Table of contents for 2022-08-19 in Mercury

DEPUTY President David Mabuza has warned that South Africa’s municipali- ties continued to owe Eskom billions of rand in outstanding debt, crippling the struggling power utility’s financial position further. Mabuza yesterday told Parliament that the total debt owed to Eskom by various municipalities had ballooned by nearly R5 billion in just four months up to July. “Debt owed by municipalities to Eskom remains a major challenge to the entity’s financial stability,” Mabuza said. “Debt owed by municipalities by Eskom has since grown from R44.8 billion to R49.1bn between March and July 2022. This is not a desirable state of affairs for Eskom and municipalities.” Mabuza was answering oral questions from Members of Parliament in the National Council of Provinces in his capacity as the chairperson of the Political…

THE ANC has vowed to monitor massive donations made to its leaders who will be campaigning for top positions within the party as it prepares for its elective conference in December. The move is seen as a bid to avoid disparaging reports similar to the ones which characterised the “CR17” and “NDZ” campaigns of 2017. The ANC also announced a total ban on members such as suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule and others facing criminal charges from contesting for positions. This was announced by the ANC electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe when he addressed the media yesterday. He also said nominations for the ANC top six and 80 members of the party’s national executive committee (NEC), the highest decision-making body between conferences, opens on September 7. Motlanthe said the party wanted…

I JUST don’t understand the TV set-up. On my own set I can pick up the BBC, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera and the good ol’ SABC. Yet watching at a friend’s place the other night, we watched a Canadian news service with an absolutely fresh and stimulating approach to news presentation – rolling footage of events across the world and simultaneous commentary from the sidelines by a succession of gorgeous girls. These start off each analytical bulletin wearing nothing but bra and knickers. By the end of the bulletin, they are wearing nothing at all. And the tricky thing about this Naked News Service is that, once the newscast is finished, you don’t remember a darned thing about what was in it. But you do remember everything about the…

Nearly 10 years ago, we were bombarded with all sorts of publicity campaigns extolling the virtues of the GO!Durban transport system in the Pinetown area, and today we are sitting with a huge white elephant that costs billions and is a non-starter, thanks to the taxi industry which has hijacked the entire project. Fast-forward to today and we are swamped with the publicity campaigns for the multibillion-rand Shongweni Urban Development which reassuringly tells us that 30 000 jobs will be created and we are reassured by the obligatory platitudes about foreign direct investment, urban core, economic hub, etc. In the current economic climate, we have an oversupply of shopping malls, a totally inadequate and crumbling road network, failing electricity and water infrastructure, ever-increasing unemployment and poverty, and in KwaZulu-Natal unfixed…

I know for a fact I’m not alone in having become sick and tired of Duncan du Bois’ rantings about Donald Trump having been ousted. He questions why so many so-called beneficiaries of Trump’s economic and social rulings would vote him out? He bewails the fact that there’s “no precedent” for such a situation. So what? The old cliché will be around forever: there’s always a first time for everything. Clearly, the Begone Trump truth is lodged like a small bone in Du Bois’ throat. Well, an age-old remedy for this is never-failing – take a couple of pieces of dry bread, chew and swallow, and voila. That painful inconvenient obstruction is gone. It works a treat – every time!…

A former VIP Protection Unit officer at Mahlamba Ndlopfu (Libertas) presidential residence in Pretoria got more than he bargained for when he appealed his 30-year jail sentence. He had been sentenced in 2015 after shooting dead his wife and daughter at their Pretoria West home. During the appeal process, Benedict Peloeole’s sentence was replaced with a life sentence. He had turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal after his conviction and sentence earlier by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. He said 30 years’ imprisonment was shockingly inappropriate and extremely harsh. The National Prosecuting Authority in turn cross- appealed and argued that he deserved life in jail – a sentiment shared by the Supreme Court this week. He was convicted in 2018 for double murder after he shot his wife, Jane…

Motorists can now renew their vehicle licences on WhatsApp. The new initiative was launched by Fitment centre group Supa Quick and online platform Disky. They said they wanted to to make it convenient for motorists to renew their vehicle licences. To renew your vehicle licence, you need to visit any Supa Quick store and scan the Disky QR code and press “send”. You will receive a WhatsApp message and, by following the prompts, you can then make the payment and collect your licence disc within five to 10 working days from the store. All types of vehicle licences can be renewed, including those for motorcycles, cars, trailers and caravans. The administration fee is R169. Franchise director at Supa Quick, Adeshni Sewbaran, said: “We are encouraging customers to take advantage of…

While repairs to the Western and Southern aqueducts have been completed, the eThekwini Municipality said the system may take some time to recover based on reservoir demand. The municipality said the process of filling affected reservoirs to raise water levels began immediately after the completion of repairs. “However, system recovery is dependent on reservoir demand patterns and dependencies which may result in some reservoirs taking longer to recover,” it said. The municipality also issued a public notice that the water supply would be interrupted in areas supplied by the uMmbumbulu Pipeline yesterday. According to the city, the pipeline would be shut down to install a piping system in preparation for the commissioning of the uMmbumbulu Booster Pump Station by Umgeni Water. For more information about water supply, the municipality said…

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom,” declared Jawaharlal Nehru in his haunting “Tryst of Destiny” speech to the Constituent Assembly in Delhi on August 14, 1947. The speech, one of the iconic ones in the 20th century, was on the eve of the partition of the British Raj into its independent India and newly established Pakistan constituents, signalling the onset of Britain’s ignominious retreat from Empire. The tried and tested British imperial policy of divide and rule had metamorphosised into a callous divide and decolonise at any cost.…

India’s foreign minister yesterday defended his country’s ties with the Myanmar junta, despite growing international concerns about recent executions and the legitimacy of elections planned for next year. Myanmar’s decade-long experiment with democracy was halted last year and the country has since spiralled into bloody conflict. But India, China and Russia have continued to engage with the regime. Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi’s position on Myanmar has been consistent over decades and goes back to the country’s struggle for freedom against colonialism. As a direct neighbour India could not avoid dealing with the military junta regime because of border issues and Indian insurgents in Myanmar, he said. | AFP…

KABUL: A blast that tore through a Kabul mosque during evening prayers on Wednesday killed 21 people, Kabul police said yesterday. A police spokesperson said 33 people had been injured in the blast. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident. The Taliban said they were restoring security to the war-torn country. However, several large attacks, some claimed by Islamic State, have taken place in urban centres in recent months. The UN condemned the blast and expressed concern over a “disturbing” series of explosions which had killed and wounded more than 250 people in recent weeks, the highest monthly number of civilian casualties in the past year. | Reuters…

THE RAND has continued on its slide amid a strengthening dollar after disappointing economic data from major economies reinforced global recession fears. The domestic currency yesterday by 5pm had weakened by 0.10 percent to R16.77 to the US dollar, its lowest since August 3, as the economy underwhelms. The under-performance in the mining, manufacturing and retail industries through to the end of June cemented expectations that South Africa’s economic activity will shrink in the second quarter and drag overall 2022 growth. The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting also rattled the currency markets due to fears of an onset of a global economic slowdown. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said the rand weakened on global and domestic growth concerns. Bishop said the weaker-than- expected real retail sales figure…

THE cultural ritual of entering the kraal by Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini will be a significant moment in the history of the Zulu nation as it is the first time this will be carried out by a king who has emerged from two monarchs in modern history. This is the view of cultural experts who were commenting ahead of tomorrow’s event where King Misuzulu will enter the kraal at the KwaKhangela- Mankengane Palace in Nongoma. This is because King Misuzulu is the son of King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu and Queen Mantfombi Shiyiwe Dlamini-Zulu, who is the princess from the kingdom of eSwatini. The event is expected to be attended by amakhosi, izinduna, amabutho (warriors) and scores of people marking the first time for many to see their king. “The symbolism…

Do you want deeper human connections? Here are a few healing words and questions to tuck into the back of your head as you seek deeper conversations: I will drop everything and spend as much time as you want listening to you no matter how long it takes. Nothing you divulge will shock me or change how I view you. I never expected you to be perfect. What’s holding you back from achieving your goals? Most people have five or seven things they are really good at – please tell me yours. Please tell me about the people who have loved you and have expected nothing in return. Tell me about the five most important changes you have made in your life. Tell me about the most important decisions you…

When we talk of bullies, we think only of bullies at school. But there are bullies everywhere – in families, sports, social and cultural organisations, political parties, at work and among the nations of the world. All the big powers are bullies, threatening and beating their smaller neighbours into submission. Russia has invaded Ukraine and has been pounding the country with tanks and missiles because it was leaning towards the West and wants to join Nato. Vladimir Putin, who has ambitions of reviving the old Soviet Union, feels he has the right to invade Ukraine because it was part of Russia during the Soviet days. He doesn’t want any unfriendly or hostile neighbours along Russia’s borders. He threatens Finland and Sweden which, fearing the big ugly bear, have applied to…

Trolls that live in recluse under suspended bridges continue gruffing away threateningly at billy goats who are bent on grabbing their share of animal rights. Opinions abound regarding such spoilsports who just don’t want to, or don’t know how to, recognise that some countries just want to be left on their own and face the future without foreign interference. Writers to this paper have complained that financial aid accorded to Palestinians has never been utilised to improve or develop these people. Note that referring to them as “Palestinians” or “inhabitants of Gaza and of the West Bank” automatically and most cynically devoids them of being any semblance of a “country”. They are never referred to as “indigenous” people either because that would give them historical territorial rights. When Mahatma Gandhi…

Parliament has shot down allegations by opposition political parties that it was dragging its feet in investigating President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farmgate scandal. Spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had always acted swiftly and consistently with the rules and the law when processing correspondence from political parties calling for parliamentary action on the matter. Mothapo also said the motion from the African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) leader Vuyo Zungula, was deemed compliant after several engagements with the party. “The delay in processing this matter was, therefore, never out of the alleged inaction on the part of the Speaker,” he said. Mothapo explained the parliamentary rules required Mapisa-Nqakula to refer the motion and supporting documents to an independent panel of experts. “The Speaker has invited political parties to…

Tangible rewards motivate employees when they’re easy to use, pleasurable, unexpected, and distinct from salary, a new study found. A recent survey of firms in the US revealed that 84% spent more than $90 billion (about R1.5 trillion) annually on tangible employee rewards, such as gift cards, recreation trips and merchandise in hopes of increasing productivity. “We found that there is, at best, mixed evidence regarding the motivational efficacy of tangible rewards versus cash rewards,” said Adam Presslee, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. In the study, in the journal Accounting, Organizations and Society, the team found firms should “focus more on the motivational effects of the attributes associated with a reward, rather than the reward type itself”, Presslee said. | IANS…

Two of the biggest trade union federations, Cosatu and the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), plan to meet soon to discuss the possibility of a joint national shutdown next week. Both unions had initially planned separate national protests to take place on Wednesday, August 24. The trade union federations have cited the rising cost of living, load shedding, high fuel prices and unemployment as the reasons for the national shutdown. Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said it was issuing a call to all workers to join the national strike next week. “The intention of the strike is to demand urgent action from policymakers and decision-makers to take drastic steps to avoid an economic collapse, as it is threatening the lives of millions of workers and the poor.” Pamla…

Algerian firefighters yesterday battled two dozen blazes fanned by hot winds that have killed at least 38 people and left destruction across the drought-hit North African country. Deadly forest fires have become an annual scourge in the North African country, where climate change is turning large areas into a tinderbox in the baking summer months. As residents have lost their homes to the flames, authorities have been accused of being ill-prepared, with few firefighting aircraft available, despite record casualties in last year’s blazes. The justice ministry has launched an enquiry into the possibility that some of the blazes were started deliberately, after comments to that effect by Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud. At least 38 people have been killed including more than 10 children, according to multiple sources, including local journalists…

Railway staff in Britain yesterday staged the latest in a series of strikes, once again disrupting commuters and leisure travellers, as decades-high inflation hits salaries and prompts walkouts across various industries. The latest action by rail workers, which will be repeated tomorrow, is part of a summer of strike action by the sector and others at a scale not seen since the 1980s under former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. The dispute over pay rises and working conditions has shown little sign of resolution and is likely to be exacerbated by news this week that UK inflation topped 10% in July for the first time since 1982. The global impact of the war in Ukraine on energy and food prices, and, to a lesser extent, post-Brexit trade frictions are blamed for…

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is reintroducing an award for women who have 10 or more children. The Mother Heroine title was first established by Joseph Stalin in 1944 to encourage women to have more children after the deaths of millions of Soviet citizens during the World War II. More than 400 000 women received the prize before it was axed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Putin is reviving the award as Russia again faces a demographic crisis, fuelled by plunging birth rates, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. Those who qualify will receive 1 million rubles (R280 000) after their tenth child turns one, if the other nine are still alive. | Bang Showbiz…

Great news, The Kingfisher has just opened their new store on the upper north coast. Situated in the Tiffany’s Shopping Center in Salt Rock, this store is ideally positioned for our north coast anglers. For all your angling needs, (freshwater or saltwater) pop in and see them or give them a shout on 032 307 0041. The fishing has been good along the coast with most anglers reporting great edible results. The offshore fishing has been decent with most boats seeing a need for a gaff. Tuna, daga and everything in-between There have been some good catches of snoek along the colour lines in the north. Fillet baits have continued to produce the goods with both standard Natal sardine and Japanese mackerel fillets working well. The bottom fishing has also…

THE Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the government to tackle crime, grime and filth that is overrunning the Durban CBD, saying the state of the city stifles any efforts to attract investors. CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry Palesa Phili bemoaned the state of the CBD yesterday. She said she believed this made it difficult to attract business to invest in the CBD, and worse still, even drove away those already in the CBD. She was speaking during a business breakfast meeting held with the KwaZulu-Natal government, led by Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Siboniso Duma, and attended by business leaders. Phili spoke on the many challenges undermining investments in the city and province. Among the…

The DA has announced changes in its shadow cabinet and has appointed a new chief whip in the National Assembly. In a statement yesterday, the party said deputy chief whip Siviwe Gwarube, has been appointed as the party’s chief whip. Gwarube, who became an MP in 2019, was health spokesperson until February this year. She was announced as the party’s national spokesperson in November 2020. Gwarube was elected as the deputy chief whip in the mid-term caucus election in December 2021, taking over from Jacques Julius. Gwarube is replacing Natasha Mazzone, who will now represent the party in the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence. DA leader John Steenhuisen said Mazzone would focus on overhauling the oversight model of the state security apparatus. “Mazzone will also serve as the national security…

A Russian space walk outside the International Space Station ended hours earlier than planned on Wednesday after a cosmonaut discovered an electrical issue with his spacesuit, US and Russian officials said. Oleg Artemyev was roughly two hours into a six-hour spacewalk when voltage levels in his spacesuit’s battery began to unexpectedly drop, prompting flight controllers in Moscow to repeatedly order the cosmonaut’s immediate return to the space station’s airlock. “Oleg, drop everything and go back,” a flight controller urged Artemyev from mission control in Moscow, as heard on a live feed of space-to-ground audio. “Drop everything and start going back right away ... Go back and connect to station power.” Artemyev returned to the airlock and connected his suit to the space station’s power supply. The flight controller warned Artemyev…

FACTIONS in the ANC were behind the riots and looting. Every family was left terrorised by what happened in July. One thing is clear, the riots were well orchestrated and planned by Zuma loyalists to create anarchy in the wake of the former president’s arrest. The ANC has too many internal battles and is in no position to cater for the interest of voters. The smaller parties in eThekwini have been exposed. According to a news article yesterday, the smaller parties still support the ANC, although it failed the people of eThekwini. Up until now it was only (Visvin) Reddy from ADeC that had to face difficult questions about supporting the ANC but it was not just Reddy that supported the ANC. The other parties hid behind Reddy. Mr Reddy…

At the start of each schoolday, teacher Lori Cooperman prepares her lessons, plans pupils’ meals and – most importantly – checks an app to see if there will be electricity. She is among a growing number of South Africans who say they are using mobile apps to deal with government shortcomings, from finding load-shedding schedules to filling in potholes or seeking mental-health support. “Because our government is not stepping up, it’s nice to know there are people like the founders of these apps that care and are looking for solutions,” Cooperman said. The free EskomSePush app used by Cooperman was started in 2015 and scrapes web data from Eskom, mayors and municipalities to tell users when their area will be hit by power cuts. Today, more than 5 million people…

A KwaZulu-Natal traffic officer who solicited a R800 bribe has been found guilty of corruption and will serve jail time. Sandile Lloyd Nene, 43, was sentenced to three years behind bars in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court this week. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the incident took place in August 2019, while Nene was employed as a traffic official for KwaDukuza Municipality. Provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Nene committed the offence when he spoke to the complainant on the matter. “He told her that her car lights were too close to the tyres and she could be liable for a fine of R800. “He then removed her car licence disc and withheld her driver’s licence. Nene told her if she paid him the R800 directly, he would not…

The conditions of the zama zamas are akin to those of ordinary black mineworkers The single most interesting fact about borders in Africa is that no one consulted Africans when they were created. This might seem like common knowledge but a close scrutiny of this fact reveals the ridiculousness of the idea that Europeans wantonly drew lines over a continent and claimed dominion over it. There were no consultations; some of the Europeans involved in this process had never even set foot on the continent. The consensus among them was that Africa is a heart of darkness, devoid of reason and humanity. Africa for them was a terra nullius; land available to be seized. The consequences of this splitting was bloodshed, muddling up of cultures, erasure of languages, but most…

Thousands of Unification Church members gathered in Seoul yesterday to protest what they call discriminatory and unfair Japanese media coverage of their church since former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination. The suspect in Abe’s July 8 shooting, Tetsuya Yamagami, bore a grudge against the church, alleging it bankrupted his mother and blaming Abe for promoting it. “Stop biased reporting and religious persecution!” demonstrators in the South Korean capital chanted in Korean and Japanese, holding placards reading “Respect religious freedom!” and “Stop hate speech” toward the church. Long-standing links between the strongly anti-communist church, which critics call a cult, and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, have hurt the popularity of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government, prompting him to reshuffle his cabinet last week. Founded in South Korea in the 1950s by…

Russia said yesterday it could shut down Europe’s largest nuclear power station after it came under shelling at the front lines in Ukraine, a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe there. Moscow also rejected international calls for a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it seized early in the war and which is still operated by Ukrainian engineers under Russian occupation. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy, who discussed the situation at the plant with visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Lviv, called on the UN to ensure that it was demilitarised and protected. The power station sits on the Russian-controlled south bank of a huge reservoir; Ukrainian forces hold the north bank. Recent days have seen several incidents of shelling at the plant,…

Day 2 of 5 England 165 South Africa 289/7 Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen restored South Africa’s advantage after a mid-afternoon wobble, taking a page out of the approach made popular by the opposition a few months ago. The two shared a partnership of 72 runs for the seventh wicket, with those runs being scored at a rate of 5.82 an over, giving the Proteas a lead of 124 runs at stumps. Jansen, promoted above Kyle Verreynne to No 6, hooked Ben Stokes for six, and drove another off the backfoot for an all run four, to highlight his stroke play. Maharaj too produced some sparkling backfoot drives, hitting James Anderson through the covers, followed by a slog over midwicket. He struck seven fours in his innings of 41, before…

THERE is unlikely to be any pre or post-match handshakes between the coaches of Swallows FC and AmaZulu when the two teams square up for their Premiership clash tonight. God forbid there should be load-shedding during the match, the security personnel on duty must be on high alert lest either Dylan Kerr or Brandon Truter use the moment to suck it to the other. Such is the animosity between the two coaches. Last season when the two teams met, Truter and Kerr hurled verbal insults at one another at the post-match press conference they attended separately. Fired by Swallows earlier in the season, Truter took great pleasure in beating his former club which he accused of owing him and described the 1-0 victory as the sweetest of his career.…