Table of contents for 2023-06-12 in Mercury

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Enterprises (DPE) has asked for a delay before appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee to answer to allegations of misconduct raised by dismissed Director-General (D-G) Kgatsato Tlhakudi in the process of appointing Takatso as majority owner of South African Airways, as well as relating to operational shortfalls of the department. This follows Thlakudi appearing before the committee on a scheduled appointment, though he had been formally fired by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services two days prior. In a letter to committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa, Minister Pravin Gordhan said the department sought to postpone its appearance before the committee this Wednesday, pending its securing transcripts of Thlakudi’s presentation. The only document the department had was the presentation of the former D-G. The Department did not have…

AVERAGE salaries continue to fall in South Africa, in real and nominal terms, with actual (nominal) take-home pay recording R15 063 in April 2023, versus R15 335 in April 2021 and R15 345 in April 2022, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said in a note on Friday. The second quarter would likely see CPI inflation drop below 6% year-on-year, but salary and wage increases were not expected to occur that would be sufficient to make up for the loss in spending ability in either real or nominal terms, she said. "The declining renumeration trend that households had been facing this decade to date had been a key reason for poor growth, and so employment outcomes in the economy, as demand was muted, and also in non self-generation…

TETE Dijana and Gerda Steyn both broke long-standing Comrades Marathon records as the men’s and women’s winners of the down run from Pietermaritzburg to Kingsmead Stadium in Durban yesterday. Dijana successfully defended his Comrades title after smashing the down run record in a time of 5:13:58, beating the previous record held by David Gatebe of 5:18:19 that was set in 2016, securing R1.2 million in cash prizes in the process. The North West man, who works for security company Mi7 National Group, dedicated his win to his children and his coach. “I dedicate this win to my children as I had to be away from them for two months, and also my coach, who believed in me. The race was very fast and I didn’t even think about the…

OH SHAME! Visvin Reddy feels so sorry for the ANC. What a magnanimous heart he must have! (The Mercury, June 8.) But many of us won’t care tuppence what happens to the ANC in the end. The party is rotten to the core. It has had three decades to undo the wrongs of the past and show the world that a black majority government is better than a white minority government. Yes, 30 long years to deliver on its promises and bring joy and prosperity to the poor masses. Instead, it has been busy filling its own pockets and has allowed the thieves to capture the state and take it into the gutter; now it is captured by the very same thieves! Serves it right, don’t you think? Yes, we…

The ANC’s choice for alignment to and preference for the political systems of the authoritarian states such as Russia and Cuba, etc, is unlikely to help the economic growth of South Africa. Russia donated approximately R300 million to the ANC. The facts, however, are that the factionalism, poor work ethic, endemic corruption and high birth rate are all stumbling blocks that add to the ANC’s ongoing failure. The vast majority of South Africans – of all races – want South Africa to succeed socially, economically and politically through co-operation. We are one country. Surely the ANC must be aware that the failure of virtually all the state-owned entities (because of its divisive cadre-deployment policy) and of the vast majority of the ANC-controlled local authorities, is evidence that its policy…

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…

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced that a team set up to probe criminal activities at Eskom has arrested 126 people out of more than 1 952 cases reported. Eskom has been under siege from criminal syndicates with political parties saying the police must investigate the figures behind the cartels. One minister described Eskom as a crime scene. The police recently told Parliament’s finance watchdog, the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), that various syndicates were operating at Eskom’s power stations. Ramokgopa said an Energy Safety and Security Priority Committee was established to deal with Eskom-related crimes. “A total of 1 952 Eskom-related cases were reported to the SAPS between April 1, 2022 and May 29, 2023, with 1 405 cases still under investigation, and 126 arrests made,” said Ramokgopa…

The Council for Geoscience has called on all those who felt the early morning earthquake that occurred yesterday at around 2.38am to record their experiences using its online questionnaire. The Council for Geoscience confirmed that an earthquake, registered at a local magnitude of approximately 4.4 as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network, occurred in Gauteng. According to the Council, the epicentre was located in the Boksburg area, a few kilometres outside the East Rand Propriety Mine in the East Rand of Johannesburg. The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at a depth of 10km. Videos from security cameras showing the effects of the earthquake have been shared on social media, with many describing what the tremor felt like to them. There have also been unverified reports of damaged…

THE Ugandan president has enacted a law that makes it even more illegal for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) people to be who they identify as. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, among other things, increases the already-criminalised life sentence for consensual same-sex between consenting adults and adds the death penalty for what is known as “aggravated homosexuality”. Additionally, it criminalises activities that supposedly support homosexuality and homosexuals, and carries a potential 20-year prison term. The act also explicitly states that it aims “to protect the traditional family” in Uganda, a traditional African nation, which criminalises and forbids same-sex couples, parents, and other individuals from starting families and having children. This conveys the notion that African LGBTQ+ persons, specifically in Uganda, have no place in the families, communities, and other parts…

Smoke from raging wildfires in Canada, which has already blanketed parts of the US and placed about 75 million people under alerts due to hazardous air, has reached as far as Norway, according to scientists. Over the past few days, plumes of smoke have stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made their way to Norway, scientists at the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway (Nilu) said. They have been able to detect the increase in smoke using very sensitive instruments and then confirmed its origin using forecast modelling. People in Norway may be able to smell and even notice the smoke as a light haze but, unlike parts of the US that have seen hazardous pollution, they should experience no health impacts, said Nikolaos Evangeliou, a senior scientist…

Kyiv’s troops said yesterday they had recaptured a village from Russian forces in Ukraine’s south-east, the first liberated settlement they have claimed since launching a counterattack this week. Soldiers hoisted the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in an unverified video published by Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade, identifying the settlement as Blahodatne in Donetsk region. “We’re seeing the first results of the counter-offensive, localised results,” said Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector. He said the village lay on the edge of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzia regions a few kilometres south of the Kyiv-controlled village of Velyka Novosilka. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given his strongest signal yet that Kyiv has launched its long-awaited counterattack to seize back land in the east and south, confirming “counteroffensive and defensive operations”…

Rome: Pope Francis’s recovery from his recent hernia operation was steady, his doctors said yesterday. Francis underwent a three-hour operation at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, the latest health procedure for the 86-year-old leader of the Catholic Church. The doctors said the pope does not have a fever and has completed respiratory physiotherapy. He had lunch with those assisting him in his convalescence. All papal audiences have been cancelled until June 18, but the pope resumed work from his hospital room on Friday. Francis was suffering from a hernia on the site of a scar from a previous surgery. | AFP…

Butner: Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, was found dead in his prison cell, federal officials confirmed to the media. Kaczynski, 81, killed three people and injured 23 more during a mass mail-bombing spree between 1978 and 1995. He later pleaded guilty to his crimes. He was sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after evading capture for almost 20 years. The Harvard-trained mathematician was caught in a Montana cabin. Kaczynski spent the past three decades held at prisons across the US, most recently at the Federal Medical Centre in Butner, North Carolina. The cause of death was not clear. | IANS…

ESKOM said the placement of the R500 million Fidelity Services security contract was in line with Eskom’s Procurement Procedure and the National Treasury directives for emergency procurement of services, the utility said in a statement yesterday. There have been publications on various media and internet platforms of unverified messages and claims of corruption and fraud linked to the contract. “Given the seriousness of such allegations, Eskom will work with the relevant authorities on any investigation,” it said. The placement of the security contract had been necessitated by information received by management indicating that there was a potential serious security risk to Eskom's operations and assets. The contract was established from the period July 2022 to September 2022 with an estimated budget of R500m. It was placed under emergency procurement…

THE country’s biggest trade union federations have welcomed moves to introduce the “two-pot” retirement system which would allow workers to be able to access at least a third of their pensions while they are still economically active. The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Cosatu said the proposal would provide much-needed relief to many workers who are already battling to make ends meet. The National Treasury and SA Revenue Service (Sars) last week published for public comment the revised 2023 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill and 2023 Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill. They said the draft bills provide the necessary legislative amendments required to implement the first phase of the “two-pot” retirement system. Members of the public have until July 15 to comment on the bills.…

One of the many pleasures of living on our beautiful Hibiscus Coast is lying in bed at sunrise and watching those hardy men in their rugged boats patrolling the lines of shark nets. Sometimes they slow down for a cursory glance, and at others they spend up to half-an-hour groping around over the gunnels. And then they’re off again, to the next buoy, to do the same. Apparently they cover our coastline from Hibberdene to Port Shepstone; making it safe for our swimmers and surfers to enjoy the ocean. It’s unfortunate, however, that this safety for us to enter the sharks’ environment comes at the cost of over a thousand sharks’ lives a year; not to mention other marine animals (2 211 turtles, 8 488 rays, 2 310 dolphins over…

YOU said in your leader, (The Mercury, June 6) that the report by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke on our municipalities make for grim reading! She says that inadequate skills and capacity, governance failures and lack of accountability were the root causes! No mention of cadre deployment, inappropriate affirmative action and most importantly corruption. The minute the ANC came into power, comrades were immediately moved into every position and people who knew what they were doing were moved sideways or paid packages to leave. We all understood the need for redress, but it had to be done with a bit of intelligence. What a pity they didn’t keep on the engineers, artisans etc to help and show the new members how things were done. They could have learnt on the job,…

FOR those who make it through the Comrades Marathon halfway point at Drummond with just seconds to go before the cut-off gun sounds, there is an expression of elation and relief on their faces that they can push on to the finish in Durban. But for the others, who miss the cut-off, it means trying again next year to achieve their goals. The Drummond halfway point had a festive atmosphere yesterday, with dozens of supporters gathering to cheer on the runners. Eddie Boer, 56, of the Northern Cape, just missed the cut-off time and had to stop his race. He said it was his fifth Comrades but he had been struggling after spraining his ankle. “I gave it my all but it was not enough. But next year there is…

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has revealed that 19 teachers had been fired for sexual abuse and other offences against pupils. She said one case of sexual abuse had resulted in a pupil getting pregnant. She said some of those who were found guilty of sexual abuse had had sexual relationships with pupils as young as 12 years old. Out of the 19 teachers who were fired, nine cases did not relate to sexual abuse. The South African Council for Education (Sace) had held disciplinary hearings against the teachers for sexual abuse of pupils and other offences. “It should be noted that when the organisation submitted 19 names of teachers who were removed from the roll of educators, nine of the offences were not sexual harassment, but other offences as…

Weak enforcement of procurement legislation results in repeated violations ONE of the three selected issues flagged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its 2023 Article IV Consultation with South Africa released last week, which includes separate in-depth analysis, not surprisingly is “Issues and Reform Options in Public Procurement”. The other two special issues for the government to grapple being “Social Grants and Employment” and “Carbon Pricing and Climate Mitigation Policy” – issues not priorities on the radar of most South Africans struggling to cope with the vagaries of surviving the pernicious cost-of-living crisis, especially food and fuel price inflation. Public procurement can be the bane of economies during ordinary times. Wastage, corruption through self-enrichment, fraud, patronage, cronyism, inadequate disclosure and transparency, lack of competition, ideology through rushed affirmative…

Thousands of people living near a Philippine volcano have taken shelter in evacuation centres as officials warned yesterday of health risks from ash and toxic gases spewing from the rumbling crater. Seismology researchers said they had recorded at least one volcanic earthquake in the past 24 hours and red-hot rocks were falling from Mount Mayon in the central province of Albay. More than 12 800 people have been moved to evacuation centres, the Philippine civil defence office said, most from farming villages at or near the foot of the volcano. “We’re away from our home, but it’s still better here because it’s too dangerous,” mother-of-two Rachel Ramirez, 30, said during her third day at a school near the town of Daraga that had been turned into an emergency shelter. Mayon,…

Former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon was yesterday arrested as part of an investigation into financial irregularities, according to police. “A woman, 52, has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,” Police Scotland said, with British media confirming her identity as Sturgeon. The woman was in custody and is being questioned by detectives, police said. It is the third arrest in the probe, which is sending shockwaves through Scotland’s political system. Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was arrested in April. Murrell has long faced questions over the alleged diversion of £600 000 (R14 million) in SNP donations meant to support its drive for Scottish independence. He also failed to declare a personal loan to…

TUNIS: The EU was considering more than €1 billion (R20bn) in aid for Tunisia to help develop its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday. Speaking in Tunisia, she said €900 million in macrofinancial assistance, plus an immediate €150 million euros in budget support could be ready “as soon as the necessary agreement is found”. She said the EU would also provide Tunisia with €100 million for border management, search and rescue, and anti-smuggling operations. Von der Leyen also laid out a series of longer-term European efforts to help Tunisia’s economy. | AFP…

Mogadishu: At least nine people were killed and 10 others injured in an attack at a beach hotel in Mogadishu, the Somalian police confirmed at the weekend. Police said that security forces ended a seven-hour siege at Pearl Beach Hotel located inside Lido Beach after killing all the seven al-Shabaab fighters involved in Friday night’s attack. Police said 84 people, including children, women and elders who were trapped in the hotel, were safely rescued by the forces. Witnesses said two suicide bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up at the hotel entrance where hundreds of guests were seated. Al-Shabaab militants claimed the attack, saying its fighters targeted guests. | IANS…

THE South African government, which is under pressure over an International Criminal Court warrant of arrest issued for Russian president Vladimir Putin, is considering different options on the Brics summit, including the summit being held in China. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin, and this has fuelled speculation that the 15th BRICS summit will be held in another country to avoid a diplomatic fallout over Putin’s arrival in the country. According to reports, the inter ministerial committee (IMC), headed by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, has tabled a report to Cabinet that proposed three options which all advise against Putin visiting South Africa. The discussions take place as Ramaphosa is leading the African heads of state mission to Moscow and Kyiv to try to…

The sacrifices of the heroic Soweto Class of 1976 that we honour and commemorate on Youth Day, June 16, altered the educational and the socio-political situation in South Africa. As we acknowledge the pain and courage of the Youth of 1976, it is central and important to conduct a SWOT analysis focusing on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats affecting our youth of today. While South Africans are grateful to the young women and men who had joined many other conscientious individuals and organisations in their mission to free South Africa from apartheid’s repressive laws, it is important to ask the youth of today what the sacrifices of the student march on June 16, 1976 mean to them. The youth of today, who are often referred to as the “born…

IT’S soap opera time again in Old Blighty. That’s the snap analysis of a Sky News expert interviewed after former prime minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation from Parliament last week, but hinted that he might be back. And this was followed by resignation announcements by two of his close supporters. This means three by-elections coming up which the Tories could find difficult to win. Is this a subtle plot to undermine current incumbent Rishi Sunak? Soap opera it surely is. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg gives us a précis of Bojo’s career: In 1987 he was fired by The Times for falsifying a quote but was hired the following year by the Daily Telegraph. In 2004 he was fired as the Conservatives’ shadow arts minister for lying about an…

Not only were the police on the ground to ensure the 96th Comrades Marathon went off without a hitch, but 200 of their own in blue took on the “ultimate human race”. As many as 170 men and 30 women from the SAPS took part in the race with only 26 being novice runners. National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said the management of the SAPS encouraged and implemented wellness and fitness programmes to ensure officers were always fit and mentally sharp to serve and protect. “We have 21 sporting codes in the police, which include athletics, rugby and soccer, where we encourage members to keep fit and healthy. Over and above that, we have a fitness policy that ensures operational members undergo fitness tests and assessments regularly,” said Masemola.…

THE eThekwini Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) unit has moved quickly to address its critical shortage of heavy-duty equipment that has left some eThekwini residents having to do their own maintenance of verges. Close to R14 million has been set aside for the PRC unit for the purchase of new tractors. A report on the matter tabled recently before the Executive Committee (Exco) said there had been insufficient funding to address the tractor replacement programme due to competing budgetary requirements for the city’s projects and service delivery mandates. The report detailed work, amounting to close to R16m, that needs to be carried out by the PRC, which included attending to damage to infrastructure that occurred as a result of a storm, like fixing halls. The revelations about the need…

Minister of Health Joe Phaahla has confirmed that 124 fake doctors have been arrested following a crackdown by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Phaahla said the unregistered doctors evaded the system by joining the private sector where they could be paid in cash or operate in practices of registered doctors. He said it was illegal to operate in the medical sector without obtaining the necessary approvals by the HPCSA. Phaahla said the raids on the sites where these fake doctors worked had helped to arrest some of them. “According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa, 124 persons have been arrested for practising medicine without registration with the HPCSA,” said Phaahla, responding to a written parliamentary question from Vuyo Zungula of the ATM. |…

SOUTH Africans have reason to breathe a sigh of relief when they have successfully pushed back against what appeared to be an attempt to cover up Eskom’s financial shortcomings. Had it not been for the outrage of South Africans, Eskom would have been partially exempt from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in its 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 annual financial statements. This would have been a travesty of our constitutional democracy, which is underpinned by transparency, especially at Eskom where malfeasance has threatened to collapse South Africa’s economy. Eskom has recently been allocated R254 billion in debt relief, consisting of R78 billion for the 2023/24 financial year; R66 billion for the 2024/25 financial year; and R40 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Therefore, its finances – no matter how bad…

Heavy clashes and artillery fire erupted across Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, yesterday and residents reported air strikes soon after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that had brought a brief lull to eight weeks of fighting between rival military factions. Witnesses said the fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was some of the heaviest for weeks, and included ground battles in the densely populated neighbourhood of Haj Youssef in Bahri, one of three adjoining cities, along with Khartoum and Omdurman, that make up the capital around the confluence of the River Nile. Just after the ceasefire expired, witnesses said clashes and artillery fire resumed in the north of Omdurman. They also reported clashes in southern and central Khartoum, and in Shambat along the Nile in Bahri…

London: UK opposition leader Keir Starmer yesterday demanded a general election as three MPs from the ruling Conservative Party, including Boris Johnson, quit parliament following a probe into Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties. Labour leader Starmer tweeted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “must finally find a backbone, call an election, and let the public have their say on 13 years of Tory failure”. Johnson, 58, announced he was leaving as a member of parliament, claiming he had been forced out in a stitch-up by his political opponents. By quitting, Johnson avoids the consequences of a humiliating fight to remain an MP in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in north-west London where he holds a slim majority of just over 7 000. Speculation is rife about Johnson’s next move, and whether he…

Peshawar: Heavy rains followed by strong winds killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in north-west Pakistan, officials said yesterday. The storms hit four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, with five siblings aged between 2 and 11 among the dead. At least 12 people were buried alive after the roofs and walls of their houses collapsed, the provincial disaster management authority said. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 livestock died. Meanwhile, a cyclone is making its way across the Arabian Sea towards the coastlines of Pakistan and India, and is expected to make landfall at the end of the week. | AFP…

Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader yesterday urged continued cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. This, while warning against succumbing to “bullying” based on “unfounded claims”. “Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the framework of safeguards regulations should be maintained,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Iran’s nuclear programme has long been the subject of scrutiny from Western powers. This resulted in sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy. | AFP…

NOVAK Djokovic created history yesterday when he captured a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam title with a third French Open triumph, reinforcing his case to be crowned the greatest player of all time. The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal. "It's an incredible feeling to win 23. I'm beyond grateful and blessed to be standing here with so many incredible achievements," said Djokovic as Nadal immediately described his rival's victory as "an incredible achievement". Victory for the third time in Paris, after 2016 and 2021, adds to his 10 Australian Open titles, seven at Wimbledon and three at the US Open. Djokovic is the first…