Índex per 2022-06-21 a Star

FARMERS and mining companies should stock up early on fertiliser and explosives given the effects of the conflict in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, high commodity prices and demand, Omnia Holdings chief executive Seelan Gobalsamy said yesterday. Omnia’s operations in South Africa include the manufacture of ammonia nitrate for fertilisers and explosives, and the group has itself in the year to March 31 boosted inventories in the wake of the uncertain operating environment, so that it remained in a good position to supply customers, Gobalsamy said in an online interview. Russia and Ukraine were significant role-players in agricultural commodity markets in terms of grains (wheat and maize), oil seeds (soybean, canola and sunflowers) and key agricultural inputs such as nitrogen, phosphates and potassium, which had resulted in supply shortages and increased…

STOR-AGE, the largest self-storage property fund on the JSE, continued its consistent earnings track record following a year of strong operating performance and execution on strategy in the year to March 31. A final dividend of 55.30 cents per share was declared after distributable income per share increased by 7.5 percent. The dividend for the year was up 5.49 percent to 111.90c per share. Eleven trading properties were acquired across South Africa and the UK and four new opportunities were secured, taking the total number of properties in the development pipeline to 14. The company, one of only 11 self- storage real estate investment trusts trading globally, had raised R575 million in an oversubscribed accelerated bookbuild in January. Following strong demand, same-store net property income…

PEOPLE wanted brands to make them smile and laugh, but business leaders fear using humour in customer interactions, according to a new research report from Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX) and Gretchen Rubin, five-time New York Times best-selling author and podcaster. The Happiness Report includes insights from more than 12 000 consumers and business leaders across 14 countries who found that people were searching for new experiences to make them smile and laugh and would reward brands that embraced humour with loyalty, advocacy and repeat purchases, while walking away from those that do not. Rubin said everyone had been through some very tough years, and around the world people were short on happiness. “We’re starved for experiences that make us smile and laugh, and brands can help,” said Rubin.…

As we finally approach the return of the full live version of National Arts Festival in Makhanda, after a two-year hiatus, we caught up with thespian Sello Maake KaNcube to chat about his latest production, Bloke & His American Bantu. Makhanda, Eastern Cape, will come alive once again when the music, arts and theatre fraternities reunite to showcase local and international talents at the 48th National Arts Festival, from Thursday, until July 3. Written by author and literary critic Siphiwo Mahala, Bloke & His American Bantu will be staged at different venues around Makhanda from Thursday to Sunday this week. The two-hander follows two prominent intellectuals, Bloke Modisane, played by Anele Nene, and Langston Hughes, played by Josias Dos Moleele. The play shines a spotlight on the role of artists…

Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane SUPREME Court of Appeal President Mandisa Maya did not mince her words yesterday when asked how she felt when Justice Raymond Zondo was appointed chief justice in March. The sole deputy chief justice nominee, who appeared before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) virtually yesterday, because she was not feeling well, was responding to a question from IFP chief whip Narend Singh. The question was how she felt when President Cyril Ramaphosa overlooked the recommendation by the JSC that he should appoint her. Singh stated that Ramaphosa had previously appointed two male judges as Constitutional Court justices, overlooking women who were capable of playing a role in the apex court. “While we respect the president’s prerogative to appoint people to that court or any court, it was unfortunate…

ADVOCATE Dali Mpofu has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Legal Practice Council following his “shut up while I am speaking” remarks while appearing before the commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture more than a year ago. The committee last month hauled Mpofu before it for a disciplinary hearing on an unprofessional conduct charge. It has now, however, dismissed the complaints against him. A spokesperson for the Legal Practice Council, Kabelo Letebele, had earlier told The Star’s sister newspapers, Pretoria News that while the disciplinary hearing would be closed to the media, the outcome would be made public. “The committee will give the parties the chance to present their case and once there is a finding in the matter, it will be made public,” Letebele said at…

THE criminal trial of former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and his two co-accused has been 11 years in the making – and there is still no clarity on when it will start. To add salt to the wound, Mdluli now wants to review the decision of the SAPS not to pay for his defence. The prosecution yesterday asked the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to put down its foot and order that the trial start even if Mdluli is still fighting for the SAPS to fund his legal fees. Prosecutor Arno Rossouw asked Judge Papi Mosopa to postpone the matter to September 20 for a pretrial conference on the way forward, and that the judge then set a trial date. Mdluli, Heine Barnard and Solomon Lazarus are facing…

FORMER ANC spokesperson and the party’s National Executive Committee member Carl Niehaus has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of showing the country the “middle finger” by hosting a cattle auction at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. The farm has been making headlines after former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser revealed that Ramaphosa tried to conceal the alleged robbery of $4 million (more than R60 million) from his farm. At the auction on Saturday, scores of breeders gathered to buy livestock, among them Ankole cows. Speaking to Pretoria News yesterday, Niehaus said Ramaphosa was in contravention of the Constitution by continuing to do business while he was sitting president. “The president is contravening his oath of office. He is acting in an illegal manner. He is flouting the provisions of…

Every person in South Africa has the right to a functioning local government that can provide basic services such as clean water, electricity and sanitation. But corruption has left much of this sphere of government unable to fulfil its role. The watchdog organisation Corruption Watch, which is the South African chapter of Transparency International, received 5,094 reports of corruption in local government from 2012 to 2020. Most of the disclosures were by whistleblowers in the offices of the municipal managers and the police departments. Whistleblowers are people who report actions that are illegal, fraudulent, criminal, or corrupt – often within their own organisations. They often find their lives at risk and irrevocably changed as a result. They sometimes lose their jobs or even get killed. Moss Phakoe, a councillor in…

THE POPULAR media platform, YouTube, has announced that applications for its Black Voices Fund Class of 2023, are now open. The fund was initiated in 2020 to recognise and equip black creators, artists and songwriters with the resources and support to thrive on the platform. To assist in development of their channels, all creators selected for the programme are set to receive funding. The programme has welcomed over 300 grantees from Australia, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the US, and includes musicians, beauty entrepreneurs, comedians, activists, poets, personal trainers, parents, photographers, gamers and more. Alumni from the continent include reality star entertainer Lasizwe Dambuza, personal trainer and health and wellness advocate Mitchelle Adagala, musician Sho Madjozi and TV presenter, entrepreneur and actress Tomike Adeoye. Apart from having committed…

IT remains a suspicious, even unethical, controversy why the State (prosecution) in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial did not disclose the second draft police docket fingering Kelly Khumalo and company. Were the investigating officer and the State advocate all along not aware of the existence of such a draft docket emanating from the police even though it was not acted upon eventually? Why was its disclosure withheld from the defence counsel representing accused number 5? Was it being viewed as a mere draft docket that never saw fruition the sole reason it was not disclosed to her? Was the State advocate indeed blissfully ignorant all along of its existence as he claims in his submissions in court? How did the defence counsel for the first four accused persons acquire the…

THE tension between two Safa presidential candidates at the ABC Motsepe playoffs in Potchefstroom on Sunday afternoon was so thick one could literally cut it with a knife. Ria Ledwaba (Safa vice-president) and bitter rival Danny Jordaan (Safa president) were called up to join the presentation party along with Patrice Motsepe, the ABC Motsepe League founder and Caf president. At the post-match photo session with the various award winners, Ledwaba chose to look away while everyone looked towards the camera. Her body language suggested contempt towards bitter rival Jordaan, who was standing right next to her. During the play-off match, Jordaan, Motsepe and Ledwaba (in that order) were seated alongside each other in the VIP Area at Olen Park Stadium. Embattled Ledwaba has been raging war against Safa and has…

LUXOLO Adams stunned the athletics world with his superb new personal best in the 200m at the Paris Diamond League meeting at the weekend, but it’s been a long time coming. In fact, his coach, Gerrie Posthumus, believes he can go even quicker ahead of the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon next month. The 25-year-old Adams – who hails from Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape – produced the finest performance of his career at the Stade Sébastien Charléty on Saturday night to not only beat Canada’s 200m Olympic champion Andre de Grasse, but also set a personal best time of 19.82 seconds to win the race, from lane eight as well. Adams’ effort was the second quickest 200m time in South African history, behind national record-holder Clarence Munyai’s 19.69, while…

IMPALA Platinum (Implats) is caught between a rock and a hard place as its operations could be disrupted by a strike after the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) called on the mining firm to do the “right thing” and employ workers, who are working for three contractors as permanent staff. This follows the labour union yesterday announcing that the contract workers – employed by contract companies Newrak, Reagetswe Mining Group and Triple M Mining – at Implats’s Rustenburg operations would embark on an indefinite strike yesterday. Implats share price shed nearly 4 percent to close at R175 on the JSE yesterday, as the resource index rose 1.17 percent to 68 282 points. The union claims that the workers employed at the Implats mine…

NO GUARANTEES to truck drivers were on the table yesterday as government set up another task team to address issues relating to the sector, after a recent blockade of major arterial roads, which threatens South Africa’s export and import markets. The team would look at the registration of operators in term of Section 45 of the National Road Traffic Act, review of the Traffic Register Number and review of the Cross-Border Road Transport Legislation; amendment of the National Road Traffic Regulation and integrated joint multi-disciplinary law enforcement operations; the implementation of the Driver Training Programme; and consideration of the introduction of operating licences for the industry. But time is not on government’s side. Sifiso Nyathi, secretary of the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa (ATDF ASA), said yesterday:…

President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday in his weekly newsletter that he would join the leaders of China, Brazil, Russia and India at the 14th BRICS Leaders’ Summit later this week, which would be hosted virtually by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Last year, more than 17 percent of South Africa’s exports were destined for other BRICS countries, while more than 29 percent of South Africa’s total imports came from these countries. “These countries are, therefore, significant trading partners, and the value of this trade is continuing to grow. Total South African trade with other BRICS countries reached R702 billion in 2021 up from R487bn in 2017,” he said. He said the BRICS Leaders’ Summit was a valuable platform for South Africa to strengthen ties with its partner countries in support of…

Rege-Jean Page is in talks to return to Bridgerton. The 34-year-old actor could reprise the role of the Duke of Hastings in season three of the hit Netflix show. A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Rege-Jean was always very open about his intention to quit the show after the first season and to move on to other projects. But recently there has been a dialogue between him and the show’s bosses. Nothing has been formally agreed yet, but watch this space.” Rege-Jean has also been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. The insider said: “Things are up in the air at the moment, but this will be an exciting year for Rege.” Rege-Jean previously compared leaving Bridgerton to his last day of…

As the country celebrated Youth Day last week, the KZN Health MEC addressed a number of issues plaguing young people including teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Speaking at a three-day youth conference at Impaphala area in Nkandla on Saturday, MEC Nomagugu Simelane urged young people to keep themselves healthy, and ensure that sacrifices made by young people for freedom – such as the Soweto Uprisings – were not in vain. She said from recent statistics 1 300 girls were getting infected with HIV every week in the country, while there were a reported 18 550 births by girls aged 10 to 17 in KwaZulu-Natal during the 2019/20 financial year alone. The country also reported a high number of sexually transmitted diseases. Urging people who are infected with HIV…

AUDITOR-GENERAL Tsakani Maluleke has fingered the Department of Water and Sanitation for not holding officials accountable for incurring irregular expenditure and fruitless and wasteful expenditure totalling more than R300 million. In her 2020/21 audit report, Maluleke said effective steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure amounting to R179m. “The majority of the irregular expenditure related to prior year irregular contracts which were extended in the current year,” she said. Maluleke also said effective steps were not taken to prevent wasteful expenditure amounting to R157m. “The majority of the fruitless and wasteful expenditure disclosed in the financial statements was caused by loses or abnormal costs incurred on internal and external projects.” The AG said the department did not make payments within 30 days after receipt of invoices. Maluleke said she…

STORMERS skipper Steven Kitshoff says the fact that the players are friends, and not just teammates, played a key role in the work they have put into their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign. The Stormers became the inaugural URC winners after defeating the Bulls in the Grand Final at Cape Town Stadium at the weekend. It has been a superb season for the Stormers. Their victory over the Bulls - their third this season alone - capped an 11-match winning streak. They also won the South African Shield and will compete in the Champions Cup next year along with the Bulls and the Sharks. In the final, the Stormers were 7-3 down at half-time but came out firing in the second half. It was a beautiful display by the hosts…

JAPAN is the home of judo but a brutal win-at-all-costs mentality, corporal punishment and pressure to lose weight are driving large numbers of children to quit, raising fears for the sport’s future in its traditional powerhouse. Underlining the scale of the problem, the All Japan Judo Federation cancelled a prestigious nationwide tournament for children as young as 10, warning they were being pushed too hard. A pressure group dedicated to those injured or killed while practising the martial art says that 121 judo-related deaths were reported in Japanese schools between 1983 and 2016. Japan regularly dominates the Olympics judo medal table but federation president Yasuhiro Yamashita told AFP that the values of the sport are being lost as parents and coaches chase short-term glory. “Judo is a sport that emphasises…

IT was a dejected Jake White who faced the media at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night. His Bulls team were near and yet so far from becoming the first United Rugby Championship (URC) winners after losing 18-13 to the Stormers, and on Friday night, the Bulls Currie Cup side went down 30-19 to Griquas in a Loftus Versfeld semi-final. “It is what it is … There are no positives. We lost twice in one weekend – the most we’ve lost in a long time. So, there are no positives,” the normally smiling White said matter-of-factly. He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t paint the full picture. What he forgot to state is that they had to beat Leinster in Dublin to make it to Cape Town – quite an achievement,…

Zaahier Adams considers what the 2-2 T20 international series draw between India and South Africa tells us about what lies ahead with the T20 World Cup in Australia looming large on the horizon later this year. The end of the road Classy. Elegant. Easy on the eye. All these adjectives have been used to describe Reeza Hendricks over the years. His talent has never been in question. However, at 32-years-old, and after numerous opportunities to leave his mark on the international stage, a call needs to be made. Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock were not available for SA at the top of the order at various stages against India series, and Hendricks failed to fill the breach. There is simply no place for him in the 15-player T20…

Persistent power cuts at a time when economy is facing serious challenges THE RAND weakened to a one-month low yesterday as concerns grew over disruption to economic growth after Eskom announced the implementation of load shedding after three weeks of no rotational power cuts. Eskom yesterday announced the implementation of stage 2 load shedding until Thursday night due to the continued shortage of generation capacity. The struggling power utility, which last implemented load shedding on May 30, said it had 5 232MW on planned maintenance while another 14 202MW of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom’s persistent power cuts come at a time when the economy is facing serious challenges from rising inflation and a threat of a global recession which have left central banks with no…

After witnessing free fall for weeks, Bitcoin finally managed to rebound past $20 000 (R319 652) per digital coin yesterday, around 16 percent gain over the weekend. The rally came after Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, dropped below $18 000 per digital coin on Sunday – a massive over 70 percent drop from its record high of $68 000 in November last year – as mayhem in the crypto market continued. The global market cap of cryptocurrencies sank below $850bn, which recently hovered over $1 trillion. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also fell below $1 000 on Sunday, down nearly 80 per cent since its all-time-high in November last year. Yesterday Ethereum also rebounded to reach $1 133, a 20 percent gain over the past 24 hours. The latest…

THE Magadla family spent their first birthday without their son, Khayalethu Magadla who turned 7 yesterday. On Sunday, nine days ago, Khayalethu reportedly fell into an uncovered manhole down the road from his Dlamini home in Soweto where he had spent the afternoon playing with his friends. Since then, the search for the missing boy has been ongoing with members of the Emergency Services rescue team stationed at the park as the search effort intensified using sniffer dogs, boats and robot technology. The family of the youngster spent most of the day entertaining visits from teachers, neighbours and other guests at their home. Speaking for the first time since the incident, (father) Kholekile Magadla said he was emotionally empty and defeated. “This is a very difficult situation. Today is made…

SEVERAL political parties in the City of Johannesburg have laid criminal charges against former mayor Herman Mashaba and other members of the DA in connection with a device they say was used to spy on opposition parties. Members of minority political parties, including Al Jama-ah, have opened a case of defeating the ends of justice against officials involved in buying surveillance equipment from Israel during Mashaba’s reign as mayor. The grabber, as it is called, was allegedly used to intercept phone calls and steal information from gadgets such as laptops and iPads. The minority parties have also accused current mayor Mpho Phalatse of trying to conceal the rot brought about by the establishment of the city’s anti-corruption unit, Group Forensic Investigations Services (GFIS). Outside the Hillbrow police station, Al Jama-ah…

A former semi-professional electronic sports (esports) gamer has become the first patient to undergo a robotic-assisted thoracic procedure in Africa. In a first for the continent, Etienne Nel, 33, had the thoracic outlet decompression surgery performed at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital. Nel said he was looking forward to swimming again once fully healed. “Four years ago, I started to notice some pain around my shoulder, and I began feeling discomfort and ‘pins and needles’ in my right arm and hand. “Through a process of elimination, I was eventually diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, and by this time it had also begun to restrict movement in my right arm,” Nel said. “You really need that symmetrical strength and flow of motion for swimming, and I am looking forward to experiencing…

The misuse of prescription and over-the-counter codeine-containing products is a global public health issue that needs to be addressed. Codeine, commonly found in cold and cough medicines as well as headache tablets, is the most regularly used opioid in the world, and is legal and readily available to purchase over the counter. Codeine addiction levels are steadily on the rise in SA – particularly among our youth. South Africa is one of the few countries in the world where codeine is still available over-the-counter, and because it is less stringently regulated than other opiates such as morphine and oxycodone, getting and abusing it is relatively easy. Because of this, codeine has become the drug of choice for many, particularly teenagers, who have taken to mixing codeine-containing cough syrup with soft…

A concealed heist at Phala Phala game farm is a scandal. Equally, presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya’s spin insulted our intelligence. Magwenya claimed to be awaiting reconciled receipts of the sum of money exchanged for stock in 2020, because he couldn’t disprove what’s in the public domain. That’s absurd, as there should’ve been a journal of cash received, with sales tax record retained for audit purposes. Don’t hide behind receipts. Just clear a thick air of speculation on the amount stolen. Magwenya should tell citizens the truth. Silence is suspicious and secrecy is no disguise in public affairs. It crystallises the assertion that President Cyril Ramaphosa failed to exercise common sense and leadership. Intrigues and plots aside, Ramaphosa abdicated his responsibility to report a crime, to the hazard of the justice…

EVEN though the results are not yet showing it, Hugo Broos is a breath of fresh air and one of the best things to happen to South African men’s football in recent years. The reason why I have emphasised the South African men’s football is because the SA women’s football team has not stooped to the same lows as men’s football has. The fact that Banyana Banyana qualified for the 2019 World Cup and are one of the best teams in Africa in spite of having to work with significantly less resources compared to Bafana Bafana means they have been a success story. SA men’s football has been on a downward spiral for the last 20 years. Several national team coaches, local and international have come and gone with none…

BANYANA Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has picked her final 23-player squad to do battle at the upcoming Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco next month. The women’s national team will look to improve on their second place finish from the last continental showpiece in 2018. Banyana stars Thembi Kgatlana, Refiloe Jane, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Kholose Biyana are some of the names in the final squad. They are well-established at their respective clubs in Europe and will look to bring an added quality and experience to the scorching heat of Rabat. Team captain Janine van Wyk will lead her charges in their first match on July 4 against Banyana’s fiercest rivals Nigeria and Banyana will be looking to avenge their final defeat to the Super Falcons four years ago.…

WILL Zalatoris battled for a major victory to the final green at the US Open before settling for his third career major runner-up finish without winning a title. The 25-year-old American has become golf’s newest “Nearly Man” with three second places and six top-eight finishes in only nine career major starts. “It stings, obviously, to have three runner-ups so far in my career in majors,” Zalatoris said. “We’re obviously doing the right things. “I’m three shots away from having a chance of being a three-time major champion. A bounce here or there. “The recipe’s there. The game’s there. I’ve just got to wait my turn.” Zalatoris finished second to Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama at last year’s Masters, nervous and excited just to be in contention before losing by a stroke. He…

SOUTH Africa had both finalists in the United Rugby Championship (URC) in the Stormers and Bulls, while the Sharks also reached the quarter-finals in the first season of this competition. Leinster’s four successive titles made them immediate favourites, but Jake White’s Bulls knocked them over in Dublin, and then John Dobson’s Stormers pulled off a thrilling 18-13 triumph to finally end the Cape side’s drought in international competitions. So, the time is right to pick a South African team of the tournament. This is not meant to be a Springbok side that could take on the All Blacks tomorrow, but rather to showcase those players who had outstanding URC seasons … 15 Warrick Gelant (Stormers) This was arguably the closest call to make, as both players were immense for their…