Indholdsfortegnelse for 2021-12-22 i Cape Times

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za COMMUNITY, environmental and human rights groups have filed leave to appeal the High Court’s ruling that had found there was no reasonable apprehension that Shell’s seismic blasting off the Wild Coast would cause irreparable harm. The Border Deep Sea Angling Association, the Kei Mouth Ski Boat Club, Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa, who lost their application for an urgent interdict to stop Shell’s seismic blasting earlier in December, are appealing because this is an issue of substantial public importance. “They believe there are reasonable prospects of an appeal court finding: that Shell did not undertake the consultations which its own environmental management programme obliged it to take, that the risks of harm to marine life are real and not speculative, and that there was a reasonable apprehension…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa has lost its seat on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) after failing to campaign for enough seats to keep it in the prestigious council which makes decisions on marine practices the world over. According to close sources, while it is South Africa the country that has lost the seat, the issues that led to this lie squarely on the shoulders of the South African Maritime Safety Association (Samsa), currently embroiled in board and corporate disputes that made it impossible for the country to campaign and network in time to acquire enough votes to retain its seat. The implications are accreditation for South Africans working on international waters in any capacity, as Samsa is tasked with ensuring the credentials of individuals, vessels and projects undertaken off…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za THE INDUSTRIAL Development Corporation (IDC) said its Post Unrest Business Recovery Fund had sustained 30 000 jobs as businesses impacted by July’s civil and social unrest began operating again. The unrest which led to extensive looting and destruction of businesses and property in Gauteng and KZN impacted the retail, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, among others. Almost five months after the unrest, many employees who were facing a bleak festive period were said to have reclaimed their jobs. IDC chief executive Tshokolo Petrus Nchocho said the impact of this unrest to the national economy was significant, given the strategic importance of Gauteng and KZN as SA’s key manufacturing hubs. “And this was telling of the disruption to the supply chain,” Nchocho said, adding that the funding…

Staff writer THERE’S no joy quite like the pitter-patter (and purrs) of new life, which is exactly what the Cango Wildlife Ranch family witnessed when first-time mom, Sansa, gave birth to four perfect little bundles of fur at the facility’s private reserve recently. Classified as vulnerable, and with estimated wild population numbers dwindling below 7 100, the species is running a gruelling race for survival. The ranch said the cubs would stay with their mom for the first two weeks, when they will consume enough colostrum to ensure healthy cubs with strong antibodies. “The cubs then move to a handraising centre where an experienced team of carers works around the clock to ensure optimal care for the young’uns. In the wild, the mortality rate for cheetah cubs is a shocking…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za MERELY two days before Christmas, a Vredenberg church along the West Coast is fighting an eviction application brought by the Saldanha Bay Municipality, which has left parishioners “shocked” and disappointed. Uni-Faith Ministries has vowed to oppose the high court application by the Saldanha Bay Municipality. In letters to the church, the municipality said it had to vacate the property so that the municipality could begin with the development of housing. Pastor Isak Rudolph of Uni-Faith Ministries said they were told that 15 houses would be built. The church was established in 2001. Rudolph told the Cape Times they had applied to buy the property in 2005 and were told the minister had put “a moratorium on the property and it cannot be sold”. He said they then…

Staff writer AROUND 29% of children under 5 in Uganda are stunted, leading the government and its partners to work towards advancing the country’s nutrition agenda. The World Health Organization (WHO), Unicef and Uganda’s stakeholders recently held a symposium, sharing experiences on the successes and challenges of processing and disseminating nutritional information. Paul Mbaka, Assistant Commissioner in the Division of Health Information at the Ministry of Health in Uganda, said: “Well-nourished children stand better chances of achieving robust physical, mental and cognitive development. They tend to have better immunity against illnesses, and are likely to be more productive throughout adulthood.” The symposium was a response to the findings of the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan II, launched in September. The report found that only 65.5% of infants under 6 months were…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za AS MATRIC exam markers across the country are expected to “pens down” today, the Western Cape Education Department said it was also on track to complete National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam scripts in the province. More than 897 700 candidates registered to sit for the November 2021 NSC examinations, comprising 735 677 full-time candidates and 162 109 part-time students. About 41 500 markers were appointed to mark the scripts at 193 centres located in nine provinces. They started working on December 8 and are expected to conclude today. The Northern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga province completed their marking ahead of time, yesterday. The provinces were now expecting to get into the process of finalising the capturing of marks and standardisation. Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson to MEC Debbie Schäfer,…

Factionalism continues to override the electoral process for ANC leaders “Democratic deficit” is a widely used term in political science denoting a particular situation where democracy is corroded or when democratic organisations or institutions fall short of meeting democratic principles in their practices and/or operations. The concept is often applied to explain liberal shortfalls in the operations of the government at national, provincial and local levels. In South Africa, the concept has applicability when analysing political parties, particularly because through the Constitution and various acts, such as the Electoral Commissions and Political Party Funding Act, political parties are required by law to be democratic, fair, and open in their operations and functions. Often, political parties, particularly those with well-developed constitutions and policies, resolve internal matters without the intervention of the…

Sana’a: UN aid flights into Yemen’s rebel-held capital have been halted by air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition which supports the government, an airport official said yesterday. Because of coalition air strikes targeting the Huthi rebels, “the airport is no longer able to receive aircraft operated by the UN or international humanitarian organisations”, the official told AFP. Flights into Sana’a airport have been largely halted by a Saudi-led blockade since August 2016, but there have been exemptions for aid flights, a key lifeline for the population. The airport official, who asked not to be identified, called on the UN to secure a halt to the raids so that the airport could resume operations. On Monday evening, the coalition said it had carried out “a limited number of…

VATICAN CITY: Nations should divert money spent on armaments to invest in education, Pope Francis has said in a yearly peace message, decrying growing military costs at the expense of social services. In his message issued yesterday for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace, which is celebrated on January 1, Francis also called for a better balance between a free market economy and the need to help the needy and protect the environment. He dedicated about a third of the four-page message to education…

A defrocked American priest was jailed for 12 years yesterday for sexually abusing children at an East Timor shelter, in a case that caused sharp divisions in the deeply Catholic nation. At least 15 women had accused Richard Daschbach, 84, of sexually abusing them when they were children at his shelter in the enclave of Oecusse, with fears that there may be many more victims. A panel of judges found the ex-priest guilty of several sex crimes at the shelter, which was founded in the early 1990s and housed hundreds of orphans and impoverished children. They handed down multiple sentences totalling 37 years, but presiding judge Yudi Pamukas said that was reduced to 12 years considering his age. Daschbach was under house arrest during the trial, and the judges ordered…

CHONGQING (China): Brother and sister panda twins born in a zoo in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality started to receive public visitors yesterday. The elder sister, named “Qizhen”, and the younger brother, named “Qibao”, were born in the Chongqing Zoo on September 13, and a 100-day party was held for the twins, whose names together mean “precious babies”. The two pandas played on the swings surrounded by colourful balloons at the party. The twins are growing well, both weighing about 5.4kg each. The zoo began to raise giant pandas in the 1960s. It has bred 40 giant pandas so far.…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za KAIZER Chiefs will conclude 2021 with a home clash against Maritzburg United at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg tonight (7.30pm kick-off). Chiefs enter the game sixth in the Premiership standings, but a win can potentially lift them to second place in the log. Chiefs defender Austin Dube believes that his side can defeat the Team of Choice if they play according to their strengths. “We are doing all we can to prepare for the match. In away games, you have to adapt to certain conditions you’re not familiar with,” Dube said. “But we have been doing well at home, and playing at home, we have that advantage. I believe if we stick to our own plan and not focus too much on what they (Maritzburg) do, but…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE JURY IS out on the price of chicken, South Africa’s most accessible source of protein, after the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) implemented additional provisional tariffs up to June 2022 on poultry imports from Brazil, Spain, Ireland, Poland and Denmark. Itac has implemented provisional anti-dumping duties against Brazil (up to 265.1 percent), Ireland (up to 158.4 percent), Poland (up to 96.9 percent), Denmark (up to 158.42 percent), and Spain (up to 85 percent) with immediate effect. The duties will remain in place until June 2022 as Itac investigates the extent of dumping and may implement these duties permanently. While the South African Poultry Association (Sapa) and advocacy group FairPlay have lauded the move to protect local producers, the Association of Meat…

Given.Majola given.majola@inl.co.za GLOBAL internet group Naspers, through its early-stage tech investment vehicle Naspers Foundry, yesterday announced a R54 million investment in Planet42, a car subscription company that tackles transport inequality. The investment was part of a R91m equity round led by Naspers Foundry, alongside existing investors Change Ventures and Startup Wise Guys. Existing debt investors, such as the impact debt fund Lendable, added a further R380m of debt. The investment in Planet42 was part of Naspers’s R1.4 billion commitment to grow South Africa’s early-stage tech ecosystem and the eighth investment since the launch of Naspers Foundry in 2019, the group said yesterday. Naspers SA chief executive Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa said: “This investment builds on Naspers’ growing mobility portfolio, which includes WhereIsMyTransport, Autotrader and OLX Autos, among others. “Planet42 is an…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A DIVORCED father of two children, aged 9 and 11, turned to court to obtain an interdict against his former wife, to prevent her using corporal punishment on them. The father, who cannot be identified in order to protect the children, claimed his wife smacked the children and that this was causing them emotional turmoil. He asked the High Court in Johannesburg to interdict the mother from physically disciplining the children in any manner whatsoever, pending the outcome of a forensic social worker report. The mother, on the other hand, said she had never beaten her children. However, on one occasion she “had to lay down the law” as they were playing a game (with each other) and she had to intervene. But she maintained that she…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za ACTIVIST and rape survivor Reverend June Dolley-Major will be leading protest action outside the HeartFM studios today, after it came to light that a former employee at the station had lodged four formal grievances against a manager relating to sexual harassment, and had to sign a non-disclosure as part of a labour settlement agreement. The employee had lodged four formal grievances against a senior manager, relating to “sexual harassment, discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, as well as the negligent or intentional endangerment of myself and other staff members amid the Covid pandemic”, CCMA documents seen by the Cape Times stated. In conclusion, the documents read that “the employee will refrain from making any comments or reference to the employer on social media or…

staff writer Three employees from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in St Lucia in northern KwaZulu-Natal will spend Christmas behind bars after they were arrested and charged in connection with fraud and other charges. According to national police spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, the trio were arrested following a sting operation by the Cold Case Unit and Directorate for Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal. The suspects include Nokuthula Lafuleni-Zungu, who worked as a building capacity manager, an executive manager, Caiphus Khumalo, and Nkosinathi Victor Ntshangase, a game ranger. The trio made their first appearance in the Empangeni Magistrate’s Court on Monday facing charges of fraud, corruption, extortion, theft and racketeering in connection with an amount in excess of R100 million. “Investigations revealed that some of the suspects were allegedly demanding money from various…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za EARLY intervention with children is best to avoid long-term post-traumatic disorder, and the sooner they are debriefed after an incident the better. So said traumatologist Dr Antoinette Beukes after a child in Brentwood Park near Delft sought help from a neighbour on Monday when the child’s father took his own life with a gunshot to the head. The child was in the house. It is unconfirmed at this stage if the man, a law-enforcement officer for the City of Cape Town, shot himself with his service pistol. Beukes, founder and director of the Kardia Trauma Research, Therapy and Training Institute, said there were trauma rooms at every police station with counsellors who could assist with trauma counselling on the spot. They were then able to assist with…

The goal of Silencing the Guns (STG) was to achieve a conflict-free Africa and rid the continent of all wars and conflicts. The STG agenda was given greater emphasis for 2020, when the AU declared the theme of the year as Silencing the Guns – Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development. Despite the initiative and roadmaps produced by the AU to realise this goal, conflicts have persisted, resulting in the STG agenda being extended to 2030, in the hope that by then Africa will have cured itself of the plague of conflict. Despite 2021 being the expected start of the first year of a conflict-free Africa, there have been a number of coups d’état and an entrenchment of conflicts. In Ethiopia, the conflict between government forces and the Tigray People’s…

Eight people were killed in ethnic clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria’s Nasarawa state, police said yesterday, although locals put the toll at over 20. Violence erupted on Friday and continued through Sunday when armed Fulani herders attacked villages of the Tiv ethnic group over the killing of a kinsman which they blamed on Tiv farmers, Ramhan Nansel, Nasarawa state police spokesperson, said. “We received a complaint on the killing of a Fulani herdsman but while the investigation was ongoing, a reprisal attack was carried out in Hangara village and neighbouring Kwayero village,” Nansel said. “Eight people were killed.” Army and police teams were deployed to restore calm and arrest the perpetrators. However, Peter Ahemba, the head of the Tiv Development Association, said the death toll was higher.…

London: The ruler of Dubai was yesterday ordered to pay his former wife and children about £550 million (R11.5 billion) in what is thought to be the highest divorce settlement set by an English court. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum was told he must pay Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, pictured, a half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a lump sum of £251.5m and provide a bank guarantee of £290m to cover children’s maintenance and security as adults. The 72-year-old sheikh has long been locked in a bitter legal battle with his 47-year-old former wife, who lives in London with their two children, aged 13 and nine. The High Court ruled in October that the sheikh had authorised use of spying software to hack his ex-wife’s phone, and a judge…

Larkana (Pakistan): A protest over the December 13 incident, in which two policemen and a suspect were killed in an alleged encounter, turned violent on Monday. The relatives of the dead persons clashed with police on VIP Road in the Larkana city and the Akil police tried to persuade them to disperse peacefully but in vain. The police baton-charged them causing chaos and a clash. The protesters converged on the Larkana’s Sukarno Memorial Tower and blocked roads with tractor-driven trolleys. Also, the dead suspect’s heirs claimed the Akil police killed Raju Mahar and then ASI Khoso and constable Jatoi termed it as encounter.…

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia yesterday warned of more storms and heavy rainfall in the coming days as Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob admitted to weaknesses in the government’s response to flooding that has led to more than a dozen deaths and the displacement of over 60 000 people. The country mobilised its army and other security agencies after torrential rain that began last Friday, which caused floods in eight states. Authorities have been criticised by the public and lawmakers for their slow response, with some people trapped by floodwaters for more than two days before being rescued, particularly in Selangor, the country’s wealthiest region.…

CAF president Patrice Motsepe arrived in Cameroon on Monday, and said he wanted to make next month’s troubled Africa Cup of Nations in the country “a success”. The CAF chief’s visit comes against a backdrop of persistent rumours that the 9 January-6 February continental showpiece could be called off or delayed again. The tournament has already suffered a year-long delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Before talks with Cameroon president Paul Biya and an inspection of Yaounde’s Olembe stadium, Motsepe said: “We are very sure of our commitment to make (the tournament) a success in Cameroon.” His visit comes a week after Europe’s top clubs threatened to refuse to release their African players for the event due to concerns over the Covid-19 health protocol. Many of Africa’s leading players are…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za STRUGGLING retailer Massmart yesterday flagged a decline in sales for the 48 weeks ended November 2021 and said parent Walmart had agreed to optimise its balance sheet following the looting in July. Owing to the civil unrest, Massmart incurred a full charge to the income statement for losses in the 2021 financial year, while a material portion of insurance proceeds was only likely to be settled in 2022, it said. The group said the optimisation of the balance sheet involved replacing R2 billion of a R4bn loan by subscribing for a perpetual fixed rate unsecured note. Walmart loaned Massmart R4bn last year to weather the Covid-19 pandemic. Massmart said the note would bear interest at 7.25 percent initially, and included an interest step-up of 225…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za AFTER Ascendis’s drama-filled annual meeting on Monday that required a court order to be held, Harry Smit, newly-appointed director and leader of dissenting shareholders who overturned the old board, said he hoped to see the company grow again. On Saturday there was an urgent court application by a shareholder of the company, Cambridge Investments, which resulted in the Gauteng High Court declaring the company’s plan – announced just days before – to postpone the meeting, invalid. It was never going to be a regular annual meeting. According to Smit, spokesperson for the so-called Retail Activist Investors (RAI), the shareholders were in two opposing “camps”, after Smit had been vocal about the company’s governance and business, and had managed to gather enough shareholder support to vote him in…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) received a major boost yesterday when the Special Tribunal rejected attempts by businessman Hamilton Ndlovu to block it from recovering more than R172 million from him after he was awarded illegal PPE tenders. The Special Tribunal rejected Ndlovu’s application to stay the review application of these tenders, which were awarded to him by the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) soon after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The SIU and NHLS review application was due to be heard in March next year, but Ndlovu and his wife, Felicia Sekete, lodged an application in November for a stay in the review application. In his affidavit, Ndlovu argued that the curator, advocate Nazeer Cassim, who controls their assets preserved by the…

Marsha Dean marsha.dean@inl.co.za FINANCIAL hardship did not stop Tezihano Mnyasta from emerging triumphant at the African Schools’ Individual Chess Championships held in Kenya this month. The 16-year-old from Elsies River said he was proud and excited to have flown the South African flag on the world stage. He scooped first prize in the Under-17 category. “It was my first time participating in the SA individual chess championship, and I won at my first attempt. My target is to reach the title of Grand Master. I’m not far from it any more, since I received my Fide Master title.” The Fide Master title is the third high- est title that a chess player can achieve. His mother, Elaine Mnyasta, said she was proud and would continue to support him. “We live…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za CRACKS have started to show in the Greater Oudtshoorn Municipality as a coalition partner announced it was considering withdrawing, citing “abuse of power and illegal appointments” within the caucus. The Oudtshoorn Community Initiative (OGI) had entered into a coalition with the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the ANC, among others, to lead the town after no party ended with a vast majority of votes after the recent local government elections. However, the party said that after nearly 50 days, they came across “serious and worrying matters” regarding the coalition. OGI Secretary-General Patrick Sambo alleged in a statement that the coalition was being “abused” by certain partners to carry out their own decisions. “There are already illegal acts such as the intervention of certain Council members in tenders and…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za MUNICIPALITIES have expressed concern that with the scorching hot weather and it being the peak of the festive season, more beachgoers will break the law and consume alcohol in public. This while the City of Cape Town’s enforcement agencies have confiscated 1 406 units of alcohol amounting to 959 litres since December 1. George Municipality officers had to chase away people from the beach on Sunday. They brought 332.3 litres of various kinds of alcohol estimated to be valued at R10 129. Richard von Willingh, George’s law enforcement chief, said it was against the law to drink alcohol at the beaches. “Alcohol would have been confiscated if the offenders did not leave the beach area. “Beachgoers should take note that no drinking is allowed at beaches or…

THE shocking incident in which a driver steered a car while hanging out of the window on the deadly Moloto Road in Mpumalanga, has once more shone the spotlight on reckless driving. It also reminded all of us that road safety is a shared responsibility between the authorities and ordinary citizens. In the 31-second video clip, which went viral, the car can be seen weaving in and out of the lane, while the driver climbs on to the car’s roof, only getting back inside it when a truck approaches from the opposite direction. Moloto Road, or the R573 road, is one of the deadliest roads in South Africa. It connects Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo, and has seen some of the most horrific accidents, including head-on collisions involving buses. Unsafe, old…

A Madagascan minister was one of two survivors to have swum some 12 hours to shore yesterday after their helicopter crashed off the island’s northeastern coast, authorities said. A search was still ongoing for two other passengers after the crash on Monday, whose cause was not yet clear, police and port authorities said. Serge Gelle, the country’s secretary of state for police, and a fellow policeman reached land in the seaside town of Mahambo separately yesterday after ejecting themselves from the aircraft, the port authority said. In a video shared on social media, Gelle, 57, appears lying exhausted on a deck chair, still in camouflage uniform. “My time to die hasn’t come yet,” says the general, adding he’s cold but not injured. Gella became minister as part of a cabinet…

Meet Oxford University’s youngest black professor, Kenyan-born Patricia Kingori. The scholar was born in Kenya to a Kenyan father while her mother is from Saint Kitts, an island in the Caribbean. Her formative years were spent in Saint Kitts before she moved to London. At 28, Kingori is the youngest black woman to hold this position at one of the world’s leading universities, becoming the youngest black woman to be awarded a full professorship at Oxford University in its 925-year history. According to the website Quartz Africa, Kingori is a sociologist who studies the everyday ethical experiences of front-line workers in a global scope. Her research interest cuts across sociology of science and medicine, science and technology studies, bioethics, misinformation and pseudoscience. She also acts as adviser to multiple organisations…

Port-au-Prince: More than a dozen people severely injured in a gas truck explosion last week have died, raising the total number of deaths to 90, the deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien, the city in Haiti where it occurred, said on Monday. The count is “still unfortunately incomplete” due to severe injuries suffered by those still hospitalised, said Patrick Almonor. The previous tally released last Wednesday by Haitian authorities stood at 75 deaths with 47 victims severely burned. According to Almonor, during the night of December 13, the driver of the gas truck lost control when he swerved to avoid a motor-taxi, and subsequently overturned.…

Doha: Authorities in Qatar, host of next year’s football World Cup, have confiscated a line of children’s toys from stores, deeming their rainbow colours “contrary to Islamic values”. The emirate’s commerce and industry ministry did not spell out its objection to the rainbow colours, but some toys bore a colour scheme very similar to the LGBTQ flag. Despite repeated assertions by authorities that anyone will be welcome to visit for next year’s World Cup, homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative Muslim emirate. There was no immediate response from Qatari authorities to elaborate on the reasons for the seizures.…