Índex per 2022-10-06 a Star

Gold mining may not be attracting the investment it once did in South Africa, but its other minerals still attract significant mining investment, delegates heard at the Joburg Indaba yesterday. Gold is a mature industry in South Africa, the opportunities are not the same as many of the other commodities in South Africa, said Gold Fieldschief executive (CEO), Chris Griffith. Griffith was part of a panel in the Indaba which took place yesterday in Johannesburg. Other panelists included Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman and Impala Platinum CEO, Nico Muller. Griffith said the opportunities to grow a company like his for safer, longer life, cheaper, lower cost more productive assets were not in South Africa, and for gold miners in South Africa, the opportuni- ties were international. “The more productive, shallow, open…

SEXUAL harassment has no place in the South African work environment. The legislature continuously makes the message clearer and louder by passing legislation designed to eradicate sexual harassment from the workplace, the Labour Court said in awarding a police captain R50 000 after she was sexually harassed. The SAPS was ordered to pay the woman, who cannot be named, after it was found to have dragged its feet in investigating her claims that her superior was sexually harassing her. Judge Zolashe Lallie said: “Sexual harassment is used, in most cases, by employers and employees entrusted with some level of authority to oppress, exploit and dominate those with less or no authority at all. “In this case, like in most cases, the victim of sexual harassment is a woman and…

THE Enyobeni Tavern case was again postponed at the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday for the State to furnish further details. Enyobeni Tavern owner Vuyokazi Ndevu and her husband, Siyakhangela Ndevu, the tavern’s manager, face a charge of contravening the Liquor Act. Both are charged with two offences of selling or supplying intoxicating liquor to persons under 18, and conniving with/permitting employees and agents to sell or deliver intoxicating liquor to persons under 18. The case follows the discovery of 21 bodies of teenagers, the youngest aged 13, at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, in June. It was reported that the bodies were found lying across tables, chairs and on the floor, with no signs of injuries. The Eastern Cape Department of Health released the toxicology report…

While one would like to believe that the DA’s shadow minister of health, Michele Clarke, is conscientious about her portfolio, it is disappointing to note from her interview in Biznews of October 4, that the DA strongly supports the Covid jab. In support of that, she cites the opinions of public health experts and plays down the extent to which complaints about adverse effects from the jab have been reported. From those submissions, however, it would appear that the DA’s research on the subject is somewhat deficient. There are three reasons what are promoted as vaccines for Covid-19 should be critically considered: (1) none was subjected to the standard testing duration and their roll-out was hastened by political and Big Pharma pressure; (2) it is an admitted fact that having…

The Springbok women start their Rugby World Cup campaign on Saturday morning (SA time), and it could be a defining moment for them. After a four-year hiatus, and the interruption of Covid-19, the Bok women go to New Zealand – arguably for the first time – with the full backing of their national union. Previously, the women’s team had been treated as something of a begrudged exercise, but in recent months SA Rugby has realised there is a lucrative market to exploit and operate in. The reasons for elevating the women’s game to the men’s one might be cynical, but it is nevertheless a fantastic and important development. Rugby has given so much to so many boys and men, it should also be accessible to girls and women to…

Internationally-acclaimed comedian and television host Trevor Noah is ready to take a new leap and looks forward to do more things that he loves after his exit from The Daily Show. The comedian had time to engage with his audience on The Daily Show, where he answered a few questions about the time he took over the show and his plans after his departure. Noah, who held the reins of the show for seven years, conceded that he knew taking over from Jon Stewart was a massive job. “Any time there is a transition in a show there is a huge process, and I am aware of that because I took over from Jon Stewart, which was a monumental task. And I understand how hard it was for myself and…

A regional sales manager who was unfairly dismissed from his position, as found by the CCMA, has been reinstated after the Labour Court dismissed his employer’s application to set the arbitrator’s decision aside. Robert Greyling had worked for Trudon (PTY) Ltd and after being unfairly dismissed, won an arbitration award at the CCMA ordering his reinstatement and payment of back pay totalling R1.162 million. Trudon, publishers of the Yellow Pages phone directory, had approached the Labour Court to have the CCMA’s decision reviewed and set aside. According to court documents, in June 2018, Greyling was hauled before a disciplinary hearing on charges of dishonesty and bringing the company’s name into disrepute for taking invoices for advertising against a contract concluded between Trudon and Eskom after being told not to…

Academic research is not always abstract or theoretical. Nor does it take place in a vacuum. Research in many different disciplines is often grounded in the real world; it aims to understand and address problems that affect people and the environment, such as climate change, poverty, migration or natural hazards. Over the last 50 years, the relationship between researcher and participant has fundamentally changed. Previously, research participants were viewed merely as objects of study. They had little input into the research process or its outcomes. Now, participants are increasingly viewed as collaborative partners and co-creators of knowledge. In this context, ethical research practices are more important than ever. I suggest there are five critical ethics issues for researchers to consider. Managing vulnerability: Research participants, especially in the developing world, may…

DHAKA: Bangladeshi officials were investigating yesterday why power was cut to about three-quarters of the country, halting the vital garment sector and telecommunications services for about 10 hours. Electricity was fully restored just before midnight on Tuesday, government officials said. “We suspect a transmission line experienced a technical glitch that led to a cascade of failures throughout the national power grid,” said Mohammad Hossain, the top official at the government’s power cell division. The grid malfunctioned at around 2pm local time on Tuesday, leading to blackouts across up to 80% of the country.…

THE Springbok Women’s team to play France in their opening Pool C match of the World Cup in New Zealand has a familiar and experienced look to it, with only prop Sanelisiwe Charlie not a regular starter in the 2022 season. Bok coach Stanley Raubenheimer named both of his World Cup veterans, Nolusindiso Booi and Zenay Jordaan, in the squad, with Booi to captain the team at Eden Park on Saturday. Jordaan is named on the bench and will equal the Bok record of 34 Test caps held by Zandile Nojoko. Raubenheimer also named Tayla Kinsey at scrumhalf and prop Asithandile Ntoyanto on the bench, meaning that all four players with previous World Cup experience will be involved on Saturday. Charlie will make a first start since August 2021, when…

THE WORLD Bank has warned that South Africa’s aggressive interest rate hikes could hamper economic growth prospects, affecting the country’s ability to respond to socio-economic challenges. This comes as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Tuesday indicated that it would continue raising interest rates well into 2023 in a bid to stabilise monetary policy and restore price stability amid persistently high inflation. Headline inflation in South Africa remains persistently high at 7.6% in August after easing from a 13-year high of 7.8% in July, having breached the upper limit of the Sarb’s 3 to 6% target range in May. This has forced the SARB to adopt a hawkish monetary policy stance, and increase interest rates by 75 basis points in two recent successive meetings, taking cumulative hikes to…

THERE is no better moment to remind us of our country’s precarious energy security than the current streak of load shedding, which at some point escalated from stage 2 to stage 6 and came perilously close to breaching stage 8. The cost to the economy varies between R2 billion and R4bn a day, depending on which industry expert you speak to. One thing is certain, though, businesses and households are counting their losses daily, suffice it to add it is near impossible to quantify the actual cost of load shedding to the economy. Flashback: many intensive energy users, including small businesses, have not forgotten the infamous load shedding in 2008. And one can forgive them for nursing a heightened sense of déjà vu. Such was…

Cable theft is a major problem in our country. It destroys our country, and it must be stopped before it’s too late. The cable thieves or syndicates do not care about the impact of their bad deeds on South Africa. They are just hell-bent on destruction. They destroy infrastructure and leave communities in limbo. They vandalise and destroy electricity, rail, road, water, and sanitation infrastructure without taking into consideration the impact of their evil deeds on the South African economy and the environment. It is now high time that we all come together to stop this problem of cable theft, otherwise we will be left with no infrastructure and a destroyed environment, especially water resources which give us the source of life. Cable theft and infrastructure vandalism occurs in our…

One cannot generalise, but I believe many share my view: I am increasingly getting fed up with Eskom and no longer want to hear anything about this monster. Every time I switch on the TV and a news item on Eskom appears, I switch channels and turn the page of a newspaper when I see an Eskom story. For example, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe claims, ludicrously, that we have enough electric capacity, and Minister Gordhan flatly denies this. Thus, do these people even know what they are doing? As for President Ramaphosa, he cut short an overseas to rush home, claiming he was going to resolve the “crisis” and, quite astoundingly, he ostensibly thinks he has done so by the appointment of a new board. If I am wrong, why…

music artist and creative director Godson Essi, fondly known as Savage, shares his major milestones and his hopes of elevating his career journey to be recognised globally. His fondness for music started when he was 16 and he has since focused on taking his career on an upward trajectory, making multiple hits under his name. His songs such as Confident, Utopia and Rosemary have surpassed 50 million streams worldwide on streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. The songwriter spends his time travelling in Africa creating music and visuals as well as a clothing line called Savage Space Couture. The Cape Town-based Nigerian music artist also spoke about the support he has amassed in South Africa, which he says has been nothing short of amazing. “The love that I…

IN politics a week is a long time, quipped former British prime minister Harold Wilson in the 1960s. Last week we witnessed the change of political hands in the City of Joburg, with the ANC’s Dada Morero replacing the DA’s Mpho Phalatse following a multi-party coalition gone bonkers. Now we are to witness the change of power in the Gauteng provincial legislature, with incumbent Premier David Makhura making way for ANC provincial chairperson Panyaza Lesufi. While rumour mongers say he was pushed, some believe this is in line with the ANC’s avoidance of two centres of power. Whether the ANC made a mistake by replacing Makhura, two months into their 55th national conference, remains to be seen. Makhura became the sixth premier of South Africa’s wealthiest province in 2014, taking…

MASERU: The Kingdom of Lesotho holds parliamentary elections tomorrow, which analysts expect to deliver another coalition government, unlikely to tackle poverty and instability. Famed for the beauty of its mountainous terrain, the country that styles itself the “Kingdom in the Sky” has long been beset by political turmoil, with coups and attempted coups dotting its history since independence from Britain in 1966. For the past 10 years it has been ruled by coalition governments that have proved fractious and frail, with no premier serving out a full five-year term. Thousands of people, some wrapped in traditional shepherd’s blankets, gathered around large marquees set up on mountain plateaus for campaign rallies this past weekend. The All Basotho Convention (ABC) has been the leading party since the last elections in 2017. But…

Sao Paulo: A former coach of Brazil’s national gymnastics team has been handed more than a century behind bars for raping four athletes including at least one minor, local media reported. Fernando de Carvalho Lopes was sentenced to 109 years and eight months in prison on Monday by a court in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, according to the Globo Esporte site. He was found guilty of assaulting four athletes, including a minor aged 13 at the time, according to Globo Esporte, which did not specify the age of the other gymnasts. Carvalho Lopes can appeal the decision, and has maintained his innocence.…

UNITED States international captain Becky Sauerbrunn said on Tuesday that team owners and officials implicated in a bombshell report detailing systemic sexual abuse and misconduct in US women’s soccer should be barred from the sport. The 37-year-old two-time World Cup winner said players were “horrified and heartbroken” by the findings of a report published on Monday following a year-long investigation by former US attorney general Sally Yates. Yates’ report included interviews with more than 200 National Women’s Soccer League players – many of them members of US national teams – and detailed patterns of abuse from team coaches, including manipulation and tirades. “Every owner and executive and US soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players and failed to protect the players who have hidden behind legalities and have not…

THE ECONOMY waits with baited breath as the grim spectre of a lengthy industrial action unfolds over a 9% gap between Transnet and unions Untu and Satawu that is likely to halt the rail network and cause bottlenecks at South Africa’s ports to goods moving over rails and processes. Concern has been sounded by all sectors of an economy already besieged by load shedding over the past months, with fears rising that a protracted strike at Transnet has a telling effect on agricultural imports and exports, the motor vehicle sector and mining, among others, which are all heavily reliant on an efficient logistics chain. “Transnet is a critical player in an export orientated sector like agriculture. So the wage negotiations are key area of interest and we hope…

EQUITES Property Fund said there has seen a sharp rise in the number of development opportunities in SA in the past six months due to record levels of demand for warehousing space. Chief executive Andrew Taverna- Turisan said at the release of the group’s results for the six months to August 31, 2022, that they were well positioned to capitalise on these opportunities, given their strategic land bank – there is a shortage of suitable land for large warehousing and distribution developments, in Durban and Cape Town in particular, he said in a telephonic interview. Equites’ existing development pipeline will add 228 000m² of prime logistics space over the medium term, with a combined capital value of R2.7 billion. He said given the strong demand, the group might…

Ryan Reynolds has some big news: His Deadpool is not the only X-Man set to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Wolverine is coming with him. And not just any Wolverine. The Wolverine. Hugh Jackman. Fans were wondering how Reynolds would make a splash as he brought his R-rated mouth into the primarily PG-13 MCU for the first time with Deadpool 3, and the answer is simple: with adamantium claws. In a social media video on Tuesday, Reynolds made the announcement of Jackman’s return to the X-Men movie world – which was especially shocking considering the character had died in 2017’s Logan. Reynolds claims a case of extreme writer’s block while preparing for Deadpool 3, which is set to arrive in theatres in 2024. He realises he's now in the…

A DOCUMENTARY about Jacob Zuma is on the cards following a recent invitation to production companies. The Jacob Zuma Foundation has confirmed it is looking for interested production companies. The closing date has been pushed from Friday to October 21 due to delays in the announcement. Part of the brief encourages producers to go deep into the history of the former head of state by revisiting his early childhood, his early involvement in politics, his rise to the provincial structures of the ANC, conditions leading up to his departure to exile, his time on Robben Island, as well as an account of his return and his role in the negotiations for the democratic settlement following the unbanning of the ANC. Speaking to The Star, spokesperson for the foundation Mzwanele Manyi…

The escalating religious tension in many parts of the world is cause for concern. History graphically reminds us that those, who torment innocent people, because of their religion or their religious attire, are tormented souls who have lost touch with reality. Intolerance has devoured their toxic minds. Logic and rationality do not exist in their vocabulary. Hatred and its toxic twin, bigotry, are an affront to humanity. Any form of human degradation is an outrageous violation of our respect for the oneness of humanity. Hatred and intolerance are two of the most baneful and persistent evils, they are a major barrier to peace. Its practise perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext. Hatred retards the unfolding of the potentialities of…

WITH tobacco-related diseases, disabilities and deaths costing the public health system up to R14.48 billion, citizens have been urged to quit smoking. Professor Michael Herbst, a health consultant of the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa), said non-communicable diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic lung diseases were in most cases aggravated and brought on by smoking. Herbst said with more and more people smoking, illnesses normally prevalent in elderly persons were now affecting younger age groups between the ages of 30 and 40. One such illness mentioned was rheumatoid arthritis, which he said mostly occurred in men who were heavy smokers. Women who smoked were reportedly 1.3 times more at risk of developing the disease. Herbst said stricter measures ought to be looked into in relation…

Analyses of the implications of extending income support measures in South Africa, including a basic income grant, have focused on one of three things: how much it will cost, calculations about how much revenue would need to be raised (but without assessing the ripple effects), and how it might affect the incomes of the rich and the poor. Each of these provide important contributions. But they don’t address the dynamic and long-term implications of basic income support options on the country’s economy and its finances. What’s been missing is a modelling that compares – or tests – the impact of the different policy choices and their permutations and how these are funded and who benefits and who loses. In a recent paper we attempt to do just that. Our model…

Kabul: A fire erupted in the Ahmadi business market on the western edge of Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul yesterday, local media reported. No casualties or damage have been reported so far as police have yet to make a comment on the fire, Tolonews reported. The fire erupted at the market located in the Kota-e-Sangi neighbourhood of Kabul, with a large plume of smoke seen rising from the scene, Tolonews reported citing witnesses, according to Xinhua news agency. The report said the Zadran market next to the Ahmadi market would also catch alight if firefighters failed to put out the fire as soon as possible.…

HAVANA: The Cuban government has used repression against demonstrators, as it did during the civil unrest in July of last year, an international human rights organisation said yesterday. “The authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison,” the Americas director at Amnesty International, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said. The government restricted internet access and deployed the police and military, the organisation added.…

AmaZulu 0 Richards Bay (0) 1 Mothwa 93rd min OG RICHARDS Bay snatched an injury-time winner to claim a famous victory over AmaZulu and climb to second on the Premiership standings at Moses Mabhida Stadium yesterday. The Natal Rich Boyz grabbed the win as AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa had the unfortunate last touch before the ball ended up in the back of his net, handing the visitors their fifth win of the season. Beleaguered AmaZulu rang the changes ahead of the difficult encounter, with coach Brandon Truter forced to make do without a few of his most trusted players through injuries and suspensions. Following their MTN8 semi-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday, Truter cut a dejected figure as he learned he had to make do without leading scorer Gabadinho…