Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-06-01 i Mercury

Court action to compel the South African government to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he arrives in August for the BRICS summit is unlikely to lead to his arrest. This as the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) has yet to make a decision on what to do about the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest issued for Putin. The ICC, of which South Africa is a full member, issued a warrant of arrest against Putin for alleged war crimes related to the abduction of children from Ukraine. South Africa, a signatory to the Rome Statute, has adopted a non-aligned stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. The DA said it had launched a court application in the Gauteng High Court requesting a declaratory order to the effect that…

Anger, hatred and the desire for revenge are strong emotions but are often the just and appropriate feelings of many who have been wronged. Just, as they may well be, they are destructive to the host. A person who enduringly hosts such emotions without a means to address them will be stewed in bitterness and even ill health. No matter how sadly and well earned, the emotions will destroy their host. If you are craving revenge for yourself or others, if hatred wells within you, if you have outbursts of rage where the intensity of your rage blinds you and distances you from reason, please, seek counselling. Seek a wise guide to lead you out of your multiple traps. A wise counsellor will be able to assist you to tabulate…

The government’s announcement that a basic income support grant for all unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 59 would be prioritised, has been welcomed. Human rights advocacy group, the Black Sash Trust, has been calling for income support as part of efforts to tackle poverty. Members of the organisation held a picket outside Parliament this week as Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu tabled her Budget vote. Zulu listed 10 items to be prioritised in the 2023/24 financial year. “Working together with other mandated government departments, we will produce South Africa’s poverty alleviation strategy, which includes the policy on basic income support for 18- to 59-year-old people who are not working. “We will optimise the performance of non-profit organisations (NPOs) while implementing a risk-based supervision framework that will prevent…

At least four people have been arrested by the Hawks in North West while they were selling two pangolins at a mall. Spokesperson for the Hawks in North West, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, said the two pangolins were being sold for R200 000. “Members of the Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation arrested four suspects aged between 29 and 45 in Mahikeng on May 30, following their attempt to sell two pangolins for R200 000,” said Rikhotso. “The team was following up on information regarding the suspects who were allegedly looking for a buyer for the pangolins. The quartet was found in possession of the endangered species.” She said the four are set to appear before the Mahikeng Magistrate’s Court this week, where they will be facing charges of contravention of the…

FORMER ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule is facing expulsion from the governing party. Magashule has been found guilty by the party’s national disciplinary hearing following the May 2021 attempt to suspend President Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader. Magashule’s attempt at the time followed his own suspension by the party over his refusal to step aside due to the criminal charges he faces. He was charged with corruption related to the asbestos case now before the Bloemfontein High Court. The ANC’s step-aside rule compelled him to step aside as all leaders facing serious misconduct charges should step aside. Magashule dug in, forcing the party to suspend him. His attempt to suspend Ramaphosa failed, and he was forced out of party structures. His matter dragged on behind closed doors but yesterday ANC…

The 2024 general election has the potential to change the course of South Africa’s democracy should all young people take to the poll and exercise their democratic right to vote. The youth vote alone can usher in a new dispensation in South African politics and governance. A national network of youth leaders, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers intends to spend this month mobilising young people to vote. The network also plans a national day of demonstration which will see the youth standing at critical intersections of the country, asking the public if South Africa as a nation is truly free. There is a common understanding in the country that a liberation struggle was fought so that we all could be free. But what does freedom mean and has the country realised political…

Sudanese army forces blasted paramilitary bases with artillery in Khartoum yesterday after pulling out of US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire talks, accusing their paramilitary foes of failing to honour their commitments. Mediators have blamed both sides for violating the truce which was supposed to enable secure corridors for delivering aid to an increasingly needy population. In both the north and south of the capital, key bases of commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) came under attack by troops loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, residents said. A witness said there was “heavy artillery fire from army camps” in northern Khartoum, on the 47th day of a war that researchers said has claimed at least 1 800 lives. Another witness reported “artillery blasts on the RSF camp in al-Salha”…

NATO-led peacekeepers stepped up security around a town hall in northern Kosovo yesterday, where hundreds of ethnic Serbs gathered again at the scene of clashes earlier this week that left more than 80 people injured. Nato has decided to deploy hundreds of reinforcements to strengthen Kosovo’s international peacekeeping mission (KFOR) after Monday’s violence in the town of Zvecan. Hundreds of ethnic Serbs rallied outside Zvecan’s town hall yesterday for a third consecutive day and held aloft a huge Serbian flag that stretched over 200m from the municipal building to the town centre. KFOR soldiers encircled the town hall, additionally securing the building with a metal fence and barbed wire. Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority boycotted local elections in the north last month, allowing ethnic Albanians to take control of local councils…

Hanoi: Faced with record-breaking heat, Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has turned off some street lights to save electricity as demand for airconditioning soars. Parks in the city of 8 million people are now plunged into total darkness after 11pm, while two-thirds of street lights are also switched off at the same hour. In early May, Vietnam recorded its highest-ever temperature, 44.1°C, breaking a previous record set in 2019. The country sweltered under a heatwave in April, and another in late May. Also, severe drought in northern Vietnam means water levels at hydropower dams are 30% to 40% lower than normal. | AFP…

LOS ANGELES: Prince Harry may face a US visa court fight after his drug revelations in his memoir Spare. The US government could be forced to unseal the 38-year-old’s visa application in court after a think tank has been looking to confirm the Duke of Sussex’s use of cocaine, marijuana, and magic mushrooms was correctly detailed on his visa application. A federal judge would hear the case on June 6, the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation said. In his memoir, Harry confessed to using cocaine and cannabis, as well as consuming magic mushroom chocolates at a party in 2016. Immigrants seeking entry or permanent residence in the US are required to disclose their history of drug use. Individuals deemed “drug abusers” are classified as “inadmissible”, but…

SPRINGBOK captain Siya Kolisi says the Springboks are feeling the vibe as the world rugby marks 100 days to the World Cup in France. Kolisi is making good progress in his recovery from knee surgery and is almost certain to lead the Boks in their World Cup opener against Scotland on 10 September. “It’s unbelievable to think that it is almost four years since we lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan. The players have been working hard to give us the best possible chance to defend our title,” Kolisi, speaking at the conclusion of the Boks’ training camp in Durban on Wednesday said. “The memories of lifting the trophy, the emotional scenes of the fans waiting at the airport when we arrived home, and lining the streets countrywide on…

JON Rahm doesn’t care which tour players compete on when it comes to the Ryder Cup. He wants the best players from Europe and the US going toe-to-toe in what he calls a “beautiful” event. The Europeans were routed two years ago at Whistling Straits, but Rahm teamed with Spanish countryman Sergio Garcia to earn three of their team’s nine points. That partnership won’t be rekindled in Italy this year, with Team Europe captain Luke Donald of England telling Garcia he will not be considered. Garcia left for LIV Golf last year and recently resigned from the DP World Tour along with Englishmen Richard Bland, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who was removed as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain when he joined the Saudi-backed league. “I’m going…

THE veterans’ (40-49-year-olds) section of this year’s Comrades Marathon is going to be a hotly-contested affair with some big names having expressed a desire to win the gold medal. But what chance any of the contenders emulating the legendary Wally Hayward and Vladimir Kotov, and capturing not only their age category prize but the overall title? Former champion Gift Kelehe believes he can add his name alongside those two Comrades superstars by becoming victorious in the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban next Sunday. Kotov remains the oldest man to ever win the Comrades Marathon, the Belarusian capturing his third title in 2004 as a 46-year-old. He beat the mark set by Hayward, himself a multiple winner as a veteran, back in 1954 when he was 44. Kelehe, who…

Msunduzi Municipality passed its budget yesterday with the ANC using its majority in council to adopt it, drawing criticism from opposition parties and civil society because of its tariff hikes. According to the budget tabled by Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, the R11 billion budget for the province’s capital, Pietermaritzburg, is a combination of ensuring stability and building a foundation for economic growth, investment and revenue enhancement. While he outlined a number of projects earmarked for the 2023/24 financial year, which include repairing 2 500 street lights and upgrading roads and repairing water pipes to deal with water leaks, it was the tariffs that became the focal point of the budget. In the presented budget the key tariff hikes included: Property rates – 7% increase Electricity – 21.49% increase…

Although Mohamed Saeed (The Mercury, May 30), rightly points out that effective discussions on how to save South Africa need to precede next year’s elections, unless there is agreement on uprooting the legacy of 30 years of ANC depredation, such discussions will be pointless. Awareness of the collapsed state of governance is widespread. But expecting sound governance to result from defeating the ANC at the polls in 2024 is not going to occur because of the entrenched extent of ANC cadres in the civil service. In his book, Truth to Power, André De Ruyter provides insight on the depth and width of the swamp of corruption that prevents Eskom from functioning properly. The obstacles he encountered in trying to remove individuals guilty of gross negligence and dereliction of duty exposed…

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Ronald Lamola has allocated a significant portion of the department’s budget to entities in the front line of fighting corruption and fraud. Speaking as he tabled his department’s R23.2 billion budget vote for the 2023/24 financial year in Parliament this week, Lamola said the allocation would ensure success in the war against graft. He said the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) overall allocation in the budget came to R5.4 billion and that this amount included an additional grant of R915 million made by the government to strengthen its efforts in fighting crime and corruption. The NPA’s investigative directorate was allocated R336m out of the overall allocation. Lamola said the NPA deals with more than 850 000 criminal cases yearly, with over 600 000 matters on court…

Four house robbers were arrested during a shootout with a private security company in the Bluff area on Tuesday afternoon. It is alleged the men were nabbed following a house robbery in Donnelly Road, Bluff. The suspects were allegedly found with a LG TV set, 2 laptops, two wrist watches and two pairs of shoes. According to an incident report, the suspects were travelling in a Ford Figo which was picked up on a camera with automatic number plate recognition technology as it entered the Bluff area. The same vehicle was allegedly used in another break-in the previous day. Local community police forums and response groups began searching for the vehicle. It is alleged they gave chase and the suspects drove into oncoming traffic. The suspects were apprehended. Provincial police…

IT WAS with immense sadness that we heard of the sudden death of intellectual icon, Eusebius McKaiser. An elegant professional who exhibited grace and profound logic. His passing has robbed us of one of the most formidable minds in recent times. As a broadcaster he displayed incredible forensic skill. His numerous interviews with top personalities were scintillating. Eusebius was a brilliant academic and an engaging public intellectual whose boldness and political skills remain unmatched in today’s biased media environment. We lost a scholar par excellence, his intellectual excellence dazzled Africa and the world. A media giant whose ideas, views and scholastic skills reverberate globally. He was destined to be a great media personality, he died as a monumental achiever. We will remember him as brilliant and thorough,…

A North Korean satellite launch yesterday ended in failure, sending the booster and payload plunging into the sea, North Korean state media said, and the South’s military said it had recovered parts of the launch vehicle. The new “Chollima-1” satellite launch rocket failed because of instability in the engine and fuel system. The flight was the nuclear-armed state’s sixth satellite launch attempt, and the first since 2016. It was supposed to put North Korea’s first spy satellite in orbit. It prompted emergency alerts and brief evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan. The notices were withdrawn with no danger or damage reported. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military was conducting a salvage operation to recover what is believed to be parts of the space launch…

BUDAPEST: Hungary recently freed 777 foreigners, mostly Serbian, Ukrainian and Romanian nationals convicted of human trafficking, the directorate of prisons said. Citing overcrowded prisons, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government issued a decree in April allowing the release of nationals convicted of people smuggling, on condition they leave Hungary within 72 hours. The move drew a protest from Austria, a top destination for smuggled migrants heading for the heart of the EU via Hungary from the Balkans. The prison directorate said there were 2 636 people convicted of human trafficking in Hungarian prisons, of whom 808 were foreign citizens eligible for release. | Reuters…

Copenhagen: Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen yesterday delivered a speech to parliament partly written using artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to highlight the revolutionary aspects and risks of AI. Frederiksen was giving a speech as parliament prepared to close for the summer. “What I have just read here is not from me. Or any other human for that matter,” Frederiksen said part-way into her speech to legislators. “Even if it didn’t always hit the nail on the head... it is both fascinating and terrifying what it is capable of.” ChatGP, which can generate essays, poems and conversations from prompts, has seen billions invested into the field. | AFP…

IN what is arguably the most exciting South Africa A squad in a long time, Independent Media’s Ongama Gcwabe lists five players to keep an eye on as the squad heads over to Sri Lanka for a five-match tour Shukri Conrad and his management team have assembled an exciting group of players in the SA A squad that left for Sri Lanka yesterday. The tour will see the next crop of talent get a taste of international cricket and also provide an opportunity for a few Proteas players to breathe life into their international careers. Matthew Breetzke The youngster has finally turned the corner in his young career, particularly in red-ball cricket and has been selected to be part of the squad for the first time. Matthew Breetzke finished the…

FAIRVEST Property Holdings, the South African landlord for shopping centres, office and industrial real estate, has recorded lower vacancy rates and positive letting activity for its mostly rural and small town property portfolio, with high inflation and power outages casting a shadow on its outlook. Vacancies across its portfolio increased slightly to 5.96% as at the end of its March 2023 interim period. Overall though, Fairvest experienced “positive letting activity and a strong performance” from its portfolio despite “a very challenging economic environment” for South Africa, CEO Darren Wilder said yesterday. The mer-ger between Arrowhead Properties and Fairvest was successfully implemented during the 2022 financial period. For the interim period under review, Fairvest managed to renew 81 505 square metres of the 103 545 square metres…

POLICE are searching for missing Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) lecturer Shan Dwarika, who was last seen in CCTV footage being forced into the back of his black Honda CR-V by three suspected kidnappers on Sunday. Dwarika, 61, who lives in Verulam, was last seen at his rental property in Sea Cow Lake, Durban, attending to repairs. ​Dwarika was described by colleagues at a press briefing about his disappearance at MUT yesterday as a dedicated father and lecturer who “treated his students like his children”. ​ MUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Marcus Ramogale asked for the public’s assistance to find Dwarika. ​Ramogale said while there have been instances of staff being killed at other universities, he believed the “kidnapping” of Dwarika, who is a lecturer with no other operational responsibilities at MUT,…

HAS the animal kingdom decided it’s had enough of humanity and its foibles? Has it started to strike back? In Western Australia, the crowd were line dancing at the Kununurra Rodeo, according to the BBC. This was too much for a bull who broke free and charged into the crowd, leaving two people injured. Videos on social media show dozens of people line-dancing inside the rodeo arena, before the animal charges at them. An investigation is under way. Was the bull irritated by the line dancing music? Was it the movements of the dancers? Was it the corny nature of the whole thing that caused him to snap? In Avon, Connecticut, in the US, a black bear chased bakery employees off the premises and chomped 60 cupcakes, according to…

THE massive energy crisis has virtually decimated normal economic interaction in our poverty-stricken country. Our unemployment rate stands at a staggering 30%. At the individual and social level, we are watching a tragedy of major proportions unfold, which no civilised society should tolerate. The schemes launched by the government have proved banal. This economic tragedy could serve as a catalyst for a violent upheaval in our dangerously imbalanced society. Unemployment leads to poverty on a massive scale and is a major factor in the increasing crime in urban areas. Our economy is experiencing a crisis in creeping unemployment that has enormous human and economic costs. It is a ticking time bomb that now appears to be perilously close to exploding. Load shedding, unless urgently tackled, will propel the nation into…

FORMER SAA board members and employees who have left the airline, but are implicated in the investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will be pursued and face civil litigation. SIU head, advocate Andy Mothibi said this during a briefing to Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on the unit’s investigations of corruption, maladministration and malfeasance at SAA. In 2019, SAA approached the SIU, indicating that the airline needed assistance to investigate possible corruption and other irregularities. During a briefing to the committee in November last year, the SIU said it was probing issues with at least 23 contracts at SAA. These ranged from dodgy jet fuel purchases and aircraft leases to board and staff corruption. This week Mothibi said that, from their investigations conducted so far, it appeared…

The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) has assured members of the public that chicken and egg products are safe to consume. It added that chicken and eggs products that tested positive for avian (bird) flu were disposed of. This follows the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development announcing that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI )was detected at five farms in the Western Cape. In April, The Mercury’s sister newspaper, the Cape Times, reported that around 120 000 birds died or had been destroyed at two Western Cape poultry farms due to avian flu. The national department said that to date, HPAI outbreaks were confirmed at five commercial chicken farms in the Western Cape and those farms were placed under quarantine. “The department would like to reassure consumers that…

Steelmaker could be more ambitious in its targets and support it with new technology ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) held its annual general meeting (AGM) on May 25, Africa Day. Perhaps not a coincidence, given its stated purpose is “championing Africa’s industrial ambitions through sustainable steel”. As the largest steel producer in sub-Saharan Africa, and South Africa’s third highest greenhouse gas emitter, AMSA plays an immense role in South Africa’s economy, while also facing some seemingly intractable challenges. This includes the impact of rapidly deteriorating rail infrastructure on its ability to import raw materials as well as to supply international and overland customers. Load shedding; the carbon border taxes being introduced by the European Union on carbon based products; and a shortage of skilled labour; as well the impact of climate…

THE doom and gloom that often fills our news pages has made it rather easy for us South Africans to forget the reasons why we are such a resilient nation. Power cuts, the rising cost of living, corruption and, most recently, the Russian arms saga have tainted our nation’s image. But Musa Motha, the South African-born amputee dancer flying our flag high on Britain’s Got Talent with his thrilling contemporary dance piece, is a reminder of why we are proudly South African. For those readers not familiar with him, the 27-year-old from Sebokeng in Gauteng lost his leg after he was diagnosed with childhood cancer. He told the judges that it was his friends who taught and introduced him to dancing. Although the childhood setback meant he would not be…

A global employment divide between high-income and low-income countries is worsening as rising debt levels hit developing countries disproportionately, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said yesterday. It urged nations to offer global financial support on job creation and social protection to help narrow the gap. While global unemployment is expected to fall below pre-pandemic levels to 191 million this year, a rate of 5.3%, low-income countries lag in the recovery process, said the ILO’s 11th edition of the Monitor on the World Of Work. Low-income countries in Africa and the Arab region are unlikely to recover to pre-pandemic levels of unemployment this year, with the jobless rate in North Africa expected to be 11.2% compared to 10.9% in 2019, said the report. Rising debt levels compound challenges facing developing states,…

Harare: Zimbabwe will hold nationwide elections on August 23, the government gazette stated yesterday, ending months of speculation over the date. Elections for the National Assembly and local government will also be held that day. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party, which has been in power since independence in 1980, will face off against the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa. He will be Mnangagwa’s opponent for a second time. Analysts say Chamisa faces an uphill battle this time around, in the face of a clampdown on CCC events and arrests of party officials. | AFP…

TOKYO: Japan’s government will set aside $26 billion (R515bn) for new child care measures in a move likely to add more debt to the industrial world’s heaviest public debt burden. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has vowed to double such spending over the next three years to arrest the country’s dwindling birth rate, even if that means further aggravating the government’s fiscal position. Kishida told ministers yesterday he wanted to increase the planned child care spending, which is top of the agenda for his administration. Births in Japan plunged to a record low in 2022, official estimates show, dropping below 800 000 for the first time, eight years earlier than expected. | AFP…

Young guns and new faces dominated the finals of the Port Natal Bowls Men’s and Women’s under-60s and over-60s Singles Championship at Hillary Bowling Club last Sunday. Having ousted bronze medalists Wayne Rittmuller and Keagan Bauristhene (both representing Stella Park BC) in their semi-final games, Stella Park’s Jarred Bauristhene and Umhlanga BC’s Ruaan Victor faced off in the under-60s men’s final. Bauristene, 21, edged ahead of Victor and secured his first Port Natal Singles gold medal by eight shots. Highlighting the depth of youthful talent lawn bowls has attracted over the past five years, is that three of the semi-finalists are members of the Port Natal Bowls under-30 squad and that Rittmuller, at 40, was the oldest bowler on the under-60s podium. The women’s under-60 final presented a surprise…