Tabla de contenidos para 2021-08-10 en Star

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za THE rolling blackouts implemented by Eskom last year have been recorded as the worst to hit the country since 2015, according to a CSIR report released this week. While the report captured power sector statistics for the first half of 2021, it also drew comparisons with load shedding previously experienced by South Africans. According to the report, the country experienced power cuts for 650 hours in the first half of 2021, from January to June. During that period 963 Gigawatt of estimated energy was shed, mostly during stage 2 load shedding. The report noted that the amount of power shed in the first half was 76% of the total load shedding experienced during 2020, when 859 hours of outages and 1 798 Gigawatt of energy were shed.…

SEVEN years after she was accused of stealing a mini-hair straightener and Calmettes at Clicks, a Cape woman’s theft conviction has been set aside. On January 27, 2014, Clicks guards found the goods worth R224 in her bag. But recently, she alleged the Diep River SAPS only gave her an option to pay a fine or remain in custody. She said she suffered from depression and her medication had made her feel “spaced out”. Acting Judge Daniel Thulare also ruled her R300 admission of guilt fine be refunded. | Francesca Villette…

Wakaba Karen | Kenya IT;S shocking that Kenya has received a $2.34 billion (about 35.2bn) loan and plans to get more. The Kenyan government probably wants the IMF loan to keep the balance of payments in check and meet its financial obligations. However, this high borrowing level pushes the government into high debt traps whose effect trickles down its citizens. The results are now straightforward, such as increased taxation, with the government issuing a mandatory increase of 20% income tax to service the loans. The IMF loan comes with its own conditions. Such conditions include excise duty on services and the agricultural sector, meaning everything in these sectors will be taxed. Also, another condition is less expenditure in development programmes of public sectors, meaning the government will have…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za SOUTH African women have nothing to celebrate on Women’s Day, said a non-profit organisation which hosted a virtual protest yesterday. “We, the women of South Africa, have nothing to celebrate. We have nothing to celebrate when our sisters are daily maimed and butchered by South African men,” said the Embrace Project in regard to Women’s Day. Yesterday, the country celebrated the 65th anniversary of the greatest women’s mobilisation in South Africa. The 1956 march to Union Buildings in Pretoria saw more than 20 000 women from different racial and economic groups demanding the end of apartheid pass laws that targeted women. The Embrace Project, which combines art and advocacy to raise awareness and funds that support organisations combating gender-based violence (GBV), held a virtual protest called #NoCauseForCelebration,…

SOUTH Africa is a signatory to the International Labour Organisation that set out the conventions for minimum age and other forms of child labour. A current survey reveals that the official unemployment rate is 32.6% and youth (15-34) unemployment rate is sitting at 46.3% in Quarter 1, 2021. In this article, I want to challenge South Africa’s most ignored elephant in the room, i.e. generational discontent. Young South Africans feel despondent and out of place in their country of birth. This disgruntlement could be attributed to several factors – inflexible government policies, labour legislations, and corporate rigidity. The country has a very high rate of youth unemployment, youth out of school and youth in contingent jobs. All these are not good signs for a country purported to be prosperous. These…

FUTURE generations will probably not wax lyrical or reminisce fondly when they rank the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour. It certainly won’t be remembered as one of the great series when compared with the 2009, 1997, 1974, 1968 and 1962 iterations. The coronavirus pandemic robbed us of the most, including the travelling Barmy Army, and the heaving mass of feverish supporters within all the stadiums that made the experience a tad hollow in many respects. The rugby was arguably not at the highest possible standard that such a tour demands, and there was a lot of banter, niggle and ugliness on the sidelines that distracted from the overall spectacle. Nonetheless, in spite of all these hindrances, it remains a remarkable achievement that the tour took place, that the Lions…

Moscow: One of Russia’s most famous human rights defenders and former Soviet dissident, Sergei Kovalev, has died “in his sleep” at age 91, his son Ivan has announced. Kovalev was a biologist who became one of the leading members of the USSR’s pro-democracy movement. He was held in Soviet labour camps for his activism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he became a fierce critic of Moscow’s war in Chechnya and warned against democratic backsliding when President Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000.…

PARIS: Catholic priest Olivier Maire, 60, was killed in Mortagne-sur-Sèvre in western France, authorities said. The suspect, a Rwandan refugee named Emmanuel Abayisenga, the same man previously charged with setting the Nantes Cathedral on fire, turned himself in to police and confessed yesterday, Valeurs Actuelles reported. Interior Minister Darmanin pledged his full support to grieving Catholics. In 2020, Abayisenga was detained for arson and was under judicial supervision. French authorities said he was refused asylum in 2019 and was supposed to leave the country, but he remained in France. At the time, he confessed that the decision to torch the cathedral was revenge for the rejection of his asylum application. |…

Mike Greenaway Comment IT is with good reason that the 2021 visit of the British & Irish Lions was labelled the “tour like no other”. The six-week, eight-match tour bordered on the bizarre from start to finish, from the moment the tourists landed in Johannesburg to find themselves in the epicentre of the Covid-19 third wave, to the Hollywood-scripted end which had Morne Steyn reprising his heroics of 2009. The Lions were way too strong for the weakened South African franchises, scoring 210 points in four matches, which included two outings against the Sharks because the Bulls game had to be called off because of a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp. The Lions were relieved to get out of Johannesburg, especially when on the day they flew to Cape Town,…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE DEPARTMENT of Basic Education (DBE) has said it is making strides to get rid of pit toilets, despite the Limpopo court battle aimed at getting rid of pit toilets in all Limpopo schools. On Friday, judgment was reserved in the high court battle of education advocacy group Section 27 and Equal Education to force the DBE to eradicate pit toilets in all Limpopo schools. The case is the continuation of a case heard in the Limpopo division of the high court in 2018 in which it ordered the Limpopo Department of Education and DBE to develop a plan to eradicate pit toilets at Limpopo schools. The DBE said on Thursday that it has made “great strides” in efforts to replace pit toilets through the Sanitation Appropriate…

Thami Zwane | Edenvale GOOD brotherly relations between nations are reciprocal. They provide some help and advantage to each other. Our country’s political, social and business dealings with China, Cuba, Africa and Pakistan, among others are baffling. Do we command any virility? SAMA recently stated that student doctors in Cuba who completed their studies are starving and needed help to come back home. Such bad treatment has been heard of before. Kgothatso Mdunana, a civil engineering student, mysteriously died in a flat in China. Generous South Africans donated over R500k to fly her body home. Bafana Bafana and PSL clubs are inhospitably welcomed on the continent. When African national teams and clubs visit SA, they are offered first-class accommodation and training fields. Former Bafana Bafana Mark Fish’s bloody…

The country yesterday paid tribute to the 1956 women who marched to the Union Buildings in protest against the pass laws. The day is another reminder of a 65-year journey the country has travelled towards the emancipation of women. The 2021 commemoration was held under the theme: “The year of Charlotte Manye Maxeke: Realising Women’s Rights”. Maxeke, like all women of her generation and beyond, championed the freedom and empowerment of women. It is encouraging that over the years, particularly post 1994, strides have been made to better the lives of women. However, the struggle for women emancipation continues even today. As we reflected on a journey our country has travelled, one is reminded of a 2005 advert that was commissioned by the then Department of Housing, showcasing the achievements…

Bamako: Suspected jihadists massacred 51 civilians in northern Mali and killed 12 troops in an ambush in neighbouring Burkina Faso, the authorities said yesterday, highlighting the security crisis gripping the two fragile states. “Terrorists” on Sunday invaded the villages of Karou, Ouatagouna and Daoutegeft near Mali’s border with Niger, a military officer said, using a term officials use to designate jihadists. “(They) massacred everyone,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A document by the local prefecture, seen by AFP, said 51 people had been killed in the co-ordinated attacks, homes had been looted and cattle stolen. A local official, who also asked not to be identified for security reasons, said “20 civilians were massacred in Karou. Fourteen civilians were killed in Ouatagouna, and other civilians were killed in…

TWO separate brawls over scarce fuel in Lebanon have left three people dead, state media and security sources said, as shortages spark a wave of confrontations at petrol stations. Lebanon, grappling with an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet’s worst since the mid-19th century, has been gripped by a fuel crisis since the start of the norhern summer. This has generated hours-long queues at petrol stations, where shouting matches, fist fights and even live fire have often required security forces to intervene. Yesterday, a man was shot at a petrol station in the northern village of Bakhoun, following a fight that broke out when a motorist tried to jump a long queue, according to a security source. The man later died of his wounds…

Rome: Fake versions of anti-Covid “green passes” have begun to circulate in Italy just days after they were introduced, police said yesterday, adding they had broken up a network selling false evidence of vaccination, recovery or testing. Police said they had identified four suspects, including two minors, in an investigation. “Thousands of users were registered on well-known communication platforms where fake green passes were for sale, with a guarantee of anonymity, paid for in cryptocurrency or online shopping platforms vouchers, at between €150 (R2 586) and €500 (R8 621).” The green pass – the EU’s digital Covid-19 certification – has become compulsory in Italy to gain entry into cinemas, museums, indoor sports venues, or indoor dining at restaurants.…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Media personality Somizi Mhlongo has confirmed he and his estranged husband, Mohale Motaung, are divorcing. On Friday morning, Mhlongo addressed allegations that he physically abused Motaung and said he wanted to finalise his divorce fairly. Motaung and Mhlongo made headlines this week after it was reported that Motaung had accused the Idols SA judge of abuse in an interview he did with producers of the reality show, Living the Dream with Somizi. Motaung told producers Mhlongo tried to kill him with a kitchen knife and struck him off the road with his car while he tried to flee. The couple had been arguing about Motaung’s alleged cheating. Confirming there was trouble in paradise, Mhlongo’s management said he was aware of the allegations of abuse against him…

SONRI NAIDOO TRIBUTES continued to pour in last night following the deaths of popular amapiano artists Mpura and Killer Kau in a car accident. According to reports, the two were involved in a fatal car crash on their way to a gig in Rustenburg. Initial reports incorrectly claimed that musician Kabza De Small had also died, but the musician took to social media to clarify that he was alive. Reports received by The Star were that five people were in the car and it is believed that all five died. Details about how the accident occurred are still sketchy. Amapiano muso Mr JazziQ, Uncle Vinny and Lady Du expressed their sadness at the death of Kau on Twitter. “I will never be the same again. God, what did we do,…

Tapiwa Muskwe | United Kingdom I AM worried that the Zimbabwean government and its agents of persecution are continuously inflicting untold pain upon Makomborero Haruzivishe for his activism. Haruzivishe is a freedom fighter. He is a human rights defender. A prisoner of conscience. He is a political prisoner. A social justice warrior, a speaker of the truth. A revolutionary intellectual. He is a former secretary-general of Zimbabwe National Student Union. He is currently detained for criticising the corruption and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The current climate of fear in Zimbabwe is fast intensifying as we move close to 2023, when Zimbabwe will have harmonised elections. We do not want to see again Zimbabweans in their multitudes crossing Limpopo River infested with ferocious crocodiles in their attempt to…

THERE was excited anticipation about the imminent Cabinet reshuffle. When it happened, The Star summed it up: “Ramaphosa recycles rot”. While that may have been unkind, it summed up the feeling the president missed a golden opportunity to make a real difference. The paucity of talent in the ANC and the faction fights that rage limited the scope of what he could do. He should have shown some courage and included a few non-ANC people. South Africa needs a government of national unity (GNU) to resolve the multiple crises and problems instead of kicking the can down the road because ANC policies prevent the necessary root and branch reforms. While some of the appointments are disappointing, the greater problem is the retention of non-performers in their current posts or recycling…

Brian Levy President Cyril Ramaphosa has linked his Cabinet reshuffle to a larger purpose. As he put it: “We are unwavering in our determination to build a capable state, ably led and which effectively serves the needs of the people.” Realising this vision will take a transformation in the way South Africans conceive of how to achieve public purposes – one that prioritises people and problem-solving over a preoccupation with plans and systems. South Africans of many ideological hues have an image of the public sector as a well-oiled, top-down machine – always effective in delivering on clear goals set by planners and political leaders. “Get the plans right.” “Co-ordinate effectively.” “Fix the systems.” These have become the mantras of reform. But still pursuing these dicta won’t get SA…

Sea levels could rise by as much as two metres by the end of the 21st century, according to a report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The stark warning in the 42-page Summary for Policymakers says only big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions could stop the rising temperatures. ​A 2m rise in sea levels would drown much of the eastern seaboard of the US, most of eastern England, the entire Netherlands, Denmark, most of Belgium, large chunks of northern Germany and western France and vast tracts of southern Russia, eastern China and heavily populated parts of India. The EU’s vice-president in charge of climate action, Frans Timmermans, said there was is still time to prevent “runaway climate change” but only if the brakes were slammed on hard.…

Seoul: The jailed de facto leader of the giant Samsung group will be released early on parole this week, South Korea’s justice ministry said yesterday, easing concerns over a possible leadership vacuum at the conglomerate. Lee Jae-yong – the 188th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $12.4 billion (roughly R181.7bn) – is currently serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with the corruption scandal that brought down ex-South Korean president Park Geun-hye. But calls for his early release from both politicians and business leaders have grown in recent months over concerns about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the South Korean economy…

London: Fugitive Indian jeweller Nirav Modi can appeal his extradition to his homeland, where he is accused of defrauding one of the country’s largest banks of $1.8 billion (roughly R26.3bn), the High Court in London ruled yesterday. Judge Martin Chamberlain said Modi would be allowed to appeal against the initial court decision on mental health grounds and his right not to face inhuman treatment. Modi, dubbed a jeweller to the stars thanks to celebrity customers in Hollywood and India’s Hindi-language movie industry Bollywood, lost his legal bid to avoid extradition from the UK in February. He fled India in February 2018 after being accused of having played a central role in defrauding Punjab National Bank, one of India’s largest state-backed lenders, of $1.8 billion.…