Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-04-14 i Mercury

THE ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in eThekwini has called for an urgent audience with the party’s provincial leadership following the announcement that Amanda Bani-Mapena has stepped down as Sports, Arts and Culture MEC. The resignation, which was announced on Wednesday, has raised eyebrows, with the ANCYL suggesting that she had been sacked instead of stepping down as had been claimed. Speaking to The Mercury yesterday, ANCYL chairperson in eThekwini Nokuthula Zibi said they were demanding answers over this week’s developments. She contended that the former MEC had executed her tasks with diligence and determination. “The ANC Youth League finds it very hard to believe that one of the most active Members of the Executive can offer her resignation after less than 300 days in office when her department had been…

The classified Pentagon documents leaked to the global audience remind me of The Pentagon Papers leaked during 1971 – then it was the Vietnam war, now it is the Ukraine war. The publication of purloined top-secret data will have global diplomatic consequences. Now that the intelligence institutions have been dragged out of the darkness into the limelight and many of their secrets exposed, their story can be told with at least a degree of confidence. It is an extraordinary exposé, detailing convoluted plots, intrigue, blunders and triumphs. The latest batch of leaks pose some extremely serious questions about the ultimate worth of the global intelligence octopus. One point that must be borne in mind, even today, is that our knowledge of the world’s secret service activities remains very imperfect. Many…

Are people really interested in Thabo Bester’s boasting of beating rape records and ripping through Chinese steel prison bars? It’s greatly entertaining stuff to follow the escapades of the serial rapist. Disbelievers, who once scoffed at novels and films like The Invisible Man, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Total Recall and at real-life people like “Haji-H” who reportedly was seen in Pietermaritzburg and the Holy Land simultaneous- ly, are seriously having a rethink. Yes. Entertaining. Mind-boggling. Even amusing. You don’t get fully- fledged humans walking through steel bars even during long weekends, when only beach-goers are fully awake and alert, while the rest of mankind fails to try and overcome excessive network streaming and alcohol-induced anaesthesia. But is this the news that 90% of our population is seeking in…

South Africa should not shy away from spending to fix the country’s power crisis, the electricity minister has said. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was speaking this week, less than two months after the National Treasury granted state utility Eskom R254 billion of debt relief over the next three years. Ramokgopa said he thought focusing on improving the performance of Eskom’s ailing coal plants was the best way to lower the intensity of power outages. But he said other interventions were also needed, including investing in the capacity of the national grid and maintaining large outlays on diesel for Eskom’s emergency open-cycle gas turbines. He said if South African borrowing costs had to rise to fund diesel purchases, then it was a necessary trade-off given the impact outages were having on unemployment and…

THE newly appointed task team of the ANC Youth League has endorsed the roadmap to the national conference to be held no later than July 4. The task team also discussed the deployment of its members to the nine provinces. This was confirmed by the task team’s convenor, Xola Nqola. He said that the task team held its first meeting on Monday. The meeting tabled the guidelines for the national congress and endorsed the deployments of members of the national task team to the provinces as well as the congress preparatory committee. The 28-member task team, led by Nqola and Nomasonto Motaung as the co-ordinator, was appointed by the ANC national working committee on March 6. It is tasked in the main with preparing and convening the national congress no…

Health Minister Joe Phaahla says hospitals and clinics have a staffing crisis: 18 804 vacancies for doctors, nurses and medical care personnel, which is largely due to budget cuts. This means the department had only a 31% “achievement rate” in filling its vacancies from the previous year, Phaahla said. He was responding in a parliamentary reply to questions posed by DA MP Michéle Clarke. In June last year, Phaahla told Parliament there was a vacancy rate of 27 137 doctors, nurses and Emergency Medical Services personnel. Clarke asked what steps his department had taken to fill the positions and the reasons medical students are still struggling to be placed into internships, considering the said vacancies. “As of February 28, there were 18 804 vacant posts of doctors, nurses and medical…

North Korea likely fired a “new type” of ballistic missile yesterday that may have used advanced solid fuel, Seoul’s military said, representing a potential technical breakthrough for Pyongyang’s banned weapons programmes. All of Pyongyang’s known intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are liquid-fuelled, and solid-fuel ICBMs that can be launched from land or submarines have long been on top of leader Kim Jong Un’s wish list. “North Korea appears to have fired a new type of ballistic missile, possibly using solid fuel,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Such missiles are easier to store and transport, more stable and quicker to prepare for launch, and thus harder to detect and destroy pre-emptively. North Korea showed off a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles at a military parade in Pyongyang in…

Hilla: At least three people have been electrocuted in central Iraq after torrential rain played havoc with the war-ravaged country’s dilapidated power grid. The three deaths were in separate incidents in the central province of Babil, Dr Ahmed Sabbah, director of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in the provincial capital Hilla, said. The dead were aged 16, 22 and 30 and one was a woman, Sabbah said. They had all gone outside to switch off the main supply to their homes during the storm. In the northern Kurdistan region, the rains sent a river of mud through the village of Khabat. | AFP…

THE shore anglers have reported mixed results of edibles and inedibles. The gullies are doing well for scratching and the points are throwing some bigger fish, pick your preference. Those looking for some decent edibles along the lines of speckled snapper, stumpnose and kingfish should aim for the reef/ledges in the far north. The areas around Kosi and Sodwana are the most productive for these fish during summer. The water is generally crystal clear here so you should fish the more turbulent waters or the darker hours of the day (dusk and dawn). In terms of baits, you can focus on using prawn, chokka and fleshy fish baits. These areas can produce some very big inedibles as well so do not fish too light in the bricks. The honeycombs and…

PANELLISTS at a breakaway session at the Fifth South African Investment Conference in Sandton said yesterday that good efficient and reliable infrastructure was a mission critical component for economic growth. Part of the attraction of South Africa as a gateway to the rest of Africa was that it had a world class communication and logistics network. Sadly the impact of Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns meant there was an increase in the theft of copper cable and metal from electricity pylons so that State-owned utilities Transnet and Eskom are no longer the reliable providers of rail and power, respectively. The theme of the conference is “Accelerating economic growth by building partnerships”, and the panellists were at pains to emphasise that the current challenges facing South Africa could only be solved…

Hiding her face from the glare of the media’s cameras, Nandhipa Magudumana appeared briefly in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday along with another accomplice facing charges linked to the elaborate scheme to break convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester out of jail. Magudumana and Bester were arrested in Tanzania at the weekend after they fled from South Africa days ago. They arrived back in the country yesterday. Bester escaped from Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year but at the time, Correctional Services said it was believed that he had died in a fire in a cell. He had been serving a life sentence for rape and murder. His escape only came to light after a media outlet reported that he had been spotted in a mall months after his…

I FIND MYSELF AT Sunwich Port, a delightful little spot way down the South Coast, which I have never been to before. Wonderful blue sea, great surfing and far from the madding crowd. And hey! At Sunwich Port? Did the great WW Jacobs not write a short story with that very title? Yes, he did. Jacobs was a prodigious writer of short stories, a 19th century pioneer in the genre, a forerunner to Americans Damon Runyon, O Henry, F Scott Fitzgerald and our own Herman Charles Bosman. Jacobs’s short stories were most of them set at Wapping Wharf, on the Thames, where the narrator was the Night Watchman; or a rural pub in Essex called The Cauliflower, where the narrator was the Oldest Inhabitant. The Wapping stories mostly concerned a…

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest Federal-insured bank in the US, which embraced Environmental Social Governance (ESG), the tool and strategy of the UN and its vision for a new world order, has become a casualty of ESG. Significantly, the mass media have ignored the real reason for SVB’s collapse because it clashes with their new world order narrative. ESG policies involve promoting green-energy projects and other so-called progressive initiatives. According to the Washington Examiner, SVB made substantial loans to 1 500 start-up climate tech firms, most of which had no collateral or ability to service debt. Indeed, most of their directors had no banking experience. SVB’s investing strategy, guided by ESG objectives, caused its undoing. Another ESG adherent, Signature Bank, which has also collapsed, prioritised compulsory seminars for…

A 23-year-old mother of three children has been arrested for the attempted murder of her newborn baby, the police in Mpumalanga said. Police spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the incident happened on Tuesday, at the house of the woman’s male friend, at Matangaleni Trust near Mkhuhlu. Just before midnight, she went to use the toilet, went into labour and the baby was born. “Thereafter, she allegedly tried to conceal the baby’s birth by throwing him in the pit toilet.” Mohlala said when the man realised what she had done, police and paramedics were summoned. He said the newborn baby was brought out of the pit toilet alive. “The woman was arrested and both the baby boy and his mother were taken to hospital for medical attention. The…

The family of slain Hillary Gardee has expressed disappointment after the murder case against four suspects was provisionally withdrawn by the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela. The court on Wednesday provisionally withdrew all charges, including murder, kidnapping and rape, against Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama due to the non-availability of State witnesses. Gardee was found murdered outside Mbombela in May last year. She went missing on April 29, when she went shopping in Mbombela. She was with her 3-year-old child. According to her uncle, Moses Mbatha, the child was found a street away from their home that evening. Speaking on behalf of the family and the party, the EFF’s national chairperson, Veronica Mente, said they were looking for closure. “As a family and as an…

Ten armed suspects stormed a post office during pension payouts in Umbumbulu on Wednesday afternoon, making off with a large amount of money. In the incident, at the Fakazi General Dealer in Umbumbulu, 10 men are alleged to have pounced at about 2pm. According to a report, the Fidelity cash-in-transit van was being escorted by another vehicle. On arrival, armed men pointed firearms at security guards and post office staff. The victims were ordered to lie on their stomachs while suspects stole a bag of money. It is further alleged that they forced the driver of the armoured vehicle to open the safe where the money was stored and assaulted him with a firearm. They allegedly took two more bags of cash. In addition to the money stolen, the robbers…

THE steep rise in electricity tariffs was not the fault of the eThekwini Municipality and the City had fought hard to avoid the increases. That was the message that eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda sought to communicate to the business community during a breakfast meeting in uMhlanga yesterday, where he briefed them on the new tariffs being proposed. The City is on a road show presenting its R66 billion budget for the 2023/ 2024 financial year. “The current economic climate has made above-inflation tariff increases inevitable. The three biggest contributors to the increases are out of our hands, that is the Eskom increase, Umgeni Water Board increase, and salary increase,” said Kaunda. The 2023/2024 proposed tariff increases are: Property rates: 8.9% on average Water: 14.9% for residential users and 15.9% for…

This year, April 10, 2023, marked the 30th anniversary of the death of one of the most revered liberators of South Africa, Martin Thembisile “Chris” Hani. Hani was both a military and political person. Just like many revolutionary people, he started in politics at an early age. He started his military training in Cape Town, where his father came to work as a migrant labourer from Cofimvaba. But his prominence, articulation and firmness emerged in the Morogoro Conference. That was where he unequivocally represented the plight of disgruntled Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) soldiers. Those MK soldiers questioned the diversion from what they left the country for, to another programme. They argued that they had risked their lives, crossing borders with the sole aim of liberating their country, not to…

Union activists barged into the Paris headquarters of luxury goods company LVMH yesterday, saying that the French government should shelve plans to make people work longer for their pension and tax the rich more instead. In a 12th day of nationwide protests since mid-January, striking workers also disrupted garbage collection in Paris and blocked river traffic on part of the Rhine river in eastern France. “You’re looking for money to finance pensions? Take it from the pockets of billionaires,” said Sud Rail unionist Fabien Villedieu, as the LVMH headquarters filled with red smoke. Trade unions urged a show of force on the streets a day before the constitutional council’s ruling on the legality of the bill that will raise the state pension age by two years to 64. If the…

Sydney: A powerful tropical cyclone hurtled towards Western Australia yesterday, triggering evacuation orders as authorities warned violent winds could toss caravans, tear down trees and turn debris into “missiles”. Tropical Cyclone Ilsa gathered strength over the Indian Ocean and Port Hedland, one of the world’s major iron ore-shipping hubs, was cleared of vessels. The Bureau of Meteorology predicted the category five storm would bring a “severe impact” with gusts of up to 315km/h, making it one of the most powerful cyclones in the state in a decade. | AFP…

JUSTICE Minister Ronald Lamola will initiate a request to Interpol to reactivate a red notice for the arrest of Atul and Rajesh Gupta who were set free after a failed extradition attempt from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is expected to run concurrently with South African authorities resubmitting the extradition request with new and additional documentation. Reports also indicate that UAE ambassador Mahash Saeed Alhameli is to face a démarche from the South African government in the next few days over the failed extradition attempt. A démarche is considered an extreme diplomatic stance for one country to take to express its displeasure with another country. Lamola’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, yesterday confirmed that the Justice Department was in the process of approaching Interpol to get the brothers back on the…

“Are you what you wanted to be when you grew up?” one of my sons asked me once. I recall playfully telling him the question was both kind and cruel. The question offered me time to reflect with deep gratitude for an incredible life of amazing contrasts and joys and explorations. And, jaw-dropping, regrets. The truth is I am nothing of what I wanted to be or planned to be as a child, yet I am also far, far more than I had the capacity to imagine. My response was tough to try and explain, but I think my son understood since I have repeatedly told both boys that life is simultaneously beautiful and brutal. You may have gathered I think a lot and write much about contrasts and paradoxes…

What’s going on at the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and Public Investment Corporation (PIC)? During 2011/12, a few pensioners became suspicious about events regarding their pension money and started asking questions. The GEPF responded through the pensioners’ elected trustee member and assured time and again how well things were going with the largest and best-managed pension fund in Africa. TV, radio, and newspapers were used to sing the praises of the GEPF. Two famous professors sang at the front of the choir. We were reassured. Later, both admitted in a radio interview that they were wrong. Then the bomb exploded in August 2014 when African Bank collapsed with a loss of R4 billion for the Public Service Pension Fund. This was slightly downgraded by the GEPF as a result…

A golf ball Tiger Woods gave to a young fan during the final round of his victorious 1997 Masters tournament has sold for $64 124 (about R1.16 million), auction house Golden Age Auctions has said. Woods bogeyed the fifth hole and handed the ball to Julian Nexsen, who was aged 9 at the time. Bidding for the Titleist ball, which has “Tiger” stamped on it, began at $500 when Nexsen put it up for auction on March 27, the auction site said. Woods, then 21, won the first of his 15 major titles in stunning fashion at the 1997 Masters with a record margin of 12 strokes and became the youngest golfer to triumph at Augusta National. “Unless Tiger himself or his caddie Fluff intentionally saved a ball from this…

The Gift of the Givers (GOTG) is trying to negotiate the release of captured South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer in Mali. GOTG hostage negotiator, Mohamed Yahya Dicko, a South African of Malian origin, left for Mali on Saturday night and arrived on Sunday. Van Deventer was kidnapped in Awbari, Libya, on November 3, 2017. Eight months later, he was sold to al-Qaeda militants in Mali in 2018. The organisation has been involved in trying to facilitate his release since 2019 when it was approached by the family. The captors had at the time demanded US$3 million (more than R55m). “The ransom was fairly high because at the time he was in Libya, when he was captured, he was working for a Turkish company and three other Turkish citizens were…

Police are searching for armed robbers who fled with cash after ambushing a cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle on Wednesday night in KwaDabeka. The incident took place at the intersection of Dumisani Makhaye and Ulwandle streets, towards KwaDabeka, at around 6.30pm. It is alleged a Fidelity van had fetched cash from Midway Mall and it came under fire while at a traffic light. It is further alleged that explosives were used to blow up the CIT van. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police were searching for the suspects. “It is reported that the suspects fired several shots at the cash in-transit vehicle until it came to a standstill. “An undisclosed amount of money was reportedly stolen as well as three firearms belonging to the guards. “The suspects abandoned a silver…

The South African Post Office (Sapo) has been placed under provisional liquidation in terms of an order granted by the Pretoria High Court. The court further appointed Anton Shaban and Hlamalane Jerry Musi joint liquidators on March 30. Interested parties now have time to respond to the application including why a final liquidation order should not be granted. If the final order is granted, the state-owned entity’s assets would be sold off to pay its creditors and debts. David Mangena, general secretary of the South African Postal Workers’ Union, said they were only recently made aware of the situation. “We were made aware of the provisional liquidation of the SA Post Office through the media and some of our members. “We immediately tried to engage the SA Post Office, however,…

His whole life was about righting the wrongs of others and making SA a just, fair place THIS past week has been a blur of emotion as I struggle to come to terms with the fact that a man who played such a huge and important role in my life, and who has been a source of inspiration, wisdom, and guidance to me for the past three decades, is no more. Advocate Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi, the chairperson of the Board of Ayo Technology Solutions (AYO), was a giant among men. Tall and imposing in stature certainly, but like Nelson Mandela, an undeniable presence. To be in his company, it was immediately apparent this charisma was backed by a sharp mind and a caring heart, qualities that ultimately stood the…

Sudan’s regular army warned yesterday that the country was at a “dangerous … turning point” after paramilitaries deployed more fighters in major cities amid a deepening rift within the military government. Military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has increasingly been at odds with his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, during talks to finalise a deal to return the country to civilian rule and end the crisis sparked by their 2021 coup. A plan to integrate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Daglo into the regular army led by Burhan is one of the key points of contention, analysts have said. Eleventh-hour haggling within the security forces over the details have twice forced postponement of the signing of an agreement with civilian factions setting out a roadmap for the…

DUBLIN: US President Joe Biden said yesterday during a three-day tour of Ireland that investigators were closing in on the source of the leak of highly classified intelligence documents, in what is believed to be the most serious and embarrassing security breach in a decade. The US Department of Justice opened a formal criminal probe last week after the matter was referred by the Pentagon. The person who leaked the documents was a gun enthusiast in his 20s who worked on a military base, the Washington Post reported, citing fellow members of an online chat group. | Reuters…