Star -julkaisun 2022-03-03 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE NATIONAL Treasury has been asked to publish a list of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by October so that a determination can be made on which ones should be disposed of. The Fiscal Cliff Study Group yesterday told Parliament it was concerned about the high level of government support for non-performing SOEs in light of no return on investment. The study group led by the head of Wits University’s School of Economics and Business Sciences, Professor Jannie Rossouw, said it was stressing that the government did not have stock of how many companies it owned. Rossouw told the joint meeting of the Standing and Select committees on Finance in Parliament that the overwhelming support of SOEs was weighing heavily on the fiscus. “I want to stress the…

GOITSEMANG TLHABYE goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za THE Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court has sentenced self-proclaimed prophet Delani Erick Zwane to two life terms for the rape of two minor girls, aged 14 and 15. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the two friends were raped when they went to consult Zwane on different occasions in 2018. Zwane apparently gave them a drink that made them feel dizzy. Thereafter he asked them to undress so they could “steam”. He then raped them and threatened to kill them, using “muti”, should they tell anyone about the incident. In February 2019, the mother of one of the girls went to consult another prophet, who informed her that her child had been raped by Zwane. The mother then confronted the child, who admitted the ordeal and also informed…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za MORE than 70 000 people have signed a petition calling on e-hailing service Bolt South Africa to verify and vet its drivers more efficiently so that accountability and transparency was encouraged. This follows women taking to social media and alleging that they had been sexually assaulted by drivers. Due to Bolt South Africa’s inaction, a petition was launched in response. The petition, started by Atang Swartbooi, stated that: “We remain cognisant of Bolt South Africa’s attempt to minimise these sexual assault cases by initiating the ‘Women Only’ service. “However, this has clearly proved to be ineffective.” SADC regional manager at Bolt, Gareth Taylor, said Bolt was aware of the incident in which a young woman suffered a terribly traumatic experience in Cosmo City, Roodepoort. “We have…

Krisztina Than | Reuters TISZABECS, Hungary: Clutching her son dressed in a thick green snowsuit to protect him from the freezing cold, 28-year-old Ukrainian Svetlana smiled faintly when asked his name as they arrived at a shelter in Hungary. “His name is Semyon. He will be two years old in two days.” She, Semyon, her older son Dmitry and her mother made it across Ukraine’s border to Hungary on Tuesday, after a perilous, long drive from Kyiv. As she emerged from the bus that brought her from the border crossing to the shelter in Tiszabecs, Svetlana fell into the arms of her older sister. She had travelled to Hungary from Slovenia to meet her and cried out with relief as she saw Svetlana and her nephews. The two sisters…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za TWO law graduates whose dream it is to become attorneys have challenged parts of the Legal Practice Act, which prevent BProc graduates from being admitted as attorneys. In May 2019, Gabaikangwe Thendele and Zwelibanzi Thendele successfully applied to law firms to begin practical vocational training (previously known as “articles of clerkship”) on their journey to becoming admitted attorneys. However, when they tried to register their contracts with the Legal Practice Council, they were informed that they did not qualify for registration. The Legal Practice Act which governs the legal profession, now requires all candidate legal practitioners to hold an LLB degree and not a BProc degree. Devastated by this news, the two approached the Centre for Applied Legal Studies for assistance. The BProc degree was a four-year…

CHULUMANCO MAHAMBA chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE child support grant is not enough even to support a single mother and her young child, and there is a need to increase the grant to afford children adequate nutrition, a new report finds. The Children, Social Assistance and Food Security Research Report, commissioned by human rights organisation the Black Sash, was released last week. According to the South African Medical Research Council’s Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, the study used case study methodology to collect information from 12 primary caregivers of child support grant (CSG) recipients and their children in the Western Cape. The research aimed to understand how primary caregivers and children receiving social assistance experience food security. The report revealed that the CSG is not enough even to support a single mother and her young child,…

Tapiwa Muskwe | London I feel downhearted that Citizens Coalition for Change activists were brutally tortured by Zanu-PF party thugs on February 27. This happened in Mbizo 4 shopping centre in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, when CCC opposition party president Nelson Chamisa was addressing a rally. When the rally was taking place the Zanu-PF thugs were clothed in yellow regalia like everyone else and pretending to participate and they started violence using machetes, spears and iron bars. Seven CCC supporters were admitted to the hospital and sadly one of the members, named Mboneni Ncube, lost his life because of the brutal, selfish Zanu-PF supporters who used heavy and sharp tools to harm people. This shows that the present regime is against democracy. Powerful states like the UK, US, Canada, Australia,…

The UN yesterday approved a plan to create the world’s first global plastic pollution treaty, describing it as the most significant green deal since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Member states have held talks for more than a week in Nairobi to agree on the outline of a pact to rein in soaring plastic pollution, an environmental crisis that extends from ocean trenches to mountain tops. The treaty, to be finalised by the end of 2024, would be legally binding and address the “full life cycle of plastic”, the UN said. | Reuters…

Russian forces said they had captured a port on the Black Sea yesterday as Russian and Ukrainian troops battled for another city and Ukraine’s leader said Moscow wanted to “erase” his country. The Russian army said it had taken control of Kherson, as its troops advanced and pounded cities across southern and eastern Ukraine, defying sanctions and international isolation. Russian paratroopers also landed in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, triggering clashes in the streets, Ukrainian forces said. The emergency services said four people were killed in the city yesterday and there was now “mass shelling and bombing” in the centre. In a video address, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces wanted to “erase our country, erase us all”. Zelensky said Tuesday’s strike on a television mast in the capital Kiev…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Pirates warmed up for the Soweto Derby against arch rivals Kaizer Chiefs with a goalless draw against Cape Town City yesterday. The home team dominated possession and created plenty of scoring opportunities, but could not find a way past the impressive Hugo Marques in the City goal. The Buccaneers’ intentions were clear from the outset with Marques called on early to thwart a powerful drive from Bandile Shandu. The Angolan international was easily the busier of the two goalkeepers in the opening exchanges with Pirates converting possession into chances. Marques was forced into a fine save again at his near post after an incisive pass from the right slipped Deon Hotto into the danger zone. The pressure exerted by Pirates seemed to tell on the City defence…

MATSHELANE MAMABOLO THE new millennium brought with it some serious excitement in the South African game, with the prospect of hosting the 2010 World Cup looming large. There was the desire of SA’s traditional big two teams going all out to win the Premiership title for the first time after Mamelodi Sundowns had dominated the scene. Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates were keen to reassert themselves and they signed top players and secured the services of respected coaches. Pirates did become local champions in the 2001/02 season, while Chiefs only tasted league glory four years into the new millennium. But clashes between the teams remained thrill-a-minute affairs and one of those that I’d never forget was a World Cup exhibition of sorts. With the world’s attention sure to be directed…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za STAKEHOLDERS in the controversial strike at Clover, which began in November last year and involved the deaths of two security guards at the company’s facilities, attended a meeting facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Clover spokesperson Steven Velthuysen said in attendance were Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, the unions, CCMA representatives and the Labour Department’s director-general. “A follow-up meeting will be held this week, and unions will return to their members for a mandate. While we remain hopeful of a resolution, it must be said that despite every concession made by the company to date, the unions have not moved on a single one,” said Velthuysen. Clover said it was having weekly meetings with the SAPS on the progress of the murder investigations and…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE ANC has told a court that the owner of a company suing it for a R102-million debt got the go-ahead from a personal assistant with no authority whatsoever in the party. Advocate Kennedy Tsatsawane, SC, argued the party’s case against Ezulweni Investments at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg yesterday. Tsatsawane sought to convince a full bench of the court that Ezulweni had no binding contract with the party. This was at a hearing of the ANC’s appeal application. Ezulweni produced and installed 30 000 PVC banners that it maintained the ANC had ordered as part of its last-push strategy ahead of the 2019 general elections. Renash Ramdas, Ezulweni’s chief executive, submitted under oath that he met and concluded an agreement orally with Luthuli House…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za DESPITE the fact that backers of de facto Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini yesterday adopted a conciliatory tone after the Pietermaritzburg High Court victory that cleared the way for his much-anticipated coronation, the Zulu royal rebels are still on the warpath, saying a new king is yet to be identified. Yesterday, KwaZulu-Natal deputy Judge President Isaac Madondo delivered a judgment on the Zulu royal family dispute. In the first matter, Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu wanted the court to grant her an order that 50% of King Goodwill Zwelithini’s estate be set aside for her as she was the first wife and they were married through civil rites and in community of property. Madondo dismissed the application, saying there was no dispute regarding that. As such, the court could not…

Queen Elizabeth has returned to work. The 95-year-old monarch cancelled a number of virtual engagements last week after testing positive for Covid-19 but yesterday, she carried out to video meetings with foreign ambassadors. She received Carles Jordana Madero from Andorra, who gave her the letters for recall of the former holder of the post and his own letter of credence. In addition, Kedella Younous Hamidi followed the same tradition to take over as the ambassador from the Republic of Chad to the Court of St James. The queen’s diagnosis was announced on February 20 and though Buckingham Palace stressed she was only experiencing mild symptoms, her virtual engagements were cancelled through the week, though she still had her weekly phone call with UK prime minister Boris Johnson last month. A…

American legal vultures are poised to make a meal of Afghanistan’s financial crisis. It flows out of US President Joe Biden’s immoral decision to seize $7 billion (about R110bn) belonging to the Afghan people. Apart from the immorality of the theft, the cruelty of it is shocking. It comes at a time when the new Afghanistan government, led by the Taliban, is making huge overtures to gain the trust of the world. Saddled with America’s unilateral seizure of much-needed revenue, the Taliban will not be faulted if it adopts stringent measures to overcome the reality of millions facing starvation. That people are on the brink of starvation is a fact known to the Biden administration. Yet despite a growing humanitarian disaster that has its roots in America's invasion and occupation…

Anita Nkonki IT IS without a doubt that the coronavirus pandemic posed a great challenge to many entertainment events and as a result, they had to be halted, which many could not survive, while others made a comeback. As the world slowly begins its return to live events following intermittent lockdown restrictions, the Rand Show is back and will be returning to Nasrec, Johannesburg South, in the week of April 13-18, bringing live music concerts. Head of sales for the Rand Show 2022, Didi Okoro, said their aim for this year’s show is to be the best. “South Africa is dying to get out and about again and we all really missed large-scale live music events. “We want this year’s show to be the best ever and we have…

Itumeleng Mafisa itumeleng.mafisa@inl.co.za TEACHER unions have expressed disappointment at the latest Constitutional Court ruling allowing the government to renege on a 2018 wage agreement. In a unanimous judgment handed down on Monday, the court found the collective agreement detailing wage increases over three years entered into by the government and trade unions representing public servants in 2018 was “invalid and unenforceable”. The court further stated it would compromise service delivery should the deal be honoured. The South African Democratic Teachers Union said it was concerned with the ruling and the precedent it would set for future negotiations. The union’s secretary-general, Mugwena Maluleke, said the state had laid emphasis on the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had had on its financial resources, including the need to protect the lives and livelihoods of…

Luxolo Mafumana | Johannesburg THE Constitutional Court has delivered its judgment on the long-awaited public sector wage bill increase for the 2020/2021 financial year which the public sector unions felt the government had failed to honour. The government argued that it did not have the money to give to workers, due to the underperforming economy and that its representative had misrepresented it at negotiations by agreeing to what it could not afford. What seems to be a looming problem is that workers, through the unions, feel that the bargaining council has been undermined and that they are being punished for the government’s blunder. They also believe that if the government were considerate, it would have renegotiated the deal instead of seeking to throw it out. The feeling is…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za IN THE coming months, Rassie Erasmus and SA Rugby will arguably tackle their most important endeavour during his stint as director of rugby: getting women to play the game, building a pool of players and forming a formidable national team that can dominate at international level. The first step to achieve this goal was the employment of Lynne Cantwell as SA Rugby’s women’s high-performance manager last year. Cantwell is a former Irish Test veteran of 78 caps and a former member of the Irish Sevens women’s team. This week, both spoke to the media, setting out their objectives in reinvigorating the women’s game. It’s a project of paramount importance. As Erasmus pointed out, the transformation of rugby shouldn’t be confined or considered merely on racial lines, but…

SOUTH Africa remains deeply concerned by the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. We welcome the commencement of talks between Ukraine and Russia. We hope that these discussions will lead to a diplomatic solution that will result in a sustainable political solution. South Africa is of the view that this armed conflict, like all others, will result in unnecessary human suffering and destruction with global ramifications. In situations of conflict, the most vulnerable tend to suffer most, during and post the conflict. It is regrettable that at a time when the world is struggling to emerge from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are seized with a conflict that will further delay the world’s recovery. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded us of this when he stated that the conflict…

TENS of thousands of Sydney residents were ordered to evacuate yesterday as major flooding hit the western fringe of the city of 5 million, with torrential rain continuing to batter Australia’s east coast. Thirteen people have been killed as the extreme weather has moved from Queensland state into New South Wales, submerging town centres, washing away homes and cutting power lines. More rain was expected to hit Sydney today, and residents were told to brace for months’ worth of rain in a few hours. | Reuters…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za FORMER Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper William Shongwe has backed goalkeeper Brandon Peterson to don the No 1 jersey when Amakhosi clash with arch rivals Orlando Pirates in a Premiership encounter at Orlando Stadium on Saturday (3.30pm kick-off). Chiefs have endured a goalkeeping conundrum this season, so much so that they had to play all their keepers – Peterson, Bruce Bvuma, Itumeleng Khune and Daniel Akpeyi – after costly errors saw the team slip in and out of the title race. Akpeyi emerged as the first choice for the better part of the first half of the season. That changed early this year after he was rested after being with Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations, with Peterson starting all the games. After conceding four goals in his…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za SOME 69 percent of South Africans surveyed have a tendency to distrust first – not believing information until they see evidence that something was trustworthy, according to Edelman South Africa. The global communication firm’s 2022 Trust Barometer report titled “The Cycle of Distrust” released this week gave global and local findings showing a cycle of distrust spurred on by diminishing faith in government and media institutions who were being perceived as ultimately seeking short-term benefits through exaggeration and division to gain clicks and votes. These findings indicated that it would be up to the country’s most trusted institutions, that included business and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to rebuild confidence in this country’s capabilities and stem the tide of misinformation. Edelman South Africa managing director Karena Crerar said there…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Media personality and cook-book author, Somizi Mhlongo recently stole the spotlight from his best friend and singer, Vusi Nova. Fans and the audience at Nova’s gig were thrilled when the Idols judge took to the stage as a back-up singer for Nova – and was pretty good at it. Somizi’s singing and fun dance moves brought the crowd to their feet while Nova provided the main notes for their song Ntandane. In the video posted on Somizi’s Instagram, he looks like he is having the time of his life while dressed in shades of green. He captioned the video: “Ladies and gentleman meet thee back up singer… the only back-up who does it with a glass of champagne in hand… ” Nova also posted a video on…

Power utility denies claims that official harassed Ekurhuleni’s Tania Campbell Itumeleng Mafisa itumeleng.mafisa@inl.co.za POWER utility Eskom has denied allegations of harassing Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell on social media over the non-payment of R544 million the city owed to Eskom. This comes after Campbell told a local news station that she had been harassed on WhatsApp by an Eskom official who had not even introduced him or herself during the conversation. Campbell said she found it strange that Eskom would want to address such important matters via WhatsApp. Campbell described it as unethical and said she would be writing a letter to Eskom CEO André de Ruyter to complain about the matter. “One would think that when discussing monetary situations and paying your bills, which Eskom was, that it does not…

Mayibongwe Maqhina THE SABC has ruled out any possibility of requesting another bailout despite experiencing a decline in revenue collection. “We do not have the intention to come back for a bailout. This business is run by a group of people and a board that have building blocks in place to return it to fiscal sustainability,” chief financial officer Yolande van Biljon said, adding their corporate plan reflected this. Van Biljon said the big item on their agenda was the regulatory environment to create regulations that were permanent, among others. She made the comment at the meeting of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) when DA MP Alf Lees suggested “you are to come back for further bailouts”. Lees made the comments after Van Biljon indicated a projected decline…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za MANY may remember him for his stunning stage presence and stellar performances, which landed him in the top 4 in Idols SA season 17. Versatile singer Kevin Maduna shares interesting details about his music journey from travelling the world to taking the Idols SA stage and winning the hearts of many people. The music star’s daily decree has always been to allow himself to be more than he imagines and overcome his biggest fears. After having worked with renowned artists such as gospel singer Zaza Mokhethi and travelling the world, Maduna has had an enthralling journey in his career endeavours. Speaking to The Star, he said he decided to enter the Idols competition because he wanted to take a bold step and face his fears. “It was…

Skip Marley, pictured, has “a lot of questions” for his late grandfather, Bob Marley. The 25-year-old Jamaican singer/songwriter is the son of Cedella Marley, the daughter of Rita Marley and late reggae icon Bob, who died in 1981 from a melanoma cancer at the age of just 36. Skip has often wondered what it would have been like to meet No Woman, Now Cry singer Bob, and he would have loved to have asked him what books he should read to enlighten his mind and understanding of the world. He said: “I would ask him which books to read. I have a lot of questions, but I’d love to hear what kinds of books to read, too. I mean, (I know he read) the Bible, some books about His…

ALLAN WOLMAN | Tel Aviv, Israel THE former statistician-general and head of Stats SA, Pali Lehohla, recently penned a convoluted piece in IOL Business Report (February 25). He opens by quoting Noam Chomsky who describes how public value is destroyed – “Defund, make sure things don’t work, get people angry – privatise”. This sounds exactly how the ANC has destroyed value in South Africa with one exception, that being “privatise”, as privatisation is the antithesis of ANC policy. He follows this up by writing how Yasser Arafat saw the key to the struggle of his people was to “know” Palestine by establishing the Palestine Statistics Office. Eureka! Isn’t this one of the primary functions of any administration, even if it preceded the formation of the Palestinian National Authority…

A recently published South African study set out to determine sero- positivity against Sars-CoV-2 before the fourth wave of Covid-19, in which the Omicron variant was dominant. Sero-positivity measures the presence of antibodies against the virus; it indicates past infection. The study focused on Gauteng, the economic hub. Ozayr Patel asked Shabir Madhi to unpack the results and explain why the findings suggest that South Africa has reached a turning point in the pandemic. The results show the levels of sero-positivity – what percentage of people have antibodies to the virus – among just over 7 000 people from whom samples were taken. From these results, these rates were calculated: l In those under 12 years of age, none of whom received a Covid-19 vaccine, 56% showed the presence…

Sean Penn walked “miles” to reach the Polish border to flee Ukraine. The actor-and director, 61, has been in the country filming a documentary about Russia’s earlier incursions, and said he ditched his car after getting stuck in traffic with people trying to escape to safety. He shared a picture of himself pulling a suitcase along a road with two colleagues. “Almost all the cars in this photo carry women and children only, most without any sign of luggage, and a car their only possession of value,” he wrote. | Bang Showbiz…