Sommaire pour 2022-04-13 de Mercury

I was devastated by the news that foreigners are once again the victims of a programme that has all the hallmarks of Operation Dudula. Why is this happening? I recall our Struggle and of people who fought and died in that Struggle. Let me narrate one such freedom fighter. On April 6, 1979, one of our sons was hanged by the apartheid government. Yes, as Julius Malema said, he was sentenced to death by a white judge upholding an illegal, immoral regime. I paused yesterday to ask Allah to forgive him and to elevate his soul to the highest stages among the righteous in jannah. I know you will Google about him and support my petition. Those were odious days that found us confronting an evil regime whose support by…

I refer to Paul Tembe’s article of April 8 and other comments by the Russian ambassador. Tembe fully supports the stance of China (PRC) to keep out of the conflict and not to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. He also claims that the PRC has never “ventured outside its borders to conquer and subdue other countries”. He conveniently forgets that in 1950, the PRC invaded Tibet and made it a province of the PRC. Then he mentions a six-point plan by the Chinese foreign minister which mostly focuses on protection of civilians and humanitarian issues. Then he blames the West for supplying weapons to Ukraine and thereby prolonging the war. Not a word about Russia, which started this war by sending more than 120 000 troops into Ukraine…

WITH treats on supermarket shelves, we know that the Easter long weekend is in the air. For the first time after many years, different religious groups will celebrate or observe their religious traditions at the same time. While the protection of citizens, rule of law and the prevention of war and crimes and atrocities against humanity is primarily the responsibility of governmental law-enforcement structures and international bodies such as the UN, it requires a multi- dimensional effort by different societal leaders and institutions to play a part to prevent criminal behaviour and lawlessness. Religious leaders, given their spiritual leadership and guidance, have a fundamental role to play to counter incitement to violence, hatred, hostility and human rights abuses against human beings, especially, minorities, that could lead to crimes. Religious leaders…

SUPPORTERS of camps aligned to either former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede or current eThekwini speaker Thabani Nyawose have accused one another of vote-buying after a bruising leadership battle in the regional conference for what is considered the jewel of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. Gumede emerged from the leadership battle victorious in a region crucial for both its political and economic status, not just in the province but also nationally. She was elected chairperson with 210 votes to Nyawose’s 181 on Sunday. Her slate was also elected, including deputy chairperson Tembo Ntuli, provincial secretary Musa Nciki, deputy secretary Nkosenhle Madlala, and Zoe Shabalala as treasurer. Sources say that vote-buying started in earnest ahead of the conference and the sums on offer rose until voting took place on Sunday evening. Nyawose did…

The Competition Commission will face off with Group Five Construction Limited in the Constitutional Court, over alleged collusive practices related to the tenders for the Fifa 2010 World Cup stadia. Group Five has thus far blocked action against it based on a claim that the Competition Commission granted the company immunity from prosecution in November 2009. The construction firm, one of the biggest in the country, built Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. It was one of seven major construction and engineering firms alleged to have colluded in 2006 to share contracts for the World Cup stadium projects. The commission said collusion by the groups resulted in inflation of construction costs by about R14 billion. Municipalities footed the bill. No criminal charges were pursued against the groups and their…

POST the chaotic violent Trump-Biden elections, there is evidence that the US political system could be rotting from the inside. While Western liberal democracies are propagating, even violently exporting, their political system abroad, at high human and material cost, evidence suggests that typical American-Western democracy is in crisis at home. The US presidential elections made a mockery of democracy with partisan violence and widespread racism denying people of colour the right to vote. Partisan political violence fanned domestic insecurity, which shook both the Republicans’ and Democrats’ political elites. Habitual American proselyting about democracy and sponsored regime change undermines the independent development of stable endogenous democratic rule in other sovereign nations, violating international laws to uphold the sovereign will of other nations. Only citizens of a particular country can legitimately…

Rescuers hampered by mud and rain yesterday used their bare hands and shovels to search for survivors of landslides that smashed into villages in the central Philippines, as the death toll from tropical storm Megi rose to 42. Tens of thousands of people fled their homes as the storm pummelled the disaster-prone region in recent days, flooding houses, severing roads and knocking out power. At least 36 people died and 27 were missing after landslides slammed into multiple villages around Baybay City in Leyte province, the hardest hit by the storm, local authorities said. More than 100 people were injured. Three people were also killed in the central province of Negros Oriental and three on the main southern island of Mindanao, said the national disaster agency. Most of the deaths…

A pregnant woman’s death after she was denied a Caesarean section in hospital in Senegal has provoked outrage in the West African nation, where the president promised to launch a probe. Astou Sokhna died nine months pregnant on April 7 in a public hospital in the northern town of Louga, local press reported, after she repeatedly pleaded with doctors to perform the operation. But the hospital refused her request on the grounds that a caesarean section had not been planned in advance, and threatened to expel her if she insisted on the operation, according to reports. Sokhna and her baby both died after a reported 20-hour wait, provoking an outpouring of anger on social media in Senegal. There has also been intense media scrutiny of the case, which marks the…

NEW YORK: At least 13 people have been injured in a shooting incident at a subway station in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where “several undetonated devices” were recovered, authorities said yesterday. The city’s fire department gave a toll of “13 injuries at this time”, while police sources as said at least five people were shot in the incident. The police department tweeted that there were “no active explosive devices at this time”. Police were investigating whether a smoke device was detonated. NYPD officials said a man in a gas mask and orange construction vest may have tossed a smoke canister on the platform to distract the rush-hour crowd. | AFP…

IT will take more than a drop or two of rain to deter some of South Africa’s best schoolboy players, when the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival kicks off tomorrow as scheduled. The Kearsney campus is in reasonable shape despite the best efforts of Mother Nature, and the 13th festival should be a good one after a two-year Covid-enforced absence. The 12 participating teams are among the top rugby-playing schools in SA. Joining hosts Kearsney from KwaZulu-Natal are Glenwood, Westville and Durban High School, plus four schools from Gauteng — Dr EG Jansen from Boksburg, Hoërskool Waterkloof, Hoërskool Monument and Pretoria Boys High. There is a strong presence from the Eastern Cape in Selborne College from East London and Hoërskool Framesby from Gqeberha, with debutant Hoër Landbouskool Marlow from Cradock and…

STEVE Brookes, the chief executive of Balwin Properties, yesterday stood by the strategic purchase of the group’s new head office as he revealed the mortgage per month would largely be paid for by the placement of Africa’s largest digital signboard on the side of their building. Brookes in an interview yesterday cleared the air after there was a social media backlash with market participants questioning the capital outlay and “flashy” office. “I apologise to shareholders that we did not raise more awareness around the move. “I believe we could have been more pro-active in telling this good story before the news announcement. We have learned a lesson. We have actually disclosed this move before, but people do forget,” the chief executive said. Brookes said they had been pursuing the Melrose…

Transnet said operations were suspended on Monday night due to the heavy rains and flooding. In a statement yesterday, Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said disruptive weather conditions in KwaZulu- Natal had adversely affected Transnet operations in the province and it continued to assess the extent of the damage. “Heavy rains have damaged the road infrastructure leading into the Port of Durban, affecting access into the terminals. “As a precautionary measure and for safety reasons, operations across the Durban terminals had to be suspended at around 7.30pm on April 11. “There have been no major incidents reported at the terminals thus far.” Shezi said that a multidisciplinary command centre comprising the Transnet National Ports Authority, operators and customers had been set up and was monitoring activities. “Shipping has been suspended until…

The set of irons Tiger Woods used to win four consecutive major tournaments sold at auction for nearly $5.16 million (about R75m) – a record price for golf memorabilia. Woods won the “Tiger Slam” – the US Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship in 2000 and the Masters in 2001 – using the Titleist 681-Tirons. Golden Age Auctions put the clubs up for auction on March 23 with an opening bid of $25 000. The sale of Horton Smith’s green jacket in 2013 for $682 000 had been the largest sale of golf memorabilia. Horton won the first Masters in 1934 and repeated the feat two years later. There is no word on who the buyer was but the clubs were sold by Todd Brock, a private equity…

I READ the letter by Peter Sharland in The Mercury (April 11) about the poor maintenance of our provincial roads and the dangerous conditions on Oliviershoek Pass with interest. As a frequent user of the R74 from the N3 turn-off to the foot of the pass, I have been concerned to see the shocking state of this potholed road that gets worse with each year that passes. I have written to the provincial roads department a number of times, but there has been no corrective action taken. The collapsed section of road on Oliviershoek Pass is a death trap, with the road reduced to a single lane on a blind corner and heavy vehicles having to go on to the wrong side of the road as they travel down the…

When a mammoth tree fell across our home a few years ago, almost splitting the home down the middle, I had no idea what a favour the downed tree would do for me. Seeing the damage, I took a walk in the rain to adjust to the challenges I knew I had to face. The challenge was not only in the trauma of the tree splitting the home. I would have to deal with an insurance company notorious for resisting obligations. When this is over, I decided while walking, I will be proud of my behaviour and of how I have treated everybody concerned. “The Tree” was a landmark experience. While negotiating with the insurance company and the rebuilding was not without significant tensions, I held my own and I…

SEVERAL areas under Ugu District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South coast have suffered extensive damage to their road and water infrastructure following heavy downpours that lashed large parts of the province on Monday. France Zama, Ugu Municipality’s spokesperson, said there was extensive damage to their road and ailing water infrastructure. “All four local municipalities have been affected, and many people have been displaced, and we are trying to accommodate them. “We are one of the areas that have been hard hit. “In some areas flooding has prompted disaster management teams in the district to evacuate residents from their washed-away homes to areas of safety. Water and sanitation infrastructure has been severely damaged in large parts of the district, resulting in water disruptions in most areas,’’ said Zama. In Pietermaritzburg, residents…

THE election of criminally charged ANC leaders to leadership positions is a clear warning by delegates that they won’t accept the selective application of the step-aside rule. ANC delegates took some people by surprise when they elected corruption-accused former Durban mayor Zandile Gumede as the chairperson of eThekwini, the party’s biggest region in the country. Gumede, aligned to the radical economic transformation (RET) camp opposing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second-term bid, defeated municipal speaker Thabani Nyawose by 210 votes to 181. Nyawose supports the president. Gumede is facing corruption charges related to the awarding of a multimillion-rand waste management contract. The same electoral outcome played out at the recent Mpumalanga ANC conference, which saw double murder accused Mandla Msibi emerging as the provincial treasurer. This prompted a disappointed Ramaphosa to call…

“Compliance with the 30-day payment period plays a key role in ensuring operational sustainability of SMMEs. We are going to ensure that SMMEs thrive and succeed. Therefore, organs of state will be closely monitored on their performance within the 30-day payment period and any non-compliance is viewed as financial misconduct and will be dealt with accordingly.” These were the words of President Cyril Ramaphosa while speaking at the small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) Programme of the Second South Africa Investment Conference in Soweto in November 2019. The president has on several occasions repeated this sentiment, linking it to job creation and preservation, yet it appears he says the right things only to satisfy outspoken voices and calm concerns about unemployment. It has now become the norm that Ramaphosa speaks,…

Fresh conflict between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants rocked the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday as a Palestinian stabbed a police officer in Israel before being shot dead. Israeli troops launched a fourth day of operations around Jenin after an assailant from the flashpoint district shot and killed three people in a Tel Aviv bar last week in the latest of a spate of attacks that have stunned the Jewish state. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who warned in response that there would “not be limits for this war”, visited the Tel Aviv shooting scene and vowed: “We will not let our enemy stop our lives. We will continue to live our lives and at the same time we will fight where they are located.” The Palestinian official news…

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and finance minister Rishi Sunak have been notified by police that they will be fined over Covid-19 lockdown breaches, a spokesperson said yesterday. Police said they would issue at least another 30 fines for people who attended gatherings in Johnson’s offices and residence in breach of strict Covid-19 lockdown rules, taking the total to more than 50. The London force investigated claims that Johnson and officials organised and attended at least a dozen boozy events in 2020 and 2021 that violated Britain’s curbs. Johnson has apologised for the parties, which included Christmas celebrations and a drink-fuelled gathering the evening before Prince Philip’s funeral. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said Johnson and Sunak should resign as they “have broken the law and…

genevA: The World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned that Russia’s war in Ukraine had darkened the prospects for world trade as it sounded the alarm against the global economy dividing into rival blocs over the conflict. The WTO said the war would damage world trade growth this year and drag down global GDP growth as well. “Restricting trade will threaten the well-being of families and businesses,” said WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She urged countries to work together to facilitate trade amid sharp inflation pressures and supply chain difficulties. “Smaller supplies and higher food prices mean the poor could be forced to do without.” | AFP…

THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) has warned that consumer prices for food and transport could increase further if the hostilities in Ukraine continue to intensify. SARB lead economist Dr Witness Simbanegavi yesterday said the domestic headline inflation could rise if oil and gas supplies are additionally constrained due to the war. The SARB forecasts headline inflation to average 5.8 percent in 2022, well above the 4.9 percent forecast in January this year, and with risks tilted to the upside. Simbanegavi said the upward drift in inflation expectations and sharply higher producer prices further tilt the inflation risk to the upside. He said higher expected wage growth, a somewhat weaker rand and further advances in global goods prices could exert additional upward pressure on headline inflation. “We want…

A Hammarsdale woman says her family have been left in anguish following the deaths of five family members, including her two children. The family were in their house when it collapsed after a railway track tumbled on to it during Monday night’s heavy rains. The rains battered Durban and other parts of the province, resulting in floods, mudslides and destruction of property and public infrastructure. Cindy Jileka, 38, who lives in Durban, said she received the heartbreaking news on Monday evening from her ailing mother, and travelled to Georgedale, Hammarsdale. “I lost my two kids, Akhile and Zekhethelo. They were my everything, and gave me the courage to get up and look for work every day. “When I saw Zekhethelo’s body getting removed from the rubble that used to…

ANY attempt to reduce rampant crime and make our province safer must be welcomed. This includes the recent report that more than 9 000 people were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal during multidisciplinary SAPS operations last month. According to the SAPS, nearly 200 individuals were arrested for murder and 259 for rape. What is critical is consistency. There cannot be a situation where the SAPS, following pressure from communities, stakeholders and politicians, go out and arrest thousands of suspects, only for them to be back out on the street the next month. They must be brought to book. This means that the ongoing issue of DNA backlogs in our province must be addressed. In June last year, a written parliamentary reply to questions posed by the DA in KZN revealed that the…

The election of Zandile Gumede as the new ANC eThekwini Region chairperson just again highlights that the party is so corrupt it is becoming a norm for those with corruption charges hanging over their heads to contest leadership positions. Is this the type of individual that the ANC proudly presents to the people of KwaZulu-Natal as an upstanding and righteous person? Out there to help the poor? Or is this another attempt at self-enrichment? Heaven help us, just now the whole region will be run by corrupt people whose only purpose in life will be self-enrichment. No wonder this country is sliding into deep trouble.…

A BBC video clip comes this way showing a bloke scaling Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square, London. It’s scary stuff, not recommended viewing for anyone who, like me, experiences vertigo. The climber is a BBC staffer who is going up a very narrow ladder to interview a group of fellows who do this regularly to clean the pigeon droppings off Lord Nelson. The raindrops of London are not enough to wash off the pigeon drops. He needs a good scrub every few years. It would not do for the hero of Trafalgar to think he’s back on the poop deck. The narrow ladder is nothing compared with getting over the considerable overhang of the plinth on which Nelson stands, hundreds of metres up in the air. Hair-raising stuff. Then, having…

ONE of the largest surveys of preschool child development has found that 65% of 4- to 5-year-olds in South Africa are failing to thrive. The Thrive by Five Index assessed more than 5 000 children aged 4 to 5 enrolled in Early Learning Programmes (ELPs) across the country in three areas: early learning, physical growth and social emotional functioning. The survey was initiated by FNB and Innovation Edge in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAid) and Early Childhood Development (ECD) Measure. Of the 1.3 million children in South Africa aged 4 to 5 years old, about 72% (more than 930 000) attend some kind of ELP. Children who are thriving are on track in both physical growth and early learning.…

Lack of rigorous implementation of immigration laws at root of crisis THE past few weeks have seen the never-ending issue of illegal immigrants and the lawlessness accompanying it in our country topping the national agenda and public discourse. Matters seem to be coming to a head with the midnight arrest of a Pakistani national who has made the office of Home Affairs in Krugersdorp his criminal base. There he and his accomplices, including public servants, issued illegal South African passports to undocumented foreign nationals who have entered our country for various reasons that reportedly include committing crime. While still attempting to catch a breath from such brazen criminality, reports point to the gruesome murder of about seven South Africans at the hands of illegal immigrants. This barbarism, callousness and disdain…

Russian troops aimed to take control of the city of Mariupol yesterday, part of an anticipated massive onslaught across eastern Ukraine, as defending forces tried desperately to hold them back. Russia is believed to be trying to connect occupied Crimea with Moscow-backed separatist territories Donetsk and Lugansk in Donbas, and has laid siege to the strategically located city, once home to more than 400 000 people. “It is likely that in the future the enemy will try to take control of the city of Mariupol, capture Popasna and launch an offensive in the direction of Kurakhove in order to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk region,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Facebook. The Russian defence ministry said its army had thwarted an attempt to…

Mexican drug cartels appear to be shipping high-powered weapons to Colombia to purchase shipments of cocaine, a trade Colombian authorities say is fuelling the deadly struggle between rival traffickers for control of the nation’s drug routes. A bevy of machine guns, assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns are flowing into the country, Colombian law enforcement officials said. Among the weapons popping up in traffickers’ arsenals is the Belgium-made FN Five-seveN pistol, sources said. Nicknamed the “cop killer”, the 5.7-calibre weapon can penetrate bullet-proof vests. Most of the 1 478 long arms confiscated from Colombian armed groups in 2020 and 2021 were foreign-made and imported clandestinely, police say, along the smuggling routes used to get drugs out. Mexican drug gangs have easy access to guns bought in the US and long-term business…

PARIS: Former conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday endorsed Emmanuel Macron ahead of the second round in France’s presidential election, in a move that may complicate Macron’s charm offensive with left-wing voters. “I will vote for Emmanuel Macron because I think he has the necessary experience as we face a deep international crisis,” he said. Macron is struggling to convince working class voters to vote for him in the run-off and not far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who has veered to the left on economic issues. | Reuters…

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s parliament passed a bill yesterday to tackle sexual violence, aimed at building stronger cases and helping victims to secure justice in a country where sexual abuse has often been regarded as a private matter. A majority of MPs backed the bill, overcoming opposition from some conservative groups in the world’s biggest Muslim majority country after six years of deliberation. Critics objected to the bill’s limited scope, with only some sex crimes included and rape omitted. The government said rape is covered in a revision of the criminal code being drawn up. Sexual violence complaints have been rising in Indonesia. | Reuters…

ENGLAND currently don’t have a director of cricket, chief selector nor a national men’s team coach. South Africa are marginally better. There’s no “DOC”, after Graeme Smith opted not to renew his contract at the end of last month, but they do at least have Victor Mpitsang and Mark Boucher. At least for now ... The ever-lasting question remains: for how long will Boucher be at the helm of the Proteas men’s side? Unlike Smith, Boucher’s contract runs until the conclusion after the 2023 World Cup. Theory and results dictate that he will still be in charge until then. Boucher has certainly overseen a dramatic change of fortunes for the Proteas. The Test side are now unbeaten in four consecutive series, which includes triumphs over West Indies (away), India and…