Índex per 2022-02-04 a Star

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za CRITICS yesterday poked holes in South Africa’s ambitious gas masterplan base case report released by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) this week. The report, which is open for public scrutiny and response up to February 15, is meant to facilitate liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas as alternatives to power Eskom’s Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT), revive mothballed coal stations, ignite the public transport system and facilitate industry. The masterplan outlines a fledging industry which, though largely with foundations on a 2004 bilateral agreement with war-torn Mozambique, has the potential to ease South Africa’s Just Transition as the grease in the shifting of gears from fossil to renewable energy, a factor counter-argued by the high levels of carbon emissions from gas…

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za JUNIOR helium miner Renergen yesterday announced it had inked a lique- fied natural gas (LNG) supply deal to Italtile subsidiary, Ceramic Industries. This is the second such deal for the South African company that does not involve the supply of gas to trucks to substitute diesel. Renergen last year in August landed a deal with Consol Glass for 14 tons a day, starting in January and spanning five years. Yesterday’s announced deal is to start in the first quarter of 2022 from its Phase 1 operations at its Virginia gas plant in the Free State. The Phase 1 agreement spans five years, with Renergen supplying up to 800 gigajoules of LNG daily at a fixed price with annual escalation linked to the consumer price index. Renergen…

Jamal Grootboom jamald.grootboom@inl.co.za Local actor Sello Maake kaNcube weighed in on Katlego Maboe being absolved of misconduct by the magistrate’s court following claims made by his ex-girlfriend Monique Muller. The former Expresso Show host shared a statement on his social media pages via his publicist Lerato Maleswena on Monday regarding the judgment. “The court agreed with the submission of a point in limine from Mr Maboe’s legal team, ruling that there were no grounds for obtaining the protection order. “Furthermore, the court has not made a finding of acts of domestic violence that were allegedly perpetrated against Ms Muller, and as such, the matter has been dismissed. This is a great victory for Mr Maboe, who has maintained his innocence throughout the two-year ordeal.” Taking to his Facebook page on…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za A petition to #ReviewTheFuel price model, which was started by the AA is gaining momentum after another hefty fuel price hike this week. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced that both grades of petrol had increased by 53 cents per litre, while diesel 0.05% increased 80c per litre and diesel 0.005% increased 79c per litre. The price of illuminating paraffin went up by 101c per litre. Layton Beard, AA spokesperson said that ominous oil price data was the main cause of the increased fuel prices. “The February increases will push fuel prices in South Africa close to the record highs experienced in December 2021.” Beard added that the poor will feel the impact of the fuel price impact. “The large increase in illuminating paraffin…

Staff Reporter A pure pleasure of a novel set in Georgian London, where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance. London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young scholar. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family and her world. As Dora uncovers the truth she starts to realise that some mysteries are buried, and some doors are locked, for a reason.…

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement on Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s planned visit to Turkey this month surprised many around the world. During his two-decade-long tenure, Erdogan’s Israeli policies have shifted dramatically, having taken full advantage of Turkey’s “enemy Israel” or “friend Israel” policy as and when either was needed. But this time, Erdogan finds himself in a weaker, more vulnerable position as Turkey’s wellspring is no longer as abundant, and the Turkish leader now requires Israel’s support for energy deals in the Mediterranean. And despite Erdogan’s populist Islamist rhetoric, Turkey has always been an important place for Jewish people. Members of the Alliance of Rabbis in the Islamic States (ARIS), representing more than 10 countries, including Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Albania, Kosovo, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan, the Turkish…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za RENOWNED podcaster Macgyver Mukwevho, fondly known as MacG, has apologised to American singer Ari Lennox over claims that he asked distasteful and sensitive questions during their interview last month. In a Higher Learning With Van Lathan And Rachel Lindsay podcast interview, MacG said it was not his intention to ask questions that would make her feel uncomfortable. “I want to sincerely apologise for that question and how it made her feel and the aftermath of everything that happened when that interview dropped. Because to be honest with you, if you watch my podcast, I am not a malicious person. I do not hate anyone. I do not hate women.” The social star said they had a podcast that caters to women, allowing them to have a voice…

Thabile Mange | Mogale City IN 1994, when the ANC took to power, there was hope it would take the nation to the land of milk and honey. Twenty-seven years later, Cyril Ramaphosa’s party is yet to take the masses to the Promised Land. Due to perpetual poor service delivery, the ANC is fast losing a grip to power. In the last local government elections, the governing party lost certain metro councils. Voters are excited the ANC is losing power. They are also excited that opposition parties are leading coalition governments in some local governments. They are hoping for better things. Voters should wake up and smell the coffee: their economic liberation is not in the hands of political parties. Instead, it is in their hands. In the…

Isabel Bosman The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) was a milestone for nuclear disarmament. Activists rejoiced when Cambodia became the 52nd state to ratify the Ban Treaty on January 22 last year, making it international law. Of its 86 signatory states, 59 have ratified the treaty. One year after this momentous occasion, it is worth reflecting on the progress and challenges remaining for the Ban Treaty and nuclear disarmament more broadly. Apart from making nuclear weapons illegal, the Ban Treaty provides an outline for “the verifiable and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons programmes”. In addition, states’ parties are responsible for assisting victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons, and dealing with environmental fallout. While these are welcome developments,…

US special forces carried out a counter-terrorism mission in north-west Syria yesterday, a raid which US President Joe Biden said had taken the leader of the Islamic State group “off the battlefield”. Syrian rescue workers said at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in clashes during the raid, targeting a house in Atmeh, near the Turkish border. A number of jihadist groups with links to al-Qaeda operate in the area, the last bastion of rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. | Reuters…

A flurry of activity in the world of Formula One is set to begin in the coming week as constructors and drivers reveal the first glimpses of their newly engineered cars and liveries for the 2022 season. Today Aston Martin start the pre-season hype when they unveil the AMR22. It will be followed a day later by McLaren’s presentation, with a bevy of teams revealing their machines from thereon. The big one, of course, will be Mercedes on February 18. Lewis Hamilton has mostly kept to himself since the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December after losing out on an eighth world title to Max Verstappen – although you will be happy to know that the 37-year-old Brit was finally spotted for the first time since that defeat slurping…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za WESBANK and Toyota Financial Services face the possibility of being fined up to 10 percent of their turnovers if the Competition Tribunal concurs with allegations of collusion stacked against them by the Competition Commission. The commission said yesterday it has referred motor vehicle finance institutions, FirstRand Bank, Wesbank, and Toyota Financial Services South Africa (TFS) to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution on allegations of dividing the market by allocating customers or suppliers. “This type of collusive conduct is harmful to the consumers as it deprives them of the benefits which arise from competition. The commission has asked the Tribunal to fine the companies 10 percent of their turnover,” the commission said. The commission said its investigation revealed that Wesbank and TFS had entered into an…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za AMID ONGOING load shedding, the controversial Karpowership floating power plants project, which had been delayed by a court application against it, has been approved by the High Court, a statement from the Turkey-based Kar- powership said yesterday. The three Karpowership SA projects in Saldanha, Coega and Richards Bay aim to provide 1 220MW of electricity directly to the power grid. DNG Energy, which was seeking to supply power from gas plants for the government’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, had its application to halt the process dismissed by the High Court on Sunday. DNG had demanded its bids replace those of Karpowership. Karpowership said its floating power plants could deploy to South Africa immediately upon approvals and provide power to South Africa within one year…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ABSA BANK has made an optimistic forecast for South Africa’s economic growth in 2022, but warned that this could be constrained by headwinds emerging from geopolitical tensions. Absa senior economist Peter Worthington yesterday said that the bank forecast gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.1 percent this year and 1.7 percent next year. However, Worthington said they also saw some rise in fixed investment spending and exports being offset by higher imports, fiscal consolidation, and limited household income growth. He said the Omicron-driven fourth wave raging globally was generating downside risks for global growth in 2022. “Although South Africa is emerging from the pandemic, growth prospects remain constrained in the face of a more hostile global environment,” Worthington said. “Another factor weighing on the prospects…

Julian Richfield julianrichfield2@gmail.com THERE have been many fine books written about Queen Elizabeth, and with 2022 seeing the celebration of her Platinum Jubilee, there will likely be more published this year. To celebrate the jubilee, Joanna Lumley “brings together vivid and varied voices, present and past, from Britain, the Commonwealth and beyond to tell their own stories about the queen and what she means to them”. As Lumley writes: “I see the queen as a sort of mother figure for the nation, someone we turn towards when the going gets rough to see her reactions. “Her kindly and measured response to calamities settles us: to know she has sent a message of condolence or congratulation fills us with satisfaction, as though we ourselves had written it. “So much has been…

STAFF REPORTER THE WILDS Nature Reserve (The Wilds) has transformed from an unkempt green space that fell into steady decline – earning a bad reputation for being a haven for criminal activity – to one of the Joburg’s most popular escapes to experience scenic views, thanks to local artist James Delaney. Delaney, who lives a few metres from the historic park in Houghton, has been involved in its revitalisation and upkeep for over eight years. He adopted The Wilds four years ago. “The Wilds is an extraordinary piece of land with so much to offer; a lot of history, amazing architecture, stonework, and a great plant collection. I liken it to Central Park in New York because it’s our Joburg Central Park, our beauty in the city,” he said, describing…

Sonri Naidoo WHAT started out as a township cheese and wine event has now grown into a lucrative business for Soweto wine brand founder Silvile Khanyile, who is taking over the township with his unique and significant wine, Mkonti. Mkonti was established in 2020 during the hard lockdown. Khanyile explained: “Mkonti started as a concept, thinking how will we introduce wine into our black communities, educating them on how to drink and enjoy it. After seeing the large presence at our wine and cheese events, we knew there was a market for wine. “When the first alcohol ban was lifted, I received my first 600 wine bottles which were sold instantly just within the Soweto community.” Asked what made Mkonti different from its competitors, Khanyile said it was the number…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za THE Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra is set to kick off 2022 with a Valentine’s Gala concert. Former Miss SA Shudufhadzo Musida will be at the helm of this prestigious season-opening event as a host on February 14. The gala concert will mark one of her appearances before she jets off to Puerto Rico to compete in the Miss World competition in March, which was delayed in December due to contestants testing positive for Covid-19. Chief executive and artistic event director Bongani Tembe said they appreciate Shudu’s advocacy of mental health and had requested her to introduce and describe musical items at the event. The programme features favourites by Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy, as well as some smooth South African jazz sounds. Tembe said they were delighted with the…

Mphahlela M Rammutla | Pretoria THE 2021/22 agricultural season started off with rising concerns over heavy rains, which flooded parts of the country. It does not come as a surprise to see the price of tomatoes going up by as much as 11% to R272 a kilogram. Big tomato producers like ZZ2 are among the affected groups, which experienced a deluge of rain that damaged their crops. Farmers are worried that they won’t be able to harvest their produce, negatively affecting the agricultural economy in provinces such as North West, Free State, parts of the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. It is a relief to learn from figures released by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s crop estimates committee, which has indicated that the 2021/22 summer…

The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) put together what appears to be a clumsy attempt to justify South Africa’s diplomatic ties to Israel. This feeble effort in response to justifiable expressions of outrage and dismay by many on social media who protested the acceptance of a letter of “credence” by Israel’s new envoy, has been a dismal failure. Ironically, instead of silencing critics, the statement has potentially sparked a fresh debate on what is perceived by South Africa’s Palestinian solidarity movements to be government’s inconsistent foreign policy on Israel. “Talking left but walking right” is a sentiment abhorrent to most liberal democracies, yet perfectly applicable to Western Europe and America, as indeed it would be for the ANC-led government as regards policy positions on Israel. Caught up in…

Moroccans held their breath as emergency services worked yesterday to rescue a 5-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for two days. The boy, Rayan, had fallen down the narrow 32m well in his village near Bab Berred, Chefchaouen. Five bulldozers have been digging a hole alongside the shaft, reaching a depth of 19m. Rescuers struggled to access the boy, as the diameter of the well was less than 45cm. Rescuers sent oxygen and water to the boy via pipes. #SaveRayan has gone viral across the Maghreb. | AFP…

In the early days of communism in Cuba, Fidel Castro had pledged that every child under seven would have a litre of subsidised milk every day. For some time, they did – but today, many go without. To circumvent the 60-year US embargo against Cuba and lagging domestic production, milk has to come from the other side of the world in an obstacle race that deprives many on the island of the staple. Regla Caridad Zayas, a 59-year-old diabetic, said the milk powder that the Cuban state supplies monthly to her and others with special dietary needs dried up months ago. She is supposed to get a kilo of powder, which makes 10 litres of milk, every month. Sitting at a rickety table from which she sells coffee outside her…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za BRUCE Bvuma has described his two-year contract extension at Kaizer Chiefs this week as a continuation of “living my dream”. Over the years, Chiefs have arguably unearthed the finest goalkeepers in South African football. As such, Bvuma was expected to quickly follow in those footsteps after his promotion to the senior team back in 2017. But with Itumeleng Khune the team’s undisputed No 1 then, Bvuma juggled between the senior and youth structures. And in the process, he’ s only made 28 appearances for Chiefs so far and got a handful of call-ups to the Bafana set-up. The return of coach Stuart Baxter has seen all the four keepers – Bvuma, Khune, Brandon Peterson and Daniel Akpeyi – get a shot between the sticks this season. But…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE SOUTH Gauteng High Court is expected to hear a case about “unsafe” school infrastructure five years after a Geluksdal Secondary School matric learner died after being electrocuted. On Monday the court will hear a mandamus application, in which public interest law centre Section27 has been admitted as amicus curiae (friend of the court) about the “unsafe” infrastructure at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan. The mandamus application is being pursued by two Gauteng parents following the death of their daughter, a matric learner at the school who died in January 2017. According to the court papers, the girl died by electrocution two days short of her 18th birthday. She was electrocuted outside a mobile classroom at the school because of the respondents’ (the Gauteng Department of Education…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za FORMER chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has issued a public apology after the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee found against him on his remarks on Israel. The committee gave him 10 days in which to submit his apology and this came late yesterday afternoon, as the 10-day period was about to end. Justice Mogoeng roused controversy two years ago when he made pro-Israel comments during a webinar hosted by The Jerusalem Post. He had refused to back down when political parties and others asked him to do so. Pro-Palestinian groups had lodged a complaint against him after he made the remarks and asked the Judicial Service Commission to investigate him. Justice Mogoeng had appealed the earlier decision by Judge Phineas Mojapelo ordering him to apologise for his pro-Israel…

REVIEWER: Beverley Roos-Muller THIS is the very last time you will read about a new book by spy-writer John le Carré, for he died a year ago, aged 89, leaving the skeleton of this novel. If you are, like me, a dedicated fan, then Silverview is essential reading even though the editing was completed after his death. It’s not his best book, but luckily, Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wasn’t capable of writing a dud. All his trademark characteristics are here, and now and then, there’s a well-turned sentence that reminds us of his writing powers at their height: in his heyday a fine literary writer, too, nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2011. The stable of his familiar characters are here; the solid, decent Englishman,…

THIS YEAR marks the country’s first digital census. The nationwide population count, which started yesterday and will end on February 28, will be conducted via telephone, digital computer-assisted counting, and door-to-door visits. Statistics SA (Stats SA) appeals to all communities to register for the remote online and telephonic data collection on thei its data-free registration platform, getcounted.statssa.gov.za, or through the Census 2022 toll-free contact centre at 0800 110 248 to ensure everyone is counted during the census. Fieldworkers will visit households that request it, including those who don’t complete the online questionnaire, and those that did not register. The census was due to be conducted in October last year, but was delayed due to disruptions caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic. The last population count was a decade ago, in…

THE residents of the City of Joburg will soon be able to log their service complaints on multiple platforms, which will improve the turnaround time. The city’s Metro Trading Company (MTC) has implemented the Case Management Phase 2 project on behalf of the Office of the Ombudsman and is currently live. The project was an extension of the initial Phase 1 project. It aimed at enhancing the current state of what was implemented for Phase 1 to add extra system functionality for better management of cases throughout the organisation. The objective of the project was to develop a case management system to enable automated handling of complaints relating to the city and its departments. The implementation of Phase 2 case management includes enhancements that seek to address: Multichannel Platform (email…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za This South African talent will feature in a recently launchedUS two-part show, Love & Hip Hop: Lineage to Legacy, which aims to trace the roots and ancestry of love and hip hop. The show sees Busiswa collaborating with the members of both the Love & Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew for the show. Busiswa who is excited about featuring in the programme and finding out more about her lineage, said thR she was approached by the show’s executive producer Mona Scott-Young to be part of it. “I am happy to be a part of this because everyone knows how proud I am to be an African girl who reaches all parts of the world and now gets to be a part of one of the biggest…

Sonri Naidoo SPORT, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, in partnership with the Ritual Media Group, launched the South African Hip-Hop Museum in Newtown yesterday. The museum was expected to preserve and promote SA hip hop history as well as to inspire young and emerging enthusiasts Mthethwa said the newly refurbished facility would serve as a museum and an enabling environment to drive education and empowerment through workshops, film editing, and music recording services. “The coronavirus pandemic has touched every country in the world. Its spread has left national economies and businesses counting the costs, as governments struggled with the new lockdown measures to tackle the spread of the virus. “The creative fraternity was the hardest hit with many of our cultural workers unable to host megaevents due to the…

FAROUK ARAIE | Joburg A new deadly cold war is emerging between Russia and the West over the Ukraine. President Putin is extremely dangerous and Europe and the US face a foe that has the capability that could obliterate Western Europe in six hours. In such a deadly scenario, the US will strike at Russia, destroying major Russian cities. Russia will then unleash her Satan 2 missile known as RS-28 Sarmat, that will destroy every major city on both the East and West coasts of the US. The Satan carries 12 warheads, that could wipe out the UK in one strike. It carries bombs 1 000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. It is the most powerful nuclear warhead on the planet. Eighty new ICBM’s (intercontinental ballistic…

Much has been written about the EFF and the Patriotic Alliance’s xenophobic politics as their authoritarianism has entered places of work, where migrants have been intimidated and harassed. This new low in our sorry history of xenophobia should come as no surprise. Politicians and political parties across the spectrum have embraced the politics of xenophobia in South Africa and globally. The impunity with which Julius Malema and the EFF carried out their theatrics will embolden those who already blame migrants for their suffering in a country where the expanded unemployment rate is nearly 50% and youth unemployment has almost hit 75%. Vigilante groups willing to mete out the violence thaty politicians hint at have been springing up all over the country. While EFF members harassed migrant workers in malls, vigilante…

THE historic steel Koningshaven Bridge in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam will be partially dismantled so that billionaire Jeff Bezos’s new 127m mega-yacht can sail under it, said a city spokesperson. The billionaire ordered the construction of a $485 million (R7.4 billion), 3-masted vessel at the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam. But the finished vessel would not be able to pass under the bridge, as it was too high. Authorities agreed to dismantle the bridge and Bezos will reimburse the city for reassembly costs. | Sputnik…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za The second half of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) season gets under way today with two Nedbank Cup last 32 games. Runaway Premiership leaders Mamelodi Sundowns face off against Richards Bay in the night game at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal, while University of Pretoria host Chippa United in the afternoon game. While Masandawana will be expected to routinely beat Richards Bay, the KZN side will have nothing to lose. They can also take heart from the fact that they have a reputation for being ‘giant killers’, having recorded wins over Premiership sides Kaizer Chiefs, Swallows FC and Maritzburg United in recent times. The fixture may actually be somewhat challenging for Sundowns given that they last played a competitive fixture in December before the league closed for…