Star -julkaisun SW-2021-03-30 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za THE COVID-19 knock on African banks was less severe than anticipated last year and the banking sector was expected to rebound to pre-pandemic levels by next year, despite a resurgence of the virus, according to the latest report by McKinsey Africa. The report showed that the return on equity (RoE) for African banks fell 50 percent to 7 percent last year, down from 14 percent in 2019, and was expected to rebound quicker than banks in developed markets. “We expect this to rebound to near pre-crisis levels within the next three years, if economic recovery on the continent follows the scenario that a majority of global executives believe will most likely unfold,” McKinsey Africa said. Nedbank recently revised its medium-term targets in its result…

| Bang Showbiz Justin Bieber has added six new songs on his latest album Justice featuring Lil Uzi Vert, Jaden Smith, Quavo, DaBaby and Tori Kelly. The 27-year-old singer has teamed up with several musicians to add some extra tracks to his sixth studio album, as well as an extra song, Lifetime, that he laid down by himself. He released the original 16-song album last week. Justin said of the album: “In a time when there’s so much wrong with this broken planet, we all crave healing – and justice – for humanity. In creating this album, my goal is to make music that will provide comfort; to make songs that people can relate to, and connect to, so they feel less alone. “Suffering, injustice and pain can leave…

BOITUMELO METSING boitumelo.metsing@inl.co.za SELF-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri has blamed South Africa for the death of his daughter. Bushiri announced on social media yesterday that his 8-year-old daughter, Israella, had died at a hospital in Kenya. “It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing on of my daughter, Israella Bushiri. As a father it was my desire to see her grow and serve the Lord. However, the will of God was for her to return back to him,” Bushiri said. According to reports, Malawi granted permission for Bushiri’s daughter to be flown to Kenya for treatment after this was initially denied. Bushiri said his daughter would have lived had she been allowed to travel at the outset. “When I spoke to the doctor, he highlighted that if she had…

MOM’S WISH DASHED GOITSEMANG TLHABYE goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za AN EERSTERUST family have been struggling for three years to reunite their parents in death after discovering that another couple had been buried on top of their father’s grave without their knowledge. The family said they were shocked and angry to find out that they would not be able to fulfil their mother’s dying wish to be buried with her husband at the Eersterust Cemetery. Daughter Sandra Cyster said they made the gruesome discovery about the gravesite three years ago after their mother died. Cyster said when her father died in July 1980, her mother told the children that she wanted to remain close to him and, in fact, wanted her body laid to rest beside his. However, she said, when they were making…

GIFT TLOU gift.tlou@inl.co.za EMFULENI Local Municipality MMCs, PR and ward councillors joined their community in a march to Eskom’s head office at Megawatt Park in Sandton, where they delivered a memorandum of grievances. This comes after Eskom embarked on a programme to disconnect electricity to the communities. The Red Ants Security and Relocation Services accompanied Eskom officials. The programme reportedly targeted various areas in Sebokeng and Evaton, resulting in community protests. The municipality said these disconnections came as a surprise to the communities and councillors. “(This is) primarily because Eskom is undertaking a campaign of issuing forms to communities to acknowledge debt as part of credit control and a condition attached to replace damaged transformers including to normalise all meters that have been tampered with by various households in the…

Cometh Dube-Makholwa | Midrand When the novel coronavirus struck, the world no one had any idea of what it really was and suggestions from some quarters were that it was manmade, probably in some laboratory in China. One thing was clear – it was a deadly monster. Since then, it caused a condition that has come to be known as Covid-19. It has caused so much fear, devastation and confusion, manifesting itself in so many mutations that have made it so difficult for scientists to come up with a vaccine with a 100% efficacy rate. I have great respect for every scientist who has worked tirelessly for us to be where we are. I dread to think of the fatalities we could have experienced globally without their devoted…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za It is just on two years ago now that Temba Bavuma's sole role at the Cricket World Cup was to entertain guests in a VIP Lounge. At that stage Bavuma was very much regarded as a "red-ball specialist" and had to be content with being, at the behest of a national team sponsor, perched high above in the Edgbaston executive lounges when the Proteas were battling it out with New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup. It was a situation that did not sit well with Bavuma, with him previously admitting “there was the element of wanting to prove to people that you can play white-ball cricket ... if you keep hearing that you’re just a red-ball cricketer, when you know you’re not, at some point in…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za Brad Binder had a tough ol’ time of it at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar at the weekend. The South African, now in his second year of the elite MotoGP class, qualified 19th for the season-opening GP, and finished a miserable 14th. His Red Bull KTM teammate Miguel Oliveira of Spain placed one spot better in 13th, the two riders collecting two and three points in the world championship, respectively. It was not KTMs finest hour, and they were well below the pace and promise shown last year. Even so, Binder believes there is now enough information to improve on these results, while also explaining where his team will have to improve his ride's deficiencies, with the upcoming Grand Prix of Doha on Sunday, at the…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE NATIONAL Coronavirus Command Council is set to meet today to decide on whether to impose further lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 from the Easter weekend travel. Speculation has increased that the government could add further restrictions that could include the ban or limit alcohol sales during the period as well as a review of the number of people attending gatherings, particularly religious ones. The reports come as business continue to express growing concerns on what the stricter regulations would mean for their operations and the economy. Yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his newsletter that a number of religious organisations had asked for the easing of existing restrictions on the size of congregations. Ramaphosa said the government has had constructive engagements with the…

A R50 million PowerBall jackpot is up for grabs tonight, following a seventh rollover since March 2. Ithuba group chief executive Charmaine Mabuza said there had been six big jackpot winners in March. “We are thrilled to announce that the PowerBall jackpot is at a guaranteed R50m on Tuesday and one or more lucky South Africans will be our next multi-millionaire.” The biggest Powerball winner this year was a 30-year-old Limpopo man who bagged the R51m Powerball jackpot on March 2. The winning ticket was purchased at OK Mini Market in Polokwane, with a ticket wager of R30 and a manual selection method. He plans on pursuing his dream of becoming a social worker. The second winner also hails from Limpopo. The father of three, who won R48m, said that…

Francesca Villette Francesca.villette@inl.co.za AN INVESTIGATION into the mismanagement of R300 million meant for creatives across the country is under way, with the National Arts Council’s (NAC) chief executive and chief financial officer so far being suspended. Following protests and sit-ins at the NAC’s offices in Joburg, with artists demanding answers regarding the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package, Sport, Art and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa yesterday announced that the forensic investigation would look into how officials overcommitted the R300m, with some creatives getting nothing and others receiving more than they had applied for. The arts and culture industry is among the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with scores of institutions having closed shop for good, and others having no way of recovery. Mthethwa apologised to creatives yesterday, promising that heads would…

EV Rapiti | Cape Town THE Struggle liberated us from the shackles of dehumanising apartheid; our democracy was supposed to liberate us from the shackles of poverty. Our government officials, through corruption, nepotism, cronyism and shameless greed, abandoned the pleas of the masses. We are now in a new struggle – for economic freedom. Our government has run all our SOEs into the ground and squandered whatever resources they had at their disposal. Twenty years ago, Dubai was a mere desert. One man’s vision has made it a major financial capital. Our government lacks the will. Without a will, there can be no plan. Once more our president will address the nation with the same promises but no real plan of action. In spite of all his…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Molefi Ntseki says he has “failed” as Bafana Bafana coach after the “huge disappointment” of failing to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations. After playing to a 1-1 draw with Ghana last Thursday, Ntseki’s charges required only a point against Sudan in Khartoum but ended up going downed 2-0. “It is a big disappointment for all of us. We started off positively and were looking forward to qualifying. If you look at the games that we won, we became very confident. The expectations were that we would do well against Ghana at home and against Sudan away. We made things difficult by drawing against Ghana at home as we had to come to Sudan facing foreign challenges,” said Ntseki. Considering Sudan’s lowly world ranking of 127th,…

France, England, Germany and Italy all head their groups after victories in European qualifying for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar on Sunday, while Spain left it late to win in Georgia and Denmark smashed eight past Moldova. World champions France got their first win of the campaign by beating Kazakhstan 2-0 in Nur-Sultan after a stuttering start to qualifying with Wednesday's 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine. Forward Ousmane Dembele broke the deadlock in the 20th minute with a right-foot shot after being set up by Anthony Martial following a defence-splitting pass from Paul Pogba. Les Bleus doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time when Sergiy Maliy headed a cross into his own net. France were in comfortable control of the game and should have added a…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Yes, it was just one game, but that one game was enough to show that young flyhalf Abner van Reenen has lots to offer the Stormers. The 22-year-old produced a near perfect outing on his debut starting berth for the Stormers in their 44-12 thrashing of the Lions in their last Preparation Series game at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. He contributed a healthy personal tally of 19 points in the form of five conversions, two penalties and an impressive drop-goal, while he also made sure to add some fine touches on attack and pleasing kicks from hand. Just about the only thing Van Reenen, who attended Klein Nederburg Secondary before Garsfontein lured him to the north, can be remotely unhappy with is his trip to the…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MASSMART has suffered yet another blow after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the retailer could not claim nearly R1 billion worth of losses from the taxman for a share incentive scheme implemented 20 years ago for senior managers. The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Massmart’s appeal of a court decision that gave the SA Revenue Service (Sars) a right to disallow R945 million in capital losses claimed by the group. In his judgment, the appeal Judge Visvanathan Ponnan, said that the unpaid loans plainly constituted an asset in the hands of Massmart. “There could thus be no loss to speak of. Instead, what Massmart purported to do was to account for the trust’s losses in its books,” Judge Ponnan said. “This despite the…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THE ADVERTISEMENT by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for 370 highly skilled specialists was a sign that it was moving to restore credibility and plug tax slippage. This was according to Tax Consulting SA’s head of tax technical, Jean du Toit, who commented on Sars’s advertisement, published on Saturday, for 370 highly skilled specialists, as well as 200 finance graduates, with a particular focus on technology. “Sars is preparing for a future where increasingly our work will be informed by data-driven insights, self-learning computers, artificial intelligence, and interconnectivity of people and devices,” the advertisement said. Du Toit said the recruitment drive followed hard on the heels of an extra allotment of R3 billion to Sars in the February Budget. He said Sars had lost a large…

Lady Gaga “can't wait” to be back home with Michael Polansky as she thanked him for sending her a huge bunch of flowers to mark her 35th birthday. The Pokerface hitmaker is in Rome for work but her boyfriend ensured to mark her birthday with a huge bunch of flowers, despite them being apart. She wrote on Instagram: “When your bf sends you all the flowers in Rome for your birthday. I love you honey ... I can’t wait to be home with you and our dogs, that’s all I need. (sic)” Meanwhile, a source previously claimed Gaga is “crazy about” her boyfriend. A source shared: “Gaga had a blast at the Inauguration and was in the best spirits. “She’s very happy with Michael and feels grateful for his support.…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za POLICE Minister General Bheki Cele has said the 2012 Marikana massacre had compelled the police to change how violent crowds were managed. Cele released the Panel of Experts report, yesterday, which looked into policing and crowd control with the SAPS. The panel was appointed in 2016 following the findings and recommendations from the Farlam Commission that looked into the 2012 massacre. Thirty-four miners died when police opened fire on striking Lonmin mineworkers at Wonderkop outside Rustenburg in the North West. “To date, the SAPS has paid out R176 million in compensation to the families of those killed in the Marikana tragedy; R80m worth of civil claims are yet to be finalised and the process to finalise other categories of compensation is ongoing,” Cele said. The bulk of…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za FORMER Eskom executive Matshela Koko has accused former Eskom board chairperson Ben Ngubane and former head of legal Suzanne Daniels of being dishonest with the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Koko appeared at the inquiry yesterday where he continued to give Eskom-related evidence. The former executive was questioned on a variety of matters related to his work at the power utility. He faced questions about a Gupta-linked email address “info portal” that was used to email various instructions to Eskom executives. Koko, Daniels and Ngubane have been recorded as sharing emails with the unknown email address. The email address is believed to have been used by Gupta-linked associate Salim Essa, who ran Trillian Capital. The email address was run outside of Eskom, and the commission has…

Mwangi Githahu THE fact that the actual killer or killers of anti-apartheid ANC political activist Dulcie September are still not known 33 years later was one of the issues that arose during a memorial webinar held yesterday. Most of the speculation about September’s assassination points to the apartheid regime, as at the time of her murder September was investigating weapons trafficking between France and South Africa. September was 52 when was assassinated in the morning of March 28 in 1988 outside the ANC’s Paris office. She was shot five times in the head with a 22-calibre silenced rifle. The webinar was hosted by the South African embassy in France in together with the University of the Western Cape’s Dullah Omar Institute. During the webinar September’s friends and comrades spoke of…

The coach HERMAN GIBBS The South African Football Association (Safa) opted to appoint a coach, Molefi Ntseki, who has never been in charge of a senior team prior to his appointment as Bafana Bafana coach. Ntseki was the national Under-17 coach and when Stuart Baxter resigned, he was given the Bafana Bafana post. He has gained experience at national team level, but it has come at a price. Safa must be held accountable and must start looking for a coach who has experience at international level. Safa can start by appointing a selection panel whose members are qualified to make a call. Safa need to appoint a Director of Football to oversee football as a whole in this country. He is the one who will decide the style of…

Formula One’s racing gods smiled on Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in Sunday’s Bahrain season-opening Grand Prix but round one of what promises to be a far bigger fight showed Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be hard to beat. Bold strategy and supreme racecraft won the day after Verstappen, who had led testing and every practice session, started from pole position with a faster car only to finish second. The 23-year-old Dutch driver would surely have won had he not gone off track while passing Hamilton on fresher tyres with four laps remaining, and then been ordered to hand back the lead in a key moment of a nail-biting race. “If somebody would have told me this is going to be the result on Sunday, I would have probably not believed…

India captain Virat Kohli said confining players to ‘bio-bubbles’ for months on end is not sustainable and the game has to consider scheduling changes to reduce the mental toll tours are taking during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kohli's comments come as cricketers prepare to head into another restricted environment for two months for the Indian Premier League (IPL). “As I said, a couple of days ago as well, scheduling is something that needs to be looked at in the future," Kohli said at the presentation ceremony after the final match of England's tour of India on Sunday. “Playing in bubbles for so long – two, three months – is going to be very, very difficult going forward.” India's players have hopped from one bubble to the next since September for the…