Índex per 2022-12-09 a Star

LOAD shedding at Stage 6 is causing serious challenges for South Africa’s automotive vehicle manufacturers, and production for the year might slide because of it, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) CEO Mike Mabasa said yesterday. He said the problem was the heavy duty equipment and large-scale robotic assembly and production equipment at the manufacturers, which could not be powered by generators or alternative energy sources as they require a great deal of continuous current. The auto manufacturers all had power-generation equipment, but this was limited to supplying lighting, small equipment and electronics with electricity. “With the prolonged power cuts, it means that instead of producing 100 cars a day, a manufacturer now can only produce 87 or 85 vehicles,” he said. An additional problem was that…

THE POULTRY industry is expecting to count the costs of the higher stages of load shedding as extended power outages force abattoirs to discard chickens not sufficiently cooled in the appropriate window period. The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) said yesterday that the bulk of poultry farmers used coal-driven solutions to keep their chicks warm, and to a lesser extent, gas-powered solutions. In a response to enquiry, Sapa said abattoirs had a much tougher time during periods of load shedding as they were big consumers of electricity. Sapa spokesperson Alex de Coning said each carcass needs to be cooled to below 7ºC within 45 minutes of being slaughtered and after that the meat is cut, and the product is either put in a cold store or in a freezer.…

THUNGELA Resources, a coal exporter, expects to deliver strong annual earnings despite a deterioration in Transnet Freight Rail performance (TFR), a rise in illegal mining activity, and increased incidents of power interruption. In its trading statement for the financial year ending December 31, 2022 issued yesterday, Thungela said it was likely to lose 600 000 tons of export coal revenue in its 2022 financial year, owing to a deterioration in the performance of Transnet TFR. Thungela chief financial officer, Deon Smith, said: “TFR’s performance continued to deteriorate in the second half of the year – from an annualised industry rate of 53.3 million tonnes (Mt) in the first half of 2022, down to an expected annualised rate of 49.0Mt in the 2022 financial year.” Poor rail performance affected Thungela’s ability…

MINING companies are pulling out all the stops to find alternative ways to generate power and keep their miners safe amid rolling power outages as power utility Eskom instituted load shedding Stage 6 on Tuesday. Business Report spoke to experts in the mining industry to find out how they were surviving with the pressures of load shedding. Anglo American said Eskom played an essential role in the lives of all South Africans. Anglo’s mining operations depended on baseload electricity and a secure energy supply was critical, spokesperson Nompumelelo Kunene said. However, Anglo’s operations had back-up power generation to ensure employee safety in the case of load shedding. “This back-up power generation also enables the controlled and safe shutdown of equipment, which includes the safe extraction of employees, shutdown procedures and…

The mother of an 8-year-old Thinasonke Extension 4 boy who was reported missing on October 31 and later found near Phola Park is frantically searching once more for her child, who went missing again on Wednesday. Last time around, the boy, Bomi Dambuza, disappeared on October 31 and was found in a house near Phola Park in Thokoza following a message from an alleged kidnapper who told his mother to do as she was told if she wanted to see her son alive. Yesterday, Thokozile Dambuza was joined by members of the Thinasonke community as they went around the area in search of Bomi. She said that the previous time she filed a missing person’s report, which was later withdrawn after Bomi was found. She said now she feared the…

The latest science compiled by experts from SeatPick officially revealed Shakira’s Waka Waka (It’s Time for Africa) as the most catchiest World Cup song. The song earned a total catchiness score of 8.4/10 based on factors such as its popularity, danceability, and energy. This iconic track by the Colombian songstress and South African musical band Freshly Ground draws inspiration from African music and was released in unison with the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. According to SeatPick, the song has received a total 79/100 popularity score, which seems fitting as the music video has been viewed more than 3.3 million times on YouTube and is on multiple Spotify playlists. To this day the track has received more than 15 million downloads and was the seventh most…

noxolo.miya@inl.co.za The festive season has officially begun as Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu launched South African Tourism’s “Gimme Summer That” campaign in Sandton, Joburg, on Tuesday night. The launch was attended by industry leaders, the entire supply value chain for tourism, as well as international dignitaries. Sisulu said the launch was aimed at helping the tourism sector recover after being badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. “When I was appointed the minister of tourism in August 2021, it was amid one of the deadliest pandemics to hit the world. It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the tourism industry quite hard, mainly due to the imposed lockdown and travel restrictions. “We are gathered here to represent our collective efforts and the strong spirit with which we went into this…

ESPN hosts its final event of the year, Africa Boxing 24, in Johannesburg today, and promises to end off 2022 with showstopping bouts, including the return of Deejay Kriel and fan favourites Patrick Mukala and Darrin Rossouw. The main event will see India’s Shiva Thakran take on defending champions Emmany Kalombo of the DRC for the IBF international junior middleweight title, and both boxers believe they will be fighting for way more than the belt. Thakran explained that this encounter is a chance to take the sport to new heights in India. A win for the 25-year-old will make him the first Indian boxer to boast an international title from one of the four major sanctioning bodies. In the other corner, Kalombo’s dream is to become “the face of boxing”…

Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique yesterday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco in the last 16, quickly naming his replacement as Under-21s boss Luis de la Fuente. Spain started their campaign in Qatar in style by hammering Costa Rica 7-0 and qualified for the knockout phase despite a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan. They were strong favourites for their last-16 match against Morocco, but crashed out on penalties after the game finished goalless following extra-time. “Both the president, Luis Rubiales, and the sporting director, Jose Francisco Molina, have told the coach their decision,” the RFEF (football association) said in a statement. They said they wanted to thank Luis Enrique and his staff for their work, but had decided to start a “new project”.…

Can you believe that the Springbok Sevens team have won their home tournament just four times, compared to 10 titles in Dubai? It is a strange anomaly that the Blitzboks will have to contend with yet again at this weekend’s Cape Town Sevens. The South Africans pulled off their fourth consecutive Dubai Sevens triumph last week with a sensational comeback from a first-game defeat to Great Britain to beat Kenya, Australia, Samoa, New Zealand and Ireland. That they were even competitive in the UAE is testament to the immediate impact that has been made by new coach Sandile Ngcobo, who faced a daunting task in taking over from long-serving mentor Neil Powell. It would have been easy to feel that Ngcobo – who is still young enough to play at…

Currently costing economy estimated R3 billion a day in lost activity THE BUSINESS sector has unanimously slammed the government leadership and Eskom’s top executives for failing to contain rolling blackouts which cripple economic activity and jeopardise investment in the country. This comes as the struggling power utility plunged the country into darkness on Wednesday by implementing Stage 6 load shedding for the fourth time this year, following a number of breakdowns at its ageing coal-fired power stations. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) yesterday said this level of instability in the provision of power has serious negative implications for a country with high unemployment and a moribund economy. Sacci CEO Alan Mukoki said it was increasingly clear that the solutions thrown at the Eskom problem were insufficient,…

GERMAN industrial group Rheinmetall plans to build its first South African plant to produce photovoltaic (PV) panels for the power-deprived local market, a company executive said yesterday. The decline of debt-crippled state utility Eskom has this year led to the worst power cuts on record in Africa’s most industrialised economy. This week, most South Africans have been without power for at least six hours a day. The outages have spurred demand for solar power systems. South Africa imported solar PV panels worth nearly R2.2 billion in the first five months of this year alone, mostly from China. Rheinmetall’s facility will have initial annual capacity to produce panels with total generating capacity of at least 500MW, said Jens-Patrick Helmsen, CEO of the company’s South African unit, Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM). “The…

THE MAYOR of Joburg, Mpho Phalatse, has been accused of being on “honeymoon” while floods, storms, and other pressing matters are affecting the city. Al Jama-ah leader Thapelo Amad said it was unfortunate that Phalatse had not visited the families of more than 15 people who perished in the Jukskei River over the weekend during a spiritual ceremony. Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS) recovered some of the bodies, with more expected to be found over the next few days. City Power had also received a large number of complaints about power outages and transformers affected by recent storms. Phalatse was married over the weekend during a secret ceremony in Limpopo. The wedding had caused some controversy within her own party and raised eyebrows. “The thunderstorms have caused destruction of infrastructure in…

ANC NATIONAL Executive Committee (NEC) member and former ANC Youth League president Malusi Gigaba was applauded by a number of South Africans, amid saying that there was a need to relook leadership in the party. Gigaba told one of the 24-hour broadcasters that the ANC was more determined than ever as it prepares for the 55th national conference next week. He said the party has had four years of interim structures as it goes to conference. “We do not have a secretary-general, a deputy secretary-general, and we have three, if not five, interim structures that are attending conference: the Western Cape, Free State, Veterans League, ANCWL, and ANCYL. “We can’t have (another) five years that looks exactly like the previous five years. “We need to give someone else the opportunity…

The EFF said it was “repulsed” by the video circulating on social media, showing a “barbaric” man repeatedly assaulting a woman outside a car. EFF Gauteng chairperson, Nkululeko Dunga said: “The EFF in Gauteng calls on all fighters on the ground to find this barbaric abuser who was caught on video abusing a woman. Leave no corner unchecked, no stone unturned, we must find him and bring him to the nearest police station. “We also call on the victim to approach our gender-based violence desk should she need any support or safe space.” Earlier this week, social media users across South Africa reacted with shock after an unknown man was captured on video repeatedly slapping a woman in the middle of the street after what appeared to be an argument.…

The country is in ruins and notwithstanding the recent chimera of a growth in GDP, we are entering a dark, literally, state of affairs. Electricity is a necessity for the country just to stay still, let alone grow. We can’t operate a household, let alone a serious country, with generators. We have to learn to pay for what we get and if we don’t pay, we don’t get. But that is not the case in South African, at least as far as Eskom is concerned. Everyone gets electricity and doesn’t pay, or at least millions of us, including whole municipalities, don’t pay. If I go into the local top-end car dealership and ask for a million-rand car, I must have the million bucks to pay for it or have a…

The end of the year is fast approaching, and for the popular social media entertainment destination, TikTok, the moment calls for a rewind and a retrospective look at the hottest moments and trends on the platform with #YearEnd TikTok. The social platform began 2022 on a high, with the rise of subcultures like #BookTok to the introduction of the first public-voted TikTok Viral Song of the Year award in partnership with the SA Music Awards. Overall, 2022 was a “year of impact”. TikTok’s head of content programming for sub-Saharan Africa, Boniswa Sidwaba, spoke about the impact of the social platform. “What happens on TikTok doesn’t stay on TikTok. “Whether you are rebuilding a brand, showcasing talent, or using the platform as a vehicle for self-expression, we’ve seen creators realising tangible,…

BirdLife South Africa, the local chapter of BirdLife International, has announced the Cape parrot as its Bird of the Year for 2023. The Cape parrot, or Poicephalus robustus, is endemic to South Africa. The bird inhabits isolated patches of forest in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists it as an endangered species. A medium-sized bird, it stands around 30cm high with a green body and golden head and neck. Adults have small orange patches on the shoulders and leg feathers, with females having a red patch above their beak. The Cape parrot is typically found in the inland mountain forests, heavily affected by logging of large hardwood trees, causing a shortage of natural nesting sites and food for the species. Several…

ALL eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe once again as France take on England in a mouthwatering World Cup quarter-final clash but the defending champions must hope their lack of options from the bench will not be exposed tomorrow. Les Bleus, who are looking to become the first team to retain the title since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, were hit hard by injuries ahead of the tournament with midfielders Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante, and forward Karim Benzema all ruled out. Mbappe has been on fire in Qatar, with five goals and two assists, while Olivier Giroud has provided three goals, but they have yet to come up against a world-class team. After wins over Australia and Denmark in their first two matches, France’s fringe players did not cover…

THE Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) yesterday denied Cristiano Ronaldo threatened to abandon the World Cup squad after being benched against Switzerland. The 37-year-old striker was surprisingly dropped for the last-16 encounter on Tuesday night, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos netting the tournament’s first hat-trick in the 6-1 victory. Ronaldo appeared from the bench, but a report from Portuguese publication Record said the striker had previously threatened to leave in a tense conversation with coach Fernando Santos. “The FPF clarifies that at no time did the captain of the Selecao, Cristiano Ronaldo, threaten to leave the national team during the stay in Qatar,” said the federation. “Every day Ronaldo is building up a unique track record at the service of the national team and the country, which must be respected.” The…

THE Bulls have evolved with great speed from employing a supposed 10-man game-plan to carrying out an all-encompassing attacking style since Jake White took charge at Loftus Versfeld. There are now new Springboks in what is a devastating backline in the shape of Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie, while Cornal Hendricks has rejuvenated his career in midfield. And just last week, Johan Goosen reminded everybody why he is still so highly rated by the Springbok coaches with a dynamic display in the 45-9 United Rugby Championship over Cardiff. All of that has come off the back of a solid effort from the forwards, with new captain Ruan Nortje leading the charge from No 5 lock, and hooker Johan Grobbelaar consistent with his line-out-throwing and an ever-present danger for the opposition…

ESKOM has made a critical decision to delay the start of the outage of unit 1 of the Koeberg Nuclear power station to Saturday, in a bid to avert an additional stage of load shedding that could spell total collapse of the electricity grid, and a national blackout. The struggling power utility yesterday said delaying the outage at Koeberg would allow time to stabilise the system, and the recovery of some generation capacity. Koeberg’s unit was scheduled to be shut down for usual maintenance and refuelling, and the replacement of the three steam generators yesterday, as part of the long-term operation to extend the operating life of Africa’s only nuclear power station by a further 20 years. The unit is anticipated to return to service during June 2023 and its…

THE STAGE 6 rolling blackouts are detrimental to South Africa’s agribusinesses and the country’s economy. Ultimately, this meant that direct expenses increased and put pressure on profit margins of the entire value chain, Dawie Maree, head of Information and marketing at FNB agribusiness, said yesterday. For primary producers, such as farmers, it was important to keep to irrigation schedules, especially during the warm/heat periods of the day. “With load shedding, it might result in crops losing yield potential, and thus lower prices for farmers. For those who have generating capacity, this means higher costs because more diesel is being used,” Maree said. Dr Marlene Louw, senior agricultural economist at Absa relationship banking, said with primary agriculture, the biggest concern around an increase in load-shedding intensity and frequency was having irrigation…

LOAD shedding imposed by power utility Eskom has knocked retailer’s operations. Business Report on Thursday spoke to Shoprite and Pick n Pay about their back-up energy plans. Pick n Pay said its stores used generators, which meant all essential equipment, like refrigeration was unaffected during load shedding. “The combined impact of increased load shedding and sharp fuel price increases have been felt particularly hard. The group spent R110 million more on energy costs in the first half of the 2023 financial year than the comparable period, reflecting extra spend on diesel to keep the lights on,” it said. Pick n Pay said this included both increased trucking costs and increased store-level generator costs. “Given that load shedding accelerated in the latter part of the period, the H2 (second half)…

South African actors, Stephanie and Hungani Ndlovu’s love story is one that has captured the hearts of many of their fans. The couple, who met on the set of telenovela Scandal, have been married for three years and, like every couple, have faced their share of challenges but their love is intentional towards each other. Following a great trip in New York, where they got to experience the city to the fullest, the couple are the celebrity guests on the final episode of festive season special, The Festive Get-Together in The Life Artois. In the episode sub-titled Love Conquers All, they speak to host Unathi Nkayi about marriage, their careers, family and how making time for each other is important to keep the spark fire burning bright. IOL Entertainment caught…

THE ANC treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile has admitted that some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) had called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign following the damning findings of the Section 89 independent panel. Last week, speculation was rife after News24 reported that Ramaphosa was likely to resign, just a day after the special Section 89 independent panel of experts found that he had a case to answer in the Phala Phala scandal. Later, it was revealed that his supporters had backed him to continue as ANC and country president. However, Mashatile denied reports that Ramaphosa had intended to resign, as reports in the media had indicated last week following the Section 89 report findings, which said Ramaphosa had a prima facie case to answer on the Phala Phala farm…

While most families are stretching their budgets in order to make the festive season memorable for their children, experts say that instead of shiny toys, it’s well worth considering a financial gift as an alternative. Grandparents, for example, could establish a money market account for a grandchild whose birth is imminent. This could also serve as a useful cushion to cover initial expenses, and prevent young parents from falling into debt. As the baby matures, and if funds are limited, an old-fashioned piggy bank, or a glass jar containing some coins or notes, will help the child visualise how money grows. Shafeeka Anthony, marketing manager of JustMoney.co.za, says: “Start a conversation from an early age about how money can grow, show a child how you manage your own spending, and…

THE CASE of the Ekurhuleni serial rapist Nkosinathi Phakathi has been postponed to March next year for the finalisation of sentencing, which was stalled by the lack of a psychosocial report yesterday. Sentencing proceedings, which began last month, were expected to carry over into the new year after the high court sitting at the Palmridge Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng set it down for between March 27 and 31. This because the defence has not been able to secure a pre-sentencing psychosocial report from a clinical psychologist in time for these proceedings. Counsel for the accused told the court that the report would be made available on March 1, which was why he would like the case to resume later that month. “The sought-after psychosocial report may only be available…

South African retail bank Capitec has urged consumers to stay alert this festive season, warning of cybercriminals posing as bank officials to persuade victims to divulge sensitive information they can use to defraud them. The bank said that according to an Interpol report, 230 million cyber-threat detections had been recorded in the country from January 2020 and February 2021. In 2020, the country recorded a 100% increase in mobile banking application fraud and was estimated to have suffered 577 malware attacks an hour. The country was rated third-highest in the world for cybercrime, the report said. Earlier this year, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre’s Annual Crime Statistics revealed an increase in calls from fraudsters impersonating bank officials, in an infamous type of fraud referred to as vishing (or…

KAIZER Chiefs will want to send their Durban-based fans an early present for the New Year after the venue of their match against Golden Arrows was changed. With the PSL having suspended the Premiership due to the World Cup, the domestic season will resume during the weekend of the New Year. Chiefs were originally scheduled to face Arrows away at the Princess Magogo Stadium on December 31. But the PSL website has since changed the venue of that match, showing that it will be played at Moses Mabhida Stadium on the same day. Chiefs will be returning to the former World Cup venue for the third time in less than three months, after playing Chippa United and AmaZulu there in October. The results of both those matches went against them.…

Victor Gomes’ run at the World Cup is set to continue after he was appointed as the fourth official for today’s mouth-watering quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands. After an incredible year on the continent, Gomes led a team of Africans, including Zakhele Siwela, Souro Phatsoane and Salima Mukansanga, to Qatar. The quartet officiated two group-stage matches, France against Australia and Spain against Japan, where Gomes was assisted by Siwela and Phatsoane. In his last match, Spain and Japan, Gomes was the centre of attention after awarding the Japanese a controversial winning goal with VAR’s assistance. Many fans, especially pundits, argued whether the ball had crossed the line before Kouru Mitoma assisted Ao Tanaka’s goal. But it seems that the panel of referees in the World Cup agreed with Gomes’…

MOROCCO’S stunning World Cup last-16 win over 2010 world champions Spain has drawn sharp focus on the make-up of the Atlas Lions, with 14 players out of their 26-man squad foreign-born. When you watch the Moroccan players standing to attention tomorrow for the pre-match rendition of the national anthem, you will notice some are struggling with the lyrics. It is not a sign of protest rather some of the players are at sea with the Arabic words. Some of Morocco’s players were born in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. On reading about the diversity of the Moroccan team, and that more than 130 players at the World Cup are representing a country other than that of their birth, one hack at the World Cup was moved to…

SO now it turns out – at least according to David Warner’s manager – that the Australian cricket team were told to ‘doctor’ the ball in order to win Test matches. Warner’s manager James Erskine told an Australian radio station that his client had been vilified in the aftermath of the sandpaper saga at Newlands in 2018, but Warner was actually protecting Cricket Australia. “Two senior executives were in the changing room in Hobart and basically were berating the team for losing against South Africa (in 2016) and Warner said we’ve got to reverse-swing the ball. The only way we can reverse-swing the ball is by tampering with it,” Erskine told SEN radio.. “And they were told to do it.” The sandpaper drama which led to Warner, Steve Smith and…