Índice para 2023-05-04 em Mercury

PRESSURE is mounting on eThekwini municipal manager Musa Mbhele following calls for his removal due to allegations that he had failed to disclose an ongoing investigation against him during the interview for the top job. The ANC yesterday said Mbhele was not their first choice for city manager, while the DA called for his suspension due to the allegations. The Municipal Public Accounts Committee (Mpac) is set to receive reports on the alleged wrongdoing today. When Mbhele was appointed last year, it was during the second round of the interview process. The process had to be re-run because the council had rejected the candidate who had been put forward in the first round of interviews. A few weeks ago, allegations dating back to 2016 surfaced against Mbhele. It was alleged…

Things to practise until they become second nature, and are identified with how others expect you to behave: Show up, stand up and speak up for yourself. Suggest, when necessary, that it be rare for others (all others) to have to do very much of any of the three for you. When others try (and they will), politely suggest that you can handle things about yourself, for yourself. If you are called rude or selfish – because you want to take care of yourself and you are able to do so – point out that expecting others to prop up your life or manage you or be your voice is surely the epitome of selfishness. Refuse to engage in gossip or “dark” talk about others, even if it may be…

There is a breakdown of morals and traditional values in our society. Because of priests, I find to this very day widows are not allowed to perform a daughter’s kanyadanam (handing over of a bride to the groom’s family.) My big question is: Why are our mothers and sisters being discriminated against and shunned. Is it because they are widows, which is ultimately no fault of theirs? What pain and agony do these people go through. Isn’t it enough losing their loved ones? My concern is where our religion is taking us. We as a community need to distinguish between right and wrong. It is so sad that our elders and religious organisations are turning a blind eye, which was previously unheard of in our community. I believe it is…

The National Assembly has approved the report of the portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development to amend the Constitution to include South African Sign Language (SASL) as an official language. South Africa had 11 official languages previously – Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Swati, Venda, Tsonga, Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa and Zulu. The adoption of the constitutional amendment on Tuesday will bring to 12 the number of official languages in the country once President Cyril Ramaphosa signs the bill into law. There has been a push over the years for sign language to become an official language. In 2017, Parliament resolved the matter after its constitutional review committee processed submissions made in 2015. Submissions were received from Deaf South Africa, among others, saying while sign language was well recognised in the…

The cost of living crisis continues to squeeze ordinary South Africans, with data from the latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI) showing that life became more expensive for salaried workers in March. BankservAfrica’s head of stakeholder engagements, Shergeran Naidoo, said salaries measured in the BTPI had been disappointing over the past 12 months. Naidoo said: “Consumer inflation reached a 13-year high of 6.9% in 2022, resulting in a notable erosion of the purchasing power of households.” He said the average nominal take-home pay in March had declined on a monthly basis to R15 321. Independent economist Elize Kruger said: “With inflation remaining elevated for longer than hoped, and little indication of a notably different economic environment in 2023, salary adjustments and the job market will likely remain lacklustre this year.”…

IMPLEMENTATION of the much talked about and long-awaited Remote Working Visa is within reach following a commitment from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) to finalise the remaining legal processes by the end of June. Acting deputy director-general: Immigration, Nischal Jaynarayan, told the Western Cape legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism that the State Law Adviser approval process was already under way. The committee had invited officials from the DHA, Airports Company South Africa, the provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Dedat) and Wesgro for an update on the introduction of the visa. The aim of the visa is to allow foreigners to live in South Africa while working for a company in another country. Remote working visas became popular when people started working from home…

The KwaZulu-Natal ANC provincial executive committee said it was still processing a list of ANC councillors who were elected through fraudulent means, which is to be submitted to the party’s national executive committee (NEC) for a decision on their future. Head of the party’s electoral committee, former president Kgalema Motlanthe, on April 22 sent a letter to all nine provincial list committees, asking them to submit all cases to him so he could finalise the cases and refer them to the NEC for a final decision. Motlanthe was appointed by the NEC to look at cases of councillors who allegedly were elected through manipulating party structures on November 1. ANC branches for years have complained about gatekeeping and manipulation at branches. In 2021, the party’s Lower South Coast region said…

Parliament should not delay the establishment of a portfolio committee to play an oversight role over the Presidency. Last week, the rules committee decided to set up a task team that will embark on a study tour to check how other countries have oversight on the Presidency. This after the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) indicated that its analysis had shown that in many instances the performance indicators of the Presidency were not included in the annual performance plan. “The question is thus whether not having an oversight mechanism or committee on the Presidency denies Parliament access to these reports and prevents MPs from engaging with the accounting officer,” reads a PBO presentation. While noting that various jurisdictions use a permanent or an ad hoc committee to play oversight on the…

A boy gunned down fellow pupils in a Belgrade school yesterday morning in a pre-planned attack, shooting dead eight plus a security guard and wounding seven others, Serbian officials said. Using two handguns that belonged to his father, the 14-year-old fired first at the guard and three girls in the hallway and then entered a history class and shot the teacher and classmates, police said. The teacher and six pupils were hospitalised, some with life-threatening injuries. Veselin Milic, head of Belgrade police, said the attacker had two guns and two petrol bombs and had planned everything carefully. “He even had ... names of children he wanted to kill and their classes,” he told a press conference. Police said a seventh-grade student had been arrested after confessing to the shooting. An…

UK security services are “ready to deal” with the challenges presented by the coronation, the government said after the arrest of a man suspected of throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Police arrested the man, allegedly armed with a knife, on Tuesday, causing concern just days before King Charles III’s coronation, which will be attended by global royalty and world leaders. Security minister Tom Tugendhat sought to reassure the public yesterday, saying police were “all over” the challenges presented by the historic event. The Metropolitan Police said officers conducted a controlled explosion on a suspicious bag the arrested man was carrying “as a precaution”. It was not treating the matter as terrorism-related. The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon after…

NEW YORK: A guitar smashed on stage by Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain is going under the hammer in the US later this month. The guitar has been put back together, but is no longer playable, said Kody Frederick of Julien’s Auctions, which expects it to fetch $80 000. “You can see the break that took place as he slammed down the guitar, where the neck here kind of connects, as well as on the bottom,” Frederick said. The auction, which opens in New York from May 19, includes a set list hand-written in pink marker for a 1991 gig in Seattle. It is expected to go for up to $6 000. | AFP…

BRASILIA: Brazilian police yesterday raided former president Jair Bolsonaro’s home and seized his cell phone as part of an investigation into his Covid-19 vaccination records. The investigation may answer questions about how Bolsonaro, who vowed never to get a Covid-19 vaccine, was registered as vaccinated in health records. The probe is one of many putting the former far-right leader under pressure, including investigations into alleged voter suppression, attacks on the legitimacy of Brazilian elections and embezzlement of foreign gifts. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing in those cases. | Reuters…

AT THE END of March this year, South Africa’s headline consumer inflation had risen for the second month in a row to 7.1% year-on-year from 7% in February, according to Statistics South Africa. Since peaking at 7.8% in July 2022, inflation has remained stubbornly high, putting ongoing pressure on retirees’ incomes. The effects of inflation should be factored in when choosing a product to provide an income throughout retirement. Inflation is typically measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which relates to a basket of goods that an average person will buy. But in retirement, it is important to recognise that a pensioner may also experience different types of inflation, like medical or lifestyle inflation (the rising medical or lifestyle costs associated with ageing), which can be greater than CPI.…

Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester’s links to high-profile figures in the country continue to be exposed with actress, Simphiwe “Simz” Ngema admitting yesterday that she visited prison to meet with him. Ngema, in a since deleted statement, had said Bester was working in the entertainment industry and introduced himself as TK Motsepe. She said she was among public figures booked for meetings and big events that he organised. Ngema claimed that when she was not paid she went to visit Bester. “Until this day, I was never paid for some of the events that I was booked for in the 21st century. In 2018, I went to the prison to demand answers; it was a difficult time in my life, and he owed me money. “I’ve been extremely open…

HAS FORMER British Prime Minister Boris Johnson taken out a Ukrainian driving licence? Did he go on to crash into a street pole in the Netherlands? Was he sloshed? Er no, negative on all counts it appears. Yet Dutch police who arrested a man on suspicion of drunken driving discovered he had a driving licence in the name of “Boris Johnson” and giving Boris’s correct date of birth. The photograph is a genuine one of Bojo. Yet, puzzlingly, expiry date of the licence is only in December 3000. It seems, according to Sky News, that there are tourist shops in Ukraine that specialise in such spoof licences. Kysa Hekster, who works for the Dutch public broadcaster, says he has seen them in the name of Angela Merkel, former German chancellor,…

All over the world, railways have played a vital role in moving people and goods from one place to another. They are the cheapest and most efficient means of mass transport. All countries, whether developed or not, rely heavily on their rail networks. Engineers go to extreme lengths to build railways that can reach some of the most remote places. Countries across the world vie with one another to build fast, reliable and efficient networks which have become marvels of the modern world. In Europe, you can go anywhere by train. It’s fast, reliable and hassle-free, unlike planes. We once had a reliable network of rail transport which served the country well. But come democracy, the ANC, Transnet and Metrorail, our railways have gone to rack and ruin. Copper thieves,…

THE home affairs portfolio committee has deferred a decision on the desirability of a private member’s bill on Muslim marriages that was introduced in Parliament by Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks. This was to allow Hendricks and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to thrash out differences on their bills that are aimed to fix the defects that were found to be unconstitutional in the Marriage Act and Divorce Act. In June 2022, the Constitutional Court declared certain sections of the two laws inconsistent with the constitution, as it failed to recognise marriages solemnised in accordance with Sharia law as valid marriages in South Africa. While the Department of Home Affairs has yet to introduce a bill fixing the defects, Hendricks wants Parliament to pass legislation that provides for interim registration…

Former bank employee Thokozani Goodwill Ndlovu was sentenced in the Volksrust Regional Court to 25 years’ imprisonment after being convicted on three counts of theft. Spokesperson for the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, said Ndlovu was arrested after R500 000 vanished from the bank. “Thokozani Goodwill Ndlovu was entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of the day-to-day operations of the bank’s ATMs,” Mohlala said. He said the bank identified illicit transactions when the money went missing in three days in November 2018. Police said Ndlovu, 35, was identified as a suspect. He was arrested in March 2019. “He is expected to serve 20 years behind bars, and the Volksrust Regional Court further ruled that his pension be forfeited to the bank to compensate for the loss incurred,” said…

Opposition party members in the Education Portfolio Committee are calling for an investigation into the handling of the R2 billion feeding scheme tender after the department revealed that it had terminated the contract after an ANC announcement on the matter. Briefing members of the committee on Tuesday, the department said, in writing, that it had terminated the contract with Pacina Retail after a “directive” from the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. Pacina Retail was appointed as the sole supplier to deliver food to 5 400 schools in the province. It faced logistical challenges that rendered it unable to deliver to the contract specifications. While the company had initially said it was opting out of contact, at the weekend it said that the contract was binding and remained in place. As the crisis…

The remaining South Africans who were stuck in Sudan during the deadly military conflict of the past weeks are expected to land at Cape Town International Airport today. The group of 22 nationals had chosen to evacuate Sudan with the help of their employer, but were stranded on a cargo ship in Egypt. The group fled Sudan via a cargo ship to Egypt when the violence broke out, but were left stranded at Safaga Port since April 29 due to clearance issues with Egyptian authorities. They have now finally been permitted to leave their ship and make their way home to Cape Town. The group members are expected to land at Cape Town International Airport today. Clayson Monyela, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s head of public diplomacy,…

The always-on, always-connected world implies we constantly communicate irrespective of our current state of mind. We surf social media when bored, happy, distracted, or angry. Each of these moods affects the type and level of our engagement. Every one of these engagements has the potential for embarrassment. Bored or excited people seeking attention may post carelessly, sparking a viral flame, and the digital world could converge on them. Your online engagement creates what we call a digital footprint. This digital footprint is often trackable, which means people can develop a profile of your online digital twin. This is what your future employer will look at, asking: “Does this person’s online behaviour fit into our company culture?” If not, you will not even make the shortlist. You are what you post.…

The UN called yesterday for security guarantees at “the highest level” to ensure desperately needed aid deliveries in conflict-torn Sudan, after six trucks carrying food aid to the Darfur region were looted. The UN’s top humanitarian official Martin Griffiths insisted on the need “to be sure we have the commitments publicly, clearly given by militaries, to protect humanitarian systems to deliver”. “We will need to have agreement at the highest level and very publicly,” he said via video link from Sudan. Griffiths arrived in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast early yesterday on an urgent mission to find ways to bring relief to the millions of Sudanese affected by the conflict that erupted nearly three weeks ago. Griffiths said he had been informed by the UN’s World Food Programme…

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad announced a truce around Gaza yesterday, after militants traded fire with Israel following the death in Israeli custody of hunger striker Khader Adnan from its ranks. One Palestinian was killed and five wounded in pre-dawn air strikes Israel carried out in retaliation for rocket fire from Gaza. But mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the UN succeeded in brokering a return to calm, sources in Islamic Jihad and fellow militant group Hamas said. Egypt corroborated the truce. Witnesses in the blockaded territory said that several rockets were fired at Israel. Yesterday calm had returned, with schools and shops open as normal. Life had also returned to normal in the areas of Israel bordering Gaza. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh demanded that Israel return the hunger striker’s body…

NAIROBI: As the leader of a cult whose members allegedly starved themselves to death at his behest appeared in court in Kenya, autopsies revealed some of his victims may have been killed. A pathologist said that the bodies of at least two children exhibited signs of suffocation. In total, 110 bodies have so far been recovered from the graves in eastern Kenya. A court has ordered the detention of leader Paul Mackenzie until tomorrow. More than 460 people have been reported missing. Titus Katana, a former member who escaped from the group, said he had heard reports that his young son was only breast-fed once and was later suffocated. | Washington Post…

ROME: Police across Europe arrested more than 100 people yesterday in a crackdown that dealt a “serious blow” to the Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia, with suspects accused of drugs and weapons trafficking with counterparts in Latin America. The swoop was part of an investigation spanning Italy, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Romania, Brazil and Panama, said EU law enforcement agency Europol. The network used Chinese money brokers in Italy and Colombia to arrange for funds to be moved to pay for drug deals. Profits were recycled through real estate, restaurants, hotels, car wash companies, supermarkets, and other commercial activities. | Reuters…

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) portfolio committee chairperson in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Zinhle Cele says the news that Msunduzi Municipality has less than a month’s cash coverage is worrying, and warrants urgent attention. The Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) was reacting to revelations by the provincial Cogta regarding the municipality’s finances. A report was presented at a council sitting last week as part of an update on the municipality’s position since it was placed under administration in 2019. According to the report, a structure should have a minimum of a month to three months’ coverage in its coffers as a sign of being sustainable. The report titled “Overview Report on Section 139 interventions”, gave a snapshot of the efforts that have been made to restore order, good governance…

The National Freedom Party (NFP) is deeply concerned by the push to abandon coal power stations amid South Africa’s energy crisis. The environmental need to transition to renewable energy sources is crucial, but it must be done in a manner that prioritises energy security, economic growth and environmental sustainability. The severity of our energy crisis dictates that we must maintain a balanced energy mix. There appears to be a major push to quickly transition to renewable energy sources. However, the motive for this push amid our current crisis is questionable. We have to question who will benefit from the complete shutdown of coal power stations. Certainly not South Africans, who experience continuous load shedding due to Eskom’s inability to get its house in order. An immediate shutdown will have severe…

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) warnings of global high inflation and weak economic growth (Business Report, May 3) should not be surprising in the light of the WEF’s grand Great Re-Set strategy. The essence of the Great Re-Set agenda is to collapse the monetary system, and centralise and digitilise the means of purchasing as the ultimate mechanism of human control. Promoting that direction is the policy of Environmental Social Governance (ESG). This policy is a euphemism to compel the abandonment of fossil fuels and the transformation in how energy is generated in fulfilment of the falsehood that climate change is anthropogenic. ESG has accelerated inflation, unemployment and social disintegration by its enforcement of what is called equity. Inflation in the US in Donald Trump’s presidency was less than 2%.…

The University of Fort Hare (UFH) has raised concerns over how police handled the accident scene where Vice-Chancellor (VC) Professor Sakhela Buhlungu’s bodyguard died. Police said that Msingathi Langa, 33, whom UFH described as a loyal and brave employee of the university, died at the scene on Sunday when a driver rammed into his car. Langa is said to have been a crucial witness in the upcoming murder trial centred on Buhlungu’s first slain bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele. Langa’s death comes three months after the VC’s executive protector, Vesele, was murdered in a hail of bullets. This was amid efforts by the university leadership to rid the institution of corruption. UFH spokesperson JP Roodt said the university “ventilates and publicly registers concerns over the lack of basic and fundamental procedural forensic…

The Tlhabane Regional Court in North West has sentenced three men for theft of copper cables at Impala Platinum Mine. Ngangile Singatha 35, Phindile Mbokole 41, and Isaac Obisse 25, were sentenced for theft of copper cables when their matter was finalised in the Tlhabane Regional Court on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, said the trio were arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation on October 5 last year at Impala Platinum Mine in the North West after they were spotted by mine security on security cameras. The security officers had noticed the trio’s suspicious behaviour including that they were struggling to walk. “Bail was successfully opposed during their first appearance and they made a series of court appearances until they were convicted,” Rikhotso added. | Mercury…

Police in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, have rearrested the second of two convicted rapists who escaped from Ngqeleni Correctional Services on Freedom Day. Athini Nothi Mzingelwa was rearrested at Mthatha General Hospital yesterday morning. Mzingelwa and Siyabulela Khohliso escaped from Ngqeleni Correctional Centre on April 27. However, Khohliso was rearrested on Monday in the Libode area and transferred to the Mthatha Correctional Centre. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) previously confirmed that the men were convicted of rape. Correctional Services national commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale lauded the assistance of community members who provided the department with useful leads during the manhunt. “Such was the case again in recapturing Mzingelwa,” Thobakgale said. Thobakgale also confirmed that the offender was back in the DCS and that the men would face a new criminal charge…

Cosatu is yet to make up its mind on whether to dump the ANC for the SACP in next year’s national general elections. The call for the trade union to support the SACP has driven a wedge between the tripartite alliance. In September last year during the federation’s 14th elective conference, Cosatu endorsed the SACP in the 2024 elections, which was confirmed by its president, Zingiswa Losi, in her closing remarks. However, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said yesterday that the workers’ organisation still had work to do in making a decision on whether to dump the ruling party. “This has been an ongoing discussion. We are about to have a central executive committee (CEC) meeting and that’s where these discussions will be continuing,” said Pamla. At their last meeting, the…

The crucial goal is to eliminate postcoloniality While April 27, 1994, saw the promise of the realisation of a nation that would finally become unified and equal, this promise seems to have only materialised through the government changing hands while the same systems of power and governance were retained. In present-day terms, this is regarded as postcoloniality. The continuation of coloniality is evident in how political will is enshrined in the highest binding law in the land, while the impoverished only continue to become more impoverished. This causes them distress when the political parties they vote into power end up being manipulators who only use their votes as a stepping stone to fatten their own pockets. Coloniality is defined as an oppressive mode of power being used to marginalise and…

Russia said yesterday it had shot down two drones aimed at Vladimir Putin’s residence in the Kremlin in what it called a “terrorist” assassination attempt against the Russian president. “Two unmanned vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin ... the devices were put out of action,” the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that this had happened during the night between Tuesday and yesterday. Ukraine has denied involvement. The remnants of the downed drones fell inside the Kremlin but did not injure anyone, the statement added. It said the operation was “a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the life of the President of the Russian Federation.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin was working at his residence near Moscow yesterday and would still take part in a scheduled WWII…

VATICAN: Pope Francis yesterday spoke to a top member of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) days after the pontiff made a comment about the Vatican being involved in a mission to try to end the war in Ukraine. Metropolitan (bishop) Anthony, effectively the ROC’s number two, was given pride of place at Francis’s general audience in St Peter’s Square and then was the first taken to greet the pope at the end. The pontiff spent longer chatting with Anthony than with others. On a recent return from a trip to Hungary, Francis was asked whether Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and ROC officials could accelerate a Ukraine peace process and arrange a meeting between the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There is a mission on course now … When…

Geneva: The likelihood of El Nino developing later this year is increasing, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said yesterday. This would have the opposite impacts on weather and climate patterns in many regions of the world to the long-running La Nina and would likely fuel higher global temperatures. There is a 60% chance of a transition from ENSO-neutral to El Nino during May-July 2023, and this will increase to about 70% in June-August and 80 % between July and September, according to the update. El Nino events are typically associated with increased rainfall while El Nino can also cause severe droughts. | IANS…

Washington: US drugmaker Eli Lilly yesterday announced its experimental Alzheimer’s drug significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline, results hailed as “remarkable” by experts. In a placebo controlled trial of nearly 1 200 people with early forms of the disease, donanemab slowed the progression of symptoms by 35% over 18 months, as measured by their ability to carry out daily tasks like managing finances, driving, engaging in hobbies and conversing about current events. This follows a 27% reduction in decline found for Biogen and Eisai’s lecanemab, and approved by the US in January. Lilly said it would rapidly submit its results to the US Food and Drug Administration. | AFP…