Sommaire pour 2023-05-31 de Cape Times

from page 1 the opportunity for this Act to embody a deeper meaning and fuller sense of belonging for traditional communities one that is not focused on propping a traditional leadership cluster that will form part of an artificial edifice of convenience for the State,” said Jenkins. Parliament’ Spokesperson, Mr Moloto Mothapo said: “Public participation is a cornerstone and an indispensable feature of a democratic parliament. In this regard, Parliament developed the public participation model with a view to strengthen public involvement in its decision-making processes. “Parliament is in the process of creating an enhanced and better public participation capacity in order to deepen this important constitutional function. “We view today’s judgment as an important enrichment to Parliament’s endeavour to continually improve its public participation function.”…

THE diplomatic immunity gazetted by International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor before the BRICS summit in August is to provide security and assurance to visiting delegations from the member countries. This is according to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco). Pandor granted immunity to delegates who are expected to attend the BRICS ministerial meeting in Cape Town from tomorrow, and the BRICS summit from August 22 to 24. According to Pandor’s notice, which was gazetted on Monday, participants will be granted immunity in accordance with the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the August summit after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the International Criminal Court. Commenting on the gazette, Lwazi Somya, a senior researcher at the Southern African Liaison…

AS South Africa battles a violent crime surge, it also now appears to be a haven for fugitives, with authorities claiming identity theft make it harder to crack down on promptly on criminals. The Police Ministry tabled the fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2022/2023 financial year painting a bloody picture of violence. The fourth quarter covers the period from January to March 2023. According to the stats, about 6 289 people were killed in the first three months of this year, a 3.4% increase compared to the same period last year. KwaZulu-Natal led as the province with the most cases recording 1 589 murders, followed by 1 556 in Gauteng, 1 112 Eastern Cape and 872 deaths in the Western Cape. Guns were the most used weapons in…

THE South African National Aids Council Civil Society Forum (Sanac CSF) has welcomed the adoption of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill by Parliament’s portfolio committee on health. The bill aims to provide universal access to health care in South Africa as enshrined in the Constitution as a fundamental right. Sanac said the call for implementation of universal health care was made 29 years ago by the people of South Africa. Through the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the democratic government in waiting was given a clear mandate that apartheid’s construct of quality health care for some and not others, should be smashed through the introduction of a National Health Insurance (NHI). “In 2023, which is 29 years later, this ideal of the RDP remains a pipe-dream, which is unacceptable.”…

THE Covid-19 pandemic had us all on the verge of panic with even the smallest sneeze causing concern. During the pandemic, however, flu and other acute respiratory diseases were still killing people and putting others in hospital. Let’s face it, some of us reading this article may never have caught Covid-19. Yet we have all had the flu at some point in our lives, and it is a horrible feeling. Nasal drip, sneezing, coughing, and a painful body are all symptoms of the dreadful flu virus. It is at this time when it mainly strikes. Every year, the flu kills between 6 000 and 11 000 people in South Africa. Approximately half of these deaths occur in the elderly, and 30% occur in HIV-infected individuals. The elderly (65 and older),…

THE issue of corporal punishment will soon come under the spotlight in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The matter centres around two teachers who meted out corporal punishment to two learners, but received only a slap on the wrists. Section27, on behalf of the Centre for Child Law and two parents, is partially appealing a Gauteng High Court, Pretoria judgment in the Supreme Court, following the actions of the two teachers. The teachers meted out corporal punishment against two primary school learners in the classroom. Despite corporal punishment being banned from schools from 1996, both teachers received lenient sanctions from the South African Council for Educators, which were based on its internal policy called the “mandatory sanctions policy”. The application concerns the “shockingly lenient” sanctions which the council applied to…

For our country to avert “an imminent crisis at next year’s elections”, as Tuesday’s Cape Times editorial put it, something totally new has to be introduced, namely, a “voters coalition”. Democracy is not the handmaiden of the political class. It is the doctrine which holds that the numerical majority of an organised group can make decisions binding on the whole group. Voting is one part of the exercise in democracy. The other part is civic activism. This refers to the ways in which citizens participate in public affairs and influence decision-making. Civic activism is important for ensuring accountability, transparency, and representation in governance. We are very fortunate in that a key founding provision of our state requires, in section 1(d) of the Constitution, a democratic government to “ensure accountability, responsiveness…

It is often said that criticising others is easier because criticism is an easy form of ego defense. Whichever way one looks at it, there is something horribly wrong with the images of newborn babies sleeping in boxes at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital. North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha has since ordered an internal investigation, and for the nurse in charge together with the nursing manager to be placed on precautionary leave. But it may have been a case of nurses merely making do with what they had. According to the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), the ICU for infants had been short of 20 incubators and cribs, with no sign of these coming. The unit had 25 incubators, and more than 55 babies were born on the day…

A swarm of drones hit Moscow yesterday in an unprecedented attack, while Russian drones struck Kyiv for a third straight day as Ukraine gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces. The Russian defence ministry blamed Kyiv for the attacks that saw three drones crash into residential buildings in Moscow. Officials said no one was seriously injured and there was only “minor” damage to buildings. The Russian defence ministry said that eight drones were used in the attack, adding that five were downed and three disabled. Of the three that hit residential buildings, two crashed into high-rises located in Moscow’s affluent southwest, while a third damaged a residential building in a suburb of the capital. The other drones fell outside Moscow. Some of the debris was found about 15km…

TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, pictured, has ordered the country’s foreign ministry to take measures to resume and develop diplomatic relations with Egypt. Iranian government spokesperson Ali Bahadori Jahromi made the remarks when answering a question from reporters about the likelihood of resuming the ties at a weekly press conference in Tehran yesterday, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported. A day earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said his country welcomed the resumption of bilateral relations with Egypt and had no problem in this regard, according to his official website. He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who visited Cairo earlier in the month and extended Egypt’s “willingness” to resume ties with Iran. Iran and Egypt severed diplomatic relations in…

Saint-Denis: There will be 10 000 torchbearers to carry the Olympic flame as it passes through some 60 French departments ahead of the 2024 Games, Paris Olympic organisers announced yesterday. After the flame is lit in the traditional ceremony in Olympia, Greece, it will arrive by sea in Marseille aboard the three-master Belem on May 8 next year. From there it will travel across France on its way to the Olympic opening ceremony in the capital on July 26. There has been speculation that the Olympic flame will be placed on the Eiffel Tower, but the final destination had not been decided. |…

Looking to up your winter footwear game? Then look no further than the cowboy boot. I’m sure by now you might have noticed that they are pretty much everywhere. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get yourself a pair. If you want to get in on the trend but are not quite sure how to style them, here are a few tips on what to wear with this winter’s hottest boots. Two trends in one If you want to combine two of the hottest fashion trends right now, then you have to style your boots with the very popular maxi denim skirt. Opt for a skirt with a slit to show off the boot. Pair with jeans While skinny jeans are a great option, the straight-leg…

Former president Jacob Zuma has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an inquiry into the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi for allegedly being part of the planning or execution of alleged criminal activities involving arms deal prosecutor advocate Billy Downer. Zuma alleges Downer contravened the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Act in that he was aware of the leaking of a report disclosing his confidential medical condition to journalist Karyn Maughan. The former president has brought a private prosecution against Downer and Maughan in respect of this matter, but they have applied for the charges to be quashed. On Monday, Zuma’s lawyers Ntanga Nkuhlu Inc Attorneys wrote to Ramaphosa requesting the institution of an inquiry in terms of Section 12(6) of the NPA Act and/or 84(2)(f) of the…

The Constitutional Court has sent Parliament back to the drawing board after it found provincial legislatures failed to fulfil their constitutional obligations to facilitate public involvement when passing the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019. The Constitutional Court declared the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act unconstitutional and invalid as “Parliament overwhelmingly failed in facilitating public participation” and called on it to make the necessary changes within a year to ensure they facilitate a constitutionally-compliant process. The Legal Resources Centre welcomed the historic judgment. According to the background of the litigation, the high level panel on the Assessment of Key Legislation and the Acceleration of Fundamental Change, chaired by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, expressed concern that public submissions that it received indicated that the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework…

This week, our national sewage crisis really began to bite. A media storm has erupted over the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, while some families are now grieving for their dead relatives. It is important that we start this story by remembering the dead, because they were breadwinners in families, all doing their best to survive the tribulations of our times. They died unnecessarily, the victims of the slow onset disaster I spoke of in 2008 at a conference titled “Science Real and Relevant”. At that conference, reference was made to three water quality challenges that we, in the dwindling aquatic sciences community, were all too aware of, but unable to speak about. We noted trends that data sets were showing us, and we felt a growing sense of alarm about…

The South African Medical Association (Sama) has slammed the government for failing to keep its promise to exempt hospitals from rolling blackouts. Sama chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa said load shedding continued to put lives at risk. Earlier this month, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, ordered the government to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to all government hospitals, clinics, schools, and police stations. This followed an application brought by the UDM and other political and civic organisations, which argued that the government and Eskom violated basic human rights by implementing load shedding that had knocked out critical areas of the economy such as hospitals. President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the grid would collapse if the government fully implemented the court’s decision. The government is appealing against the ruling. Ramaphosa said the appeal…

THE ANC is up to mischief again. Their pet subject being social engineering and central planning. But oh, what a poor track record they have. Instead of stimulating the free market and economy, they are playing the race card again. Now Minister Thulas Nxesi has envisaged a new law whereby race targets will be set regarding enterprises with 50 employees and more. The implication will be that 500 000 white, brown and Indian employees will lose their jobs. For example and according to the demographics no brown person will be employed in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West. In doing so enterprises will face a penalty of 10% on their income. Welcome back to the old apartheid regime. Minister Nxesi have you lost your mind? The introduction of such a draconian…

THE government’s announcement that a basic income support for all unemployed people between the ages of 18 and 59 would be prioritised, has been welcomed. Human rights advocacy group, the Black Sash Trust, which has been calling for it in efforts to tackle poverty, braved the cold and wet weather yesterday, demonstrating outside Parliament as Department of Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu tabled her Budget vote. She listed 10 items that would be prioritised during the 2023/24 financial year. “Working together with other mandated government departments, we will produce South Africa’s poverty alleviation strategy which includes the policy on the basic income support for 18- to 59-year-old people who are not working. “We will optimise the performance of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) while implementing a risk-based supervision framework that will prevent…

Cabinet reshuffles under the presidency of the incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa have not been at the lightning speed of an F1 race, compared to those of his predecessor Jacob Zuma. Yet, while these have not been frequent, there is still a majority agreement that there are lacklustre performers in his current Cabinet. Some of these, as the Zondo Commission on State Capture stated and recommended, should not even be part of the current Cabinet. But Ramaphosa and his advisers would have none of it – party unity always seems paramount, in the face of public perception of corruption-accused comrades continuing to occupy political office. Following his much-vaunted recent reshuffle, after his re-election at Nasrec last December, one name has been on everyone’s lips and how this name is much more ambitious,…

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was hosting his fellow South American leaders yesterday for a “retreat” aimed at strengthening ties in a region where left-wing governments are newly back in style. Eleven of the continent’s 12 heads of state were to attend the summit in Brasilia – the first of its kind in nearly a decade – with only Peruvian President Dina Boluarte expected to miss it. Veteran leftist Lula kicked things off on Monday by meeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, hailing the “historic” restoration of a relationship that was severed under his predecessor, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil had cut diplomatic ties with Maduro’s government under Bolsonaro (2019-2022), who labelled the socialist leader a “dictator”. This is the first summit of regional leaders since 2014 in…

A renowned US mountain guide, who recently achieved the rare feat of climbing Mount Everest and two nearby peaks in less than three weeks, said yesterday Nepal needs to do a better job of policing the world’s highest mountain to save it from pollution. Garrett Madison, 44, who climbed the 8 849m Everest for the 13th time last week, said its higher camps were littered with torn tents, food wrappers and empty oxygen bottles discarded by climbers. “We need to find better ways to bring the waste down,” Madison said in the Nepali capital Kathmandu after returning from the mountain. “We need better policing to check that every team brings down its garbage.” It is mandatory for climbers to bring their waste down from the mountain and claim back a…

Brussels: The EU and the US have expressed concerns over a new Polish law creating a body to probe “Russian influence”, which critics say Warsaw will use to target the opposition. The EU has “special concern” over the committee, which would have powers to block citizens from public office, the bloc’s justice commissioner said yesterday. Brussels fears the new panel could be used against independent judges in Poland, and commissioner Didier Reynders said the European Commission is prepared to take appropriate action if necessary. The creation of the commission has been slammed by the opposition who have labelled it as “anti-constitutional” and “Stalinist”.…

MOSCOW: The desire of some countries to join BRICS is a topic of discussion within the bloc, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday when asked about Venezuela’s aspiration to join BRICS. On Monday, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said that Caracas would like to become part of the BRICS group. “Over the past year, more and more countries have shown a keen interest in this format (BRICS), and more countries have declared their intention to focus on connecting to it. This topic is for discussion of members of this format, which will be done,” Peskov told reporters. |…

The scrap at the bottom got tense with relegation only confirmed on the final day of the Premiership season. Here, Herman Gibbs and Mihlali Baleka look at the four clubs that filled out the last spots. RICHARDS BAY FC – 13th Played: 30 Won: 8 Drew: 9 Lost: 13 Goals For: 20 Goals Against: 30 Points: 33 Richards Bay FC will get to live another season in the top-flight after ensuring that they saved their Premiership status on the last day of the season. It was such a brilliant first half of the season from Richards Bay that they looked destined to qualify for African football next season by holding onto the coveted second place. But while the climb to the top was impressive in the first half of the…

from page 1 communities. This is an unimaginable tragedy,” said Maynier. ANC MPL for Education, Khalid Sayed, having visited Wespoort Primary School as one of the affected schools, said: “This is a really tragic incident that happened, but very importantly as lawmakers, we will raise this in the legislature, to sharply express our concern that the education department in the province and department of transport need to get to the bottom of this. They need to ensure that transport which is not necessarily compliant, must not be safely transporting our learners.” Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis expressed his condolences to the families of the children. “Our City mourns together with the families of scholars who died in the fatal crash in Mitchells Plain this morning. This is a terrible, dark day in…

Calls for stricter rules for scholar transport following death of 5 pupils in accident THE death of five schoolchildren in a multi-vehicle crash along the busy AZ Berman Drive in Mitchells Plain yesterday has once again reignited calls for stricter rules for scholar transport. Mobility MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie, confirmed that the accident involved a vehicle transporting learners illegally. A sixth child was in a critical condition, according to paramedics, after the bakkie transporting them had rolled a number of times before coming to a standstill. The horror crash included the bakkie, a bus and taxi. “I am outraged by this accident involving a vehicle transporting learners illegally, resulting in these tragic and avoidable deaths. How many more children must we lose on our roads before the transportation of these…

THE QUESTION of the nature of a democracy has long been the object of study by better minds than mine. We are a “constitutional democracy” in which the “rule of law” is thought to be pre-eminent. Resources are limited while the population is expanding exponentially, both organically and by migration towards us. Sections 26, housing; 27, health care, food, water and social security; and 29, education, all undertake that the government will provide such desirables: subject to the constraints of the state. Section 9 of the Constitution provides that everyone is equal before the law, and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. This does not provide equal education or housing or health care. Thus, a constitutional democracy requires an electorate that is informed, reflective, and…

THE UCT council has resolved to accept the resignation of embattled council chairperson Babalwa Ngonyama, stating that it agreed with the independent panel that her presence “poses a serious risk to the university”. Ngonyama announced last week that she had stepped down from her position with immediate effect after a scathing interim report, issued by the panel led by retired Supreme Court of Appeal President Lex Mpati, made serious findings against her. The panel was established last year to investigate allegations of governance issues, including claims that former vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng and Ngonyama misled the senate regarding the departure of deputy vice-chancellor of learning and teaching, Associate Professor Lis Lange, who claimed in a letter to the Senate that she was forced out. According to the report it was…

IN regard to our May 28 article, titled “Animal rights activists see red as McLaren Circus allowed to be staged in Gqeberha,” Karl Hildebrandt, McLaren Circus Advance and PR responds: We are rather shocked at the omission of information in Siphokazi’s article. Firstly, Transnet is merely owners of the property, they cannot grant approval. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has to approve our event, which they did. There’s a quote of Carol Ann Kelleher around the placement of animals in circuses, but no inclusion for the demand that society has placed on us as a circus – all the sold-out shows and added shows. I even provided images and videos of the astounding support. There’s a mention that “the research speaks for itself. These animals live a miserable existence and they…

Partnership with Africa aims to promote mutually accelerated growth THE BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) foreign ministers will be meeting in Cape Town tomorrow and on Friday to discuss the enlargement of the group and prepare for the 15th BRICS Summit to be held in Johannesburg from August 22 to 24. The theme of the summit is “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism”, so the foreign ministers will be focusing on inclusive multilateralism. Already, more than 20 countries have put in applications to join BRICS on both a formal and informal basis. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has previously said that as South Africa had been the first recipient of the expansion of BRIC to BRICS in 2010,…

NATO foreign ministers will seek to narrow divisions over Ukraine’s membership bid at a meeting in Oslo this week, with allies at odds over calls to grant Kyiv a road map to accession at their July summit. Nato has not acceded to Ukraine’s request for fast-track membership as Western governments such as the US and Germany are wary of moves that they fear could take the alliance closer to entering an active war with Russia. But Kyiv and some of its closest allies in eastern Europe have been pushing for Nato to at least take concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer to membership at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12. “It would be very sad if in any way anyone could read the outcome of…

Serbian protesters smashed two cars belonging to journalists in Kosovo’s Leposavic town yesterday, a day after 30 Nato soldiers and 52 protesters were hurt in clashes as EU and Nato officials urged a de-escalation of the violence. Unrest in the region has intensified since ethnic Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo’s Serb- majority area after April elections that the Serbs boycotted, a move that led the US and its allies to rebuke Pristina on Friday. Nato said in a statement it would send additional forces to Kosovo to curb the violence, adding it “has directed the deployment of the Operational Reserve Forces (ORF) for the Western Balkans.” Masked men smashed the windshield of a car with an Albanian licence plate marked as “A2, CNN affiliate”, a Reuters reporter who…

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s treasury has announced measures to encourage the use of the local dollar as opposed to the US dollar, in a bid to boost the local unit and tame rising consumer inflation. The measures include a directive that all government departments collect fees in the local currency, the introduction of a 1% tax on all foreign payments, and that all customs duty be payable in local currency, with the exception of designated or luxury goods and where an importer opts to pay in foreign currency. The Treasury will also assume all foreign currency debts from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. |…

Kampala: Ugandan activists called on foreign donors to impose sanctions on rights abusers after President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-gay law described as among the world’s harshest. The veteran leader defied warnings that approving the much-criticised bill against homosexuality would strain ties between Kampala and key international partners and aid donors, including Washington. Among other harsh measures, the new law prescribes a death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” in certain circumstances, although Uganda has not carried out capital punishment for many years. The move has triggered outcry and calls for a tough response from Uganda’s backers. |…