Indice dei contenuti per 2022-10-06 in Cape Times

Gold mining may not be attracting the investment it once did in South Africa, but its other minerals still attract significant mining investment, delegates heard at the Joburg Indaba yesterday. Gold is a mature industry in South Africa, the opportunities are not the same as many of the other commodities in South Africa, said Gold Fieldschief executive (CEO), Chris Griffith. Griffith was part of a panel in the Indaba which took place yesterday in Johannesburg. Other panelists included Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman and Impala Platinum CEO, Nico Muller. Griffith said the opportunities to grow a company like his for safer, longer life, cheaper, lower cost more productive assets were not in South Africa, and for gold miners in South Africa, the opportuni- ties were international. “The more productive, shallow, open…

JASCO Electronics Holdings yesterday warned the viability of its listing may be compromised due to the possibility of it not meeting the free float requirements of the JSE in the event of a further capital raise. “Shareholders will be updated on the board’s decision in this regard,” the company said in its results for the year to June 30, 2022. “Jasco’s most pressing issue remains its high levels of debt and its financial underperformance. Further debt reduction will be required, either through another capital injection by its major shareholders or the potential disposal of another profitable business,” it said. “In the event of another capital raise, and if the group’s major shareholder invests further, either with limited or no equity contributions from the rest of the shareholders, the free float…

OUTGOING DA Member of KwaZulu- Natal Legislature (MPL) and former KZN party leader Zwakele Mncwango says he has been unhappy with the political decisions taken by his party at national level and this has prompted him to quit as the party’s MPL. Mncwango, in an interview with The Mercury yesterday, did not rule out quitting the party altogether. Asked whether the next step would be to quit the DA, Mncwango said, “for now, anything is possible”. He announced yesterday morning that he had resigned as an MPL and the resignation is effective from October 15. His departure follows a string of resignations from the DA by prominent black leaders at provincial and national level. One of its young and prominent leaders, Mbali Ntuli, quit a few months ago as an…

A STELLENBOSCH resident has detailed how a family wedding was ruined when a farm owner allegedly went on a rampage, smashing her windows and vandalising her home of 20 years in an attempt to evict her. In a win for Ingrid Wenn however, a spoliation order has secured her continued occupancy of the farm-located dwelling at Devon Valley Farm. The farm management said they responded to an incident of “unauthorised visitors” on Saturday. Wenn has been a farmworker at Devon Valley Hotel for two decades, and yesterday said she was distraught when she heard she had to vacate the only home she has known. This comes after the farm owner, Alan Louise is alleged to have vandalised her home. “On Saturday my husband picked me up from home with a…

WITH regard to our article “Western Cape teachers top list of shame” on Tuesday, October 4, Western Cape Education spokesperson Bronagh Hammond has responded as follows: Yes, there were indeed 85 cases of corporal punishment in the previous financial year, all reported to the WCED, investigated and all 85 cases reported to South African Council for Educators – SACE. What is not being said, however, which has been reported by SACE previously, is that “there may be more cases reported in the Western Cape because a culture of reporting professional misconduct is higher in the province”. We have strict policies and protocols in place which ensure that any educator or staff member who becomes aware of an incident of corporal punishment, or what we refer to as assault of…

THE case against Enyobeni tavern owner was again postponed at the East London Magistrate’s Court yesterday for the State to furnish further details. Enyobeni tavern owner Vuyokazi Ndevu and her husband, Siyakhangela Ndevu, who is the tavern’s manager, are facing a charge of contravening the Liquor Act. They are both charged with two offences of selling or supplying intoxicating liquor to persons under the age of 18, and conniving with and permitting employees and agents to sell or deliver intoxicating liquor to persons under the age of 18. The case follows the discovery of 21 bodies of teenagers, the youngest aged 13, at the Enyobeni tavern in Scenery Park, East London in June. It was reported that bodies were found lying strewn across tables, chairs and on the floor at…

Debunking myths and misinformation are key to developing an effective response to addressing xenophobia in South Africa, but this needs to be accompanied by strategies that address the drivers of xenophobic violence. Xenophobia is defined in the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, as an attitudinal orientation/hostility towards international migrants. Xenophobia manifests in different ways – the most visible being violence. Research paints a dim view of the myths and attitudes most of the population holds towards international immigrants, but what is even more disturbing are findings of increasing levels of participation in anti-immigrant violence and support for vigilantism. Research and population data have dispelled myths informing xenophobic attitudes towards international migrants. Findings of public opinion surveys conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council…

STOCKHOLM: Scientists Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry yesterday for discovering reactions that let molecular building blocks snap together to efficiently create new desired compounds. The technologies known as click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes, the award-giving body said in a statement. “Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer pharmaceuticals, which are now being tested in clinical trials,” it added. The prize was awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns (about R16m). | Reuters…

Burkina Faso’s new military leader, Ibrahim Traore, will respect a democratic transition timeline agreed between his predecessor and West Africa regional bloc Ecowas, he said in a statement late on Tuesday. The comments followed a meeting with an Ecowas delegation sent to meet the junta that took power last week in the second coup to hit the West African country this year. Traore said Burkina Faso would “respect the dynamic compromise” agreed with Ecowas in July to restore constitutional order in 24 months. He also said the country would honour its international commitments, particularly regarding the protection of human rights, and would collaborate with Ecowas evaluation mechanisms. The Ecowas mediator that headed the delegation, former Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou, on Tuesday said he was satisfied with the exchanges. Traore led…

Kevin Spacey will appear in a New York court from today to face a civil lawsuit brought by US actor Anthony Rapp, who has accused the disgraced Hollywood star of sexually abusing him when he was 14. The two-time Oscar-winning star, whose full name is Kevin Spacey Fowler, has disappeared from public view since he became one of the first performers to be caught up in the #MeToo movement in October 2017. Rapp, 51 this month, filed a complaint in 2020 against Spacey for advances and an alleged sexual assault at a party in 1986. Spacey has always denied allegations of sexual abuse. | AFP…

Ethiopia’s government said yesterday it had accepted an AU invitation to hold peace talks with Tigrayan rebels after almost two years of brutal war in the north of the country. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s national security adviser, Redwan Hussein, said on Twitter the government had “accepted this invitation which is in line with our principled position regarding the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the need to have talks without preconditions”. The government communication service said the AU had set “both the date and the venue” for the talks but did not elaborate. AU spokesperson Ebba Kalondo declined to provide information about when and where the talks would take place, telling AFP, “We will communicate details as and when appropriate”, adding that the process remained “on track”. There was no…

THE Springbok women’s team to play France in their opening Pool C match of the World Cup in New Zealand has a familiar and experienced look to it, with only prop Sanelisiwe Charlie not a regular starter in the 2022 season. Bok coach Stanley Raubenheimer named both of his World Cup veterans, Nolusindiso Booi and Zenay Jordaan, in the squad, with Booi to captain the team at Eden Park on Saturday. Jordaan is named on the bench and will equal the Bok record of 34 Test caps held by Zandile Nojoko. Raubenheimer also named Tayla Kinsey at scrumhalf and prop Asithandile Ntoyanto on the bench, meaning that all four players with previous World Cup experience will be involved on Saturday. Charlie will make a first start since August 2021, when…

THE WORLD Bank has warned that South Africa’s aggressive interest rate hikes could hamper economic growth prospects, affecting the country’s ability to respond to socio-economic challenges. This comes as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Tuesday indicated that it would continue raising interest rates well into 2023 in a bid to stabilise monetary policy and restore price stability amid persistently high inflation. Headline inflation in South Africa remains persistently high at 7.6% in August after easing from a 13-year high of 7.8% in July, having breached the upper limit of the Sarb’s 3 to 6% target range in May. This has forced the SARB to adopt a hawkish monetary policy stance, and increase interest rates by 75 basis points in two recent successive meetings, taking cumulative hikes to…

EQUITES Property Fund said there has seen a sharp rise in the number of development opportunities in SA in the past six months due to record levels of demand for warehousing space. Chief executive Andrew Taverna- Turisan said at the release of the group’s results for the six months to August 31, 2022, that they were well positioned to capitalise on these opportunities, given their strategic land bank – there is a shortage of suitable land for large warehousing and distribution developments, in Durban and Cape Town in particular, he said in a telephonic interview. Equites’ existing development pipeline will add 228 000m² of prime logistics space over the medium term, with a combined capital value of R2.7 billion. He said given the strong demand, the group might…

SUEZ together with Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) have completed the acquisition of Enviro- Serv Holdings and its subsidiaries after approval by antitrust authorities. Suez has built more than 500 drinking water and sanitation plants that service most African capitals. Suez is present in Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia and Ivory Coast. “This acquisition will enable Suez to reinforce its positioning as an international leader in industrial and municipal waste treatment activities and to strengthen its position on the African continent,” Sabrina Soussan, chairperson and chief executive of Suez said in a statement yesterday. “I am thrilled by EnviroServ joining Suez Group: this is a team with a unique track record over the last 40 years, which enabled the company to become the leader in…

THE payment of R350 grants to people who were not entitled to them has come back to haunt the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa), with Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke wanting the entity to implement remedial action. It came to light in Sassa’s audited financial statements tabled along with the 2021-22 annual report in Parliament recently. In the report, Maluleke said she found irregularities, including R350 grant payments between May 2020 and August last year. Sassa said irregular payments were made to more than 40 000 people, including civil servants. “The non-compliance is likely to result in a material financial loss for Department of Social Development, on whose behalf the entity administers the grant,” Maluleke said. Sassa chief executive Busisiwe Memela-Khambula was notified about the irregularities in October last year and was…

SOUTH African companies are preparing to make a good impression at the Sial Paris International Food Products Exhibition in France later this month. Twenty-six companies producing processed foods, non-alcoholic beverages, preserved foods, spices, soups, deep-frozen products, health and organic products, sweets, seafood and gourmet food products will participate in the exhibition from October 15-19. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) has set up a South African National Pavilion in which the companies will be showcasing their products and services. Sial Paris is regarded as the world’s leading exhibition network with unrivalled geographic coverage of Europe and the rest of the world. The Managing Director of House of Natural Butter based in Cape Town, Debra Ncube said her groundwork before departing for France was already bearing fruits as…

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) and the South African Medical Association (Sama) say the Health Department needs to tackle the growing problem of the scarcity of health-care workers. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the shortage of health-care workers was threatening the quality and sustainability of health systems in Africa and worldwide. “Health care is a fundamental human right. But without health workers, there cannot be health services,” he said. The minister was speaking at the Association of Medical Councils of Africa international conference recently. The chairperson of Sama, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa said low- and middle-income countries, which include South Africa, were experiencing the largest shortages. Mzukwa said the shortage of doctors at public hospitals in South Africa was at a critical stage where the ratio has widened…

ANY government official, including a Cabinet minister, who has to be forced to do a job they signed up for should be fired on the spot, especially in cases involving the safety of citizens. That is certainly the expectation in the private sector, where negligence can hardly be tolerated and the only way out is dismissal. In government boardrooms the opposite is true, starting right at the top, including ministers. That a judge had to intervene and direct the Eastern Cape Transport MEC and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to fulfil their obligations to maintain law and order relating to attacks on long-distance bus company Intercape, is beyond shameful. If it were not for Intercape’s strong conviction, Mbalula and the Eastern Cape government would continue ignoring the plight of thousands of…

TEHRAN: A 5.4 magnitude earthquake in north-western Iran injured more than 580 people early yesterday, most of them lightly, state media reported. “The quake that hit at a depth of 10km in West Azerbaijan province has injured 528 people, 135 of whom have been admitted to hospital,” the region’s governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, told state television. The quake and its aftershocks “damaged 500 houses, completely destroying 50 of them, in 12 affected villages”, he added. State television aired footage of stores damaged and homes destroyed in the 3.30am local time quake. Iran sits astride the boundaries of several major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity. | AFP…

Loretta Lynn, America’s groundbreaking country titan whose frank lyricism delving into women’s experiences with sex, infidelity and pregnancy touched the nerve of a nation, has died. She was 90. She “passed peacefully in her sleep” at her ranch in Tennessee on Tuesday, her family said. Lynn saw a number of her edgy tracks banned by country music stations, but over the course of more than six decades in the business, she became a standard-bearer of the genre and its most decorated female artist ever. In 1988, Lynn was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as one of its most storied legends. She won virtually every arts honour available, including the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom. | AFP…

Singapore authorities have made their biggest ever seizure of rhino horn with a $830 000 (about R14.7 million) haul confiscated from a smuggler arriving from South Africa, officials said yesterday. The city-state’s National Parks Board said 20 pieces of rhino horn weighing a total of 34kg were discovered in two bags at Singapore Changi Airport. The contraband was detected by sniffer dogs and belonged to a passenger travelling onward to Laos, the board said, adding that the suspect had been arrested. “This is the largest seizure of rhinoceros horns in Singapore to date,” it said in a statement. Rhinos are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and international trade in their horns is prohibited. The board said genetic testing…

DUBAI: Baquer Namazi, an 85-year-old Iranian-American who was jailed in Iran on spying charges that the US called baseless, was en route to Oman yesterday after Iranian authorities allowed him to leave for medical treatment, his lawyer said. He would travel on to Abu Dhabi and then undergo a carotid endarterectomy there, Jared Genser, a lawyer for the Namazi family, said. Namazi, a former official with the UN Children’s Fund, and his son Siamak, were convicted in 2016 of “collaboration with a hostile government”. Namazi was jailed for 10 years. Iranian authorities released him on medical grounds in 2018 and closed his case in 2020, commuting his sentence to time served. However, they had effectively barred him from leaving until Saturday. Siamak, 51, was released from prison on Saturday on…

THE Sharks’ Springbok contingent is hard at work at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and awaiting the return of the team from their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour but given the malfunction of the line-outs overseas, there surely would have been a temptation to get Eben Etzebeth on a plane to make his debut against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday. That s not going to happen and Eben the Angry’s Durban debut is set for their home game against the Glasgow Warriors on October 15. Last week, coach Sean Everitt explained that his Bok players had been given a week’s vacation following the end of the Rugby Championship. Everitt said that only in the case of a severe injury crisis would they consider calling up a Springbok. The Sharks did lose a…

UNITED States international captain Becky Sauerbrunn said on Tuesday that team owners and officials implicated in a bombshell report detailing systemic sexual abuse and misconduct in US women’s soccer should be barred from the sport. The 37-year-old two-time World Cup winner said players were “horrified and heartbroken” by the findings of a report published on Monday following a year-long investigation by former US attorney general Sally Yates. Yates’ report included interviews with more than 200 National Women’s Soccer League players - many of them members of US national teams - and detailed patterns of abuse from team coaches, including manipulation and tirades. “Every owner and executive and US soccer official who has repeatedly failed the players and failed to protect the players who have hidden behind legalities and have not…

THE ECONOMY waits with baited breath as the grim spectre of a lengthy industrial action unfolds over a 9% gap between Transnet and unions Untu and Satawu that is likely to halt the rail network and cause bottlenecks at South Africa’s ports to goods moving over rails and processes. Concern has been sounded by all sectors of an economy already besieged by load shedding over the past months, with fears rising that a protracted strike at Transnet has a telling effect on agricultural imports and exports, the motor vehicle sector and mining, among others, which are all heavily reliant on an efficient logistics chain. “Transnet is a critical player in an export orientated sector like agriculture. So the wage negotiations are key area of interest and we hope…

THERE is no better moment to remind us of our country’s precarious energy security than the current streak of load shedding, which at some point escalated from stage 2 to stage 6 and came perilously close to breaching stage 8. The cost to the economy varies between R2 billion and R4bn a day, depending on which industry expert you speak to. One thing is certain, though, businesses and households are counting their losses daily, suffice it to add it is near impossible to quantify the actual cost of load shedding to the economy. Flashback: many intensive energy users, including small businesses, have not forgotten the infamous load shedding in 2008. And one can forgive them for nursing a heightened sense of déjà vu. Such was…

THE SAPS has accrued a staggering R1.8 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure as at the end of the financial year in March. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said it was disappointing, considering budget cuts were affecting operations. The figure was disclosed by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke in her audit report contained in the annual report of the police. “Fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R1.8bn is still under assessment to determine whether it meets the definition. This was also identified after year-end,” Maluleke said. She said effective and appropriate steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure to the tune of R152 million. “The majority of the irregular expenditure was caused by non-compliance with the bids requirements.” The A-G found that some contracts were awarded to bidders based…

CONDOLENCES have been pouring in for Grassy Park teen Chelsea Geen who lost her battle to cancer in hospital on Sunday. The grieving family of the 15-year-old said they found out she had cancer after she fell while learning to ride a bicycle on her 12th birthday. Her mother, Melanie Geen, said her arm had to be amputated the following year. “Shortly after her 13th birthday we were told the cancer returned and was more aggressive, they also told us they found two lesions on her left lung and one on the right. Unfortunately, she had to have her arm amputated. We were very shocked and felt a little hopeless when we made the discovery,” said Geen. Chelsea would be remembered as someone who always managed to motivate others despite…

A FATHER of four who brought his children to South Africa from the US, has been denied an application for leave to appeal for bail while he faces extradition on charges of International Parental Kidnapping. The man came to the country on a visitor’s visa at the end of October 2021, which expired during January this year. Three of his children were minors, and one was 18. After not returning the children to their mother, with whom he had a custodial agreement, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was apprehended in Upington in March this year. “(He) was staying with the children in tents, together with a group referred to as a missionary group praying together at a farm in Upington, 10km from the border of Namibia.…

ROCKLANDS ward councillor Ashley Potts congratulated Cedar High School for winning gold at the Gymnastics SA National Championships on Sunday in Tshwane. The SA Gymnastic Federation (SAGF) championships is taking place until October 9 with gymnasts competing in all disciplines across multiple venues. Categories include General, Aerobic, Acrobatic, Men’s-Artistic, Women’s-Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline, Rope-Skipping, Gym-For-All, and Parkour. Potts said the competitors flew the flag for Mitchells Plain. “I have always been a fan of the sport and I have been supporting the team for a very long time. “I am glad that such young talented kids put our area on the map and showcase their talent. “They are very passionate about what they are doing and they get the full support from the community and also from the teachers. “We are…

Lessons in what writers can do if properly supported I was recently invited to the African Book Festival, from August 26-28 in Berlin by Stefanie Hirsbrunner, one of the organisers and a publisher. I met Stephanie in 2021 when she was visiting South Africa and we had a long chat about what the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is doing in the language space. I shared with her in detail our project of intellectualising African languages, with a particular emphasis on South Africa’s previously marginalised official languages. I shared with her how literature development is central to this project. Both of us agreed that this is a mammoth task that needs collaboration. We also agreed that there was a dire need for African writers to be developed and given international recognition…

Vietnam has asked Netflix to stop showing South Korean drama series Little Women in the country, alleging the series distorted events of the Vietnam War, state media said yesterday. In episode 8 of the 12-part drama, which is loosely based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, a war veteran from South Korea is seen bragging about the “kill-to-death ratio” between troops from his country and the Viet Cong. More than 320 000 South Koreans were sent to Vietnam between 1964 and 1973 to fight alongside US soldiers. They have faced allegations they committed mass killings of Vietnamese civilians. It is not known how many North Vietnamese soldiers were killed by South Korean troops during the war. | AFP…

RABAT: A Moroccan state agency has issued the first 10 permits for the use of cannabis in industry and medicine and for export, it said, the result of a law passed last year. Farmers who organise into co-operatives in the northern mountain areas of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen will be gradually allowed to grow cannabis to meet the needs of the legal market, the agency said. Cannabis is widely cultivated in Morocco illegally and the new law, passed by the parliament last year, does not permit its use for recreation. The law is intended to improve farmers’ incomes and protect them from drug traffickers who control the cannabis trade and export it illegally. | Reuters…

As President Vladimir Putin completed paperwork for the annexation of four regions of Ukraine yesterday, the Kremlin said there was no contradiction between Russian retreats and Putin’s vow that they would always be part of Russia. In the biggest expansion of Russian territory in at least half a century, Putin signed laws admitting the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia region into Russia. The conclusion of the legalities of the annexation of up to 18% of Ukrainian territory came as Russian forces battled to halt Ukrainian counter- offensives within it, especially north of Kherson and west of Luhansk. Asked if there was a contradiction between Putin’s rhetoric and the reality of retreat on the ground, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “There is no contradiction whatsoever.…

British Prime Minister Liz Truss yesterday urged her fractious party to stick together and help transform the economy and the country, fighting to restore her dwindling authority after a chaotic first month in office. Addressing Conservative lawmakers and members at an annual conference overshadowed by internal bickering and confusion over policy, Truss said the party needed to unite to kick-start stagnant growth and tackle the many problems facing Britain. So far, however, her misfiring attempt to cut £45 billion (R908bn) of taxes and hike government borrowing has sent turmoil through markets and her party, with opinion polls pointing to electoral collapse rather than a honeymoon period for the new leader. “We gather at a vital time for the UK. These are stormy days,” she said, referring to the Covid-19 pandemic,…