Índex per 2023-06-14 a Mercury

THE ANC will not discipline national executive committee (NEC) members who voted against the party line during a parliamentary vote on the Phala Phala scandal, and will instead call on those with links to KwaZulu-Natal to assist the party ahead of next year’s elections . ANC sources said the party was unlikely to take disciplinary action against former health minister Zweli Mkhize and minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma before the 2024 elections as they are both seen as central to the party’s leadership, especially in KZN. The ANC in the province is under pressure from the IFP and the DA. The IFP has been making inroads into previous ANC strongholds. These discussions were held when the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) was in KZN a few weeks ago. An ANC source…

It is good to see Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa getting to grips with criminal activities at Eskom (The Mercury, June 12). However, earlier in the year, when former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter disclosed the extent of corruption, theft and sabotage, the ANC denied his findings and vowed revenge on him for maligning its “good name” (Truth to Power, page 297). Ramokgopa’s response to a parliamentary inquiry – that the SAPS was working on 1 952 Eskom-related cases and have made 126 arrests – poses an interesting question: Why are they acting only now but were indifferent to the crimes when De Ruyter disclosed them? When De Ruyter told National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola about the criminality and corruption crippling Eskom, the general bemoaned the lack of crime intelligence…

At last a glimmer of hope, albeit early days. At last the 50-plus-year-old dated socialist ideologies of the ANC are being reviewed as we hear more about engagements with private and corporate business. We also are getting more hints of privatisation of certain state entities, as they finally come to realise that they have either failed, or do not have the capability to fix what they have damaged. As desperation seems to be leading to unprecedented calls for a review of the ANC’s socialist ideologies, their potential allies at the upcoming elections, the EFF, will make them strange bedfellows as the EFF’s ideologies are even more radical and of the old order. The EFF seems entrenched in its beliefs.…

Money owed to municipalities across the country for services provided to consumers has increased to a staggering R294.7 billion and not all of it is realistically collectible, the National Treasury has said. Treasury released the local government revenue and expenditure report on Monday for the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. It covered a nine-month period from July 2022 to March 2023. The report is part of the “In-year Management, Monitoring and Reporting System for Local Government (IYM)”, which enables the provincial and national governments to exercise oversight over municipalities and identify possible challenges in implementing municipal budgets and conditional grants. Government institutions accounted for R18.7bn of the total amount owed by debtors. But households remain the highest contributors (72.8%) of debt owed to municipalities at R214.4bn, compared to…

A British man was arrested in South Korea on Monday after he attempted to climb the country’s tallest skyscraper – the fifth highest in the world – without equipment, police said. The man was scaling the 123-storey Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul early on Monday when staff spotted him, forcing him to stop his ascent as he reached the 73rd floor. “Lotte staff had to go on a gondola lift to persuade him to stop when he was still climbing above the building’s 70th floor,” an official from the National Police Agency told AFP. “He finally gave in and we arrested him at the scene for obstruction of official business. He is currently being questioned at a police station in Seoul’s Songpa district.” Local media have identified the British…

The poor state of public sports and recreational facilities in Msunduzi Municipality has been blamed on inadequate budgeting and lack of proper management. This is the view of the DA leader in Msunduzi, Ross Strachan, who was commenting in a recent Executive Committee meeting that the decline in sports facilities is a clear indication that the city should consider other arrangements, such as joint management with private enterprises to maintain the facilities. He was commenting after a report came before the committee requesting approval for funding for the Alexandra Park Sports Tourism Pilot Project. The report sought funding to be availed to the Community Services business unit in order to upgrade the Alexandra Park sporting precinct into a multi-sports code facility. The proposal said that such an upgrade of the…

scheme, the two have since publicly denied the allegations. Skosana has filed a complaint with the police, and Mkhwebane, after being so advised by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, filed a complaint with the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests. She said these bribery attempts against her through her husband indicated symmetric state capture as all three arms of the state were implicated. “I have invited you today to inform you about the biggest scandal to ever hit the democratic Parliament. “Sadly, the scandal implicates, directly and indirectly, the executive and judiciary. “For the first time, we can talk about state capture because all three arms of the state, aided and abetted by the media, are deeply implicated in the concerted effort to violate my rights and those of…

The foremost criterion to question some present rule, regulation or model of administration, in all fields of life, whether bringing up a child or running a country, is the success or failure rate of the method employed thus far. Especially the failure rate over a very reasonable length of time. For instance, both corporal punishment as well as mollycoddling have not really helped in bringing up satisfactorily adjusted youth, internationally. Both modes need rechecking. Dictatorship, autocracy and democracy have also hopelessly failed. There are many other areas that seemed to have been working for a short time but are also now grinding into miserable failure. The highest form of these models is of course democracy. This permits governance by a body of people termed “party” to create a tidy sum…

British police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of murder after three people were found dead on the street in the central English city of Nottingham yesterday and three were injured after an attempt to run them over with a van. Detectives said they had an open mind about the motive for the linked incidents, which began just after 4am, and that counter-terrorism officers were working on the investigation. Two of those killed were students from one of the city’s universities. A man, 31, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and detectives said they were not looking for anyone else. The major operation, which led to many roads across Nottingham being closed, began after police were called to an incident of two people being killed on a…

ROME: Two Italian climate change activists who glued themselves to the base of one of the Vatican Museums’ most famous statues must pay almost €30 000 (R600 782) in damages and costs, a Vatican criminal court has ruled. Guido Viero and Laura Zorzini of the Last Generation group pulled the stunt against the Laocoon statue in August. The Tribunal of the Vatican City State, which has lay rather than religious judges, told the pair to jointly pay €28 148 in damages to Vatican authorities. They were also handed suspended jail terms of nine months each, plus fines of around €1 500 each, also suspended. A third activist was given a suspended €120 penalty. | Reuters…

London: Migrant workers in London face “shocking” levels of exploitation and are victims of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, a new report has found. London mayor Sadiq Khan said the findings were “consistent with modern slavery”. Racism is said to be “a common experience” for many migrant workers in London. Many received a lower pay rate than promised, incorrect deductions and unclear payslips. According to the 2021 census, the largest migrant groups in London come from India, followed by Romania, Poland, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Italy and Nigeria. | IANS…

ELLIES Holdings has proposed a R120 million rights issue to fund the initial payment for the 100% acquisition of members’ interests Magetz Electrical cc and Power On Wheels for R202.6m. The proposed rights issues would be through the issue of new Ellies shares at a price of R0.07 per share. Ellies’ share price closed unchanged at 11 cents on the JSE yesterday. The manufacturer, importer, wholesaler and distributor of lighting, solar, electrical and electronic products and solutions, to both the residential and commercial sectors had announced the signature of a sale of shares agreement regarding the acquisition on February 1 this year. The acquisition would be settled through an initial payment of R72.6m to be paid on fulfilment or waiver of the conditions precedent to the acquisition,…

The sardine run has started in earnest along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, with netting taking place yesterday at Warner Beach near eManzimtoti. This comes after netting at Scottburgh Beach on the South Coast on Monday. While fishermen have expressed excitement about the netting of the sardines, questions have been raised about whether the fish is safe to consume due to concerns over beach water quality. Phelisa Mangcu, the CEO of South Coast Tourism & Investment Enterprise (SCTIE), said they were excited to welcome the sardine run. “This is a bucket list event for divers, anglers, and ocean lovers, with sightings of the migrating humpback whales also a real treat. While there are many ways to view the sardine run, we do advise bathers that the shark nets have to be…

AN ASTONISHING video comes this way of a farmer performing a South African version of the New Zealand haka. It is not specifically aimed at intimidating the All Blacks in future rugby fixtures, but it could come in useful. The unidentified farmer who is dancing and chanting the haka is not in confrontation with an opposing rugby team, he is in marshland out in the bush, in confrontation with a huge bull elephant. The tusker advances on him, then hesitates as the farmer, jumping up and down, starts chanting the haka. The tusker then turns tail and skedaddles into the bush, the farmer triumphantly in pursuit. This is astonishing stuff. If the New Zealand haka is the answer to shooing off elephants, it must surely transform gamekeeping methods just as…

The earthquake that rocked Gauteng and adjacent provinces is a grim and deadly reminder that monumental events, natural and unnatural, shape our destinies. Time and proper research and analysis will prove what triggered this upheaval. It could be a fully fledged tectonic event or a massive mining-induced seismic catastrophe. Earthquakes have shaken South Africa before. The Western Cape and Durban have witnessed quakes of major proportions. The 1969 Tulbagh earthquake had a magnitude 6.3 at a depth of 32km, caused by tectonic plate movements. Durban witnessed a 4.6 earthquake 128km north of the city on November 2022. The most powerful, non-seismic event was in 2014 during the Orkney earthquake, which registered 6.3, followed by 84 aftershocks. A 7 magnitude earthquake could occur within these specified areas during our lifetimes. The…

South Africa has never been touched by Islamist attacks. Its three-decade-old democracy is solid, and its financial system is respected. Yet experts say the continent’s most industrialised nation is now a nerve centre for jihadist financing in Africa. “South Africa is open hunting ground,” Pretoria-based counter- terrorism expert Jasmine Opperman said. Islamist financiers gather money in the country and transfer it into “the hands of terrorism”, she said, adding it was internationally recognised “that we are now a hub”. It’s a stark indictment for a country that, apart from the odd alerts issued by the US Embassy, hardly registers on the radar of extremist activities worldwide. Yet Opperman’s assessment is widely shared by analysts across Africa, Europe and the US. Red flags were first raised last year when the US…

Health Minister Joe Phaahla says the adoption of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill was to stop two trains travelling on parallel tracks heading for a crash. But the situation can be rescued if they can be pulled together so that they complement each other. This was how Phaahla described the role that would be played by the NHI in the country to end the two-tier system in the health-care system. He said the current situation was not sustainable. But opposition parties said they did not support the bill as the health-care system was already facing challenges. The Freedom Front Plus threatened the government with action if the bill was signed into law after going through the National Council of Provinces and other processes. But the ANC yesterday muscled through…

THE video shows a teenage girl in a school uniform seemingly minding her business at first. Then with an amapiano tune blaring, she throws her right leg up in the air and starts to dance. She is joined by another, dressed in the same uniform. In the comments section, someone mentioned the uniform was of a school in Rustenburg. Another asked if “this amapiano and TikTok generation is passing exams”. There is a comment which refers to the length of the uniform as being too short and inappropriate. The girls, barely in their teens, were also not short of admirers, with many describing them as “cute” and others wishing they had lifted their legs slightly higher. Others hailed their dance moves. This week 47 years ago, Hector Pieterson was shot…

The Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Chen Xiaodong, told the China-South Africa New Energy Investment and Co-operation Conference held at the Sandton Convention Centre yesterday that China would help South Africa in four ways to alleviate the energy crisis, that has already resulted in 14 127 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of load shedding in the first five months of 2023 – 19% more than the total for 2022 of 11 839 GWh. “As President Ramaphosa has recently pointed out, the current priority of South Africa is still to end power load shedding and achieve energy security. The next few months will procure more than 10 000 megawatts of additional generating capacity. This will bring new opportunities for the development of new energy in South Africa,” Chen said. The four ways China will…

Russian strikes yesterday on the hometown of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy killed 10 people, as Moscow said it had captured Western armoured vehicles from Kyiv’s forces. The strikes overnight hit multiple sites and smashed into a five-storey apartment building in the central city of Kryvyi Rig, leaving smoke billowing and the housing block strewn with debris. Air raid sirens earlier had sounded across Ukraine as Kyiv and the north-east city of Kharkiv also came under missile and drone attacks. The fresh wave of attacks came just before Moscow claimed to have captured several German Leopard tanks and US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The strikes across Ukraine came after Kyiv claimed to have retaken seven villages and made advances in its counter-offensive against Russian forces. | AFP…

Seoul: South Korea has charged a former Samsung executive accused of stealing company secrets worth hundreds of millions of dollars to set up a copycat chip factory in China, prosecutors said yesterday. Semiconductors have become a flashpoint issue between the US and China, which are locked in a fierce battle over access to chip-making technology and supplies. South Korean prosecutors said the former Samsung employee, 65, allegedly stole the company’s factory blueprints and clean-room designs from 2018 and 2019. Prosecutors described the suspect as a “top expert in semiconductor manufacturing”. | AFP…

Donald Trump surrendered yesterday to face dozens of felony charges of mishandling US government secrets, in the most serious yet of a firestorm of criminal probes threatening to derail his bid to win back the White House. After a 25-minute motorcade journey from his golf course in Miami to the city’s federal courthouse, the former president denied 37 counts of unlawfully retaining classified documents and obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back. Devoted supporters of the Republican leader were out on the streets, with security ramped up around the courthouse as police braced for thousands-strong protests and the possibility of violence. The pugnacious billionaire, who turns 77 today, is accused of wilfully hoarding dozens of clearly-marked government secrets he took unlawfully to his beachfront mansion in Florida on leaving…

FUTUREGROWTH Asset Management has raised serious concerns about the slow pace of filling critical positions in Transnet’s board of directors. Transnet board was appointed in May 2018 made up of 12 independent non-executive directors and two executive directors, but has since shrunk to eight members after six directors resigned or retired without being replaced since February 2019. In a report released yesterday, Futuregrowth said it has observed significant operational challenges at Transnet and evolving governance weaknesses over the ensuing five years since the current board was appointed. Futuregrowth investment analyst for Listed Credit Lindani Vezi said a company of the size and complexity of Transnet needed a larger board, with a broader array and depth of skills than it currently has. “We believe that the shareholder (as represented by the…

“The courts are with Ramaphosa.” These are the alleged words said by former MP and former minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson to Mandla Skosana, the husband of suspended public protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, in one of the two meetings she had with him, claims Mkhwebane. Mkhwebane, in the company of Skosana, her legal representative, and advocate Dali Mpofu, yesterday addressed the media on allegations of bribery against Joemat-Pettersson, ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina, and chairperson of the Section 194 inquiry Richard Dyantyi, who are implicated in soliciting a R600 000 bribe from Skosana. Independent Media recently reported that Skosana opened a case of bribery against the three MPs with the OR Tambo police, which is where two of the meetings between himself and Joemat-Pettersson reportedly took place in March this year. Mkhwebane…

In the media, we read that many political parties claim that their main aim is to “get rid of the ANC majority”. Whereas it is obvious that many, if not most, South Africans are not happy with the way things are going in South Africa under ANC control at national, provincial and local level, I believe that the aim should mainly concentrate on a positive approach. The thrust of the aim should be to announce the improvement in service delivery; enabling improved economic development; enabling the creation of more (much more) employment opportunities; ensuring better management of SOEs; enabling an efficient and qualified public service to provide efficient administration without undue direct political interference by ministers, etc. By proclaiming the positive approach, voters will have a choice between positive government…

The National Freedom Party is deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Clive Barker, one of Africa’s most esteemed football coaches. The NFP joins the nation in mourning the loss of this remarkable individual and extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and all those affected by his death. Clive Barker’s remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication to the sport of football has left an indelible mark on South Africa and the African continent as a whole. His infectious enthusiasm and unparalleled coaching abilities have made him an icon in the world of football, inspiring generations of players and fans alike. As one of the greatest coaches South Africa has ever produced, Barker stands out, as he led Bafana Bafana to triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations…

Police have arrested a 31-year-old Zimbabwean national for allegedly helping convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester escape from prison. So far, nine people, including Bester, have been arrested. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said police made the arrest on Sunday morning in Johannesburg. Zanda Moyo, 31, made a brief appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Moyo has been charged with violating a body, assisting an inmate to escape and fraud. His case was postponed to June 20. It is understood that Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein in May 2022 with the help of G4S and Integriton employees. His lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, was also arrested when police tracked the couple down in Tanzania in April. To date, police have arrested former G4S prison…

The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation and the Priority Crime Specialised Investigation have arrested six suspects for alleged fraudulent claims made to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). It is alleged that the suspects, aged 36 to 58, two of them former employees of the Department of Employment and Labour at the Mahikeng and Klerksdorp offices – and four recruiting agents allegedly recruited, under false pretences, unemployed individuals between 2019 and 2020 in Mahikeng. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said some of the claimants were allegedly informed that they were being assisted to lodge claims with the Drought Relief Fund, some were allegedly claiming money from the UIF, others were allegedly informed that they would be employed at the South African Revenue Service, and some told that they would be employed…

The Buffalo City Municipality in the Eastern Cape has issued a warning to beachgoers after a surfski paddler survived a shark attack at Nahoon Beach last week. Angus Warren, who was paddling with friends about 1km from the Nahoon Mouth, survived the attack by what is believed to be a great white shark. His surfski was broken by the impact. Warren recalled how he first felt turbulence under him and something crunching through the hull of his surfski. “I just felt an upheaval under the boat; I didn’t know what had happened. Then came the crunch. It was biting at the pieces of the ski. It seemed to go on. “I also remember that it was so close that if it had lunged towards me, it would have been…

By harnessing their collective potential, youth can bring fresh ideas Believe in the country we want it to be, to make it happen… This is not so much a message to the youth this Youth Day, but a plea. That you, our leaders of tomorrow, face a mountain of challenges, created largely by the failures of your predecessors, needs no explaining. But, amidst these obstacles, lies an extraordinary opportunity for you, as the youth of South Africa, to come together, bridge the divides, and steer the nation towards a brighter future. Believing in the future At the heart of any transformative movement lies belief in the future. South Africa's youth must firmly hold onto the conviction that they have the power to effect change. This belief can serve as…

Reproductive rights groups are calling for legislative changes after a British woman was jailed for terminating a pregnancy outside the legal limit using drugs she obtained in the mail. Carla Foster, a 44-year-old mother of three, was given a 28-month sentence, with the judge ordering that she should be incarcerated for 14 months, with the rest to be served on probation. Ahead of the sentencing this week, abortion rights advocates and some medical experts had expressed concern about a recent increase in criminal investigations into alleged late-term abortions, warning that a harsh sentence could deter vulnerable patients from seeking medical care. Anti-abortion advocates have called for an end to the at-home use of abortion pills. Foster received the abortion medication under a programme introduced by the government during the pandemic…

BUCHAREST: Romanian prosecutors said yesterday that social media influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two other suspects were being investigated for human trafficking, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. The Tate brothers and two Romanian females are under house arrest pending a criminal investigation for suspected human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, which they have denied. One more victim was added to the case, which started with six women. Prosecutors said two other suspects recruited their victims, who were coerced to produce pornographic content. | Reuters…

Dakar: An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group yesterday claimed responsibility for an attack last week in Mali’s deeply troubled north that killed two UN peacekeepers. Mali has been grappling with a political and security crisis since 2012 when separatist and jihadist rebellions broke out in the north, later spreading to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso. The UN peacekeeping force in Mali, called Minumusa, said a “complex attack” involving an improvised explosive device and direct fire targeted a patrol near the town of Ber, in the Timbuktu region. The victims were from a contingent from Burkina Faso. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday urged streamlining of the decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali. | AFP…

Four boys drowned in rough seas off the western Indian financial hub of Mumbai yesterday as India and Pakistan began evacuating people from coastal areas, two days before a cyclone is expected to make landfall. Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy was expected to land tomorrow evening between Mandvi in India’s Gujarat province and Karachi in southern Pakistan. Meteorologists predict maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135km/h, gusting to 150km/h. “Four boys drowned at Juhu beach on Monday evening. So far, we have found the bodies of two. The search is ongoing to locate the remaining two,” said a police official in Mumbai, south of Gujarat. High waves in the Arabian Sea, accompanied by heavy rains and gusting winds pounded Gujarat’s coastal areas, uprooting trees and resulting in a…