Table of contents for 2022-01-24 in Star

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za FEARS of a debt trap loomed large last week as it became apparent the government was set to extend the R350 a month Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant for another year. The World Bank on Friday approved R11.4 billion low-interest development policy loan to South Africa to help the government widen its social protection net. National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said the loan would contribute towards addressing the financing gap stemming from additional spending. “It will assist in addressing the immediate challenge of financing critical health and social safety-net programmes, while also continuing to develop our economic reform agenda to build back better,” Mogajane said. President Cyril Ramaphosa last week led a government delegation in a meeting with a civil society organisation to discuss…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za ESKOM’S chief financial officer, Calib Cassim, on Friday made an impassioned plea to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to objectively consider the utility’s application for a 20.5 percent tariff increase because any shortfalls in revenue generation still have to be covered by the government as a major shareholder and ultimately, consumers. On the last day of the public hearings, Cassim said previous Nersa decisions had been fraught with mistakes which were repeated in subsequent times, for example, in 2019 when the regulator corrected the employee bene-fit determination after the high court found that the approach used had been based on incorrect criteria. “If we cannot. as Eskom, recover the money through the tariff that is an electricity consumer base which is far…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Mr Price Group’s share price leapt more than 5 percent on Friday in intra- day trade after announcing that retail sales and other group income grew by a whopping 19.2 percent to R9.3 billion in the quarter to January 1, 2022. The group said in a trading statement for the 13 months to January 1, that the strong growth in income included the recently acquired Power Fashion (PF) and Yuppiechef, excluding which income came to R8.3bn. The positive momentum was attri- buted by management to strong execution of the diversified and differentiated, fashion-value business model. This was in spite of external challenges that included many hours lost due to load-shedding, and that the quarter started with 41 unopened looted stores. The market leading performance…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za GAUTENG Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has praised the Gauteng Class of 2021 which obtained a 82.8% pass rate, placing Gauteng second in the country again. The Gauteng provincial government announced the provincial results of the 2021 Senior Certificate Examinations and honoured the top performing students of Gauteng. Lesufi said in Boksburg that if schools were eventually closed based on fears surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, then the department would not be celebrating Gauteng learners’ wonderful achievements. “We do so proudly that when others told us to close schools, we said we would be influenced by science, and science indicated that there was no need to close schools. When others went to court, let my one mjita that failed in doing his political work in one blue political party,…

Nhlanhla Mbatha nhlanhla.mbatha@inl.co.za THE husband of the slain Tembisa school teacher has no idea who could have wanted his wife dead. “My wife had no enemies. She loved people. She loved everyone. She was an extremely friendly person. She was God-fearing. She would not hurt a fly. I just cannot think of anyone who could have done this her,” Wiseman Ngendane, 53, said yesterday from his house in Birchleigh, Kempton Park. His 50-year-old wife, Thembisile Tilldrina Ngendane, was shot dead in the driveway of Phomolong Secondary School where she was a deputy principal for the past four months, by unidentified gunmen on Friday afternoon. Ngendane, a school principal at another school, was at pains yesterday while talking to The Star how on Friday afternoon he received a frantic phone call…

Sonri Naidoo A 26-YEAR-OLD destitute Limpopo woman has reached deadlock after appealing to several organisations and the Department of Health for a buggy wheelchair for her disabled son. Zelda Mokgethoa, from Riba Cross, outside Burgersfort, in Limpopo, lives with her 4-year-old son, Omphile Ngwane, who is suffering from a rare illness known as hydrocephalus, which is a build-up of fluid in the cavities deep within the brain. Some of the symptoms include blurred or double vision, abnormal eye movements, unstable balance, loss of bladder control or frequent urination. Mokgethoa said that when he was six months old, she way told that her son suffered from hydrocephalus, and since then she had been battling to restore her child’s dignity and mobility. “My son has been cut off from the outside world…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za VICTIMS of Pretoria West serial rapist Takalani Mulaudzi, 30, are relieved that the man who repeatedly raped them was handed seven life terms. Last week, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria sentenced Mulaudzi, from Tshafhasi in Nzhelele, Limpopo, to 173 years’ imprisonment for rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and grievous bodily harm. This after he was convicted of 15 counts of rape, five counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three counts of kidnapping, and one count of grievous body harm. The court heard that Mulaudzi started his crime spree in 2015 in and around Pretoria West at the age of 23. He ran a reign of terror in the area until 2019, when he was caught. Mulaudzi targeted vulnerable women who were either walking…

Farouk Araie | Benoni LINDIWE Sisulu’s attack against the status quo in governance via the Constitution is a blistering indictment against the one-sided democracy now prevalent in our contagious and politically toxic rainbow nation. Rainbow South Africa is a total farce. Our so-called democracy represents the most imbalanced nation on earth. This grotesque imbalance is a recipe for disaster, an invitation to chaos and tyranny. How can our nation hope to survive in rivers of monumental wealth alongside oceans of poverty and despair? Under these frightening circumstances a titanic clash will render the Constitution impotent. Our Constitution was designed as an anchor for constitutional governance. It was supposed to our last refuge from chaos and tyranny. Its noble provisions were relegated to the dustbins of history. Its sublime undertakings…

Vusi Gumbi Africa’s most industrialised nation is characterised by the juxtapositioning of “First World” and “Third World” realities, the latter illustrated by the fact that 75% of the population (mostly black) still suffer the effects of 47 years of legally sanctioned racism and segregation. It has been 27 years since the “symbolic death” of apartheid, yet this policy still rears its ugly head. This, coupled with structural poverty and unemployment, exacerbated by political corruption, has led to a despondent citizenry. This is important to understanding the political and social context in which South Africans were called to the polls in November last year to elect leaders and councils for all district, metropolitan and local communities in each of the nine provinces – the closest form of government to them. By…

MORE than 60 people were killed and over 100 injured in air strikes in Yemen, aid organisations and an official for the Houthi rebels said on Friday, as the death toll mounted in a particularly violent week for the war-torn country. At least three children were among the dozens of people killed, the humanitarian organisation Save the Children said. They died while playing soccer near communications infrastructure in the port city of Hodeida that was badly damaged overnight, said Amjad Yamin, the media, communications and advocacy director for Save the Children in Yemen. More than 60 adults were then killed early on Friday when an air strike hit a detention centre in the northern city of Saada, a Houthi stronghold. Aid workers said migrants were among those being held in…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za IN SPITE of stronger-than-expected recovery, the global economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years has been significant, and further widened the gap between the rich and the poor. This was the view of many expert speakers at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda 2022 virtual meeting, that concluded on Friday. Speakers at the WEF virtual gathering last week highlighted that the pandemic had reversed gains in poverty reduction, hit incomes, and seen global economic slump. However, they remained bullish about the recovery largely due to rapid vaccine deployment in the developed countries, though concerns remained about poor countries still lagging behind. President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said the global economy was experiencing a “super-strong recovery” that had outpaced…

Itumeleng Mafisa WHILE giving birth to a newborn is supposed to be an exciting stage of a mothers life, but Given Mdluli said her experience at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital was like an unending nightmare. Mdluli, from Soweto, was admitted at Bara on January 10 and discharged three days later with her newborn daughter, Nkanyezi Lwandle Mdluli. She said she had suffered emotional abuse and negligence at the hands of the nurses at ward 65. Mdluli told The Star that the experience at the maternity ward at Bara was enough to put off any woman from having a baby. Among her complaints was that her baby was wrapped in a gown full of blood stains that did not belong to her or her baby because there were…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A FORMER Ekurhuleni traffic officer jailed for murdering a motorist is on a mission to convince the Constitutional Court that he was convicted following a botched trial. Sydney Siphiwe Nkabinde, imprisoned for 15 years for murder and corruption, is challenging the admission of the evidence of a witness who was killed before testifying in his trial. The South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, found Nkabinde guilty of murdering 28-year-old Vuyo Xakane. Judge Mohamed Ismail sentenced him in 2017. Nkabinde had demanded a bribe from Xakane, whom he had flagged down for speeding. The State’s evidence, proven in the trial court, was that Nkabinde fatally shot Xakane after he offered him a camera as a bribe. Xakane took this camera from his boot. Nkabinde, who was formerly in the…

n Suspended MP threatens court face-off if party doesn’ t back down ANC MP and suspended whip on standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), Mervyn Dirks, has given his party’s Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina until today to lift his suspension or face-off in court. Dirks’ lawyer Godrich Gardee sent a letter to the ANC in Parliament demanding that it restores Dirks’ responsibilities after as the whip of the committee. Majodina had suspended him for refusing to withdraw a letter calling on Scopa to summon President Cyril Ramaphosa to account for allegations of complicity in the misappropriation of public funds for political party campaign. The letter read: “Your office served our client with a letter of precautionary suspension on January 21, alleging that his conduct was unbecoming of…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za There’s no denying amapiano’s unstoppable impact on the local entertainment scene and the waves it is making globally. In a few short years the yanos, as they are affectionately known, have infiltrated popular culture and become the most dominant music genre in South Africa. Now there’s a special show to celebrate that. MTV Base Yanos Roundtable will celebrate amapiano’s biggest stars of 2021 and the top 10 hits that made everyone go wild. The two-part special will be hosted by Tshego Koke alongside a panel of the industry’s finest. The Yanos Roundtable is a spin-off of Hottest MCs. Much like the hyped-up list, the panel will join Tshego in determining which amapiano hit was the hottest of 2021. The panel will include DJ and internet sensation…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za AFTER years of being part of the Idols SA family, media personality Unathi Nkayi is leaving the show filled with nothing but gratitude. The 42-year-old penned a heartfelt message to all those who showed her support throughout her journey as one of the judges. “Thank you for your love South Africa and our beautiful continent Africa. “Please allow me to honour you. You have been kind, loving and deeply invested. “Truly the real energy and heartbeat of a wonderful wave of hope and dreams coming true on Idols, and as you do that, you have made my dreams true too.” Nkayi added that she was grateful for every contestant and those who were brave enough to share their hopes with them. “I do not take lightly the…

The coalition government in 2022 seemed to be a viable option in South Africa, but the question is; are these parties mature enough to sustain such an arrangement? Well, I don’t think so, especially because of what we learned from the 2016 local government and how the metros (City of Tshwane, Joburg, and Nelson Mandela Bay) were unable to function properly. There was never political stability in any of them. Coalitions, instead of being inspired primarily by service delivery in South Africa, where service delivery has been lacking since 1994, are now informed by corrupt relationships between two or more parties. It is clear the ANC has less support in the City of Joburg compared to previous years and has been struggling since 2016 to secure a victory. The result…

Dr Thabisi Hoeane | Pretoria The complexity which faces the country in combating crime is frightening when certain issues are taken into consideration. According to the Global Initiative Against Transitional Organized Crime, over the past 10 years, about 27 000 firearms have disappeared from the police. This “disappearance” is due to these weapons being stolen or lost. Just to pause: How does a police officer ‘lose’ a firearm? How does someone who has been trained and knows how dangerous these weapons are “lose” them? Clearly this is a euphemism for something sinister: these are corrupt police officers who sell these guns to criminals and then claim that they have “lost” them. To go back to the statistics, and by doing a crude analysis based on averages, which is…

THE 96-year-old former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has been hospitalised for the third time in a little over a month and admitted to the National Heart Institute, media reported yesterday, citing his spokesperson. Later in the day, his daughter, Mahathir Marina, said he was in a stable condition. Mahathir served as prime minister from 1981 to 2003. In 2018, at the age of 92, he was elected for the same post again. He left the office for reasons of principle in March 2020, during government reshuffles.…

ETHIOPIA’S military is planning to enter the Tigray regional capital of Mekelle and “eliminate” rebellious forces, a top military official said late on Friday amid diplomatic efforts to end conflict in the country’s north. The Horn of Africa country has been gripped by war for more than a year, with the federal military and its allies battling forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party that controls Tigray. This week two top US diplomats flew into Addis Ababa to push for a ceasefire, trying to build on tentative signs of a thaw in relations between warring parties, including the release of political prisoners. In an interview with state-affiliated media outlet Fana broadcast late on Friday, Ethiopian Defence Forces (EDF) deputy army chief General Abebaw Tadesse said…

MIHLALI BALEKA @Mihlalibaleka Warriors coach Dylan Kerr lauded the impressive outing of experienced goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune during their 2-1 win over Amabutho in the semi-finals of the Compact Cup at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday. Before starting between the sticks for Warriors, Khune had played one game for his club, Kaizer Chiefs, this season – where they lost to Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-finals of the MTN8. Since then, though, Khune has been kicking his heels in the stands in the league, with Daniel Akpeyi the preferred No 1 for coach Stuart Baxter. But this competition, mostly influenced by the supporters, offered Khune some redemption. Khune was voted to start for the Warriors – a side that consists of players from Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Swallows and TS Galaxy – against…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za The Springbok Sevens side won their fifth straight World Sevens Series tournament in dramatic fashion after defeating Argentina 24-17 in the final of the Malaga Sevens last night. Argentina threw absolutely everything at the Sevens giants and started strongly by opening the scoring after some evasive brilliance by Rodrigo Isgro. The South Americans proved to be a handful throughout the game and got close to scoring a second, but a forward pass prevented them from crossing the whtewash. The Blitzboks got on the scoreboard moments later, however, when Selvyn Davids dotted down a try to take the score to 7-5 at the break. A turnover by Zain Davids set JC Pretorius up for their second try after the break, but Argentina scored two tries within one minute…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za LEMON producers in the country are on tenterhooks over an impeding decision by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on whether South Africa is dumping lemons in that country, which may effectively close off a viable market for the local industry. While there are various products including lemon juice concentrates, cosmetics, cleaning material and others that could be produced from local harvest, the fresh lemon market in the US is a mainstay for local producers and would lead to a glut, if South Africa is closed off. “We are in the phase of a preliminary determination stage … It is actually impossible to predict which way the decision will go, and we have put in a strong case at the oral hearing,” SA Juice Association general manager…

Itumeleng Mafisa itumeleng.mafisa@inl.co.za THE family of veteran actor and gender activist Patrick Shai have made a passionate plea to social media users to stop hurting them with negative comments and mimes concerning the actor’s death. Days before his passing, Shai was involved in a social media scandal after a video of him insulting rapper Cassper and his mother went viral on Twitter. He was part of TV productions such as The River, Generations and Soul City. Shai later apologised for the insults made to Cassper and his mom, saying he “apologises from the bottom of my heart”. But damage had already been done. On social media one of Shai’s children had written how damaging his dad’s actions were and how some doors were being closed because of the video that…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za RENOWNED rapper Refiloe Phoolo, known as Cassper Nyovest, has spoken out after the death of veteran actor, Patrick Shai. Nyovest was the subject of talk since the announcement of Shai’s death on Saturday which sent shockwaves through the country. Days before the actor was embroiled in a controversial drama with Nyovest. Phoolo tweeted “Gwitsi modimo” translating as “Only God Knows”. The pair’s names had been dominating trends after a video of Shai went viral where he challenged the rapper to a boxing match. In the video, Shai said: “I want to kick Cassper before I die. On my tombstone it must be written … here lies a man who beat Nyovest.” The video evoked a backlash on social media which led Shai to apologise for dragging Cassper’s…

Fátima do Rosário Cordeiro This is part one of a three-part series on how secret internationalist support for the armed Struggle by courageous individuals helped overthrow the apartheid regime, extracted from a new book, International Brigade Against Apartheid: Secrets of the People’s War That Liberated South Africa, edited by former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils. Here is an extract from one of the chapters. António da Silva Gomes Cordeiro was fondly known as Toni or Papa to MK fighters. Toni was born on 15 January 1942 in Lourenço Marques, as Maputo was formerly called. He died on 23 December 2006 of natural causes. He lived with his beloved wife Inácia and children in a large house in Malhangalene, Maputo. We all have happy memories of those times. Toni was slight in…

KENYAN President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered the police to arrest and press treason charges against anyone caught vandalising national infrastructure projects. According to local media, the president was speaking on Thursday at the National Police College Main Campus, Kiganjo in Nyeri County. While addressing 300 police cadet graduates at the Kenya Police Training College in Kiganjo, Kenyatta also banned, with immediate effect, trade on scrap metal, directing that anyone found vandalising national infrastructure will be deemed to have committed economic sabotage, which is a treasonable offence. Also, Kenyatta ordered police to be ruthless when dealing with criminals caught selling scrap metals, reported news website Kenyans.co.ke. According to Kenyan online news outlet The Star, Uhuru has said such vandalism acts translate to economic sabotage since the said infrastructures can bring the…

Liverpool kept their hopes of a Premier League title battle alive yesterday as a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace cut the gap on leaders Manchester City to nine points, while Arsenal missed the chance to move into the top four after being held goalless by Burnley. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds also have a game in hand to come on the champions and face City away in April with the chance to further reduce the gap. By the time Liverpool take the field again on Premier League duty, they should be bolstered by the return of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane from their international duties at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The visitors showed no sign of missing their talismen as they blew Palace away in the opening half and…