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Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za ICT TECHNOLOGY investment group AYO Technology Solutions posted muted results for the year to August 31, after facing many challenges, including to its reputation, and the effects of Covid-19 on the economy. Notwithstanding this, a final divi- dend of 30 cents per share was declared, which brought the total dividend for 2021 only marginally lower to 95c from 100c in 2020. Chief executive Howard Plaatjes said yesterday that the pandemic triggered reductions in IT spend, leading to a loss of some customers and non-renewal of maturing contracts, which affected the bottom line. This was exacerbated by the material adverse impact of unwarranted media attention and hangover from the Mpati commission on the group’s reputation. However, he said they had maintained a positive attitude, the balance sheet…

Mashudu Sadike ONE of the alleged July unrest instigators is suing the police for several million rand after she was allegedly arrested unlawfully, kept inside a dark room for two days and forced to reveal the pin codes of her electronic devices. The 36-year-old woman, who has asked for her name not to be disclosed, but is popularly known as “Sphithiphithi Evaluator” on social media, said she was suing the state for loss of income, trauma and public humiliation. This followed her arrest by 10 plain-clothed police officers “without any arrest warrant”, except for a search and seizure warrant which “did not specify the gadgets they were looking for”. The mother of two from Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, who has been critical of President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media, was…

James Mahlokwane james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za THE SA Medical Association has called for the establishment of specialised medical courts to deal with medico-legal cases. In addition to the courts, the association called for an urgent review of culpable homicide law and its application in health-care settings. Chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said: “Recent cases have again demonstrated the deficiencies the current legal framework has with medical cases. Magistrates are often placed in the unenviable position of adjudicating exceedingly complex clinical interventions, without possessing the necessary training or medical expertise. This has severe and long-ranging impacts on doctors and, ultimately, on patients. Something must be done, and quickly, to remedy this situation.” The association supported the view of eight other leading health-care organisations which recently wrote to Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola,…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni IT’S Christmas time ... you know, that time of year where you allow your conscience to prick you, prompting you to show your humanity. Old-age homes and frail-care centres are full of abandoned and lonely people. Some have no kith or kin and some have been left behind by their families, seeking greener pastures elsewhere on the planet. Covid has not helped either, as international travel has been brought to a grinding halt. So, what do you intend doing about it? Will you go to your local old-age home with a gift for someone you don’t know, or will you give up some of your time to sit with one lonely soul and brighten up their day? How powerful is your “conscience” ... what…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg “Holidays”, in the mind of children, innocently implies, “play and fun”. With not much structure during the holidays, children whose little minds are very impressionable can become vulnerable to the evil temptations that continuously invite them from all sides. A humble appeal to all parents is to keep children gainfully and productively occupied within healthy boundaries and ethical values. Setting a routine can be useful. In addition to responsibly enjoying the holidays, I urge parents to pay particular attention to their own and that of their children’s physical and emotional health, stress levels and well-being. Pleasing people, buying gifts, expectations, managing finances or travelling during the holidays, especially during the current pandemic, can be physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. As we come to…

Despite South Africa having the world’s largest anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programme, despite the scientific developments and research, despite the bold commitments and good intentions, one fact is brutally clear. The virus is winning. We have made a mistake in treating HIV as yet another chronic condition, like diabetes, high blood pressure or heart conditions; all major killers in South Africa. The difference is this: HIV travels with a whole lot of excess baggage – guilt and shame in the infected; coupled with judgement and ridicule from the community. No other disease carries this level of burden. No other disease challenges the infected with both external and internal stigma. We have the testing kits. We have the drugs. Stigma is the lingering threat to eradicating HIV infections. The best scientific interventions…

A court in military-ruled Myanmar deferred the first verdicts in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday to December 6, a source said. Suu Kyi, 76, was ousted in a military coup in February, and has been held incommunicado and on trial since June. The court had been due to rule on charges of incitement and violations of Covid-19 protocols under a natural disasters law, among nearly a dozen cases against Suu Kyi, who has rejected all the charges. Her supporters say the cases against her are politically motivated.…

Covid vaccines began to show promise just months after the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe. So why have decades of HIV/Aids research yielded so little progress on a jab to prevent a disease that claimed some 680 000 lives last year? As the globe marks World Aids Day today, why is there still no vaccine to protect people from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)? One answer is that the political will and colossal investment that have spurred on Covid vaccine development have largely been missing from Aids vaccine research since HIV was discovered in 1983. But another lies in the complexity of the science behind HIV. “With Covid vaccines, researchers worry about the vaccine being able to fend off a handful of variants that have become particularly worrisome,”…

The global community will gather again today to commemorate World Aids Day. This is one of the times when we also remember all those who have succumbed to the virus as well as those infected and affected by Aids. It is also a pivotal time in which we rededicate ourselves to ending the scourge of Aids as a public health threat. The theme for this year’s World Aids day is “End inequalities, end Aids, end pandemics”, which accurately reflects what we should be focussing on. More notable, however, is that this year marks the second time when we observe World Aids Day while we also confront the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now been exacerbated by the impending 4th wave – fuelled by the Omicron variant. As I write this, we…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za My Instagram feed has been flooded with all things Gucci. With the release of the most anticipated fashion film of the year, House of Gucci, it’s near impossible to ignore images popping up of all the mega- stars from the movie draped in Gucci attending the premieres of the Ridley Scott film. This features award-winning stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Jared Leto, as well as Oscar-nominee Lady Gaga and one of the biggest film stars of the moment in Adam Driver, who plays Maurizio Gucci. The movie tells the shocking story based on events surrounding the death of Gucci and offers a glimpse into the Italian’s fashion empire. We’ve seen Lady Gaga, who plays convicted murderer Patrizia Reggiani in the movie, wearing several outfits designed by…

THE Botswana court of appeal’s decision to up- hold a ruling that decriminalised same-sex relationships is a win for LGTBQIA+ rights and sets a good example for the judiciary in other African countries, rights ac-tivists have said. Botswana’s government had appealed against a 2019 ruling that found criminalising homosexuality was unconstitutional. The 2019 ruling had been hailed as a major victory for gay rights campaigners on the continent, following an unsuccessful attempt in Kenya to repeal colonial-era laws criminalising gay sex. | African News Agency (ANA)…

James Mahlokwane james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za SOUTH Africans have expressed serious concerns and fears for the future of the country after Statistics SA revealed that the official unemployment rate had increased to 34.9% between the second and third quarters of 2021. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said yesterday the rate was a 0.5% increase from 34.4% in the second quarter of the year. This meant that South Africa had experienced the highest unemployment rate since the start of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008. Maluleke said the survey showed that the number of employed persons had decreased by 660 000 in the third quarter of 2021 to 14.3 million. He said the number of discouraged work-seekers increased by 545 000 (16.4%), while the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other…

Transactions were engineered to inflate balance sheet Sifiso Mahlangu sifiso.mahlangu@inl.co.za A STAR investigation has uncovered a trail of unsavoury financial dealings at corporate giant EOH. The Star can exclusively reveal that EOH entered into a series of clandestine transactions with one of its subsidiaries, Mehleketo Resourcing (Pty) Ltd. These transactions took place at a time when Mehleketo was on the brink of liquidation. The investigation reveals that the transactions were deliberately engineered to inflate the balance sheet of EOH at the expense of the creditors of Mehleketo and possibly the SA Revenue Service (Sars). Mehleketo was 100% owned by EOH and conducted business in the rail signalling industry. Mehleketo had been struggling to stay in business and EOH had funded Mehleketo in the order of almost R150 million. EOH…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za It is safe to say that amapiano artists have done a remarkable job in ensuring that this music genre thrives. The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) launched the first official South African Music Chart in September, where it was revealed that amapiano has been doing well for a while now. The genre has come a long way, even making international appearances. The music chart tracks streaming data for singles from Apple Music, Deezer and Spotify. Since it was launched, the chart has been tracking the top selling singles in the country. RiSA spokesperson Lesley Mofokeng revealed that South Africans are listening to amapiano songs, and these are ruling the charts. “There’s no doubt that with amapiano, the reign continues. They dominate charts. They dominate radio. And…

WE ARE excited to announce that Jerusalema hitmaker Nomcebo Zikode and Jet will be launching an exclusive, exciting fragrance range in 100 of the top Jet stores alongside Zikode’s fashion line. Each fragrance will make the wearer smell and feel like royalty. The ingredients are the best in the world and have been brought in from Switzerland. The bottles have been designed and made by the finest Italian craftsmen. The best the world has to offer has been brought together with true African flair to create the Duchess fragrance range, which will be in stores in the first week of December. Introducing the range … GLAMAZON Turn heads, day or night. A modern fresh, feminine fragrance with clean notes of green mandarin, marine accords blended with feminine jasmine water, smooth…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za IT’S not common to find well-known personalities opening up about their mental challenges, simply because of how sensitive the conversation is. However, South Africa has recently seen celebs such as Lasizwe Dambuza and Mona Monyane help normalise talking about mental health. This also saw AKA, real name Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, speak out frankly about being diagnosed with clinical depression a few months ago. The hip hop sensation disclosed that he was put on medication as a result of being challenged by his mental health. Forbes also spoke about how he could not handle the medications he was given as they numbed his pain. n THEO Baloyi, the founder of local sneakers brand Bathu, was honoured with an award as Business Leader of the Year 2021 at…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za NON-profit organisation Equal Education (EE) has launched its #NoSpaceForUs campaign on overcrowding in Gauteng schools. The NPO said the campaign was rooted in research EE had conducted between September 2019 and June 2020 in nine schools in Etwatwa, Ekurhuleni. EE collected data on 751 classes, measured and inspected 105 classrooms, and interviewed 51 school community members. The research resulted in a report, “No Space For Us: Understanding Overcrowding in Gauteng’s Schools”. EE said official data on the National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) and Education Management Information System (EMIS) showed that of the nine Etwatwa schools that were part of their research, none had classes with too many learners; only 35% of teachers were overworked, and only five of the nine schools had a classroom shortage.…

The heirs of Italian fashion house Gucci have threatened to take legal action over Ridley Scott’s new film House of Gucci for depicting members of the family as “hooligans”. The movie, which is picking up an Oscar buzz, stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani, who was convicted of having heir Maurizio Gucci assassinated in the 1990s. “The Gucci family reserve the right to take every initiative to protect their name and image, and those of their loved ones,” stated a letter signed by founder Aldo Gucci’s heirs, published by Italy’s ANSA news agency.…

Sexual harassment and bullying are widespread in Australia’s parliament, affecting politicians and staff, a high-profile inquiry into the institution’s “sexist culture” has found. After a seven-month investigation, a government-backed report released yesterday said one in three people currently working at parliament “have experienced some form of sexual harassment while working there”. That included 63% of the country’s female parliamentarians. “Aspiring male politicians who thought nothing of, in one case, picking you up, kissing you on the lips, lifting you up, touching you, pats on the bottom, comments about appearance, you know, the usual ... the culture allowed it,” said one of the report’s 1 700 interviewees. The report made 28 recommendations, including a formal statement of acknowledgement by political leaders, targets to increase gender diversity and “a proactive focus on…

Herman Gibbs IN the aftermath of the much-publicised Fifa disciplinary committee meeting in Zurich last Tuesday, the South African Football Association (Safa) have been ignored, amid veiled signs that the world footbell governing body might be dealing with more than just a complaint about a dubious referee. Two weeks ago, Safa lodged a protest with Fifa following the controversial handling of Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifier against Ghana in Cape Coast by Senegalese referee Maguette Ndiaye. Ever since, Safa and the South African football fraternity have been on tenterhooks, as there has been nothing but stony silence from Fifa. Speculation is that the silent treatment could be a thought-provoking sign that Fifa are dealing with more than just a formal complaint about a biased referee. It has come to…

THE RAND YESTERDAY surprised on the up as it dipped below the R16-mark as the markets shrugged off the latest develop- ments around the Covid-19 Omicron vari- ant and the record unemployment numbers. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday revealed that the unemployment rate had escalated to 34.9 percent in the three months to September, the highest level since 2008. StatsSA said 660 000 people lost their jobs during the third quarter, with the number of discouraged work seekers dramatically increasing by 545 000. Currently, there are more than 7.6 million people of working age who are unem- ployed in South Africa. Despite this, the rand made a spectacular recovery following a retreat to R16.21 to the dollar earlier in the day as caution lingered in markets after…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANEL Bosman, who made history to become the first female chief executive at Nedbank’s corporate and investment bank, believes the climate change crisis is a game changer not just for the group – but for humanity. Bosman, the mother of two adolescent boys, said solving the climate change crisis would be the defining battle- ground of our time. “It is a moral imperative that we no longer kick the can down the road and ensure that we hand over a sustainable world to the next generation. Nedbank wants to – and needs to – take one of the leadership roles in funding these solutions. Our ambition is that there is a future state where there isn’t a need to differentiate between policy and sustainable policy and banking…

Karen MacPherson | The Washington Post As a long-time children’s and teen librarian, often I am asked when it’s time for a reader to move up – for instance, from picture books to chapter books or from middle-grade to young-adult books. Lately, I’ve been talking to teens about what seems like an even bigger step: from young-adult to adult books. It turns out (perhaps not surprisingly) that many teens have already made that leap. Recently I asked a group of teens what appealed to them about adult books – in contrast to YA books – and got some intriguing answers. Though many teens said that they liked young-adult books, others felt that by age 14 or so, they had grown out of them. One reader told me that young-adult…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za OVER the past two years, loungewear has become daywear, nightwear, and can still be seen pretty much everywhere. With nowhere to go and no reason to dress up, the laid-back look – a cross between PJs and leisurewear – has been eagerly embraced by those who in the past were constantly having to worry about what to wear to work every day. Working from home has allowed us the freedom to take a step back from the constant pressure of having to dress in a particular way. Especially for those in the more conservative corporate environment. However, life is starting to return to a very different form of normal. Whether it’s willingly or by force, many people are now heading back to their offices. Dusting off our…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni THE year 2021 is drawing to a close but we are sadly now in the cross-hairs of a new variant of the Covid-19 virus, codenamed “Omicron”. Daily death knocks on our doors, snatching away our loved ones under the shadow of a deadly pandemic. Our sense of remoteness is intensified by a pall of unease. We empathise with all families, because we all share that fear of losing someone we love. Tragedy strikes so close to home, and so often. The ongoing pandemic has turned our lives inside out. It has coerced mankind into a cowering huddle behind the protection of the four walls of our homes. The death of a loved one is a life-altering event, often triggering depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.…

T MARKANDAN | Kloof Royal Dutch Shell is a multinational energy conglomerate, second only to Exxon Mobil and, according to Forbes 2000 Global, ranked as the 21st largest public company in the world. With its headquarters in The Hague, which is also home to the International Court of Justice, it employs about 90 000 workers in 70 countries around the world. Though its profits slumped during the pandemic lockdown, it is not short of money. In fact, it is a highly profitable company. In the first quarter of 2021, it made a profit of $3.2 billion (R51.8bn), eight times more than the last quarter of Covid-battered 2020. With their enormous wealth, they have considerable influence on governments. They donate generously to political parties and politicians to create a…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za A tV series examining a range of social challenges affecting young people of school-going age has been launched by the Department of Basic Education. Produced together with TV company Red Pepper Pictures, Unesco, the SABC and MTV Shuga, the new series, Breaking the Silence, was launched on Sunday evening at the SABC in Auckland Park. Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule said the show provides a safe space for young people to air their views. It was developed to strengthen the teaching of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), part of the school subject, life orientation. The show is set to tackle a range of societal challenges that affect the education of young learners. These include HIV infection, gender-based violence, early unintended pregnancy and drugs and substance abuse. The…

The local government elections are behind us. During that period, there were many public debates about the performance of municipalities and the people that have been elected and appointed to lead them. Often, reference was made to the audit reports issued by the office of the auditor- general. Of importance is that political leaders, the media and citizens have taken our audit reports seriously and have integrated them into their analysis of the performance of municipalities as public institutions that exist to serve citizens. While the election debates that included perspectives on the audit outcomes were welcome, they may have left the citizens none the wiser about the public audit and why it matters in a democracy. In two weeks’ time, we will be releasing the audit results that indicate…

A hold-up in the vote count for Sunday’s Honduran presidential election kept the Central American country in suspense yesterday just as it seemed that Leftist candidate Xiomara Castro, pictured, had secured a victory. She racked up an almost 20 percentage point lead over her nearest rival with more than half the vote tallied. If confirmed as the winner, Castro would be the country’s first woman president, and return the Left to power after a 12-year hiatus that followed the ousting of her husband, former president Manuel Zelaya, in a coup in 2009.…

Pakistan has offered to host a summit of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation this month to address the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. This as the World Bank was meeting yesterday to finalise a proposal to deliver up to $500 million (about R8 billion) from a frozen Afghanistan aid fund to humanitarian agencies, but it leaves out tens of thousands of public sector workers and remains complicated by US sanctions. The UN has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and Qureshi said the OIC “must step in to help our Afghan brethren”. “We should step up our collective efforts to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people,” he said. The Pakistan offer…