Índice para 2022-07-28 em Mercury

The emergence of the “RET” faction sweeping the board during this weekend’s ANC provincial conference at the Olive Convention Centre, which political soothsayers predicted, bodes ill for the so called “Ramaphisite” faction’s chances during the December elective conference for the presidency of the ANC. Going into the policy conference which follows, I guess the horse trad ing starts. I remember what happened to Thabo Mbeki in Mangaung in December 2012. After him the presidency of Jacob Zuma assumed control of the ANC. Enough said. Now read Our Turn to Eat – The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower, a racy, pacy book by Michela Wrong. I have. I found parallels with South Africa. In January 2003, President Mwai Kibaki came to power in a peaceful election in Kenya, after Daniel Arap…

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin's flight jacket, which he wore on the historic mission to the moon in 1969, was sold for about $2.8 million (about R47.1m) in New York, auction house Sotheby’s said. The jacket front displays Nasa’s logo and the Apollo 11 mission emblem, which is slightly below Aldrin's name tag. It also has the US flag on its left shoulder and is made of Beta cloth, a fireproof cloth that was incorporated into Nasa space suits after three Apollo 1 astronauts died in a flash fire aboard their spacecraft during a ground test in 1967. After the jacket, the second highest grossing item at Tuesday's auction was the summary flight plan of the Apollo 11 mission. It was sold for $819 000, exceeding estimates of $100 000-$150…

The historic Nelson Mandela Marathon, held to trace Mandela’s footsteps before he was arrested in 1962 and jailed for 27 years, faces legal hurdles after a bitter dispute erupted over who should stage it. Now, the matter is going to be heard by the Pietermaritzburg High Court today. The historic marathon was started in 2012 as a partnership between the KwaZulu-Natal government and the uMgungundlovu district municipality. It was run between Manaye Hall, Imbali township in Pietermaritzburg and the Nelson Mandela capture site. Manaye Hall was where Mandela addressed his last public meeting before the apartheid government arrested him in Howick. With the blessings of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela royal family, the race used to attract hundreds of international runners, politicians and corporate sponsors, raking in millions…

A FEASIBILITY study has found that eThekwini Municipality might need to invest a billion rand in the revamp of uShaka Marine World to turn it into the flagship entity that it was envisioned to be at its conception. This was one of the scenarios contained in the study that was conducted by service providers, who were appointed to put forward strategies to turn around the entity. The service providers briefed members of the executive committee (Exco) this week on the possible options to rescue the entity that is in the financial doldrums, and is surviving on bailouts from the municipality. Last year the city approved about R60 million in funding to help the entity stay afloat. The Exco members visited uShaka on Tuesday morning after councillors had demanded to be…

In the past two years, the world has set in place several measures in which the anti-Covid-19 strategy works. Although these measures varied from one nation, region and continent to another, all implementation was meant to suit local conditions. China was no different as it implemented strategies and measures unique to its local conditions. The entire population, led by the government and relevant ministries abided by strict rules aimed at strengthening the anti-Covid-19 fight. However, as the fight against Covid-19 persists in China, new strategies need to be set in place as novel types of the virus emerge. Such conditions need strong and good governance as Covid-19 continues to mutate, testing the resilience of both the people and the government. For more than two years, China has adhered to the…

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the northern Philippine island of Luzon yesterday, killing at least five people, damaging buildings and sending strong tremors through the capital, Manila. At least 64 people were injured and 173 buildings damaged, officials said, many in Abra province, just 11km from the epicentre of the quake. Over 200 aftershocks have been recorded in the area, according to the state seismology agency, and 58 landslides were also reported in the aftermath. “Despite the sad reports about the damages caused by the earthquake, we are assuring quick response to those in need and affected by this calamity,” President Ferdinand Marcos jr said on Facebook. The quake hit close to the Marcos family’s political stronghold. A hospital in Abra province was evacuated after the building partially collapsed but…

Bukavu: Four people at an anti-UN protest in Uvira in eastern Demoratic Republic of Congo were killed yesterday after they were struck by a falling high-voltage cable. The same morning, groups of young people attempted to besiege the UN peacekeeping base in the town. Police officers fired warning shots at the protesters, but a bullet pierced a high-voltage cable which collapsed on protesters about 100m from the UN base. The deaths in South Kivu come after two days of anti-UN protests in North Kivu province during which 15 people, three of them peacekeepers, had died. Demonstrations against the UN mission began in Goma. | AFP…

IT seems that the All Blacks will be spared the hammer of the Springboks’ Thor, Duane Vermeulen, after coach Jacques Nienaber told the media that the veteran No 8 has “some way to go” before being match ready. There is better news regarding the other stalwart recalled to the Bok squad following the series against Wales, Frans Steyn, and he could well take up his imposing place in the “Bomb Squad” for next Saturday’s opener against the All Blacks in Nelspruit. Vermeulen earned the nickname Thor from his teammates because of the total lack of subtlety in his rampaging ball carrying and his sledgehammer defence, but the way he plays the game takes a toll on his body and he missed out on playing the Welsh because of another knee…

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) says it has recovered more than R900 million of Covid-19 temporary employer-employee relief scheme (Ters) funds that had been fraudulently paid. It also said that at least 30 suspects had been arrested for Ters-related offences, and three departmental officials had been dismissed for fraud relating to the Ters payments. As part of the breakthroughs made, nine suspects arrested for allegedly fraudulently claiming benefits of R2.4m from Ters appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday. They were granted bail. Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said that KwaZulu-Natal Hawks members tasked to investigate Covid-19 fraud cases arrested eight suspects for fraud, corruption and money laundering on Monday. A ninth suspect was arrested later that day. “It is alleged that two of the arrested suspects are…

Power comes with your humanity. You have the power to love, create, enrich others, and to be a source of encouragement for others. You have the power to be very generous. You have the power to be kind, very kind. The positive use of your God-given human power will enhance your life, even as you seek to enrich the lives of others. It is also true that you have the power to be vengeful, angry, resentful – and you may indeed have many reasons to exercise this power. Such power, too, comes with your humanity. I hope you will not use it. If you use your power to hate and hurt and ruin – even if you inflict it on people who you think may really deserve it – hate,…

Many economists disagree with the recent decision of the Reserve Bank in South Africa (Sarb) to increase the repo rate from 4.75% to 5.5%, which is 75 basis points at one go. They say that the bank has overreacted in its response to what they say is a “moderate” rise in inflation. Actually, this massive hike will increase the prime lending rate to 9% and hence a higher cost of debt service for the middle-class segment with outstanding loans to the banking sector. This development, of course, will force them to spend and consume less, besides the business sector may invest less because of the high cost of borrowing. The outcome of these reactions to the high interest rates will translate into lower economic growth and maybe a sort of…

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been asked to submit written reasons to Western Cape High Court Judge President (JP) John Hlophe’s legal team that support its suspension recommendation made to the Presidency. Through his legal team, Hlophe also said he was contemplating applying to court to have the process followed by the JSC and the resultant decision, to be set aside on review. Representing Hlophe, Barnabus Xulu SC, wrote to the JSC adding that his client had been prejudiced by the JSC. “As stated by yourself, Judge President Hlophe had made comprehensive written representations prior to the JSC taking its decision. Those representations were contained in a letter written by us to the JSC dated July 22. “In paragraph 68 of that letter, Judge President Hlophe asked the JSC…

South African poet and activist sided with the poorest of the poor The towering South African poet, activist and humanitarian Donato Francesco Mattera passed away on July 18 at the age of 86. What he represented to South Africa is far larger than his contribution to literature. During the online memorial service for Mattera, filmmaker and lecturer Dr Teddy Mattera said of his father: “He illuminated my pathway as a creative person.” Tributes from journalists, historians, politicians, doctors and lawyers – people who don’t readily identify as creative – echoed his sentiments. Herein lies the enduring greatness of Don Mattera: what he did for people. He was, in the traditional sense, an African poet, the centre of social life. Although Don was entertaining, he was far more than an…

Air pollution is likely to increase the risk of developing dementia, a UK government research group has said. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants has published its findings after reviewing almost 70 studies that analysed how exposure to emissions affect the brain over time. The 291-page report concludes that air pollution is likely to increase the risk of accelerated “cognitive decline” and of “developing dementia” in older people. Experts believe this is due to the impact of pollutants entering the circulatory system, affecting blood flow to the brain. About 850 000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, according to the NHS. There is also more well-established evidence to show that exposure to air pollution increases the risk of heart disease. | IANS…

Tokyo: Local authorities hunting for a gang of monkeys who attacked and wounded nearly 50 people in western Japan have caught and killed one of the marauding primates, an official said yesterday. The male simian was seized while roaming the grounds of a high school in Yamaguchi city. Officials have been trying for weeks to track down the gang which have been assaulting residents with mostly mild scratches and bites. Specially commissioned hunters shot the monkey with a tranquiliser gun. Patrols have been under way in Yamaguchi since the attacks began three weeks ago. But with 49 people injured this week and fresh attacks, the search is still on. | AFP…

KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Sihle Zikalala’s defeat at the ANC KZN elective conference has reduced him to a lame duck leader of government who will have to get used to taking instructions from the new leadership, say some analysts. Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said Zikalala’s situation had been made difficult by his failure to make it as a member of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC). Seepe believes Zikalala should resign to spare himself the humiliation of a possible recall by the new leadership. Zikalala was defeated by new chairperson Siboniso Duma, and all members of his slate lost to “the Taliban” grouping. For PEC votes, while another contender for the position of chairperson, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, got the second highest number of votes from the floor at 1 112, with Peggy Nkonyeni…

IS OUR vocabulary being purged? Words and expressions familiar to codgers born in the 1940s and 1950s are no longer recognised, says reader Nick Gray. His Spellcheck did not recognise the word Murgatroyd. Murgatroyd? It could be a reference to a Yorkshire aristocrat of the late 1300s; or to the opera Rudigore. But I think what Nick has in mind is a cartoon character named Snagglepuss in the Yogi Bear Show of the 1960s. His favourite expression was “Heavens to Murgatroyd!” Another was “Exit Stage Left”. Snagglepuss was, in appearance, a forerunner to the Pink Panther. Nick cites a woman who said something to her son about driving a jalopy; he replied: “What the heck is a jalopy?” Nick has excavated some old expressions that have become obsolete because…

THE past few centuries have seen modern democratic society progress, with the help of political parties, from many unjust practices. This includes slave labour and racial and gender discrimination to a point in history where every citizen in a modern democratic country has equal rights such as the right to medical and pension care, the right to vote, to work and to own property. So political parties have served their purpose in these progressive practices but now, do we really need political parties going forward? I don’t think so and there are many others all around the world who are of the same belief. Here are five of many reasons why political parties are more detrimental than beneficial now: 1.Taxpayers have to pay the cost to organise and run regular…

THE policy proposal to increase the tenure of heads of departments (HoDs) from five years to 10, subject to performance, is food for thought amid the much-talked about professionalisation of the public service. The reform aims to stabilise the administrative leadership and the so-called “political-administrative interface” between the HoDs and ministers. Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi was quoted this week as saying a person appointed to an HoD post should exist beyond the tenure of the political head for purposes of business continuity and delivery of the mandate. “Building administrative capacity at director-general (DG) level should never be about a preference or not for a DG, but their capability and their performance and capacity to deliver,” Nxesi said. However, he said a decision regarding the tenure of…

An animal market in Wuhan, the capital of Central China’s Hubei province, was the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to two new studies published this week in the journal Science that claimed to have tipped the balance in the debate about the virus’ origins. Answering the question of whether the disease spilled over naturally from animals to humans, or was the result of a lab accident, is viewed as vital to averting the next pandemic and saving millions of lives. The first paper analysed the geographic pattern of Covid-19 cases in the first month of the outbreak, December 2019, showing the first cases were tightly clustered around Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. The second examined genomic data from the earliest cases to study the virus’ evolution, concluding it was…

Ukraine yesterday said it had restarted operations at its blockaded Black Sea ports as it moved closer to resuming grain exports with the opening of a coordination centre to oversee a UN-backed deal. Progress towards fulfilling the landmark agreement came as Kyiv’s artillery struck a key bridge in Moscow-controlled territory in south Ukraine, damaging an important supply route as Ukrainian forces look to wrest back the Kherson region. German authorities said Russia’s state giant Gazprom drastically cut gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline to about 20% of capacity in a move decried in the EU as revenge for Western sanctions over the invasion. Ukraine and Russia last week agreed to a plan with the help of Turkey and the UN to allow grain stranded by Moscow’s naval…

LEADING one of the Soweto glamour clubs – Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs – in any capacity, requires one to develop a thick skin. The likes of retired captains Jimmy Tau (Chiefs) and Lucky Lekgwathi (Pirates) will attest to the fact that the fans of the two clubs were quick to call for their heads whenever they made mistakes despite their trophy-laden spells with the Soweto giants. So, Innocent Maela will do well to seek advice from the club legends on how to withstand the heat and be successful as he was announced as the new captain of the Sea Robbers yesterday, ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. The captain's armband at the Buccaneers had been left vacant following the departure of veteran hardman Happy Jele, who had been…