Índex per 2021-09-16 a Star

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FIRSTRAND has become the latest bank to stop funding new coal mines by following in the footsteps of Nedbank as pressure mounts for lenders to limit fossil fuel funding. In its climate change policy and updated energy fuel policy published yesterday, FirstRand said it believed climate change was one of the defining issues of this century. “It is a global crisis that has the potential to alter geopolitics and interstate relations, disrupt business models and markets across all sectors, and to impact the livelihoods and well-being of individuals across the world. “FirstRand acknowledges that the group must be part of the solution by supporting climate resilience and a just transition to a low carbon world,” said FirstRand. In the policy, FirstRand stated its long-term ambition was to…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za RETAIL sales in South Africa experienced a slight slump in July for the first time in four months due to the civil unrest and riots that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng during the month. The civil unrest knocked the retail sales performance as stores were looted and vandalised, resulting in prolonged closures as a precautionary measure and to rebuild. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said yesterday that retail trade sales fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year in July. This slump followed an upwardly revised 10.5 percent growth in retail sales in June. This was the first decrease in retail activity since March as the recent violent events disrupted supply chains and business activity across the country. Nedbank senior economist Nicky Weimar said the recovery in retail…

Liam Karabo Joyce FOR the first time, DJ Mixes will have long-term monetary value for all creators involved. Using Shazam technology, Apple Music, in co-operation with major and independent labels, has developed a tool that will allow Apple Music to properly identify and compensate all the individual creators involved in making a particular DJ Mix – including any artists behind the music in the mix. “Apple Music is the first platform that offers continuous mixes where there’s a fair fee involved for the artists whose tracks are included in the mixes and for the artist making those mixes. It’s a step in the right direction where everyone gets treated fairly. “I’m beyond excited to have the chance to provide online mixes again,” said Belgium DJ and producer Charlotte De Witte.…

Sinenhlanhla Zungu sinenhlanhla.zungu@inl.co.za Academic libraries in South Africa have played a significant role in combating the spreading of misinformation pertaining to the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic by ensuring that people had access to high-quality content about the virus. This is according to the findings of Siviwe Bangani, director of Research Services at Stellenbosch University’s Library and Information Service. “Bangani’s literature review and content analysis was based and compiled from websites and library guides (Lib Guides) taken from South Africa’s public universities, uploaded between July and August 2020, at the time of the country’s first wave peak of the Covid-19 infections. Bangani also browsed through online platforms like Google Scholar, SA ePublications, EbscoHost, Science Direct, Scopus as well as Web-of-Science. During his searches, Bangani used the following terms as…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za Small and emerging farmers face immense challenges in the agricultural industry, such as poor yields and low productivity, making it nearly impossible for new entrants to enter and survive in the market. This was one of the issues raised in the Essential Food Pricing Monitoring Report which was recently released by the Competition Commission. The report revealed in 2007, South Africa had 3 899 dairy farmers, but the figure dropped to 1 053 in 2021. The commission’s report focused on tracking the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the corresponding economic crisis on food markets. The report revealed a drop in farmer numbers and an increase in concentration across the value chain. “There are concerns with market power across the value chain with farmers, especially small farmers,…

THE long-awaited fifth-generation Subaru WRX has finally been revealed to the world following delays related to the cancellation of the New York Auto Show. But will Subaru WRX fans like what they see here? Built on the latest Subaru Global Platform, the new performance model has an edgier design that was previewed by the Viziv concept.. As expected, the new WRX inherits the Japanese carmaker’s latest 2.4-litre turbocharged flat-four engine, but with 202kW on tap at 5 600rpm and 350Nm from 2 000rpm it’s hardly any more powerful than its predecessor, which is good for 197kW. WRX buyers can choose between a six-speed manual transmission and a new automatic gearbox with adaptive shift control that can quickly respond to perform rev-matching downshifts under braking. Subaru says the suspension has been…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za THIS has been the year of the affordable SUV. The Suzuki Vitara Brezza kicked things off, followed closely by its Toyota Urban Cruiser twin as well as the Kia Sonet and Nissan Magnite. Now Renault is getting in on the action with its new Kiger compact SUV. Hailing from India, the Renault Kiger shares its CMFA+ platform with the aforementioned Nissan, although the Indo-French offering has a distinct design that won’t result in any confusion in the parking lot. We’re looking at you, Toyozuki. But the Renault’s biggest USP is its starting price just shy of R200 000 (see full price list below). In fact, this price positioning is so competitive that Renault believes it can sway many buyers who were in the market for a budget…

Cristiano Ronaldo has wasted no time showing how valuable he will be to Manchester United but Tuesday night’s shock Champions League defeat at the hands of Young Boys in Bern was a reminder that the Old Trafford side have not been a major player at this level for a long time. Ronaldo got his third goal in two matches since returning to United as the visitors took an early lead at the Wankdorf Stadium, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s sending off shortly before the interval was what swung the Group F opener. Young Boys, the Swiss champions whose most notable performance in the European Cup remains their run to the semi-finals back in 1959, made the most of their extra man as Cameroon’s Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu got a 66th-minute equaliser. US forward…

THE most striking thing about Barcelona’s limp 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday night was how inevitable it was, and how easily the players and coach Ronald Koeman accepted their drastic drop in status from European giants to outsiders. Less than a year ago the Catalans had gone 38 games unbeaten at home in the Champions League but now they have lost their last three European games at the Camp Nou, falling 3-0 to Juventus and 4-1 to Paris Saint-Germain. The scoreline may not have been as savage as the 8-2 defeat suffered against Bayern in the 2019/20 quarter-finals but the performance was even more desperate, Koeman’s side ending this game without a shot on target. While some fans booed the performance, the over-riding sensation was apathy, supporters applauding…

NOVAK Djokovic’s single-minded drive towards greatness makes it almost unthinkable that he would rest before owning every tennis record in the book, but some are questioning whether his hunger will survive the departure of his two main rivals. The Serbian came within one win of a 21st Grand Slam title last week that would have moved him clear of a tie with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal and also made him the only man in 52 years to claim all four major titles in the same year. Djokovic will hope his loss to Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s US Open final was just a blip and few would bet against him resuming normal service in January at the Australian Open, where he will be seeking a record 10th title. Neither Federer,…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za AS THE HAGGLING between Eskom, its insurers and the Department of Labour goes on in the background over damages to Medupi’s unit 4 generator, the power utility is considering transplanting the unit 6 generator from Kusile to Medupi and then ordering a new one from France to replace the Kusile one. The Medupi generator was damaged by an explosion in August, which led it to suspend several of its employees. Kusile is not due to be commissioned until 2023. Sources, who did not want to be named, said yesterday the move by Eskom was feasible, but would come at a heavy cost as unit 6 had already been installed and the transplant would be a difficult one. This as Eskom claimed the cost of repairs to…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za HYPROP Investments, the real estate investment trust (Reit) that owns a R43.3 billion portfolio of retail real estate in South Africa and Eastern Europe, is shifting out of the traditional shopping mall structure and into omni-channel to cater for consumer behaviour that has changed through the Covid-19 pandemic. The owner of up-market malls such as Canal Walk in Cape Town, and Hyde Park Corner and Rosebank Mall in Gauteng, is, like other retail centre owners around the world, acing a Covid-19-induced speeding up of data driven shopping trends, but while e-commerce has grown rapidly, shoppers have also returned to centres as pandemic lockdowns have eased. Hyprop chief executive Morné Wilken said at the release of results for the year to June 31 that the group was…

Financial services company Visa has embarked on a new campaign to focus on the unbanked and underbanked and to give them easier access to the formal economy. Sharing Visa’s new brand identity being introduced across the region and explaining how it expressed Visa’s purpose and embraces themes of access, equality and inclusion, Mohammed Ismaeel, the senior vice-president for marketing Visa Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, said Visa was co-creating innovative solutions to make it easier to access seamless movement of money to potentially billions of people across the globe. Visa aims to enable the movement of money and financial access to everyone everywhere. “We are enabling faster access to payments whether you are a gig worker, SMMEs and all consumers. We build digital access capabilities for SMEs…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za As one of South Africa’s most decorated rock bands of the last three decades, Springbok Nude Girls need no introduction. The Nude Girls introduced punk rock, acid jazz and heavy metal into their songs which went on to introduce a new world of music to the youth of South Africa in the mid-to-late 1990s. This saw the band go on to win awards, tour the globe and release a number of successful albums. However, like any musical band, Arno Carstens, Theo Crous, Adriaan Brand, Arno Blumer and Francois Kruger had their ups and downs. In 2001, the band announced an indefinite hiatus. However, in 2006, a blog entry on drummer Kruger’s site informally announced their reunion. Their reunion coincided with the return of trumpeter Adriaan Brand.…

n Employees open charges against party’s top brass Ntombi Nkosi and Tarryn-Leigh Solomons THE ANC’S woes over unpaid staff salaries could worsen the party’s election campaign as worker representatives say it would be impossible for employees to assist with groundwork if they are not paid. Nationally, about 247 staff members were affected. In the Western Cape, 14 employees as well as six regional secretaries and one provincial co-ordinator had not received their salaries, according to staff representative Mvusi Mdlala. The workers were apparently promised their pay last week, but that has not happened to date, according to an employee, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We received a letter from the general manager Febe Potgieter, stating that the ANC won’t be able to pay the salaries and that hopefully they…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za Catcalling as a form of sexual harassment of children in public is largely ignored and allowed in communities. So says Molo Songololo director Patric Solomons, adding that the silence and turning of a blind eye by communities and child protection services on the issue was unacceptable. The organisation is embarking on a “Stop Catcalling” campaign where a group of youngsters in Atlantis hold weekly silent protests in the area at different locations calling on their peers to start “making noise” to stop catcalling. This week the focus would be on boys and men who are victims of catcalling and public sexual harassment, effeminate, gay, transgender, boys and men catcalled and harassed by other boys and men. Young Women’s Forum facilitator Chloe Johnson said following workshops with different…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za TECHNICALLY, what you see here is the Volkswagen Tiguan, in its latest iteration. But what you’re actually seeing is the new Golf, Jetta and Passat all rolled into one. Gone are the days when sedans and hatchbacks lined the streets of Mzansi. Volkswagen was a popular brand even back then, and the aforementioned products were a common sight. But following the market’s mass migration to SUVs, you can’t even buy a Jetta or a non-performance Golf in South Africa anymore, and the Passat is something of a distant memory. Although the Volkswagen Polo and Polo Vivo are still the brand’s best sellers on local shores, given that our market still has an affinity with affordable hatchbacks, the Tiguan is a strong seller on local turf and it’s…

THE TITLE battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is likely to stay full-on to the end of the season despite the pair crashing into each other at Monza, Formula One boss Ross Brawn said on Monday. Italian Grand Prix Stewards deemed Red Bull's championship leader Verstappen was at fault for Sunday's collision and handed the Dutch youngster a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Russia. Brawn, a former Honda and Mercedes team boss and ex-Ferrari technical head, said fans were sure to be split on who was to blame. “It’s clear both drivers could have avoided it,” he said in his column on the www.Formula1.com website. “Ultimately, I think it’s another consequence of two guys going head to head and not wanting to give an inch. “Personally,…

Motoring Staff FOLLOWING many spy pictures and much speculation, we now get the first official glimpse of the new Ford Ranger being endurance-tested in various locations before its launch in 2022. Ford South Africa promises that the new-generation bakkie will be the toughest, most capable and connected Ranger yet. According to CarExpert, the 2022 Ford Ranger is set to receive a new 3-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine, likely with outputs of around 186kW and 600Nm. Lower down in the range, the current 2-litre single-turbo and twin-turbo engines are expected to carry over, given that they are still very modern, while the 3.2-litre engine looks poised for retirement. A hybrid is said to be on the cards too. Keep in mind, however, that none of this has been officially confirmed by Ford.…

SOUTH AFRICA MIKE GREENAWAY mike.greenaway @inl.co.za THE Springbok forward pack is “hurting” and will attack the Wallabies harder than ever in Saturday’s return match between the teams at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (9am SA time kick-off). That is the word from loosehead prop Trevor Nyakane, who has replaced Steven Kitshoff in one of just two changes to the starting line-up that narrowly lost 28-26 to the Australians last Sunday. The significant change is in the second row where Lood de Jager suffered a concussion last week and is replaced by Marvin Orie. The Springbok scrum had mixed fortunes against the Wallabies in that a fairly dominant display was bookmarked by two implosions at vital times. A minute before half-time, the Wallabies had a scrum in front of the South…

CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel said Romelu Lukaku’s knack of scoring decisive goals is what the Blues were missing despite winning the Champions League last season. Lukaku enlivened an otherwise flat performance with the only goal to beat Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 on Tuesday night to get the Blues’ defence of their crown off to a winning start. The Belgian now has four goals in as many games since returning to the club for a club record £97-million last month. And his predatory instincts 21 minutes from time papered over the cracks of a disappointing display from Tuchel’s men. “He was the type of guy we were missing,” said Tuchel. “It is super hard and super important. You don’t find many strikers of that quality. “The guys who are there to…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za SOUTH African Davis Cup captain Christo van Rensburg met Lloyd Harris for the first time this week, and said it was “amazing how strong the guy looks”. Harris attributed part of his success at the US Open last week when he reached the quarter-finals to better fitness and physical strength that he was able to build up during long periods of inactivity due to Covid-19 over the last two years. While he went down to German star Alexander Zverev at Flushing Meadows, Harris has stayed on in New York for SA’s Davis Cup World Group II encounter against Venezuela this weekend, and Van Rensburg is thrilled about the prospect of working with the 24-year-old from Cape Town. “I was very excited a few weeks ago when I…

Footwear retailer’s founder and others embroiled in liquidation battle say they were duped Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za TEKKIE Town’ former owners have taken legal action to halt a court hearing aimed at sanctioning Steinhoff’s global settlement. Tekkie Town’s former owners yesterday filed a notice of opposition to Steinhoff’s Section 155 Creditor confirmation application set down for sanction for the end of the month in the Western Cape High Court. Former Tekkie Town chief executive Bernard Mostert said yesterday that erstwhile footwear retail owners had significant reasons to oppose Steinhoff’s attempts to have the S155 process sanctioned. “Firstly, the Section 155 proposal treats the creditors of Steinhoff International Holdings (SIHPL) unfairly. Steinhoff NV, the parent company of SIHPL, is actually insolvent. It should be wound up and its assets preserved,” Mostert…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za PAN AFRICAN Resources yesterday proposed its highest-ever dividend as the group posted record profits and the second-highest annual gold production during the year ended June 2021. The JSE- and London Stock Exchange-listed group also announced plans to launch a share buy-back programme. Chief executive Cobus Loots said the group believed its share price was undervalued. A week ago the share price fell to R3. “We are saying this must be an opportunity for us to add value. We want the flexibility when we see the share price inexplicably depressed, to buy some shares. It is, in this case, potentially one of the best investments we can make,” Loots said. He said the company expected to make further announcements on the programme in due course. Pan African proposed…

90 DAY: THE SINGLE LIFE TLC, DSTV CHANNEL 135, 8PM Six 90 Day Fiancé favourites are single and looking for love again as we follow them into the world of speed and online dating. Expect some painful discussions with their exes, too. With “Big Ed” Brown, Brittany Banks, Molly Hopkins, Fernanda Flores, Colt Johnson and Danielle Jbali. AANSIT VIA, DSTV CHANNEL 147, 8PM Chef Reuben Riffel judges this cooking competition. Home cooks compete in teams of 3 to prepare lavish, restaurant-quality 3-course meals for Reuben and his guest judge, with a tasty cash prize on offer. But their pickiest judges will be their opponents. LEGACY M-NET, DSTV CHANNEL 101, 7PM Dineo confronts Felicity about the death of her father, Dineo’s late husband, Sebastian, and asks whether Felicity had…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za Globally, about 250 million children are failing to acquire basic literacy skills, according to Unesco. In South Africa, eight out of every 10 children are functionally illiterate, meaning they cannot read or write at a basic level. As part of Literacy Month, Standard Bank and Nal’ibali have re-imagined three classic fairy tales by retelling them with the help of popular local performers in local languages and with modern, relatable local contexts. ‘‘By giving classic fairy tales a modern spin and having South African artists retell them with culturally relevant settings and characters, we are not only promoting local talent, languages and culture, we are also exposing South African children to internationally recognised stories and lessons,’’ said Yandiswa Xhakaza, Nal’ibali chief executive. The Nal’ibali initiative is built on…

Bongani Nkosi QUESTIONS surrounding the death of her boyfriend brought alleged insurance claims killer and former policewoman Rosemary Ndlovu to tears in court. She had seemed unmoved in the high court proceedings at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court up to this point yesterday. Ndlovu, 43, stood accused of killing five of her relatives and her lover, Maurice Mabasa, and then cashing in on fraudulent life insurance claims. This comes after she displayed some bizarre actions in the court, lifting her skirt for court spectators in what appeared to be a pose to show her buttocks on Tuesday. Mabasa was stabbed more than 80 times in 2015, allegedly by hitmen instructed by Ndlovu. His body was found dumped in Olifantsfontein, an area in which he had cohabited with Ndlovu. She testified…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof For the past few days, Cristiano Ronaldo has been hogging the news headlines all over the world. At 36, some soccer pundits had written off the Portuguese star, supporting their view on his lacklustre stint at Juventus, where he failed to take the Italian club to the top of Serie A. But Ronaldo proved his critics wrong when Portugal played in the 2022 World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. His country was struggling against a tight, well organised defence, and Ronaldo looked a frustrated figure on the field. His frustration was further compounded when he failed to convert a penalty. But just when it all seemed over for Portugal, Ronaldo came to its rescue, heading two goals in the dying seconds of…

Jason Woosey jason.woosey@inl.co.za THE locally built Toyota Corolla Cross is set to go on sale in South Africa in early November and the manufacturer has released pricing and spec information ahead of time. Toyota SA is positioning it aggressively, with the Corolla Cross starting at R349 900 and topping out at R448 300. This makes it significantly cheaper than the imported Corolla hatch and sedan models with which it shares a platform, which start at R391 700 and R403 500, respectively. Slotting beneath the Rav4, the Corolla Cross also has a price advantage over natural rivals such as the Mazda CX-30 (from R469 000), Hyundai Creta (from R377 900) and Nissan Qashqai (from R422 900). Toyota Corolla Cross buyers will get to choose from two engines and three trim grades.…

AS CARMAKERS gathered in Munich last week to launch almost exclusively zero- or low-emission vehicles, an ongoing semiconductor shortage cast a long shadow over the first major car show since before the pandemic began. Forced to shut down plants last year, carmakers now face increasing competition from the consumer electronics industry for chip deliveries. That problem has been compounded by a series of supply chain disruptions during the pandemic. Cars have become increasingly dependent on chips – for everything from computer management of engines for better fuel economy to driver-assistance features such as emergency braking. Speaking during the launch of a couple of electric vehicles on Sunday evening, Ola Källenius, chief executive at premium German carmaker Daimler AG, said that while the company is hopeful its own supply will improve…

FOLLOWING A tumultuous July that was marred by civil unrest, the South African new vehicle market showed some encouraging signs of recovery in August. A total of 41 425 vehicles were sold last month, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) reported, and it was passenger cars that led this growth, gaining 40% year-on-year, largely thanks to a rebounding rental industry. Light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales grew by just 3.6% versus August last year. Although LCVs were down overall, the Toyota Hilux was the best-selling vehicle, accounting for 3 335 sales, according to WesBank. The Toyota Hiace emerged as the second best selling LCV, with 1 361 sales, followed by the Isuzu D-Max. Interestingly, for the first time in recent memory the Ford Ranger was not in…

SO much has been wrong with South African cricket for the past two years. It was possible to believe that nothing would ever go right again, such was the mess. It was not simply that the game was being woefully administered amidst alleged claims of racism taking the sport down a dark road, but the Proteas men’s team were also just losing too often. But as the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher once famously said: “If you want something said, ask a man, if you want something done, ask a woman.” And that’s exactly what the Proteas women’s team have been doing during this period. They have kept working hard, kept smiling, and most importantly, kept winning. Since 2020, the Proteas’ women’s team have won successive one-day international…

INDIA vice-captain Rohit Sharma labelled Lasith Malinga as a “champion cricketer” as the Sri Lankan pacer announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. “Mali, you have been a champion cricketer. Well done on your wonderful career. Best wishes ahead,” tweeted Rohit. Rohit and Malinga had shared the dressing-room for IPL franchise Mumbai Indians. Suryakumar Yadav also wished Malinga luck for future endeavours. “Congratulations on such an outstanding career, filled with glory @ninety9sl. Wish you all the happiness and success as you enter this new chapter. #Malingaaaa,” tweeted Suryakumar. Sri Lanka’s 2014 T20 World Cup-winning captain had announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday. “Today is a very special day for me, I want to thank each and everyone who has supported me and blessed me throughout…

MIHLALI BALEKA @Mihlalibaleka BANYANA Banyana appear ready to set the Aisha Buhari Cup alight after coach Desiree Ellis’s side was bolstered by the arrival of foreign-based players in camp ahead of their opening game against Ghana tomorrow in Nigeria. It’s been almost two years since Ellis assembled a full strength squad, given that 2020 was disrupted by Covid-19. Since then, Ellis and her slightly inexperienced side thrived in different competitions. They defended their Cosafa Cup crown in Gqeberha late last year, while they opened this year with back-to-back wins over Zambia and Botswana at home. But the Buhari Cup will be a different kettle of fish for Ellis and her charges. Banyana are participating in the tournament as guests and will use the games to prepare for the Cosafa Cup…