Sommaire pour 2023-12-14 de Cape Times

CO-OPERATION and relations between South Africa and Zimbabwe is critical in resolving challenges shared at the border by the two countries. These were the words by Border Management Authority (BMA) commissioner Michael Masiapato at a briefing in Pretoria yesterday as they are hosting the Zimbabwe Border Ports Authority (ZBPA). Zimbabwe is in the process of developing a Border Ports Authority Bill with the aim of officially establishing the ZBPA. The visit aims to showcase South Africa’s model of administration and border management co-ordination. The visit comes as officials from the two countries have been at odds over the number of undocumented Zimbabwean children intercepted on buses at the Beitbridge border post. MBA alleged there were 443 children below the age of 8 years who were handed over to Zimbabwe authorities.…

If ‘race’ should be removed, then Constitutional amendments should be considered, says minister EMPLOYMENT and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has ruled out the removal of race from labour legislation or limiting the categories to black and white for now, saying the country’s Constitution and the Employment Equity Act were yet to be amended. Nxesi said this when responding to Ala-Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks’ written parliamentary question. His informal chat with Nxesi on race in the corridors of Parliament led him to put the question in writing, knowing that ministers take a long time to arrange for appointments, Hendricks told the Cape Times. In his written question, he asked: “When will the requirement to state one’s race be removed from labour legislation and, where necessary, be limited to black and white…

A Health Ombud investigation has called for heads to roll after two health workers at the Motherwell NU 11 Clinic were found to be negligent in the case of a teen who was sexually assaulted and sought help before she died. The evidence also found that protocol for how a patient who has been sexually assaulted was not followed and clinic staff failed to appropriately refer the patient to the next level of care. Ombud Professor Taole Mokoena released a 63-page report on the matter this week. The probe looked into allegations that 15-year-old Zenizole Vena was denied provision of care at the Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, clinic, which later led to her death at the Motherwell police station community service centre. According to the report, in September 2022, Vena was…

In a major victory for asylum seekers, the Constitutional Court has struck down provisions in the Refugee’s Act which render them to be illegally in the country if they have not renewed their visas within a month of it expiring. As the law stands, asylum seekers who fail to personally renew their asylum seeker visas within one month of their visa’s date of expiry must be regarded as having “abandoned” their applications for asylum. They may not re-apply for asylum and must be dealt with as illegal foreigners in terms of the Immigration Act. They have called for the provisions to be reviewed based on the backlog of visa and asylum applications. Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, and his director-general, however, told the court that they dealt…

POLICE are offering a R50 000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest of those behind the murder of Gugulethu CPF deputy chairperson, Lulama Dinginto. A person of interest has been identified since Dinginto was shot and killed in her NY 110 home on Sunday. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said: “Gugulethu police responded to a complaint on December 10. On their arrival at 4.10am, they found the body of the victim in the bathroom with multiple gunshot wounds. She was declared deceased on the scene. “Lungile Anthony Madolo, 35 known as ‘Fire’ has been identified as a person of interest and detectives would like to question him in connection with the incident. A reward of R50 000 is offered for any information that will assist to apprehend those…

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s refusal to apologise and withdraw his unproven statements that party veteran Mavuso Msimang had been bribed to leave the organisation was a missed opportunity to display the little, if any, credibility that is left in him. The silence and failure to distance the ANC and direct Mbalula to withdraw his statement could only mean that the likes of President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Deputy Paul Mashatile and chairperson Gwede Mantashe see nothing wrong with Mbalula’s attack on Msimang. Mbalula’s refusal came as no surprise. That’s how low the bar has been set by the current crop of leaders of this movement of Oliver Tambo, Lillian Ngoyi, Harry Gwala, and Walter Sisulu. Mbalula’s attack on Msimang was nothing short of an attempt to discredit and divert attention from…

Poland’s president yesterday swore in Donald Tusk as the new pro-EU prime minister, putting an end to eight years of right-wing populist rule. Tusk, a veteran politician who already served as premier in the past, has pledged to restore Poland’s position in the EU and to double down on efforts to provide more aid to neighbouring Ukraine. The former European Council president was expected to travel to Brussels to participate in the bloc’s summit with fellow EU leaders. Tusk’s Civic Coalition together with two smaller political groups forged an alliance that ousted the Law and Justice (PiS) from power, winning backing in the parliament in a vote of confidence Tuesday. “Our homeland is a place of political and civic miracles,” Tusk said after his cabinet was sworn in during a…

Beijing: Primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens in Beijing suspended classes yesterday as the Chinese capital was bracing for an intense blizzard. The capital made preparations for online teaching. The city is also on alert for icy roads and a cold wave. Beijing has already experienced its first round of heavy snowfall this winter, and was expected to experience heavy to intense snowfalls until tomorrow. On Saturday, night-time minimum temperatures are expected to drop to -15°C. The National Meteorological Centre yesterday predicted that temperatures in most parts of China would drop by 8°C to 12°C until Saturday. | IANS…

NEW DELHI: A man jumped into the MPs’ seating area of the lower house of India’s parliament yesterday, in a major security breach on the 22nd anniversary of a deadly attack on the complex. Smoke could be seen in the chambers in a photo posted on social media by an MP. Lawmakers said the intruder shouted slogans they could not make out and there was a sound and some smoke. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not in parliament at the time. MPs fled the chambers as the intruder’s cans released smoke. The house stopped proceedings but resumed business an hour later. The incident took place in the new, high-security parliament. | Reuters…

India A fast bowler Prasidh Krishna ripped through the South Africa A lower order early yesterday to spark a remarkable turnaround of form, having gone wicketless on day two of the first four-day clash in Potchefstroom. The fast bowler had to pull his weight and return the faith shown in him by the Indian selectors, who also picked him in the 16-man India Test squad that will take on the Proteas later this month. The right-arm quick started day three with Jean du Plessis’ wicket for an expertly carved 106 off 213 balls, before going on to clean up the tail with very little damage as the hosts added only 21 runs to their overnight score of 298-5. In response, right-arm seamer Siya Plaatjie took the new ball for South…

Auctioneers Strauss & Co’s current online sale spans a century of Southern African art. The online auction, now open for viewing, is their final one for the year, and provides a cross-section of Southern African art from the past century, ranging from pre-war to contemporary. Featuring over 150 lots, the month-long, on-line sale allows collectors to browse at their leisure. An array of South African artworks, including by Christo Coetzee, who embraced the avant-garde approach of artists such as the Japanese Gutai group, through to contemporary artists such as Marcus Neustetter, now living and working in Vienna, Austria. Senior art specialist and head of Strauss & Co’s Johannesburg art department, Alastair Meredith, said: “South Africa has a wonderful history of abstract art-making, but it often feels like a little-known and…

FOURTEEN suspects who allegedly operated an illegal asset financing scheme are expected to appear in the Stellenbosch Magistrate’s Court today on charges that include money laundering to the tune of R40 million. Members of the alleged syndicate, two women and 12 men, were arrested in the early hours of yesterday by police during an integrated operation. They were charged with fraud, theft and money laundering. According to police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi, local financial institutions sounded the alarm about a syndicate operating a “huge asset financing scheme”. Swartbooi said: “Reports suggested that the members of this syndicate would create and submit false vehicle finance applications to motor dealerships with whom they had a corrupt relationship. “Armed with the information at their disposal, a multi-disciplinary team of detectives attached to the…

The public enterprise portfolio committee yesterday resolved to report to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula the refusal by Minister Pravin Gordhan to hand over key documents in the sale of SAA shares. The decision was taken at a meeting where the MPs discussed and deliberated on evidence submitted by Gordhan and former director-general Kgathatso Tlhakudi into allegations of irregularities in the sale of SAA shares to strategic equity partner Takatso Consortium. Mapisa-Nqakula referred to the committee last year Tlhakudi’s protected disclosure, alleging irregularities by Gordhan and a complaint by the EFF deputy leader that the allegations pointed to violation of the Constitution and oath of office by the minister. At the centre of Tlhakudi’s protected disclosure was that the sale of SAA was orchestrated by Gordhan to benefit a few…

THE 2022/23 financial year saw a massive 52% rise in the number of environmental crime-related complaints reported to the national, provincial and municipal departments, as well as to state-owned entities. This is according to the 2022/23 National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report, which details the successes and challenges experienced by the Environmental Management Inspectorate: known as the Green Scorpions. The Green Scorpions were created through the National Environmental Management Act 17 years ago, pulling together existing efforts in the green (biodiversity and protected areas), brown (pollution, waste and impact assessment) and blue (integrated coastal management) subsectors into a single, cohesive and effective compliance and enforcement framework. “As an indication of the increase in public awareness of green, brown and blue crimes in South Africa, the 2022/23 financial year saw a…

FORMER intelligence police officer Thandolwethu Faku has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the mother of his daughter after shooting her in the head. The Western Cape High Court also sentenced him to six months imprisonment for an assault that occurred a year before the murder and three years imprisonment for attempting to defeat the administration of justice. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and declared the former police officer unfit to possess a firearm. According to prosecutor Kepler Uys, Faku was off-duty when he decided to visit his ex-girlfriend Wendy Papu at her home at R106 Site B, Khayelitsha in January 2018. At the time Papu, her 8-year-old daughter from another relationship and the couple’s three-month-old daughter, were asleep. Uys said the couple, whose…

China is ready to share the huge market of the 1.4bn Chinese people with South Africa Over the past 25 years since China and South Africa established diplomatic ties, the bilateral relations have set a fine example for China-Africa and South-South co-operation. First, a high level of mutual political trust. The Heads of State of our two countries enjoy frequent exchanges. The two sides also built multiple bilateral mechanisms that are working very well, such as the Bi-National Commission, the High-Level People-to-People Exchange Mechanism, the Joint Economic and Trade Commission and the Strategic Dialogue. The CPC, the ANC and the SACP enjoy ever deeper friendly exchanges and co-operation and the comrades plus brothers special bond between our political parties continues to strengthen. China-South Africa relations enjoyed leaps forward from a…

Israel announced its worst combat losses for more than a month yesterday after an ambush in the ruins of Gaza City, and faced growing diplomatic isolation as civilian deaths mounted and a humanitarian catastrophe worsened. Intense fighting was under way simultaneously in the north and south of the enclave, a day after the UN demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. US President Joe Biden said Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombing of civilians was costing international support. Warplanes again bombed the length of Gaza and aid officials said the arrival of rainy winter weather worsened the conditions for hundreds of thousands of families sleeping rough in makeshift tents. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have already been made homeless. Israel launched its campaign to annihilate the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza…

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives was to vote yesterday to formalise its impeachment inquiry of Democratic President Joe Biden, whose son Hunter Biden has been called to testify. House Republicans allege Biden and his family improperly profited from decisions the elder Biden participated in while serving as vice-president from 2009-17. Their probe focuses on the business dealings of Biden jnr, and it is not clear if he will appear. The White House has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the probe as politically motivated ahead of the 2024 presidential election, in which Republican Donald Trump, the only US president to be impeached twice, is the leading contender to take on Biden. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times. House Republicans were pushing ahead with the matter before leaving for a…

KINSHASA: One of the main opposition candidates for Congo’s presidential election next week, Moise Katumbi, suspended part of his campaign yesterday after violent clashes at one of his election rallies. Live rounds were fired and several people injured as Katumbi addressed supporters in Moanda on Tuesday, marking an escalation in tension ahead of the December 20 vote. The provincial government said Katumbi’s guards fired warning shots after the crowd grew rowdy. Several people were injured. Katumbi said police shot live bullets at people and that the incident had been orchestrated to create violence. The rally was in the Kasai-Central province, a stronghold for President Felix Tshisekedi’s supporters. | Reuters…

WASHINGTON: Tesla is recalling just over 2 million vehicles in the US to install new safeguards to prevent the misuse of its Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been investigating the electric automaker led by billionaire Elon Musk for two years over whether Tesla vehicles ensure that drivers pay attention when using the driver assistance system. Tesla said Autopilot’s controls “may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse”. NHTSA’s Ann Carlson said “driver monitoring systems should take into account that humans over-trust technology”. | Reuters…

While Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said yesterday that annual consumer inflation eased to 5.5% in November, down from a five-month high of 5.9% in October, there was not so good news for inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages. The November annual consumer inflation was just below market forecasts of 5.6%, mainly driven by a significant decrease in fuel prices seen in the large petrol price cut of R1.78 a litre implemented in November. Stats SA chief director for price statistics, Patrick Kelly, however, said consumer prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages accelerated to the highest level in four months to 9% in November from 8.7% in October. Kelly said meat inflation crept up to 3.5% from 3.4% in October, though inflation for bread and cereals declined for a seventh…

MALE victims of gender-based violence (GBV) often feel isolated and too ashamed to speak up about their trauma and experiences. This is according to the organisation Khulisa Social Solutions, which has been delivering peace-building, community-led mediation and social cohesion interventions to vulnerable communities for more than 25 years. Data and insights gathered through its recent dialogue circles, following the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign, have painted an urgent picture indicating that while GBV disproportionately affects women, it is crucial to acknowledge that men can also be victims. Khulisa’s Sophiatown victim empowerment centre has played a major role in supporting male victims who have experienced domestic violence, child neglect, abuse from partners and where substance abuse affects their household. “Understanding SA’s history and the…

THE City says the latest round of coastal water sample results has shown that all eight of Cape Town’s Blue Flag beaches are compliant with Blue Flag water quality standards based on the independent analysis of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS). This is based on an independent analysis of water samples taken over the past seven weeks, the latest being December 5 and 7, the City said. The Blue Flag beaches are Bikini Beach, Camps Bay, Clifton 4th Beach, Fish Hoek, Llandudno, Melkbosstrand, Muizenberg and Silwerstroom. Pilot Blue Flag status was also awarded to Mnandi, Strandfontein and Hout Bay. Blue Flag beaches are independently accredited by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) based on water quality results from festive season water sampling analysed by the…

IT IS 27 COPS later and food is finally on the table at this year’s 28th Conference of Parties hosted in the UAE-Dubai, who have staked food and agriculture as key priorities for their presidency. This COP is equally an important one as it aims to measure our global action since the Paris Agreement, by taking stock of how countries have acted to meet the maximum target of 1.5°C. Speaking at the opening of the ceremony, COP28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber stressed. “We have to come through. We must unite. We must act. And we must deliver in Dubai.” In South Africa, like the rest of the world, our food system is starting to do even more damage to the natural environment than ensuring our food security. The way…

The world for the first time yesterday approved a call to transition away from fossil fuels as UN negotiations in Dubai tackled the top culprit behind climate change, but at-risk countries said far more action was needed. After 13 days of talks and several sleepless nights in a country built on oil wealth, the Emirati president of the COP28 summit quickly banged a gavel to signal consensus among 194 countries and the EU. “You did step up, you showed flexibility, you put common interest ahead of self-interest,” said COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber, whose role as head of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company had raised suspicion among many environmentalists. Describing the deal as bringing “transformational change”, Jaber said: “We have helped restore faith and trust in multilateralism, and…

The US has struck hundreds of deals worth $14.2 billion (about R267bn) with African nations over the past year, government officials said yesterday, as Washington seeks to counter China’s growing influence on the continent. The 547 new trade and investment agreements represent a 67% increase on 2022 in the number and value of closed deals, said British Robinson, co-ordinator for the US administration’s Prosper Africa trade and business initiative. “We have had a record-setting year for US-African relations,” added Judd Devermont, President Joe Biden’s top Africa advisor. Devermont and Robinson were speaking at a virtual media briefing marking the first anniversary of a summit with African leaders, where Biden pledged to go “all in” on the continent. Devermont said the US had delivered more than 40% of a commitment made…

Oslo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday urged allies in Europe and the US to continue to back Kyiv, as disputes in Brussels and Washington hold up new aid packages. He was speaking before meeting the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, to seek financial support for more weapons production. In both the US and the EU, internal disagreements are holding up aid packages for Ukraine worth billions of dollars. Zelenskiy wants them to help finance Ukraine’s manufacture of Nato-compatible weapons. Moscow claimed fresh battlefield advances and said that any new assistance for Kyiv would be a “fiasco”. | Reuters…

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan pleaded not guilty to charges of leaking state secrets under an indictment yesterday that dealt a new blow to his chances of contesting Pakistan’s general election in February. The charges are related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year, which Khan is accused of making public. Khan and his co-accused and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi denied the charges. The former prime minister has previously said the contents of the cable appeared in the media from other sources. A guilty verdict under the Official Secrets Act could bring up to 10 years in prison, lawyers said. | Reuters…

The name of any T20 International batter who has more career runs than one of the pioneers of the format, AB de Villiers, should be on everyone’s lips, let alone a batter that has scored those runs in 19 fewer career innings. Reeza Hendricks owns such a T20I record in relation to the former Proteas captain. However, the stylish right-hander has flown under the radar in almost a decade since he made his T20I debut in 2014. No South African batter has scored more runs in a three-match T20I series than Hendricks’ 180, at an average of 60, in England last year, where he scored three half-centuries, striking at over 155. That was just before the T20 World Cup in Australia, and despite his form, Hendricks found himself carrying drinks…