Índice para 2022-04-06 em Mercury

OPPOSITION parties have demanded that the “new” process to appoint a municipal manager for the eThekwini Municipality be open, transparent and above board. This comes after the parties on Monday blocked attempts by the ANC to appoint a municipal manager from a South Coast municipality as the new city boss, saying the process was flawed. They described the appointment process as secretive, adding that this had made it impossible to defend the appointment. They demanded that it should be started afresh. Musa Mbhele, the acting city manager, will continue in his position until the position is filled. The city manager’s position became vacant when the city parted ways with Sipho Nzuza last year. The post was advertised, and 286 candidates applied. Allegations emerged last week that the ANC and KwaZulu-Natal…

OF COURSE there are social pleasantries such as “How are you?”, “How’s your day?” and “What’s going on?”. These are expressed in colourful ways across the world, according to culture. The problem is we often stop there. We seldom get beyond social politeness, dig a little deeper, spend a little time connecting with others, even with those whom we love. I’m guilty of that. “On-the-fly” pleasantries keep us, well, on the fly! When we do take time to hear each other out and not talk over each other‘s thoughts or sentences and are careful not to interrupt each other, we increase our mutual potential to discover the gold within every life. When we do take the time to hear each other out, we might discover unfinished grief that makes “on…

Attempts to remove Imran Khan as prime minister of Pakistan are carefully scripted strategies aimed at regime change, planned and executed with clinical precision by the architects of the New World Order. At this crucial moment of tremendous political, social, financial and economic upheavals, the greatest mankind has ever faced in history is the possibility of this dark cabal getting away in provoking a third world war. This is the last violent scenario they are hoping for to bring in the Next World Order. The emerging conflicts create a platform for the evil warlords to continue to enfold and prosecute their nefarious agenda with impunity and no opposition. They are moving according to a scripted plan. Disturbing events in Europe, North America, Central and South America, Africa, Asia and the…

Despite collecting more than R1.5 trillion for the year ending March 2022, Sars has come up with a brilliant ploy to collect more tax by increasing tax on cash-strapped pensioners. Because some pensioners with more than one source of income are left with a tax liability at the end of the tax year, all pensioners will now be taxed on all sources of income. I will now be taxed on all sources of income despite the fact that at the end of the tax year my medical deductions will exceed the total amount of tax paid, and the total tax paid will be refunded to me. This means Sars will hold my money for at least 18 months, and I will have to meet my living and medical expenses from…

The wife of former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has died in a drowning incident in Gqeberha. Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg said that an inquest docket had been opened after Theresa’s body was found floating in a pool on Monday. “SAPS Walmer is investigating an inquest after the body of a woman was found floating in a pool in Fairview on April 4. “It is alleged that at approximately 12 noon, the body of a 62-year-old woman was found in the swimming pool at a house in Redbud Street, Fairview. The deceased is from Paarl, but was visiting family in Gqeberha. She was found in the pool by a family member. No foul play is suspected,” Janse Van Rensburg said. Political party GOOD, for whom De Villiers…

Two young men got a shock when they arrived at the offices of the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison to start their training as traffic officers, only to realise they had been scammed by a woman they met on Facebook. Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe, has warned community members seeking employment to avoid falling prey to fraudsters impersonating government officials. The department said several young people had reported being swindled out of their money after they were promised jobs or internships. Shongwe urged the public to disregard “such unscrupulous people and not give them any money”. He said the scammers must be reported to the police. “We should not allow ourselves to be tricked into paying money for government work or internships…

A PROPOSAL to spend R2 million to assist local artists hard hit by the national lockdown sparked a heated exchange in the eThekwini full council meeting on Monday. The Durban Tourism Artists’ Economic Recovery and Destination Promotion Programme Status Update came before the full council and was approved. A report on the matter stated that authority was being sought for approval and support for the continued execution of the Durban Tourism Artists’ programme for artists’ economic recovery. It came with a price tag of R2m and is set to end in June this year. There were objections by the DA, that argued that the council cannot spend such an amount on artist programmes while it is struggling to deliver services. The objections sparked a heated exchange with the DA accused…

A 17-year-old serial rapist has been jailed for an effective 30 years behind bars. Police said the teenager was believed to be the youngest recorded serial rapist in the history of South Africa. The minor was sentenced in the Gauteng Regional Court sitting in Palm Ridge, police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said. “The teenage serial rapist was 15 at the time when he raped three boys, aged between 8 and 10 years, on three different occasions around Katlehong during 2020.” Sello said the case was assigned to Sergeant Renny Matshavha, a detective at the Katlehong Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offence unit, who pieced all the available evidence together. “Her quality investigation resulted in a solid case brought against the accused.” SAPS Acting Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Major General Girly…

Minister Sisulu a typical victim of gender-based political violence The democratic dispensation has largely postured a tolerance of all political views – through debate and a media fraternity that enjoys the freedom to entertain the freedom of speech and expression, regardless of who it may criticise or oppose. Nonetheless, a study by Quote This Woman+ (a South African NGO) has revealed that in this country, fewer than 20% of sources quoted in the news and public engagements are women. The media and public engagement can loosely be understood as news commentary, public opinion publications, public debate and general news coverage. The irony of these findings is that despite the domination of women (in numbers) across most sectors, particularly in politics, women are hardly at the centre of leading the narratives…

A former Sudanese militia chief led a campaign of murder, rape and torture across Darfur, the International Criminal Court (ICC) heard yesterday as the first trial for war crimes in the region got under way. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, an ally of deposed Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict almost 20 years ago. His trial is the first before the Hague-based ICC for crimes in Darfur, in which 300 000 people were killed and two and a half million fled their homes, according to UN figures. The trial also comes as the world’s eyes turn to possible war crimes committed in Ukraine. “You will hear evidence that he (Abd-Al-Rahman) and his forces rampaged across different parts…

Two notebooks owned by British naturalist Charles Darwin, including one with a sketch of his famous Tree of Life, have been returned to Cambridge University’s library, more than 20 years after they were reported missing. The notebooks were found in good condition on March 9 in a gift bag left on the floor of the library with a message saying: “Librarian Happy Easter X,” the library said yesterday. “They may be just the size of postcards, but the notebooks’ impact on the history of science cannot be overstated,” said Jessica Gardner, the librarian of Cambridge University Library. Darwin sketched his ideas about an evolutionary tree in 1837 after a trip around the world, more than two decades before he published a more fully developed tree of life in his book…

SYDNEY: Australian police yesterday recovered the bodies of a British man and his 9-year-old son, killed when a rockslide hit their family while walking in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The landslide struck the holidaying family of five on Monday, killing the father, 49, and his son and critically injuring the mother 50, and another son, 14, police said. The injured mother and son, winched out of Wentworth Falls by helicopter, underwent surgery and remain in “critical condition”, police said. Rescuers treated the couple’s daughter, 15, for shock. Sydney has experienced heavy rains in recent weeks, coupled with flash floods. | AFP…

THE Premiership is fast approaching its conclusion, and all 16 teams have established their goals for the final run-in as the league draws to a close. Royal AM are one of two teams resembling consistency in performance. Their results since the turn of the year and their position on the log reflects that, as they lead the chasing pack for the remaining CAF Champions League slot with Mamelodi Sundowns holding first place. The KwaZulu-Natal side take their remarkable form into their next game against Marumo Gallants at Chatsworth Stadium today (5pm kick-off) hoping to add to their six wins in eight matches in 2022. It is the kind of form defender Thabo Matlaba believes could take them to Champions League qualification. “My promise to the fans is that we’re going…

SOUTH African champions Mamelodi Sundowns have drawn Angola’s Petro de Luanda of Angola in the Caf Champions League quarter-finals after the draw was held at the governing body’s headquarters in Cairo yesterday. The first legs of the Champions League quarters are scheduled to take place on April 15 and 16, and the return second legs on April 22 and 23. Sundowns, the Group A winners, are away for the first leg and will travel to Luanda. Petro de Luanda were the runners-up in Group D. Sundowns were hugely impressive in the group phase, and along with ES Tunis, the Tunisian giants, were the only two unbeaten teams. Sundowns, however, set a group phase record by scoring 16 points after six matches and kept five clean sheets. The winner of…

AS THE race for the provincial leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal heats up, senior provincial party member Jomo Sibiya has added his voice to the fray, saying chairperson Sihle Zikalala has offered unparalleled leadership during a challenging time. Zikalala is attempting to secure a second term as chairperson at the provincial conference later this year, while the radical economic transformation (RET) faction is proposing either eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda or Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube as candidates. Sibiya, who is also MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works and is considered by many to be close to the Cyril Ramaphosa faction, said: “We need to rise above the current situation and not gamble with the ANC. We need to fix the party and overcome challenges together.” “There is never absolute…

CONCERNS have been raised about the draft health regulations published by Health Minister Joe Phaahla that are set to govern how the country manages the Covid-19 pandemic going forward. On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the end of the state of disaster. He said the pandemic would be managed in terms of the National Health Act, and that the draft health regulations had been published for public comment until April 15. In a letter to Phaahla, the DA’s spokesperson on health, Michéle Clarke, wrote: “These regulations will ultimately force South Africans to have compulsory medical examinations, tests and treatment for certain Notifiable Medical Conditions (“NMC”) in the event they test positive, or merely are suspected of testing positive, for an NMC (which would include Covid-19).” Clarke added that it appeared…

I’M NOT sure where this happened – I don’t think it was at Kingsmead during the recent Test against Bangladesh. Footage comes this way of a bowler making a delivery so wide that, instead of signalling it with outstretched arms, the umpire stands on his head and signals the wide even more emphatically with outstretched legs. Entertaining cricket. Something for Kingsmead to emulate, I’d say. New intensity THE dreadful war in Ukraine takes on a new intensity. An illustration comes this way showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the telephone. “Hello, Will Smith? Did you hear what Vladimir Putin said about your wife?” Good news snippet MEANWHILE, a rare snippet of good news from the war. Ukrainian soldiers were inspecting abandoned homes on the front line near Kyiv, in an…

In August last year, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that driving licences that expired between March 26, 2020, and August 31, 2021, would be valid until March 31, 2022. In February, Mbalula indicated that there was a total backlog of 2.1 million licences nationally that would have expired by March 31, 2022. The government has since extended the deadline to April 15, 2022. It is laughable to even consider that this incompetent government will clear the backlog by mid-April. The driving licence fiasco reads like a bad soap opera: problems with the production of driving licence cards, issues around Driving Licence Testing Centres, online booking systems, and of course, corruption. All this has direct implications that potential insurance claims by motorists will not be paid out. What has not explicitly…

While the R1.50 reduction in the General Fuel Levy (GFL) will take some pressure off embattled consumers, the fuel price increases for April announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on Monday will still keep fuel prices at record high levels and will add financial pressure on all South Africans. This is according to the AA. The DMRE announced the following changes in fuel prices which come into effect today: 93 octane petrol will increase by 28c a litre and 95 octane by 36c/l. Diesel is set for staggering increases, climbing by between R1.52/l for 0.05% sulphur and R1.69/l/ for 0.005% sulphur. The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin is set to increase by R2.66/l. The AA said the R1.50 decrease in the GFL would mean this tax…

MURDER accused Tholinhlanhla Shezi will have to wait a little longer to know his fate after his bail application was adjourned yesterday. Shezi, 23, stands accused of the pre-meditated murder of Nkosinathi Amos Ngcobo, a municipal worker who was superintendent at the Water and Sanitation Unit in the eThekwini Municipality. He was shot dead in his office in Springfield in February. Shezi made an appearance in March at the Durban Magistrate’s Court for his bail application, however it could not proceed as the State was awaiting a letter from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. Shezi made another appearance yesterday for his bail application, which was adjourned due to the court having several cases on its roll. The deceased’s brother-in-law, Nkosi Mahlangu, said it was disappointing that the case was not…

THE Benoni Regional Court yesterday handed two men two life terms each for killing a young couple after they ran out of fuel at the Putfontein off-ramp. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Johanco Fleischman, 19, and Jessica Kuhn, 21, were driving a bakkie with two passengers, when they ran out of fuel in May 2019. The accused, Melusi Gift Shima, 26, and Ishmael Hlabathi, 35, were arrested for their murders. The State alleged during the trial that the men had approached the couple and shot them dead. A witness pointed them out to the police. | Mercury Correspondent…

THE City of Tshwane should expedite its probe into sexual harassment allegations levelled against Speaker Dr Murunwa Makwarela. More importantly, the outcomes should be made public and the matter laid to rest before the claims derail governance and service delivery programmes. Pretoria News recently reported that Makwarela had been accused of having failed to disclose to Tshwane that he had been suspended by his previous employer, Joburg Fresh Produce Market, after a senior employee at the entity laid sexual harassment charges against him. In a letter, Makwarela’s accuser, who was until recently a strategic executive in the Speaker’s office, claimed that the Speaker had failed to come clean on his past before his election. Makwarela this week denied the allegations and dismissed the official who accused him as a liar…

Dozens of Sri Lankan MPs walked out of the ruling coalition yesterday, leaving President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government in a minority in parliament as it struggled to quell protests amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. In another setback for the administration, Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned a day after his appointment and ahead of crucial talks scheduled with the International Monetary Fund for a loan programme. Rajapaksa dissolved his cabinet on Monday and sought to form a unity government as public unrest surged over the ruling family’s handling of the debt-heavy economy that has led to shortages of food and fuel and prolonged power cuts. A doctors’ body also told the government there was an acute shortage of medicines that could collapse the health system. Politically, the possible next…

PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has narrowed the gap with Emmanuel Macron in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s presidential election enough to rattle financial markets, stressed yesterday how “reasonable” she is, as she seeks to soften her image. “I always try to have the most reasonable view possible, and one that defends the interest of France,” she said. Le Pen, whom Macron beat with two-thirds of the vote five years ago, has improved on her pre-first round polling, at 23% vs Macron’s 27%, with Macron seen only six points ahead of her in the second round, a poll showed. | Reuters…

SAN SALVADOR: More than 6 000 gang members have been detained in the first nine days of a state of emergency in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele said this week, after imposing the measures to stamp out a soaring homicide wave. The country declared the emergency measures – allowing the arrest of gang members without a warrant – last week after 87 reported killings from March 25-27. The president said the 6 000 detained added to the 16 000 gang members already incarcerated in El Salvador’s prisons. The president, 40, elected in 2019, enjoys broad support over his promises to fight organised crime and improve security in the violence-wracked country. | AFP…

AN accident near Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Pretoria claimed the life of a hippo which had escaped from the facility at the weekend. Tshwane Environment and Agriculture member of mayoral committee (MMC) Katlego Mathebe said during the early hours of Sunday a young hippo male managed to escape from Rietvlei Nature Reserve. He was subsequently run over by a vehicle along the M57 near Nellmapius Drive. Nature conservation officials were activated to respond to the scene and the carcass was removed by 11am on Sunday. It is understood that the young male was run off from the breeding herd by a dominant male and subsequently gained access to the resort area of the reserve through the dam. Mathebe said being a nocturnal feeder, the hippo would enter the overnight chalets…

When the sun rises over the castle of Rocca Calascio, a mountain hamlet high up in the central Italian Apennines, it is like a silent, red thunder. One such sunrise struck Franco Cagnoli with an almost spiritual calling that led him on a mission to revive the medieval village, abandoned in 1957. The once-ghostly place is one of many small locations in Italy enjoying a revival, fuelled by cheap prices, smart working opportunities and a desire for a quieter lifestyle. “There is a love story between me and Rocca Calascio,” Cagnoli said as he showed visitors round the castle above the hamlet known as the “Light of Abruzzo”, the name of the central Italian region where it is located. Depopulation of rural villages or mountain hamlets in…

I am writing this letter because I am one of the students who have applied and been accepted at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which is very disorganised in general. I have still not been registered because of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College fees department’s poor service as they do not answer calls for queries at all and emails are replied to very late and I have not been cleared to register. I did send a complaint of poor service to the registrar and they tried to help, but it didn’t work. I only received a reply three weeks later by the fees department and they kept asking the same questions. I ended up not getting a response up until registration closed. Most of the information I got was from…

I would like to compliment Visvin Reddy of African Democratic Change (ADeC) and People Against Petrol Price Increases (Pappi). Reddy is the leader of both organisations that fight for the poor and underprivileged citizens of our country. It is well known that ADeC fought against high and fake metro bills which were affecting the poorest of the poor in the eThekwini Municipality, while other political parties such as the DA requested these poor citizens to make payment plans although there seems to be incorrect billing taking place. In a council meeting on Monday, Reddy stated that he called for the suspension of disconnections and write-off of arrears – supported by full council, except the DA. It is evident that some political parties don’t have the interest of the majority of…

Public trust in the police dropped to a low of 27% in 2021 compared with 34% the previous year, according to a recently released report by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The report said the decrease in confidence in the police last year could be linked to the July 2021 social unrest as many had criticised the poor performance of the police during the unrest. The dramatic decline in trust observed during this period was un- evenly reflected across the provinces, with the largest decline in police confidence in the Western Cape. In KwaZulu-Natal, the 2021 figure was 27% compared with 30% in 2020. One of the researchers at the HSRC, Steven Gordon, said the pattern of public confidence in the police over the 1998 to 2021 period…

THE Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has appointed a service provider to repair and maintain the court recording systems in courts. Courts with the greatest need for repairs and maintenance have been identified and a priority list provided to the service provider, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said. This comes in the wake of problems with stenograph machines at various courts countrywide, resulting in the postponement of cases. DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach wrote to Lamola asking what his department was doing to ensure proper maintenance plans for the machinery to ensure the optimum use of court time. Her question came after faulty court machinery was identified as the reason why a rape case, dragging on for nearly two years, was postponed yet again in the Parow Regional Court in early…

THE two factions vying for control of the ANC in the eThekwini region say there will be no court action to delay or stop the elective conference as both camps are eager to see the emergence of a new leadership. With some regional conferences, including that of Moses Mabhida and Lower South Coast, having faced stiff opposition from some members via court interdicts, there were fears that the same thing would happen at eThekwini Municipality. Last week, a last-minute court interdict by some ANC members in the Lower South Coast was dismissed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, paving the way for the conference to take place this past weekend. This Friday delegates will converge at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre for the much-anticipated elective conference, which will see…

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy told the UN Security Council yesterday that “accountability must be inevitable” for Russia as he accused invading Russian troops of committing “the most terrible war crimes” since World War II. The EU’s executive meanwhile proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on coal imports, as part of the West’s response to evidence of civilian killings in the northern Ukrainian town of Bucha retaken from Russian forces. Between 150 and 300 bodies may be in a mass grave by a church in Bucha, Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said. Zelenskiy questioned the value of the 15-member Security Council, which has been unable to take any action over Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine because permanent member Moscow is a veto power, along with the…

Nigerian atheist activist Mubarak Bala, detained in April 2020, was sentenced yesterday to 24 years in jail after pleading guilty to 18 charges in a blasphemy case that had been widely condemned by UN experts and international rights groups. The 37-year-old was accused of writing Facebook posts criticising Islam and its prophet, which the court said were capable of breaching public peace in the conservative Muslim north where sharia was enforced alongside common law. His lawyer, James Ibor, objected to the guilty plea and asked Kano-based judge Faruk Lawan if he could talk to his client, a request that was accepted. When the court resumed, the defence counsel said its client wanted to change the plea which it believed was the result of frustration after two years in custody. But…

North Korea will use its nuclear weapons to “eliminate” South Korea’s army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un said yesterday. Kim Yo-jong’s warning was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea’s defence chief, Suh Wook, last week. They come as North Korea has resumed its sanctions-breaking weapons tests with an unprecedented blitz this year. Suh had said that South Korea’s military had missiles with “the ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea when there are clear signs of the North’s missile launch”. Kim Yo-jong said it was a “very big mistake” for “lunatic” Suh to have discussed a pre-emptive strike against a nuclear power. Under former president Moon Jae-in, Seoul has…

NAIROBI: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned yesterday that a major hunger crisis in Africa is “going largely unnoticed” as the world focuses on Ukraine and other crises. About 346 million people are suffering from “alarming” hunger and that number will probably rise in coming months, the ICRC said. The crisis spans the continent from drought-ravaged Somalia and Ethiopia in the east to Mauritania and Burkina Faso in the west, it said. But it warned that funding to assist millions going without meals was in short supply. “This is a disaster going largely unnoticed. Millions are going hungry and children are dying.” | AFP…