Sommaire pour 2022-10-28 de Cape Times

MINING giant Kumba Iron Ore yesterday maintained its full-year 2022 production guidance, despite the impact of industrial action at Transnet this month and the subsequent delay in Transnet’s annual maintenance shutdown. Earlier this month, Transnet declared a force majeure after their workers downed tools and embarked on a strike over wages. In its production and sales report for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022, released yesterday, Kumba maintained its production guidance, although at the lower end of 38 to 40 million tons (Mt). Kumba, majority owned by Anglo American, said total production decreased by 8% to 10Mt. Relative to quarter two (Q2) 2022, production increased by 5%, driven by a 22% improvement at Kolomela. It said export sales of 10Mt were flat year-on-year and 2% lower relative to…

from page 1 did not intend to mean harm. “No insult or offence was intended at all. We know that so many South Africans were denied a proper education and even today universal education eludes many in our country. “We also do not equate a lack of political knowledge to a lack of education. People across the political spectrum have supporters that have been denied an education in the past,” she said. Political analyst professor Sipho Seepe said Mazzone’s comment was “stupid and exhibits a rabid form of white supremacy”. “There are a number of ways in which one can read this statement. What does being highly uneducated mean? Does it mean they can’t speak English? Does it mean they are not certificated? Is voting for the DA a…

DA spokesperson on State Security Natasha Mazzone has defended statements she made in an interview this week that EFF supporters are “highly uneducated”, saying no insult or offence was intended. Mazzone was speaking during an interview following an open letter, challenging EFF leader Julius Malema to a public debate, to discuss comments he made recently at an EFF gathering. “I think that it’s very easy to be brave when you’re speaking in front of a crowd of your own supporters, because you know no one’s going to stand up to you and you’re going to act like the big man. “And, you know, your supporters, unfortunately, are highly uneducated and you’ve given them a healthy meal to get them there in the first place. And they are going to cheer…

THE national Public Service Commission (PSC) is investigating the College of Cape Town after a frustrated whistle-blower reported allegations of maladministration, appointments and procurement irregularities. In a document seen by the Cape Times, the commission decided to look into the complaint “given the seriousness of the allegations”. Two officials have been roped in to investigate and determine the regularity of the processes during the appointments of the college’s chief financial officer, the principal’s wife for the position of a state accountant and her secondment to the post of assistant director. The PSC is also expected to investigate the authorisation of a R500 000 payment to a company for the implementation of a call centre. There are also service providers called to be scrutinised for services they provided and how they…

Sisters of the Circus Laila Manack Loot.co.za (R209) Penguin Trapeze-artist twins Kahina and Noor are one of a kind. Kidnapped from their home in India, they were sold to a travelling circus in Europe at four years old. Now it’s the Roaring Twenties, the girls are 21, and they want to escape their circus trailer and abusive ringmaster and make their way to India to find their birth parents. The circus world is all they know: the daily drills in technique; the fittings for sumptuous costumes that will make their dark complexions shine and keep customers rolling up to buy tickets; the blue-and-white striped tent with its coloured lights and the smell of popped kernels and melted caramel wafting through the stands; and their renowned double act: two young women…

WHAT is both unique and amazing is that the national composition of South Africa was also reflected in the Struggle. Whether people contributed in their capacity as individuals, or as part of the collective, the bottom-line is that it all mattered. The very contribution made one a marked person by the authorities and became dangerous as time progressed. Taking strong action against the apartheid regime warranted hard action from the beginning from the authorities. The Struggle against apartheid was taken step-by-step until it reached a saturation point. But the likes of David Pratt wanted to make it short and went solo after not getting support for his intentions. Pratt did not just make headlines but risked his life. He did not rely on any political party or army but…

Two organisations from Ethiopia’s Oromiya region have accused the army of conducting air strikes there in recent days which they said had killed hundreds of civilians, just as peace talks on the separate Tigray conflict were about to start. Government and army spokes- persons did not respond to requests for comment on the accusations made by the opposition Oromo Liberation Front and outlawed armed splinter group the Oromo Liberation Army. Reuters also spoke to a civilian in Oromiya, which is in western Ethiopia and surrounds the federal capital Addis Ababa, who said he witnessed an air raid on Sunday in which about 60 people, including his uncle, were killed. Oromiya, home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, numbering over 40 million, has experienced unrest for many years, rooted in grievances about…

Africa’s top public health body said yesterday that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda was “not getting out of hand” despite an increase in cases that have spread to the capital, Kampala. “The Ebola outbreak in Uganda ... it is still under control,” Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, acting director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said at an online briefing. Ouma said it was not possible to give any projections for the future spread of the disease. The virus circulating in Uganda is the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which there is no proven vaccine, unlike the more common Zaire strain seen during recent outbreaks in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. | Reuters…

BAABDA: Israeli and Lebanese leaders signed a landmark US-brokered agreement on their maritime boundary yesterday, marking a diplomatic departure from decades of hostility and opening the way to offshore energy exploration. Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed a letter approving the deal in Baada, followed by Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s signature in Jerusalem, with a handover ceremony of less-senior delegations set to take place at the UN peacekeeping base in Naqoura. Lapid hailed the deal as a “tremendous achievement” and Lebanese negotiator Elias Bou Saab said it marked the beginning of “a new era” between the two sides, which remain technically at war. | Reuters…

THE directive by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) not to pay for past hospital and medical claims issued by members of medical aid schemes has been declared unlawful. In his ruling, Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Mandla Mbongwe was highly critical of the RAF directive against the legislation, and as it was done without consulting any stakeholders or the public. The order followed an urgent application by Discovery Health after the RAF issued a directive that it would make no payments to claimants if their medical aid scheme had already paid for claims arising from a vehicle accident. Discovery argued that medical aid schemes would be out of pocket if the new directive to reject claims for past medical expenses already paid was implemented. Discovery Health argued that not only…

NEWLY elected Knysna acting municipal manager Roland Butler has expressed his readiness to step in and turn around the instability-plagued municipality, which has now seen three acting managers in a short period. Butler was voted in during yesterday’s council meeting, taking over from Johannes Jonkers, who resigned with immediate effect on Monday. The DA expressed its support for Dawid Adonis, stating he had been in the organisation for many years and had applied for the position of municipal manager. Butler won with 13 votes in his favour. The ANC nominated Butler and the proposal was supported by the EFF. The ANC said: “Mr Butler is from Cradock and has a wealth of experience including being employed as the Kannaland Municipality chief financial officer (CFO) and was also a senior official…

Former Eskom boss Matshela Koko as well as his wife Mosima Koko and stepdaughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma were granted bail by the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday. They had been arrested in the morning along with five others on charges of corruption relating to a multibillion-rand contract involving Eskom and Swiss engineering company Asea Brown Boveri. Other accused are former South African Local Government Association chief executive Thabo Mokwena, Eskom project director at Kusile, Hlupheka Sithole, lawyer Johannes Coetzee and Watson Seswai. The NPA’s Investigating Directorate national spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the accused were arrested in Gauteng and Mpumalanga and are to be arraigned on charges arising from the alleged irregular contracts granted for the building of Kusile Power Stations valued at over R2 billion. Mosima Koko, Aren, Choma…

WHEN Vanessa Lombard’s older sister, Ronel Schmidt, urgently needed a kidney transplant, at just 25-years-old at the time, Lombard never gave it a second thought and bravely offered to be her donor. The sisters recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Schmidt’s kidney transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH). Schmidt, now 51, said she had terrible headaches as a teenager and decided to go for a medical check-up, not knowing what was to come from it. “Through blood tests it showed that I had kidney disease. I continued going for my regular check-up’s every six months. I started making healthier choices and… lost 20kg just by eating healthier,” she said. However, when Schmidt turned 30 years old her doctor informed her that she needed a kidney transplant. Devastated, Schmidt said she…

The Furrows Namwali Serpell Loot.co.za (R229) Hogarth THIS IS a pOwerful new novel about grief and mourning. Cassandra Williams is 12; her little brother Wayne is 7. One day, when they are alone together, there is an accident, and Wayne is lost forever. Though his body is never recovered, their mother is unable to stop searching. The missing boy cleaves the family with doubt: How do you grieve an absence? And how does it feel? As C grows older, she relives and retells her story, and she sees her brother everywhere: in coffee shops, subway cars, and cities on both sides of America. Here is her brother’s older face, the colour of his eyes, his lanky limbs, the way he seems to recognise her too. But it can't be, of…

From October 16 to 22, the people of the world had their eyes on the 20th national congress of the Communist Party of China, which concluded with huge success. The congress is a meeting of great importance. It takes place at a critical time as China embarks on a new journey to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance towards our second centenary goal. The congress holds high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, fully implements the thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and gives a systematic overview of the major theoretical and practical issues on upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The congress laid out the well-informed guiding principles and missions of the party and the country for the…

Tens of thousands of mourners attended the funeral yesterday of a Pakistani journalist shot dead by police in Kenya after he fled arrest in his home country. Arshad Sharif, a strident critic of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment and supporter of former premier Imran Khan, died when Kenyan police opened fire on his car which was at a roadblock outside the capital at the weekend. Sharif had fled the country in August to escape sedition charges. His death triggered widespread speculation in Pakistan that he was targeted for his views. Kenyan officials say Sharif’s death was a case of mistaken identity. They say officers thought they were firing on a stolen vehicle involved in an abduction. The funeral at Islamabad’s main mosque drew up to 40 000 mourners, according to police…

British King Charles III yesterday was reportedly planning to extend the pool of royals allowed to act for him in his absence, effectively sidelining non-working royals Prince Harry and the Duke of York. Charles is expected to amend the “Regency Act” to add his brother Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his sister Anne, the Princess Royal, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC reported. The Telegraph reported the amendments could go before parliament “within weeks”, quoting “royal insiders” as saying it was a “logical step”. A longer list would allow the Palace to bypass Harry and Andrew, who has retired from public life over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. | AFP…

Libreville: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Chad to let outside investigators probe clashes last week between security forces and anti-junta protesters that left dozens of dead. “Chadian authorities need to immediately ensure that an effective, independent investigation will be conducted to determine if the security services’ use of lethal force was a justified, proportionate response to any alleged violence,” said Lewis Mudge, HRW’s Central Africa director. “People should be able to peacefully protest government policy without being shot at or killed,” he said in a statement issued late Wednesday. Opposition groups called the protests last Thursday. | AFP…

from page 1 out of proceedings and what the consequences were for the hearing. EFF leader Julius Malema said his party was considering withdrawing from the committee after it decided to proceed with the inquiry and that their request to be given time to consult their legal team was not heeded. “I said we ask for an adjournment to consult our legal team to see how we proceed with this matter. “She (Mkhwebane) is entitled to be a legal representative and we must allow her. If you insist on the proceeding, we are going to withdraw from this process,” Malema said. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said late yesterday proceedings, which were meant for cross-examination of a witness, should be postponed until today subject to the evidence leaders and Mkhwebane’s team…

THE Section 194 Committee established to determine Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold public office went into a tailspin yesterday when her legal team staged a walkout. Mkhwebane’s legal counsel Advocate Dali Mpofu SC said they did not have the mandate to continue with the proceedings after the committee dismissed her application to postpone the matter pending her review application. This happened soon after committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi notified Mkhwebane and her legal team of their decision taken in their absence. Earlier Mpofu had argued for a postponement of the proceedings to allow Mkhwebane to institute a review application over the non-recusal of Dyantyi and DA MP Kevin Mileham as well as the committee’s decision to support the pair’s non-recusal. After Dyantyi briefed them on their decision, Mpofu…

HAVING denied two alleged gangsters bail last week, Judge Daniel Thulare shone a spotlight on SAPS officers who become involved in organised crime and corrupt dealings with Cape Town gangs, along with the compromised safety of state prosecutors. Alleged gang leader Elcardo Adams and Alfonso Cloete, accused of having links with the Mobster gang on the Cape Flats with strongholds in Happy Valley, Kleinvlei, Kraaifontein and Dennemeer, were denied bail in the Western Cape High Court while on trial on a number of criminal charges. These include premeditated murders, conspiracies to commit murders, attempted murders, possession of unlicensed firearms and unlawful possession of ammunition. Judge Thulare lamented the corrupt operations of SAPS officials who have links to organised crime and how the safety of state prosecutors had been compromised. Gangsters,…

An Angel's Demise Sue Nyathi Loot.co.za (R240) Pan Macmillan BELLE Acres is a dairy farm in the district of Somabhula in Southern Rhodesia. The year is 1977, and the farm has been in the hands of the Williams family since the turn of the century. The farm is managed by Paul Williams, a seemingly harsh and bigoted man, who holds the livelihood of many black labourers in his hands. Maria, the daughter of one of the workers, joins the liberation movement, leaving behind her daughter, Angel, in the care of her mother and grandmother who have been in service to the Williams family for years. Angel grows up on the farm during two-and-a-half momentous decades that see a complicated history and legacy unfold into an equally complicated present. An Angel’s…

Iran’s supreme Leader vowed yesterday to retaliate against those threatening the country’s security after the massacre of Shia pilgrims, an assault claimed by Islamic State which threatens to inflame tensions amid widespread anti-government protests. In a statement read on state TV, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the assailants “will surely be punished” and called on Iranians to unite. “We all have a duty to deal with the enemy and its traitorous or ignorant agents,” said Khamenei a day after the attack killed 15 people. Khamenei’s call for unity appeared to be directed at mostly government loyalists and not protesters whose nearly six-week old movement is seen as a threat to national security by authorities. Iran’s clerical rulers have faced nationwide protests since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a…

Southeast Asian foreign ministers said they were “even more determined” to solve the political crisis in Myanmar during talks in Indonesia yesterday ahead of the Asean leaders’ summit in November. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup in February last year, but despite its expressions of concern, efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have yet to bear any fruit. But “Asean should not be discouraged, but even more determined to help Myanmar to bring about a peaceful solution”, said Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn after the emergency meeting at the bloc’s secretariat in Jakarta. Myanmar’s junta declined to send a non-political figure to the meeting. More than 2 300 people have been killed in the Myanmar military’s brutal crackdown on dissent after the coup, according…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday it had agreed a 46-month, $3-billion Extended Fund Facility with Egypt, welcoming a move to “durable exchange rate flexibility” and commitments to boosting social protections. The arrangement is expected to catalyse a large, multi-year financing package, including about $5bn in the financial year ending in June 2023, reflecting broad international and regional support for Egypt, the IMF said in a statement. The Egyptian government’s fiscal policy under the Extended Fund Facility would be anchored to the reduction of general government debt and gross financing needs, the statement said. | Reuters…

STORMERS centre Dan du Plessis says he won't be out to prove anything when he goes up against the Lions' Henco van Wyk in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash tomorrow. The Stormers will look to bounce back from their defeat to Cardiff when they face the Lions at Ellis Park. "I don’t think there’s anything I need to prove. It’s always nice to go up against a quality player and it’s a breath of fresh air seeing the youngsters come through,“ Du Plessis said. “I will be reviewing the Lions games and will obviously watch more of him (Van Wyk), but from what I’ve seen he’s a very talented player and I’m looking forward to the match-up with him.” Du Plessis spent a chunk of last season on the…