Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2021-11-02 in Cape Times

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE STATE logistics utility Transnet has had to scale up investment in its security systems, including the use of drones and additional boots on the ground to counter the escalating theft of fuel from pipelines, which have also brought the additional cost of environmental resuscitation of the areas of spillage after leakages seeped into the ground. At the group’s financial results presentation for March 2021 on Friday, chief executive Portia Derby said the theft of fuel, copper and coal had a telling effect on group finances, particularly as it felt compelled to mitigate the environmental impact of fuel seeping into the ground after thieves had left the pipes leaking. This is an issue likely to escalate with the impending rise of fuel later this month after the…

From page 1 dramatic detention of Newzroom Afrika senior broadcast journalist Ziniko Mhlaba and his cameraman colleague Muraga Mphaphuli at an Orlando East, Soweto, polling station after they allegedly interfered with the work of the presiding electoral officer. Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) chairperson Glen Mashinini said they regretted the arrest of the journalist at a voting station. “After intervention of the commission, the journalist has been released and an investigation into the circumstances of his arrest will be instituted,” said Mashinini. “It is rather unfortunate that this situation resulted in a confrontation between police and the journalist,” said national police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo. He added that the matter had been escalated to the provincial police commissioner of Gauteng, who ordered the release of the journalist and an investigation…

Staff writer THE Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) was last night projecting a low voter turn-out in KwaZulu-Natal as service delivery protests took place in different parts of the province yesterday. The province had four million registered voters and 4 940 voting stations, but after midday only 23% of registered votes had been captured, although system glitches meant that the voting figures could increase. At close to midday, voting at the Ntobeko Crèche Voting Station in KwaNyavu, in the Mkhambathini Local Municipality in KZN, got under way after part of the voting station was torched. A strong police presence ensured voting proceeded. Members of the community, who live between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, flocked to the voting station as police visibility in the area ensured that threats made over the…

Goitsemang Tlhabye goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za THE Students Representatives Council (SRC) at Unisa has demanded that the university speed up and conclude investigations into allegations of sexual harassment against one of its members. It accused the university of failing to take swift action regarding sexual harassment, taking into consideration the prevalence and seriousness of gender-based violence (GBV) in the country. General-secretary Shatadi Phoshoko said they were disturbed by the allegations levelled against a student leader earlier this year. Phoshoko said their office had received the formal complaint against the leader, and a resignation letter from the complainant. However, Phoshoko said, the resignation was rejected by the members’ political structure. The SRC said it was dismayed that the internal university investigation, started on June 29, had not yet been concluded. “We urge the…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za A MYRIAD challenges, including bad weather, power outages or ballot paper mix-ups, could not stop millions of citizens across the province from casting their vote yesterday. Nineteen wards did not open on time and one ward had the wrong ballot papers delivered. “There were 19 voting stations that did not open on time. There was also an incident in Ward 114 (Mfuleni, Driftsands) where the incorrect ballot papers were delivered. “We discovered the problem early. Six people had already voted by then, so those votes were quarantined and put aside. It will be up to the national commissioner to decide if those votes will be counted or not,” IEC provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse said. “The weather was affecting our operations. At our temporary structures we had…

THE Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) needs to strengthen its vetting process to ensure its employees don’t engage in practices that will compromise the integrity of the elections. The IEC announced yesterday that one of its employees based in KwaZulu-Natal was being investigated by the police for allegedly stuffing marked voting papers into a ballot box. According to the commission, the unnamed officer was allegedly caught in a voting station in Umbumbulu, south of Durban. It was not clear which party the officer was trying to aid. It should be remembered that this is not the first time this has happened in KZN. In 2009, another IEC electoral official, Sindisiwe Ncube of Ulundi, was convicted for five years for electoral fraud. Ncube was caught stuffing marked ballots, in favour of…

Glasgow: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed more than 120 world leaders to historic climate talks in Glasgow yesterday with the stark warning: “It’s one minute to midnight, and we need to act now.” Global heads of state and government were convening for a two-day summit at the start of the UN’s COP26 climate conference, with US President Joe Biden set to jet in from separate G20 talks in Rome. The G20 members, including China, India and Western nations, collectively emit nearly 80% of global carbon emissions, but campaigners’ hopes for more decisive action heading in to COP26 were dashed. The G20 economies committed on Sunday to limiting global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels – the most ambitious target of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. They also agreed to…

LOS ANGELES: Idris Elba quit drinking beer to stay slim. The 49-year-old actor said: “Back in the day I was very into drinking beer but as I’ve got older it’s not so kind on the belly … (so) I’ve got into whisky, particularly Japanese whisky.” The Mountain Between Us actor has opened his own bar in London’s King’s Cross, and used his experiences in other drinking venues as a source of inspiration. He told Big Hospitality said: “I’ve been going to bars all my life and I have a very warm relationship with them – probably more so than I’m allowed to admit.”…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for vaccine equity and continued vigilance against the coronavirus as global Covid-19 deaths exceeded 5 million. “Today, the human family crosses a painful new threshold: 5 million lives lost to Covid-19,” he said in a statement yesterday. “This devastating milestone reminds us that we are failing much of the world.” While wealthy countries are rolling out third doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, only about 5% of people in Africa are fully vaccinated. This is a global shame, Guterres said. The 5 million threshold should also stand as a clear warning: our guard against the virus cannot be lowered, he said. There are still more deaths, overcrowded hospitals and exhausted health workers – and the risk of new variants spreading and claiming more lives. At…

TOKYO: Following the victory of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in coalition with the Komeito ty in the lower parliamentary house elections, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday that his government would work hard on restoring Japan’s economy, following the aftermath of the pandemic. Kishida’s government will formulate an economic stimulus package by the middle of the month that will provide monetary help to businesses and people who were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding for the stimulus package would be provided by an extra budget the government aimed to pass this year, the prime minister said.…

Siphokazi Vuso, Odwa Mkentane and Tarryn-Leigh Solomons AT 79-years-old, Mfuleni resident Nomatshezi Mlisa braved the bad weather yesterday to make her mark at the polls, despite saying that she had lost hope in ever getting the home she has been fighting for since 1996. The Covid-19 informal settlement resident arrived at the Mfuleni High School voting station just after 10am. “I came to vote because you get the chance to meet people from different political parties. We have one thing in common – hoping for a better country and community. “It doesn’t matter what political party people vote for, as long as they bring change. The main thing that affects us as black people in the townships is infrastructure. I’ve been waiting for a house since 1996. I used to…

Nicola Daniels and Siphokazi Vuso THE bad weather in Cape Town, unrest around the country and an array of technical issues on the part of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) including a shortage of ballot papers, are some of the factors contributing to the low voter turnout yesterday. This is according to some political parties, who expressed disappointment that by 5pm yesterday, only about 8 million out of the 26 228 975 registered voters had turned out to vote at the 23 148 voting stations across South Africa. Figures released by the IEC by 1pm yesterday indicated that Limpopo had a slightly bigger voter turnout with 15% of people coming out to vote, followed by the Free State at 14%. Gauteng was at 14.3% while the Northern Cape, North…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za WHILE no casualties were reported in Sunday’s explosion at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) site, families of the 2018 explosion victims said the event brought back traumatic memories. The widow of Nico Samuels, Tracy Samuels, said after she had been alerted to the explosion, “it was like reliving the trauma again”. “The incident was very triggering, thinking back to September 3, 2018. “I was fast asleep at the time due to medication but when I got the messages to look outside my window – where I have a clear view of the RDM site – it was very traumatic. “All I could think about was the repeated devastation. What we know is that the surrounding community is still not safe and the company has to answer and…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za UCT’s new SRC president Zibi Mila cast his ballot in the local government elections at the Mowbray Town Hall voting station yesterday, while also mobilising and encouraging young people to brave the rain and play their part. Seated on the back of an open bakkie with fellow Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) students, the group drove past university residences, using a loud hailer to call on young people not to forget to vote. “It is important for young people to vote because it has an impact on their present lives and future. “Today I woke up knowing I’m voting EFF because they have been by the side of the people, be it workers at UCT, students, and even at schools. “I voted for Yamkela Xesibe. “He has been…

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recently released Global Tuberculosis Report for 2021 paints a dismal picture of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the fight against TB across the globe. Progress against TB has long been inadequate to reach the target of elimination by 2030. But before the pandemic, the world was making steady progress in diagnosing and treating TB, and deaths from TB had steadily decreased every year since 2005. This year, the report contains very worrying news about the Covid-19 pandemic’s wide-ranging and longer-term effects on TB services. For the first time since 2005, the number of deaths due to TB increased from one year to the next. Mathematical modelling projections for the 16 worst-affected countries, including South Africa, suggest the knock-on effect will be…

Lebanon’s foreign minister yesterday called for talks with Saudi Arabia to ease a spiralling diplomatic row sparked by remarks made by the Lebanese information minister on the Yemen war. “Lebanon invites Saudi Arabia to engage in dialogue to solve all outstanding problems and not just the latest spat,” Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said. On Friday, Saudi Arabia gave Lebanon’s ambassador 48 hours to leave the country, recalled its envoy from Beirut and suspended all imports from Lebanon. The Saudi foreign ministry said the measures were taken after “insulting” remarks made by a Lebanese minister on the Yemen war, but also due to the influence of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shia movement Hezbollah, which is viewed by Saudi Arabia as a terrorist group. In an interview aired last week, Information Minister Georges…

LAS VEGAS: Michael Bublé is reportedly heading to Las Vegas for a residency next year.The Haven’t Met You Yet hitmaker is expected to announce a stint at the world-famous Resorts World in Sin City next year. The 46-year-old singer will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Meanwhile, Michael – who is often dubbed the King of Christmas – revealed that his wife and children prefer to listen to other Yuletide songs to his own festive records. The Home singer embraces the “excesses” of the festive season but his family’s favourite “tradition” is a huge musical celebration with their extended family on December 25. He said: “My favourite part of Christmas, the tradition now, is the dance party. It’s just a huge party with…

Nairobi: Kenyan police have announced they were reopening a case into the 2012 murder of a young mother last seen with a British soldier from a military base. Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was reportedly partying with soldiers nine years ago at a hotel in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki, where the British army has a permanent garrison. She disappeared and was later found dead in a septic tank behind the hotel. A British soldier confessed to killing Wanjiru and showed comrades where he dumped her body. The crime was reported but dismissed by military officials. The revelations have galvanised fresh calls for an investigation and justice for Wanjiru.…

BANGKOK: Thailand’s largest opposition party has called for a parliamentary review of the country’s use of security legislation, including a strict royal insults law, after a surge in arrests of opponents of the government. The Pheu Thai Party said the use of the laws to go after critics of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who has been in power since a coup he led in 2014, had diminished public trust in the justice system. The party is proposing parliament re-examine the ways in which the laws are used and amended, so that “prisoners of conscience” can be freed and trust in the system can be restored.…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com When DStv Premiership upstarts Royal AM and SuperSport United clash at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban today, the outcome could be determined by who fares best between Bafana Bafana teammates Victor Letsoalo of Thwihli Thwahla and Matsatsantsa’s Ronwen Williams. Royal AM have shocked friend and foe alike after they climbed the standings to reach an enviable fourth, which is an incredible achievement for a club that did not have pre-season preparations. The former Bloemfontein Celtic coach, John Maduka, inherited a Royal AM squad that included virtually all his former players. Very much like pack horses rather than racehorses, Maduka and his squad have hit the ground running. Eight rounds later, they have fared better than 12 other Premiership teams. Only Mamelodi Sundowns, Stellenbosch and SuperSport have done better,…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za LONDON-listed Grit Real Estate Income Group is taking steps to manage down its loan-to-value (LTV), which rose in the year ended June, said on Friday the potential sale of AnfaPlace Mall in Casablanca, Morocco, would contribute to this end. Grit is a pan-African real estate company that invests in and manages a portfolio of assets in carefully selected African countries. The company, which delisted from the JSE this year, but remains listed in Mauritius and in London, said its distributable earnings per share plummeted 37.7 percent to $5.97 (R90.75) per share from $9.58 per share the prior year. Group LTV increased to 53.1 percent from 50.2 percent in 2020 predominantly as a result of the decrease in the value of the group’s property portfolio,…

Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she’s having the ‘best sex’ Gwyneth Paltrow thinks she's having the "best sex" because she's a “newlywed”. The Goop founder married producer Brad Falchuk in September 2018 but she admitted the novelty of being together still hasn’t worn off and things are particularly exciting in the bedroom. Appearing on Red Table Talk, host Jada Pinkett Smith said: “So we read that you’re having some of the best sex these days, which yay! And you’re 49.” Gwyneth replied: “Yes, but I’m a newlywed, so it’s like I’m cheating maybe a little bit. You know?” Asked how long they have been married, she added: “Only three years. We just had our three-year anniversary." The Iron Man actress – who has children Apple, 17, and Moses, 15, with first husband…

0Jehran Naidoo, Ntombi Nkosi, Sihle Mavuso, Mayibongwe Maqhina and Mashudu Sadike ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa voted in Chiawelo, Soweto where there was a small crowd booing him, while some protested and abstained from voting. There was alos unrest reported outside the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House. The IEC had said it could not provide disruption-free elections but one that was free and fair, and sporadic incidents of arson, road blockades, intimidation of IEC officials and delays were offset by a smooth voting process in many parts of the country. In Soweto and outside Luthuli House angry community members protested over service delivery. As Ramaphosa made his way to Chiawelo to cast his ballot alongside his wife, Dr Tshepo Motsepe, protesting residents complained about the lack of water and electricity in…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za THREE children have died after recently contracting rabies, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed. In its monthly communiqué, the NICD said two new cases of human rabies were reported in the Eastern Cape (EC) and one in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) since last month. This brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed human rabies cases in South Africa this year to 11. “These cases originate from the EC (5), KZN (3) and Limpopo (3). In addition, three probable cases were reported from KZN,” the NICD said. “Probable cases” are defined by the World Health Organization as cases that present with a clinical disease and outcome compatible with a diagnosis of rabies and an epidemiological link constituting exposure to a possibly rabid animal, for example a dog…

Francesca Villette Francesca.villette@inl.co.za HEATHFIELD High School principal, Wesley Neumann, says he won’t mind if the findings of an investigation relating to his dismissal are released for public scrutiny. Neumann, who listened to parents’ wishes and decided that the school should stay closed during the peak of the first Covid-19 wave, was found guilty of six charges following a disciplinary hearing initiated by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). Parents, staff and the school community are among those who are backing calls to have the charges against him dropped. Neumann said he wouldn’t have an objection to the release of the report. “The report needs to be interrogated because of the misrepresentations,” he said. A friend and supporter of parent lobby group the Special Action Committee (SAC), William Leith, asked in…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za MORE than 100 Kayamandi residents in Stellenbosch had to be assisted with temporary identity documents following a fire that claimed two lives and left two others injured, on the eve of the local government elections. At least 180 people were left destitute and about 70 structures destroyed in a fire that ripped through Kayamandi informal settlement on Sunday. Residents said they suspected an unattended stove could have caused the blaze. One of the affected residents, Zingisile Majangaza, said some were staying with friends and others were taken in by relatives. “We are not certain about what really happened. We just heard that someone was cooking. We have lost everything. The municipality provided food. We had given up on voting, however we were assisted with temporary IDs at…

Ethical decisions based on moral conviction will stand the test of time Choices and decisions are as old as mankind itself. When Adam and Eve decided to commit the first sin, it spelt doom for all future generations. When their son Cain decided to commit the first murder when he killed his brother Abel and rudely asked God if he was his brother’s keeper, it plunged us all into a hopeless situation. History is replete with decisions, not only made by individuals but also nations when deciding to go to war with either their neighbours or their enemies. Choices and decisions are produced in our brains, but the crucial mistake we make is to fail to take into account the consequences that will follow. Many such decisions are fatal. The…

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson yesterday warned against what he called regional threats of Israel and called the latest US-led military flight over regional waters “provocative”. When asked about the allocation of $1.5 billion (about R23bn) by Israel to counter Iran’s nuclear program, Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran has never ruled out or ignored the threats posed by Israel against stability and security in the region. “Basically, the nature of this regime (Israel) is creating crisis, and the roots of this regime are growing in insecurity and instability,” Khatibzadeh said during his weekly press conference. In the meantime, Israel is well aware of Iran’s capabilities and its own limitations, and also knows that Iran is serious about its security, he added. “We closely monitored and followed it in details,” the Iranian spokesperson…

After being devastated by the coronavirus, Mexico City threw a coming-out party, featuring what might have been its biggest Day of the Dead parade ever. The parade was canceled last year amid one of the world’s worst outbreaks of Covid-19. But officials say 95% of the city’s adults are now fully vaccinated, and deaths across the country have dropped sharply. “This is the moment to reopen the city,” Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said. Maybe nothing seems more Mexican than the Día de los Muertos, a tradition that dates at least as far back as the Aztec empire. Yet the celebrations have changed drastically in the past 20 years. For that, you have a few people to thank. One is James Bond. The 2015 Bond movie “Spectre” featured an elaborate Day of…

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia yesterday executed a man convicted of trying to shoot dead security forces and weapons charges, with alleged links to figures accused of terrorist activities, state media reported. He was executed in Dammam in the Eastern Province, which has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when mostly Muslim Shiite protesters took to the streets. The demonstrators demanded an end to what they called discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government. The Saudi man who was executed “took part in two shooting operations against security forces,” the interior ministry said.…

PRISTINA: North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigned on Sunday after his party lost the second round of mayoral elections in several towns in the country, including the capital Skopje. “I take responsibility for these developments. I resign from the post of prime minister and party president,” Zaev, whose Social Democrats are leading the ruling coalition. The leader of the nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, Hristijan Mickoski, has called for a snap election. Last year in a vote a party alliance led by the Zaev’s Social Democrats squeaked to a narrow victory…

New Zealand coach Gary Stead said his bowlers produced one of their best ever T20 performances in Sunday’s eight-wicket victory over India, which put the Black Caps firmly back on track for a place in the World Cup semi-finals. After losing their tournament opener to Group II leaders Pakistan, New Zealand restricted India’s lauded batting line-up to 110/7 before rattling off their victory target with more than five overs to spare. Seamer Trent Boult took 3/20 and spinners Ish Sodhi (2/17) and Mitchell Santner (0/15) exerted huge pressure on the Indian batsmen in a highly disciplined display of bowling at the Dubai International Stadium. “I thought the bowling effort was absolutely outstanding, possibly up there with the best performance I’ve seen in my time with the T20 bowling team,” Stead…