Índex per 2021-10-05 a Star

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s tourism industry could be thrown a lifeline later this week when the United Kingdom (UK) government reviews its decision on travel restrictions, which could boost economic activity ahead of the festive season. This comes after a meeting of scientists and advisors from both countries last week on further research into the Beta variant that has created the perception that South Africa was a Covid-19 hotspot. The relaxation of South Africa’s lockdown restriction to their lowest, with a midnight curfew and alcohol sales throughout the week, as the country officially “exited” the third wave of infections, is likely to boost the prospect of relaxation of the UK ban. Currently, South Africa is one of 54 countries on the UK’s “red list”, from which travellers arriving…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dudla@inl.co.za THE RAND OPENED the week on the back foot again yesterday, after closing stronger on Friday, as the markets turned highly risk sensitive with fallout over China’s largest property group, Evergrande, taking another turn. On Friday, the rand firmed strongly, closing 1.4 percent stronger at R14.87 to the greenback as US bond yields firmed and the dollar backtracked on its recent strength. But Chinese property giant Evergrande’s shares were suspended yesterday, triggering fears of its potential collapse, a move that would trigger serious shock waves throughout global markets. The company said it was going to make “an announcement containing inside information about a major transaction” which could see it selling a majority stake to a rival real estate firm in order to cover its mounting debt.…

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za THE MULTI-BILLION rand film and television sector can create employment and transformation, and uplift those participating in it, says Coal Stove Pictures founder and executive producer Wandile Molebatsi. However, only about R15.8 million of the billions invested were going to black, female and previously disadvantaged people and companies, he said, even though a number of black film-makers were producing excellent local content and Hollywood blockbusters in South Africa. Molebatsi said the industry had good potential for life-changing employment and transformation. “There is still an obvious disparity in the industry, what can we do about it together?” he asked. Last month, the National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, released the findings of its third Economic Impact Assessment,…

Kelly Jane Turner kelly.turner@africannewsagency.com Sports and cultural events could soon be open to the South Africa public, as President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government would be making further announcements about relaxing the current restrictions for the industries. In his address to the nation last Thursday evening, he moved the country to adjusted level 1. “As part of an effort to return the most affected parts of the economy to operation, we are looking at further relaxation of restrictions, particularly with respect to sporting and cultural events. We will be making further announcements in time about sporting events,” he said. He said if the majority of the country’s population was vaccinated, SA could be a safe destination to welcome tourists back over the summer season. “We all long for our freedom…

Boniswa Mohale boniswa.mohale@inl.co.za A baby shower took place on Sunday at eThekwini community church for mom-to-be “MaShelembe”. IOL reported last month how Makhosazana “MaShelembe” Shelembe’s story captured the attention of South Africans when it was revealed that her husband was to take a second wife. The couple appeared on Mnakwethu, a TV show where men are assisted in introducing the idea of polygamy to their wives. Bheki Langa revealed to MaShelembe that he had a mistress and that he had already paid lobola for Hlengiwe “MaSithole”, who was pregnant. Isolezwe reported that Makhosi Shelembe’s mom Gculisile Maphanga expressed her unhappiness about how the news of the second wife was shared on the TV show but said she was comforted by the love and help offered to her daughter…

Sonri Naidoo sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za THE MOTHER of slain Down syndrome teenager, Nathaniel Julies, became tearful in court yesterday as police officers accused of murdering the boy pleaded not guilty to all charges. The officers were arrested last year and appeared yesterday in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, where the trial commenced. Constable Caylene Whiteboy, Sergeant Simon Ndyalvane and Sergeant Voster Netshiongolo face charges of defeating the ends of justice, while Netshiongolo is facing a count of perjury. Whiteboy and Ndyalvane each face a count of murder and a charge of being in possession of unlawful ammunition. When Judge Ramarumo Monama asked the accused whether they intended pleading guilty to the charges, they all responded by saying “not guilty”. Judge Monama reminded the accused that if they were to plead guilty on…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg SOUTH Africans on November 1 will scan candidates, then elect local political councillors. Regardless of the choice of candidate or party, this elected leadership is going to serve municipalities, deliver and operate in an accountable, transparent and productive manner. Local governments have an important role as everything within our streets, suburbs, and daily living is associated with the work done in our local municipal and mayor’s office. Local government, and by extension local councillors, are responsible for area, ward and municipal services from waste management and recycling to water, street lights, maintenance of roads and traffic policing. It is not only the collection of rates and taxes that municipalities are responsible for, they are answerable for almost everything around the city and neighbourhoods. If…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za SEVERAL township small business entrepreneurs now have a fully equipped base from which to start their businesses and revitalise the township economy, with the assistance of itel Mobile. The global mobile phone manufacturer ended Heritage Month celebrations by taking steps towards revitalising the township economy in Tembisa, Soweto and Cosmo City. “As part of its ongoing commitment to uplifting South African communities, global mobile brand itel is celebrating Heritage Month by donating mobile containers to unemployed individuals in various Gauteng townships, including Tembisa, Soweto and Cosmo City,” the organisation said. Itel Mobile said the brand was acutely aware of South Africa’s record unemployment rate nationally, with joblessness in Gauteng sitting even higher than the national rate at 35.5%. “Itel has recognised that empowering small businesses like…

Pressure is mounting on the country’s tertiary education sector to ensure women are not marginalised when landing the top job at South Africa’s 26 public universities. With potential vacancies on the horizon at the Central University Technology (CUT) in the Free State and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in Pretoria, director of Higher Education Resources-SA (HERS-SA) Brightness Mangolothi said institutions must appoint women as vice-chancellors. “Already, there are murmurs that a male candidate has been considered for the role at TUT,” she said, adding in South Africa, the doors of ivory towers remain (white) male-led. Change can only take place when there's a critical mass of women in senior leadership. The CUT vice-chancellor Henk de Jager left on September 30. Men were given the nod since 2019, when three of…

Seven more people were killed in Oman yesterday, as heavy winds and rain swept through the country after tropical storm Shaheen made landfall, the national emergency committee said yesterday. Four people had been killed on Sunday. The storm had subsided yesterday, but up to 500cm of rain was expected in some areas, raising the risk of flash floods. Shaheen carried winds of between 120 and 150km/h, throwing up waves of up to 10m. Vehicles were submerged as people waded through floodwater. | Reuters…

Stadiums in the UAE will operate at 70% of capacity for the T20 World Cup, organisers said, although conditions in Oman, where preliminary rounds are due to be played, have still to be fully assessed following a cyclone. Tropical Cyclone Shaheen struck coastal areas of Oman, including the capital of Muscat on Sunday, just a week before preliminary round matches of the tournament commence on October 10. Some 3 000 fans would be accommodated at Al Amerat stadium in Muscat, the ICC said in a statement, though the cyclone left streets in the Omani capital under water, prompted evacuations from coastal areas and delayed flights in and out of the country. The 16-team tournament was shifted to the Gulf states as a result of a surge of Covid-19 infections in…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Graeme Smith has stressed the importance of India’s end-of-year tour to South Africa in order for Cricket South Africa (CSA) to maintain its development projects. The international cricket calendar has been thrown into turmoil over the past 18 months due to Covid-19 with CSA already experiencing England pulling out of a one-day international series last November, while Australia did not arrive at all in South Africa back in March. The suspension of these tours came at a great financial cost to CSA, although they have since hosted both the Pakistan men’s and women’s teams, along with the Sri Lanka men’s team in bio-secure environments successfully. But with England withdrawing from a short tour to Pakistan recently citing “bubble fatigue”, concerns have been raised once again about international…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za Eddie Fouche will in all probability be thrust into the pivot role for the Emirates Lions much earlier than expected after the team comfirmed yesterday a long-term injury to incumbent flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse. The 20-year-old Hendrikse fractured his right ankle in the Lions’ 36-13 United Rugby Championship loss to the Scarlets of Wales at the weekend and is expected to be out for at least three months. The injury left the Joburg-based outfit dangerously thin in the No 10 department, with Fouche the only recognised flyhalf in the European touring squad. Fouche, who ran out for the Lions previously from 2017-2019, has played in both URC games thus far, but his time on the field has been limited to a cameo appearance in the victory against Zebre…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ASCENDIS Health received the nod from shareholders to proceed with a proposed restructuring of the group that has avoided placing the company’s South African assets in business rescue. The approval paves the way for the implementation of the transaction to settle debt of approximately €444 million (R7.65 billion) owed to senior lenders. Ascendis said 98.5 percent of shareholders voted in favour of the recapitalisation, exceeding the required 75 percent threshold. Shareholders representing over 47 percent of the company’s issued shares voted at the general meeting. Shareholders also supported the transactions for the disposal of the Animal Health and Respiratory Care Africa (RCA) businesses. Chief executive Mark Sardi welcomed the strong vote of confidence from retail and institutional shareholders following months of negotiations…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za INSURER Metropolitan has come out strongly to combat youth unemployment by backing the Collective Shapers initiative with the launch of the first incubator programme in Polokwane, Limpopo, to aid the city develop its farming knowledge and skills and to alleviate youth unemployment. The initiative in Polokwane is in conjunction with Agri Enterprises, who are the partners in this first leg, which will then move to other parts of the country. The programme in Polokwane includes education on agriculture, building and maintaining a business, and post-course support for when participants leave the classroom and begin working. Metropolitan head of marketing Nontokozo Madonsela told Business Report the Polokwane initiative, which will take a first batch of 20 agricultural entrepreneurs, was a litmus for the roll-out expected over the next…

Itumeleng Mafisa itumeleng.mafisa@inl.co.za MORE than 300 000 workers in the engineering sector are expected to join in a national strike today after wage talks with employers deadlocked. There will be planned activities in different parts of the country, with a march expected to take place in Joburg. National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) members from Mpumalanga and parts of Gauteng will gather at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown and hand in a memorandum to the offices of the Metal and Engineering Industry Bargaining Council (MEIBC) in Marshalltown. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the strike was national and would affect all employees of the engineering sector. “It’s a legal strike and everyone can participate. This strike could affect all 430 000 workers in the engineering industry,” Hlubi-Majola said.…

Staff Reporter ACTIONSA has threatened the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) with legal action after its name was not included in the final draft ballot papers for ward candidates. The 10am deadline for the IEC to remedy the issue came and went without a response, and the party presumed the IEC had no intention to remedy the matter, it said. “ActionSA’s legal team has affirmed there is no legal basis for the commission to refuse this request and we’re confident the courts will share this perspective.” But IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said the absence of the abbreviated name of ActionSA on the ballots is because, when registering, the party elected not to register an abbreviated name. “The insinuation that the commission is acting without due…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni WHO would have thought that Ian Fleming’s character, James Bond, would survive all these decades. Thrilling espionage and spy stories glamorise what must be a lonely profession at MI5 and MI6, that must have many Bond type characters in their employ. The entertainment value of the 007 films, has yielded billions of pounds for the producers and distributors, and in the process has made lead actors internationally famous. The anticipation of who the next Bond will be creates much excitement in the minds of Bond lovers. But, Daniel Craig will be a hard act to follow. I just hope the future scripts will continue to be high octane, exciting and full of energy. This is the one movie franchise that has endured.…

Kennedy Mudzuli kennedy.mudzuli@inl.co.za MOST people dislike living next to a tavern because of the noise, but for DJ Msoja SA this has proven to be a blessing. Born Tshepo Malope and a former resident of Hammanskraal, his family relocated to Mpumalanga in 2007. “Since then we have lived near a tavern, where the music was too loud every weekend. I got used to the loudness and started enjoying it. In fact, I felt peace,” DJ Msoja SA said. “That was when I realised that music was a healer. In the genre that I produce, the purpose of it is to make the listeners change their mood to epic.” From then DJ Msoja SA was born, at Thokoza in KwaMhlanga to be precise. “I started this musical journey back in secondary…

The Supreme Court began its annual term on Saturday, with a packed agenda highlighted by three claims of violations of constitutional rights. One is about religious rights. A second is about gun rights. The biggest case is a challenge to abortion rights. Several states are asking the justices to reconsider Roe versus Wade – the landmark 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right for a woman to terminate a pregnancy, regardless of the moral beliefs of other citizens. The case is Dobbs versus Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Mississippi legislature passed the Gestational Age Act in 2018, banning abortions after 15 weeks. The law was challenged and is on pause until the Supreme Court hears arguments on December 1, with a decision expected by June next year. Since 1973, the…

More than a dozen heads of state and government, from Jordan to Azerbaijan, Kenya and the Czech Republic, have used offshore tax havens to hide assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a far-reaching new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The so-called “Pandora Papers” investigation – involving about 600 journalists from The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian – is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world. The consortium, which receives general support funding from the Open Society Foundations, founded by Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, claims that the just-published documents represent “the most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet”. About 35 current and former leaders are featured in the latest vast trove of…

Italy face their first true test since winning Euro 2020 this week when Roberto Mancini’s side host the Final Four of the Nations League with three of Europe’s best ready to pounce. The Azzurri face Spain in the first semi-final tomorrow, with the San Siro awaiting a repeat of the European Championship last-four clash with Luis Enrique’s side which ended with a penalty shootout victory for Italy. The other semi-final on Thursday features world champions France and Belgium, ranked the world’s best side despite also being eliminated from the European Championship by the Italians. Italy have been on a high after beginning a memorable summer of sport for the Mediterranean nation by beating England in the Wembley final of the Euro. Mancini has largely stuck with the heroes of that…

One of the finest sub-plots to the Springboks’ victory over the All Blacks on the Gold Coast at the weekend was the performance of Elton Jantjies. The Boks departed for South Africa via Brisbane on Sunday following a remarkable 31-29 win over the Rugby Championship-winning All Blacks in a thriller of a Test. The result saw the South Africans bounce back from three defeats on the trot – two against the Wallabies and one against the Kiwis in their 100th Test in Townsville a fortnight ago. In their last meeting against the New Zealanders for the 2021 season, Jantjies came on at flyhalf – with starting No 10 Handre Pollard shifting to midfield – after wing Sbu Nkosi left the field after taking a knock to his head. It was…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za JAYENDRA Naidoo, by his conduct, “breached and violated his fiduciary duty” and was not empowered with authority to institute legal proceedings against furniture retailer Steinhoff, according to a Western Cape High Court judgment last week. Steinhoff challenged a resolution adopted by Lancaster 101 which purported to grant Naidoo its director authority to institute legal proceedings in a bid to recoup losses after the retailer’s share price crashed in December 2017. Steinhoff argued Naidoo did not have authority to institute legal proceedings given his directorship in Lancaster 101 (L101) and the subsequent “windfall” that he received as sole shareholder and director of the Lancaster Group. Naidoo, a former trade unionist through his company L101, convinced the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages assets worth over R1 trillion,…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE AGRICULTURAL sector was likely to grow by more than 6 percent this year after an already solid growth of 13.4 percent year-on-year last year, the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said yesterday. The association of agribusinesses chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said this expansion would likely slow to a long-term average of about 3 percent next year. “The continuous favourable weather conditions, strong export activity and relatively higher commodity prices will remain critical catalysts for growth in this sector in the near term. “While there remains uncertainty about the commodity price trajectory, the expected La Niña and associated dryness it typically brings to South America could prove to be a significant global price supporting factor and, in turn, boost the South African agricultural commodities market,”…

SATURDAY’ RESULTS @ Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast: Australia 32 - Argentina 17; New Zealand 29 - South Africa 31 FINAL STANDINGS P W D L PF PA B Pts New Zealand 6 5 0 1 218 104 5 25 Australia 6 4 0 2 160 163 2 18 South Africa 6 3 0 3 152 128 3 15 Argentina 6 0 0 6 60 195 0 0 PREVIOUSLY September 25 @ Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville: Australia 27 Argentina 8; New Zealand 19, South Africa 17 September 18 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane: Australia 30 South Africa 17; Argentina 13, New Zealand 36 September 12 @ Cbus Super Stadium, Gold…

Kennedy Mudzuli kennedy.mudzuli@inl.co.za FORMER Pretoria News editor, veteran journalist and National Press Club chairperson Val Boje took her last breath yesterday morning after undergoing surgery at Zuid Afrikaans Hospital in Pretoria. Boje, who was married to Roy Devenish for 39 years, would have turned 63 in November. She had gone to hospital for a minor heart operation a few days ago. According to one of her last social media statuses, she was upbeat and positive about her health and the care that she was receiving. In a statement, her family said the legendary scribe lived and breathed the Pretoria News. She worked her entire career at the Pretoria daily owned by Independent Media. “This is something unheard of in modern times. That’s an indication of the sort of dedication and…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za THE AFRICAN Transformation Movement (ATM) is confident the community work it has already done is proof the party is ready to govern a local municipality. In a statement, the party said it has donated food parcels in townships and villages throughout the country, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown period. It has also helped communities in the Waterberg municipality gain access to clean potable water by drilling a borehole, it said. “More than 100 big water tanks were given to each household of ward 25 Xolobeni Village in Bizana, Eastern Cape. And (we built) a fully-furnished house for a child-headed family in Matsulu township Nelspruit, Mpumalanga,” read its statement. In Harding, KwaZulu-Natal, the party handed over a new home to a poor family after theirs had been burnt…

Thirty years ago I was the attorney for a Natalspruit electricity consumer whose lights were cut off, despite his paid-up account, by the Germiston City Council. Germiston had problems with non-payers. It tried to force payment by cutting off electricity to a large part of the township. In the Supreme Court, Judge Ralph Zulman found against Germiston. The next day I claimed in the media this was a landmark decision. Judge Zulman, passing me in the passage, teased me by saying if he had realised it was a landmark decision, he might have found against me. Years later the Constitutional Court made a similar judgment. Eskom is not permitted to cut off electricity to whole towns, even if they do not pay. Eskom has major problems collecting payments. Non-payment, illegal…

Madoda Sitshange | Orlando West AN UNCOMFORTABLE reality that is often unspoken is that most South Africans vote along racial lines. Black parties are supported by black communities, with a trickle of non-black voters. While white parties are supported by white communities, with a small portion of non-white voters. More than 26 years after the first non-racial democratic elections, South Africa has not moved away from past racial dynamics. Service delivery, which should be uppermost in people’s minds during elections, takes a back seat amid racial divisions. Racism is a trump card that serves as scaremongering that “apartheid will return if you don’t do the right thing”. This is enough to jolt the gullible to repeatedly return to office those who let them down. The status quo will…

Prince Charles will essentially live in a “flat above the shop” in Buckingham Palace when he becomes king. The 72-year-old Prince of Wales is known to advocate for a slimmed-down monarchy and he’s reportedly been involved in a number of meetings to discuss what will happen to the royal residences when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, dies and he takes the throne and the direct line of accession is reduced to himself and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and his son Prince William and his family. According to a friend of the prince, Charles is exploring a “much more modest flat-above-the-shop situation” for Buckingham Palace, similar to the Prime Minister’s set up above Downing Street. The Mail on Sunday newspaper reports Charles would consider turning the queen’s beloved Scottish retreat, Balmoral,…

British military personnel arrived yesterday at a BP storage depot after the government ordered the army to help deliver fuel to tackle a shortage of truckers in the wake of Brexit and Covid-19. Panic buying of fuel has triggered chaos across major cities with queues of drivers. Two dozen gas stations still closed across London and southern England. Also yesterday, climate change activists blocked major routes into the city, demanding that the government provide insulation for 29 million homes. | Reuters…

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was sworn in for a new five-year term yesterday but the milestone risked being undermined by growing alarm over the war in the north. Abiy’s Prosperity Party scored a landslide win in June elections that federal officials touted as the high- water mark of democratic reforms he initiated on taking office in 2018. Yet by the time voters cast their ballots, tens of thousands had been killed in the conflict in the northern Tigray region and hundreds of thousands faced famine-like conditions, according to the UN, muddying the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner’s once-glowing reputation. Since then, fighting has spread to neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions while Tigray has fallen under what the UN describes as a de facto humanitarian blockade, spurring fears of the…

Former South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung urged Manchester United fans to stop singing a song about him that contains a negative stereotype about his homeland. The 40-year-old said the song, which includes a reference to Koreans eating dog meat, caused him “discomfort” while he was at United. He made more than 200 appearances for United between 2005 and 2012, helping them win four Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. Park said he was prompted to speak out after hearing United fans singing the song at Molineux in August when Wolverhampton Wanderers unveiled their new signing Hwang Hee-chan of South Korea. “I know that United fans don’t mean any offence to him for that song but still I have to educate the fans to stop that word, which…

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will decide this week whether the proposed arrangements in Australia are sufficient for The Ashes to go ahead, it said yesterday. England captain Joe Root and other players have expressed doubts about the tour due to “bubble fatigue” and concerns that their families will not be able to travel with them due to Australia’s strict Covid-19 protocols. Australia has caps on international arrivals and there is a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine, even for the fully vaccinated. The ECB said it has been in talks with its players and management, while the board also remains in constant contact with Cricket Australia (CA). “With health and wellbeing at the forefront, our focus is to ensure the tour can go ahead with conditions for players and…