Mercury -julkaisun 2023-03-29 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

THE ANC Provincial Executive Committee in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday lashed out at Chief Justice Raymond Zondo for “reckless utterances” made when he delivered the OR Tambo Memorial Lecture at the University of Fort Hare. In his address on Friday, Justice Zondo said the failure of the ANC national executive committee to recall former president Jacob Zuma earlier than it did had cost South Africa billions of rand which were taken out of the country. He also criticised some of the leaders in the ANC, saying they did not deserve to be associated with party stalwart OR Tambo as they had prioritised their own needs at the expense of citizens. ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo yesterday said Justice Zondo had disregarded the separation of powers principle between the executive, judicial and legislative…

One reads that the Justice Department is asking for more cash after suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s legal fees hit R24 million. On February 20, I wrote a letter, which you published, highlighting the absurd cost of R15 million that was forecast at the time. From February to the end of March, her legal costs have increased by some R9 million. That is a lot of money in a couple of months. This new forecast is, in all probability, due to the circus tactics employed by advocate Dali Mpofu. He seems good at telling everyone what the law is all about, as recently witnessed at his performance at the Zuma versus Downer/Maughan hearing. The man should audition for theatre. As mentioned at the time, this is taxpayers’ money that is…

Gabi Marais (The Mercury, March 27) correctly points out how selective the International Criminal Court (ICC) is in who it prosecutes and raises pertinent questions why that is so. The ICC, the World Health Organization and other UN-affiliated bodies are tools of the globalist new world order funded by the US government. That is why Bush, Obama and Hillary Clinton were never fingered by the ICC for their crimes in Iraq and Libya. It is also the reason that US President Joe Biden, who gave the order to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipeline, did so with impunity and immunity. The globalist Deep State wielders of power and their puppet Biden regime are seeking to start a war with Russia as a diversion from the truths to which they are…

South Africa’s poor policing system has been blamed for the spate of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) cases that have bedevilled the country in the past few years. The criticism follows the rape and murder of Sonia Madume Mokalapa, 18, daughter of EFF Gauteng regional leader Portia Mokalapa. Mokalapa is the third daughter of an EFF leader to be raped and killed in the past three years. Also in May 2022, Hillary Gardee, 28, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was abducted while out shopping with her 8-year-old daughter. She was missing for days before her body was discovered near a plantation near Mpumalanga’s capital city, Mbombela. Several men have been arrested in connection with her rape and murder. In 2022, Lindokuhle Makotshi, 14, the adopted daughter of…

The KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development department has established a Flood Relief Business Support Fund to assist businesses impacted by the floods of April/May 2022 and February 2023. This was said by Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma, in a media briefing yesterday. “This fund was established to assist with the reviving of business in order to accelerate social, economic, and spatial transformation in KZN.” He said priority for funding would be given to businesses based in the townships, rural areas and small towns impacted by the floods. The funding of up to R1.5 million per applicant will be administered by Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal. Applications are open until April 21, and business owners can view the guidelines for applications on the Trade & Investment KZN website. Duma said…

High levels of absenteeism and late-coming are hampering eThekwini Municipality’s productivity, mayor Mxolisi Kaunda told exco members yesterday. He was reacting to a report from the Audit Committee which once again red-flagged overtime within the water and electricity units as a concern. In the report presented to exco members by Audit Committee chairperson Siboniso Shabalala, the electricity unit was cited as one of the chief offenders with questions on the overtime claims that had been lodged by staff members. According to the committee chairperson, there were questions about whether overtime was genuinely deserved by staff, with calls for more efficient monitoring measures to ensure staff performed to their optimal level during working hours. According to the report, overtime costs recorded during the quarter ending on December 31 stood at R76…

Investigators in Nashville yesterday pored over a “manifesto” written by a 28-year-old former pupil at a Christian school who shot to death three children and three adults a day earlier at the institution, hoping to learn what motivated the latest US mass shooting. Police killed the perpetrator of Monday’s shooting, identified by authorities as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, when they stormed the Covenant School within minutes of gunfire erupting in the private church-based academy. “In Nashville, this is our worst day, but it could have been worse without this great response. We are very grateful for that,” Nashville mayor John Cooper said yesterday, noting the attack was “clearly planned” by the assailant, based on the manifesto authorities found. Authorities did not immediately offer a motive. Monday’s violence marked the 90th school…

A fire started by migrants protesting against their expected deportation killed at least 39 people at a Mexican immigration detention centre near the US border, authorities said yesterday. The blaze broke out shortly before midnight at the National Migration Institute (INM) facility in Ciudad Juarez, prompting the mobilisation of firefighters and dozens of ambulances. At least 39 immigrants were killed and 29 injured, said the INM, which said the centre housed 68 adult men from Central and South America. The migrants started the blaze during a demonstration after they found out they would be deported, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. Numerous migrants have been detained in the facility in recent days after local authorities rounded up street vendors, some of whom were foreigners, from the area. A heavy military…

BERLIN: Boris Becker says there is going to be “another chapter” in his life. The three-time Wimbledon champion, 55, who was released from prison in December after he was convicted for hiding £2.5 million in assets during his bankruptcy, said even though he was blaming himself for his lavish spending, he was never guided carefully enough when he first shot to fame and fortune. Becker tells, on his upcoming Apple+ documentary, Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker, out April 7: “I wasn’t fulfilled in my personal life, I wasn’t with the right … girlfriend.” He says through tear-filled eyes: “That’s not the end yet – there’s going to be another chapter.” Becker is said to be lining up book and TV deals. Twice-divorced, he is still married to second…

PARIS: French authorities yesterday searched the Paris offices of five banks, including Societé Générale, Paribas and HSBC, on suspicion of fiscal fraud, part of a broad European probe into the dodging of dividend tax payments. The French prosecutors’ actions are the latest to hit global banks over the dividend tax fraud scheme as similar investigations have been conducted in Germany and other European countries. The PNF financial prosecution office said the probe was linked to so-called “cum-ex” dividend stripping, a trading scheme whereby banks and investors swiftly trade shares of companies around their dividend payout day. | Reuters…

Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille officially launched Africa’s Travel Indaba yesterday at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban. The African leisure trade show, owned and managed by South African Tourism, aims to create market access for African leisure tourism products. The three-day conference will take place from May 9 to 11. The South African Tourism Department partnered with Tourism KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini Municipality for the launch of the 2023 edition of the indaba. The launch was also attended by the acting CEO of Tourism South Africa Themba Khumalo. De Lille said last year’s event drew more than 5 000 delegates to Durban and it contributed R102.6 million to the city’s GDP. She said: “Africa’s Travel Indaba plays a critical role in the advancement of…

“I HAVE never been close to my parents or to my in-laws. My parents accept this and know how to ‘dance’ with me. My parents accept me like I am. My in-laws are always trying to get closer to me and I think of it as suffocating. That’s how it feels to me. What can I do? This is causing some conflict in my marriage and my children. They are the kind of in-laws who want to be very involved with their grandchildren which of course means being quite involved with me as their mother.” There are several things you can do, the first thing to do is rejoice that you have in-laws who want to be involved with your children. This is a wonderful gift to you and to…

The recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling to dismiss with costs an appeal by United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK), the fourth-largest producer of manganese in South Africa, exposes another level of corruption within the ruling party. UMK is partly owned by Chancellor House, a funding front of the ANC. It seems that some ANC leaders and officials are looting funds meant to support their own party. This company (UMK) has paid out R2.4 billion in dividends in 2020, but only “sponsored” the ANC with R30 million. All the details of the company and its links with the ANC became known when UMK challenged the SA Revenue Service over a debt of R350 million. This begs the question as to why the ANC is always pleading poverty and…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that his country would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, as a result of Nato’s escalation in Ukraine. The continued escalation of the conflict by the nations involved has grimly set the scene for a blistering nuclear conflagration, that will most assuredly wipe out civilisation in the Northern Hemisphere and saturate the Southern Hemisphere with deadly radio active ash. In such a grim scenario, every aspect of human and animal life would be obliterated if we allowed unstable political and military leaders to guide our destiny. It is a brutal fact that the leaders of the nuclear powers remain blissfully ignorant, as they pursue political brinkmanship without realising the global consequences of their insane policies. Nuclear weapons are instruments capable of massive annihilation, can…

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has begun commemoration events to mark the 10th year since the death of the father of South African democracy, Nelson Mandela. The foundation held a panel discussion at its headquarters in Johannes- burg yesterday reflecting on the meaning of Madiba’s death 10 years on. Former president and ANC veteran Kgalema Motlanthe, and several academics and civil society leaders shared their views on the direction South Africa was taking. Motlanthe shared his vision of efficient public services which would remain strong and efficient even when the political heads of departments changed. He said this was necessary to measure the impact of service delivery. “At a government level, the president of the executive serves as the face of the state for one five-year term at a time. Governments…

The ANC has reiterated that it is still discussing the model of coalition governments as squabbles continue to cause ructions and instability at municipalities. ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said this was one of the issues raised by President Cyril Ramaphosa and senior officials during the party’s three-day lekgotla held in Gauteng. Majodina said Ramaphosa, his deputy Paul Mashatile and party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told members of the caucus that the issue of coalitions was high on the ANC’s agenda. Mbalula said that some weeks ago, the ANC had appointed its head of political education, David Makhura, to lead a task team on coalitions. There has been a significant increase in coalitions after the 2021 local government elections after a number of municipalities were without outright winners. According to Majodina,…

There is an argument that the end of apartheid ushered in a “new” era that marked the end of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa. However, this perspective is not only inaccurate, it is also misleading. The point that is often avoided concerns the so-called internal colonialism that shaped South Africa from its early days. Referring to this phenomenon as “colonialism of a special type”, authors like Marxian scholar Harold Wolpe and American sociologist Robert Blauner describe it as a capitalist practice of oppression and exploitation of racial and ethnic minorities within the borders of the state. Colonialism is widely understood to mean oppression and exploitation of others for massive capital gain. South Africa has its own version of home-grown colonialism meant to benefit the white community by exploiting the…

US Vice-President Kamala Harris called yesterday for more investments in innovation in Africa in a speech underlining her optimism for the continent where she is on tour. Her visit to Ghana and later this week to Tanzania and Zambia follows a December summit hosted by President Joe Biden in Washington with African leaders to balance the rising influence of China and Russia on the continent. After a stop at a music recording studio in Ghana’s capital, Harris addressed a crowd of young entrepreneurs and leaders gathered at the Black Star Gate landmark. “African ideas and innovations will shape the future of the world, and so we must invest in African ingenuity and creativity which will unlock incredible economic growth and opportunities,” she said. She underlined three areas of focus that…

The World Health Organization has tailored its Covid-19 vaccination recommendations for a new phase of the pandemic, suggesting that healthy children and adolescents may not necessarily need a shot but older, high-risk groups should get a booster between six to 12 months after their last vaccine. The UN agency said the aim was to focus efforts on vaccinating those facing the greatest threat of severe disease and death from Covid-19, considering the high-level population immunity worldwide due to widespread infection and vaccination. The agency defined high-risk populations as older adults, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. For this group, it recommends an additional shot of the vaccine either six or 12 months after the latest dose, based on age and immunocompromising conditions. The agency said that…

KIGALI: Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed as a hero in the film Hotel Rwanda about the 1994 genocide, has arrived in Doha, Qatar, after being released from prison in Rwanda last week, Rwanda’s government said yesterday Rusesabagina, a US permanent resident, was sentenced in September 2021 to 25 years over his ties to a group opposed to Rwandan President Paul Kagame that has an armed wing. He was released after his sentence was commuted following months of negotiations between Washington and Kigali. Washington’s ties with Rwanda have been strained by Rusesabagina’s detention and by US allegations, denied by Kigali, that Rwanda has sent troops into the DRC. | Reuters…

Ankara: Nearly 60 000 Syrian refugees in Türkiye have returned to their homeland after the February 6 earthquakes that killed more than 57 300 people in the two nations. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar refuted claims that there was an influx of refugees from Syria, stressing that the Turkish border was strictly protected against illegal crossings. Türkiye shelters over 3.6 million Syrians and is the world’s largest refugee-hosting country. Turkish authorities have begun to allow Syrian refugees residing in 11 quake-hit provinces to voluntarily return to northern Syria and then come back to Türkiye as long as they do not spend longer than six months away. | IANS…

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach yesterday defended plans to get Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competitions as neutrals, saying their participation “works” despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. The IOC sanctioned Russia and Belarus after the February 2022 invasion, but is now eager to see athletes come back across all sports and have a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It has set out a pathway for these competitors to earn Olympic slots through Asian qualifying and left it up to international federations to decide on organisation, but has faced headwinds, with Ukraine threatening to boycott the Paris Games should they compete there, even as neutrals. “Participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions works,” Bach said in his address at the start…

BUSINESS tycoon Zunaid Moti, the founder of the Moti Group, has stepped down from the business as its new CEO, the former director-general of the National Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, steers the company to greater growth. In a statement yesterday, the Moti Group said Mogajane, who was appointed as CEO in June last year, and Zunaid Moti’s son, executive chairperson Mikaeel Moti, would lead the firm as the group seeks to grow to become a major player on the African and international stage. The Moti Group is a multibillion-rand private family-owned investment group of companies, with wide interests in a wide range of industries such as property development, car financing, aviation, mining and bene- ficiation. The group is also a black-owned business, which employs more than 1 000 people across…

Amid rampant crime in the city, it has emerged that a significant number of CCTV cameras installed at prime spots within eThekwini Municipality are not operational. The lack of working cameras in some areas was revealed by audit committee chairperson Siboniso Shabalala who was presenting a quarterly report for the period ending December 31, 2022 to members of the Executive Committee (Exco) yesterday. “The maintenance of the cameras should be done as a matter of urgency,” said Shabalala. He told Exco members that not one of the 30 cameras that the committee had inspected, which formed a representative sample, was working. The issue of crime took centre stage at yesterday’s meeting, with calls for more responsive law-enforcement measures from the metro police. Last week at least 10 people were shot…

GAUDEAMUS igitur … a rabbit, an otter, a drummer and President Zelenskiy graduated at a Japanese university the other day. Kyoto City University of the Arts allows students to wear whatever they want when they graduate, according to the BBC. A student named only as Amiki started growing a beard last December and people told him that, as it grew, it made him look very much like the Ukrainian president. Hence, when the day came, he donned the iconic green long-sleeved top and matching trousers. We’re not told what prompted the rabbit and otter rigs. The drummer burst into a roll as he was handed his diploma, supported by other musicians in the crowd. Lively stuff. But one hopes it doesn’t catch on here. We don’t want crocodiles, warthogs and…

Remember The Great Escape, the 1960’s Blockbuster Hollywood movie with a star-studded cast, starring Steve McQueen on his motorcycle, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Richard Attenborough and James Coburn? The film classic was based loosely on a real-life drama of World War II when 76 Allied airmen made an audacious bid for freedom from a German prisoner-of-war camp. Sadly, there was no Hollywood-style ending for the prisoners of war. The Nazis launched a massive manhunt for the daring fugitives who tunnelled their way to freedom right under their noses from the maximum security Stalag Luft III prison near Berlin. They rounded up 73 of them and 50 were executed by the Gestapo. Only two Norwegians and a Dutchman managed to flee to safety from Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Next March will be…

A 29-YEAR-old KwaZulu-Natal woman is facing a perjury charge after she reported a false case of child kidnapping in Dududu on the south coast. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the woman told police she had been on her way to the residence of her five-day-old baby’s father in a hired vehicle, when they were blocked by another vehicle along the main road in Khakhama on Friday evening. She said the suspects from the other vehicle kidnapped her baby. Netshiunda said the woman told police there were two suspects, who told her to get out of the car, and the driver was told to drive away. “She told police the suspects escorted her to bushes and instructed her to call the father of the child to demand R5 000…

‘Ayisafani,’ he said, and even ‘clever blacks’ chose not to vote for the governing party The past three decades were supposed to be the best of times. But the last 15 years, with load shedding, among others, have been the worst of times. Try as we might, we cannot find a more appropriate phrase or meaning for what the African majority, especially, has gone through in the past decade. When the ANC returned from exile following the unbanning of the liberation movement, it was the best of times. There was euphoria, and self-forgetfulness, for about a decade. Nobody could have imagined the liberation movement would be dead in less than two decades. Yet, the ANC died while it was still in power, like a drunken driver in a fatal accident.…

The founder of a project that campaigned for girls’ education in Afghanistan has been detained by Taliban authorities in Kabul, his brothers and the UN said yesterday. The Taliban government barred girls from attending secondary school and then university last year, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to issue such restrictions on education. Matiullah Wesa, the head of PenPath, was stopped by men outside a mosque after prayers on Monday evening, his brother Samiullah Wesa said. “When Matiullah asked for their identity cards, they beat him and forcefully took him away,” he said. “He has been arrested for his activities in the education sector. He never worked with anybody else, neither with the previous government. He only worked for PenPath.” The UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed on Twitter…

MANILA: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos jr yesterday said he would cut off contact with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it rejected an appeal asking it to stop investigating his predecessor’s lethal war on drugs. Thousands of Filipinos were killed by police during Rodrigo Duterte’s fierce crackdown on illicit drugs, with many more gunned down in mysterious circumstances. The ICC is investigating allegations of executions and cover-ups by police, who say they killed suspects only in self-defence. The Philippines says its own institutions are capable of prosecuting crimes. | Reuters…

Alausi: Rescuers searched yesterday for more than 60 people reported missing after a landslide triggered by months of heavy rain killed at least seven people in southern Ecuador. The mudslide buried dozens of homes and injured 23 people in the village of Alausi in Chimborazo province, 300km south of Quito, officials said. Crews with shovels, pick axes and sniffer dogs dug through the debris to get to survivors. Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso urged all citizens to evacuate the affected areas. Since the start of the year, heavy rains have caused 22 deaths, destroyed 72 homes, damaged 6 900 residences and caused close to 1 000 landslides and flooding. | AFP…

YANGON: The ousted ruling party of Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was among 40 political parties dissolved yesterday, after they failed to meet a registration deadline for an election set to perpetuate the military’s political dominance. The National League for Democracy (NLD) is among dozens of parties that held parliamentary seats in the past decade that were severely weakened by the military’s 2021 coup. Many of the parties are unable or unwilling to contest the election, which has widely been dismissed as a sham. Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is among scores of NLD officials in jail. She was found guilty of corruption, a breach of a state secrets law and incitement. | Reuters…

France defender Benjamin Pavard made a spectacular comeback to the team as his superb second-half strike saw them beat Ireland 1-0 away in Euro 2024 qualifying Group B on Monday. Pavard, cast aside at last year’s World Cup after a woeful opening game, struck from 18 metres to put France on six points from two games after Friday’s 4-0 drubbing of the Netherlands. France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who took over as number one after Hugo Lloris’ international retirement, denied the hosts an equaliser with a stunning save in the last minute, three days after stopping a penalty at the Stade de France. France lead the group ahead of second-placed Greece, who have three points having only played once, with the Dutch third on goal difference after beating Gibraltar 3-0 at…