Table of contents for SW-2021-04-15 in Star

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za ZEDER Investments’ share price leapt by more than 9 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the agri-investment company said it had received approaches from third parties regarding some of its portfolio of investments. Zeder is considering the approaches following its overall strategic review after the disposal of its Pioneer Foods and Quantum Foods shareholdings last year, and the group was engaging with certain of these parties. Chief executive Johann le Roux said the board was evaluating these approaches. “We will communicate in more detail to the market on the value-enhancing progress, as may be required from time to time. “The strategy does not have a specific time line and will be executed in an appropriate and responsible manner in an attempt to maximise shareholder value.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za PROFESSIONAL Provident Society (PPS), which provides financial solutions to more than 150 000 graduate professionals, reported a resilient performance through a tumultuous 2020, a year where claims rose through the pandemic. PPS focused on delivering its core purpose of paying valid claims, after the number of claims picked up signifi- cantly due to the pandemic, and protecting its members’ financial health, said group chief executive Izak Smit in an interview by phone. “We entered 2020 with solid capital reserves and with good momentum. This meant that we could act swiftly to put relief measures in place, pay claims reliably, secure our adviser network and maintain our full staff complement throughout the lockdown,” he said yesterday. The higher number of claims was indicated by the fact…

GIFT TLOU gift.tlou@inl.co.za EMFULENI Municipality’s hopes of attending the 2021/22 Integrated Development Planning and Budget public participation sitting have been reportedly dealt a major blow. This comes after it emerged that one of the municipality’s toner suppliers repossessed cartridges, making it difficult for the municipality to print documents for public sittings. It is alleged that the municipality failed to settle their R800 000 debt to Siyakha, a company responsible for regularly supplying the municipality with toners for its printers. On Monday, the company is said to have taken matters into its own hands and repossessed all of its toners. The municipality’s bruised relationship with its service providers has been widely reported, with allegations that it owes more than R1 billion in all to suppliers. The DA’s constituency leader in Emfuleni,…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has defended the slow pace of the vaccine roll-out, with the country lagging behind after less than 300 000 health-care workers having been vaccinated since the programme started in February. MPs were not happy that after the initial target to vaccinate 1.2 million health workers, this number was reduced to 500 000, but to date just less than 300 000 have been given their jabs. Members of the portfolio committee on health said yesterday if things continued at this rate, South Africa would not reach its target of vaccinating 40 million people by the year end. But Mkhize said they had all the vaccines from AstraZeneca but could not continue with it after it was established that the vaccine wasn’t…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE 2020 South African Box Office report has laid bare the devastation the Covid-19 pandemic has caused the film and cinema industry after box office revenue declined by R1.2 billion in 2020. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) recently released the report, which depicts the performance of films released at the Box Office in South Africa. “2020 has been a challenging year globally. At cinemas, the number of films released, and their box office gross, declined significantly. This is due to the lockdown that was imposed in March 2020. Cinemas had to close in response to the coronavirus pandemic,” the report stated. It is usually compiled biannually, however, due to the national lockdown, all cinemas closed between March 26 and August 27, 2020,…

The slow violence of hunger and food insecurity are often experienced in invisible ways A DECADE ago, Rob Nixon, a professor in the humanities and environment studies at Princeton University in the US, introduced the concept of slow violence in the context of climate change and environmentalism. He explained slow violence as violence that occurs gradually and out of sight, a violence of delayed destruction that is dispersed across time and space, an attritional violence that is typically not viewed as violence, at all. While profound, Nixon’s concept of ”out-of-sight violence” and ”violence of delayed destruction” was challenged by Professor Thom Davies, from the University of Nottingham in the UK, who urged scholars to instead ask: ”Out of sight to whom?” He argued that structural inequality mutated into noxious instances…

Jihadist fighters who raided the northern Mozambique town of Palma last month may be planning their next move, analysts say, raising fears of more attacks in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province. On March 24, Islamic State (Isis)-linked militants launched a strategic, co- ordinated assault on Palma that overwhelmed security forces and caused French energy giant Total to abandon a nearby gas project. Dozens of people were killed and thousands displaced by a raid considered one of the worst acts of Islamist militancy in southern Africa. Speculation is now rife about what to expect next from insurgents boosted by the latest assault, during which they garnered fresh provisions and ammunition. “What is sure is that there is going to be another major attack,” warned Institute for Security Studies researcher Martin Ewi…

LONDON: Dame Helen Mirren was sexually harassed “almost on a daily basis”. The 75-year-old actress was subjected to “extreme” unwanted attention from men at least once a month, starting from when a man exposed himself to her when she was on a train aged just 13. Helen – who is married to Taylor Hackford – has called on people to intervene and “take action” when they see women being harassed. She said: “I don’t think men have historically ever really understood what we go through.”…

SEOUL: South Korea’s president yesterday ordered officials to explore petitioning an international court over Japan’s decision to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea amid protests by fisheries and environmental groups. According to plans unveiled by Japan on Tuesday, the release of more than 1 million tons of contaminated water into the sea from the plant crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 will start in about two years after filtering it to remove harmful isotopes. The plan drew opposition from its neighbours South Korea, China and Taiwan. South Korea summoned Koichi Aiboshi, Tokyo’s ambassador to Seoul, and convened a meeting to craft its response.…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Although Kaizer Chiefs have been significantly below-par in terms of their DStv Premiership performances this season, coach Gavin Hunt’s troops did show that they have some resolve by advancing to the quarter-finalsof this season’s CAF Champions League. The Glamour Boys earned a vital 2-2 away draw with Horoya in their final Group C game last weekend which ensured that they advanced to the last eight as group runners-up behind Wydad AC. “It was very difficult in Guinea. We know how Africa is. We managed to come up with a good result which made us qualify for the quarter-finals,” said 21-year-old Chiefs defender Njabulo Blom. “It is a great feeling because the Champions League is not just any cup. We know that we are representing South Africa in…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Local celebrities Boity Thulo, Thandiswa Mazwai, Mohale Motaung-Mhlongo, Penny Lebyane and Jackie Phamotse rallied behind Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa following her court appearance on Monday. Mlotshwa recently filed for a protection order against her estranged husband, Nkosinathi “Black Coffee” Maphumulo, for an alleged domestic violence incident. Mlotshwa alleged that Black Coffee assaulted her during an altercation at their former marital home in Sandton, in March. The star hosted a lavish party, celebrating her 33rd birthday with family and close friends. The actress said the popular DJ hit her hand when she prevented him from entering the house during her weekend-long birthday celebration at the former couple’s home. The incident was in full view of her guests. The judgment in the matter between the former lovers has been reserved…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Constitutional Court has raised concern that some of apartheid's oppressive and discriminatory laws still impact black people’s lives, 27 years into democracy. Justice Zukisa Tshiqi dropped some stinging words yesterday about the retention of racist laws in her judgment that declared unconstitutional apartheid legislation that rendered all black people’s marriages prior to 1988 automatically out of community of property. She penned the apex court’s unanimous judgment on the ground-breaking case that 72-year-old Agnes Sithole, from Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal, pursued against apartheid’s Black Administration Act (BAA). This piece of legislation meant Sithole’s marriage to Gideon Sithole, entered into on December 16, 1972, was automatically out of community of property by virtue of their race. She faced the threat of being kicked out of the house they bought…

Miss South Africa Shudufhadzo Musida, pictured, is today doing a 5km run to raise funds for mental well-being. In partnership with Discovery Vitality and the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), the reigning queen would be accompanied by Miss Supranational SA and Miss SA 2020 first runner-up Dr Thato Mosehle, who will be representing South Africa at the Miss Supranational pageant later this year. Discovery Vitality – which has partnered with Shudufhadzo and her successful #MindfulMondays initiative – will be donating R20 000 to SADAG on Miss SA’s behalf. Members of the public are invited to join the Team Vitality running community on Strava (social network for athletes) and run with her for free. “Mental health is a cause close to my heart and I am delighted to be able…

There is no convenient categorisation or summing-up of Prince Philip Mountbatten-Windsor, as he became, so diverse were his enthusiasms and loyalties. Anyone who met him, was struck by his outspoken and direct approach, quite out of keeping with traditional British royal reticence and tact. The cliché that he was the man walking two paces behind the Queen belies the fact that he was often ahead of her politically and sometimes taking a different direction. The term which is belatedly being applied to him is “maverick”, derived from a Texan cattle owner who did not brand his calves, thereby claiming those from other herds. The sense of an unconventional person is recoded from 1886 and shortly afterwards to an independent politician. Anecdotes abound recording his idiosyncratic behaviour, acid humour and his…

THE RESIGNATIONS of a police chief and an officer who shot dead a black man, Daunte Wright, in Minneapolis have failed to end unrest over Sunday’s killing, the BBC reported yesterday. According to the Chicago Tribune, chief Tim Gannon and officer Kim Potter quit the Brooklyn Centre Force on Tuesday, a move mayor Mike Elliott hoped would help heal the community and lead to reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest that followed the killing of Wright. CNN cited Elliott as saying Potter decided on her own to resign from the police department. “We did not ask her to resign. That was a decision she made,” he was quoted as saying. The US broadcaster said people voiced concerns that Potter resigned and was not fired, but Elliott said he…

Seven years after hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram jihadists in Chibok, north-east Nigeria, more than 100 were still missing, Amnesty International said yesterday. Several more mass kidnappings of schoolchildren have occurred in northern Nigeria since Chibok, resulting in hundreds of schools being shut in a region where the literacy rate and school enrolment are already very low. On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram gunmen seized 276 girls aged between 12 and 17 from the Government Girls Secondary School in the remote town of Chibok. “Although most escaped or were later released, more than 100 girls remain in captivity,” Amnesty International said in a statement.…

CARACAS: Venezuela is restricting Covid-19 shots to people with a state loyalty card. When the country began inoculating its elderly population last week, it said it was selecting recipients from a registry used by the Nicolas Maduro administration to keep tabs on voter loyalty. While all Venezuelans have a national ID card, they haven’t all registered for the state loyalty card known as the Carnet de la Patria, which is disproportionately held by people who depend on state aid and who are more likely to be loyal to the Maduro government. “For a vaccination strategy, we have to start from a registry that includes 100% of the Venezuelan people,” said Julio Castro, a Caracas-based epidemiologist who advises the opposition.…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za South Africa 203/5 (Markram 63, Malan 55; Nawaz 2/38) Pakistan 205/1 (Babar 122) Pakistan won by 9 wickets, lead four-matcn series 2-1 Babar Azam delivered another masterful innings at SuperSport Park yesterday as Pakistan successfully chased a total of more than 200 for the first time. The Pakistan captain has already produced an innings of rich quality on this tour – in the opening one-day international at the same venue – and yesterday’s performance was also packed with classical shots. Babar made 122 off just 59 balls, hitting 15 fours and four sixes, and was more aggressive than in the ODI, because this situation demanded it, after South Africa had batted along at 10 runs an over throughout their innings. The pursuit of a target as…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THE good news for potential South African athletes is that Sascoc has raised the funds to send both the Olympic and Paralympic teams to Tokyo. But it will not be “business as usual” in the Japanese capital, due to Covid-19 protocols. Sascoc president Barry Hendricks announced during the 100-day countdown media conference in Johannesburg yesterday that the governing body will cover all costs for Team SA, after recent reports that some sporting codes may have to raise some of their own funds to compete in Tokyo. In unveiling shoe brand Veldskoen as a new sponsor, Hendricks said a “new sentiment” had developed among sponsors and the business community to support Team South Africa. “And just yesterday, we sat with another sponsor, which we will announce in the…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za TRADE conditions in South Africa have turned more positive following a meaningful improvement in March after the lockdown in December dampened trade. Sacci said that the sentiment had improved significantly from a year ago, with the Trade Expectations Index (TEI) increasing by not less than 13 index points a year ago. The pro-business lobby group said the lockdown process had an adverse effect on business and a number of regular respondents went out of business. It said the restrictions gave way to a more optimistic outlook in February and March. Sacci chief executive Alan Mukoki said the improvement of trade conditions was in all the elements of trade, particularly sales volumes and new orders. The six-month expectations on components such as sales, orders, supplies and inventories…

HULAMIN said yesterday that the Covid-19 outbreak caused a major disruption in its operations as sales volumes declined by 24 percent to 166 000 tons in the year to end December. However, the group said the London Metals Exchange price of aluminium, which mainly affects working capital and metal price lag, was stronger during the period, climbing to $2 018 (R29 375) a ton, up from $1 770 a ton a year earlier and the rand price of aluminium rose by 18 percent by the end of 2020. But group turnover fell by 20 percent to R8.55 billion, while its headline loss improved to R210 million compared to R240m reported last year. Chief executive Richard Jacob said the group faced strong…

DMX’s family have shut down a rumour circulating claiming Beyoncé and Jay-Z bought the late rapper’s master recordings for R146 million. The 50-year-old rapper-and-actor passed away last week after a stint in an intensive care unit following a heart attack at his home on April 2. And there had been whispers that the power couple had purchased the masters, however, this has been dismissed by the family of DMX – whose real name was Earl Simmons. DMX’s family said: “There have been a few rumours following our loved one Earl Simmons passing that we’d like to clear up. No one has bought Earl’s masters.” There had also been talk of the family raising funds for the Party Up hitmaker’s funeral, which they quickly quashed and warned people not to be…

Mpiletso Motumi mpiletso.motumi@inl.co.za MULTIDISCIPLINARY artist Nkhensani Rihlampfu wasn’t always serious about fine art. When he left high school, his plan was to study sport but he ended up changing his mind at the last minute. “I ended up applying for fine and applied arts in Pretoria. I graduated in 2011 and haven’t looked back since,” said Rihlampfu. He did some government work for a while before resigning to do work at a GroundSpark where he was responsible for casting sculptures into bronze. In 2016, he took on the arts full time and has been practising since. This weekend, Rihlampfu will be presenting his solo exhibition Mintsu Island to the public. Taking place at Eloff Stree, Joburg, this will be his first solo show as an independent artist. “I work with…

Rianna Wentzel | Grassy Park My opinion is that so many of us are walking around daily with issues that make us feel helpless, hopeless and in many instances unable to express ourselves fully about what is bugging us. For families and loved ones left behind, it is often difficult to imagine what led a family member, a friend or even a celebrity to commit suicide. There are many factors that can influence a person’s decision to commit suicide, the most common of which is severe depression. Mental illnesses that can increase the risk of suicide include, among others, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders and schizophrenia. Another factor that often manifest itself, sometimes years later, is in the form of traumatic stress as a result of…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za After a three-week break, Formula One is back in business this weekend at Imola, and boy, oh boy, I cannot wait! The season-opening Bahrain GP was a treat, a spectacle, a damn fine race that had fans entertained from pole to podium. If it acted as an introduction to F1 for anyone, surely they would be hooked thereafter. Unfortunately, not every race will or can dish up a spectacle such as what was seen last month, but here's hoping that the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari will serve up another entertaining weekend. It’s a tight and technical circuit, with some awesome high-speed corners. Due to the width and down-force of the modern F1 car, and the “old school” design of this particular circuit, overtaking can be…

As the pendulum of freedom continues to swing in favour of levelling the playing field, the democratic rights that many South Africans strove to achieve against all odds are now being reversed and cancelled out by counter-productive acts that lay waste to the country’s foremost infrastructure. One item after the other, the water infrastructure is targeted and damaged, with the result that there is a heavy price to be paid for achieving equity and redistribution of water resources. As this continues unabated, the water security for the future and the country’s economic prosperity and development priorities hang in the balance. Besides trampling on other people’s rights, which we are celebrating throughout the month of April, we are plunging the goals of our developmental state into disarray that may take us…

The revelations we have observed at Eskom cement what many South Africans have always feared; the manipulation of state institutions to benefit the politically connected few and those who safeguard their interests using their political leadership positions. Greed is what drives their uncontrollable appetite to milk dry one of South Africa’s essential entities that should contribute immensely to our economy. But those we entrust with that responsibility have proven to be just another organised criminal syndicate sucking the nation dry. Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter and the entire board of the embattled power utility will go down in history as arguably the most useful puppeteers who have excellently executed their mandate to manipulate Eskom tenders, contracts and reports in favour of private interests that are eager to see the…

Turkey’s foreign minister hailed the start of “a new era” with Egypt as Ankara pushes ahead with normalising relations with Cairo, local media reported yesterday. Turkey and Egypt broke off relations after the 2013 overthrow of ex-Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was supported by Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. That year Turkey and Egypt expelled each others’ ambassadors and froze their relations. Turkish officials said last month that Ankara had established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013 as part of wider efforts to fix ties with other Middle Eastern rivals. “A new era is beginning,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by NTV broadcaster. He said there would be a meeting between the two countries’ deputy foreign ministers and diplomats but a date had…

JAKARTA: The death toll from tropical cyclone Seroja, which recently hit Indonesia’s province of East Nusa Tenggara, rose to 181, while 47 people remain missing, according to the latest official data. At a virtual press conference held by the country’s disaster mitigation agency yesterday, the province’s deputy governor, Josef Nae Soi, reported that at least 250 people were still suffering injuries caused by the flash floods and landslides triggered by the cyclone earlier in April. The number of evacuees was nearly 50 000 people, but many of them have started returning to their homes or families. Floods and landslides in the province also destroyed a number of houses, public facilities, roads and bridges in the affected areas.…