Star -julkaisun 2022-04-19 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

I needed to double check the date of this pronouncement, as it could have been April Fool’s Day joke, but alas, it was not. “The government is currently working on a programme to ensure that education and training programmes are directly linked to the jobs needed in South Africa,” said Ramaphosa. How, where and when, I ask? The reality is that in just five years, South Africa has borrowed R1.8 trillion from investors. Also, in April 2021, it was announced that South Africa would get a $1 billion (R14.5bn at the time) loan from the New Development Bank (NDB) to bolster its coffers. The NDB is a development finance institution established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as part of the BRICS grouping. South Africa’s…

ESKOM has yet again announced stage 2 load shedding, which will end tomorrow – and this is dependent on the levels of breakdowns. Eskom claims that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid. “The loss of four additional generation units at Matla, Tutuka, Duvha and Arnot power stations over the past 24 hours, exacerbated by the delay in units returning to service at Camden, Matla, Grootvlei and Tutuka power stations, has unfortunately necessitated the implementation of load shedding,” said Eskom. The utility said the power system continues to be fragile and it is forced to implement load shedding to manage and replenish emergency generation reserves, on which it has been relying to supply electricity. “Since Friday afternoon, a generation unit each at…

The SAPS is mourning the deaths of two officers and a police dog during the KwaZulu-Natal floods. National police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said the national police commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has expressed sadness about the deaths of the SAPS members. Mathe said the latest casualty was an officer attached to the Pietermaritzburg Search and Rescue police diving unit. “At about 11.30am on Sunday morning, 42-year-old Sergeant Busisiwe Mjwara was conducting a search in the Msunduzi River for three victims who had drowned earlier in the week, when she got into difficulty and drowned. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital but was sadly declared dead on arrival. “During the same operation, K9 Leah from the Durban Central Search and Rescue unit also drowned. According to reports, Leah was attempting…

ONE OF the accused in instigating the July 2021 unrest has been given back all her gadgets after threatening court action. The Star recently reported that the 36-year-old, known as Sphithiphithi Evaluator on social media, had demanded through her lawyer Godrich Gardee that law enforcement return her cellphone or face court action. She has since announced that all her gadgets had been returned to her. In a tweet on Thursday, she posted: “After all the drama, trauma on innocent people, unlawful arrest; media headlines; defamation; all to unmask people they thought were linked/paid by politicians, they found nothing. “@GardeeAttorneys fighting tirelessly, day and night. Not even an apology! Last gadget returned.” Sphithiphithi Evaluator, whose real name is known to Independent Media, claimed about 10 plain-clothed police officers last year stormed…

I shook my head sorrowfully, pitying myself for what had been done to Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean man in Diepsloot, on April 7. It causes the heart to stop and makes one shocked to hear that a person who was carried by a mother for nine months was alive when they were burnt to death. It hurts so much. Even a real animal, you kill it first and then burn it. Not burn it alive. South Africa’s high unemployment often sparks social tensions, including xenophobic violence against migrants. The number of Zimbabweans living in South Africa is not known, but estimates suggest that they are more than two million. It is sad and frustrating that Zimbabwe is a country with all minerals, but Zimbabweans are being killed by people who…

The war between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted just how much of the world’s wheat supply comes from these two countries. For instance, a recently released UN report shows a sample of 25 African countries that rely on wheat imports from Russia or Ukraine. Of this group, 21 import most of their wheat from Russia. Between 2018 and 2020, Africa imported $3.7 billion in wheat (32% of the continent’s total wheat imports) from Russia and another $1.4bn from Ukraine (12% of the continent’s wheat imports). It’s crucial that African countries diversify their wheat sources for two key reasons. First, wheat forms an important component of diets. Not having enough brings the threat of hunger and political instability. Second, Africa’s dependency on Russian wheat imports will influence key political and military…

Clashes around Jerusalem’s Old City during the rare confluence of Ramadaan, Passover and the Easter holidays stoked fears of more widespread violence and threatened to fracture Israel’s fragile governing coalition yesterday. The coalition’s single Israeli Palestinian party announced it was temporarily suspending its participation in the alliance in protest of police actions against protesters at al-Aqsa Mosque in recent days and of escorting Jewish worshippers on to the site. The party’s move is largely symbolic as the Knesset is not in session. But the coalition, which includes members from the right and left wings of Israeli politics, was already on the brink of collapse after a conservative MP defected earlier this month, leaving it without an outright majority. Political observers said the government will remain in a precarious position as…

Given how well the Stormers have been going in the United Rugby Championship (URC), it’s pretty hard not to let the mind drift ahead to not only a play-off spot, but a role in the final. If the Stormers manage to win it, it will be the biggest achievement by a South African team over the last two years … and that includes the Bulls’ three domestic titles. When the URC kicked off, it seemed bizarre to even think ‘play-offs’ for any South African side. But things have changed. Currently, coach John Dobson’s unit lead the South African charge in fifth spot on the URC log on 47 points, followed by the Sharks in sixth position with a tally of 46. The Bulls are sitting in eighth place on 43…

AUTHORITIES were out until late yesterday monitoring the national roads to root out troublesome motorists and unroadworthy vehicles as Easter holidaymakers started trekking back home. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said with many people expected to return to hubs like Gauteng, tollgates had recorded heavy traffic from early in the morning. Using #LiveBeyondEaster on social media, it encouraged safe travelling and reminded motorists to obey traffic and road laws. The RTMC also uged motorists to keep a safe distance between vehicles at all times. Travellers were encouraged not to take chances and engage in illegal activity like drinking and driving. By Sunday, 97 people had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in the Eastern Cape alone. “Accidents remain a big concern year after year around Easter…

AFTER 20 years of excellence in radio and serving on-air content that listeners have fallen in love with, popular radio personality Anele Mdoda will put down her mic for a few months to travel and attend master classes in various countries. The award-winning radio host is set to return to her desk on July 1 after hosting one of the coveted breakfast slots, Anele and the Club on 947 FM, from Monday to Friday from 6am to 9am. The media personality was overflowing with excitement ahead of her learning journey. “I am beyond excited about this learning tour. Believe me, I’ll be coming back with some crazy ideas. I think this perfectly shows Primedia’s commitment to innovation, growth, and development,” said Mdoda. 947 Station Manager Ravi Naidoo shared…

Small children live in a world of make-believe. It is a type of pretend play that involves social interactions between preschoolers. It is an unreal world where they believe something is true or real even when it is not. It is, however, very important in child development. This creativity is, on occasion, carried through to adulthood, in acting, writing, etc. However, a fantasy-prone personality (FPP) is a trait where a person experiences a lifelong, extensive and deep involvement in fantasy – living in a dream world. When this turns addictive and compulsive it can overwhelm normal functioning. The person cannot connect with the real world. Narcissism is a branch of this trait. Politicians who regard themselves as modern-day revolutionaries, and who label themselves as “fighters”, though they’ve never experienced the…

In the past few days, KwaZulu-Natal has been gutted by devastating floods, and that has exposed the trust deficit the public has in the government of the day. Instead of worrying about the process to rebuild the disaster-prone province, the public is more concerned about the possibility that the billions of rand that will soon be allocated for relief efforts will be looted within days. This fear is not far-fetched, as some state propagandists want everyone to believe, and are dismissing as another attempt to besmirch the government. History has shown us that heartless civil servants and business people don’t mind ganging up and looting public funds for self-enrichment on an epic scale. When Covid-19 hit us in the early days of 2020, everybody expected the corrupt lot within the…

A second Global Covid-19 Summit will be held virtually next month for countries to discuss efforts to end the pandemic and prepare for future health threats, the US Group of Seven and Group of 20 nations said yesterday. The announcement comes amid a surge of Covidcases around the world prompted by easily transmissible variants of the virus. The summit will build on efforts to get more people vaccinated, sending treatments to high-risk populations and generating financing for pandemic preparedness. | Reuters…

TRADE conditions remained restrained and deteriorated further into the contractionary territory in February and March, due to lower export volumes as a result of a number of issues. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) said last week that trade conditions were hampered by logistical issues at ports, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, and rising interest rates. Sacci said sluggish economic growth had a significant impact on the trade environment, while lower export volumes led to cautionary and selective spending by businesses and households. As a result, trade conditions became restrained after bordering on positive territory in January. Sacci’s Trade Activity Index fell from 48.1 index points in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 43.1 index points in the first quarter of 2022. Sacci economist Richard…

THERE are definite indications that global economic growth is slowing. The first indications availed themselves as the yields on some longer-dated bonds dropped below the yields of shorter-dated bonds – yes, inverted or flat yield curves. But where lie the opportunities? The end of the bear market in developed market bonds is in sight. Bonds as measured by the FTSE G7 Government Bond Index which is tracked by the iShares Global Gov. Bond UCITS ETF USD (Distr) lost 17 percent since December 2020 as bond yields climbed. Firstly as a result of the global economy recovering from the coronavirus and its mutants and secondly, the onset of the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. The massive sanctions against Russia saw the US Federal Reserve and other central banks hiking their official lending rates…

A WHOPPING 96% of 1 779 learners aged 11 to 18 years from eight Johannesburg schools who participated in a survey study expressed feeling unsafe at school. “Four percent of the responses indicated no concerns in the school environment,” said the study undertaken to inform the services and advocacy efforts of the Teddy Bear Foundation. “Considering the multitude of concerns raised, one wonders what allowed these learners to feel that their needs for learning and safety were being adequately addressed.” Published in the esteemed SA Journal of Education, the research study was produced by Tessa Hochfeld, Jeanette Schmid and Sheri Errington from the University of Johannesburg and Teddy Bear Foundation’s Shaheda Omar. The four academics asked the learners responding to the survey to state their biggest worries at school.…

The South African novelist K Sello Duiker would have turned 48 on April 13, 2022. Since 2005, when he took his own life at the age of 30, his importance to the body of African literature has become even more evident. His works have been republished within and outside South Africa and continue to be the subject of both academic and social media discussions. As a testament to his legacy, the South African Literary Awards gives a prize in his name every year to writers under 40. Duiker is considered a key voice in what some scholars refer to as South Africa’s post-transitional literature. This is writing after 1994 brought democratic elections to the country. A major characteristic of this writing is the emphasis on the porosity of identity boundaries:…

THE OWNERS of a Johannesburg business premises who kicked out a sangoma, along with some of the “tools of her trade”, from the office she was renting has been ordered by the court to immediately allow her back into her office. Her tools of the trade included live animals such as a rabbit and a tortoise. Hazel Gumbi turned to the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, after the owners of Ralstan Investments Ltd locked her out of the office she was renting at a business premises in Malvern. It is claimed that she was in arrears with her rent. Ruling in Gumbi’s favour, Judge Leicester Adams said the company could not take the law into its own hands and decide to evict her. The judge made it clear that…

WHY DOES knowing about the Holocaust, apartheid, and genocides matter? When more than 6 million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany, mostly in Eastern Europe, the world turned a blind eye to a historical event that would later shape our world. I am reminded of this, as next week Thursday (April 28) Jewish communities around the world commemorate those who were killed in the Holocaust. There are people who feel that Jews must just “get over” the Holocaust like black people were able to get over slavery. Yet, black people have not yet even begun to talk about the pain and impact of slavery, colonialism or apartheid, never mind getting over it. In fact, many Holocaust survivors were, until recently, unable to talk about their experiences, as it was too…

Language often tells us something about the physical environment and culture of the speakers. Language can also tell us about the attitudes of the people. In Sesotho, we have different words for different ethnic groups. If you are of our own, we call you “motho” (a human). If you are white, we call you “Legoa”. In effect, we only recognise ourselves as humans and not those who are different. Language has the ability to make us believe what we speak. Maybe we will start to feel different about those we do not call human if we start to acknowledge them as human.…

KwaZulu-Natal has been battered by torrential rains and catastrophic floods. Over the weekend, the provincial death toll stood at 443, with an estimated 63 people still missing. It’s not the first natural disaster to hit South Africa or its neighbours, among them Mozambique and Zimbabwe, in recent years. And it won’t be the last. Research shows that extreme weather events and natural disasters are likely to become increasingly common in southern Africa in the coming years. The increased risk of extreme weather disasters is related to changes in the global climate. Rising air and water temperatures lead to rising sea levels, supercharged storms and higher wind speeds. More intense and prolonged droughts, heavier precipitation and flooding are the expected result. One of the biggest challenges will be how city authorities…

British police arrested a man armed with a knife who confronted two Ministry of Defence police officers near Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official residence in central London yesterday. Police cordoned off Whitehall, which is home to several government departments for several hours but it was later reopened. An investigation was launched following the incident at Horse Guards Parade, a parade ground which overlooks St James’s Park, police said. There were no reports of any injuries. | Reuters…