Tabla de contenidos para 2023-03-13 en Mercury

FUTUREGROWTH Asset Management is running out of patience over the slow progress made to the Land Bank’s liability solution as the bank’s default position approaches its third year now. The leading creditor for the Land Bank on Friday said the continued default position posed significant risks to its clients and did not bode well for the other solutions that may be needed for other State-owned enterprises. In April 2020, the Land Bank experienced serious liquidity challenges after failing to repay about R50 billion maturing loans. The bank’s entire debt portfolio of about R45bn, of which R5.2bn is guaranteed, was considered to be in default due to cross-default clauses. FutureGrowth head of credit Olga Constantatos on Friday said three years was a long time to negotiate and resolve what is…

MINISTER of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Dr Blade Nzimande has met the Universities South Africa (USAf) in an attempt to find a solution to the ongoing unrest on campuses. Students across the country have been protesting over financial exclusion, lack of accommodation and outstanding fees. Wits, Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal universities as well as the Tshwane University of Technology students embarked on protests and made the institutions inaccessible last week. The meeting between Nzimande and USAf, held on March 7, resolved to establish a committee to consider solutions for the accommodation cap imposed by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The committee, consisting of the ministry, USAf and vice-chancellors, also resolved to urgently meet again this week to look at cases and practical solutions. Nzimande and USAf agreed that…

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa kicked off his 2024 election campaign in KwaZulu-Natal and apologised to people for the damaging effects of load shedding. KZN is one of the provinces where an internal poll suggested that the party could lose the elections. Ramaphosa’s visit was seen as either him listening to the internal research or going all out to keep the province away from the IFP. Ramaphosa faced a blockade of burning tyres in KwaDambuza, Pietermaritzburg, yesterday, but by the time he left the Sakhumuzi community, an area known for its volatility, he had locals singing his praises after a pit stop that formed part of his campaign trail. Coming just days after the ANC lost a ward in Msunduzi Municipality, which saw the ruling party’s control of the council shrinking,…

IT IS unbelievable to read that four electricians sent to sort out an electricity supply problem are murdered by the local community and their vehicle destroyed. What kind of “people” in this modern world behave in that manner, where help is sent in to address their problems, and is attacked and murdered? The same happens to ambulance crews and even fire brigades sent to help the communities. I would remove such services from these communities. Their reaction is totally unacceptable and undeserving of assistance in matters such as these. As regards the behaviour of the hospital strikers – totally unacceptable; the authorities need to step in and control this anarchy. Their behaviour is simply barbaric and beyond belief. It’s equally disconcerting that mentality such as this moves and works among…

One really has to wonder at the various statements made by the ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula who has only been in his new position for just under two months. In his new position – Mr Fixit will in all probability also wreck the ANC and contribute to its downfall, because if one looks at his track record in the past portfolios he has been in charge of, he has wrecked them all. Not one of the SOEs he was in charge of was left in a positive state. He now has the gall to make the following statements: “Those who don’t perform, their days are numbered. You don’t perform, you are out” and then: “This thing of ministers being loose and not being held accountable will come to an end.…

A NEW martial art has emerged in the US. The competitors take turns to stand rigidly upright, hands behind their backs, waiting to absorb a brutal slap to the face. When the open-handed blow is delivered, there’s a resounding slap, and the reaction can be dramatic, according to The Associated Press. Some fighters barely move, while others stumble backward or fall to the floor. Some are knocked out. The winner is the one who is left standing. It started in Las Vegas, where the Nevada Athletics Commission has sanctioned competitions organised by the Power Slap League. Sports promoters are putting big money into it, selling slap fighting as the next big thing in combat sports. “It’s a home run,” says Dana White, a major promoter of face slapping. However, there…

Durban University of Technology (DUT) vice-chancellor and principal Professor Thandwa Mthembu delivered his state of the university address on Friday, and revealed the institution’s plans to curb load shedding. Mthembu, speaking on the Indumiso campus in Pietermaritzburg, said load shedding was a persistent issue and it continued to hurt the institution. He said as an institution, their contribution to curbing the load-shedding crisis would be to procure a solar-panel manufacturing plant. “In 2022, we conducted a solar feasibility study that involves three sub-projects. Firstly, the viability of DUT procuring a solar-manufacturing plant, given the opportunity of such a plant being available in Pietermaritzburg. Secondly, we are in the final stages of procurement processes for the design and installation of a 230KW carport system. Lastly, we are almost ready with the…

NEW DELHI: The Indian government opposes recognising same-sex marriages, it said in a filing to the Supreme Court yesterday, urging the court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT couples. The Ministry of Law believes there may be various forms of relationships in society, but the legal recognition of marriage is for heterosexual relationships. The state has a legitimate interest in maintaining this. Existing legislation “was limited to the recognition of a marriage between a man and a woman, represented as a husband and wife”. Four gay couples have asked the court to recognise same-sex marriages, setting the stage for the legal face-off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. | Reuters…

Seoul: North Korea has decided to take “important practical” war deterrence measures, state media reported yesterday, a day before Seoul and Washington begin their largest joint military drills in five years. The decision was made at a meeting of the ruling party’s military commission presided over by leader Kim Jong-Un. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the move was aimed at “coping with the war provocations of the US and south Korea that are reaching the red-line”, but did not elaborate on the measures. South Korea and the US are scheduled to start the “Freedom Shield” exercises today. | AFP…

Another powerful storm pummeled California overnight, forcing thousands to evacuate and resulting in at least two deaths, while causing a levee to give way in coastal Monterey County. “We were hoping to avoid and prevent this situation, but the worst case scenario has arrived with the Pajaro River overtopping and levee breaching at about midnight,” Luis Alejo, a Monterey County supervisor, said on Twitter. Residents told AFP they were alerted by local fire officials in the middle of the night that they needed to evacuate. “Their sirens and all – woke us up,” said Moses, a resident of the area for around 20 years. He said officials later came and knocked on his door multiple times, but that he decided to wait until 5am to make a decision. After returning…

GENEVA: Discovering the origins of Covid-19 is a moral imperative and all hypotheses must be explored, the head of the World Health Organization said on Twitter, in the clearest indication yet that the UN body remains committed to finding how the virus arose. A US agency was reported to have assessed the pandemic had likely been caused by an unintended Chinese laboratory leak, raising pressure on the WHO to come up with answers. Beijing denies the assessment which could soon become public after the US House of Representatives voted to declassify it. The first human cases were reported in Wuhan, China. | Reuters…

The Western Province coaching staff will be smiling after their team showed similar traits to the Stormers in their convincing Currie Cup win of 44-28 over the Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday. A massive defensive display when they were under the pump, in tandem with some brilliant touches on the attack, allowed the Cape side to win with a bonus point in their Currie Cup opener in Johannesburg. They scored five tries and kept the Lions at bay with solid tackles when the home side kept hammering at the door, looking for a way back into the game. WP led 24-7 at half-time and was cruising at one stage before the Lions valiantly fought back to score four tries. Despite this, it was a convincing WP victory against a…

The Achilles injury to Keshav Maharaj on day four of the second Test against the West Indies, will give Bjorn Fortuin a well-deserved opportunity to have a crack once again in ODIs after solid returns in domestic cricket with both ball and bat. "Keshav's injury was the one downside to this game and it doesn't look good," Test coach Shukri Conrad said. From the moment Maharaj went to ground after a successful review post lunch on day four at the Wanderers, it was clear that the injury was serious. After an MRI Scan on Saturday, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced that Maharaj had ruptured his Achilles tendon. CSA has not announce how long it will take Maharaj to get back on the park, but ruptured Achilles tendons generally takes months…

STOCKS on the JSE suffered one of the worst weeks this year, plunging for the fourth day in a row on Friday to another two-month low, as the latest US non-farm payrolls report triggered further rate-hike worries. The JSE All Share index plunged 1.6% to end Friday at 76 454 index points, its biggest daily decline since early January, bringing the bourse’s losses to about 2.3% for the week. Almost all sectors were trading in the red on Friday, led by logistics, property, renewables, tech, industrials, financials stocks, and resource-linked stocks. Equities were already under pressure amid lingering concerns that higher interest rates would trigger a global recession. This as investors were digesting the US jobs data and the possibility of faster interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve…

ACTING Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, has warned opposition and other interested parties against divulging the contents of her preliminary Phala Phala report, which has already been reported on by the media. The EFF and other opposition parties have rejected the preliminary report. On Friday, Gcaleka released her much-awaited report on the theft, where a large amount in foreign currency was stolen by Namibians linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s domestic worker. Leaked copies of the preliminary report that emerged in the public domain have cleared Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing, with the public protector saying Ramaphosa did not contravene the Executive Ethics Code -– the complaint that triggered the probe. Gcaleka found there was no proof the president was actively involved in the running of the farm. African Transformation Movement (ATM) spokesperson…

Aunt Caroline Rice has committed to provide about 17 000 hot meals to students across KwaZulu-Natal for the next three weeks. This is a beacon of hope for needy students who are struggling to find accommodation and to register – most of them are in the first-year of their university careers. Sadly, some of them are worried where the next meal is coming from. It is gratifying to note during this difficult period, the power of kindness, by Tiger Brands marketing director Thembi Sehloho, whose dedication and passion in helping these students has earned her a title of a local hero, while the critical issue of accommodation and other concerns still remain unresolved. This act of kindness and caring will definitely change the lives of students. It also takes a…

Sinking in the polls with their heads in the sand, trying to blame everything else except themselves for having systematically looted, corrupted and bankrupted the country while creating mass unemployment, the only topic the ANC prefer to talk about is their history (The Mercury, March 10). Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s nostalgic review of what she claims was the role of women in “liberating South Africa”, is at odds with the fact that millions of women now want South Africa to be liberated from the ANC. One wonders whether it occurs to Dube-Ncube how the ANC is going to feature in history books in 30 years’ time for having wrecked a functioning country in less than 30 years. The penchant of the likes of Dube-Ncube and her predecessor, Sihle Zikalala, to discourse on…

What inhumanity, what lack of respect for the Constitution and Bill of Rights, what lack of respect for human beings seeking medical attention we have seen in the past few days. Are these the values, morals and ethics that we learnt at home from our parents? Is this what we want our children to witness and absorb? Where is the spirit of ubuntu – “humanity to others”? I am sure most South Africans are traumatised as I am to see video clips on social media and news channels of vulnerable patients being barred from entering hospitals and health-care workers from carrying out their essential services. The ongoing National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union strike that has disrupted health-care services at many hospitals, risking the lives of sick people, raises…

FORMER Tshwane mayor Dr Murunwa Makwarela, who resigned on Friday, must face the full might of the law after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, shot down information that it issued him with an insolvency rehabilitation certificate in 2018. This was a view of political analyst Dr John Molepo, reacting to developments that Makwarela was fingered for allegedly faking the certificate in question. Makwarela, who was voted into power on February 28 with the backing of the EFF and ANC, also resigned from his political party, Cope. Cope’s deputy president, Willie Madisha, denounced Makwarela’s behaviour, saying it was embarrassing for the party. He apologised to the public and called for a probe into Makwarela’s qualification and for the law to take its course with regard to his fraudulent rehabilitation certificate. Tshwane’s…

THE IFP has called on the KwaZulu-Natal government to increase the budget of the Zulu royal household, saying the late king’s wives still needed looking after. IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa said this in reaction to the provincial budget which was tabled by Finance MEC Peggy Nkonyeni in the KZN legislature on Friday. He said they had noted that Nkonyeni did not say anything on the Zulu royal household, but had instead focused on the compensation of izinduna. “We obviously welcome the compensation of izinduna as we believe they are a crucial component within the institution of traditional leadership,” said Hlabisa. He added they would be monitoring how the department responsible for the household, which is the Office of the Premier, would frame the budget for the 2023/24 financial year. “There…

Acting Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka’s preliminary report on the Phala Phala farm scandal – which found there is no basis to conclude that President Cyril Ramaphosa contravened the Executive Ethics Code in the manner in which he handled the housebreaking at his Phala Phala farm – leaves more questions than answers. The report clears Ramaphosa, while the lion’s share of the debacle is placed at the head of protection services, Major-General Wally Rhoode. It is believed that Gcaleka has not touched on how much was stolen and how much was recovered. Crucially, it does not explain if the stolen money was the proceeds of a game auction, or why those animals are still at the farm almost three years later. Instead, Gcaleka wants the president’s adviser, Bejani Chauke, Rhoode…

Tehran: Iran’s judiciary yesterday confirmed the death sentence of a Swedish-Iranian dissident for “terrorism” over two years since his disappearance at an airport in Türkiye, the judiciary’s Mizan website reported. Habib Chaab has been held in Iran since October 2020 after he vanished during a visit to Türkiye and was tried in Tehran – which does not recognise dual nationality. Chaab, who was found guilty of “corruption on earth” and the formation of a rebel group, was sentenced to death on December 6. Yesterday, it was confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Court had upheld the ruling. Chaab is the latest person to be sentenced to death for membership of Harakat al-Nidal, which Tehran calls a “terrorist group”. | AFP…

The Ukrainian military was preparing yesterday for an upcoming counteroffensive, with a top commander saying his forces’ ongoing defence of Bakhmut in the face of fierce and sustained Russian attacks was necessary to “buy time” for that push. The remarks came as British intelligence said the front line had shifted in the fight for Bakhmut – the longest and bloodiest battle of Moscow’s year-long invasion – but that any further Russian advance in the devastated town would be “highly challenging”. Some military experts have questioned the sense of continuing to hold the city, but the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said that it helped win time in preparation for the coming counteroffensive. “The real heroes now are the defenders who are holding the eastern front on their…

People gathered across the Tohoku region to remember victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on Saturday, the 12th anniversary of a disaster that left more than 22 000 people dead or missing. From early in the morning, people offered prayers along parts of the coast devastated by the tsunami, while others pressed their hands together in front of cenotaphs. People also gathered at an elementary school to mourn students who died while attempting to evacuate. Disaster drills were held in the early hours of the morning in some coastal areas, in which people practised evacuating to higher ground on foot and by car. Through such drills, the lessons of the disaster are being passed on to future generations. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, speaking at a…

Washington: Former US vice-president Mike Pence said that history would hold former president Donald Trump “accountable” for his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, US media reported. The remarks are likely to widen the rift between the former running mates, who have been at loggerheads since Pence refused to go along with Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and remain in power. “President Trump was wrong,” Pence said in a speech at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington, a white-tie gala put on by journalists that draws top politicians. “I had no right to overturn the election. And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day. And I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable,” Pence was quoted as…

AT LEAST 300 arrests have been made in efforts by business and the South African Police (SAPS) to stem extortion and attacks on projects by the “construction mafia”, although there remains some concern that the SAPS is reluctant to open some cases. According to the The National Priority Committee, there were encouraging convictions and recorded sentences as it prioritises advocacy for the business community to put an end to the scourge. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime said there were no less than 183 infrastructure and construction projects worth more than R63billion ($3.9bn) struggling with protection rackets. “We are concerned regarding SAPS Customer Support Centres not being ready to record extortion cases. Victims allege that cases are not opened against high profile perpetrators. “Operational support in rural areas is…

IN THE CUT-THROAT world of technology, diversity and innovation can be hard to come by. That is why AYO Technology Solutions (AYO) stands out as a true trailblazer in the field. With its majority black ownership and 26-year track record of success, AYO has made waves on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) since going public in 2017. However, despite the technology company’s commitment to digital transformation and customer service, AYO has been unfairly maligned by several media outlets over recent years – causing major setbacks for both the company and its valued customers. The investment in AYO by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) was welcomed by both the JSE and Africa’s largest asset manager. But due to malicious media coverage, the PIC is seemingly suffering from a bout of regret.…

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) said workers would continue with their strike in a more intensified manner from today. This as the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health said it had increased security at health facilities, despite minimal disruptions at the weekend. Nehawu’s statement comes despite a judgment pending today over the union’s appeal to the Labour Court against a court interdict from the Department of Public Service and Administration against their strike. Nehawu said they remained resolute in their fight for a 10% wage increase. “We met the employer on March 10-11 through facilitation, where we presented our issues. The employer replied that they were not averse to the process. “To our dismay, the negotiators of the employer made a U-turn when we thought that we were…

After a long delay, President Ramaphosa reshuffled his Cabinet. But, as expected, he didn’t make any bold moves and played his cards safely. There were no aces in his “new”Cabinet. A little bit here, a little bit there, a tweak here and there to give an overall impression of a new vibrant Cabinet, all raring to go. He thought a new Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa with two other new ministers (security and planning and evaluation) would boost the Cabinet and give him more power to face the challenges. Significantly the lights went off at 8pm in Kloof and we were left in darkness when the president was just about to make his announcements. But it mattered little as there were no real surprise changes to the Cabinet. With the…

On Tuesday March 7, the South African Parliament voted in favour of downgrading the level of its mission in Israel. In fact, this was a decision discussed back in 2018 and implemented a year later when the South Africa ambassador was not replaced after his term had expired. But this ANC government found it more important to rehash something that was already in effect. It was an important issue to devote valuable parliamentary time to, despite load shedding, unemployment, the economy and greylisting. No, no this was a far more important issue to take up valuable time in the assembly. Only a day later, a 4-year-old little toddler was found dead in a pit latrine at her school in Glen Grey in the Eastern Cape. Recent reports that there were…

“Dear Rod On the whole, I think you give very positive advice, although you’re not always right! I estimate that 90% is a good average, so keep it up! I enjoy your column. Kind regards, Glen” I love such responses to my work, and have probably received hundreds of similar replies (always from men) over the 22 years this column has appeared daily in The Mercury. Glen is far above average when it comes to politeness. Thank you, Glen, for the 90% grade. I’m quite happy to reach even 75% (of being “right”), given the diversity of readers and thinkers of our beloved newspaper. I do try to be positive. I do this first for myself and then for my readers, given that most of us are more immersed in…

Today the Pretoria High Court will hear the State’s application for leave to appeal the landmark deadly air court judgment regarding air pollution in the Mpumalanga Highveld. The case started in June 2019 at the behest of the Emalahleni-based Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action (VEM) and environmental justice group groundWork represented by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and it sought for the government to deal with air pollution in Mpumalanga. The deadly air court judgment was handed down by High Court Judge Colleen Collis in the Pretoria High Court in March last year. It found that the poor air quality in the Highveld Priority Area (which extends from eastern Gauteng across the Mpumalanga Highveld), is in breach of residents’ section 24(a) Constitutional right to an environment that is…

Tehran: Iran has announced more than 100 arrests over the mystery poisoning of thousands of schoolgirls, charging that the unidentified perpetrators may have links with “hostile” groups. In the wave of cases since November, schoolgirls have suffered fainting, nausea, shortness of breath and other symptoms after reporting “unpleasant” odours on school premises, with some being treated in hospital. State media reported that the interior ministry had announced the arrest over the suspected poison attacks at more than 200 schools. “More than 100 people who were responsible for the recent school incidents were identified, arrested and investigated,” the ministry said in a statement. | AFP…

Brussels: The general secretary of the international trade union ITUC has been dismissed from his post, the confederation said, over his links to a European Parliament graft scandal implicating Qatar. Luca Visentini was arrested in December as part of the investigation into suspected corruption among MEPs involving Qatar and Morocco. The 54-year Italian – who was detained for two days then released, but remained a suspect – was suspended by the board of the International Trade Union Confederation in December. The board has decided he “no longer had the confidence of the General Council” and would be removed from his post. | AFP…

Cyclone Freddy battered central Mozambique yesterday after making landfall for a second time in a month and breaking records for duration and strength of tropical storms in the southern hemisphere. More than 171 000 people were affected after the cyclone swept through southern Mozambique last month, killing 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar. More than half a million people are at risk of being affected in Mozambique this time, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. After passing by the port town of Quelimane, the storm was continuing on inland towards the southern tip of neighbouring Malawi, satellite data showed. Communications and electricity to Quelimane have been cut. “The wind was very strong into the night ... There is a lot of destruction, trees fallen…

Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian gunmen after they fired at troops in the occupied northern West Bank, the army said yesterday, as violence in the region continued. The military said “gunmen opened fire” at an army position near the Jit junction west of Nablus, with the soldiers responding with “live fire”. “Three armed gunmen were neutralised during the exchange of fire. An additional armed gunman surrendered,” the army said, noting none of the Israeli forces were wounded. The soldiers, members of the elite infantry Golani reconnaissance unit, grabbed three M-16 rifles and a pistol used by the Palestinians, the army said. The Palestinian health ministry said it was informed about the deaths of three men killed near Nablus. The incident took place a short distance from an Israeli settlement,…

Arsenal powered five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a stylish 3-0 win at Fulham, while Casemiro was sent off in Manchester United’s 0-0 draw against struggling Southampton yesterday. Mikel Arteta’s side had seen second-placed Manchester City close the gap with victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Gunners responded with the kind of composed display that has been the hallmark of their title charge. First-half goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard - all set up by Leandro Trossard - put Arsenal on course for a fifth consecutive league win. With 11 league games left, the north Londoners have the title in their sights. Since being knocked out of pole position after a defeat against City Arsenal have shown the mettle of potential…