Índex per 2021-08-26 a Star

Upward revision will be pleasing to ratings agencies but still shows rising debt, warns economist Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The rand strengthened yesterday, dipping below the R15-mark against the dollar following reports that South Africa’s economy was bigger than previously estimated. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday said the economy was actually 11 percent larger in 2020 than previously estimated. StatsSA’s upward revision followed its normal five yearly rebasing and benchmarking exercise. The stats agency said the revised estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was R5.521 trillion, an increase of 11 percent, compared with the previous estimate of R4.973trln. The rand flexed its muscles against all G10 currencies after having retreated to a near 6-month low last week after a risk-off sentiment in global markets on Delta variant concerns. FXTM’s…

Liam Karabo Joyce South African-based Zambian-born singer and songwriter Stanley Sibande releases his debut album, Hopeless Dreams, tomorrow. The release is a testament to all the challenges, triumphs and failures he has encountered during the last four years and how they’ve broken him down in some ways and helped him grow in others. As such, Hopeless Dreams is a defining moment in the rising star’s career. He began his journey as a musician in his formative years, singing along to popular music with his siblings in the living room of his childhood home as a pass time. While taking a gap year in 2013, he joined a band and picked up a guitar. It wasn’t long after that he started writing his own compositions, which were heavily influenced by the…

RAPULA MOATSHE rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za THE cash-strapped ANC is at odds with its staff at Luthuli House and in its provincial offices, where officials who have gone without salaries for almost three months are threatening to down tools. The Star’s sister paper, the Pretoria News, has seen a letter penned by the ANC regional secretary of Overberg, Derick Appel, in which he announced his absence from work because of unpaid salaries. The letter read: “This communique serves to inform members of the regional executive committee that as of tomorrow (today), August 26, I will not be available for any meetings or organisational work until our salaries are paid. My humble request therewith is that comrades respect this, to allow me to concentrate on my family’s needs and efforts to support them.” The…

Zelda Venter IN MATTERS involving custody of children, parents bad-mouth each other in court to try to prove they are “good”. But “good” or “bad” parents should never be used as an argument, as its always only about the best interest of the child. This is according to a judge, who made it clear that the courts were tired of mothers and fathers (and their lawyers) each trying to paint a dark picture of the other, in a bid to convince the courts that they are the best parent. Judge SJ Wilson, sitting in the High Court in Joburg remarked that there is never a “winner” in these cases, as it was always the child who suffered. He also strongly encouraged fighting parents to think twice before they bad-mouthed each…

ITUMELENG MAFISA A 23-YEAR-old DJ from Lenasia in the south of Joburg is breaking racial barriers and bringing South Africans together by choosing to only perform in black townships. Dyhata Sookmungal said his exposure to township life has shown him that people are the same wherever he went. He said he was disturbed by the tension in Durban between Indians and Africans. Through his part-time vocation as a DJ, “DJ Gupta” as he was known in the township, hoped to promote love and peace among people of different races. “What I want people to know is that you are human and then you are South African and then you are Indian. “What I found was people had that perception that going into the township you are going to get…

Luxolo Mafumana | Turffontein We have just commemorated another year since the senseless killing of our people by the executive arm of our government, having chosen the side of big business, as it the norm in any capitalist society where profits matter more than lives, over hard-working citizens who wanted nothing more than a fair wage for their audacious efforts in sourcing millions of dollars worth of minerals for multinationals. I am one of the many people who are calling for this to be declared a national holiday in honour of the lives lost. I am aware that this will not change the current conditions of many manual workers who are still subjected to exploitative working conditions. I will not hold my breath under the current capitalist leadership…

As South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 34%, the highest in the world, several social and economic connections are being made, notably with the riots and looting in July in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Poverty and hunger are obviously a deadly combination, but the power of the government is limited, especially when the economy is weak and investment hesitant. In the medieval period in Europe, food riots were quite common, as were “dearths” or shortages of basic supplies, leading to price fluctuations. There existed, in the absence of any government hand-outs, the practice of the “dole” a portion of money or food given in charity. In time this formalised into “the dole”, which in Britain became an unemployment benefit. To be “on the dole” was a dubious status in the eyes…

China reopened a key terminal at the world’s third-busiest cargo port yesterday, after a Covid-19 shutdown caused major backlogs elsewhere and worsened export delays. The halt at the eastern Ningbo-Zhoushan port started two weeks ago, when a worker at one of its terminals tested positive for the disease. The hold-up forced ships to other Chinese ports, which were left facing their worst levels of congestion in seven years. The closure added stress to an already stretched global shipping network. | AFP…

ARGENTINA and Brazil announced plans to use World Cup qualifiers next month as test events for the return of football fans to stadiums following Covid-19 enforced bans. Argentina’s Tourism and Sports Minister Matias Lammens said that a pilot scheme would take place on September 9 for the visit of Bolivia to Buenos Aires at the 70 000 “Monumental stadium with 30% capacity, as a first step to the return of spectators at all large-scale spectacles”. Meanwhile, Sao Paulo’s sports secretariat said in a statement it would allow 12 000 fans in the 48 000-capacity Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo for the crunch clash with arch-rivals Argentina on September 5. However, news from the English Premier League earlier in the day could put a spanner in both plans. The Premier…

The word “legacy” popped up twice on my radar this week. The first was Netflix reminding me that it was the first anniversary of its broadcast of The Last Dance, the excellent 10-part documentary on the Chicago Bulls’ championship years in the 1990s. It is widely regarded as having enhanced Michael Jordan’s legacy as one of the greatest basketball players ever and one of the most influential athletes of any era. The second reminder of legacy came from reading Mark Boucher’s submission to Cricket SA’s Social Justice and Nation Building project. Boucher has become one of the central figures at the hearings. “It is distressing to me that while we may have achieved many of our goals on the field in my playing days, we did not have a team…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co/za AFTER the pains of last season’s frustrations in the Premiership that led to Kaizer Chiefs supporters marching on to the club’s offices in Naturena, the Amakhosi faithful can start smiling again after a 2-1 win over Baroka FC yesterday. There were times, particularly during the first half of yesterday’s match, that applause and vuvuzelas from an empty FNB Stadium could almost be heard purring in appreciation every time new signing Keagan Dolly touched the ball. Dolly’s vision is unparalleled in South African football and the 28-year-old through his movement, understanding of angles and beautifully precise passes raised Chiefs to a level where they were playing the champagne football of years gone by. Baroka simply could not live with Chiefs, and in particular Dolly, in this rampant mood.…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za RICHARDS Bay Minerals managing director Werner Duvenhage told journalists yesterday that getting the business back on track following a three-month-long closure is going to be a painful process. Richards Bay, a unit of globally diversified mining company Rio Tinto, said on Tuesday that it was preparing to resume operations after reaching an agreement with its community leaders. The mine ground to a halt amid escalating tensions within its host community at the end of June. “Our key focus right now is restarting our business after being down for almost three months. It is going to be a painful process to restart, but we have tried to maintain our assets as much as possible, but I am sure we are going to have stumbling blocks along the way,…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za AFRIKAANS singer Janie Bay pushes the envelope with the songwriting in the release of her third album. Prisma is the culmination of songs written between 2019 and early 2021. The album includes personal themes of family, love, passion, loss and encouragement. The seven tracks, although seemingly different, come together in an intricate prismatic matrix that hits home with thoughtful intention at a time when nothing is certain. Bay generously moves between these mercurial emotions and fans will love the new sound. When Bay started working on Prisma, she had a clear idea of what she wanted the end product to be. “I wanted each song to have its own theme, sound and feel, various topics of things we as humans experience in life,” she said. Hits…

Bang Showbiz NICOLE Kidman “wishes” she had more children. The 54-year-old is mother to Isabella, 28, and Connor, 26, whom she adopted with her ex-husband Tom Cruise, as well as Sunday, 13, and Faith, 10, whose father is Nicole’s spouse, Keith Urban. But the mother-of-four has said not having more children is one of her biggest regrets, as she wishes she had the option to expand her brood. She told Marie Claire Australia magazine: “I wish I’d had more children but I wasn’t given that choice. “But that’s okay I get to mother other children. I have six nieces and nephews and I’m godmother to 12. I love mothering, I love kids and what they say.” The Big Little Lies star previously said she was ready to “give everything up”…

Chulumanco Mahamba A TEMBISA family are seeking justice after the case of their 17-year-old son, who was hit and killed by an alleged speeding driver in Vereeniging last year was dismissed for lack of evidence. “I want justice for my child. I want to know what happened on that day,” said Ntombini Zwane, the mother of the teen, Nhlanhla Zwane, who died on July 22 last year. Nhlanhla was visiting his grandparents in Vereeniging when he was hit by a car allegedly driving about 70km/h, after buying airtime for his aunt. His family looked for him, but he was left at Sebokeng Hospital with no identity, as the driver of the car allegedly did not attempt to find the family or go to the hospital with the teenager. “The doctor…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za EFF leader Julius Malema says the EFF hopes to go into coalition governance if it clinches co-governing agreements after the local government elections. Malema said yesterday the party would engage in coalition talks, only on a case-by-case basis, in municipalities. He indicated that the party was looking to play a bigger role than it did after the 2016 local elections. The EFF had played a role in 2016, when the DA sought political partners to be able to run the City of Johannesburg and City of Tshwane. Although it reached coalition agreements, members of the EFF did not take up leadership positions. This time, Malema said, the situation would be different for the party. “This time around, we are going into coalition government as ourselves, as the…

Chulumanco Mahamba A WOMEN and children’s shelter in Krugersdorp that has been filled to capacity since the lockdown started, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help provide resources for women escaping abuse. The Cradle of Hope is a non-profit organisation that cares for, protects and rehabilitates abused and vulnerable women with their children, as well as traumatised and troubled teenage girls. The organisation provides a safe home, all their basic needs as well as life coaching, inner healing, life skills, spiritual upliftment, skills development and addiction and stress recovery. The Cradle of Hope has started a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to help provide resources to women escaping abuse for their One Day Emergency Shelter for Women. On April 1, 2020, Cradle of Hope became the full managers and operators of…

Cometh Makholwa | Midrand IT IS shocking that more than 900 girls, aged 10 to 14, fell pregnant between April last year and March this year, in Gauteng. It is a miracle those who don’t go for abortion survive the trauma of having those tiny bodies subjected to those growing foetuses without deadly consequences; because I assume the foetus would grow at the normal natural rate. Scary! What went wrong? Such things were unheard of in the past, especially for children as young as 10. A few years ago consensual sex among 12-year-olds was legalised in this country. Why? What was the reason behind the engagement by parliamentarians on this subject, that they would end up adopting and legalising sex for such immature kids. And now everybody is…

KEVIN GOVENDER | Shallcross SOUTH Africa must rate as one of the easiest countries to qualify for professional football status – it’s as easy as finding Las Vegas in the Nevada Desert! All you need is lots of cash and a small dose of influence and you’re winging it to the high-end world of professional football in South Africa. The last four years reveals five sales, two to relegated clubs and three to first division clubs seeking the back-door into top-flight football. The latest sale was that of 52-year-old Bloemfontein Celtic FC to Durban businesswoman, Shauwn Mkhize. The latest addition to the KZN stable of professional outfits has been renamed Royal AM FC . Of all the acquisitions in recent times, only AmaZulu and possibly Swallows and Cape…

On August 26, 1929, South Africa launched its first commercial airline under Union Airways Company (Pty) with the first flight travelling between Maitland and Port Elizabeth. On board were five bags of mail. Then, on April 24, 1976, Union Airways, which had now rebranded to South African Airways, operated the world’s first commercial flight utilising a Boeing 747SP. The aircraft flew the Johannesburg-Lisbon-Rome-Athens route. For any airline to be successful, a number of factors ought to be considered. These include geographic location and good interconnectivity policies. Increased interconnectivity within global airline markets has over the years marked the commercial airline industry with a distinct dynamism – in an external environment as well as the internal operations of any airline. This dynamism indicates how the highly sensitive industry has, over time,…

Barnett Rubin Media coverage of Afghanistan is understandably focused on the precarious situation of thousands of Americans and Afghans who are desperate to leave. But there is far more to Afghanistan’s dilemma than the crisis at the airport – and the world needs to start confronting a host of other daunting realities. The US and other aid donors have responded to the Taliban takeover by stopping the flow of financial aid and freezing Afghanistan’s reserves and other financial accounts. Yet Afghanistan is one of the poorest and most aid-dependent countries in the world. An internal document of the World Food Program warns that, “A humanitarian crisis of incredible proportions is unfolding before our eyes. Conflict combined with drought and Covid-19 is pushing the people of Afghanistan into a humanitarian…

A blockchain company converted eight never-before-seen photographs of the late Kobe Bryant into non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) and will auction them off to benefit a charitable foundation in his honour. The company, called Cryptograph, plans to honour Bryant’s memory with the NFTs of eight unreleased photos taken of the Los Angeles Lakers star during a 1999 magazine photo shoot. Proceeds from the auctions will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to Bryant and his late daughter, Gianna “Gigi” Bryant, that aims to help young underserved athletes, particularly women. Bryant, who would have been 43-years-old on Monday, died in a helicopter crash in January 2020 along with 13-year-old Gianna and seven other victims. NFTs are stored on a blockchain as a unique digital file, making them…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE GOVERNMENT will be tightening its belt further this financial year, as downward risks to the fiscus have materialised after it lost a bruising battle with labour unions over wage increases. The National Treasury yesterday confirmed to Parliament that the recently signed wage agreement with 1.2 million public servants would cost the fiscus R20 billion in the 2021/22 fiscal year. Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said the wage agreement would have an impact on the fiscus, because it was over and above the compensation ceilings that had been tabled in February. The government’s wage bill accounts for about a third of consolidated spending. “The risks have finally materialised now. It’s not ideal to not give inflation-linked increases, but the reality is that we have come to…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za ZAHARA has many special attributes, but the one that stands out is her ability to stay true to herself and her passion for music. Over the years, she has come under public scrutiny, but when it comes to her music, Zahara never disappoints. She delivers every time. When her latest album Nqaba Yam released on August 13, it shot to the number one spot on iTunes, a reminder that South Africa had been longing for the sound of Zahara. It was indeed a long-awaited body of work, but so worth it. The 12 -track album is a fusion of Afro-soul, pop, with some elements of African rhythm blended with a soul-soothing gospel influence. In typical Zahara fashion, the album, which lays bare her soul, takes the listener…

Loyiso Sidimba MORE than two dozen deaths as a result of police action and in custody reported during the recent unrest and widespread looting in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are under investigation. The 30 deaths in police custody and as a result of police action are being probed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid). According to documents obtained by Independent Media, Ipid is investigating 26 deaths due to police action, including 17 in KZN and nine in Gauteng. In both provinces, two deaths in police custody were reported to the Ipid. The directorate also received reports of three deaths as a result of police action at the Phoenix police station in Durban, as well as nine cases reported of assault. Phoenix came under scrutiny last month following…

Kailene Pillay Lawyers representing President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC have accused senior counsel advocate Dali Mpofu and suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule of abusing the courts in a bid to launch a “scurrilous” attack on judges and the president. Representing Magashule in his suspension case yesterday, Mpofu accused three Johannesburg High Court judges of judicial bias. Magashule’s matter returned to South Gauteng High Court Division in Joburg as he sought leave to appeal its previous judgment in which it ruled that the ANC was within its right to suspend him after he failed to comply with its step-aside rule. Mpofu yesterday based his argument on three broad areas, including the legal issues, merits of the case and judicial bias. While arguing the judicial bias point, Mpofu said the lower…

A CLARION call has been made for all role-players in the agricultural and agro-processing sectors to ensure that they are vaccinated because that will go a long way to ensuring the continued food production in the country. It is important to increase the number of people who vaccinate because that will help to ensure that economic activity and livelihoods continue with minimal interruption. Our ability to thrive as a country is intricately linked to our health. Health is an essential component of being human; both the positive and negative connotations have deep resonance with the human psyche. The greatest natural resource a society has is its people, and its success depends on how they are nurtured and cared for. When we are sick, hurt or dying, the consequences extend beyond…

NOKWANDA NCWANE nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za Idols SA has kept people glued to their screens since the talent show returned to their screens for season 17 last month. This week many were on the edge of their seats as the judges chose the top 16 during theatre week, which breaks or makes the hopefuls. And true to form, and during Women’s Month, the girls dominated this past weekend, with 10 girls making the cut, alongside six guys. They will compete for the viewers’ votes – under the guidance of judges Randall Abrahams and Unathi Nkayi – in the live stage phase of the competition. However, like last year, there will be no live audience because of the pandemic. First to make it into the top 16 were Kevin Maduna, Karabo Mathe, Misty, Monique…

Iraq has invited Iran and Tehran’s Gulf Arab foes to a summit in Baghdad to calm tensions which have brought them close to open conflict. The meeting, which will also discuss the war in Yemen, Lebanon’s collapse and a regional water crisis, could take a step towards Saudi-Iranian peace. Strains between the foes worsened after a 2019 assault on Saudi oil plants that knocked out half of production. Riyadh blamed the attack on Iran, a charge it denies. The two countries are aligned with rival forces in Yemen. | Reuters…