Table of contents for 2024-03-01 in Cape Times

from page 1 the minister has chosen through inaction, to frustrate transformation. “In doing so, he is failing in his constitutional duties in this regard. His failure to act constitutes an unlawful action.” Brink also said the LSC gave effect to section 9(2) of the Constitution as it promoted the achievement of equality in that it implemented measures that actively advance persons or categories of persons who are disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. “It is a legislative measure designed to protect persons or categories of persons who were disadvantaged by unfair discrimination, hence the need for its urgent gazetting.” He noted that the Legal Practice Council embarked on engaging stakeholders to advance transformation of the process through facilitating the drafting and development of the LSC in February 2020. The Legal Practice…

One of the authors of the book The Battle of Bangui turned to court in a bid to force the SANDF to supply him with information, more specifically deployment reports, following an inquiry after the battle. Author and journalist Warren Thompson turned to the Western Cape High Court to obtain this information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia). He is also asking the court to review and set aside the defence force minister’s decision to dismiss his appeal against the earlier refusal to grant him this information. Thompson asked the court to order the minister to hand over this information within 10 days. The information at the centre of the Paia request relates to the outcome of a board of inquiry conducted by the Department…

Failure to gazette B-BBEE Legal Sector Code haunts trade and industry minister Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel has been hauled to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, over his failure to gazette the B-BBEE Legal Sector Code (LSC) since 2021. Also cited as respondents in the application by the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel), the Black Conveyancers Association (BCA), the Pan African Bar Association of SA, and the Black Lawyers Association, are Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, the Solicitor-General and the Legal Practice Council. Their action comes after Pretoria High Court Judge Mandlenkosi Motha last week demanded that an all-white group of lawyers explain why there was not a single black lawyer among them in a case before him. The matter before Judge Motha involved Periform Work Scaffolding Engineering,…

THE Socialist Youth Movement (SYM) at Wits University has called on South African universities to “slash the bloated and unreasonable salaries” of vice-chancellors and other executives and to redirect the funds to other needs at universities. It said for university executives to earn extravagant salaries while thousands of students battled to forge ahead due to student debt was unconscionable and an injustice to workers and students alike. Comments like these and more were just the cusp of the backlash meted out to vice-chancellors at South African universities following the release of the findings of the 2020 Inquiry into the Remuneration of University Vice-Chancellors and Senior Executive Managers in South Africa by the Council on Higher Education (CHE). The deputy general secretary of the SYM at Wits University, Noxolo Nxele,…

IRATE Grabouw residents have threatened further protest action unless the local clinic assumes responsibility for an incident where a woman gave birth in the street. This follows the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness denying claims that nurses at the health facility instructed the woman in labour to go back home on Monday, citing that the specific stage of labour was "far," and it was not her expected delivery date. Residents protested on Tuesday accusing the clinic negligence and poor services in general. The department's Roche Laws confirmed that the patient visited the facility with labour pains. “Following protocol, the patient was assessed by our health-care workers to determine the stage of labour. As the patient was not in active labour at the time she was seen at the…

Writing is cheaper than therapy. I wrote The Hidden as a form of therapy in response to all the craziness that hit the news about America a few years ago. You might say: “Fiona, America is a long way away and you live in South Africa. Why do you care what is going on there?” Well, you’re right, but there is also a saying that when America sneezes, the whole world catches a cold. And I had noticed some of that craziness starting to infect our politicians and opinion makers. I imagined a fictional America – one that I was in charge of – and the whole experience was cheaper than therapy. Some of that craziness seems to be seeping back into American life, so this is a good…

Critiquing America’s racism and weaponisation of institutions of science against black bodies IN OCTOBER 2023, I was invited to Charlotte, North Carolina in the US, to participate in an American Journal of Biological Anthropology (AJBA) workshop. Colleagues from different parts of the world converged in this convivial city of Charlotte to ruminate about the role of anthropology in today’s changing political dynamics. Intense conversations about the very problematic foundations of anthropology as a tool through which colonial ‘subjects’ were boxed into tribal and racial categories to feed the purpose of race ‘science’ pointed to the seemingly lack of rigorous critical examination and epistemological reassessment of the field itself. According to Christopher Donohue, “Biosocial anthropology is more assuredly sociological and anthropological in its focus on human communities and the explanation of…

Gaza health authorities said more than 100 Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces as they waited for an aid delivery yesterday, but Israel challenged the death toll and said many of the victims were run over by aid trucks. At least 104 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident near Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, and the death toll in nearly five months of war passed 30 000. Medical teams said they were unable to cope with the volume and severity of the injuries, with dozens of wounded taken to the al-Shifa hospital, which is only partially operational after Israeli raids on the facility earlier in the conflict. The incident caused the largest loss of civilian lives in weeks and was condemned by Palestinian…

Chadian opposition politician Yaya Dillo was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces, state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye said yesterday. Heavy gunfire was heard on Wednesday in the capital N’Djamena near the headquarters of Dillo’s opposition party, a witness said. Several people had been killed in earlier clashes near Chad’s internal security agency building. The violence flared amid tensions ahead of a presidential election set for May and June that could return the Central African state to constitutional rule three years after the military seized power. Calm had returned to the capital yesterday and residents were going back to work, though internet access, which was blocked a day earlier, had still not been restored. On Wednesday, the headquarters of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders, led by Dillo,…

MOSCOW: Hearse drivers are refusing to take Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s body from the morgue to his funeral today after receiving threats, his allies said. Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said funeral directors had received threatening calls from “unknown people” warning them not to transport Navalny’s body. Navalny died on February 16 in one of Russia’s toughest prisons in northern Siberia, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely seen as political retribution for his opposition. Russian authorities said Navalny died of “natural causes” but his team and some Western leaders accuse Putin of being responsible. | AFP…

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers were sworn in during the first sitting of Pakistan’s new parliament yesterday, three weeks after an election marred by widespread allegations of rigging. Pakistan’s February 8 poll took place with ex-prime minister Imran Khan jailed and barred from running, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party targeted by a campaign of arrests and censorship. Khan’s followers defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party but the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is set to shut them out of power with a coalition government. Former premier Shehbaz Sharif will be elected prime minister again. | AFP…

from page 1 This was 30-year-old Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, a taxi boss from Mtubatuba on the KZN North Coast. In addition to this case, Mkhwanazi faces a murder charge on a separate matter. The fourth accused, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, 36, is alleged to be the co-ordinator of the hit and a businessman with mining interests in Limpopo. He lives in Pinetown, outside Durban, and handed himself over to police on Monday (February 27) following a warrant for his arrest. He was reportedly on the run until his lawyer handed him over to the police. Gwabeni does not face any other charges outside of the AKA matter. He is being represented by top Durban advocate Paul Jorgenson. During court proceedings, Jorgenson argued that his client was being refused food and bathing…

Present tense Natalie Conyer Loot.co.za (R205) Pengiun Retired police chief Piet Pieterse has been murdered – necklaced, in fact. A tyre placed round his neck, doused with petrol, set alight. An execution from the apartheid era and one generally confined to collaborators. Veteran cop Schalk Lourens is trying to forget the past. But Pieterse was his old boss and when Schalk is assigned to the case, he finds the past has a way of infecting the present. Meanwhile, it's an election year. People are pinning their hopes on charismatic ANC candidate Gideon Radebe but there's opposition and in this volatile country, unrest is never far from the surface. Schalk must tread a difficult path between the new regime and the old, between the personal and the professional, between justice…

Besties Emily and Kristen head to the mountains of Chile for their annual girls’ backpacking trek. On the last night of the trip, Emily discovers a chilling scene in their hotel room. Kirsten claims she was attacked by a backpacker and that she shouted but no one heard. Kristen’s claim of self-defence triggers a disturbing incident from the past, leaving Emily to grapple with doubt and fear. As they return home, the weight of their shared secret grows heavier, forcing Emily to confront the unsettling truth about her closest friend. Bartz carefully tells a story of friendship, betrayal and dark secrets. We Were Never Here locks readers in, getting them to possibly question the true value of trust and loyalty. The book is said to have the best female leads…

DEAR Mr President, if only if I had known your sickness was that serious. I lament not praying for you while you needed not only my prayers, but those of the whole nation. Instead, alongside the media, we kept inquiring when you would leave to make way for young, vibrant leaders. When I heard of your passing it took me days to handle it. It was more of a dream many could not comprehend. I truly thought the US had something to do with your passing and was ready to write to the American government office and ask what had truly happened. You would often remind us that you may not be here tomorrow, and indeed, today you are not. You sacrificed your health for Namibia out of adoration…

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin warned yesterday of a “real” risk of nuclear war if the West escalates the conflict in Ukraine, offering a defiant and emboldened stance in his annual speech to Russians. Speaking in Moscow, Putin said his soldiers were advancing in Ukraine and warned the West of “tragic consequences” for any country that dared to send troops to Kyiv. “They have announced the possibility of sending Western military contingents to Ukraine ... The consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic,” he said in his address to the nation. “They should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus…

The Swiss will vote on Sunday on two initiatives aimed at reshaping pensioners’ lives, with one seeking to boost pension payments, the other to hike the retirement age. Swiss trade unions have put forward a proposal for an additional monthly social security payment to help pensioners keep up with rising costs in the wealthy Alpine nation. The initiative calls for a 13th monthly pension payment each year. Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Swiss voters favour the initiative, although the “yes” side’s lead appears to be shrinking and it remains unclear if it will pass. Monthly social security payments in Switzerland can rise to 2 450 Swiss francs (about R53 500) for individuals and 3 675 francs for married couples. But the payments do not go far in a…

LONDON: A public inquiry into a British police officer whose rape and murder of a woman horrified the nation concluded yesterday that without a sweeping overhaul of failed vetting procedures, there was nothing to stop another case arising. Wayne Couzens, 51, is serving a full life sentence in jail after being convicted of the 2021 rape and murder of Sarah Everard, who he abducted from a London street using his police credentials to force her into his car. He subsequently pleaded guilty to three unrelated charges of exposing himself, and the inquiry found eight such offences had been reported, but not acted upon. Mark Rowley, the head of London’s Metropolitan Police, began a major purge of his force. | Reuters…

NEW DELHI: India’s richest man has kicked off lavish pre-wedding parties for his son by feeding more than 50 000 people in his hometown, with celebrations in the coming days expected to include some of the world’s most influential figures. Global tech CEOs, industry titans, Bollywood stars, pop icons and politicians are expected to jet today for the main three-day celebrations hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani, who is building a sprawling Hindu temple complex for the event. Ambani, 66, chairperson of oil-to-telecoms giant Reliance Industries, is Asia’s richest person according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list, worth more than $114 billion. | AFP…

The African Football League (AFL) title may have helped scratch the seven-year continental itch a little, but winning the inaugural eight-team CAF competition has essentially left Mamelodi Sundowns with a target on their back as they seek to win the big one. But Rulani Mokwena would not have it any other way. He does, after all, believe that “we have proven that we are one of the best teams on the continent”, and being ‘marked’ comes with the territory. And as he seeks to lead Sundowns to victory in the continent’s premier club knockout competition – the CAF Champions League – for the second time, the young coach relishes his side being the team to beat. The Brazilians have already qualified for the quarter-finals going into the final round-robin match…

WHILE North Gauteng High Court Judge Mandlenkosi Motha may have stirred a hornet’s nest in his order to get clarity on the composition of legal counsel pertaining to the lack of racial diversity, the judge has brought the issue of transformation in the judiciary slap bang in the spotlight. The matter of transformation within the judiciary is not limited to the legal counsel but goes right up to the appointment of judges even in the highest courts. In 2021, then Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe accused the judiciary of being soaked in politics, battling to deal with transformation, and allowing apartheid-era judges to dominate the narrative. Judge Hlophe described the country’s law as a “white man’s law” imposed by colonialists and an infusion of English heritage and Roman-Dutch law,…

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has backtracked on its ambitious goal of rolling out the accommodation pilot project at universities, Parliament has been told. The decision was made as more work needed to be done on the accommodation pilot. The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) briefed the portfolio committee on higher education about progress in the Post School Education and Training (PSET) sector since the academic year commenced. The areas requiring attention that relate to NSFAS include the accommodation pilot, the accreditation of places that are non-compliant with DHET standards, and inadequate consultation with universities and landlords that created tension between students, landlords and universities. Higher education director-general Nkosinathi Sishi also recognised that the late confirmation of funding both for continuing and first-timers made it difficult…

‘Buy Your First Home’ South Africa’s Ultimate Property Guide for Newbies Zamantungwa Khumalo Loot.co.za (R189) Tafelberg Zamantungwa Khumalo is considered a rising star on the South African property scene. An award-winning media and content specialist, her property journey began with a lot of trepidation. While today she is also a property entrepreneur, she bought her first two properties at the age of 27, with little localised information. An X (then Twitter) thread she wrote on buying property generated so much interest that she realised others were as clueless as she had initially been. She thus felt compelled to share her hard-won insights in this book, and invites others to follow in her footsteps, climbing the property ladder on their way to building wealth and security. Her passion and expertise are…

Healthy Made Simple Ella Mills Loot.co.za (R561) Jonathan Ball The new cookbook by Ella Mills is packed full of simple, vibrant recipes to start off the new year and make healthy eating accessible and easy. “When I sat down to write the first draft of Healthy Made Simple, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: to make eating well genuinely feel like a joy. “This is a book dedicated to delicious flavours packed with goodness that will help you get healthy food on the table in less time, with less work and with fewer ingredients," says Mills. Author of Deliciously Ella, Mills is back with more than 75 brand-new recipes devoted to making healthy eating easier. She shares vibrant, colourful, speedy-to-make, plant-based recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner…

The Stormers may have beaten the Bulls seven times in a row, but you wouldn’t think it when looking at the ticket sales for tomorrow’s massive United Rugby Championship showdown at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. By late Wednesday, there were just under 7 000 tickets left for the 52 000-capacity stadium, which will surely be snapped up before tomorrow’s 5.05pm kick-off. Bulls coach Jake White described the enormous interest in the match as “wonderful”, adding that “these are the great games you want to be part of”. His Stormers counterpart John Dobson – a published author – has written the perfect script to get the better of the Bulls in their last seven matches, and will no doubt implore his highly-skilled team to have a full go and conquer Loftus…

France is set to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution on Monday at a rare parliamentary congress at the Palace of Versailles after the bill overcame its biggest legislative hurdle in the upper house Senate. If the congress approves the move, France will become the only country in the world to clearly protect the right to terminate a pregnancy in its basic law. President Emmanuel Macron last year pledged to include the freedom to have an abortion – legal in France since 1974 – in the constitution after the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the half-century-old right to the procedure, allowing states to ban or curtail it. France’s lower house National Assembly in January overwhelmingly approved making abortion a “guaranteed freedom” in the constitution. And in a…

LONDON: Britain almost doubled the number of visas awarded to foreign migrants coming to work in the health and care sector last year, government data showed, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over immigration ahead of the next general election. Britain granted 337 240 work visas in 2023, 26% higher than in 2022, with the rise driven by those coming to the UK to work in the care home sector, statistics from the interior ministry, or Home Office, showed yesterday. Visas under the “Skilled Worker - Health and Care” route almost doubled, rising by 91% to 146 477 last year. Many of these arrivals also brought dependants, with the health and care bracket accounting for 73% of the 279 131 visas given. | Reuters…

CAPE CANAVERAL: Odysseus, the first US spacecraft to land on the moon in half a century, was “still kicking” yesterday but nearing shutdown, as scientists watched out for the final signals from its mission to collect data. The spacecraft touched down on the lunar surface a week ago and its operators had hoped it could run for up to 10 days. But a sideways landing disrupted communications. Intuitive Machines, the company that Nasa paid $118 million (about R2.2 billion) to build the robot lander and fly it to the lunar surface, said Odysseus was still operating and flight controllers will download additional data. | Reuters…