Sommaire pour 2023-07-18 de Cape Times

AVI APPEARS locked in dispute with the black economic empowerment (BEE) partner of its fishing products subsidiary I&J Limited after it decided last month to replace its partner of 19 years with a new grouping that is unknown in the fishing sector and which is headed by I&J’s non-executive chairperson Professor Brian Figaji. According to AVI, having been extended in 2012, 2018 and in 2022, the BEE transaction with Mainstreet 198 matured on July 1, 2023, having generated “significant value over 19 years”, including more than R202 million in net cash to Main Street 198. In line with the agreement, AVI exercised their call option and acquired the shares held in I&J from Main Street, upon maturation of the transaction. AVI has now entered into a new agreement with…

AN EMOTIONAL father yesterday shared his joy of being able to play with his grandchildren again thanks to the province’s Mandela Day Surgeries Project. Marking the 10th year of remembrance honouring the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africans will today embrace the spirit of ubuntu (I am because you are) through initiatives that aim to leave a positive impact on communities. For more than three decades, Liam Dawson from Strandfontein lived with excruciating pain after he suffered a soccer injury, as he could not afford, the more than R200 000 knee surgery. “I was hurt in 1985 but continued playing, however, the injury got worse and I totally dropped soccer. “Over the years the pain grew worse and even the way I walked changed. “The injury hindered me…

‘Very worried’ electricity minister expected to visit the station as a matter of ‘urgency’ HOURS after Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa expressed deep concern about the performance of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, Eskom announced that it would part ways with its chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer, who was tasked with providing support to Koeberg’s long-term operation. “Mr Oberholzer was on a fixed-term contract to provide support to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station long-term operation and Kusile Power Station projects. “Eskom expresses gratitude to Mr Jan Oberholzer for his dedicated service, expertise and valuable contributions during his tenure. We wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena. His last day with the power utility will be later this month after being employed for about 30 years. Oberholzer…

THE 2024 national elections are only nine months away with all political parties focused on finding ways to convince voters to vote for their party. This is arguably the most important election as we hope to change from an ANC government that has not lived up to expectations after it gained the mandate to govern this country since 1994. No one expected any perfection from it during the early years of its governance. We all presumed that given time, its government would mature and give us the results we all hoped for; instead, it ruined everything that was good for the country, as it stumbled from one major crisis to another. As we prepare ourselves, we are aware that there is too much at stake this time around, with a…

DURING the mid to late 1980s Mitchells Plain, was gripped with fear, because of the prevalence of the notorious “Station Strangler”. Already 22 young boys had become victims of the “Station Strangler”, and the SAPS Mitchells Plain Detective Schilder described the perpetrator as a charismatic, single person, possibly a teacher or pastor. I met Norman “Afzal” Simons at the old Hewat Teacher Training College in Crawford. He was charismatic and single, often officiating as MC of various events, and always well groomed and proficient in five languages! I strongly considered him for a position at my in-house Radio Plain at the Mitchells Plain Town Centre. Little did I know that he could possibly be the notorious “Station Strangler” that had Mitchells Plain struck with fear. As part of his parole…

LAND use rights under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (Esta) have taken another turn, with cattle grazing permissions at the centre of an appeal in the North West. The Moladora Trust, owners of the Wildebeeslaagte farm, has announced its intention to appeal a judgment that gave way for farmworkers to allow their livestock to graze on the farm. This is after the Land Claims Court dismissed an application by the Trust, which sought to order the respondents, who are the children of a deceased farmworker, to remove their grazing animals. According to court papers, the children continued to live on the farm after their mother’s death. “The Trust accepts that the respondents are Esta occupiers. “The Trust, however, contends that the respondents’ rights of occupation are only for…

US climate envoy John Kerry held four hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing yesterday, calling for “urgent action” as the two countries revived stalled diplomacy on reducing planet-warming emissions. Climate talks between the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters came to a halt last year after Nancy Pelosi, then-speaker of the US House of Representatives, enraged Beijing by visiting self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers to be part of its territory. Kerry, a former secretary of state, has enjoyed comparatively cordial and consistent relations with China despite Washington and Beijing locking horns over Taiwan and other issues. Kerry met his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing yesterday, with the two men speaking for around four hours, state broadcaster CCTV said. Both countries “must take urgent action on a number…

The failure of the G20 to achieve a breakthrough on debt restructuring for vulnerable countries is a “grave concern”, the head of a UN agency said yesterday as the body seeks pauses in debt repayment for poor nations amid rising poverty. The debt restructuring talks made little progress during the third finance meeting of the G20 countries in India. The bloc was unable to overcome key differences and low attendance. Zambia, locked in default for almost three years, struck a deal last month to restructure $6.3 billion in debt owed to governments abroad including China, but many challenges remain. The UN Development Programme has urged global finance ministers to give poor countries debt repayment breaks, estimating the Covid-19 pandemic and surge in inflation and borrowing costs had pushed an extra…

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to crack down yesterday against threatened no-shows for military reserve duty by opponents of his judicial overhaul plan, saying such actions were anti-democratic. With the religious-nationalist coalition set to ratify a key reform before parliament goes on recess on July 30, the opposition has stepped up a protest campaign and there have been threats by some reservists to refuse call-ups. With Israeli-Palestinian violence surging and a spate of recent confrontations on the Lebanese frontier, Netanyahu cast the reservist action as “eroding our ability to deter our enemies”. | Reuters…

LONDON: Singer Elton John appeared by videolink in a London court yesterday to give evidence at Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial. Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty at London’s Southwark Crown Court to 12 charges of sexual offences allegedly committed against four men in Britain between 2001 and 2013. The British singer was asked about Spacey’s attendance at a charity event he hosted in the early 2000s, on the way to which Spacey is alleged to have sexually assaulted a driver. John said Spacey stayed overnight at his and his husband’s home in Windsor after the event, but said: “I can’t remember him coming down after that.” The prosecution also asked John about a photo of the complainant outside a London theatre as John left the venue. John…

Khanyisa Chawane believes the Proteas’ fearlessness and togetherness will drive them to glory at the Netball World Cup. The World Cup is set to get underway in Cape Town when former champions Trinidad and Tobago play the opening match against New Zealand, before hosts South Africa face off against Wales later in the evening next Friday. Chawane, who plays wing-defence, has the benefit of having previously reached a World Cup semi-final with the Proteas in 2019. But this being a home World Cup will provide the team with different challenges. “There are so many expectations from the outside world, but what we need to do is stick together and be fearless stepping on court for us to reach our goal,” Chawane said. “I tell myself that what I do now…

From Pia Sundhage to Sarina Wiegman to Bev Priestman, the ninth Women’s World Cup will be a glittering showcase of some of the game’s most successful coaches but 20 of the 32 teams will still have men barking the orders from the touchline. Twelve female coaches represents a record number for the global showpiece, and is a significantly higher proportion than in most other sports, but some are questioning why it is still not greater. Vicky Huyton, founder of the Female Coaching Network, said a lack of success was certainly not a factor. Since 2000, all but one of the major women’s football tournaments - the Women’s World Cup, Women’s Euros and the Olympics - have been won by female-coached teams, she pointed out. Norio Sasaki, the man who coached…

ESKOM and its former chief operating officer, Jan Oberholzer, would part ways by mutual agreement, it was announced by the power utility yesterday. The move came as a surprise and was announced late in the day. Oberholzer’s last day with Eskom will be July 31. Oberholzer was on a fixed-term contract to provide support to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station long-term operation and Kusile Power Station projects. “Eskom expresses gratitude to Mr Jan Oberholzer for his dedicated service, expertise and valuable contributions during his tenure. We wish him well in his future endeavours, ” it said. | BR Reporter…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s fate lies in the hands of Correctional Services commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale, after the Constitutional Court upheld a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling that found Zuma’s medical parole was unlawfully granted by former Correctional Services Department commissioner Arthur Fraser. Last week the Constitutional Court dismissed a bid by the Department of Correctional Services to overturn the previous SCA ruling. Zuma is currently in Russia “for health reasons”, his foundation said last week. The former president was handed a 15-month jail sentence by the Constitutional Court for contempt after he refused to testify at the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture allegations. Zuma’s custodial sentence sparked the July 2021 unrest that saw KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng businesses looted and led to 350 people being killed. In its…

THE end to the Black Sea grains deal will hit the Horn of Africa hard, aid officials said yesterday, warning that another hike in food prices would add to the tens of millions of people facing hunger. Russia halted participation yesterday in the year-old UN-brokered deal – which lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea – over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertiliser exports. The grain deal was hailed as preventing a global food emergency when it was brokered by the UN and Türkiye last year, halting a de facto blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia. “In fact, the Black Sea agreements ceased to be valid today (Monday),” said Russian diplomat Dmitry Peskov.…

SOUTH Africa may be considered the Greatest Country on Earth by those from afar who can afford to travel and stay in safe accommodation and enjoy all the delights that we have to offer and also those who can afford to live in a secure environment and cope with the ever-increasing cost of living. For the majority of South Africans, who live on or below the poverty line and have to try to cope with a system that is largely broken, or stolen, and has been run into the ground by the ruling ANC cadres, this is certainly not true. South Africa does have the potential to be the Greatest Country on Earth, but we still have a very long way to go to get there. We definitely need a…

AFTER a year of selling her products mainly via social media, an Elsies River single mother’s start-up company, built following a bad hair experience, has made it onto the inventory list of a national hair retail store. After her hair got badly damaged from bleaching and fell out in batches, 33-year-old Leshme De Bruyn, owner of Miss L – Embrace My Roots, went to her mother’s medicine cabinet and mixed a few oils together, which would form the foundation of her future entrepreneurial success. “Initially, I thought it would be a side business. “I started by making about five bottles of hair growth oil, distributed to friends and family, and the feedback I received was positive. “Now I have nine products – a hair growth oil, hair treatment, serum, beard…

A SWELLENDAM man, who lured a woman under the pretence that her child needed her before he raped her, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Jerry Damons had in February 2021 tricked a 55-year-old woman, drawing her to a bushy area, saying her child was there. The woman knew and trusted Damons, as she was his mother’s friend and he was her son’s friend. According to the State’s argument, Damons attacked the woman, throwing her to the ground and seriously injuring her. Damons ran away after raping her, and she reported the rape to police in Barrydale, still drenched in blood from the open wounds to her head. Damons was arrested the following day. State prosecutor Elton Willemse asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment on…

The Durban rates boycott, spearheaded by the Westville Ratepayers Association (WRA) against lack of service delivery in eThekwini Municipality, has brought into sharp focus the power of associations to compel municipalities to take their mandates seriously. Frustrated by the high tariff increases that have been approved by the municipality, the WRA resolved to boycott the payment of municipal tariffs. The decision, which was announced on July 1, was informed by the fact that the City approved exorbitant tariffs while service delivery in the metro is almost non-existent. Rates in eThekwini went up by 7.9%, as opposed to the initial proposal of 8.9%. Water increased by 14.9% for residential customers and 15.9% for businesses. Sanitation went up by 10.9% for households and 11.9% for businesses. Refuse removal now costs 6.9% more.…

A Kenyan court yesterday acquitted a controversial self-styled preacher who claimed he could help infertile couples conceive “miracle babies” through prayer, citing insufficient evidence from prosecutors. Gilbert Deya, a former stonemason who moved to London from Kenya in the mid-90s, was accused of stealing five children between 1999 and 2004 to buttress his claims. Senior Principal Magistrate Robison Ondieki found the 86-year-old not guilty, ruling that the prosecution had not produced enough evidence to link Deya to the charges. The preacher, whose Gilbert Deya Ministries had churches in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester, was extradited from Britain to Kenya in 2017 following a decade-long legal battle to remain in the UK. Deya and his wife Mary claimed their prayers could see infertile and post- menopausal women become pregnant in…

SANA’A: The UN yesterday handed over a vessel that will take on board oil from a decaying tanker in the Red Sea, an operation aimed at averting an environmental catastrophe. The handover ceremony took place aboard the Nautica, which is being renamed the Yemen, in the presence of Yemen’s Huthi authorities who control the capital, Sana’a. An operation is to begin pumping 1.14 million barrels of crude oil to the Nautica from the FSO Safer, a rusting 47-year-old ship that the UN describes as a “ticking time bomb”. The Huthis have since 2015 been fighting a Saudi-led coalition backing the recognised government in Aden. Huthi officials say the ship will fall under their control. | AFP…

NEW YORK: Eli Lilly’s experimental drug Donanemab slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s by 60% for patients in the earliest stages of the brain-wasting disease, the Alzheimer’s Association said yesterday. For those patients, the drug slowed cognitive decline by nearly twice the rate Lilly reported in May for the trial’s overall treatment group. Lilly’s drug, Donanemab, like Eisai 4523.T and Biogen’s Leqembi, is an intravenous antibody designed to remove deposits of a protein called beta amyloid from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, a number projected to rise to 13 million by 2050. | Reuters…

Carlos Alcaraz is determined to quash any suggestions that his epic Wimbledon final win over Novak Djokovic represents the dawn of a new era despite all indications that tennis has witnessed a generational shift. On Sunday, the 20-year-old became the tournament's youngest champion since Boris Becker in 1986. His rollercoaster 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory prevented 36-year-old Djokovic from becoming its oldest champion. It also thwarted Djokovic's dream of equalling Roger Federer's best of eight titles at the All England Club and matching Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles. Alcaraz though is remaining cautious. "I don't feel that I have confirmed something that we all expected," said the world No 1. "I try to avoid what people say, what people expect because in the end it's…

Ineos rider Tom Pidcock said yesterday he fancies Tadej Pogacar’s chances in a titanic Tour de France title struggle he predicts could go to the wire in Paris in an “all-out war”. Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard is currently atop the overall standings, with Team UAE’s Pogacar trailing by just 10 seconds in second place, with the Tour set to reach its climax on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. “I think Tadej,” Pidcock said when asked for his favourite to claim victory. “Jumbo seem a little bit anxious, worried, desperate, they are working too hard to make things happen,” the Olympic mountain bike champion told reporters at his team hotel at the foot of Mont Blanc. “I’m afraid that wasn’t too diplomatic of me ... Last year it just came together for them…

FITCH Ratings has slashed South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2023 to zero on the back of intensified power cuts while pointing to elevated socio-political risks due to high unemployment rate. This comes as it maintained that the country’s sovereign debt was below investment grade. Fitch becomes the first ratings agency to firmly pronounce that South Africa’s economy will not grow at all this year, and it is a significant climbdown from the 0.2% it forecast in March. The ratings agency yesterday affirmed South Africa’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at “BB-” with a stable outlook. Fitch’s primary ratings analyst Thomas Garreau said South Africa's “BB-” IDR was constrained by low real GDP growth hampered by power shortages, high level of inequality, a high government debt-to-GDP…

THE Western Cape High Court has dismissed the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and Equal Education’s (EE) application against sections of the provincial School Education Amendment Act, which paves the way for collaboration and donor-funded schools, and intervention facilities for learners who have been found guilty of serious misconduct. Judge André le Grange yesterday ruled that: “All the challenges brought by EE and Sadtu cannot succeed and falls to be dismissed. This being a constitutional challenge, I will apply the Biowatch principle as to costs.” The parties took the WCED to court last year to challenge the introduction of collaboration schools, donor schools, and intervention facilities, which they labelled as “experiments” in hopes of having them declared invalid and unconstitutional. Collaboration schools are public schools where non-profit organisations collaborate with…

6 thick hake medallions, thawed 1 tsp fish spice 1 cup cream 1 sachet tomato paste 3 tbsp TABASCO® Sauce or Jalapeño Sauce 1 small onion, finely diced 2 cups baby spinach, sliced ½ tsp salt and pepper, optional Preheat the oven to 180°C and lightly grease a medium-sized baking dish with non-stick spray. Lay the hake medallions on to a plate, pat them dry with a paper towel and season with fish spice. Add the cream, tomato paste, 1/3 cup hot water, TABASCO® Sauce or Jalapeño Sauce, chopped onions, spinach and salt and pepper, if using, to the dish. Mix to incorporate. Nestle the seasoned fish into the tomato sauce and bake for 20-25 minutes until perfectly cooked. Remove the bake from the oven and garnish with the chopped…

THERE are many articles in the paper that stop one in one’s tracks. Friday’s sad article about the woman who lost her house after 14 years did that to me. Mrs Dlula purchased a house in 2009. After fixing it up and renovating it, living in it with her family for nearly 14 years, the son of the lady who had sold the house to her arrived at the door “wanting his house back”. Now I believe RDP houses can’t be sold for eight years which is good law, but the lawyer who assisted her in the beginning of this saga obviously didn’t stop her from buying the house. One has to ask why not? He gave her the Deed of Sale but not the Title Deed so surely…

SUPPORTING access to inclusive performing arts, this year’s JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, features dancers, choreographers and dance companies who are globally shifting conceptions around disability. From August 29 to September 10, the festival will run under the theme of JOMBA! 2023 Danceability Focus, and will feature the Unmute Dance Theatre from Cape Town, Joseph Tebandeke from Uganda, and a special inclusive programme from Introdans in the Netherlands. The Unmute Dance Theatre is a company of artists with mixed abilities/disabilities, using physical theatre, contemporary and integrated dance to create awareness of accessibility and inclusion of people with disability. Their production Timelapse will feature at the festival, and has been created and performed by Andile Vellem, Nadine Mckenzie and Yaseen…

THE death of Struggle stalwart Imam Achmad Cassiem has been described as a “great loss of an outstanding son of the soil”. Cassiem died on Friday at the age of 77 after suffering pancreatic cancer. His long-time friend, retired High Court Judge Siraj Desai, said he first encountered Cassiem more than 50 years ago. “I was then in Grade 8 and he in his matric year at the Trafalgar High School in District Six. “Together with our maths teacher, Sedick Isaacs, and another fellow pupil, James Marsh, he was arrested on charges of sabotage and sentenced, as a scholar, by the apartheid state to five years’ imprisonment. “He actually served six years of jail time. “I think the additional year was for secretly reporting on the prison conditions to Amnesty…

EVERY May, Africa stands united to commemorate Africa Month, a momentous occasion that pays tribute to the rich tapestry of cultures, the profound heritage, and the triumphant stories woven across the continent. However, beyond the celebrations, we must relentlessly strive to shape an Africa of unwavering prosperity, one that will ignite pride in the hearts of generations to come. And at the forefront of this mission lies the imperative to ensure the resounding success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This groundbreaking and potentially game-changing pact holds the power to unleash an economic revolution – ushering in unparalleled progress and prosperity. We cannot afford to falter in our dedication to this cause. A key aspect for reaping the full benefits of the AfCFTA and securing a brighter future…

While the fact that there wasn’t a major increase in global hunger between 2021 and 2022 could be viewed as a positive sign, there are a lot more negative trends to be gleaned from the UN’s annual flagship report on global food security, which was released last week. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that between 691 million and 783 million people faced hunger last year. The midrange of that calculation, about 735 million, is 122 million more people going hungry than in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic struck. This year’s report, “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023”, also found that nearly 30% of humanity, or roughly 2.4 billion people, lacked access to adequate food in 2022, while an even greater number –…

Villagers were ordered to leave their homes as two separate wildfires fanned by strong winds damaged houses southeast and west of Athens yesterday, authorities said. Several houses were damaged by a blaze that broke out in the village of Kouvaras, about 27km from the Greek capital, and spread fast to nearby settlements, a Greek fire service official said. Up to 150 firemen, 40 fire engines and 11 aircraft were trying to control the flames amid gale-force winds. Greek television showed a house and several cars gutted by the blaze, and smoke billowing from burning vegetation. The Greek Fire Service said that fire brigade services had been placed on standby duty in the wider Athens area. Around 1 200 children from a summer camp and residents of a rehabilitation centre were…

Beijing: Tens of thousands of people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam yesterday as a typhoon barrelled towards land. The China Meteorological Administration said typhoon Talim made landfall on the coast of Guangdong province. Powerful winds, storm surges and lashing rains were forecast to hammer the southern coastline from Guangdong to Hainan provinces,. The forecaster said the storm was expected to lose speed by today and weaken over northern Vietnam tomorrow. Authorities in Vietnam said they were preparing to evacuate about 30 000 people from the areas forecast to be hardest hit in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces. | AFP…

Manila: At least 1 624 people displaced by the unrest of the most active Mayon volcano in the Philippines are suffering from acute respiratory infections, the Department of Health said yesterday. Health Undersecretary Enrique Tayag said authorities in Albay province reported that some people in temporary shelters had been sick with coughs, colds and sore throats. There were no respiratory infections. Authorities have evacuated nearly 19 000 residents within the 6km danger zone at the foot of the Mayon volcano, 500km south-east of Manila, since its ongoing unrest starting on June 8. The volcano continues to pose a threat to residents. | IANS…

Bafana Bafana coach for the Cosafa Cup, Morena Ramoreboli has reacted to his team’s third-placed finish in the competition. South Africa overcame Malawi on penalties after the match ended 0-0 and claimed the bronze medal for just the second time in their history. Ramoreboli, who won the competition with Bafana in 2021, could not repeat that feat this time around after bowing out in the semifinals to eventual champions Zambia. The experienced coach expressed that although he was proud of his players for overcoming numerous challenges, he still felt their final positioning could have been better. “Credit to the team, the association and the technical team, we did our best despite all the challenges we had during our preparation,” Ramoreboli said. ”I’m happy with what we did today and getting…