Star的2024-03-20目录

South African investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the May 29 elections and would be banking on possible post-poll clarity on policy as well as expected US dollar weakness, which could act as sparks to further investment decisions, Bank of America’s emerging markets strategist, Morris John Stewart, said yesterday. There was, however, less confidence in speedy resolution of port and rail logistics hurdles, he said. Despite some improvement in port volumes and backlogs in Durban, port delays were still afflicting South African businesses, especially those in mining, manufacturing and retail. “Investors don’t see a swift turnaround in logistics although port volumes are up recently and the Durban backlogs have improved,” said Stuart, speaking after Bank of America hosted investors focused on South Africa. “Locomotives and spares procurement are…

South Africa’s fractured airspace is set for more upheaval as dominant operators – Airlink and Global Airways Operations, which co-own the domestic airline Lift – square off with Safair Operations, the owner of FlySafair, over its alleged 74% foreign ownership. Airlink and Global Airways Operations have launched complaints with two aviation authorities: the International Air Services Council, and Air Services Licence Council. The knife fight, set for April 11, emanates from Airlink and Global Airways’ complaints that Safair is largely owned by foreign shareholders, against the conditions of its aviation licence and the country’s laws. The central complaint is that foreign investors and shareholders predominantly own Safair, thus breaching the Air Services Licensing Act and the International Air Services Act. The former requires that holders of aviation licences in South…

EDELMAN South Africa highlighted that there was a growing distrust while presenting its 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report for the country. However, business was seen as the most trustworthy. The barometer, now in its 24th year, was conducted via a survey in November last year with an average of 1 150 respondents from each of the 28 countries where the report was run, including South Africa. In terms of trust among citizens, the report generally found that developing countries had greater trust than developed ones. South Africa fared slightly better this year than 2023. However, the most concerning findings were around how citizens viewed government institutions and leaders. There was little trust in government leaders and institutions as some 82% of respondents perceive the government, 70% saw business leaders,…

WITH the publication of the Vgbe Energy Report highlighting the deteriorating status of the power utility’s coal fleet and the start of Dan Marokane as Eskom’s new CEO on March 1, South Africans can understand Eskom better by employing the “5 Whys”-approach to root-cause analysis. The “5 Whys” technique was introduced by Toyota under the leadership of the industrialist Taiichi Ohno, who played a key role in turning it into an international success story. n Why didn’t the receptionist answer her phone? She was at lunch. n Why was she at lunch? Because the receptionists eat lunch together at 12pm. n Why did all the receptionists eat lunch together at 12pm? Because there is no schedule for the different receptionists. n Why isn’t there a schedule? There is no policy…

A Russian idea backed by President Vladimir Putin for a BRICS grain exchange that would allow buyers to purchase directly from producers is gaining traction ahead of a summit of the group in October, the head of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters said yesterday. China and India are the world’s biggest wheat producers and Russia the biggest exporter of the grain so any exchange based on the BRICS grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as well as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and United Arab Emirates would have global clout. Eduard Zernin, head of the Russian Union of Grain Exporters (Rusgrain), said he hoped organisational issues regarding the exchange would be resolved by this year’s planned BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan. Zernin said the idea…

Murdah Bongz is over the moon about his recent win at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards in the US. The South African musician, who also goes by the name Mörda, as well as fellow artist Brenden Praise, clinched the prize for Outstanding Soundtrack/Album Compilation, for their contribution to the soundtrack of the hit movie, The Color Purple. The duo were credited for their remix of Tamela Mann’s Mysterious Ways, which featured in the official soundtrack of the Hollywood remake. Bongz took to Instagram to share his excitement over their win. “Well would you look at that. I am an @naacp award winner thanks to mine and @brendenpraise contribution to the soundtrack Mysterious Ways (Remix) on the 11 awards- winning @thecolorpurple movie,” he wrote.…

THE Judicial Conduct Tribunal hearing looking into the conduct of suspended Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela has been postponed after he was admitted to hospital due to ill health. The hearing, chaired by retired Judge Chris Jafta, is scheduled to look into Judge Maumela’s failure to deliver numerous reserved judgments within a reasonable time. The hearing kicked off on Monday and was scheduled to proceed until March 22. Maumela was suspended in June 2023 by President Cyril Ramaphosa alongside Judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi, who was taken to task for failure to deliver as many as 21 judgments. Mngqibisa-Thusi’s hearing was held during December. However, it was held in camera as the judge’s legal team raised concerns that if the hearing were to be held in public it would…

Gauteng MEC for human settlements, Lebogang Maile, has indicated that he will be returning to Diepkloof Hostel tomorrow following his brief visit to the protesting dwellers yesterday. This visit comes hot on the heels of Monday’s protest action in which residents of the hostel called for Premier Panyaza Lesufi to come and address them. The Diepkloof residents, who have staged numerous service delivery protests in the past, have shown no signs of letting up their fight until their dilapidated units are renovated. After speaking and engaging with leaders of the recent protests and community members, Maile said he would return tomorrow with City of Joburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, and his team. “Now that I am here and have heard what you are saying. You have explained that some of the…

The UK Embassy in Moscow has been forced to address allegations claiming that King Charles III of the British Royal Family died from cancer which first surfaced in Russian news outlets. On Monday, the embassy posted a video on X, saying it was fake news. The British Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine also issued a statement denying the allegation. "We would like to inform you that the news about the death of King Charles III is fake,“ the Embassy wrote on X. Prior to the fake news story, Buckingham Palace had confirmed that the monarch was diagnosed with cancer. The Daily Mail reported that Sputnik, a leading Russian news outlet, also picked up on the 75-year-old’s death, but removed their social media post shortly thereafter. The news broke just after…

After making his return from a long-term knee injury last season, it wasn’t long before Johan Goosen required surgery for a shoulder problem. Then in the build-up to the United Rugby Championship quarter-final against the Stormers, a hamstring issue cropped up. Goosen was eventually cleared for the Cape Town Stadium play-off, but lined up at fullback, with Chris Smith at flyhalf, and he eventually left the field early in the second half as the Stormers triumphed 33-21 for their sixth consecutive victory over their Pretoria rivals. The Bulls came close to ending their losing streak against the Capetonians in December, but appeared to get in their own way on attack in the 26-20 defeat. Goosen started at flyhalf, but fullback Willie le Roux was often in the first receiver role…

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed that he plans to build on his side’s success at the Africa Cup of Nations ahead of friendly games. The South African national football side arrived in Algeria and begun their preparations for two matches against Andorra and the Foxes. Bafana kick off their north African tour tomorrow when they face Andorra at the 19 May 1956 Stadium at 11pm before facing Algeria five days later at the Nelson Mandela Stadium. The experienced mentor has expressed his desire to fire his men up to treat the matches with utmost importance as they look to climb up the CAF rankings. “It’s important that we go on from what we achieve in the Afcon, it’s not enough to be in third place and…

AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin has talked up his team’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup after drawing Orlando Pirates in the last eight. Usuthu will welcome the Buccaneers to Durban in the Nedbank Cup in a repeat of the 2022 MTN8 final, which saw Jose Riveiro win his first trophy as the head coach of Pirates. Martin has already had a taste of facing Pirates this season as the two sides could not be separated in a goalless encounter in the league. The KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit has experienced various inconsistent and severely unbalanced periods over recent seasons but continues its fight to become one of the country’s premium clubs. Under the tutelage of the Spanish-born mentor, the club displayed glimpses of its potential this season…

SOUTH Africa should implement the SA Renewable Energy Masterplan (Sarem) as soon as possible, as every day’s delay is a wasted opportunity, said Sarem facilitator Gaylor Montmasson-Clair yesterday on the sidelines of the Solar Storage Live Africa and Future Energy Show. Sarem is an industrial and inclusive development plan for the renewable energy and storage value chains by 2030, aimed at helping South Africa re-industrialise after load shedding resulted in manufacturing and mining constraints and the consequent jobs bloodbath. “Sarem was finalised in December, and we were hoping to start implementation in March or April, but now I am not sure when it will be implemented. We started this process in early 2021, and we have ticked all the boxes as far as consulting and getting buy-in from all affected…

Denel’s new CEO Tshepo Monaheng is aiming to turn around the struggling state arms manufacturer with a new operating model to reflect proven proficiencies in the aerospace, guided weapons, landward and integrated systems (ISS) capability domains. Monaheng, appointed CEO in December, has pledged better financial results ahead with the new operating model. He said the parastatal needed to focus on its streamlined model, which emphasised operational cornerstones such as Denel aerospace, the former Denel aeronautics and Denel Overberg test range (OTR); Denel guided-weapons, the former Denel dynamics; Denel landwards, a consolidation of Denel land systems (DLS), Denel PMP, Denel vehicle systems (DVS) OMC and mechatronic business units; as well as integrated system solutions (ISS). Under the guidance of Mike Kgobe, the last acting CEO, Denel had exhibited global-leading products in…

Impala Platinum’s Zimbabwean unit, Zimplats, has joined Sibanye-Stillwater in retrenching workers as a bleak outlook on platinum group metal (PGM) prices persists. The big South African PGM producers have operations in Zimbabwe, with Sibanye-Stillwater jointly owning Mimosa mine with Implats. Anglo American Platinum wholly owns Unki Platinum mine while Implats controls Zimplats. Zimplats has tabled a voluntary retrenchment package to its workers while Mimosa mine has also retrenched management-level employees. This is in response to subdued platinum prices, a factor that has already resulted in a jobs bloodbath from the PGM sector in South Africa. Alex Mhembere, the CEO of Zimplats, said the voluntary retrenchment exercise that Zimplats had embarked on was in addition to cash-preservation and cost-containment measures already implemented by the company. “While our cost containment and cash…

Remgro has blamed slow-paced economic and structural reforms and general erosion of foreign investor confidence in South Africa for the company’s plunge in earnings and net asset value for the half-year period ending December 2023. Interim headline earnings per share (Heps) in Remgro tumbled 39.1% to 381 cents while its earnings per share (eps) performance fell by a massive 161% to a 432 cents loss. The company said it faced economic headwinds during the trading period under review from the South Africa and global operating framework. In South Africa, said Remgro, the “unique and well-known challenges” of power-supply constraints, inefficiencies in transport and logistics as well as “the slow pace of economic and structural reforms and a general erosion of foreign investment confidence in the country” affected the company. “The…

Following two weeks of dry taps, City Power’s Eikenhof substation, which supplies the Eikenhof pump station with electricity, was again tripped by a suspected lightning strike in Soweto on Monday night at about 8pm. The outage, which lasted for about two hours, affected several suburbs in the south, including Eldorado Park and Nancefield. This is the second recent outage to plunge residents into a water crisis – being without water for days on end. This was confirmed by Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda on Monday in a short video posted on social media. He and other city officials went to investigate the site and the source of the trip. Gwamanda said: “We are waiting for a Joburg Water report to give us a clear indication as to how the trip has…

Zulu royal regiments have suggested that KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development and Tourism MEC Siboniso pay 100 cows as an apology to King Misuzulu for “disrespecting” His Majesty during the 110th commemoration of King Dinuzulu’s death. Duma, who is also the ANC chairperson in the province, was still the talk of town following his action on Saturday, when he grabbed a microphone from the king’s Traditional Prime Minister, the Rev Thulasizwe Buthelezi, who was introducing the king before he delivered his main address. Buthelezi, who is also Zululand District Municipality mayor under the IFP, was about to speak about the ANC KZN secretary Bheki Mtolo when Duma interrupted. Duma received backlash from all quarters, particularly African culturists who described his behaviour as unAfrican. At a media briefing attended by several regional regiments’…

THE University of South Africa’s (Unisa) Inhlanyelo Hub successfully hosted the inaugural certificate ceremony of its drone divas at the Unisa Sunnyside Campus, Pretoria. It was held to recognise the achievements of the cohort of women drone pilots and to underscore Inhlanyelo Hub’s commitment to empowering women in technology. The recent launch of the programme elicited celebration from stakeholders, mentors, and the first cohort of 18 exceptional women who embar- ked on this transformative journey. The Drone Divas initiative is poised to extend its impact this year, with a new cohort ready to join the ranks, advancing the mission to harness the transformative power of drone technology to shape the future while dismantling gender barriers. The Inhlanyelo Hub Drone Diva Programme took flight in September 2023, to empower women in…

ON MARCH 15, a seismic shift happened in the world of documentaries on Showmax with the release of Tracking Thabo Bester. The documentary gained a record number of first-day views, surpassing the record-holder, Rosemary’s Hitlist. The true-crime documentary dominated at the weekend, becoming the most-watched title across all genres. Critics and viewers couldn’t help but be captivated, with rave reviews pouring in. At the heart of this sensation lies Bester, a figure whose significance can’t be overstated. Bester’s story has gripped South Africa’s collective consciousness since the revelation by GroundUp that he, the convicted murderer and rapist, did not meet his demise in Cell 35 as thought, instead he was spotted shopping at Woolworths in Sandton City. In 2023, Bester became the most searched person in South Africa on Google,…

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro anticipates a difficult quarter-final in the Nedbank Cup after drawing what he described as an ‘awkward’ AmaZulu outfit. The Sea Robbers will take their defence of the Ke Yona trophy to the football-loving province of KwaZulu-Natal as they look to topple AmaZulu in their own backyard. Since he arrived in South Africa, Riveiro has established himself as somewhat of a cup specialist having claimed three major trophies in his one-and-a-half seasons in charge of Pirates. Looking to halt his hot streak is fellow Spanish mentor Pablo Franco Martin, who has taken to life and his position of head coach in Durban well. Having already met once in the DStv Premiership this season, Martin will hope his side can frustrate the much-fancied Bucanneers when the…

Nottingham Forest have been thrust into the Premier League relegation zone after being hit with a four-point deduction for breaches of financial rules that are becoming a dominant topic in the world’s richest league. Everton have also suffered a six-point deduction, reduced from 10 on appeal, to leave the Toffees fighting to prolong their 70-year status in the top flight. The Premier League now faces the embarrassment of having relegation decided in tribunals after the season has finished, with the deadline for the appeals process coming five days after the final day of the campaign. Here, we look at the rules, why they are often criticised and what could come next. What are the rules? Premier League clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million across a three-year…

Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker has not shut the door on signing former Netherlands youth international defender Maxim Gullit, despite the 22-year-old having stopped training with the Winelands club. The son of Dutch legend Ruud Gullit spent several weeks with the Carling Cup champions in the Western Cape with the hope of securing a DStv Premiership contract. But after considering his options within his current squad, Barker claimed the timing was just not right to sign up the Dutch youngster. “I think he is a quality football player, obviously with the pedigree that he has, and is a really good technical footballer,” Barker told the media at the Nedbank Cup quarter-final draw. “But we already have fulfilled our foreign quota for the season and we have five centre backs for…

TLISANE Motaung would love for it to be 2009 all over again. But the coach of Motsepe Foundation Championship team University of Pretoria is realistic enough to know he has a Herculean task in front of him if he is to emulate Steve Barker and take AmaTuks to the final of the Nedbank Cup. He has already done extremely well to have them reach the quarter-finals, in addition to keeping them in serious contention for promotion to the elite league. And so, having been pitted against neighbours and domestic powerhouse Mamelodi Sundowns, Motaung is rather delighted at the opportunity his young players have to market themselves. “The most important thing is to allow the players to be on the same stage with this great team and players of Sundowns to…

Yellow cranes likely to begin dotting the skyline in the near future, says the president The planning of 12 new big infrastructure projects valued at more than R180 billion are being prioritised by the government this year, so that public and private sector funding can bring these projects to reality, President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday. The new projects come at a time when thousands of jobs have been lost in the construction sector over the past decade due to falling infrastructure spending, mainly by the government, and the private sector. Infrastructure backlogs, in energy, transport, housing, government services, and logistics have cut economic growth prospects off at the knees. “We are working to rebuild the construction industry and ensuring it is able to deliver projects on time, within budget and…

THE rand was stable yesterday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision due today. At 5.30pm, the rand traded at R18.9375 against the dollar, near its previous close of R18.94. The dollar was last trading up about 0.31% against a basket of global currencies. Recent US economic data has pointed to stubbornly high inflation, causing investors to temper their expectations of the pace and scale of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Like most emerging market currencies, the rand often takes its cues from global factors such as US monetary policy in addition to domestic events. In South Africa, the focus this week will be on February inflation figures due today. Economists polled by Reuters have predicted that annual inflation will inch up to 5.5%, from 5.3% in January.…

Is the future of mobility conventional combustion engine vehicles that use fossil fuels such as petrol or diesel? Or is it a hydrogen fuel or the hydrogen battery motor vehicle? Or will it be electric motor vehicles? The jury is out. Only the future will tell. The automotive industry is undergoing a technological revolution with rapid innovation. Electric engine advancement has changed the process of how vehicles are manufactured across the globe. During 2023 and the early part of 2024, most automakers were excited to take a leap of faith into the future of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. What is interesting, was that car giant Toyota, after extensive studies and research and manufacturing, finally settled on abandoning its strategy to build only EVs car engines. Instead, Toyota opted to pursue…

AngloGold Ashanti expects to meet its gold output target of up to 2.79 million ounces this year despite flooding at its Tropicana mine in Australia, the company said yesterday as it reported a headline net loss of $46 million (R870m) for 2023. The loss was mainly due to lower gold sales, corporate restructuring costs, higher environmental provisions and the cost of job cuts, as well as care and maintenance at Córrego do Sítio in Brazil, which was idled in August. It compares with a restated headline profit of $489m the year before. AngloGold Ashanti, which also has operations in Africa and the Americas, restated its financial statements for 2022, which the company said “contained an error related to the reported amount of the deferred tax asset with regard to the…

Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has welcomed the raid at her house in Bruma, Johannesburg, by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), but stuck to her guns that she was innocent. This came as President Cyril Ramaphosa avoided questions in Parliament on the raid at Mapisa-Nqakula’s house. DA leader John Steenhuisen said the raid at the Speaker’s house was because Ramaphosa had delayed implementing lifestyle audits on his ministers. He made the announcement in 2018, but was only announcing a few months before the elections that they will start the process of conducting lifestyle audits on ministers. Ramaphosa was yesterday answering questions in Parliament. Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed she could not preside over his question and answer session because of the operation by law enforcement agencies at her Johannesburg house. The Speaker maintained that she…

A Centurion businessman is struggling to get his assets back after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, dismissed a fraud case against him and his associates. The businessman and his co-accused were nabbed by the police in 2022 for alleged fraud. He was later charged for corruption for paying the legal fees of one of the co-accused, who could not pay his fees. He said the NPA charged him because they claimed that amounted to gratification, and that’s when their assets were frozen. According to the businessman, he and his co-accused were cleared by the High Court on Friday, with the judge striking their case off the roll, which in turn meant the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) needed to release their assets. But they were given “the runaround” by the curator…

“Thank your lucky stars you were not here yesterday,” says a delegate I will honour by not naming here. I stand in the foyer of the Commission on Khoi-San matters Research Symposium in Cape Town, marvelling at people adorned in sheepskin cloaks with various traditional headgear and patterned sticks, before being ushered outside where a spiritual ceremony is to be conducted before Day 2 starts. There are murmurs of this opening ceremony being done to bring about calm, following the previous day’s emotionally charged proceedings. Impepho (sage) is burnt on top of bullhorns in front of a neatly laid-out cow hide right in front of the upmarket Walmer Estate hotel’s main entrance that overlooks the Cape Town CBD and a number of suburbs. A few chants, dancing and prayers later…

SMALL-scale fishers have raised concern over the supply of snoek for Easter celebrations, as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment cracked down on daily catch limits. The department enlisted the help of the SANDF at the weekend, as it inspected vessels on the Hondeklipbaai slipway in the Northern Cape. Maria Welcome, spokesperson for environmental society organisation, Green Connection, said fishers along the West Coast, extending down to the Western Cape, were struggling with quotas to meet fish supply demand. “Snoek migration starts a cultural ritual practised for as long as fishers can remember. “Snoek consumers and partakers in Easter Weekend fish rituals and delicacies should be warned — the shelves and pantries may be empty this year,” said Welcome. A department spokesperson, Peter Mbelengwa, said that on Friday, several…

The City of Tshwane is mourning the death of former Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) chief, Steven Ngobeni, who exited office in 2017 due to political pressure he faced under ex-mayor Solly Msimanga. Prior to assuming power, after the 2016 municipal election, Msimanga said he wanted to replace Ngobeni with a career policeman after he was appointed to the mayoral office. On April 6, 2017, Ngobeni was accused of refusing to execute Msimanga’s orders to remove rowdy ANC councillors from a council chamber at the Tshwane Events Centre during the State of the Capital Address. At the time, former municipal manager Dr Moeketsi Mosola suspended Ngobeni for a day. Msimanga pronounced that his relationship with Ngobeni had “hit rock bottom”. Ngobeni subsequently reached an agreement with the municipality through his…

As anger and upset rage on about the existence of Pretoria East’s massive informal settlement, known as Plastic View, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and humanitarian groups continue to call for the residents living within to be protected. The area, built up mostly with plastic, cardboard and other hazardous material, has gone up in flames several times a year over the last 10 years, due to the close proximity of the shacks, and the lack of electricity. Home to many foreign nationals and South Africans who migrated to the city for work, the settlement remains a bone of contention – situated in an affluent area, it is seen as an embarrassing spot, with residents often claiming it bred criminals and degraded their properties. Tshwane, whose fire and emergency services have constantly had…

Human Rights Day will come alive once again at Constitution Hill when music and arts collide this weekend. The 6th edition of the Constitution Hill Human Rights festival takes place amid a litany of socio-economical challenges, kicking off tomorrow and wrapping up on Sunday. The festival has gained prominence through bringing together various NGOs, social justice organisations, think tanks, media partners and others, to highlight human rights issues affecting South Africans through film, art, music and though-provoking conversations. With an array of short and feature films to be screened as part of the festival, organisers have earmarked award-wining actress and script writer, Mmabatho Montsho as the curator of this year’s film festival. “It’s an honour to be invited by ConHill to be at the helm of the 2024 Human Rights…

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has revealed he will not target marquee stars like Jude Bellingham as he bids to revive his club’s fortunes. Ratcliffe has taken control of football operations at United following his recent £1 billion (about R25bn) purchase of a 25% stake in the Premier League side. With United struggling in Erik ten Hag’s second season as manager, British billionaire Ratcliffe had been expected to make big-money signings in the close-season. United have not won the Premier League since 2013 and currently sit in sixth place, although they are through to the FA Cup semi-finals after beating Liverpool on Sunday. Appearing as a guest on Geraint Thomas’ Cycling Club podcast, the 71-year-old was asked whether he would try to sign England midfielder Bellingham from Real Madrid. “He…

Scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies has urged his Stormers team to make a strong start in Saturday’s URC clash against Edinburgh at the Cape Town Stadium (5.05pm kick-off). The Capetonians were behind the eight ball almost from the start in their last URC clash, the 40-22 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria on March 2. They conceded a second-minute try and were 19-5 behind in the first half, and despite fighting back in the second, they went down in a bonus-point loss to Jake White’s team at Loftus Versfeld. John Dobson’s side can’t afford to be slow out of the blocks against a wily Edinburgh side coached by former Sharks mentor Sean Everitt. Dobson stated this week that his side have some hard work ahead of them to climb up the URC…

There can no denying that Thabang Mosiako is among the stars of South African road running. Currently, the country’s half-marathon champion after a consummately easy victory in the national championships in Gqeberha last year, the 29-year-old has gone on to cement that status with some super runs over the distance. He was Team SA’s best performer at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Latvia late last year with his sixth- place finish as he ran the second-fastest half-marathon time of 59:52. Just last month he clocked an impressive 61:42 at the Lisbon Half Marathon. That he is fast is evidenced by his being among the few runners in the country to have dipped under the 28-minute barrier in the 10km, a feat he has achieved on more than one…

PANYAZA Lesufi sat high up in the stands at the Tuks Stadium, emotionless as his beloved Moroka Swallows took on the University of Pretoria in a Nedbank Cup last-16 match the other night. With the score at 1-1, Gauteng’s No 1 citizen – resplendent in a black suit, with a white shirt and black tie – looked hopeful. That hope was swiftly dashed, though, as the Birds conceded a last-minute goal to tumble out of the competition in which they have a great history. The defeat saw them suffering the ignominy of being the only elite league side to be denied a quarter-final spot by a lower division side. “There’s a shortage of strike-force at the club that is dear to my heart,” he said, a day later when he…