said that trading in its shares has been characterised by “extremely low liquidity” due to its tightly held strategic and controlling shareholding that has deterred potential institutional investor interest in the shares. Previous media reports suggest that the company directors, staff and management hold about 56 percent of the issued share capital. The proposed de-listing would be accompanied by a cash offer of R3.30 per share. The annual report of end-August 2021 said there were 1 170 individual shareholders holding an 8.9 percent stake, directors own 41.2 percent, while 263…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE six men accused of murdering Gauteng Health Department whistle-blower Babita Deokaran have failed to prove that there were exceptional circumstances that warranted their release on bail. Magistrate Simon Sibanyoni handed down his decision in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday after hearing the extensive submissions from the State and the defence. Sibanyoni ruled against the bail applications brought by Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Sanele Mbele, Nhlangano Phila Ndlovu, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Siphakanyiswa Dladla. The six face counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm. Deokaran, a key witness in a probe into a R300 million personal protective equipment tender fraud, was gunned down outside her home in Winchester Park, south Joburg, in August. Deokaran had just dropped off her child at school…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za THE mediation efforts within the Zulu royal house where two factions are at loggerheads over who is the rightful heir to the throne have collapsed, with neither side willing to compromise, former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu said yesterday. Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, Mchunu , who was leading the mediation team, indicated that the team had concluded its work and was preparing a report to be presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa through Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. “We have made some observations and taken notes on the mediation process, and have made certain recommendations. It will be up to the president to decide on the next step,” said Mchunu, indicating that the report would be presented early next year. He admitted the team…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban INASMUCH as I have always fought for the rights of all downtrodden people, be they black or brown, I realise that there may not be much future in believing that our country will glide into a true democracy, where everyone falls under the same rules, regulations and laws. If locking somebody up for a proven felony, whether a president, ex-president or even any ordinary citizen, endangers the public with barbaric threats of retribution, unrest and general anarchy by the supporters of the “criminal”, and these threats cause the courts to do the most “practical” thing, take the easy way out, and release the prisoner to avert another disaster; then a giant coffin labelled “Democracy” should also be paraded through the streets at the same…

DR BOB CLARK | Southbroom MR DU BOIS continues with his irresponsible false drivel and twaddle at the expense of the people who are gullible enough to believe his inane statements (re: October 5, December 6 and December 10, The Mercury) most of which are irrelevant. Take for instance his continual reference to “the world-renowned Dr Peter McCullough from Baylor University”. Dr McCullough is an ageing cardiologist who was fired from Baylor University and is being sued for using their name. He is not a virologist. Baylor is a B-grade medical university. He also quotes a “Professor Marty Makary from Johns Hopkins University in 15 studies”. However, he is not a John Hopkins professor in medicine but holds a courtesy professorship with the Business School. He too is…

TORNADOES, havoc and heartbreak in America – but set against all this, a story of a little girl who was reunited with her beloved teddy bear, absolutely against the odds. Six-year-old Naomi Pascal went with her dad and her brothers and sisters to Glacier National Park, in Montana, in October last year, according to Associated Press. Along for the adventure was Teddy. Naomi’s dad, Ben, went off on a hike with a friend and the kids were left in the care of family friend Teri Hayden. They had just about reached Teri’s home at Bigfork when, to their dismay, they discovered that Teddy was missing. He’d been left behind somewhere. It snowed that evening, which closed the park’s upper elevations. Teri couldn’t return to search for the bear, though she…

Kailene Pillay and Jolene Marriah-Maharaj President Cyril Ramaphosa has ended a week of self-isolation following his positive test for Covid-19 after delivering the eulogy at FW de Klerk’s state memorial on December 12. In a statement issued by the Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, yesterday, Ramaphosa thanked all South Africans and leaders and friends internationally who conveyed their good wishes during this period. In turn, the president wished all those infected with Covid-19 a safe and speedy recovery. Ramaphosa delivered his eulogy at the last apartheid president FW de Klerk’s state memorial in Cape Town last Sunday and then tested positive for the virus shortly afterwards. It was reported that the president started feeling ill shortly after the memorial service. Gungubele said that while Ramaphosa appeared to be…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality will in March next year get an opportunity to explain to the court why the residents of a “suspect” building on Lancers Road in Durban should not continue to occupy the premises. The Durban High Court granted an interim court order stopping the eviction of more than 100 families from the building. On Sunday, the municipality had moved to evict people from the building as they said their occupation was illegal, the building was derelict and some residents were using it for criminal ends. But an order was granted in the Durban High Court on Sunday night which ordered that the evictions be halted. The municipality said what happened were not evictions and that it had been acting in accordance with the by-laws against…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za South African pig painter, Pigcasso, filled the piggy bank after selling an abstract artwork for a record of R400 000 on December 13, and the proceeds were given to Farm Sanctuary SA, an animal rescue service in Franschhoek, Western Cape, where the animal maestro lives. Pigcasso was rescued when he was just a month old from an industrialised hog operation on the outskirts of Cape Town in 2016, and when Farm Sanctuary SA director and Pigcasso’s owner, Joanne Lefson, noticed that the pig had a knack for using the old paintbrushes left by accident in his stall, she nurtured the pig’s interest. The sale of Pigcasso’s artwork broke the record previously held by a chimpanzee called Congo, whose three tempera paintings were auctioned at Bonhams auction…

IN JULY, South Africa suffered the worst violence since the 1990s. Highways were blocked and businesses, warehouses and other property looted and set alight. More than 300 people died. In mid-October, people were again shocked when a group of men, said to be Somali nationals, openly brandished high calibre weapons during a fight between Somali shop owners and local taxi drivers in public view in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. Not long after 56 people, said to be disgruntled military veterans, were arrested after allegedly holding two government ministers and a deputy minister hostage in Pretoria. They allegedly demanded compensation for their role in the liberation Struggle against minority white rule. These violent incidents led to a question being asked: has South Africa become a failed state? The issue had come up…

Conjoined twin boys from war-torn Yemen who were successfully separated in surgery in Jordan returned to the capital Sana’a this month, the UN children’s agency said. Ahmed and Mohammed were born on December 16 last year, joined at the chest and abdomen, in Sana’a, the country’s rebel-held capital, Unicef said. They were transported to Jordan after urgent calls for their medical evacuation and surgery. The twins were separated in July at Amman’s Speciality Hospital in a nearly eight-hour operation involving 25 surgeons and technical advisers. The twins were seven months old at the time. Their father, Yasser Albukhaity, was all smiles upon returning to Sana’a on a UN medical flight. “I can’t express my feelings,” he said. Yemen has been ravaged by war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels…

ANKARA: The Turkish police yesterday launched a new nationwide operation against illegal and bootleg alcohol as dozens died of alcohol poisoning in Turkey. The Turkish Interior Ministry said the police launched the “Poison 2” operation across 81 provinces against illegal and bootleg alcohol, the second nationwide operation since last week. The bootleg alcohol has become a matter of grave concern in the country as the death toll exceeded 45 people in the past 10 days. In October last year, more than 40 people died and over 50 were hospitalised after consuming bootleg alcohol in several provinces in Turkey…

Smiso Msomi smiso.msomi@inl.co.za Baroka FC, who are at the bottom of the DStv Premiership log, face yet another difficult proposition as high-flying Royal AM look to further compound their misery when the two clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium tomorrow (5pm kick-off). Bakgakga Ba Mpahlele have just two wins to show for their efforts this season and are on a torrid run having lost seven of their last 10 league matches. The Limpopo-based side turned to one of their inspiration figures at the club in Kgoloko Thobejane as they sought to find a way out of the relegation zone. The man popularly known for his “Football will kill you” quote has certainly evoked a response from his charges in the way they have performed but unfortunately not in points on…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has appealed to his players to show a will to win ahead of tomorrow’s Premiership clash away to SuperSport United at Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe Stadium. Tinkler was thrilled by his players’ determination to press for victory after the team was a goal down and forced to play with 10 men for the entire second half against Swallows FC on Saturday. They emerged 2-1 winners after tactical changes worked to City’s advantage in the second half. “They showed the will to win, but I would like to see them do it in every game,” said Tinkler. “The team, although a man down, were forced to adapt and those tactical changes worked well for us in the second half. “The spaces in…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.Maleke@inl.co.za ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats) has announced yesterday it plans to sell its 49 percent stake in Bokoni Mine to Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals (ARM). In a statement, the mine said the transaction is set to generate R3.5 billion. The transaction is expected to be complete in 2022. Amplats owns the Limpopo-based mine through a joint venture with Atlatsa Resources, which holds a 51 percent stake. Amplats chief executive Natascha Viljoen said the company was pleased the Bokoni mine was sold to an operator with the technical and operational capability and funding to ensure the restart and sustainable future for the mine. “The restart of the mine by ARM is expected to benefit employees, host communities, broader stakeholders, and the regional economy, and allow…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za FOR COMPANIES struggling to retain talented employees amidst scarce skills, HR departments and organisational leaders need to understand what makes their employees tick to keep them engaged in their jobs, according to Sage Africa and Middle East. The multinational enterprise software company’s vice-president for medium business, Gerhard Hartman, said that given that Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) recently announced record-breaking unemployment numbers, the great resignation trend sweeping the developed world may appear to be of limited relevance to South Africa. “However, the reality is that local companies are struggling to hold on to their best talent in fields where scarce skills such as finance, technology, management and engineering are sought after,” Hartman said. The company said that the PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC’s) Workforce Preference Study offered some pointers about the…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za LIFESTYLE-focused group Long4Life said yesterday that an Old Mutual private equity fund had made a firm offer to acquire it at about 6.5 percent more than an initial offer proposal. Long4Life said it had received a firm intention letter from Ompe Bidco to make an offer to acquire all of the issued shares in Long4Life at R6.20 per share cash. Ompe Bidco had initially proposed an offer price of R5.50 per share. Long4Life’s share price rose 0.88 percent to close at R5.76 on the JSE yesterday. Ompe Bidco is a subsidiary of Ompe Fund V, a private equity fund managed by Old Mutual Private Equity (Ompe), as represented by Ompe V GP Proprietary, acting in its capacity as the ultimate general partner of the Ompe…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za If you haven’t seen or heard about the Woolies Chuckles by now, you’ve most likely been living off the grid. The round chocolate-coated malted honeycomb puffs are everywhere. From a four-layer celebration smash cake to their hard-to-come-by decadent ice cream, Woolworth has dropped their famous balls in just about everything. TikTokker @sedpillay is so tickled by this Chuckles craze that he posted a video showcasing all the products in which the brand has managed to incorporate the chocolate treats. The video makes a tongue in cheek suggestion of how the retailer came up with the idea to include the chocolate products in different recipes to maximise its exposure. It shows people seated in a meeting coming up with marketing ideas for the festive season. One guy’s…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za LOCAL government experts have been deployed to the embattled Ugu District Municipality on the South Coast to help it deal with ongoing service-delivery challenges. A financial expert, governance expert and a technical and engineering expert (from the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation) have been deployed by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to assist the municipality. The intervention is being carried out in terms of Section 154 of the Constitution, which grants national and provincial government powers to assist struggling municipalities. However, the move has sparked a war of words between the DA and the department. The DA said the intervention measures were a response to the party’s campaign for action to be taken in the municipality, but the department rejected this, saying…

For the first time, a spacecraft has touched the sun. Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe has now flown through the sun’s upper atmosphere, called the corona, and sampled particles and magnetic fields there, according to statement issued by the US space agency. The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system, the statement said. “Parker Solar Probe ‘touching the sun’ is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for the Science Mission…

DAVID SUMPTON | Hillcrest At the splendid performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite Ballet by the Johannesburg Ballet Company, at the Playhouse Opera Theatre, with our beloved KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, I was reminded of a promise made a few years ago, by Ms Linda Bukhosini (chief executive of The Playhouse Company) and Ms Belinda Scott (then deputy mayor, Durban city council), on stage in front of a sold-out audience of the Cape Town Ballet Company’s performance of A Christmas Carol that they would resurrect, within two years, the now defunct Durban Ballet Company. As yet nothing has happened, another empty promise by our ANC-led city council or is ballet regarded by them as being too eurocentric? Perhaps we should just be grateful that the superb KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra…

MARCUS MONYAKENI | Pretoria WE ARE experiencing a lot of rain in most parts of the country. Water is all over, be it in rivers that stopped flowing years ago or excavated holes left by construction companies. They are all full of water that poses danger to communities living nearby and the motorists. The municipalities should lead in making sure all makeshift bridges within its area of operations are marked with safety tapes and Chevron signs, to alert the community and motorists about the danger of drowning. This also goes to parents to educate children about the danger of open trenches filled with water. Several people have died while trying to cross fast overflowing rivers and driving across low-lying bridges during storms. In the Free State Botshabelo…

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula is the most followed Cabinet member on Twitter, with 2.63 million followers, beating President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, Mbalula was also found wanting for not using the platform to disseminate information related to his department. The 2021 report, compiled by GovCommSocial, took issue with the fact his prominence was a result of him engaging in Twars, or Twitter wars, and not necessarily sharing information about his department. GovCommSocial, an initiative of Decode Communications, is described as a platform supporting public sector social media professionals and government communicators by facilitating training, hosting events and organising a community of digital marketers across Africa. | Mercury Correspondent…

Sihle Mavuso and Loyiso Sidimba ALMOST two weeks after a group of eThekwini municipality ANC councillors made a great trek to Nkandla to thank former president Jacob Zuma for brokering the coalition deal that saw the governing party retain the metro, another group of supporters are heading to his home to see him. Organisers of the thanksgiving event being planned on behalf of Zuma have asked his supporters to come bearing gifts, but they will have to organise their own transport to Nkandla in northern KwaZulu-Natal. A flyer has been circulating on social media stating that there would be a gathering at Zuma’s Nkandla homestead on Wednesday, December 22 and that it would be a “thanksgiving journey to Nkandla appreciating Msholozi (Zuma’s clan name) for the nine wonderful and most…

AMID the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations that cater for persons living with disabilities are financially hard-hit, with those using their services left in confusion. This comes as Covid-19 affected everyone, and society was forced to adapt to new ways of going about life. Linda Badenhorst of non-profit organisation Shockwave The Move said people with disabilities, especially those with mental illnesses, are heavily affected because they do not understand why they have to isolate and adhere to certain lockdown rules. “We work with different organisations, and the mentally ill could not understand why they could not see their family members. They felt like they did something wrong and did not understand what was going on. “Some are autistic, and when something happens that has never happened before, it is very hard for…

The recent COP26 on climate change in Glasgow was recognised as finally having put the critical issue of loss and damage squarely on the main stage of the climate change debate. It was acknowledged that while much of the debates revolved around commitments aimed at limiting the increase in global average temperature to 1.5ºC, climate change was already causing devastating losses of lives, land and livelihoods. Uncontrolled disaster wildland fires have been one of the most visible negative impacts of climate change on a global scale. It is intriguing, but not surprising, to note that recent disaster fires have been occurring in South Africa with increasing regularity. The present trajectory of climate change suggests that much worst is yet to come, even as the fire emergency services in many parts…

Record crowds of more than 700 000 revellers flocked to Saudi Arabia’s MDLBeast Soundstorm music festival, authorities said yesterday, at the end of the four-day event in the oil-rich desert kingdom. The electronic music festival comes as Saudi’s leaders are pushing to change its conservative image and diversify its economy, only a few years after the country lifted a ban on music and dancing. International entertainers and musicians – including superstar French DJ David Guetta – performed at the event despite boycott calls over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. The festival, which ended on a Sunday, comes as Saudi Arabia sees a spike in coronavirus cases amid increased fears over the spread of the new omicron variant. Saudi Arabia has recorded the highest number of Covid-related deaths among Arab Gulf…

ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has castigated Prime Minister Imran Khan for allegedly defaming the country and its political parties only to hide his own corruption at a time when foreign dignitaries were attending the 17th extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) here. The party’s Marriyum Aurangzeb said Khan’s interview with Al Jazeera on December 17 was an attempt to damage the country’s image. It seemed Khan did not possess the mental capacity to understand the importance of the OIC gathering and to present a positive image of Pakistan to the leaders of the Muslim world, the party said.…