Table of contents for 2022-03-22 in Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) could tighten monetary policy this week as inflation continues to head towards the top end of its 3 to 6 percent target range. Global producer price and food price inflation continues to rise higher on fears of supply chain disruption, with the Russian war in Ukraine pushing oil prices to a 14-year high. Global agriculture and other commodity prices have also risen strongly. Electricity and other administered prices also continue to present short- and medium-term price risks, as Eskom will get a 9.6 percent tariff increase from April 1. It is in these contexts that SARB’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet from today until Thursday. The MPC meeting occurs in a highly fluid global environment, characterised by heightened…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE INVESTEC Group would review its provision overlays nearer the release of its annual results in May as there were still market risks from the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK and South Africa and an as yet unknown impact of higher inflation associated with the invasion by Russia of Ukraine. This was according to Investec chief executive Fanie Titi, who spoke on Friday in an online event at the release of a pre-close trading update for the year to March 31. He said that there had so far been clear improvement in the group, but the possible impact of, for example, higher energy costs in South Africa and the UK from the high oil prices on the group’s generally high net worth clients and corporate clients,…

Stuart McFarlane and Adrian Dyer WITH the return to office work – and no longer being able to roll out of bed and straight into a Zoom meeting – many of us will be waking up earlier to beat the morning rush. So it’s important to ensure we are on top of our alarm game. But what type of alarm provides peak alertness upon waking? Pythagoras posited this same question in about 500 BCE. He believed specific songs – melodies that roused the energies – could counteract the drowsiness waking might bring. And he appears to have had a point. Research has now shown certain alarm sounds can enhance our alertness upon waking. In particular, alarms that have “tunefulness” that energise the listener. But to understand why this is the…

Loyiso Sidimba and Nicola Daniels IF the country wants to get rid of corruption and gender-based violence, then all South Africans must become anti-corruption and gender-based violence activists. However, this should be done through organised formations and not vigilante groups, President Cyril Ramaphosa warned, addressing a national Human Rights Day commemoration in Koster in the North West yesterday. “We are the ones who must cleanse our communities; we must not expect people from outside to do so. My call to you is that let us join the fight against corruption and gender-based violence,” he said. Ramaphosa urged South Africans to respect the law and report those who break it, and to join community policing forums to assist the SAPS. The president warned against the groups mushrooming across the country that…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North The front-page article regarding the government’s plan to donate R50 million to Cuba (The Mercury, March 18), is the most ludicrous move one has ever heard, taking into consideration that we owe the World Bank and others millions, but we are wanting to donate the loaned money we have to Cuba. Here we are borrowing money to survive in South Africa, and simultaneously giving away/donating some to Cuba? Do we really have such incompetent people making these financial decisions or are there other sinister reasons? As reported before, our minister of finance is not altogether clean from corruption, and taking all factors into consideration, something here does not seem right. Before decisions like this are made, and seeing that this money must come…

DHAYALAN MOODLEY | Mobeni Heights The South Indian community sits quietly and emotionally devastated and shattered by having to say goodbye to a rare Thamizh Cultural doyen, Appa Athie Nadasen of Merebank. At times like this, we all place questions at the door of God – and are never able to obtain answers that will pacify our grieving hearts. On this immeasurable loss, though, let us celebrate a life that was so richly lived. He possessed an incredible and passionate affinity for his culture, something he painstakingly infused in the community. As a representative of the community, I want to declare on behalf of all those that have been blessed by your contribution and selfless devotion, that it was a singular honour and a rare privilege to have…

“I am 19 and a committed Christian. There have been several instances where I have been told that my personality leads women on. What can I do about this?” Nothing. Be yourself. Your personality is among your greatest gifts and I encourage you not to squelch it or try to shape it into something that does not really express who you are. I would be interested to know who is telling you these things. If it is not women themselves who are thus interpreting your personality and it is coming from observers, I’d suggest they may be people who are jealous of your outgoing personality. Remember, we all see the world through our own distorted lenses and none of us has perfect vision. Life itself has, unfortunately, distorted all of…

THE government had no right to force its citizens to take the Covid-19 vaccine against their will in a democratic regime. This was the call by a group of young people who joined ACDP leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe on a march to the Union Buildings yesterday. They were calling on the government not to implement mandatory vaccines and discourage the private sector from forcing people to vaccinate. The group held placards and sang, calling on the government and the private sector to show that they respected human rights and not subject people to medical or scientific experiments. The group was joined by members of Freedom Alliance South Africa, Free the Nation Save the Children and students from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), who said they had never envisaged a time…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za A BARRYDALE acting school principal accused of rape, and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will have to cough up for a damages claim against them over an alleged sexual assault incident at Vleiplaas Primary School about a decade ago. The Western Cape High Court dismissed the damages counter-claim by the acting principal, who was accused of raping a 12-year-old pupil in the staff toilets shortly after second break on a school day in September 2011. It was alleged that the man – who has a previous conviction for the sexual assault of a minor, but had not been properly vetted – asked the pupil to help him move boxes in his office. However, when she arrived there, he instructed her to go to the staff toilet…

AS long as the inequality gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow, Human Rights Day will remain just another holiday in the country’s calendar. March 21, 1960, is a very significant day in the country’s history. It was on this day that 69 peaceful protesters were shot and killed by police during an anti-pass demonstration. However, the significance of the day is lost to so many people around the country. This is mainly due to the fact that the lives of ordinary people have not changed since the country attained democracy in 1994. That is why the latest report produced by the World Bank, which states that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, is very significant, especially for those who hold the…

The EU was yesterday set to approve a new defence strategy designed to increase the bloc’s capacity to act, including setting up a 5 000-strong rapid reaction force. The plan – in the pipeline for two years – has undergone a last-minute rewrite to increase the focus on the threat from Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine. “It’s not the answer to the Ukrainian war, but it is part of the answer,” EU foreign policy Josep Borrell said ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s foreign and defence ministers. “When we started working, we couldn’t imagine that at the last moment of approval the situation would be so bad and Europe would be facing such a big challenge.” EU leaders have described Russia’s assault on Ukraine as a wake-up call…

The head of the UN yesterday warned that the world is “sleepwalking to climate catastrophe”, as the ongoing pandemic, the war in Ukraine and a lack of political willpower undermine humanity’s efforts to slow the warming of the planet. “There is no kind way to put it,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told attendees of the Economist Sustainability Summit, saying the most ambitious goal of the 2015 Paris accord – to limit Earth’s warming to 1.5ºC above preindustrial levels – is slipping away. “The 1.5ºC goal is on life support. It is in intensive care.” Guterres said the scientific implications of climate change are clear, and so is the math: to have a chance of avoiding global warming’s most ruinous effects, the world must cut greenhouse gas pollution nearly in half…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Sihle Zikalala has revived an old debate about the country’s constitutional democracy which some people, like former president Jacob Zuma, believe has rendered the executive arm of government powerless. Zikalala used his Human Rights Day address in Ixopo, southern KZN, yesterday to revive the debate which has been in the public domain for some time. In his address, Zikalala said the time had come for the country to ditch the current constitutional democracy and adopt a parliamentary democracy. According to the Centre for Civic Education, in a constitutional democracy, the authority of the majority is limited by legal and institutional means so that the rights of individuals and minorities are equally protected. On the other hand, in a parliamentary democracy, laws passed by the parliament…

VA VOLKER | Pietermaritzburg Is it too much to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa that he, as president of South Africa, instruct all heads of state departments – from national to local government – to set an economic example by ensuring accounts be paid promptly? How can there be a national economic recovery when small businesses are set up to fail because of the culture of unpaid debts? By tolerating the state departments’ failure, cadre officials are encouraged not to ensure debt collection generally. Poorly managed local authorities and state-owned enterprises mostly fail because of sloppy financial management and corruption. There is hardly a local authority – if there is one at all – where one or other state department is not among the largest long-outstanding debtors. What example…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg Constitutions of countries, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other charters to promote and protect human rights are written to guarantee all people basic human rights, different forms of freedom, security, peace, equality and self-respect to lead dignified lives. In recent years, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that governments and international human rights bodies that are in place to defend and promote human rights principles are undermining their constitutions and international charters. Russia’s military invasion across the borders of Ukraine is one of the many examples of violation of international law. The wrongs of some Western governments or Russia’s concern about Nato’s expansion into Eastern European states does not justify the invasion. Another example is the Karnataka High Court’s misapplication of Indian law…

NASA’s Juno spacecraft beamed back stunning new images of Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa. The Juno mission captured Jupiter’s southern hemisphere, with two of its many moons to the right of the frame, during the spacecraft’s 39th close fly-by of the planet on January 12, 2022, Nasa said. At the time of taking the image, the Juno spacecraft was about 61 000km from Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 52 degrees south. The image was created by citizen scientist Andrea Luck using raw data from the JunoCam instrument, Nasa said. Io is the solar system’s most volcanic body, while Europa’s icy surface hides a global ocean of liquid water beneath. The Juno spacecraft was expected to make its closest fly-by of Europa in September, Nasa said. During this…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A serial thief has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment after he operated an investment scheme over a number of years and stole multimillions from an unsuspecting public. Stephanus Johannes van Eerden, 62, was last week convicted on 71 counts of theft after he had pleaded guilty to the charges. The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court found that direct imprisonment was the only suitable sentence for him. Van Eerden committed these offences over a period of 13 years, starting in 2008 running up to this year, when he was finally re-arrested. He used the same modus operandi when stealing from his victims. He operated different investment schemes and persuaded people to invest in them by pretending that he was running legitimate businesses. Two of his investment schemes…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za MINISTER of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza has urged farmers, traditional leaders, farmer organisations and the public to co-operate with government in the management of foot-and-mouth disease the province. KZN MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi launched the vaccination programme against foot-and-mouth disease in the district municipalities of uMkhan-yakude and King Cetshwayo in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Friday. The Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) said all stakeholders need to work together to curb the spread of disease. Sithole-Moloi said the movement of livestock in uMkhanyakude, Zululand and King Cetshwayo would be prohibited for five years to curb the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. “We are pleading with the farmers and cattle owners to refrain from transporting cattle for whatever occasion because this leads to the spread of the disease.…

Ukraine defied a Russian demand that its forces lay down arms before dawn yesterday in Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in a city under siege and already laid to waste by Russian bombardment. Russia’s military had ordered Ukrainians in the city to surrender by 5am, saying those who do so would be permitted to leave through safe corridors. “There can be no question of any surrender, laying down of arms” in the city, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk responded. “We have already informed the Russian side about this.” Russia’s assault on Ukraine, now in its fourth week, has stalled along most fronts. Russia has failed to seize a single major Ukrainian city much less capture the capital Kyiv or swiftly topple the government of…

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s leading activist Osman Kavala, who at the weekend marked his 1 600th day in prison without conviction, appeared before court yesterday for the first time in months, only to have his case adjourned and his detention extended. The philanthropist is accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in a coup plot against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The case has strained Turkey’s ties with the West and become a symbol to many of Turkey’s sweeping crackdown on government opponents. | afp…

| AFP The Central African Republic (CAR) yesterday began national reconciliation talks in a bid to bring peace to the troubled country – but no rebel groups were invited and the opposition is boycotting the forum. President Faustin Archange Touadera promised in late 2020, following his controversial re-election, to hold the so-called Republican Dialogue for reconciliation. The political opposition had demanded such talks, but it was a major surprise when last week Touadera announced they would start today and last just a week. The agenda looked vague and lacked concrete aims. Several hundred people were in attendance at the opening in the national assembly – representatives of the ruling party, civil society and invited guests. “We are all mobilised around ideas for peace … There is no taboo subject,”…

Bongani Hans bongani.hans@inl.co.za LAWYERS for Russian-born multinational mining magnate, Lyudmyla Roytblat, have expressed shock at the level of bullying she has received from First National Bank (FNB), in deterring her from taking legal action against the bank. Roytblat’s planned action against FNB stemmed from an abrupt notice to terminate her bank accounts without being given reasons why. Her lawyer, Udell Hammond-Smith, is taking instruction from Roytblat for the best option to deal with the termination of her accounts and those of her company, where she also holds the position of chief executive, Transasia Minerals and its subsidiary Transasia Minerals SA. The termination was set to be effected on May 9, 2022. Roytblat is an Australian citizen with a business visa in South Africa for mining contracts. Since opening the account…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za ESKOM has dispelled speculation that an incident at the scheduled maintenance of Koeberg Nuclear Reactor Unit 2 could have been a far worse disaster than what occurred. “Those reports are based on an internal Eskom newsletter to staff at Koeberg. “We always have the newsletter to communicate on as part of discussion of safety issues. “It is true the technicians picked up on the wrong cables, but that was rectified before it could be a problem, before there was any damage. “That particular unit (Unit 1) has been online for 141 days since its last outage and is doing well. “This was simply an internal update to staff to remind them of safety concerns,” Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Matshantsha said yesterday. Reports last week said that…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL violence monitor Mary de Haas says police will continue to struggle to contain crime in KwaZulu- Natal because of a poor turnaround time in repairing their vehicles. She was reacting to revelations by Community Safety MEC Peggy Nkonyeni that a minor battery replacement took more than two weeks, with major repairs taking three months in some instances. In a written parliamentary reply to DA Member of the Provincial Legislature Sharon Hoosen, it was revealed that some of KZN busiest police stations waited for weeks, and even months, for repairs to their vehicles. With KZN featuring highly in the recent crime statistics, De Haas said there should be a greater sense of urgency in doing repair work to enable police to do their work. According to the…

ZAMANI KHUZWAYO | Durban As a concerned citizen and DA PR councillor for Newlands West, I am writing this letter to call on the residents of Newlands West to unite and fight the dismal service delivery in the area, and to support me in my fight to bring back the Newlands West we know. The residents of Newlands West are subjected to dysfunctional and poor service delivery. Since I was deployed by the DA in Newlands West, ward 37 as a PR councillor, I found the ward has crumbled under the ANC and the ratepayers are subjected to dismal service delivery. From Parlock to Hillgrove, Newcentre, Castlehill, Earlsfield, Westrich and Riverdene the verges are not cut, stormwater drains are not cleaned, bushes not cut, street lights not working…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff While civil society groups opposing the ANC government’s donation of R50 million to Cuba for humanitarian relief are correct in claiming humanitarian relief starts at home, (The Mercury, March 18), the subtext of the issue is ironic. ANC heavyweights have long hailed Cuba as a model socialist state which they seek to replicate in South Africa. Cuba is also their preferred holiday destination. For 60 years, the people of Cuba have experienced an arrested state of development under socialism and attained equality in mediocrity and oppression. Yet in terms of socialist propaganda, Cuba is a workers’ paradise. Why, then, is humanitarian aid required? Surely, the benevolent socialist system makes provision for every need? By its intention to donate humanitarian aid to Cuba, the…

| Howard Dietz I WAS privileged the other evening to encounter in the Midlands three of the region’s star songsters and troubadours. Not only that, they invited me to join them in their melodious merrymaking. It was my first-ever visit to a place called Pub’s End, on the platform of the railway station at Howick, and who should be there but three fellows – stage names Honky-tonk Honk, Streetwise Selby and Lecherous Laurie – who have made a name for themselves in the Midlands. Their genre is traditional songs and I was honoured to join them in belting out I Belong To Glasgow, Scotland The Brave, Danny Boy, The Mountains of Morne, Wild Colonial Boy, Waltzing Matilda, It’s A Long Way To Tipperary, Slow Boat To China and…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za RESIDENTS of eThekwini Municipality said they had no faith in the city in addressing water challenges following an announcement by the municipality that it was at an advanced stage in procuring a satellite leak detector to identify water leaks. In a statement, the city said the detector would be a game-changer as it would help provide solutions to water challenges and increase revenue by reducing water wasted through leaks. A resident from Shallcross, Vijay Ramlal, said he did not think the leak detector would provide any assistance as they always reported the leaks but got no assistance. “We are constantly having problems with water pipes leaking and whenever we try to report it, either no one will answer calls in the municipality’s call centre or they will…

ELON Musk is heading closer to being crowned the world’s first trillionaire, a study suggests. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, 52, is worth $263 billion (R3.9 trillion), but research carried out by approve.com predicts he could race to the title in the next two years, with an “annual average increase of 129%”. It’s claimed he could have a net worth of $1.38 trillion by 2024. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos was previously expected to become the first trillionaire, but their top 20 saw him placed seventh and predicted to move from billionaire to trillionaire by 2030. In second place is Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, who is said to be on course to make it to trillionaire status by 2025. | Bang Showbiz…

A UN human rights investigator yesterday called on North Korea to reopen its borders to aid workers and food imports, saying that its further self-isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic may have left many facing “hunger and starvation”. Tomas Ojea Quintana, addressing the UN Human Rights Council, said chronic food insecurity was already widespread before the pandemic began two years ago. Only 29% of children aged 6-23 months receive the minimum acceptable diet, he said. “Now with the country still in the grip of strict Covid-19 measures, there are serious concerns that the most vulnerable segments of the population may be facing hunger and starvation,” he said. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has not reported any Covid-19 cases and has imposed strict anti-virus measures since the onset of the…

Tunisia’s president said yesterday there would be a national dialogue about the country’s political system as he moves to rewrite the constitution after establishing one-man rule, but he gave no details on how it would take place. President Kais Saied has already held an online consultation to canvas public opinion about the new constitution, and has promised to name a panel of lawyers to draft it and put it to a referendum in July. His remarks appeared to indicate he was open to a more inclusive process – something his critics and other major players have long demanded – but he did not say when or how it would take place or who would be invited to take part. “Consultation is the first stage of national dialogue ... the national…

ORLANDO Pirates shrugged their domestic woes and booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the CAF Confederations Cup on Sunday night with a 2-0 victory over Saoura of Algeria. Pirates coach, Mandla Ncikazi applauded his side's performances at the Stade du 5 Juillet. He also revealed that they took advantage of their opponents inability to field a full strength team. "Saoura were very unlucky that they were missing a number of their important players, including their captain. But I also think we played very well and we exerted ourselves very well," he explained. The Buccaneers put in a character-defining performance in North Africa, withstanding pressure the entire match and managed to hurt their opponents when it mattered most. Ncikazi's men usually pride themselves on dominating possession and more…