Table of contents for 2021-07-08 in Star

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s liquidity position remained stable in June as the country’s gross reserves increased marginally, though gold reserves slipped. The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday that the country’s gross reserves ticked up 0.6 percent to $54.47 billion (about R778bn) in June, from $51.14bn in May. SARB said the gross reserves were boosted by a rise in foreign exchange reserves from $43.88bn to $44.82bn due to proceeds received from foreign borrowings from the New Development Bank. In mid-June, the government received its $1bn economic recovery loan from the New Development Bank to support economic growth through employment generation. At the same time, the forward position declined due to foreign exchange swops conducted for sterilisation and liquidity management purposes. Investec economist Kamilla Kaplan said South Africa’s…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SCHRODERS has warned that many countries, including South Africa, were fiscally ill-prepared for the next cyclical downturn as the world economy emerges from the great lockdown. The global investment manager said yesterday that economic growth progress remained patchy across the world. Schroders chief economist Keith Wade said the overall picture was one of developed markets outperforming emerging markets, with economies like India and Brazil struggling to contain the virus. Wade said the other fault line opened up by the pandemic had been inequality within economies, which has likely increased on both an income and wealth metric. “In emerging markets, Brazil, South Africa and Chile are expected to be running a deficit smaller than in 2019 by 2025, though Mexico and Indonesia will be close,” Wade said. “Brazil…

Zelda Venter A DOCTOR has warned that the Delta variant of the Covid-19 is spreading fast and demands urgent action from every person to ensure the third wave does not become a tidal wave. Dr Jacques Snyman, a medical adviser to Health Squared Medical Scheme, said: “Although limited information is available on this variant, indications so far suggest that it can spread much more easily. It could be 55% to 97% more transmissible than the original strain of the virus. “The number of people being hospitalised in our country for Covid-19 is picking up fast, and many more people are getting sick – irrespective of which variant they have. We all need to take steps to protect ourselves, our loved ones and South Africa. A great deal is at stake,…

Norman V Mahlangu | Siyabuswa If you were harassed and abused severely by a thug, then another tragedy befalls you and you hear the voice of the same thug knocking at the door, alleging they are here to help this time, would you happily jump up and open the door without hesitating? The answer is obvious. The fact that the nation is sceptical about some steps the government has taken regarding Covid-19 should serve as a lesson on how much trust it’s lost. The citizens have helplessly languished for years over the misuse of tax funds, the looting of the state’s resources and all sorts of corruption. Today the same government whose municipalities continue to show no mercy to its people, to the extent of denying citizens the…

Bheki Nyathikazi WORLD Environment Day, commemorated annually on June 5, has come and gone. The day has grown to become a global platform for communal outreach, drawing in governments, major corporations, NGOs and communities to consider their role in restoring the ecosystem. This year’s theme was “Ecosystem Restoration”, which aimed at preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems across the world, for the benefits of nature, and its people – us. However, having observed the role that humans play in the degradation of the very ecosystem they should protect, I started asking myself: Are people aware that they are damaging the ecosystem through their naivety and disregard of the environmental by-laws aimed at protecting it? Why is it difficult to adhere to a simple set of by-laws aimed…

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in a night-time assault by “highly trained and heavily armed” killers, according to the nation’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph. The attack by the unidentified group took place at the presidential residence at around 1am in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, Joseph said. First lady Martine Moise was also shot in the attack and was taken to the hospital. Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, said via Twitter she died, and sent his condolences. Joseph’s statement didn’t elaborate on the first lady’s health condition. Some of the assailants spoke Spanish, Joseph said in an earlier statement, implying that they were foreigners. Haiti’s National Police and other authorities are working to keep order, he said. Yesterday morning, Port-Au-Prince was largely quiet amid the…

STOCKHOLM: Swedish Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven was re-elected as prime minister by parliament yesterday, ending weeks of political turmoil since his resignation last month. But Lofven, who had quit after losing a no-confidence vote on June 21, has yet to find sufficient backing to pass a budget and has said he will resign again if he is unable to get his budget through parliament. The former union boss, 63, has headed a centre-left minority cabinet since a 2018 election which produced a nearly evenly split parliament.…

CAIRO: The megaship MV Ever Given which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March headed out of the waterway yesterday as Egypt and the vessel’s Japanese owners signed a final compensation deal that lifted its arrest. The ship weighed anchor and started to move north from the central canal city of Ismailia towards the Mediterranean Sea. The nearly 200 000-tonne container vessel became wedged across the canal during a sandstorm on March 23, blocking a vital artery from Asia to Europe that carries 10% of global maritime trade and pumps vital revenues into Egyptian state coffers. After a round-the-clock salvage operation to dislodge it, Egypt seized the ship and demanded compensation from Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha for lost canal revenues, salvage costs and damage to the canal.…

A business-like Novak Djokovic threatened to short-change over 14 000 fans who had forked out £170 for yesterday's Centre Court tickets when, after only 19 minutes of action, he stood on the cusp of bagging the first set 6-0. Trailing 0-5 and 15-40 on serve, it seemed like Marton Fucsovics's first foray into a grand slam quarter-final would be short and not very sweet. But somehow the 29-year-old avoided disappearing into a Wimbledon sinkhole for two hours and 17 minutes before Djokovic pushed him over the edge for a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win that secured him a place in the All England Club semi-finals for a 10th time. Playing in his 50th grand slam quarter-final, Djokovic recorded a century of tour-level wins on grass and his 315th victory at a…

Goitsemang Tlhabye goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za A FAMILY self-isolating following a positive Covid-19 test in Nellmapius are furious after being dragged to the police station to verify their car. Angelique Campher and her partner Mogomotsi Rakololo said they were surprised by police who came to their home on Tuesday afternoon, demanding to check their White Kia Picanto, which was parked outside. Campher, the owner of the vehicle, said they were informed by the police officers that they were taking her car to the pound to verify its ownership as a similar car had just committed a crime in Silverton. Campher said despite informing the officials that the car was hers and she was reluctant to leave her home as she had tested positive for Covid-19 last Saturday, they insisted on taking her and…

Mayibongwe Maqhina PUBLIC Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille has come to the defence of the employment of Cuban technical advisers who are being paid R27 million in salaries this year by her department. De Lille said her department had been facing challenges in filling vacancies entailing technical skills. She revealed this when she was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia. Cachalia enquired whether the department had concluded any work exchange with Cuba from 2010/11 up to the 2020/21 financial year. He also wanted to know the total number of Cuban nationals employed in each of the financial years and those due to be employed between 2021 and 2023. Cachalia asked about the skills each of the Cubans possessed and the details of the total cost…

Mpiletso Motumi mpiletso.motumi@inl.co.za XOLILE “Xolly” Mncwango is a contemporary gospel musician who believes in the strength of vulnerability. The singer has been blessing her fans with her music and has worked with gospel giants, including Benjamin Dube, Xoli Thabethe, Brenda Mtambo and the gospel ensemble Joyous Celebration. Her love for music started at an early age and she went on to hone her talent at her local church. “Everything for me started at church. Even Joyous saw me at church while I was doing worship and then from there doors continued to open. “I have worked with a lot of people, but none of that would have happened had I not started at church and serving,” she said. The singer was born in eMadlankala, KwaZulu-Natal, before moving to Umlazi where…

It is curious but revealing how the phrase “Faustian pact” has become attached to descriptions of the protean antics of Jacob Zuma. The Faust legend derived from an original 15th century figure who was a German amalgam of fortune-teller, magician and charlatan with a reputation for supernatural powers who made a pact with “Devil”. Translated into English, Faust became the basis of Christopher Marlowe’s fascinating tragedy in 1589, and many other operatic versions by Berlioz, Gounod and Boito. Faust wanted eternal youth, but his obsessive appetite extended to wealth and power, before the Devil returned to claim his soul. The young Faust had taunted Mephistophilis, saying “I think hell’s fable”: the denouement opens with the terrifying line: “Hell is discovered.” This is all a far cry in the beloved country…

TODAY might just be a day of days. A day when a former head of state has been arrested and taken to Durban’s infamous Westville Prison, which houses the worst types of criminals that KwaZulu-Natal has to offer. Any calamity resulting from the latest series of events should be avoided by all means necessary, unless we are ready for bloodshed and another unnecessary massacre in South Africa. History reminds us that protests require a careful response aimed not only at extinguishing the protesters’ fury, but at addressing the genuine issues that trigger people to protest against the state and those in power. With former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters taking a position to protest against what they deem a “travesty of justice”, one has to caution those agitating for…

Regional officials in northern Afghanistan said yesterday that they had recaptured government buildings in a provincial capital after Taliban fighters stormed it overnight, taking over the police headquarters and sparking panic among residents. Officials said air strikes were being carried out and special forces had been deployed to push the Taliban fighters back after the latest dramatic advance by fighters surging across the country as Washington pulls out its last troops. The Islamist insurgents have been advancing for weeks, an offensive that has accelerated as the US pulled out of its main base, effectively ending its two-decade intervention. Taliban gains have been especially dramatic in northern provinces, where they had long been kept at bay. Provincial governor Husamuddin Shams said the Taliban had attacked the city of Qala-e-Naw from three…

TAMPA: Elsa weakened to a tropical storm early yesterday before making landfall on the north Florida Gulf coast, the US National Hurricane Center said. It had strengthened to a hurricane, the first of the season, on Tuesday night before weakening again as it moved north parallel to Florida’s west coast, sparing the state from some of the serious harm authorities had braced for. “Clearly this could have been worse,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news briefing yesterday. There were no reports of injuries or major structural damage, though there still remained a risk of tornadoes, he said. About 26 000 customers had lost their power across Florida.…

SANA’A: Authorities in Yemen’s Huthi rebel-held capital Sana’a confiscated and burned hundreds of images of underwear models from lingerie shops and retailers, an official said yesterday. The Iran-backed Huthis are locked in a brutal war with Yemen’s government and have imposed strict moral rules in areas under their control, with women particularly targeted. “The commerce ministry confiscated all of the photos of women from my shop under the pretext they were naked which undermines modesty,” Mohammed al-Alimi, a lingerie shop owner in Al-Safiya district, said. Another retailer, Omar al-Ouessabi, confirmed the Huthi campaign had targeted lingerie shops.…

HERMAN GIBBS Comment IN a comical turn of events, Royal AM have turned on Premier Soccer League acting chief executive Mato Madlala, who they say must be held accountable for the promotion/relegation play-offs taking place despite a court interdict. Royal AM's call is hard to swallow because when this scandalous play-off saga was in its infant stages, it seemed like Madlala was an ally of the mutinous club. Despite a raft of disciplinary hearings and court cases, which no doubt set the club back hundreds of thousands of rands, Royal AM have not won automatic promotion to next season’s Premiership. The saga became a catastrophe of epic proportions when Sekhukhune United were declared 3-0 winners and awarded three match points because Polokwane City had defaulted in a GladAfrica Championship game…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE DEPARMENT of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said yesterday that it planned to collapse existing state-owned entities in the oil and gas sector into a new national oil company that would become a key player in the entire value chain. The department said the entity, to be called the South African National Petroleum Company, would be formed from the merger of Central Energy Fund (CEF) subsidiaries PetroSA, IGas and the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) into the single entity. Ntokozo Ngcwabe, DMRE deputy director-general: mineral policy and promotions, said the new company would ensure that South Africa played in the petroleum space and maximised value of its own resource potential. Ngcwabe said the department wanted the company to play in the upstream space. “In the upstream space…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Media personality Somizi Mhlongo-Motaung is pleading with South Africans to live as if the country is in lockdown level 5. This comes after a massive surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, with a third wave of infections putting pressure on the health system. Taking to Instagram, Mhlongo-Motaung posted a video in which he said that he was crippled by anxiety and asked his followers and anyone else watching to please be safe. “I am not okay, anxiety is going to be the death of us, literally. “I am overly paranoid. There are new variants of viruses every day, so I am pleading with everyone who has a chance to listen to this, please let’s be safe. “Take extra precautions like you have never done before,”…

Zintle Mahlati The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will dip into its reserves to help finance an estimated R4.2 billion to R5.3bn extension of the Ters relief scheme. The fund has paid out billions of rand since the Covid-19 Ters benefit scheme was introduced in March 2020. This was help to sectors and workers who were unable to operate. It has been extended a few times since March 2020, with the latest extension expected soon. Partners at Nedlac, the labour negotiations centre consisting of labour, business and the government, have agreed to extend the scheme. The partners had been in discussion over the issue for months, but calls grew louder with the announcement of a move to level 4 of the lockdown due to rising Covid-19 infections. Sectors that have been…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za A CLEANER society is a safer society, said the Gugulethu Igunya Neighbourhood Watch Federation as they initiated a Mandela Month cleaning campaign. The federation represents more than 15 accredited neighbourhood watch groups and in partnership with construction company Boon Africa, they yesterday morning took it upon themselves to pick up litter strewn across the area, which has become a health hazard. They started in Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the area, and are set to continue in other areas within the Gugulethu precinct. Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Thembinkosi Mjuza said the initiative was influenced by Mandela Month and reviving the culture of people working together. “We have decided to do this clean-up project because these places have become dangerous to vulnerable children and the environment.…

Thami Zwane | Edenvale Everyone is equal before the law, including monsters and those we loathe. Former president Jacob Zuma did nothing except to expose the criminal justice system of being unfair and not treating people equally. It is a blessing in disguise for the downtrodden. The previously disadvantaged suffered under the apartheid system and are still, except a few, being dosed up with the same cruel system. Arrests are made on the basis of the pigmentation of your skin, the depth of your pocket, your influence on society or affiliation. There is a backlog of over two thousand DNA test results for rape victims and others. Dockets are closed without any investigation conducted or are gathering dust at the investigators’ offices. Senior counsel is making a…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za Our worst fears regarding the British and Irish Lions tour have been realised, and the trip could be in jeopardy. It’s not that there have been positive tests in the Springbok camp, or the Bulls squad, but rather the length of time it will take for those infected to return. We do not know the extent of the cluster in the Bok bio-bubble. What we do know is that Lood de Jager, Marvin Orie, Frans Steyn, Handre Pollard and Frans Malherbe, plus six members of the management team, including head coach Jacques Nienaber, have tested positive for Covid-19. The problem, especially if more results return positive and more players are stricken withCovid-19, is that their return to play is not a matter being eligible for selection immediately.…

There is material evidence for the Communist Party of China (CPC) to celebrate its centenary. China’s unfolding history since the 1978 opening-up period deserves praise and appreciation. The CPC’s achievements in securing for Chinese citizens and communities record-high standards of decent living are worthy of commendation, and emulation – even if the objective conditions of China are relatively unique in terms of political leadership, governance model, population expectations and societal values. President Xi Jinping’s speech to mark the centenary was a moment of legitimate celebration since his political party has improved considerably people’s basic living conditions. Xi was justifiably confident since the CPC, using human development indicators, has attained political, economic, technological and military success. He was not exaggerating in boldly affirming that modern-day China has traversed a pioneering path,…

An asthma sufferer in Lebanon was forced to plug in his oxygen concentrator at a mosque yesterday, its imam said, as growing power cuts cripple life in the crisis-wracked country. Lebanon is mired in what the World Bank has called one of the worst economic crises since the 1850s, and the cash-strapped state is struggling to buy enough fuel to keep the lights on. Hassan Moraib, an imam in Beirut, said he encountered the man making the best of a generator turned on to welcome worshippers to dawn prayers. Moraib posted a photo on Twitter of a man sitting on a step and reading, as he breathed from a tube linked to a machine at his feet. “A worshipper who suffers from asthma turned up at the mosque at…

Tokyo: The Olympic torch relay has been scrapped on Tokyo’s public roads, officials announced yesterday, as virus concerns continue to plague the Games just over two weeks before they begin. Private flame-lighting ceremonies will replace public relay events across the capital beginning tomorrow, the Tokyo city government said. Right up to the opening ceremony on July 23, the torch events will be streamed online, with authorities urging spectators to watch them “in the comfort of your home”. Only the relay leg in the Ogasawara islands – a remote archipelago some 1 000km south of Tokyo – will go ahead as scheduled. The nationwide torch relay has been fraught with problems since it began in March, with almost half the legs disrupted in some way.…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co.za THE phrase “long term” and Chippa United coaches have not been synonymous over the years. Just last season the Eastern Cape-based team went through a string of coaches, namely Lehlohonolo Seema‚ Dan Malesela‚ Siyabulela Gwambi and Serbian Vladislav Heric. Everything begins and ends with club boss and self-made millionaire Siviwe Mpengesi, who runs Chippa like his personal spaza shop. He hires and fires at will. But South African football’s own Mike Ashley has arguably pulled the biggest cat out of the bag yet with the arrival of Gavin Hunt in Gqeberha. With all due respect to the aforementioned gentlemen and others like Roger Sikhakhane, Kosta Papic, Farouk Abrahams and Englishman Mark Harrison who have all experienced the poisoned chalice of being Chippa coach, they cannot tie Hunt's…

MATSHELANE MAMABOLO IT makes sense that Pitso Mosimane should be a little conflicted as he anticipates the Champions League final on July 17. How can he not be when he is on a mission to break the hearts of his fellow countrymen? As coach of African superpower Al Ahly, Mosimane is tasked with delivering the “aleushria/El Ashra” – a 10th title – for the Egyptian giants. And winning titles is after all what ‘Jingles’ does. But the fact that he has to do it against a team from South Africa complicates things a wee bit. “There’s a little bit of a conflict,” Mosimane said yesterday as he looked ahead to the clash with Kaizer Chiefs in an interview with members of the SA Football Journalists Association (SAFJA). “I am…

RUGBY REPORTER THE British & Irish Lions tour seems to be on the precipice as Covid-19 continues to encumber the best laid plans of SA Rugby. Yesterday, SA Rugby officially cancelled the second Test match between the Springboks and Georgia scheduled for tomorrow night, and to further compound matters, the B&I Lions also announced that one member of their management team had also returned a positive test hours before their scheduled match against the Sharks. Four members of that squad, including two players, were entered into isolation, with the team undergoing a fresh set of tests to ascertain whether they would be able to honour the Sharks encounter. It was a second blow to the tourists' preparations. On Tuesday afternoon their tour match against the Bulls - originally scheduled…

WYNONA LOUW wynona.louw@inl.co.za Western Province 28 Tries: JJ Kotze (2), Sergeal Petersen Conversions: Tim Swiel (2) Penalties: Swiel (3) Yellow card: Lee Marvin Mazibuko Griquas 30 Tries: Ashlon Davids, Daniel Kasenda, Cameron Lindsay Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Penalties: Whitehead (3) GRIQUAS scored a try in stoppage time to secure an impressive 30-28 victory against Western Province in an entertaining Currie Cup contest at Cape Town Stadium yesterday. Going into the fixture, Province were no doubt the favourites. Not only did they play at home, but they had also enjoyed a neat run in their campaign. They are, of course, also traditionally the stronger team. WP got off to a solid start and got an early maul try through JJ Kotze, with flyhalf Tim Swiel converting to take the score…