Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2023-02-06 in Cape Times

ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile will be among the four MPs to be sworn in at Parliament today before the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday. This was confirmed yesterday in a statement by the ANC’s parliamentary chief whip, Pemmy Majodina. Majodina also confirmed that the party’s second deputy secretary-general, Maropene Ramokgopa, would be sworn-in along with ANC national executive members, former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala and former Gauteng economic development MEC Parks Tau. “The ANC parliamentary caucus is looking forward to welcoming the four members and leaders of the ANC who will take their oaths or affirmations as new MPs in the Speaker’s office at 12pm on Monday (today),” Majodina said. She said that they congratulated the quartet and looked forward to benefiting from their skills, talents…

THE local football fraternity is reeling in shock following the murder of promising soccer star Oshwin Andries, who was stabbed to death at the weekend. Messages of condolence have poured in for Andries, 20, who hailed from Cloetesville and played defender for the Stellenbosch Football Club. In a statement, Stellenbosch Football Club said its members were saddened by the news. “It is with deep sadness that Stellenbosch FC has learnt of the untimely passing of promising young defender Oshwin Andries. “The club is not in a position to provide further information at this stage and asks that his family’s privacy is respected at this difficult time of bereavement.” Andries was a gifted footballer who graduated from the Stellenbosch Football Academy to make his professional debut at the age of 18.…

I RECENTLY came across this great quote by Herman Melville: “Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed and well-fed.” It reminded me of how fake Malthusian arguments are used to blame the poor for their poverty. These “arguments” are usually ahistorical, conveniently omitting to consider the role of colonialism and capitalism as the key causal factors. They also omit to consider that there currently exists the means and capacity to eliminate poverty on a global scale. There is enough to go round. It’s the system, folks.…

THE latest episode last week of the Joburg Coalition of Corruption soap opera exposed the many actors the DA has been warning about all along. I ask readers not to believe what I have to say, simply look at facts and connect the dots. It amazes me how some people take politicians’ words at face-value without verification or research. Throughout this entire episode the criminally-minded extortionists and patronage extractors, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) who arrogantly call themselves the “king-makers” not once spoke, privately or publicly, about the interests of Joburg residents. Consistently throughout the plot, and for all to clearly see, they spoke of positions for themselves, their unprincipled self-interest and their inflated egos. Not once did the PA speak about service delivery. This was reflected in the multi-party…

THE Gugulethu Sports Council (GSC) has blamed the City’s alleged negligence for their dilapidated recreation facilities, including swimming pools that have been empty for more than five years. Disgruntled residents have now given the City until March 31 to announce plans and time frames to revamp the sports and recreational facilities. GSC secretary Vusi Ntoni said, following inspection and investigations, it pained them to see how other communities’ recreational facilities were being repaired and upgraded while their area had remained the same for years. “The community of Gugulethu is crying. Their facility status core is very bad and needs the City’s attention urgently. “The stadiums are vandalised, the sports halls are invaded, and the swimming pools have been closed for years. Crime is high because children don’t have a proper…

Dire reading for Ramaphosa and his 2023 Cabinet lekgotla cohorts IT IS one of the most ancient debilities of humanity. It is the pariah of all the belief systems that define the world. And yet its persistence and perseverance are so pervasive that it would make its arch patron, Hades, ever so proud. I am, of course, referring to the pandemic of corruption, the scourge of economies, governments, political parties, business and finance, the public sector and procurement, whose impact and the inability of governments and global gatekeeper institutions at least to contain it has left a trail of societal, social and economic devastation, which in reality acts as a mere multiplier effect. The year 2022 was no exception. Every year in January, Transparency International (TI), arguably the integrity conscience…

Guatemala City: Thousands of motorcyclists on Saturday roared 225km across Guatemala in a rolling procession to venerate a religious crucifix, the Black Christ of Esquipulas. Thumping motorcycle engines roared to life at dawn in Guatemala City’s main Constitution Square, and riders soon sped off, resuming a practice begun in 1961 but suspended for two years by the pandemic. “This is the 12th time that God has allowed me to arrive in Esquipulas,” said Alberto Godines, 43, who wore a mask of a skull with horns. Other participants also wore masks of devils or characters from the movies, all to take part in what is known as the “Caravan of Zorro,” which every February takes cyclists to Esquipulas, a city declared in 1996 by then Pope John Paul II as the…

ABEOKUTA: Eugene Konboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent. What started out as an assignment in college in 2017, has become a full- time job for Konboye, whose studio in the city of Abeokuta in the south-west state of Ogun province, now trains aspiring artists who want to follow in his footsteps and create flip-flop portraits. Nigeria produces at least 2.5 million tons of plastic waste annually, according to government figures, with some of it finding its way into the ocean and rivers. Flip-flops are the footwear of choice for many Nigerians and Konboye, 30, sources his material mostly from dump sites, landfills and river banks. Back…

Baghdad: A prominent Iraqi activist campaigning for the preservation of the famed Mesopotamian marshes has been kidnapped by armed men south of the capital Baghdad, his family said yesterday. Jassim al-Assadi, 65, head of the environmental group Nature Iraq, raises awareness of the threats facing the drought-hit World Heritage Site. Assadi was driving to Baghdad on Wednesday when he was abducted 5km before the capital. Two cars stopped him, and armed men in plain clothes handcuffed him and put him into a vehicle, his brother Nazim said. “My cousin was with him. They left him on the road,” he added. The family has not heard from Assadi since. “The motive isn’t clear.”…

The Nedbank Cup resumes tomorrow with the Round of 32 set to be held over a week. There will be no less than 15 fixtures taking place in that time, four of which will see top-flight teams battle it out against each other. The first all-Premiership clash takes place tomorrow as runaway league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns prepare to tackle surprise package Richards Bay. The Brazilians will be overwhelming favourites to win and will also be out for redemption after they were dumped out of the MTN8 by Orlando Pirates earlier in the season. Richards Bay’s stubborn defence has been a major factor behind their successes this season and they will be looking to prove to Rhulani Mokwena’s side that they are no pushovers. Maritzburg United host Kaizer Chiefs at Harry…

Paris Saint-Germain's football advisor Luis Campos says he will be “delighted” if Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi agrees to extend his contract with the French champions. The 35-year-old, seven-time Ballon D'Or winner achieved his lifetime ambition of winning the World Cup in December but has maintained a decent run of form on his return to France. He scored a key goal in the 3-1 win over Montpellier and then notched his 10th Ligue 1 goal of the season on Saturday as PSG, missing Kylian Mbappe and Neymar through injury, came from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1. Messi joined PSG in 2021 on a two year contract, with the option of renewing it for another, after an emotional farewell to Barcelona where he had spent his whole professional career. “We are in…

NEWLANDS Cricket Ground will host 12 of the upcoming ICC T20 Women’s World Cup matches, including two semi-finals and the final, as Cape Town is one of three venues for the tournament. The eighth edition of the tournament will see 10 teams clash between February 10 and 26. The host nation, South Africa, will kick off against Sri Lanka at Newlands this Friday. The City of Cape Town hosted an event at Maiden’s Cove to welcome teams and officials to the Mother City, where captains of all participating teams were given a “piece of South Africa” as a memento and a reminder of their experience in Cape Town. “It is a pleasure to welcome all participating nations to Cape Town and we are thrilled to be hosting them in…

MANY outrageous acts of stupidity can be laid at the door of the ANC. Not least of all “cadre deployment”, the appointment of certain Cabinet ministers (actually most of them), the SA flag project and so on. And on. In a totally different league is their overseeing of the destruction of Eskom. And SAA. And Transnet. And the Post Office. And other entities, ad nauseam. Then consider the claim by Mantashe that load shedding will be “sorted out within 6 to 12 months”. The man is hallucinating. And then, in another totally stupid and contradictory vein, he proposed signing a 10-year contract with Karpowership. This is in stark contrast to his earlier claim. But then, we must not forget. He initially wanted a 20-year contract. Plenty of “Turkish Delight” would…

THE Peshawar mosque attack in which 101 were killed is an act of terrorism that must be condemned by the whole of humanity. Conflict, the grim reaper continues to claim the lives of innocent people across the Muslim and non-Muslim world.The dire consequences of war, hatred and prejudice, particularly for the civilian population, defy description. War is like fire in the human community, one whose fuel is human beings. Wars expose man’s ultimate inhumanity to man. Wars are an innate but obsolete part of human nature. Wars reflect man’s basest instinct untamed by rationality. All wars are instigated by hungry megalomaniacs; the politicians managed by professional killers; the military; and fought by the brainwashed members of their prospective population, the cannon fodder. The murder of innocent young…

AN EFF member is claiming R5 million in damages from a resident who recently pleaded guilty to assaulting him during a violent protest outside the Brackenfell High School in 2020. The violent clashes between residents and EFF protesters outside the school were triggered by reports of a matric dance that was only attended by white pupils. Jaco Pretorius was caught on video in a violent confrontation with EFF member Luvuyo Ntakana. Pretorius was arrested following the incident and charged with assault. He is also reported to have allegedly fired a gun in the air during the protest. He pleaded guilty to the charges and paid a R2 000 fine. In papers filed through his lawyers, Gardee Godrich Attorneys, Ntakane said Pretorius infringed on his human rights. “Your conduct inflicted immense…

EMBATTLED ANC MPL Andile Lili has been suspended from the party after being referred to the Provincial Parliament’s Conduct Committee relating to criminal charges he faces. Lili, who appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court last week on charges of assaulting the principal of Inkanini Primary School – a woman – has been suspended with immediate effect. ANC provincial spokesperson, Sifiso Mtsweni, confirmed Lili’s suspension. “The interim provincial committee (IPC) has invoked the step-aside guidelines to Lili for him to attend to his court case. He will remain on step aside as a member of the ANC IPC . We are engaging the ANC caucus on further steps as it relates to his role in the legislature. We will follow proceedings as it relates to the conduct committee’s work on…

The recent mass killings that claimed the lives of at least 18 people in one day last week are a grim reminder of the state of affairs in our communities, and that the fight against crime is long lost. The criminals are in charge while the government, in particular Police Minister Bheki Cele, is clueless as to what needs to be done. That no one has been arrested for Wednesday’s shootings in KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape and Mfuleni in Cape Town is indicative of the police’s lack of ability and capability to act with urgency in bringing ruthless criminals to book. Any murder, let alone mass killings where three people or more have been killed, should receive top priority, with those behind it arrested within hours…

Lima: Violent new street protests gripped downtown Lima on Saturday night, hours after a Roman Catholic cardinal voiced dismay that the nation’s Congress again declined to advance elections to defuse Peru’s political crisis. Thousands of protesters skirmished with riot police once night fell, scattering amid tear gas volleys but regrouping in an effort to reach Peru’s Congress. In the latest of two months of often-lethal protests, some demonstrators fired back at police with homemade fireworks. A tally of arrests and injuries was not immediately available. Peru’s legislature, meanwhile, received a rebuke from a top Roman Catholic prelate. “It hurts our souls that they have (not acted on) a proposal to move up elections,” Cardinal Pedro Barreto said. Congress a day earlier slammed the door until August on any further debate…

Tecoluca: Conditions inside a huge new mega-prison designed to house 40 000 gang members in El Salvador will be particularly severe, according to visiting journalists. Miguel Montenegro, director of the nongovernmental Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, has warned of the “risks of violence” in a prison he said would likely end up being badly overcrowded. “There will most likely be more than the (announced capacity of) 40 000,” considering that 63 000 presumed gang members have been arrested since President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency last spring, allowing arrests without warrants in the violence-plagued country. Montenegro has assailed the vast prison – a 166-hectare (410-acre) facility known as the Terrorism Containment Center, or Cecot – as “an embarrassment for the country.” An AFP team…

MOSCOW: Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennet, who served as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev at the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine a year ago, said that Western countries blocked negotiations between the sides to the conflict. “Anything I did was coordinated down to the last detail with the US, Germany and France … They blocked it [dialogue],” Bennet said in an interview with Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum. The former mediator added that he believed there was “a legitimate decision by the West to keep striking [Russian President Vladimir] Putin” and not trying to negotiate. Russia-Ukraine talks began at the end of February after the start of Moscow’s military operation. The negotiations were concluded in Istanbul on March 29.…

Kyiv: Heavy fighting was under way yesterday in the northern parts of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the head of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner said. Russian forces have been trying to seize control of Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk for months – the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded Ukraine last February. Despite the flow of Western weapons, Russia has in recent days claimed gains in the region. “In the northern quarters of Artemovsk, fierce battles are going on for every street, every house,” Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said, referring to Bakhmut by its old name. The Ukrainian army was not retreating. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv’s troops would fight for Bakhmut “as long as we can”.…

A NEW member of the Cape Coloured Congress (CCC), Paul Bester, has reacted with shock to a backlash over “a white man joining a coloured party”, saying he has no hidden agenda but hoped to work with marginalised communities. The 53-year-old from Kraaifontein said there was mixed reaction when he announced he had joined the party recently, with people questioning his motives. “I officially joined the Kraaifontein CCC branch and when this was announced, questions were posed as to why would a white guy join a coloured party. As if I have a hidden agenda. “My response was ‘don’t judge me as a white person. Judge me on me’. Many people don’t know where I come from and labelling me as a white guy without knowing me is wrong,” he…

THE Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development have come under fire for failing to introduce bills in Parliament that will give Muslim marriages legal status. This comes after the programme committee heard that Parliament’s bills office was still waiting for a draft bill from the departments. Briefing MPs, parliamentary legal adviser Charmaine van der Merwe said the two departments had confirmed they were working on a new act that would fix the constitutional defects in the divorces and marriages legislation. “We have asked for a draft bill. We are waiting for a response,” Van der Merwe said. In June 2022, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment that recognised the validity of Muslim marriages and protected the rights of people who marry according to…

THE Tourism chief executive raises an essential consideration for the Minister of Finance when allocating his budget for the new financial year. Specifically, the allocation of funds and the value added by the various departments and state-owned entities as considerations. It is becoming crucial that the funds allocated to the various government entities are linked to the value-added concern and not necessarily to the need alone. The value-added thinking will help us understand if we are getting value for the money allocated in various departments or state- owned entities as citizens. In his words, Mr Themba Khumalo, Tourism SA CEO, made a significant point that the money invested in tourism is for tourism activities, and other departments have their own money to invest in their projects. Yes, each ministry or…

WE, THE Heathfield High learners are once again concerned about our education. We came into a new year thinking we would have stability and structure at our school, especially coming from the terrible year we had last year, believing there would be no disruptions. First: The first week of school there was no timetable set out for us learners. For three days we literally sat in class and did absolutely nothing. No programme was put in place whatsoever. The following week, we came back with the mindset we were going to come to school to work; by Monday there was still no timetable. Second: We found out that most grades don’t have teachers. How is this possible? This should have been sorted out before the school year had started. So…

YOUR Thursday edition, “City ballet welcomes international stars”, refers: To encourage and support City Ballet and our orchestra is vital. These cultural pursuits always appeal to international tourists. In essence, both the ballet and the orchestra get little to no support from the government. However, the value to every single city which hosts the cultural events is immeasurable. It is well known throughout the world that both the ballet and the orchestra encourage high net worth individuals to not only stay and live in the cities where they are staged but also attract high net worth individuals to come and spend in those cities. It would be an interesting exercise to see what an enormous difference these cultural pursuits actually make to the tourism of that particular city.…

AS THE legacy of apartheid’s policies, which exclude the black majority from ownership of productive assets, still exists to this day, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission finds that efforts to turn things around are slow. In its report, titled “Determining the Effective Implementation of Enterprise and Supplier Development Funds”, the commission found there were significant funds available for Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes, with reported budgets ranging from R101 000 – R999 999; R1 million – R5m; and R21m or more, the bulk being in the R1m to R5m range, and the overall total for 2021 being in the region of R26 billion. However, only 61% of the funds allocated to ESD were implemented, which was a continuing trend over the past five years (2017: 44%; 2018:…

Molatelo Maloka thought she had bought a dream home, but found a damp, smelly house with sagging cupboards and bubbling and cracking paint. The new owner turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to get a reduction in the selling price of the house, and to force the sellers to cough up for fixing the damp problem. The sellers claimed they were not aware of these problems when they sold the house “voetstoots” to the plaintiff. Thus, they argued, they were protected by the voetstoots clause against latent defects unknown to them. But the court found that because the latent defects were known to the defendants, they could not be protected by the voetstoots clause in the offer to purchase. Maloka told the court that when she saw the Roodepoort…

I have several women in my life: my spouse, mother, siblings, friends, sisters in Christ. The more I engage with them at a personal and emotional level, the more I realise there are many things we, as men, fail to understand. Among those are three impacts that result from our actions. In dealing with these three impacts, I need to tread softly, take off my shoes, as this is a serious and sensitive matter. Few men, if any, can be exempted on these issues. The first impact is the impact of cheating. A woman can be cheated on many times, yet the impact is the same. We can cheaply say she is used to it, but the embarrassment of the last incident equates to the embarrassment of the first. The…

Washington: The Biden administration has lauded the Pentagon for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the US Atlantic coast on Saturday, but China angrily voiced its “strong dissatisfaction” and said it might make “necessary responses”. The craft spent several days flying over North America before it was targeted off the coast of the south-eastern state of South Carolina, with a missile fired from an F-22 plane falling into relatively shallow water, Pentagon officials said. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to China’s “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”. But China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted the US action in a statement yesterday, saying the downing of the “civilian” aircraft was “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice”.…

Beijing: A highway pile-up in central China has killed 16 people and injured dozens, authorities said yesterday, with footage aired on local media showing burning trucks and smashed cars. Nearly 50 vehicles were involved in multiple collisions along a highway in Hunan province within the span of 10 minutes on Saturday evening, “with some vehicles catching on fire”, local traffic police said in a statement. Footage republished online by the state-owned People’s Daily showed multiple burning trucks bearing the logos of delivery companies, crushed and overturned cars and a dark cloud of smoke rising from the crashes. China’s emergency management ministry has called for an investigation into the cause of the accident.…

Islamabad: Pakistan’s exiled former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who became a key US ally during the “War on Terror”, died in a Dubai hospital yesterday, aged 79, after a long illness. Musharraf seized power in a 1999 bloodless coup and was simultaneously Pakistan’s army chief, chief executive and president when 9/11 happened. The general twice suspended the constitution and was accused of rigging a referendum shoring up his power, as well as rampant rights abuses including the rounding up of opponents. Nonetheless, he became Washington’s chief regional ally during their invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan. The decision put him in the crosshairs of Islamist militants who made several attempts on his life. But it also earned Pakistan a huge influx of foreign aid which bolstered the economy. He famously said the…

Tehran: Iranian authorities have detained a journalist at a reformist publication, local media reported yesterday, as her sister, also a journalist, remains in custody after reporting on Mahsa Amini’s death. Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests since the September 16 death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd, who was arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women. Elnaz Mohammadi, a reporter for reformist newspaper Hammihan, was detained at the Evin prosecutor’s office in Tehran after she had gone there “for an explanation”, reported Shargh, another reformist daily. It was not clear why Mohammadi had been summoned there. Her sister, Elahe Mohammadi, was arrested In September after reporting for Hammihan from Amini’s funeral. The journalist was charged with “propaganda against the system and conspiracy to…

Chippa United coach Morgan Mammila said a lack of concentration cost his team dearly after they suffered a 2-1Premiership defeat at the hands of a visiting Stellenbosch FC on Saturday. The match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was headed for a draw, but then Stellenbosch grabbed a goal by recent signing Iqraam Rayners deep into injury time to snatch a 2-1 win. Mammila said afterwards the goal came about because of “schoolboy errors” by his defence. “We gave away two points but, in this league, you can’t play like this,” said Mammila. “In the last five minutes were started losing concentration. We made schoolboy errors and we should have done better. “The keeper started making mistakes, as did the central defender and we just have to concentrate for 90 minutes.…

Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson scored the winner but it was debutant keeper Keylor Navas they had to thank for a gritty 1-0 Premier League home victory over Leeds United on Sunday. The 36-year-old Costa Rican, signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain until the end of the season, pulled off a string of superb reflex saves to deny a Leeds side who dominated possession, but could not find a way past him. Forest took the lead against the run of play when Leeds defender Pascal Struijk fouled Johnson and compounded the error by botching his headed clearance from the free kick, teeing up a chance for Johnson. The Welsh forward needed no further invitation, firing a rasping volley into the net to break the deadlock with his team’s first effort on…