Índex per 2021-11-03 a Star

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za BUSINESS activity in the manufacturing industry is expected to rebound in the next six months as the steel workers’ strike and a return to load shedding weighed on activity in October. The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released yesterday, fell further to 53.6 points in October from a downwardly revised 54.7 points in September. However, the PMI remained in expansionary territory for a third consecutive month at above 50 points which separates growth from contraction. Absa said the business activity and new sales orders indices lost the most ground in October, as was the case in September. Absa economist Miyelani Maluleke said supplier delivery lead times and purchasing prices remained elevated in October, highlighting the continued pervasive impact of global bottleneck…

IT HAS BEEN shown empirically that the economic benefits of increasing public investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) is overwhelmingly strong. Thus the argument sometimes presented as to whether it makes sense to increase, or at least maintain, public investment in agricultural R&D has been rendered a moot point. Yet, South Africa and other developing countries’ governments continue to decrease public investment on this important and economically sound area of the economy. Other neighbouring countries have completely neglected investment in agricultural R&D, leading to the inevitable collapse of their agricultural sectors and increasing vulnerability to food insecurity. South Africa should see this apparent decline in neighbouring countries in the South African Development Community regional bloc as an opportunity to supply both agricultural technologies and inputs. Much attention over the…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za Vehicle exports in October fell 30 percent to 23,685 units in October compared with the same month last year, after the industry was affected by the three week strike in the steel and engineering sector and an acute load shedding program, but local vehicle sales continued to improve, albeit slower. The Automotive Business Council said yesterday that domestic new vehicle sales in October at 41,035 units increased by 6.1 percent from those sold in October last year. Stock shortages continued to thwart South Africa’s new vehicle market during October, but the market continued to show a robust performance, despite volumes being lower than September,” said Wesbank head of marketing and communication Lebogang Gaoaketse. The new vehicle market appeared to be recovering well, with demand out-stripping supply…

Given Majola SEVERAL challenges that various agribusinesses and farmers face fall within local government competencies, says the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). The chamber’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, said this week that the primarily critical issues like poor road maintenance, electricity supply and water interruptions were also vital hindrances to investment and growth in the agriculture and agribusiness sector. These were also identified in the sector’s Master Plan. Sihlobo said most of the national government’s agricultural policies and programmes depend on implementation by the provincial governments and municipalities for their success. “The policies crafted in Pretoria have to find their way in various local agricultural strategies to materialise. The same goes for organised agriculture structures such as Agbiz. The engagements about multiple issues that constrain agribusinesses can be discussed with…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Summer days are steadily approaching and we’re feverishly re-organising our wardrobes, banishing all signs of winter – the heavy coats, the chunky jerseys and thermal underwear – to the back of your closet. I’m sure many of you are already starting to work on your tan, preferably fake tans because no one is going to bake in the sun for a bit of colour. I’m certainly not ready to expose any flesh. It hasn’t seen the sun for months and has gone an even lighter shade of already pale! Oh, how I do look forward to wearing airy summer dresses again. You know, the ones that are long and flowing and just make you feel like a goddess. Make that a white flowing summer dress and I’ll…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A REPORT commissioned by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has dispelled government’s earlier findings that over half-a-million learners dropped out of school due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Released in July, the National Income Dynamics Study --- Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (Nids-Cram) painted a dire picture of year-on-year drop-outs. It concluded that more than 500 000 learners had dropped out of school by May this year. The figure was extrapolated from responses by 5 862 people contacted by the researchers between April 6 and May 11, this year. The DBE-commissioned new study confidently places the number of drop-outs at 19 000. Martin Gustafsson, a senior academic at Stellenbosch University, analysed data captured for the SA School Administration and Management System (SA-Sams), for the new report. The…

Farouk Araie | Johannesburg ACCORDING to intelligence reports, Israel is preparing to attack Iran, in an attempt to decapitate its nuclear assets. The tense situation in the Persian Gulf is spiralling out of control. Any drift towards brinkmanship could ignite an inferno. The latest deadly cyberattack on Iran’s petrol distribution network illustrates that the Mossad has infiltrated Iran’s infrastructure. A military assault on Iran would have global consequences. At no point since the first atomic was dropped on Hiroshima has the world been closer to the unthinkable – a nuclear holocaust which could potentially spread, in terms of radioactive fallout, over a large part of the Middle East. Iran’s military response would be war, that would set the Middle East ablaze in a fiery inferno. World War…

Delhi police have seized four tons of illegal polluting firecrackers as the Indian megacity heads into its winter smog season when its 20 million people regularly choke on putrid grey-yellow air. Millions of firecrackers are set off during Diwali, which takes place later this week across the nation of 1.3 billion people. In Delhi smoke mixes with car exhaust, factory emissions, construction dust and burning crop stubble from nearby states to worsen a poisonous cocktail that exceeds safe limits by 20 times. | AFP…

World leaders yesterday issued a multibillion-dollar pledge to end deforestation by 2030, a promise met with scepticism by environmental groups who say more urgent action is needed to save the planet’s lungs. According to summit hosts the British government, the pledge is backed by almost $20 billion (about R309bn) in public and private funding and is endorsed by more than 100 leaders representing over 85% of the world’s forests, including the Amazon rainforest, Canada’s northern boreal forest and the Congo Basin rainforest. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the agreement on deforestation was pivotal to the overarching goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C – the most ambitious Paris Agreement target. “Climate change and biodiversity are two sides of the same coin,” Johnson said. “We can’t deal with the devastating…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za JOHANNESBURG-BASED Net 1 UEPS Technologies is acquiring the Connect Group for R3.7 billion as part of a transformation into South Africa’s leading fintech platform, offering payment processing and financial services to under-served merchants and consumers. Net 1 jumped 21.74 percent to R100 late yesterday afternoon on the JSE as the market reacted positively to the transaction. Chief executive Chris Meyer said the transaction was part of efforts by the new management and board to turn the company around from a cash logistics business to a fully-fledged and profitable financial services platform. He said too often its target market was under-served, neglected and overlooked and acquiring Connect Group advances the group’s mission of financial inclusion by bringing 44 000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za OCTODEC Investments’ taxed distri- butable income fell by 14.1 percent after the relief it granted to tenants who couldn’t pay rent, due to lockdown restrictions, and negative rental reversions resulted in lower rental income in the year to August 31. Managing director Jeffrey Wapnick, who has been managing Octodec since 1998 on behalf of his family, who control 39 percent of the shares, said in an interview yesterday that he was planning for succession of the management of the company, and they were in the process of establishing an executive team. The company, which owns 267 properties in the Johannesburg and Tshwane CBD, said rental income from the residential sector and specialised sectors fell 10.6 percent and 15.4 percent respectively, due to the…

AS a myriad ambitious aspirant councillors and political parties across the country awaited with bated breath the outcomes of this year’s local government elections, it was expected that some would seek to apportion blame elsewhere for their less than optimal performances. Some would find a soft target in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) – unreasonably so, when one considers how far South Africa has progressed in its electoral processes since the dawn of democracy in 1994. The first election, appropriately momentous though it was, was absolute chaos. In fact, its credibility was so dubious in certain highly contested parts of the country, such as KwaZulu-Natal, that to this day it is acknowledged that the election was rigged on a massive scale. It took the intervention of the national…

GIYANI: LAND OF BLOOD SABC2, DSTV CHANNEL 192, 9.30PM Richard returns home after spending time in prison. With no money and no influence, he gets back into business with the hope of turning his life around and away from crime. There is a new lady at his side, but is she all she pretends to be? Is she the saviour he is looking for or will she wreak havoc in his family and the community, putting all that they have worked so hard for at risk? LEGACY S2 M-NET, DSTV CHANNEL 101, 7PM Robbie gets exciting news, and Denise drops a devastating truth bomb on Angelique. The trail seems to have gone cold for Marco – or has it? WIE WORD ’N MILJOENÊR KYKNET, DSTV CHANNEL 144, 8PM…

Feeling blue? Add some charm to your sweet abode with intoxicating fragrances. Enchanting and alluring aromas can help fill any living space with joy and happiness, curating a blend of sophistication and luxury for a tranquil atmosphere where you can sit and seek solace while sipping your favourite cuppa. Here are some fragrances/aromatic oils you can use at your sweet abode to keep you in high spirits: Sandalwood: A highly valued fragrant woods widely used in perfumery and other cosmetics for its healing properties, this has a captivating aroma and precious-woody scent imparting a long-lasting effect. Its use can be traced back to thousands of years during the ancient civilisations. In aromatherapy, its oil is used to calm tired minds and enhance sleep quality. Studies suggest that its fragrance may…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za SOUTH Africans have rallied to raise funds for the medical bills of a 9-year- old boy who was attacked by a pig. On September 30, Luke Mulvey was attacked by a 250kg mother sow that he has looked after as a pet for the last two years. The boy, who lives on a smallholding in Lovemore Park, Eastern Cape, had flown kites with his father and stopped by the pig pen to check on the sow and her piglets. He was not, however, expecting the sow to be uneasy about his presence, as the pig was usually friendly and placid, but it charged at him to protect her newborn babies. “She recently had babies and she didn’t mind it previously when we went in to video…

Absence of Ace Magashule, arrest of Zuma a factor Thabo Makwakwa and Willem Phungula POLITICAL analysts have claimed that the dysfunctional municipal administration, lack of service delivery, corruption, the absence of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma have harmed the ANC at the polls. Dr Metji Makgoba attributed the ruling party’s loss of votes to the internal factions that had torn the ANC apart and cost them votes. “Those who could not vote are disgruntled young people and other members of the society who feel abandoned by the ruling party. Rather than punishing the ANC, people decided to abstain from participating in the elections. The decline will continue because the ANC is struggling to unite and contain the issues of corruption,” Makgoba…

Dr Thabisi Hoeane | Pretoria THE rumours that retired Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng is mulling joining politics are surprising and unnerving. Of course, just like everybody he has the right to do so. But it is unprecedented that a retired judge, for that matter a Chief Justice, would ascend or descend – depending on how you view the matter – into the arena of a highly partisan role as a politician. This is because judges are supposed to be neutral in the discharge of their duties. This neutrality extends into their retirement which guarantees them their full privileges, including the same salary and perks. The development brings to the fore many issues that society should confront. We depend on blind faith that active judges…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za The outcome race for the three Gauteng metros of Joburg, Ekurhuleni and the City of Tshwane is being tallied before the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announces the final results. Yesterday, the ANC was leading the race in Joburg and Ekurhuleni, while the DA led the pack in Tshwane, but none of the parties had achieved a majority vote out of the 27% of the votes released last night. But the ANC in Gauteng has already retained control of Lesedi Local Municipality in Heidelberg, while leading the votes in Joburg and Ekurhuleni. The DA in Midvaal looked set to retain control of the municipality which had been under its control for more than 10 years. Of the 92% of the votes counted, the DA was leading…

China’s has urged its citizens to stock up on daily necessities and for authorities to take steps to ensure adequate food supplies as the country adopts increasingly tight measures to contain its latest Covid-19 outbreak. The Commerce Ministry notice also told authorities to take measures to facilitate agricultural production, keep supply chains smooth, ensure that regional food reserves were adequate and maintain stable prices. China has also been hit hard by flooding that impacted agricultural output. | AFP…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE rand fell to an eight-month low yesterday as the combination of lower commodity prices, the resumption of rotational power cuts and an unprecedented petrol price hike put the skids on the risk sentiment in the markets. The domestic currency fell to R15.49 to the US dollar during the day, its lowest since March 8, as data confirmed that the standard of living was set to cost even more for consumers ahead of the festive season. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced on Monday night that the price of petrol (both 93 and 95 ULP and LRP) will increase by R1.21 a litre and diesel by R1.48 a litre from today. The DMRE said this increase was driven up by record high Brent crude…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MASSMART said yesterday it would pay R650 million out of its own pocket after the looting in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng in July was not fully recovered from its insurance cover. Massmart, owners of Game, Makro and Builders Warehouse, estimated that the total replacement cost for property and stock damages as a result of the civil unrest to be R2.5 billion, of which R1.3bn relates to inventory losses. The group said this material impact was mainly due to two Makro stores, in Pietermaritzburg and Springfield, and two distribution centres (DC) in KZN, Riverhorse and Cato Ridge, being looted and severely damaged. The Makro store in Pietermaritzburg and the Riverhorse DC were completely destroyed by arson. “The group does have South African Special Risk Insurance…

Jake Cline | The Washington Post In the early months of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic emptied our streets, forced us into our homes and turned down the volume on our noisy outdoor lives, species that typically existed on the periphery of our awareness wandered into view. Reports spread across the internet of long-haired mountain goats gambolling through a town in Wales, jackals crowding a park in Tel Aviv and pumas venturing into residential neighbourhoods in Santiago, Chile. Evidence of these and other sightings may have long since fallen off social media feeds, but this year has seen a significant number of books whose authors emphasise the need to pay close attention to other species and never look away again. How little we actually know about animals – domesticated…

Beverley Tsitsi Mutandiro | Human Rights Activist IT IS unthinkable, and disastrous that world leaders are gathering in their numbers in Glasgow to find lasting solutions and commitments to reduce global warming, without voicing concerns about the massive coal mining in Zimbabwe, let alone in a known and famous game park which home to nearly 10 000 elephants. All the activists and leaders at the climate conference should tell the Zimbabwean government to stop mining coal in Hwange National Park. They should pressure Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stop. The Zimbabwean president, through corruption, granted a Chinese company a licence to mine coal in a game sanctuary. His actions are unacceptable and beyond belief. They raise questions about his ability to lead the country and about whether he…

Our world is changing. And creating an inclusive environment is beneficial on many levels. Besides the basic need for representation, inclusion is a driver of progress and innovation. In our current context, the employment landscape has been reinvented … employers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for a progressive and workable EVP (Employee Value Proposition), which is becoming essential to retaining talent. Inclusiveness is an invaluable component of a good EVP; it helps engender a sense of belonging for every staff member, regardless of race, gender, religion, culture, age or orientation. As South African businesses serve a diverse population, made up of many cultures, representation on the inside fosters first-hand understanding of the market. In terms of legislation, South Africa is far ahead of…

The six years since the Paris Climate Agreement have been the six hottest years on record. Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: Either we stop it – or it stops us. It’s time to say: enough. Enough of brutalising biodiversity. Enough of killing ourselves with carbon. Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves. Our planet is changing before our eyes – from the ocean depths to mountain tops, from melting glaciers to relentless extreme weather events. Sea-level rise is double the rate it was 30 years ago. Oceans are hotter than ever – and getting warmer faster. Parts of the Amazon Rainforest…

Tesla Inc is recalling nearly 12 000 US vehicles sold since 2017 because a communication error may cause a false forward-collision warning or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency braking system, reports said yesterday. The California automaker said the recall of 11,704 Model S, X, 3 and Y vehicles was prompted after a software update on last month to vehicles in its limited early access Full-Self Driving (Beta) population. The company has released new software to address the issue. | Reuters…

THE decision to leave Aphelele Fassi out of the Springbok match-23 for Saturday’s Test against Wales in Cardiff is yet another missed opportunity for coach Jacques Nienaber to assess his depth. Nienaber deserves praise for at least giving Damian Willemse a chance at fullback, with the experienced Willie le Roux taking a breather, having started most Tests since 2018. The Bok coach spoke yesterday about how Willemse had been patient and waited for another starting opportunity, having had just three in 14 Tests, and he felt that Fassi had to wait his turn as well. But the circumstances ahead of Saturday’s match should have seen Fassi at left wing, with Makazole Mapimpi on the right. With Cheslin Kolbe still injured, Sbu Nkosi was the man in possession of the No…