Table of contents for 2021-11-09 in Star

LAST WEEK I mentioned that Business Report (BR) is investigating a loan by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) into Sunrise Energy via the Mogs group. The PIC’s loan to Mogs is more than R1 billion – indirectly to Sunrise Energy – this loan has not been serviced over a period of five years, according to sources. Mr Sekgoela, PIC media spokesperson, told BR the loan was serviced, but could not provide any evidence by close of business yesterday “on how the loan was serviced”. Sources confirmed that this is not the case. Sunrise Energy also received a loan from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to the amount of R1bn in 2011. BR queries why Sunrise Energy was not part of the Mpati Commission of Inquiry, even though it is…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za WITH men making up less than 40% of South Africans who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a new campaign has been launched to persuade them to take the jab. Why are South African men not getting vaccinated? This is a question that has been giving officials and health workers headaches as the country pushes to attain herd immunity. This concern has brought together civil society organisations under the umbrella of the Community Constituency Front for Covid-19 (CCF), to launch a new campaign, #VacciNation4Men. The campaign is supported by The Solidarity Fund and the National Department of Health, through its vaccine Demand Acceleration Task Team. “The #VacciNation4Men campaign aims to connect with the hearts and minds of one man at a time, to convert vaccine hesitancy and…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A FARMWORKER has triumphed at the Constitutional Court over his former employer who evicted him without notice, remarkably after 21 years of service. Alias Mtolo, his wife Maheneng Mtolo and their eight children found themselves homeless after Theunis Christoffel Lombard, the former employer, told them to leave their farm home in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng. The Mtolos pursued a series of urgent court applications against Lombard and his wife, Maria Helentje Lombard, over the unlawful eviction. They sought an order compelling the Lombards to fix the farm so that they could return to it. The home was damaged as the Mtolos faced the eviction. The roof and windows were removed. There was a dispute between the Mtolos and the Lombards over who exactly removed the roof and windows.…

Itumeleng Mafisa POLICE are investigating several cases of murder at a shebeen in Slovo- ville on the West Rand following a shoot-out. The area has been riddled with gang killings between groups of illegal miners but police said they could not confirm if the illegal miners were involved in this attack. Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said police received a complaint from members of the public who said three men and a woman walked into the shebeen and randomly shot at patrons who were enjoying some beverages. “They started to shoot and two men died on the scene.” Masondo said two more men and one woman were taken to hospital after sustaining severe injuries. Police appealed to anyone with information to come forward. Two cases of murder and several of…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za LOCAL TikTok sensation Linda Majola says his dreams and prayers are coming true as he makes his big acting debut on Showmax’s first telenovela, The Wife. Fans of novelist and journalist Dudu Busani-Dube’s best-selling novels Hlomu the Wife, Zandile the Resolute and Naledi His Love are in for a treat as Showmax drops the first three episodes of The Wife on Thursday. In the show, Hlomu (played by Mbalenhle Mavimbela), a journalist, falls in love with a taxi driver named Mqhele (Bonko Khoza). Joining the cast of the highly anticipated telenovela is TikTok and Instagram content creator Majola, who will be playing Hlomu’s queer twin brother Langa in his big acting debut. Majola is best known for hilarious TikTok and Instagram videos which kept South Africans…

DURING and after voting day, there have been some laughs and some surprises that have kept voters and non-voters amused and interested. The best of the lot is when President Cyril Ramaphosa, with a straight face, told voters if they did not vote for the ANC, they would never have electricity. The poor man forgot (or forgot to mention) that in 2014, he and Pravin Gordhan were appointed by then-president Jacob Zuma to head a “war-room” to fix Eskom. What have they been doing for the past seven years? Presumably little, otherwise, electricity blackouts wouldn’t have resumed before the vote counting and escalated a day later to Level 4. South Africans were vastly relieved on Saturday when blackouts stopped in time for the rugby Test, but many were disappointed that…

Rankepile Khomo | Duduza I READ an article by political correspondent Andisiwe Makinana, about how local governments must take a more proactive role in supporting small-scale food traders and producers. It reminded me of an interview I had with Dineo Mokgoshi, of Sekgometsi Bagoshi Agricultural Co-operative in Winterveld, about her triumphs and difficulties in running her business. Her co-operative, one of the main poultry suppliers in the country, has operational challenges that need to be resolved in a more co-ordinated way by the government structures that are there to help emerging farmers. More co-ordinated and proactive collaboration between local, provincial, and national governments is needed in assisting farmers. The inter-ministerial committee on land reform needs to call for more interdepartmental co-ordination to assist black farmers who want to…

TAIKONAUT Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to walk in space, authorities said yesterday, as her team completed a six-hour stint outside the Tiangong space station as part of its ongoing construction. It is the latest achievement in China’s drive to become a major space power. Tiangong is expected to operate for at least 10 years, and the three astronauts are the second group to stay there. The taikonauts’ work involves setting up equipment and testing technology for future construction. | AFP…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za JUDGING by their conservative selections for the end-of-year tour, Jacques Nienaber wants to keep matters uncomplicated to have the best chance of successfully closing out a difficult year. It has been an often traumatic season, fraught with Covid-enforced difficulties, be it actual infections back in July at the time of the Georgia visit and the arrival of British & Irish Lions; isolation in Australia; and then the toughest of Rugby Championship schedules that pitted the Boks against the Wallabies and All Blacks on four consecutive Saturdays. Two weeks after beating New Zealand, the Boks were in France to prepare for Wales, Scotland and England, and the refrain from Nienaber has been “no time for experimentation.” And that is fine because there are no glaring issues with the…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy was happy with the resurgence of his team following their 2-0 Premiership victory over Cape Town City at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Sunday night. Usuthu won the game through a first-half brace from substitute Augustine Mulenga, who was introduced to the game earlier than expected following an injury to defender Philani Zulu. Last week, Usuthu played out a 0-0 stalemate with Marumo Gallants. They looked deprived of energy in that game and it will have to go down as one of the most boring games in the Premier Soccer League era as neither side appeared to be interested in scoring goals. “I’m happy for the boys and happy for the win,” said McCarthy. “They deserved it. (Sunday) we showed a little…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Despite being in dominating form and most recently thrashing Marumo Gallants 4-0 in the Premiership, Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi wants even more from his troops. “I am greedy when it comes to goals and we are a few behind our target for this stage of the league campaign,” Mngqithi said after Sunday’s cakewalk. Sundowns remain on top of the standings with five points separating them from surprise package Stellenbosch FC and having won eight of their nine league fixtures to date. They have yet to concede a goal in the league this season and have now also played 22 away league games without defeat, having beaten Kaizer Chiefs’ record of 21 which was set between January and December 2005. Sundowns have also set the record for…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za DELTA Property Fund, which came out of suspension on the JSE in July, saw its share price rise by more than 24 percent at one stage yesterday after it reported progress to reduce its debt in the six months to August 31. The company lifted its distribution 15.57 percent to 24.86 cents per share in the interim period, but decided not to declare an interim dividend while it continued to reduce its loan-to-value ratio. The share price closed 19.35 percent higher at R0.74 yesterday on the JSE. Interim chief executive Bongi Masinga said Delta had made signifi- cant traction with its debt reduction programme. Four properties were being sold for R176.5 million, the proceeds from which would be to reduce debt. The…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ANGLOGOLD Ashanti yesterday said that it had prioritised reductions in all costs and the implementation of a new operating model after its latest production forecast saw its share price by 12 percent. In August, the gold bullion producer reduced its production guidance for 2021 to between 2.45 million ounces and 2.6 million ounces and hiked its cost estimates to a total cash cost of up to $950 (R14 252) an ounce amid safety concerns at its Obuasi mine, in Ghana. In its market update report for the three-month period ended September 30, 2021, yesterday, AngloGold said production and costs for 2021 were expected to be in line with revised guidance. The year-on-year performance was impacted by the voluntary suspension of underground mining activities…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za THE CRISIS at Eskom continued yesterday as the power utility announced that Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented the whole of this week until Saturday morning. Eskom said although it regrets the escalation in load shedding, it is necessary to ration the remaining emergency generation reserves, which were used extensively yesterday morning, as they are not getting the reduction in demand expected from the implementation of Stage 2 load shedding. “It was anticipated that an additional seven units would have returned to service by Monday, and this has not materialised. Further, a generating unit at Arnot power station tripped this morning, contributing to the shortages,” said Eskom yesterday. The power utility said that they apologised for the inconvenience caused by the implementation of load shedding,…

Sarah Jessica Parker, pictured, insists young women still “relate” to her Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw. The 56-year-old actress has rejected the idea that the ultimate girl-about-town isn’t someone that younger women and teenagers can connect with, and she thinks that new spin-off series And Just Like That... will attract a varied audience of old and new fans. In an interview with the new issue of Vogue, she said: “Fourteen-year-old girls walking the dog with their dads call out to me, ‘I can’t wait!’ “I think young women still really relate to this story. It’s about finding friendships that matter, looking for work that fulfils you, and pursuing love, even when it drags you, bloodied, down the street.” Sarah – who also serves as an executive producer on…

DHAYALAN MOODLEY | Mobeni Heights THE people have spoken. Now that the elections are over and the results have been widely published, I am still sceptical about whether the country is heading in the right direction. With councillors in place, voters want to see real change and concrete plans. The message is clear, the masses are seeking a political party that can and will take up a fight with force, hence the shift to the DA in most of the affluent areas. It is also sad that many of the independents who would have done an excellent job have lost, but there is no shame in not being successful. To all councillors, we want action not words. There are many challenges facing the community, poor service delivery,…

Allan Wolman | Tel Aviv, Israel THE English media has expressed anger and outrage at the latest spate of racism that’s raised its ugly head with the exposure of the Yorkshire Cricket Club, one of cricket’s most famous and revered clubs, being accused of institutional racism by some former players. Hot on the heels of this latest charge, other famous cricketers of colour have come forward with more damning evidence of racism within the “gentleman’s game”. It’s not only this isolated incident rife with racism, Cricket South Africa has also recently had its fair share of discriminatory scandals, and only recently the taking the knee incident with Quinton de Kock, made for unpleasant headlines in the sport. This type of bigotry has not been confined to cricket; English…

A rebel leader fighting Ethiopia’s government says his troops are near the capital and preparing another attack, predicting the war would end “very soon” as diplomats rush to negotiate a ceasefire. Jaal Marroo, commander of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), warned Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that pro-government fighters were defecting and the rebels were very close to victory. “What I am sure of is that it is going to end very soon,” Jaal, whose real name is Kumsa Diriba, said in a phone interview. “We are preparing to push for another launch, and for another attack. The government is just trying to buy time, and they are trying to instigate civil war in this country, so they are calling for the nation to fight.” The TPLF and their allies have…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Dominic Hendricks loves being captain of the Lions at the moment. “It’s the easiest bit of work I’ve had to do in a long time,” Hendricks chirped yesterday, having just touched down in Johannesburg after the journey up from Gqeberha, where his team had taken three days to beat the Warriors by an innings and 20 runs. That’s an emphatic result, but it’s made bizarre by the fact that the Lions only scored 170 in their innings. “I’ve never experienced something like that in my life,” Hendricks said about the outcome. It was made possible by the quartet of quicks Hendricks has at his disposal. While Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala, Malusi Siboto and Duanne Olivier make Hendricks’ life easy, the same can’t be said for the opposition…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s foreign exchange liquidity could enter a slump in spite of gross reserves rising marginally in October as the US tapering threatens to put brakes on large capital inflows. This could mean that finance minister Enoch Godongwana should carefully balance South Africa’s future spending priorities against declining reserves when he tables his maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Thursday. The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday said foreign exchange reserves position rose by $46 million (R690m) , or 0.8 percent, to $57.52 billion, after declining by 1.35 percent in August. The SARB said the international liquidity position also increased by $42m to $55.43bn. The bank said the changes were mainly due to the increase in the US dollar gold price, the depreciation of US dollar…

Kelly-Jane Turner The Department of Health has again urged people to take the Covid-19 vaccine ahead of the imminent fourth wave that scientists have predicted will come around the month of December. Minister Joe Phaahla said during the 2021 Rotary Health Family Day outreach programme in Pretoria West over the weekend that vaccines are the only hope of long-term success in eradicating the pandemic. “We have all learned over the last 20 months that it is not over and that there is going to be another resurgence of the infection, and therefore, we must be ready and protect all our people,” he said. While the country has sufficient stock to inoculate citizens, Phaahla said government is still struggling to reach people. “We are not oblivious to the fact that we…

Sonri Naidoo THE Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) has called on artists across the African continent to show solidarity by joining a cultural boycott against an eSwatini festival. The network believes the cultural boycott is an effective way to address the political crisis in the kingdom formerly known as Swaziland. Award-winning a cappella group The Soil, one of the bands that had been expected to perform, has pulled out of this year’s Bush Fire Festival. The reason for the cultural boycott is the long and tortuous struggle against King Mswati III’s oppressive regime, according to SSN spokesperson Lucky Lukhele. Last month, eSwatini continued to be racked by protests to press for an end to the rule of the monarch. At least 28 people have died as police clashed with protesters…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A FORMER Johannesburg bus driver, who was dismissed five years ago from service following an accident when a commuter fell out of the bus and was crushed to death by the bus will not get his job back. Lucky Choene turned to the Johannesburg Labour Court to set aside an arbitration award which earlier upheld his dismissal. The Johannesburg Metro Bus Services fired Choene in 2016 following a disciplinary hearing where it was found that he was responsible for the death of the commuter. This was primarily on the basis that he drove off in circumstances where the doors of the bus had not closed. The arbitrator made a finding on Choene’s own version, and relied in particular on his evidence that he did not notice the…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za HISTORY will be made in South Africa when the spy “pen gun” of liberation icon and legendary former ANC president Reginald Oliver Tambo will be auctioned. Maurice Crespi, chief executive of Virtual Nation Builders; Bob Grewar, chief operating officer of Cobra, which is South Africa’s largest non-profit organisation for distressed businesses; and Nicholas Wolpe, founder and chief executive of the Liliesleaf Trust, said the pen gun has been “tokenised” into a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). “The spy pen gun is believed to have been gifted to Tambo by the East Germans, to help protect Tambo from any would-be assassins during the mid- 1980s,” the statement read. Blockchain company Virtual Nation Builders tokenised the pen NFT and its uniqueness has been certified with a crypto asset number, with proceeds…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za THERE is no doubt that women have taken the Idols SA’s season 17 by storm. In one of the most anticipated shows in Mzansi, three women have secured their spots as the top three. Berry, S’22Kile and Karabo made history when they made it to this crucial stage of the competition. Viewers had to bid farewell to the last man standing, Kevin Maduna, who also had a great fight but did not have enough votes. In a surprising turn of events, South Africa discovered that two of the women in the top three were returnees to the Idols SA stage. Berry and Karabo had tried before but failed to make it to the live shows. However, this time it seems like they came prepared. On Sunday, they…

IT WAS in the turbulent ’80s, 1982 to be exact, that the apartheid South Africa Parliament passed the “Black Local Authorities Act.” This Act “provided for the establishment of a series of local government structures similar to those operating in the South African apartheid “White areas”. For the first time under apartheid, African black residents of urban locations gained something like autonomy. Although the African black race did not have access to Parliament, this Act gave the racial group some local township power. Although very young during that era, I remember how some people in the township rejected these township “councillors”. They were called stooges who were representing the apartheid regime. This went as far as having their properties burned. On the other side, those who opposed the system were…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za The fact that Scotland beat Australia at the weekend will add some spice to their Test against the Springboks at Murrayfield on Saturday. South Africa secured a gutsy win against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, defeating the hosts 23-18 and celebrating in the Welsh capital for the first time since 2013. Scotland later bagged a controversial 15-13 win over the Wallabies, who beat the Boks twice in the Rugby Championship, to end their five-Test winning streak. Assistant Bok coach Deon Davids says they should be ready for anything when they face Scotland in their second end-of-year tour clash. “If you look at Scotland’s performance, they put up a very good scrummaging performance. We know the capabilities of (assistant scrum coach) Pieter de Villiers; he is a very…

Matshelane Mamabolo Comment BEWARE THE TEAM with nothing to play for! As Bafana Bafana look to cement their position atop Group G of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, the country’s senior national team will do well to maintain the business-like mentality with which they’ve approached the campaign so far. Following that stumble in Harare in the opening match against Zimbabwe, Hugo Broos and his men have been clinical since, winning all their matches to lead the standings with two games to go. On Thursday at FNB Stadium, they take on Zimbabwe, who are out of the running for a spot in the knockout stage, which will decide the five countries to represent the continent in Qatar next year. It is a potential banana skin, the Warriors no doubt wanting…