Índex per 2023-05-19 a Star

STRONG business acumen and a passion for food were two of the main ingredients that spurred Karabo Mojapelo on that has seen her business, the All Black Group thrive. Mojapelo, affectionately known as the “Chef In Black”, is a visionary “foodpreneur”, who captivated taste buds with her innovative approach to the culinary world. Her company, The All Black Group caters for private gatherings such as weddings, parties and corporate events. Mojapelo told Business Report what drove her into the food business in the first place. She said: “From a very young age, I considered myself a nosy kid when it came to food. Mostly when there would be family gatherings or even just a dinner at home, I would be in the kitchen helping to chop onions or in any…

THE STAR yesterday intercepted a communication channel between controversial International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) Jerusalem faction leader Michael Sandlana and male church elders said to be militarised by Sandlana, who allegedly aim to launch a hostile takeover of the church’s headquarters in Zuurbekom, west of Johannesburg, also known as Silo. About 3pm yesterday, The Star received a voice note from a church elder in Sandlana’s camp indicating that an instruction had come “from above” that on May 19, the church’s men would descend on Zuurbekom and attempt to reclaim the “Holy Chair” today. In the voice note, the sender says: “He told us not to tell our wives where we are going. He said we were going to take back the church, and we should be ready for whatever happens.”…

Judgment was reserved by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, in the application for an urgent interdict by President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding his private prosecution by former president Jacob Zuma. The matter continued sitting yesterday, before a full bench of judges Selby Baqwa, Lebogang Modiba and Mohammed Ismail. It started on Wednesday. Ramaphosa is seeking urgent relief from the court after Zuma charged him with being an accessory after the fact. Zuma accused Ramaphosa of not acting on a complaint he lodged against State advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan last year, and therefore sought private prosecution against the president on charges of being an accessory after the fact, relating to crimes in that case. Ramaphosa maintained that Zuma had ulterior motives by issuing him with summons on the eve…

Cold Blooded Liar Karen Rose Loot (R240) Headline Publishers He lies about everything. Except for murder. Colton Driscoll is a compulsive liar. But there’s one thing his psychologist Sam Reeves fears he is telling the truth about: murder. Concerned his patient has committed an awful crime and that the life of another girl could be under threat, Sam calls in an anonymous tip to the San Diego Police Department. Detective Kit McKittrick works homicide in the hope that one day she will find out what happened to her foster sister, Wren. When a tip comes in from an anonymous caller, it leads her to the body of a girl whose murder has the hallmarks of a serial killer who has been at large for almost 20 years. Will detective Kit…

US Ambassador Reuben E Brigety accused South Africa of sending weapons to Russia having provided, according to media reports, no evidence to support his allegations except that he would “bet his life on the accuracy of the assertion”. Appointing guilty parties at their discretion and resorting to “megaphone diplomacy” have become typical characteristics of US foreign policy. In this context, the words of the US official cannot be perceived otherwise than as an attempt to sway the independent sovereign state’s foreign policy. This comes as no surprise, as the US seems to have lost its ability to interact with partners on an equal basis long ago. One’s friendship with the US is only possible under US rules. Friends and partners note with concern that a campaign to pressure South Africa,…

THREE robbers left a firearm behind when they fled after failing to carry out a robbery at Timbavati Trust in Acornhoek. Colonel Donald Mdhluli, spokesperson for the police in Mpumalanga, said the incident happened on Tuesday at around 10pm. “According to information, three suspects approached a certain woman at her house, then one of the suspects suddenly pointed a firearm at her,” Mdhluli said. “It is said that the woman somehow managed to grab the firearm from the suspect and throw it away. “The suspects then reportedly took to their heels when they realised that they were no longer armed, and they got away in a white sedan.” Further checks on the revolver left at the scene revealed that the gun had no serial numbers. “Police at Acornhoek were informed…

SOUTH African duo Afro Brotherz are scheduled to perform at the Extrema Outdoor Belgium 2023 next week. The event, one of the biggest of its kind in the world, takes place from May 26 to 28. The line-up includes the likes of Grammy Award winner Black Coffee, Armand van Helden and many other artists from all over the world. “We are excited abut this gig. It’s good experience for us to go out there and explore the world. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but it’s a good feeling and a good opportunity which we welcome with open arms,” Afro Brotherz said. Asked how the move came about, the Afro House/Tech producers, recording artists and DJs said: “Well that’s easy. Our contact details on how to get in touch with…

There must be something in the air, because Nyovest took to his socials to send a shout-out to his baby mama. When it comes to the rapper publicly airing his feelings for his partner, Thobeka Majozi, it rarely ever happens, that’s why this moment is so special. The Siyathandana hitmaker wrote on Instagram that Majozi had given him the “most perfect son in the world” and praised the way she was raising Khotso Izwe Simba Phoolo. “Oulady ya K man!! I don’t even have the words. You gave me the most perfect son in the world. I used to joke about how he’s gonna be exactly like me, but to actually see him growing into it is so scary. “You’re doing such a great job and raising the hell outa…

In a recent study of retirement savings in sub-Saharan Africa (other than the francophone countries), we established that the continent’s pension funds are diverse in architecture, coverage and performance. But they mostly lag behind in reforms compared to other regions. Pension savings are also low compared to other regions. Only 19.8% of people above statutory retirement age receive a pension in sub-Saharan Africa, and just 8.9% of the labour force is covered by pension schemes. This is much lower than the global average where 77.5% of people above statutory age and 53.7% of workers have pension coverage. Pension schemes in sub-Saharan African countries are characterised by low contributions due to low earnings, high informality, high financial illiteracy levels and lack of proper information about the benefits of adequate contributions for…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, who is facing corruption charges, said yesterday he would not join an investigation by the country’s anti-graft agency while he was out on bail. The National Accountability Bureau had earlier summoned Khan, who was arrested on the charges, which he denies, on May 9 and later set free on bail that was extended to May 31. Khan called the allegations against him “absolutely false”. He said he was applying for bail in a number of other legal cases and would not be available before his protective bail expired on May 22. Khan’s arrest triggered a wave of violence in the country. | Reuters…

TO borrow from Shakespeare, it must be a case of uneasy lies the head that wears the crown for Springbok warrior Duane Vermeulen as he feels the heat building from his chief competitor for the No 8 spot at the World Cup later this year, Jasper Wiese. Wiese, the incredibly humble Afrikaner from Upington, on Wednesday was named the best player in England by his fellow professionals in the English Premiership. The 27-year-old was on the shortlist for the same award last year and it was for that reason that Wiese was picked to play No 8 in eight of the Springboks’ 13 Test matches in 2022, while he played off the bench in another. The 36-year-old Vermeulen played in just four Tests in 2022, two of them off the…

African People’s Convention (APC) leader Themba Godi says he is disappointed by the testimony of Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan concerning corruption allegations at Eskom. On Wednesday, Gordhan appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), where he was quizzed on all matters related to Eskom. Godi, a former chairperson of Scopa, said he was appalled by the responses Gordhan gave to the panel. “As always, he took no responsibility for the mess Eskom is at. As always, he was blame shifting; he had no direct answers. He made general statements that did not show responsibility. He blames De Ruyter for defending him for three years. Like is always the case, he takes no responsibility, and he displayed arrogance, knowing that he is protected in the ANC,’’ Godi said.…

Truth to Power André de Ruyter Loot (R373) Penguin Random House When former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter took over the reins in January 2020, he quickly realised why it was considered the toughest job in South Africa. Aside from neglected equipment, ageing power stations and an eroded skills base, he discovered that Eskom was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale. Fake fuel oil deliveries at just one power station cost Eskom R100 million a month; knee pads retailing for R150 a pair were purchased for R80 000; equipment worth billions of rand that was supposedly housed in the company’s storerooms was missing. Faced with police inaction, he was compelled to plunge into a world that was foreign to him – a world of spies and safe houses, of…

I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday’s clash between Grey College (my alma mater) and Paarl Boys High. These youngsters played with unbridled enthusiasm, absolute dedication and, may I say it, flair. The spectator support, plus the boys from the two schools in full uniform, were amazing. There were more spectators than at any of the senior games, except perhaps for the Stormers. Two aspects, or lack thereof, caught my attention. The first was that there was no hugging, kissing and eight or more players jumping on the try scorer to get their jollies – a most annoying and dangerous aspect of the game. The try scorer can quite easily be seriously hurt. A quick pat on the bum or shoulder sufficed. Thank you, coaches! The second was the extremely irritating absence of…

When we joined the railway industry, we discovered that the railway personnel universally embraced the following values: cleanliness, regularity and punctuality, dignity, determination, diligence, self-motivation, dignity of labour and maturity. Railway organisational values were typically organised and codified into the philosophy of operations, which explained how the railways approached its work, how its internal affairs are managed, and how it related to its external environment, including customers or clients. It is notable that the railway values are gradually being eroded, thanks to generational perspectives. In 1924, a lad of 16, William Keet Thackeray, joined the railways as a labourer in Braamfontein. A year later, he became a cleaner at the running-sheds in Braamfontein. At the age of 27, he passed his driver’s examination. In 1950, he was promoted to driver…

A businesswoman has hauled her white business partner to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission, accusing him of “fronting” with her to benefit from the government policy. Nonhlanhla Motaung, 34, is accusing Dean Gavin Graham of keeping her as a front to benefit from the BEE status despite her being the major shareholder at KGB Assessors (Pty) Ltd. She further accuses Graham of having pressured her to sign agreement documents in the absence of her lawyers when they started the business in 2016and claims she has no knowledge of the business’s financial records. The two business partners founded KGB Assessors as a company after Motaung, while still owning Vintage Assessors, got Graham to help with the growing workload, according to her. After a couple of meetings Graham convinced Motaung…

SEVERAL dagga joints, cigarettes, knives and scissors were seized from pupils when Pretoria police, supported by members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Gauteng crime prevention wardens, went on an outreach tour in the CBD to educate pupils about social ills. During the tour, pupils were warned about the evils of using drugs, and they were also searched for intoxicating and dangerous substances. “The team managed to confiscate cigarettes, a number of dagga rolls, crickets (firecrackers), a knife, and scissors during the search,” said spokesperson for Pretoria Central SAPS, Constable Thabang Nkhumise. The operation was also joined by members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) and members of the local community police forum. “The sole purpose was to conduct a search and to interact with…

Seeking psychological help does not mean you are weak. This is according to Amanzimtoti, Durban-based counselling psychologist and public speaker Tholinhlanhla Ngcoya. Ngcoya encouraged men to get help because some of the anger and pain they carry could lead to gender- based violence. She further encouraged people to seek mental health healing through professional settings, because depression and other diagnoses can lead to death/suicidal ideation. “We want to change the narrative and promote a mentally healthy generation, not forgetting our indigenous ways of healing that exist as well. I also urge our traditional healers to refer their patients to psychologists if they see that they need therapy while undergoing indigenous healing,” said Ngcoya. She was born and bred at Eshowe. She said she became a psychologist because she saw there…

THIS week, an international study, conducted in 2021, was published which showed that, on average, 81% of South Africa’s Grade 4 pupils were unable to understand what they read. The latest “Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study” makes for alarming reading and should keep South Africa’s education policymakers up at night, and questions need to be asked about how the government allocates spending. In South Africa, 12 426 Grade 4 pupils were assessed in one of the 11 official languages, while 9 317 Grade 6 pupils were assessed in either English or Afrikaans. This year’s national basic education budget is R22 billion, but despite all this spending, the study found that the average South African Grade 4 child was three years behind the average Brazilian child in the same…

THE SHARE price of Purple Group, the owner of the EasyEquities trading platform, fell nearly 13% yesterday after it announced that it had received JSE approval to proceed with a R150 million rights offer. The share traded at R1.05 around midday, after falling consistently from R2.42 that it traded at a year before on the same day. It closed 8.47% lower at R1.08 on the JSE yesterday. CEO Charles Savage said in a telephone interview that he was happy the planned rights offer – to raise R105m for Purple Group and R45m for EasyEquities – had been well received by shareholders, some of whom had chosen to partially underwrite the offer. “We made the offer at a good discount to the share price. We chose to give the benefits…

Who’s fooling who? This is the question as a power utility, Eskom, warns of implementing load shedding Stage 8, while ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula promises an end to blackouts. Speaking in an interview with a broadcaster, Mbalula said he was adamant that the government will end load shedding by the end of this year. This is a complete contrast to the warning by acting Eskom CEO Calib Cassim, who yesterday told the media that this winter, during peak hours, there was a high likelihood of Stage 8 load shedding. This week, EFF leaders warned of an imminent collapse of the country’s electricity grid for up to four days. ‘‘In the next two weeks, we have been warned there is going to be darkness. We are almost at a point of…

Life B Overcoming Double Depression Bethanne Patrick Loot (R649) Counterpoint While reading Bethanne Patrick’s memoir, Life B, I happened to receive an email message from a woman I don’t know. She contacted me because she had read some of what I’ve written about my lifelong challenges with clinical depression. She told me that she too had major depression disorder. Patrick’s story is a different kind of depression story. In this slim volume, Patrick, a book critic, author and host of the Missing Pages reveals her lifelong challenge with depression. It began, she writes, as a fog that descended in her early teens and has, in the many decades since, never abated. She describes her childhood as being “sad and maladjusted … alternately sleeping and weeping.” It is painful reading, full…

Alice in Borderland Haro Aso Loot (R324) Viz Media, Subs. Of Shogakukan, Inc An action-packed thriller where the only way to survive is to play the game! Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future weighs on him like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play. Arisu and his companions have managed to defeat the…

It is very interesting and intriguing how the government, the ANC and society at large are fixated on focusing on the individual rather than the country regarding this scandal of alleged arms supplied to Russia. For one, an ambassador is a representative of their country. It is thus inconceivable that one can believe that this American ambassador acted outside the strictures of his government. The gist of the matter is clear; he was directed by his government to produce these falsehoods. What is also laughable about this whole matter is that, contrary to all the noise about his apology, he has not genuinely done so. He has made it very clear that he is only “apologising” for having acted outside diplomatic practice, which means his and the view of…

A 32-year-old bride-to-be, who has a phobia of buttons (koumpouno- phobia), is so uncomfortable around them that she doesn’t want to see any buttons on her wedding day. “It’s been an absolute constant in my life, and has never diminished or wavered in all the time I’ve been alive,” she shares on Reddit’s Am I The A**hole group. She says some buttons are worse than others: “The worst is the lines of small, evenly spaced buttons, like on button- up shirts. Even looking at them makes me a little nauseous.” In her day-to-day life, she ensures there are no buttons on any of her clothing in her wardrobe but it also bothers her when other people wear them. She accepts that there’s nothing she can do about what other…

HEALTH authorities in Gauteng will have to pay the mother of a toddler damages after the child suffered burn wounds. The child was locked up by a nurse in a hospital room after her mother left her side for a few hours to go home. The child, identified only as L, suffered wounds from a wall heater after she, in a traumatised state, ran to the window to try to look for her mother. The mother turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, where she claimed damages from the MEC for Health in Gauteng. It is not at this stage known how much she claimed, as this will be dealt with in the second leg of the hearing. The mother argued that the negligence of the nursing and medical staff…

THE killer of a Johannesburg doctor and her domestic worker was yesterday sentenced to two life terms, after the doctor was strangled to death and her domestic worker burnt to death. The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg sentenced Wilson Rilamfhu 36, followng the deaths of Dr Memory Mathe and her domestic worker Pretty Moyo, in August 2019. The pair were murdered in Mathe’s home at Zakariya Park (south of Johannesburg) home. Rilamfhu was further sentenced to five years imprisonment for arson and another 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. He was charged together with Ronnie Kgobane, 31, who was acquitted on all charges, Phindi Mjonondwane, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson said. Rilamfhu was hired in August 2019 by the Mathe family to do repairs on their leaking roof, as he…

As Africa draws closer to celebrating Africa Day on May 25, Google has unveiled a range of activities that will be showcased. This is to celebrate Africa’s diverse cultural heritage and provide opportunities for people all over the world to experience and engage with the creativity and richness of Africa. In an event that marks the founding of the AU and celebrates the continent’s quest for unity, Google is listing programmes and activities to celebrate Africa’s diverse cultural heritage and provide opportunities for people all over the world to experience and engage with the creativity and richness of Africa. In previous years, YouTube Music has held the Africa Day Concert, showcasing present and next-generation African music talents. This year, YouTube Music will unveil an Africa Day playlist featuring popular and…

ONCE more, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi has been fingered as one of two men who entered the Vosloorus home of Kelly Khumalo and murdered Senzo Meyiwa in 2014. Through tears and sobs, witness Zandile Khumalo resumed her testimony in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, about what happened the night the Orlando Pirates soccer star was shot and killed on October 26, 2014. She told the court that as the house occupants were listening to a joke her sister was telling them, two men suddenly entered their family home. At this point, Khumalo got emotional and started heaving and crying while pointing to where the five accused currently on trial for the murder of Meyiwa were sitting. After composing herself, she pointed at Ntanzi as the second intruder who came into the…

After acting mayor of Joburg Kenny Kunene led raids on illegal building in the Johannesburg CBD in areas like Hillbrow, many asked whether Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens (Amapanyaza) would be deployed there. The office of the premier said that they did not deal with deployment but rather with policing issues. Spokesperson for Premier Panyaza Lesufi, Vuyo Mhaga, said that the deployment of law enforcement agencies was something that was done by the SAPS in the province, specifically under Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela. “They are the ones running operations, so they will know where the demand is needed,” he said. “If you use a scientific approach, which is more likely to be your crime stats, you are able to say that according to this science, the pressure is…

Tens of thousands of Israeli nationalists marched to Jerusalem’s Old City yesterday in an annual flag-waving march commemorating Israel’s capture of it, as tensions on the Gaza border run high. Palestinians in annexed east Jerusalem closed their shops and are banned from the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City, a social hub, to make way for the marchers, some of whom attacked journalists with rocks and bottles. In Gaza, thousands gathered on the border, many of them holding Palestinian flags, with the Israeli army firing tear gas towards people approaching the fence. A Palestinian security source in Gaza said the terroritory’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, fired a “warning rocket” into the sea, without elaborating. Ahead of the Israeli march, the militant group said it “condemns the campaign of the Zionist…

BOTH Marumo Gallants and Chippa United have to avoid defeat this weekend if they are to have any chance of saving their Premiership lives. The curtain will fall on the elite league tomorrow, while relegation is still a huge possibility for three teams: Gallants, Chippa and Maritzburg United. The latter, though, bought themselves some breathing space during the week after holding champions Mamelodi Sundowns to a 1-1 draw as they bagged an invaluable point. The Team of Choice’s draw in Tshwane means that they reached the 30-point mark as they climbed up to 14th in the league standings, one point ahead of Gallants and Chippa. But with both Gallants and Chippa having a better goal difference and a game to play, they still have their fate in their own hands…

THE Lions and Blue Bulls see their Currie Cup encounter tomorrow as a do-or-die clash that can see them qualify for the semi-finals or it can be the end of the road for their title ambitions. That’s why both teams will look no further than their scheduled Jukskei derby at Ellis Park in a bid to stay alive in the competition. Both teams are back to full strength after their respective United Rugby Championship campaigns ended, and both sides come off good wins in the Currie Cup after their senior players gradually integrated back into their respective teams. The Lions beat a strong Free State Cheetahs 33-26, in Bloemfontein, while the Bulls overpowered Griquas in Kimberley 40-20 to get their campaign back on track. The incentive is big for the…