Sommaire pour 2022-03-18 de Cape Times

AS THE SAGA continues in the Black Sea due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the international agricultural market waters get murkier by the day. There can be no doubt that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has disrupted markets, specifically agriculture and food markets, beyond their respective borders, and the effects are reverberating globally, and South Africa has not been spared the blushes. Furthermore, the negative effects of this war will continue in short-to-medium-term exerting upward pressure on the price of grains and agricultural production inputs. This invasion could not have come at a worst time for the African fertiliser markets. Covid-19 has had a direct and negative impact on the value chain of the African fertilisers market. The recent lockdown in different countries of the region has affected the transportation…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za | Political Bureau Former DA Youth Leader Mbali Ntuli announced her resignation from the party and as a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature (MPL) yesterday, joining a growing list of prominent black leaders who have left the DA in recent years. Ntuli said she wanted to work with community leaders to “harness their potential to realise change”, hence her decision to bow out of formal politics for now. In a statement issued yesterday, Ntuli said she was taking a break from formal politics to get back on the ground and to help “real change-makers make our country better”. “I am excited about going onto the ground to work with communities as they uplift themselves in keeping with the South African spirit… “I am not lost…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A DA councillor in the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality has found himself at the centre of a police investigation after a case of sexual assault was opened against him. A woman is accusing councillor David Jooste of visiting her home on February 26 and trying to force himself on her. “Then he told me he would look after me nicely … and I told him I’m not that kind of girl. “He then tried to apologise to me,” she said. “I am angry because I never gave him the right to touch me.” Jooste declined to comment yesterday. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg confirmed an investigation was under way. “A case was transferred to Caledon FCS for further investigation. “The investigation into the matter continues,” he said. ANC leader…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE power of investing in the energy, passion and hunger of determined young people who just want a chance to better themselves has spawned a brand new wine. ULutsha Wine, which means “youth” in isiXhosa, is a first of its kind Pinotage student wine that was crafted by a team of nine 2020 Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA) graduates. The project came into reality through a partnership with Delheim Estate in Stellenbosch and the first bottles were put on the market last month. More than 200 limited edition bottles of the uLutsha Pinotage 2019 exist. The brand, which started as a learning project, has now also inspired aspiring black businesswomen who are eager to become the next Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa's first black female winemaker. When…

Stirring The Pot Quraisha Dawood Loot.co.za (R205) Penguin A GLIMPSE into the private lives of a group of women in Durban’s Muslim community. At Summer Terrace flats in hot and humid Durban, the friendships between the women are as intricate as the curling patterns of henna tattoos. Meet old aunty Ruki, who lives with her domestic worker, Joyce, an arrangement that ruffles many feathers. There’s Zaina, who has her sights on becoming an architect, and her mother Rabia, a florist, and yes, she’s divorced. Zaina hides a secret that could cause a rift in their relationship: his name is Imraan, and dating him simply isn’t allowed. Dive into this swirl of madams and maids, women and their husbands, children, grandchildren and in-laws, a world bristling with life and vitality, amid…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za POLICE officers from Mpumalanga have been deployed to Cape Town following at least 13 execution-style murders in townships and on the Cape Flats recently. Police Minister Bheki Cele hosted a community imbizo in Monwabisi Park yesterday, where residents were able to engage with him in an effort to find a way forward. Eight people were killed in Manenberg last week, while five were shot dead in the Endlovini informal settlement in Khayelitsha on Monday. Cele said the SAPS had the names of suspects. “We need to work for the people and put aside the politics from national, provincial and local governments to improve the lives of the people. “Yesterday (Wednesday) we were doing a presentation on a strategy to the Cabinet. We told the president that…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za CONVICTED double murderer and law enforcement officer, Morne Horn, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for the murder of SAPS Constable Thandimfundo Sigcu and a further seven years for the murder of suspected drug dealer Bongani Jack. However, Horn intends appealing against his conviction and sentencing, after immediately applying for the extension of his R5 000 bail in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. He will return to court for the bail application and leave to appeal on April 12. Horn , who had handed himself over to the Hawks after the incident last year, had shot Sigcu, who was performing undercover duties while arresting Jack on January 7. He was convicted in November last year. Reacting to Horn’s sentencing, the City said they noted the…

Staff writer A 27-YEAR-OLD woman had a rude awakening when she was arrested in connection with the discovery of drugs valued at R120 000 found hidden in Jungle Oats boxes in a taxi. Police spokesperson Christopher Spies said endeavours to eradicate drug trafficking and rid communities of drugs led to the confiscation of drugs concealed in the Jungle Oats boxes and the subsequent arrest of a woman on the N9 on Wednesday. “At about 3pm, Rural Flying Squad members conducted a vehicle checkpoint between George and Oudtshoorn when they stopped a minibus taxi. They pulled over the taxi and proceeded with a search of the vehicle when a member of the group detected that the Jungle Oats instant porridge boxes had been tampered with. When they opened these boxes, members…

Creating a new sovereign first-world nation on Africa’s southern tip It may well be that when Premier Alan Winde announced the Western Cape government’s foreign policy on Ukraine he had not fully thought through the consequences. Winde is a vocal opponent of Western Cape independence, but his actions have aided it significantly. Western Cape secession tends to be considered in a legal context. “De jure” – what does the law say? Professor Pierre de Vos and advocate Paul Hoffman have both questioned how Cape independence would be constitutionally possible. Neither argue that it is illegal; they refer to the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly to amend the Constitution. Apartheid didn’t come to an end because Parliament voted for it to do so; Parliament voted for…

KYIV: Russia warned the US yeterday that Moscow had the might to put the world’s pre-eminent superpower in its place and accused the West of stoking a wild Russophobic plot to tear Russia apart. Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said the US had stoked “disgusting” Russophobia in an attempt to force Russia to its knees. “It will not work – Russia has the might to put all of our brash enemies in their place,” Medvedev said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the US and its European and Asian allies have slapped sanctions on Russian leaders, companies and businessmen, cutting off Russia from much of the world economy. President Vladimir Putin said that what he…

LOS ANGELES: Ellen DeGeneres will be ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May. The 64-year-old comic’s talk shows ends on May 26 after 19 seasons with a star-studded send-off. A representative said: “The line-up of special guests will pay tribute to the trailblazing host and share their favourite memories from DeGeneres’ 19 iconic seasons.” In May last year Ellen announced she would be ending her long running chat show as she needed “something new to challenge her”. The show’s slot will be filled by the The Kelly Clarkson Show.…

FOR most of the pandemic, South Korea has been hailed as a success story in managing the coronavirus, but now the country’s Omicron-fuelled surge has driven its infection rate to one of the highest in the world. Yesterday, South Korea recorded its deadliest day during the pandemic with 429 deaths in a 24-hour period. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 621 328 cases (1% of the population of 50 million), another daily record and a sharp 55% increase from 400 730 the day before. The surge follows South Korea’s roll-back of anti-virus measures after the less fatal but highly contagious Omicron variant became the dominant variant in the country. Health authorities gradually eased some anti-virus measures to focus limited medical and administrative resources on priority groups, including the…

HELSINKI: Finland’s government is to direct E300 million to Finnish farmers facing an “acute liquidity crisis” caused by high inflation and rising energy prices due to the war in Ukraine, finance minister Annika Saarikko said yesterday. “Farmers are out of cash when they need to buy fertilisers, seeds and livestock feed every day,” Saarikko said. She expected the EU to decide by next week if the bloc’s rules could be loosened to allow higher subsidies under existing support schemes. “The state’s part in the short term is to handle the acute liquidity crisis which stems from rising energy prices so we can come out of this without losing profitable farms,” Saarikko said.…

Sanaa: Yemen’s Huthi rebels were not prepared to hold talks with the government in Saudi Arabia or other “enemy countries”, an official said yesterday, after a proposal to meet in Riyadh. The Iran-backed rebels said they were open to finding a peaceful solution to the seven-year war, but baulked at travelling to Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting on the side of the government. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, the year after the Huthis seized Sanaa . The ensuing war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.…

MEXICO CITY: The Supreme Court of Honduras has approved the extradition of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez to the US on drug trafficking charges, local media reported. The defence has three days to appeal to the Supreme Court, according to La Prensa Honduras. Hernandez was arrested on February 15 and placed under the supervision of the special police unit, where he is serving a term in pre-trial detention. For security reasons he was brought to court by helicopter. On February 7, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Hernandez had been included in a list of corrupt actors.…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za RESIDENTS of Solly’s Town in Nomzamo, Strand believe the fire that left more than 200 people without homes may have been started by illegal connections. At about 8pm on Wednesday a blaze broke out at one of the shacks and moved fast, destroying nearly 150 others. Jermaine Carelse, the spokesperson for the City’s Fire Service, said 40 firefighters and 11 fire-fighting appliances were sent to the scene. They managed to extinguish the fire just before 1am. “No fatalities were reported, but one person sustained injuries and was treated and transported to a nearby hospital,” he said. Yesterday morning, affected residents were trying to clear the site so that they could piece together what they could in an effort to start rebuilding their homes. According to Nothando Nyangoza,…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za A PENSIONER and property bond client of Standard Bank says she is tired of the 13-year legal “merry go round” as the bank will not pay money allegedly owed to her after her bond was paid up. Speaking on behalf of her elderly mother, Colleen Mboso said her mother has been “left distraught and traumatised” following a court order made after it was found that her mother had overpaid on her property bond. “Yet the bank is now insisting that they have a case against my mother and we are going up and down with this matter when in fact it was already established my mother had overpaid on her bond. “This matter has been coming on since 2009 after my mom bought a home in Gugulethu…

IF EVER there was a right time to read a particular book, that time is right now, and the book is Shackleton by intrepid British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. | Julian Richfield SHACKLETON Ranulph Fiennes Loot.co.za (R280) MICHAEL JOSEPH In 1915, Shackleton’s attempt to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. It eventually succumbed to the harsh environment and sank to the bottom of the Weddell Sea. In one of the greatest discoveries of the century, it was announced earlier this month that it had been found in extraordinary good condition in its maritime resting place - surely one of the major maritime archaeological finds of all time. Astonishingly, all 27 members of Shackleton’s crew survived. Shackleton fought to the end for his…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za AS THE first school term nears its end, more than 300 pupils in the Western Cape are yet to step inside a classroom. As of Tuesday there were 284 Grade 8 and 57 Grade 1 unplaced pupils. Earlier this year the Western Cape Education Department announced that it expected to complete and deliver 46 mobile classrooms to 17 schools by the end of January. Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for MEC of Education Debbie Schäfer, said it was done. Mauchline said they were also ready to open two new mobile schools next month. “Bothasig High School and Fisantekraal High School are scheduled to be ready for use at the start of the second term in the first week of April,” she said. Schäfer confirmed a multimillion-rand project of six…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE EFF said it would respond in due course after three suspects wearing the party’s regalia were arrested after the Louis Botha statue situated at the main entrance of Parliament was vandalised. The statue of the Boer War General was spray painted red and is now missing a heel at the bottom of its foot. The suspects were in possession of a ladder, grinder and generator near the statue when police arrived. Police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, said the three suspects were arrested and charged with malicious damage to property, resisting arrest and the assault of police officers. “Three people, including two men aged 28 and 39 as well as a 32-year-old woman have been arrested after the Louis Botha statue situated at the main entrance of Parliament…

IN terms of appointing someone who could hit the ground running, Cricket South Africa made the perfect choice in giving Pholetsi Moseki the role of chief executive. It’s a position in South African sports administration that has proved problematic over the past few years, with a commission of inquiry removing one occupant – Gerald Majola – and another, Thabang Moroe, being sacked for serious breaches of the Companies Act following a forensic audit. Moseki inherits the role, having acted in it since December 2020, after two others: Dr Jacques Faul and Kugandrie Govender, who were also temporary occupiers of the most important administrative position in South African cricket. Faul left because of internal politics, while Govender was removed following a disciplinary process in July last year. Moseki was first employed…

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit central Japan killed at least four people and injured more than 100, Japanese officials said yesterday morning, bringing back memories of a disastrous tsunami that left thousands dead just over a decade ago. The main quake struck at 11.36pm on Wednesday night and led to power outages for 2 million people, officials said, with about 30 000 residents still lacking electricity. Roofs of houses collapsed, and store shelves were emptied on to floors. A man in his sixties died after falling from his roof. Another in his seventies suffered a heart attack. The powerful earthquake hit parts of Miyagi and Fukushima, areas where a massive 9.0-magnitude quake triggered a 7-meter tsunami in 2011 that ultimately killed more than 18 000 people, injured at least 6…

TOKYO: Princess Aiko, the only child of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, said yesterday that taking part in rituals as an adult member of the imperial family remained “rather tense” for her, and marriage is still far in the future. Japan’s imperial family became the centre of global attention last year when Aiko’s 30-year-old cousin Mako defied widespread opposition to marry her college sweetheart after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the stresses of her tumultuous engagement. Mako’s marriage to Kei Komuro, a commoner who works in a law office in New York, meant giving up her title and leaving the royal family according to imperial family rules – a situation that Aiko, who just turned 20 and became a full-fledged adult royal in December, will face if there is…

TEHRAN: A ship sank 48km off Iran’s southern port city Assaluyeh yesterday, the official IRNA news agency reported. The cargo ship belonging to the United Arab Emirates was carrying vehicles and sank due to bad weather conditions, Hojjat Khosravi, a maritime official from Iran’s Bushehr province, said. Khosravi said several crew members were found by rescuers floating on the water supported by their life jackets. Another Iranian official said 16 of the 30 crew were later pulled from the water by rescuers. “The search for the other 14 crew members is continuing,” the official said.…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za CAPTAIN Steven Kitshoff makes his return for the Stormers ahead of their United Rugby Championship clash with Cardiff Blues on Sunday (kick-off 2pm). Kitshoff is back to take his place at loosehead prop after being rested last week, with Brok Harris shifting across to tighthead and Neethling Fouche on the bench. The on-fire backline that did duty in their 55-7 thrashing of Zebre Parma in Stellenbosch last week is unchanged. The Stormers ran in nine tries to the Italians’ one, and while they have shown promising glimpses so far this season, last week was no doubt the game in which their backs looked as dangerous as ever this season. Dobson and Co will need no reminding that things will only get tougher from here on. There are…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za | POLITICAL BUREAU President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government is standing by to mediate in the Ukraine conflict after it was approached by several parties. He told Parliament, during question time yesterday, that it was in the interest of Russia and Ukraine to find an amicable solution. After taking a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin last week he was keen to talk to Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. Ramaphosa said no matter how much noise people made about the conflict in Ukraine, the only way to stop it was to engage in mediation and negotiation. He said he was ready to play a role in mediation and negotiations in the region. “I am pleased to hear from Putin himself that there are negotiations in progress.…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za DESCRIBED as echoing the remnants of apartheid South Africa, a report recently presented in Parliament has laid bare the high levels of concentration in some of the country’s major economic industries, making it impossible for “small players’' to survive. As few as three to five firms dominate farming, retail, construction, communications and health care among other industries. This emerged from the Competition Commission’s (Compcom) “Measuring Concentration and Participation in the South African Economy: Levels and Trends Report” recently tabled before the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. The findings are based on data from over 80 organisations, the Competition Commission, StatsSA and South African Revenue Service (SARS) covering 178 sub-sectors over the past five to eight years, including companies like Essential (Sasko), Premium Milling and Baking (Blue…

When we were birds Ayanna Lloyd Banwo Loot.co.za (R209) Hamish Hamilton AN immersive, mesmerising and life-affirming literary debut – a love story and a ghost story set in modern-day Trinidad. Darwin is a down-on-his-luck gravedigger, newly arrived in the city of Port Angeles to seek his fortune, young and beautiful and lost. Estranged from his mother, he is convinced that the father he never met may be waiting for him somewhere amid these bustling streets. Meanwhile in an old house on a hill, Yejide’s mother is dying. And she is leaving behind a legacy that now passes to Yejide: the power to talk to the departed. Darwin and Yejide’s destinies are intertwined, and they will find one another in the ancient cemetery at the heart of the city, where trouble…

| Own Correspondent My Station Street Kitchen Mynhardt Joubert Loot.co.za (R270) Struik CHEF Mynhardt Joubert has been cooking from his Station Street Kitchen in Paarl for the past five years, hosting dinners for paying guests, hosting media launches and using his home as a creative space and photographic studio. The book, My Station Street Kitchen, is a reflection of his kitchen and the dinners that he hosts there. Mynhardt infuses everything he does with his enthusiasm, exuberance and love of food that incorporates his life experiences, from his childhood on a farm in the Eastern Free State to his travels around the world and throughout South Africa. Join him in the generous and warm environment of his Station Street Kitchen and create your own culinary delights, prepared with joie de…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za A SUSPECTED rapist had a narrow escape when Gugulethu residents allegedly took the law into their own hands, accusing the 37-year-old of raping a 13-year-old girl. It is believed that the incident happened at around 4pm. According to a resident, the suspect allegedly got into the house where the girl was sleeping through the window, took out a knife, and threatened to kill her if she shouted. The suspect was caught by residents in the area but he managed to escape while he was being beaten. Two weeks ago an elderly woman was raped and killed by a man who lives in the same area as her in Gugulethu. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said the investigations into that matter continued. “No arrests have been made,” said…

Ritshidze Nenweli and Reynold Chow South Africa is a semi-arid region characterised by high evaporation and low precipitation rates. Parts of the country frequently experience less than average rainfall. When these periods of low rainfall are prolonged, droughts ensue. During periods of drought, surface water reservoirs like the Theewaterskloof and Wemmershoek Dams, are typically the first to noticeably dry up. Many of us still remember the recent drought in the Western Cape. In early 2017, the collective reservoir levels of the Western Cape Water Supply System (WCWSS) hovered around 20% of its full capacity. Later that year, the City of Cape Town designated the term “Day Zero” whereby WCWSS collective dam levels were expected to drop below 13.5% by April 2018, and water supply to most private taps would be…

Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s request to supply Kiev with air defence systems against the backdrop of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, was in line with his thoughtless policy, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said yesterday. During his virtual address to the US Congress, Zelenskiy asked Washington to supply Ukraine with air defence systems, including the S-300 ones, as an alternative to the declaration of no-fly zone over Ukraine. “This is in line with Zelenskiy’s absolutely thoughtless and soulless policy towards his own people and, in principle, Ukraine,” Zakharova said. Such statements were extremely dangerous, and such supplies would become a destabilising factor that would definitely not bring peace to Ukraine, and could have much more dangerous consequences in the long run, the diplomat added. Zakharova also accused Ukraine’s embassies and…

Ugandan author and activist Norman Tumuhimbise and a woman journalist have been charged with cyber-stalking the country’s president, their lawyer said yesterday. Tumuhimbise, who heads local pressure group The Alternative Movement and an online media platform Alternative Digitalk TV, was due to launch a book critical of President Yoweri Museveni on March 30. The 36-year-old was among nine journalists arrested for offensive communication a week ago. Seven were released without being charged, his lawyer Eron Kiiza said. “Tumuhimbise and his colleague, Farida Bikobere, who works with him at Digitalk TV, were charged with cyber-stalking the president,” Kiiza said. Following a hearing on Wednesday, “the two denied the charges and were remanded to Luzira prison until March 21”, he said, referring to a maximum-security facility in Kampala. “Both were tortured like…

MOGADISHU: Somali National Army (SNA) said yesterday that its special forces, Danab, had killed a suicide bomber and seized a vehicle laden with explosive devices in the southern region of Kimsayo on Wednesday. Military officials said the suicide bomber could have been planning to carry out attacks on delegates who are due to elect members of the Lower House in Kismayo. Radio Mogadishu reported that two other al-Shabaab terrorists were also killed after detonating three landmines, about 40km from Kismayo. Al-Shabaab militants have vowed to disrupt the electoral process and have targeted delegates.…