Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-02-22 i Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za CREDIT rating agencies are likely to keep South Africa’s sovereign debt rating at current levels as they wait to assess Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget announcements tomorrow. Tomorrow’s Budget Review is expected to see fiscal consolidation forecasts kept largely unchanged from his November projections. Currently, all three major global rating agencies have kept South Africa’s sovereign debt below investment grade with varying outlooks, from negative to stable. Moody’s is set to meet on April 1 and November 18, to potentially deliver a credit rating action, while S&P Global dates are May 20 and November 18. Fitch Ratings does not publish dates for South Africa’s credit action, but tends to show a similar pattern. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop yesterday said the Budget was not expected to see…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za AN eThekwini Municipality employee was shot dead at the city’s Springfield offices yesterday, raising fears about the safety of staff in the workplace. The brazen shooting, allegedly carried out by two men, happened at the Durban Solid Waste (DSW) offices in Electron Road in Springfield Park. The incident has shocked political parties, city employees and trade unions, which are demanding action. The employee’s name is known to The Mercury but will not be disclosed until the next of kin have been informed. The employee was shot several times in the head and stomach. ALS Paramedics Medical Services said that together with the SAPS and Metro Police they arrived at the scene at Electron Road and were escorted to the patient. They found a man believed to be…

Two weeks ago, I led members of the executive committee of our council, to inspect progress on catalytic projects scattered all over the city. It is an exercise dubbed “Operation Siyahlola” that we usually embark on, to ensure that there is something to show for billions of taxpayers’ money invested in these initiatives to take off the ground. The scourge of Covid-19 has indeed impacted negatively on all of them, but nevertheless, a lot of work is being done to cover the lost ground. After this exercise, I thought it is of cardinal importance that I report back to the public on the progress we are making, in implementing these mega projects, that are going to help our city to rake in hundreds of millions from rates monthly. We are…

A NORWEGIAN fellow was picking up trash washed up in a fiord when he found a white hard hat buried in seaweed. Sigbjorne Eide removed it from the seaweed and found it had on it an American flag and a logo: “MaineDOT”. This, it turned out, stood for Maine Department of Transport, according to Associated Press. How the hard hat got into the sea and washed some 5 300km to a Norwegian fiord is anyone’s guess. Eide emailed the MaineDOT, who were astonished to hear of his find. They told him not to worry, he could keep the hard hat with their compliments. They promised to send him more Maine memorabilia. What would that be? A ticket collector’s cap? Old tram wheels? A tram siren. We are not told how…

Mashudu Sadike mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za AUDITOR-GENERAL Tsakani Maluleke has called for municipal and departmental heads to account for poor audit outcomes in what she called a “culture change”. She was speaking during the Limpopo leg of her cross-country media engagement visits, which she embarked on last week. The visits are part of her office’s plan to work closely with the media to provide audit information. Maluleke has been the auditor-general for about a year, replacing Kimi Makwetu, who died in 2020. She had been his deputy. “I’d like for our teams to work with appointed officials to influence what we call a culture change, to effect the organisational changes necessary to make public institutions efficient, accountable and transparent. “Those appointed to run public institutions must be responsible. We want them to introduce…

THE SA Medical Association (Sama) is battling to keep members united following the resignation of its chairperson Angelique Coetzee due to racial tensions. On Friday, the association announced Coetzee’s resignation as Sama chairperson following a board meeting which has been described as tense. It is also understood that Coetzee has also been placed on precautionary suspension for speaking to the media about her removal. A few days ago Coetzee came under fire for remarks that Sama described as being hurtful to black people. In an interview with Cape Talk, Coetzee said the admission processes to medical schools were highly politicised, that race played a significant role in determining acceptance to medical faculties in many instances more than the applicant’s matric performance and that different criteria existed for different race…

The modern rates of sea-level rise began emerging in 1863 as the Industrial Age intensified, coinciding with evidence for early ocean warming and glacier melt, an international team of scientists has found. Sea-level rise is an important indicator of broader climate changes. Identifying the time of sea-level rise helped researchers to pinpoint the onset of a significant period of climate change. The team used a global database of sea-level records spanning the past 2 000 years. At individual sites in the US, modern rates emerged earliest in the mid-Atlantic region in the mid to late 19th century, and later in Canada and Europe, emerging by the mid-20th century. The findings, detailed in the journal Nature Communications, will help local and regional planners prepare for future sea-level rise. Jennifer Walker, lead…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za POLITICAL parties have called for the harshest possible sentence to be handed down in a case where a teacher has been accused of raping a pupil at a school in northern KwaZulu-Natal last week. The teacher appeared briefly at the local magistrate’s court yesterday where he was charged with statutory rape and remanded in police custody until next Monday for a bail hearing. The KZN Education Department expressed shock over the incident which reportedly took place on Friday, while political parties at the KZN Legislature called for harsh action against the teacher. IFP spokesperson on education Hlengiwe Madlopha-Mthethwa said: “When parents send a child to school, they entrust teachers to look after a child and act as parents. To then find that the child has been sexually…

A case of child neglect has been open- ed after a toddler was abandoned in a street in Midrand, Gauteng, on Sunday. The Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) said officer Sithembile Malgas was off duty when members of the public called him about a child who had been abandoned in Noordwyk, Midrand. “It’s alleged by a witness that a woman driving a white Volkswagen Polo with a male and female passenger, abandoned the boy, who is between 2 and 3 years old, and drove off,” said spokesperson Xolani Fihla. The witness was unable to get the vehicle’s registration plate details. Malgas, together with the witnesses, took the boy to the Midrand SAPS where he was handed over to the police and taken to a place of safety. “JMPD Acting Chief…

As the official death toll from Covid-19 in South Africa approaches 100 000, two years into the pandemic, the unofficial excess deaths attributed to the virus are at about 270 000, almost three times as high as the official figure. Does the Sars-CoV-2 (Sars-2) virus bear the sole responsibility for this monumental tragedy, or has human error and neglect of science played a major role in the mounting death toll? Will scientific ignorance contribute to more unnecessary deaths when the next variant or the next viral pandemic hits in a few months or years? Obviously, it will. The discovery of Aids in 1981 opened the pandemic era. That was followed by the spread of West Nile Virus, Ebola, Zika and Covid-19, not to mention the Hantavirus epidemic in China…

Nigeria’s military yesterday said it was probing reports from neighbouring Niger that it accidentally killed children in an air strike targeting an armed group at the border. Troops have been deployed to northwest Nigeria, where heavily-armed criminals known as bandits terrorise communities, forcing more than 70 000 to flee into southern Niger, according to UN figures. On Friday, seven children were killed and five injured by a Nigerian air strike, according to a local governor in Niger. “There was a mistake with the Nigerian strikes on the border that resulted in victims on our territory in the village of Nachade,” said Chaibou Aboubacar, the governor of Maradi region. “The victims are 12 children, seven of them dead and five wounded.” Nigeria has neither confirmed nor denied launching an air strike…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AmaZulu’s major problem in the Premiership this season has been their inability to convert draws into wins. So far, Benni McCarthy’s charges have drawn 12 out of their 20 league games this season, which is the most out of any team in the division. The Durban-based club will have to start winning again soon if they want to replicate their second-place finish last season. With the league already virtually won by Mamelodi Sundowns, the best that Usuthu can do is second place as the gap between them and second-place Orlando Pirates is just four points. McCarthy’s team, then, will back themselves to beat TS Galaxy at Moses Mabhida Stadium today. TS Galaxy are still relegation candidates and have struggled for much of the season. However, TS Galaxy…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za SEKUNJALO Group executive chairman Dr Iqbal Survé is gearing up for a series of legal actions against South Africa’s powerful banks, which he said claim reputational risk despite being guilty of misconduct at times. In papers filed with the Equality Court in the Western Cape, he said there was evidence of collusion between the country’s major banks, as they were all following the same patterns in severing ties with Sekunjalo and related entities. Dr Survé said the banks had a serious case to answer as they had violated the group’s constitutional rights. He is asking the court to declare that the banks’ conduct constitutes unfair discrimination and that their decisions to close the group’s and its related entities’ bank accounts, should be overturned. Apart from these declarity…

MALCOLM MITCHELL | Hillcrest YUGEN Moodley’s letter to your February 18 edition is very revealing about the unhealthy state of the eThekwini Municipality. It sets out some “home truths” which councillors need to take note of, and more importantly, address. I have had some involvement with the municipality during recent times and add the following to the story of the disastrous state of affairs pertaining to a body that has transformed itself from being among one of the most financially stable municipalities in the world, to one facing bankruptcy. During recent years, I served for about five years as a commissioner representing the Transport and Engineering sector in the region on the now defunct (I think) Durban City Planning Commission. During this time I was horrified to be…

EXTRAMARITAL affairs are seductive. They appear to offer better, more intense passion than the marriage. It’s amazing how “attractive” someone can sound, look, feel, when you add large amounts of adrenalin. The secrecy idealises the other, not love or truth. What is so ridiculously seductive (and hurts so badly when the truth comes out) is the belief that the affair is about you. Actually, it is about who you are not. It is about what you do not represent. You are not the wife or husband; the “routine.” Yours is not the other name on the bank papers, the home loan. You are not the one whom the children sound like when they are at their worst (and best). It’s not your beauty. It is not your charm. It is…

A Limpopo man was stoned to death after he allegedly raped and killed a 6-year-old girl in Petanenge village, outside Tzaneen, on Saturday. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the alleged perpetrator was stoned to death by the community. “Police received a report about the body of a child at Lusaka village, and that of a man, 28, from Petanenge village. Officers found the body of a child with brutal neck injuries. The man appeared to have been stoned to death.” The child had apparently gone to collect oranges from her grandmother’s home at about 8.30am, but did not return home. “The family, assisted by community members, started searching for her. Later, at about 2pm, they reportedly received information that the child was last seen with the suspect. They proceeded…

The national Department of Health said yesterday that it was changing Covid-19 vaccination rules to try to increase uptake, as inoculations have slowed. The government said it was shortening the interval between the first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine from 42 to 21days and will allow people who have received two doses of Pfizer to get a booster dose three months after their second shot as opposed to six months previously. It will also offer the option of “mixing and matching” booster jabs, with adults who were given one dose of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine being offered either a J&J or Pfizer booster two months after their J&J shot. Adults who received two doses of Pfizer will be allowed J&J or Pfizer as a third dose.…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za BARELY two days after the funerals for her children, 14-year-old Ainzlee and his 2-year-old sister Chazlyn, Welbedacht mother Charlene Naicker died in hospital. Naicker, 38, and her children were shot at their home in Welbedacht East on February 11. The children died shortly after the incident, while Naicker had been in a critical condition in hospital. She died yesterday morning. The children’s funerals were held on Saturday. Family spokesperson Samantha Windvogel said that the family was devastated. Windvogel said they received a call early yesterday from the hospital to inform them that Naicker had died. “We as a family are a wreck, we just can’t believe this happened to us. Charlene’s husband is devastated, her children haven’t accepted that their mother is gone. It is very difficult…

THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced there is no evidence linking the outbreak of enteric fever (typhoid fever) cases to municipal water sources anywhere in the country. The NICD was responding after claims were made on social media that the water sources were contaminated, causing panic and concern among citizens. “These posts allege either that there are cases of enteric fever in certain towns or provinces caused by contaminated municipal water, or that the bacteria causing enteric fever have been identified in certain municipal water sources,” the NICD said. “These statements are factually incorrect. There is no evidence that recent cases of enteric fever are linked to contaminated municipal water in any part of the country. “There is also no evidence that the bacteria causing enteric fever…

MUNICIPALITIES under ANC control need to adopt an aggressive approach when it comes to their revenue-collection methods against defaulting clients. Recently, municipalities that fell into the hands of the opposition after last year’s local government elections, including Tshwane and the City of Joburg, have been disconnecting defaulting businesses such as the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria and the Gautrain station in Gauteng. The approach has also seen services to government departments being suspended, after they neglected to pay their bills. Such aggressive collection tactics have led to these municipalities recovering billions of rand in outstanding debt that will play a crucial role in driving service delivery, and infrastructure development. For the longest time, the ANC-governed municipalities have been reluctant to act against defaulting government departments and big businesses, but were quick…

Separatists and nationalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) threaten the stability and integrity of the Balkan nation, so the parties in the interim conflict have to act up to prevent the breakup of the country, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said yesterday. “The nationalists’ and separatists’ rhetoric is increasing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, jeopardising the stability and even the integrity of the country, and the ministers have to make decisions on how to stop these dynamics in Bosnia-Herzegovina and avoid that the country falling apart in pieces,” Borrell said ahead of the Foreign Affairs & Agriculture and Fisheries Council. Last week, he said that the Bosnian Serb issue would be on the agenda of the council, adding that the political situation in the country was worrying. Meanwhile, the power…

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka yesterday shipped out to Britain the last of several hundred containers filled with thousands of tons of illegally imported waste, officials said. Several Asian countries have in recent years been pushing back against an onslaught of refuse from wealthier nations and have started turning back unwanted shipments. The waste from Britain arrived in Sri Lanka from 2017-2019 and was listed as “used mattresses, carpets and rugs”. But in reality it also had biowaste from hospitals, including body parts from mortuaries The 45 containers loaded yesterday were the final batch of 263 containers holding 3 000 tons of hazardous waste.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Proteas women’s coach Hilton Moreeng believes his team’s successful tour of New Zealand in 2020 will stand them in good stead heading into next month’s World Cup. Although the world may have changed dramatically over the intervening two years, fortunately for the No 2-ranked Proteas the conditions they will encounter during the World Cup in New Zealand have not. Moreeng’s team, of course, blitzed the White Ferns 3-0 on their last trip to the Land of the Long White Cloud just before their march to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Australia. It was the first time the Proteas had won a series in New Zealand. It certainly helps that the vast majority of that squad are back again, although they are notably without their injured captain…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za ANGLO American Platinum (Amplats), the world's biggest platinum producer, yesterday delivered a whopping R80 billion dividend to its shareholders as it posted an annual 160 percent hike in profit, bolstered by higher platinum group metals prices (PGMs) and increased sales. The record production and pricing resulted in its headline earnings a share (heps) for the year ended December 31 increased to R79bn, equal to R300.42 per share from R30bn, or R115.54 a share the prior year. This as the mining firm reported a 22 percent increase in the rand basket price for its PGMs to R445.11 per PGM ounce. The year-on-year surge in pricing was driven by rhodium, which in dollars averaged $20 109 (R304 803) an ounce (oz) about 79 percent higher year-on-year. During the reporting…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za Former Free State head of housing Tim Mokhesi and businessman Edwin Sodi yesterday accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of using their testimonies at the state capture commission as evidence in the asbestos corruption case. Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, former national Human Settlements Department director-general Thabane Zulu, Sodi and Mokhesi want Judge Soma Naidoo to order the NPA to withdraw charges relating to a R255 million contract to audit houses with asbestos roofs in the Free State. The court heard that Sodi, Mokhesi and Zulu were arrested after they gave evidence at the Zondo Commission. Lawrence Hodes SC, representing Magashule and Sodi, said the businessman was arrested after ANC Free State interim provincial committee convener and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Mxolisi Dukwana testified at…

LUNGISANI ZONDI | KwaMashu THE State Capture Commission is a curse on South Africans, more so the taxpayers. The commission is the true meaning of wasteful expenditure. I learnt with disgust that it is seeking another extension to release another part of its report. This is absurd. To think it has been granted umpteenth extensions! Given that the commission focused on the “nine wasted years” only, it is surprising that it has failed dismally to convince the citizenry of its genuine cause. The extended period makes it look like the commission was also investigating corruption during the apartheid era, Mandela administration as well as the Mbeki administration. But no, it was focusing only on the Zuma administration of which we were informed of massive evidence of corruption. These…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za THE National Association of School Governing Bodies and the Parents Association in KwaZulu-Natal have welcomed the national policy on prevention and management of pupil pregnancy in schools launched by the Department of Education. The policy is set to provide guidance on the reduction of pregnancies, management of the pre- and post-natal consequences for pupils and eliminate gender disparities in education. A Statistics South Africa report for live births recorded in 2020 showed that there were 33 000 teenage mothers and among them there were 660 babies birthed by mothers aged 10 years and under. KZN Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said the aim of the policy was to reduce the incidence of learner pregnancy through the provision of quality comprehensive sexuality education as well as providing…

Jolene Marriah-Maharaj jolene.marriah@inl.co.za AFTER complaints about frequent power outages in Hammarsdale, west of Durban, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda visited the area on Sunday. Accompanied by a technical task team from Eskom, Kaunda visited the Georgedale area, following a community engagement two weeks ago where residents voiced their concerns about daily four-hour power outages. According to a statement from the eThekwini Municipality, discussions revealed that Eskom had implemented a load reduction programme due to an overload on the electricity network in the area which was caused by illegal connections. Giving feedback to residents at the Georgedale Community Hall, Kaunda said a number of steps would be taken. He said Eskom would deploy a team in ward 5 to inspect electricity connections in every household and residents who had never had…

The specialised commercial crimes court in Bellville in the Western Cape has sentenced a 35-year-old man to four years’ imprisonment on a charge of corruption. Nkokelo Sarile was found guilty and sentenced to six years, of which two years were suspended with conditions. He will effectively serve four years in jail. In addition to his sentence, the court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm. According to the provincial spokesperson for the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Zinzi Hani, Sarile’s sentence followed his failed attempt to bribe a police officer with R2 000 in exchange for the release of his impounded vehicle. Hani said the vehicle had been seized after being used in the commission of a crime in a separate matter. | Mercury Correspondent…

| Mercury Correspondent For the past three years, hijacking has been on the rise and has overtaken theft as the predominant percentage of vehicle crime activities. This is according to vehicle tracking company, Tracker’s crime statistics for the period July to December 2021. Recorded from the company’s more than 1.1 million installed vehicle base, the statistics indicated that hijackings contributed 57.5% of the Tracker vehicle crime activities for the second half of 2021. This is an increase from July to December 2018, where theft accounted for 57.2% of the vehicle crime activities. “The slant towards hijacking is most likely an opportunistic tactic, with a noticeable increase in vehicles being targeted for their contents, particularly fast-moving consumable goods. Drivers carrying large amounts of cash are also being targeted,” Tracker said.…

THE Codesa talks in 1993 had to be done in such a hurry after the callous assassination of Chris Hani by two right-wingers, that a second follow-up one was never envisaged should things go horribly wrong, as they unfortunately have. There was never a sound foundation laid for the new South Africa. Some of the political parties sitting around those tables did so in bad faith, never sincere or honest, let alone of sound integrity and moral conviction. Our white brothers and sisters were never going to support anything and were rather intent on yearning and working feverishly for the fleshpots of apartheid, irrespective of its consequences, led by first the evaporating National Party and then the DA, aided by the Freedom Front and quislings. A lot of the decisions…

MOSCOW: The Kremlin warned yesterday there are no concrete plans for a summit between Russian and US leaders, as diplomats scrambled to head off the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The idea of a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden has been championed by France and cautiously welcomed by Ukraine as a way to avert a catastrophic war in Europe. But Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said: “It’s premature to talk about any specific plans for organising any kind of summits”, as no “concrete plans” had been put in place. A French presidential official later called on Putin to make a decision on the meeting, calling the situation “very dangerous”. “It is today possible to move towards a summit ... it is up to President Putin to…

A Turkish court ordered leading activist Osman Kavala to remain in jail yesterday, amid fresh calls for his release in the high-profile case that has drawn widespread rebuke. The 64-year-old philanthropist has been held without conviction since October 2017, accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in a coup plot against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has called for Kavala’s release, which Turkey has refused to comply with. This month, the Council of Europe (COE) launched disciplinary action over Turkey’s failure to free him. A three-judge panel yesterday refused to release Kavala and set the next hearing for March 21. Kavala did not appear in court, and his lawyers questioned the tribunal’s impartiality. “Kavala is not being tried in this tribunal,…

BRUSSELS: The main political grouping in the European Parliament has called for a review of Switzerland’s banking practices and its possible inclusion in the EU’s dirty-money blacklist after leaks of Credit Suisse documents. Media published the results of “Swiss Secrets” probes into a leak of data on thousands of accounts held at the bank in past decades and said they appeared to show clients included human rights abusers and businessmen under sanctions. Credit Suisse strongly rejected claims of wrongdoing. The conservative European People’s Party called for a “re-evaluation of Switzerland as a high-risk money-laundering country”.…