Índex per 2023-01-11 a Star

Manufacturing output in South Africa is expected to continue struggling as the impact of the Transnet strike and intense power cuts of up to Stage 6 continued to weigh on the sector, after activity fell to a five-month low in November. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday showed that manufacturing production fell by 1.1% from a year earlier in November, less than expected compared with market forecasts of a 3.5% decline. This downwards print in November followed a 1% increase in the preceding month of October, and was the first monthly decline in the country’s factory activity after four consecutive months of increases since July. This was a turn for the worse for the manufacturing industry which was a significant positive contributor to the 1.6% growth in gross…

JZ takes first jab at Ramaphosa as the pair ready for their bruising court rumble FORMER head of state Jacob Zuma has called out incumbent president Cyril Ramaphosa, questioning whether he is getting “special treatment” by virtue of being president after a decision by the justice system to hear Ramaphosa’s case before a full Bench. The pair are at loggerheads after Zuma instituted private prosecution against the president involving Advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan as “accessory after the fact”, following the two allegedly leaking Zuma’s confidential medical information during his arms deal trial. However, Ramaphosa is seeking to block this private prosecution, which is set to be heard before a full Bench at 10am tomorrow. Presiding over the matter will be Gauteng Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland,…

In a similar vein to the SA National Defence Force’s strictness against the unauthorised use of its uniform, the SAPS has warned members of the public against the unauthorised and illegal use of police property. This applies to uniforms, equipment, emblems and any unauthorised use of police property and uniforms, which, according to the police, is in contravention of the SAPS Act. According to police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the warning comes after the police noted a video clip circulating on social media platforms which depicted a civilian in a marked police vehicle wearing a SAPS cap. Mathe said as per the video, the civilian had committed at least three offences in terms of the SAPS Act, namely section 66(1), 68(1) and 68(3), in that he wore the emblems…

Miss SA 2022, Ndavi Nokeri, has been revealed as one of the front-runners at this year’s 71st edition of the Miss Universe pageant, according to polls on social media. The coronation night takes place on Sunday at the New Orleans Morial Convention Centre in Louisiana, where Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of the event. South Africa is one of the leading pageant countries in the world and has had a remarkable track record at the Miss Universe pageant in the past five years. Nokeri, who arrived in New Orleans last week after spending an exciting few days in New York, said: “It has been wonderful meeting my fellow contestants face-to-face and getting to know them. My preparations are on track, and I’m working hard.…

Prince Harry “struggled to speak” of the death of Princess Diana for years. The Duke of Sussex, 38, is the son of the now-King Charles and his late former wife Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 aged 36, and couldn’t process the tragedy for several years but “feels her presence” more than ever. He said: “My hope has been to turn my pain into purpose, so if sharing my experience makes a positive difference in someone’s life, well, I can’t think of anything more rewarding than that! I struggled for years to accept or even speak about my mother’s death. I was unable to process that she was gone. “I’m not sure anyone can ever truly have closure when they lose a parent, or anyone for…

ANC politicians are at it again, making all sorts of claims and threats of how they are going to hold their colleagues accountable if they do not perform. This was exhibited by the party’s new secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, and President Cyril Ramaphosa in Bloemfontein recently, with the latter saying they were going to “crack the whip”. But politicians are too close to their comrades so it’s difficult to bring them under any kind of control. In the past, we’ve been told by the government of a so-called monitoring and evaluation unit within the Presidency and the signing of performance agreements by ministers but not a single minister has ever been fired for incompetence – notwithstanding all the shambles we see around us. Take as one example; the relationship between Ramaphosa…

The incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, by Israel’s far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with the protection of the Israeli regime forces, needs to be strongly condemned. This provocation has enraged Muslims’ feelings. It is a glaring violation and abuse of applicable international declarations. The stage-managed invasion undermines the historic and legal status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims, after Makkah and Medina in Arabia. This invasion is part of the efforts by the Israeli regime, the occupying forces, to subjugate and seize the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Such aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque can inflame tensions which can escalate to increased violence between the Israelis and Palestinians – the indigenous people of the Holy Land in Palestine. Over the past few years, with impunity and under the guise…

The people of the Free State and the people of the rest of South Africa all have one thing in common – they are suffering under a governing party that has not prioritised them. Service delivery across the country has stalled. Jobs are hard to come by. Load shedding has stolen the joy from everyone, individuals and businesses, while crime has become a permanent blot on the country’s stability. All of this is because of an uncaring ruling elite. Generally speaking, our leaders are leading themselves instead of leading the citizens of this country. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who is positive and optimistic about the future of this country. From education to health and infrastructure, nothing seems to be working. All the SOEs are in a state…

Paris: The French government planned to announce its proposals for overhauling the pension system yesterday, in a potentially explosive reform fraught with danger for President Emmanuel Macron. With his repeated belief that the French “need to work more”, Macron has doggedly insisted since his rise to power in 2017 that the pension system must be streamlined. But having called off his first attempt in 2020 in the face of protests and the Covid-19 pandemic, the 45-year-old centrist put the issue at the heart of his successful campaign for a second term in April last year. As well as simplifying the system and removing privileges enjoyed by workers in some sectors of the economy, the reform will aim to raise the retirement age from its current level of 62 – most…

Iran’s judiciary has ordered police to “firmly punish” people who violate the country’s hijab law, a news agency reported yesterday, after nearly four months of deadly protests against the measures. Demonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, an ethnic Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to the law. Since the outbreak of the protests, the morality police unit charged with enforcing the hijab rules has been less visible and women have taken to the streets without mandatory headscarves. But authorities signalled less tolerance since the start of the year, with police warning that women must wear headscarves even in cars. Yesterday, Mehr news agency reported that the prosecutor general had issued a directive in which “police were…

Financial services authority mulls R15m penalty imposed on the former chief executive The Financial Services Tribunal (FST) yesterday dismissed an application from former Steinhoff International Holdings CEO Markus Jooste to suspend public censures imposed on him by the JSE, and the JSE’s prohibition of him becoming a director of a listed company for 20 years. However, the JSE said in an update yesterday that Jooste’s application to suspend the R15 million in fines imposed on him by the JSE was still being considered by the FST. Jooste is alleged to have master- minded the accounting frauds that led to South Africa’s biggest corporate collapse of some R200 billion in market capitalisation alone in 2017. He has contested the censures and fines imposed on him by the JSE. “The…

THE EFF has accused the ANC caucus in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West of using “underhanded tactics” in the appointment of a municipal manager, which resulted in a newly elected mayor resigning within hours. Patriotic Alliance (PA) councillor Elizabeth Lethoko was elected at the Ngaka Modiri District Council chambers in Mahikeng on Monday but tendered her resignation to council Speaker Fikile Jakeni before she went to sleep. EFF members had earlier protested against the former administrator Radinaledi Mosiane being present in the council meeting, saying his tenure had lapsed in December last year. This followed a period in which the municipality was placed under administration. The municipal council was dissolved last year, which resulted in by-elections, where the ANC lost its majority. The result was the formation…

Three new senior counsel (SC) have been appointed as part of the independent judicial body – the Competition Tribunal – for a six-month period. The newly appointed silks include Geoff Budlender, Jerome Wilson and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, who are joining the tribunal from January to April. The tribunal said on Monday: “Tribunal members adjudicate matters before the tribunal and write judgments, akin to a judge in a high court. “Each tribunal panel comprises three members who are either economists or lawyers with varied industry, academic and professional experience.” Tribunal chairperson Mondo Mazwai said: “We are delighted to welcome three highly accomplished, respected and eminent lawyers in South Africa. “They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will enhance our capacity as demand for our services continues to grow, and as…

SIMPLY because the mother has had a child with the father does not mean that her entitlement to a life of her own must be discounted and ignored, while he can continue as he chooses and directs, a judge said. This was in allowing the mother of a 2-year-old to relocate to another province with her daughter. The mother turned to the High Court sitting in Pietermaritzburg, as the father of the child refused her permission to relocate the child. The parties were never married and the child was born from their romantic relationship. They broke up when the child was 14 months old and had a parenting plan in place, which, among others, stated neither party shall be allowed to relocate outside the borders of KwaZulu-Natal and/or South Africa,…

THE deadline for the government to disclose the true reasons behind the Covid-19 lockdown regulations was not honoured – a move which could see Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma back in court to explain why she should not be held in contempt. This is according to public interest body Sakeliga, which said the minister was in contempt of a court order instructing her to submit records concerning her 2020 state of disaster decisions. Sakeliga has now started a process to have the minister declared guilty of contempt of court. In terms of an order obtained by Sakeliga in November, Dlamini Zuma had until December 22 to submit to it a variety of records she had relied on when declaring the national state of disaster…

THE opinions of “experts” on how to react to the first reported case of a new Covid variant (The Star, January 9) should be regarded with disdain. The so-called experts were responsible for following the dictates of Big Pharma to negate science in plunging South Africa into lockdowns, masks and vaccines when science decreed that the effects of those measures were worse than Covid itself. They ignored the voices of scientific integrity exemplified by the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration – Dr Martin Kulldorff of Harvard, Dr Sunetra Gupta of Oxford and Dr Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford, along with 60 000 scientists and medical doctors – who debunked the Big Pharma/globalist narrative. The opinion of one of the “experts”, Professor Nigel Garrett, is particularly relevant as he and…

President Cyril Ramaphosa is seeking an urgent application at the high court for an interdict to stop former president Jacob Zuma, the National Prosecuting Authority and the court concerned from giving effect to the private prosecution certificate issued on November 21 last year. Ramaphosa also asks the court to declare the certificate and summons issued unlawful, unconstitutional and to be set aside. The quality of his legal team is reflected in how they ask the court to order Zuma or his legal representatives to pay the application on an attorney and own client scale. If Ramaphosa’s lawyers are successful, they have to be reimbursed for bringing the application in terms of an agreement or mandate by Zuma or his lawyers. It is when the lawyers prepare their opponent for the…

Undoubtedly, the year 2023 will be the most interesting one. While we do not have the date of the next general election, we are all aware that the elections will be held in 2024 to elect political parties that will represent the aspirations of South Africans in the national parliament and provincial legislatures. Political parties are already gearing themselves up for campaign programmes as next year marks the end of the electoral mandate. As we count down to the general elections, it is important to reflect on the journey of building a stronger KwaZulu-Natal over the years. KZN was a different province that was once ravaged by violence and smitten with hostility and bitterness, especially between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Many people will…

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has not requested Italian citizenship and probably would not get it even if he applied, Italy said yesterday after hundreds of his backers were arrested for storming Brazil’s state institutions. Brazil’s new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist who took office on January 1 after defeating far-right rival Bolsonaro in an October election, has vowed to bring those responsible for the weekend violence in Brasilia to justice. Bolsonaro flew to the US at the end of last year, 48 hours before his term ended. He is under investigation in at least four criminal probes back home and Brazilian media have reported that he was seeking Italian citizenship. But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani denied this. “He hasn’t asked for it and I don’t…

Wellington: A state of emergency has been declared in northeastern New Zealand as it braces for Cyclone Hale, civil defence authorities in the district of Tairawhiti said yesterday. The measure will expire in seven days unless lifted earlier, the Civil Defence Emergency Management said in a statement. It also advised the public to stay off roads, as surface flooding is expected in many areas across the region. In the Matawai settlement in Gisborne, nearly 400 residents were without power overnight, the agency said and recommended the residents at Hikuwai River’s Willowflat area evacuate due to its rising flow. |…

The Vatican announced yesterday that it was opening an inquiry into the disappearance of a teenager 40 years ago, a case which has sparked countless theories and a hit TV series. Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, was last seen leaving a music class in Rome on June 22, 1983. Decades of speculation followed over what happened to her, ranging from mobsters to a Vatican conspiracy, and the case was the subject of hit Netflix series Vatican Girl in 2022. The Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, “has opened a file, based in part on the basis of requests made by the family”, a spokesperson said. However, it was not clear what specifically had triggered the inquiry, with the Orlandi family saying they were still waiting for details.…

South Africa’s first top-flight woman referee Akhona Makalima is set to represent the country at this year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup among a host of other African officials. The 34-year-old, who is no stranger to the biggest of stages, will be the only South African official at the global showpiece due to take place in Australia and New Zealand. Makalima, who officiated at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, has progressed in leaps and bounds since her top-flight debut in 2015, having officiated at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2019 African Games, and the CAF Champions League. The Eastern Cape-born official’s last major tournament was last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), where Banyana Banyana were eventual champions in Morocco. Makalima will join Vincentia…

The tourism and hospitality industry in South Africa has heaved a sigh of relief after the government decided to not impose any crippling restrictions on travel and gatherings, at least not yet, in spite of a highly-transmissible Covid-19 Omicron sub-variant detected in the country. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla yesterday said the government will not impose any internal restrictions as a result of the emergence of a newly found Covid-19 sub-variant. The XBB.1.5 sub-variant of the globally dominant Omicron variant was first detected in South Africa on December 27 by Stellenbosch University researchers and reported earlier this month. Phaahla said scientists were producing more genomes to determine if the new coronavirus variant was spreading. In the meantime, there would be no restrictions on travellers from affected countries, such as China…

from page 1 “It’ll be interesting to see how the full Bench will deal with a defective affidavit from none other than the head of state.” He welcomed that Ramaphosa had been advised to take the private prosecution matter seriously. “Notwithstanding that it is a welcome development that the advice for President Ramaphosa to ignore the summons has been exposed to be fundamentally flawed and ultra vires, but on the other hand given the laws we have been subjected to, one hopes that this is not another build-up of another shenanigan. “Why would such a frivolous case require a full Bench at the instance of the judiciary itself? Typically it’s one of the parties that normally would request for such. This is frivolous because the main case is set…

It is shameful and saddening that Zimbabwe is a mess, yet its mining sector is highly diversified, with close to 40 minerals. The predominant minerals include platinum group metals, chrome, gold, coal and diamonds. Only 22 minerals are mined in South Africa. It’s painful when we look at Zimbabweans living in South Africa without documents; four out of five of the almost million Zimbabweans officially outside the country live in South Africa. Botswana has the second highest number of emigrants with just above 40 000 because of limited economic opportunities, political instability, poor natural resource quality, and unfavourable socio-economic resource distribution. In South Africa, Zimbabweans face rampant poverty, unemployment, overcrowding, inequality, health problems and some are burnt alive. Zanu-PF president Emmerson Mnangagwa is ignoring the plight…

When it comes to teaching children about the world, parents might feel that some topics – like politics and religion – are too tough to broach. Money is another. However, money talk shouldn’t be avoided. Talking about it is the first stepping stone towards financial knowledge and, ultimately, to financial independence. Holding off the conversations for too long can leave your children in the lurch later in life. For instance, in South Africa, only 42% of adults are financially literate. In Ghana, the figure is 32% and in Nigeria 26%. This means a large number of adults in these countries do not know or understand financial concepts. This highlights the importance of starting the money talk conversation early to ensure individuals possess the knowledge, skills and confidence to successfully manage…

LONDON: Countries should consider recommending passengers wear masks on long-haul flights to counter the latest Omicron subvariant of Covid-19 given its rapid spread in the US, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said yesterday. In Europe, the XBB.1.5 subvariant is being detected in small but growing numbers, WHO/Europe officials said in a press briefing. Passengers should wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights, said WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, adding “this should be a recommendation issued to passengers arriving from anywhere where there is widespread Covid-19 transmission”. |…

LONDON: Britain’s financial watchdog has fined the UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank 7.6 million pounds (about R159m) for what it said were further failures in its anti-money laundering systems and controls. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it found “serious weaknesses” in systems aimed at preventing money laundering between October 2014 and July 2019. “During the relevant period, GT Bank failed to undertake adequate customer risk assessments, often not assessing or documenting the money laundering risks posed by its customers,” the FCA said. |…