Índice para 2022-11-07 em Mercury

THE future of the head of Supply Chain Management in the eThekwini Municipality hangs in the balance after it emerged that the city had issued him with a letter of intention to suspend him. The Mercury understands that the head was issued with the letter last week and was given until Friday to give reasons why he should not be suspended. The head, whose name is known to The Mercury, declined to comment on the matter. Several sources in the municipality have claimed that the action against him was brought on by the “poor performance” of his unit. A few weeks ago, The Mercury attended an executive committee meeting where the supply chain unit came under fire because other units accused it of failing to act speedily when it came…

FORMER ANC president Jacob Zuma says the ruling party is run by invisible individuals whose sole aim is to weaken its electoral support so its founding mission of delivering a better life for the country’s poor majority remains a pipe dream. Delivering the Oliver Tambo memorial lecture in uMlazi yesterday, Zuma said the emergence of seven candidates contesting the party’s presidency was indicative of how wrong things had gone. He added that party branches should stop the decline. Zuma said he would be among the branch members who would ask tough questions at the conference to be held at Nasrec in a few weeks’ time, which he labelled a do-or-die event for the ANC. Among the tough questions, he said President Cyril Ramaphosa should be asked about the…

FEELING down, disillusioned, angry or disappointed? Get it down on paper or on to a screen. “It” being what you are thinking and feeling, your hypothesis of the genesis of your disillusionment or anger. Get it out of your head and on to a page or screen, a sentence or three that captures your moment. Don’t concern yourself with grammar or spelling or style. That can come later. Add to your on-the-page thinking as new ideas pop into your head and let them go and go and go until you think you have spilt all you have. Now, go back and read and edit and add, mark up your page as new ideas come to you about what you are thinking and feeling. There is more within you to write…

The unwarranted and ruthlessness attack against former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is truly unacceptable and needs to be condemned. The cowardly attack on Khan, besides being undemocratic and cold-hearted, is unIslamic. There is no reason to become vulgar, rude or violent, for that matter, when dealing with opposing views, opinions or ideological differences. The attack on Khan violates the fundamental beliefs of the Islamic way of life. Islam is based on the principles of monotheism, accountable leadership, to spread good, forbid evil, helping the less privileged, and therefore violence has no place in the life of a Muslim. Hence, this act of violence on Khan in Pakistan, land of the pure or noble people, is embarrassing to me as a Muslim. Individuals may differ in their willingness to support…

According to all the US mainstream media, the only issue on the ballot paper in tomorrow’s elections is the future of democracy in America. And they are correct, but for the wrong reasons. When Biden denounces the Republicans as “a threat to democracy”, he refers to their opposition to the globalist policies of the Democrats. For them, democracy means endorsing the betrayal of American sovereignty through open borders and energy dependence. It means endorsing defunding the police, “wokeism” and “cancel culture”. Ironically, for all their pious concern about democracy, by sanctioning the collaboration of Big Tech with the FBI and Department of Justice in censoring posts on social media, the Biden regime is violating the First Amendment and threatening democracy. Despite the pervasiveness of the mass media, to their credit,…

Nearly 150 000 children in South Africa have been left orphaned after Covid-19 associated deaths. This is according to a UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) report. This includes children who have lost a parent, or both, or a secondary caregiver such as a grandparent or foster parent whom the child has known to be their sole guardian. “The tragic and increasing number of Covid-19 orphans is also a reminder that Covid-19 is not over, and the virus has led to the deaths of more than a million people globally this year alone, according to WHO figures. “Unicef South Africa continues its Covid-19 response with the national and provincial departments of health to help build further momentum towards the 70% coverage target of the adult population by the end the…

Prince Simakade’s supporters are still adamant that he is the rightful successor to the Zulu throne. This is despite President Cyril Ramaphosa handing over the certificate recognising King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the king of the Zulu nation at a ceremony at Moses Mabhida Stadium on October 29. In a media briefing held yesterday, Prince Simakade’s spokesperson, Prince Mandla Zulu, said their view was that according to culture, King Misuzulu should not be the king and added that the matter should have been corrected from the beginning. “Just because his mother (Mantfombi Dlamini) is from the royal family does not mean that he automatically becomes the king,” he said. Sibusiso “Ingonyama” Mbatha, one of Simakade’s staunchest backers, said despite what happened at Moses Mabhida stadium, they were fully in support of…

The National Freedom Party condemns the blatant assassination attempt on former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who was shot when his protest convoy came under attack. Violence can never be the solution to solve political differences. We need to support every person’s right to protest and to disagree with the government. This should be an inalienable right in every country. The NFP is concerned by reports that the current Pakistani prime minister and other senior officials were behind the attempted assassination. These reports are deeply troubling, and as a country we need to condemn any political violence carried out by any state against political opponents. These actions should be condemned with the contempt they deserve. The NFP calls for calm amid rising tensions and appeals to the current political leaders…

Retiring Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said he felt liberated when coach Xavi Hernandez took him off in the 83rd minute of the 2-0 win over Almeria on Saturday as he walked off in tears to a standing ovation from a packed Camp Nou. The 35-year-old Pique announced on Friday that this would be his last game in the historic stadium as he decided to retire when La Liga breaks for the World Cup next week. “It was like taking a heavy burden off my back when I walked off the pitch,” Pique told DAZN. “The last few months were really difficult and (Saturday) I felt liberated. It was a lifetime experience that I’ll take forever with me. “I’m happy for giving it all for this club. “There were good and…

ECONOMISTS are pessimistic about the manufacturing and mining figures expected out on Thursday due to severe load shedding in September. Energy analysts have also questioned the repurposing of Eskom's Komati Power station for a solar and wind project funded by the World Bank of up to R9 billion. Eskom and the World Bank separately announced on Friday that the Komati power Station, which was effectively closed last week after reaching its end of life, would be re-purposed for solar, wind and battery storage capacity. This would also help retain the town’s economy by upskilling workers that are residents. The new Komati power station will include the provision of 150MW of solar, 70MW of wind and 150MW of storage batteries. The World Bank said the project would also create opportunities…

THE Council for Geoscience (CGS) has confirmed that there were earthquakes in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday and on Saturday. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) said no injuries or damages were reported and called for calm. Dozens of residents took to social media to state that they had felt the quakes in areas across Durban and KZN. The CGS in a statement said an earthquake occurred yesterday morning at about 9.29am. “The earthquake registered a preliminary magnitude of 3.9 on the local magnitude scale as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN), with a preliminary epicentre located in the Mnkangala region of KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 40km north of Kokstad.” It added that an earthquake also occurred on Saturday at 2.32pm. “The epicentre was located approximately 40km north-east of…

The main psycho-active ingredient found in magic mushrooms can significantly reduce symptoms of difficult-to-treat depression, data from the largest clinical trial ever to test the keenly-watched compound has found. The mid-stage study by the London-based Compass Pathways, involved 233 patients with treatment- resistant depression who have not benefited from at least two antidepressants. In tandem with psychological support, each participant received a single 25mg, 10mg or a control 1mg dose of a synthetic formulation of the compound psilocybin. Compass’ compound is believed to target parts of the brain intimately involved with processing emotion, said James Rucker, senior clinical lecturer at King’s College London. Once administered, patients entered a sort of “waking dream-like” state that lasted between four and six hours. Data showed patients given the 25mg dose of psilocybin had…

WHAT’S the connection between Julius Caesar and the Space Age? An explanation comes this way. The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? That’s the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that’s the gauge they used. But why that gauge? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools they had used for building wagons, which used the same wheel spacing. But why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to…

During a by-election held this week, the people of ward 10 in eThekwini showed their escalating disdain for the metro’s failed ANC-run coalition government – with the DA receiving 94.8% of the vote compared with just 3.51% for the ANC. The people of ward 10 also decided to teach eThekwini deputy mayor PG Mavundla the ABC of politics, giving him a mere 1.2% of their vote. The DA’s bitter-sweet victory comes after the passing of stalwart councillor Tex Collins, who served the party with distinction since 1996. The results of this by-election represent a growing trust in the DA and what it offers. It also represents this community’s commitment to the Constitution by electing a proud member of the LGBTIQ+ community. The residents of ward 10 have made a brilliant…

BARRING a pupil from school on the grounds of pregnancy is discriminatory, a judge has said. Armed with this judgment, a Grade 12 pupil was able to start writing her exams this week at the same technical high school in KwaZulu-Natal that had expelled her when she disclosed that she was pregnant. Section27, which assisted her in a legal bid to force the principal of the school and the KZN Department of Education to allow her to write her exams at the school, said it was told that her expulsion in July was in terms of the school’s pregnancy policy. Attorney in the Education Rights Programme at Section27, Zeenat Sujee, wrote a letter of demand to the school and the education authorities on behalf of the pupil and her…

A TOTAL of 229 South African students studying in Russia, who have been facing financial problems, say they face expulsion and eviction by Thursday. The students are from Mpumalanga. In a desperate plea, the Community of RSA Students in Russia (Corsas) has written an open letter to Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane begging her for help. They said despite promises by the Mpumalanga Department of Basic Education (MPUDBE), no tuition fees and rent had been paid, leaving the students more desperate than ever, and stranded in a foreign country. To date, 40 medical students at the Saratov Chernyshevsky State University have already been barred from attending classes. At a press conference two weeks ago, Mpumalanga Education MEC Bonakele Majuba accused the students of working in the interests of their former placement…

A SENIOR traffic officer in KwaDukuza Municipality’s traffic and crime prevention unit who was murdered on Friday while on duty, has been described as a straight arrow who was dedicated to law enforcement. Superintendent Eddie Boaventura was shot several times during the early hours on Friday and succumbed to multiple gunshot injuries. He was shot by gunmen while he was on duty along the N2 northbound, and died while he was still receiving medical attention after he was airlifted to a hospital in Pietermaritzburg. According to his ex-wife and friend Wendy June Westcott, he had just finished his shift and was on his way to buy a gift for his wife who was celebrating her birthday. “My children are broken, and the whole family is shattered. Eddie was 11 months…

THE UN’s COP27 climate summit kicked off in Egypt yesterday with warnings against backsliding on efforts to cut emissions and calls for rich nations to compensate poor countries after a year of extreme weather disasters. Just in the past few months, climate-induced catastrophes have killed thousands, displaced millions and cost billions in damages across the world. Massive floods devastated swaths of Pakistan and Nigeria, droughts worsened in Africa and the western US, cyclones whipped the Caribbean, and unprecedented heatwaves seared three continents. The conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh comes in a fraught year marked by Russia’s war on Ukraine, an energy crunch, soaring inflation and the lingering effects from the Covid pandemic. Simon Stiell, the UN’s climate change executive secretary, said he would not be a…

Questions about company’s ability to make payments of more than R345m TONGAAT Hulett creditors are expected to line up tomorrow in a meeting with the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) to chalk their demands from the company in quicksand over its continuity. Reports confirmed over the weekend by the South African Cane Growers’ Association (Sasa) were that some small-scale growers supplying the Tongaat Hulett mills at Felixton, Amatikulu and Maidstone had received the overdue payment for cane delivered in September 2022. Sasa said however, commercial growers have not yet been paid, leaving the majority of the imperilled 14 642 jobs at risk. “There also remain questions about Tongaat Hulett’s ability to make timeous payments of more than R345 million at the end of November, for the more than 570…

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says former president Kgalema Motlanthe was out of line for again going public with his criticism of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s handling of the Phala Phala farm robbery scandal. In an interview at the weekend, Motlanthe called on Ramaphosa to take the ANC and the nation into his confidence about what happened. Motlanthe said Ramaphosa’s failure to give a clear public explanation was damaging the Presidency and cast doubt and suspicion on the president. KZN ANC spokesperson Mafika Mndebele said Motlanthe was out of line for not using internal structures of the party to “deal with sensitive issues”. Mndebele said, as a province, they maintained their position of concern that leaders were attacking sitting ANC president Ramaphosa and the ANC publicly. “We are not saying that matters…

THE headline on electronic media that South Africa is paying 305 public servants – on average more than R430 000 each – to sit at home is shocking. How can this be? This is indeed a reflection of the incapabilities of the management structure of this government and country to effectively manage its staff complement. Surely if the staff have failed in their duties as set out in their letters of employment, why are they not immediately dismissed/ fired? It works in the private sector. The reason for this is, no doubt, comrade deployment, the government finds it too hard to dismiss its own people. We have seen this over the years, those not performing in one function are transferred to another function. There is plenty of proof of this…

The attempted assassination of former Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, is not an isolated incident. It was a well-choreographed event designed to trigger a deadly civil war in Pakistan. Under this sinister scenario, as chaos engulfs the nation, the war lords of the next world order intervened and removed Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. These invisible global forces were behind the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; they played a cardinal role in the murder of Benazir Bhutto. They got rid of General Zia Ul Haq in a carefully planned air crash that killed him and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Akthar Abdul Rehman. Regime change and assassinations are the instruments the West uses to intimidate and cement its global interests in a volatile word. This year will go down in…

It is one thing being positive, hopeful and optimistic. It is another thing to tell blatant lies. Sadly, Ednick Msweli from eThekwini Municipality (The Mercury, November 4) is doing the latter when he confidently tells us that all the destruction to Durban’s wastewater infrastructure will be fixed by the end of November 2022 – or perhaps I got the year wrong, but surely you cannot print an article like that with any serious intention? Wild promises with grandiose ideas that are complete figments of a deranged mind are simply the order of the day, it seems, starting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, and ministers Fikile Mbalula and Bheki Cele who make up the three musketeers of disinformation together with a supporting cast from the government.…

THE man alleged to be behind the burning of Parliament, Zandile Mafe, made a brief appearance in the Western Cape High Court on Friday. Mafe’s lawyer, Luvuyo Godla, told the court his client had mental challenges. “Now it looks like we might be back to that application that was made in the lower courts – for him to be sent for observation,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said. Mafe’s lawyers were “considering our application”, Ntabazalila added. “When we come back they will be able to tell the court whether (he) agrees to being referred for mental observation.” Mafe’s lawyers have acknowledged receipt of the NPA’s documents and said they needed to study them and consult with their client. “The State is ready for trial and they indicated that…

The North Gauteng High Court has granted the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit a preservation order to seize items valued at more than R50 million amid a probe into financial mismanagement and corruption at the National Lotteries Commission. The NPA said nine luxurious residential estates in Pretoria, Centurion, Hartbeespoort and Johannesburg, which were valued at more than R22m, one BMW 420i convertible and two Ocean Basket franchises worth more than R25m, were under preservation. The Special Investigating Unit said actress Moitheri Pheto, who is also known as Terry Pheto, was among those implicated and who had been “prohibited from selling, disposing of, leasing, transferring, donating, or dealing in any manner whatsoever with respect to the immovable and movable properties”. Others implicated include a lawyer, an ex-lotteries boss and…

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has called on police to act swiftly to find the gunmen involved in the mass shootings at the weekend that claimed the lives of 11 people in the province. Dube-Ncube said that, according to police reports, the latest incident happened at 1.30pm on Saturday in Ndwedwe Mission when assailants opened fire on a group of men who were sitting on the veranda of a tuck shop. “The gunmen fled the scene immediately after indiscriminately discharging a volley of shots, snuffing out the lives of people in an instant. “Four men died at the scene, while three others were taken to hospital for medical attention. “One of the men later died in hospital.” Dube-Ncube added that six people were killed in a separate incident in Clermont on…

THE re-election of rapist Jeffrey Donson as Kannaland mayor and fraudster Werner Meshoa as his deputy can best be described as a devastating blow to the country’s fight against gender-based violence. The two were once again elected to occupy the higher echelons of the struggling Western Cape municipality having been booted from their executive posts earlier this year through a motion of no confidence. How their party, the Independent Civic Organisation of SA (Icosa), continues to field them as the most suitable candidates for these positions is an indictment of how serious this organisation is in ridding itself and the municipality of criminals. But they are not alone in resurrecting Donson and Meshoa’s political careers. Their return last month was made possible by the Kannaland Independent Party (KIP) which…

KANO, Nigeria: A group of 21 children who were abducted by gunmen last week from a farm in north-western Nigeria’s Katsina state were freed and reunited with their families on Saturday, police said. Kidnapping has become endemic in recent years in Katsina – the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari – as roving gangs of armed men abduct people from schools, hospitals, roads and farms and demand ransom cash from their relatives. Three of the captives’ parents told Reuters the children, aged between 8 and 14, were released after parents paid a ransom of 1.5 million naira (R60 000), but police spokesperson Gambo Isa denied a ransom had been paid.…

AMAZULU may have lost the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates on Saturday, but can be proud of their efforts. Even in the final, AmaZulu proved they are capable of doing well at the death by giving a more well resourced Pirates a serious run for their money. Had it been for better conversion in front of goal, Romain Folz’s team could have won the game. They had 55% possession which included 12 shots at goal, but just three on target. By comparison, Pirates had seven shots at goal and five on target. Folz was correct when he said that a draw could have been a fair result and that Pirates were not better than his side. However, football does not work that way. They did not have an easy route…

Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 to dispel doubts over their Premier League title credentials and go top of the table yesterday as Manchester United were blown away 3-1 by an inspired Aston Villa on Unai Emery's bow as boss. United are now three points off the top four after Newcastle continued their fine form with a 4-1 win at Southampton to go third. Gabriel Magalhaes bundled in Bukayo Saka's corner for the only goal at Stamford Bridge, but the slender margin of victory was the very least Arsenal deserved. Chelsea offered barely anything going forward as they slipped to back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time in two years. "For such a young team, the maturity, the composure they showed, the resilience and courage to play how we wanted to…