Indice dei contenuti per 2023-02-24 in Cape Times

THE bill which will provide for independent candidates to contest seats in Parliament and provincial legislatures was easily passed in the National Assembly yesterday. This was after the ANC clubbed together with the EFF, Al-jama-ah and the Good Party to amass 218 votes. The DA along with the IFP, Freedom Front Plus and ACDP garnered 81 votes. Other parties, including the UDM and African Independent Congress which had participated in the debate were not present when the vote took place. “The bill has been passed. The bill will be sent to the president for assent,” House chairperson Mmatlala Grace Boroto said after the counting of the vote. The bill was sent back to the National Assembly late last year after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) came up with material…

AS the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) go head-to-head in court today over the scholar transport blockade, hundreds of pupils have allegedly not returned to school. The department approached the Western Cape High Court last week where it filed an application to interdict Codeta from preventing all types of scholar transport from transporting pupils in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas. An agreement was reached that the application be postponed for arguments to be heard today at 10am. Answering affidavits were submitted yesterday. Part of the agreement and court order was for Codeta not to obstruct or interfere with the transporting of pupils, including WCED’s contracted buses, and not to make threats pending the outcome of the hearing. However, MEC David Maynier…

A STORY in your Monday edition, under the headline “Sanral shoots holes in ‘25 million potholes’ claim”, refers. It is almost laughable that the roads agency has embroiled itself in a dispute (debate) about how many potholes exist in South Africa. We all know and encounter potholes daily. We are very blessed in the Western Province that when a pothole does occur the municipalities and the provincial government try their utmost to pug the hole immediately … because by its very nature, a pothole will not only get bigger and deeper, but will cause other structural problems in the road surrounding it. There should not be a debate about how many, but a debate as to how quickly these potholes can be properly closed and covered. The damage caused to…

BOURDAIN IN STORIES Laurie Woolever Loot.co.za (R220) Bloomsbury WHEN Anthony Bourdain died by his own hand in 2018, “fans around the globe came together to celebrate the memory of an inimitable man who had dedicated his life to travelling everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the stories of others. His impact was outsized, and his legacy has only grown since his death”. Bourdain was a globally revered chef, author and television food and travel documentarian. His focus was on “the exploration of international culture and the human condition”. In Bourdain in Stories, his long-time assistant and occasional co-author, Laurie Woolever, has curated the recollections of many who worked with him as well as those who loved and admired him. What’s particularly admirable about the selection of contributions is…

Home Cailean Steed Loot.co.za (R340) Raven Someone has broken into Zoe’s flat. A man she thought she’d never have to see again. They call him the Hand of God. He knows about her job in the café, her life in Dublin, her ex-girlfriend, even the knife she’s hidden under the mattress. She thought she’d left him far behind, along with the cult of the Children and their isolated compound Home – but now he’s found her, and Zoe realises she must go back with him if she’s to rescue the sister who helped her escape originally. But returning to Home means going back to the enforced worship and strict gender roles Zoe has long since moved beyond. Back to the abuse and indoctrination she’s fought desperately to overcome. Going back…

THE Proteas Women’s team have a date with destiny. A home ICC Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final against England. And they are fully aware a nation expects nothing less than a victory. The days of merely being content with reaching this stage are over. It has been some journey for Sune Luus’s team. The last two weeks have been a roller-coaster, starting with the opening defeat to Sri Lanka. From thereon the mountain only became steeper. Victory over New Zealand in Paarl reignited the challenge before stumbling again in Gqeberha when the Australians were simply too good. Destiny was out of their hands, but fortunately the Kiwis defeated Sri Lanka that set up a must-win game for the Proteas against Bangladesh. A nervous start was averted and the Proteas won…

A senatorial candidate from Nigeria’s opposition Labour Party was killed late on Wednesday by unknown gunmen in south-eastern Enugu State, a local party official said yesterday, the latest violent incident ahead of a momentous national election. Nigerians are due to elect their next president and MPs on Saturday, against a chaotic backdrop of armed conflict in the north-east, high levels of violent crime everywhere and shortages of cash, fuel and electricity. President Muhammadu Buhari is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution, and the three-man race to succeed him is seen as the most unpredictable contest in recent Nigerian history. Africa’s most populous nation, biggest economy and top oil producer switched from army rule to democracy in 1999, but its elections have long been plagued…

LOS ANGELES: Harvey Weinstein, the one-time Hollywood titan who came to epitomise a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was to be sentenced yesterday for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Prosecutors have recommended Weinstein, 70, receive the maximum penalty of 24 years in prison, with no eligibility for parole, after a Los Angeles trial jury found him guilty of rape and two other felony charges of sexual abuse in December. The sentence should be served once the former movie producer and Miramax co-founder has completed the 23-year sentence imposed for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, prosecutors argued. Weinstein’s team opposes the district attorney’s recommendation, given Weinstein’s “advanced age and deteriorating health”, defence lawyer Mark Werksman said. Weinstein…

BEIRUT: Longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants have been charged with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment, a senior judicial source said yesterday. The charges come after an 18-month investigation into whether Salameh and his brother embezzled more than $300 million (R5.5 trillion) from Lebanon’s Central Bank between 2002 and 2015. Judicial authorities in at least five European countries are investigating Salameh and his brother Raja on the same allegations. The governor has dismissed accusations as part of a bid to scapegoat him for Lebanon’s financial woes. | Reuters…

ANTAKYA: Türkiye will widen an investigation into building contractors suspected of violating safety standards following its devastating earthquake, the interior minister said, as the country stepped up housing plans for victims. Suleyman Soylu said 564 suspects had been identified so far, with 160 people formally arrested. President Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild housing within one year. Soylu said 313 000 tents had been erected, with 100 000 container homes to be installed. Soylu said more than 600 000 apartments and 150 000 commercial premises had suffered at least moderate damage. | Reuters…

AIDEN Markram’s elevation to the Proteas T20 captaincy received a major boost after he was named captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2023. Markram seems set to succeed Temba Bavuma, who relinquished the T20 leadership reins last week as the new national short-format captain. The 28-year-old’s stocks are certainly on the rise after leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural Betway SA20 title earlier this month. Bavuma will now lead the Proteas Test team with his debut as a skipper being the series against West Indies in Gauteng next week. Markram has led the Proteas before in ODI cricket for a brief period of five matches in 2018. He has, however, taken his game to an entirely different level in T20 cricket the past few years. Markram is perched…

Eskom has confirmed the unprecedented shedding and curtailing of power to stage 7 WINTER came early for South Africans after Eskom confirmed shedding and curtailing a combined more than 7 000MW of electricity supply from the grid over the past two days. This has fuelled chatter around the country that Eskom implemented an unprecedented stage 7 or stage 8 load shedding on Tuesday and Wednesday night without informing the public. However, Eskom’s System Operator yesterday denied reports that had quietly ramped up load shedding from the current stage 6. This contradicted Eskom’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha, who told another publication that it was accurate to say load shedding was at stage 7 at that particular time on Wednesday night. The Eskom System Operator decides on the load…

MEMBERS of Parliament have urged Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande to intervene at UCT amid a report that the vice-chancellor, Mamokgethi Phakeng, has agreed to a R12 million early retirement package. Questions about Phakeng’s future at the university were raised last week after reports of her alleged suspension following a decision taken when the university council met on February 9. However, UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola and chairperson of the council, Babalwa Ngonyama quickly refuted the claims. Ngonyama said council would meet early this week to “thoroughly and thoughtfully consider options and potential resolutions”, after which the outcome would be reported before the end of the week. MPs yesterday raised the issue during a National Assembly plenary briefing of the post-school education and training sector’s state of readiness for the…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the 2023 national Budget on Wednesday afternoon. The pressure culminating in the event was palpitating. The Budget was a sequel to another event that had happened earlier in the month, the State of the Nation Address. More is still to come, as several provinces will follow suit after the president and the minister in proposing their provincial plans and work for the year. Going back to the 2023 national Budget, considering also the build-up, I did not envy being Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana at all. For me the minister was akin to being a tightrope walker, being marvelled at by many yet needing to be self-aware of maintaining a balancing act. Such a balancing act does not come easy. For instance, Minister Godongwana’s promise…

FOR some days the advertised load shedding scheduled times for Sea Point have not occurred. While this is to be welcomed, it raises the question as to why, when surrounding suburbs continue to be plunged into darkness at irregular intervals. It is rumoured that one or more of our illustrious politicians, our tin gods, have moved into the area or are holidaying there. If so, it is an absolute scandal. It is further evidence that the government has no concern for the electorate or the taxpayer. Why should the man in the street, who cannot work, have to stumble around in the darkness, while those in so-called authority are basking in the light? However, if this scenario is true we may have some light at the end of the tunnel.…

Exiles Jane Harper Loot.co.za (R245) Macmillan A MOTHER disappears from a busy festival on a warm spring night. Her baby lies alone in the pram, her mother’s possessions surrounding her, waiting for a return which never comes. A year later, Kim Gillespie’s absence still casts a long shadow as her friends and loved ones gather to welcome a new addition to the family. Joining the celebrations on a rare break from work is federal investigator Aaron Falk, who begins to suspect that all is not as it seems. As he looks into Kim’s case, long-held secrets and resentments begin to come to the fore, secrets that show that her community is not as close as it appears. Falk will have to tread carefully if he is to expose the dark…

High-profile murders in our crime-ridden country, have once again thrust gun-related violence and gun control into the limelight. KZN is the epicentre of gun-related violence. It is a recorded that 9 000 guns go missing every year, while 24 guns illegally enter the market every day, destroying 30 lives every day. Strict gun laws introduced in 2001 have had little effect on the carnage we are witnessing. According to reports, rising gun-violence crimes can be attributed to a spike in smuggling of weaponry into the country. There are about 3.8 million unregistered, illegal firearms in circulation in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, a critical factor in the escalating gun-related murders in the country. History has proven that gun control laws do not work, because they are based…

Israel launched air strikes on Gaza in return for rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave yesterday, a day after the deadliest Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years. Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed and more than 80 wounded by gunfire on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, when Israeli troops raided the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, drawing international appeals for calm. The death toll was the highest since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, ended in 2005. It was described as a “massacre” by top Palestinian official Hussein al- Sheikh, who called for “international protection for our people”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads a new coalition government regarded as the most right-wing in Israel’s history, praised Israeli forces and vowed…

Police in Northern Ireland said yesterday that they had arrested three men over the shooting of an off-duty officer, after declaring “violent dissident republicans” the “prime focus” of their investigation. The shooting, condemned by politicians as “outrageous and shameful”, was carried out by two men in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone on Wednesday. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, a high-profile officer who has led major investigations, was taken to hospital and is in a “critical but stable” condition after being shot multiple times at a sports complex, police said. Officers in Northern Ireland are subject to sporadic attacks that were once common in the region, which was plagued by decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles before the signing of peace accords in 1998. Chief Constable Simon…

A brown bear that lay almost perfectly preserved in the frozen wilds of eastern Siberia for 3 500 years has undergone a necropsy by a team of scientists after it was discovered by reindeer herders on a desolate island in the Arctic. “This find is absolutely unique: the complete carcass of an ancient brown bear,” said Maxim Cheprasov, laboratory chief at the Lazarev Mammoth Museum Laboratory at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, eastern Siberia. The female bear was found by reindeer herders in 2020 jutting out of the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, part of the New Siberian archipelago about 4 600km east of Moscow. The extreme temperatures helped preserve the bear’s soft tissue for 3 460 years, as well as remains of its final repasts – bird feathers…

Washington: The US defense department has released a cockpit selfie of a U-2 spy plane pilot soaring over a Chinese balloon the day before it was shot down. US President Joe Biden’s order to down what the US has since called a “sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle” sparked the latest diplomatic spat between Washington and Beijing. The photo released by the Pentagon on Wednesday shows the Chinese balloon floating over the central continental US on February 3 as it is observed by the U-2 pilot. The balloon can be seen hovering above the expanse, its solar panels visible underneath, with the pilot’s helmet in the foreground. | AFP…

PASCHAL Werhlein is having quite the Formula E season in his Porsche as the German is top of the standings ahead of the Cape Town ePrix. Werlein’s teammate Antonio Felix de Costa was third in the Hyderbad leg of the Formula E calendar, while Werhlein finished fourth. Despite not finishing on the podium, Wehrlein extended his lead at the top of the standing. They will be hoping for much of the same when they hit the track in Cape Town in a few days time. Wehrlein says he wants more of the success they have been currently having. “We are leading and we want more that so I think our package looks strong. “We need to do a step forward in qualifying because that is our weak area at the…

CONOR Benn has been cleared of a doping offence after the World Boxing Council ruled a “highly-elevated consumption of eggs” constituted a “reasonable explanation” for his positive finding. A scheduled catchweight “grudge” bout against British rival Chris Eubank Jr scheduled for October last year was cancelled after trace amounts of a fertility drug, Clomiphene – which is known to elevate testosterone levels in men – were found in Benn’s urine. Benn, 26, had denied intentionally or knowingly ingesting any banned substances, and in December broke his silence in a long post on Instagram, saying: “The truth will soon come out”. On Wednesday, the WBC, having consulted a nutritionist, announced it was reinstating the London boxer in its rankings and stated there was “no conclusive evidence that Benn engaged in intentional…

AMAZULU midfielder George Maluleka has revealed the impact made by the exit of the ex-club captain Makhehleni Makhaula following his big move to Orlando Pirates. The 33-year-old Makhaula had fearlessly captained Usuthu for two years prior to his exit from the Durban club. However, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign, Makhaula could not resist the call of Soweto giants Pirates and moved there for an undisclosed fee in the January transfer window. Maluleka, who joined at the beginning of the season and formed a formidable midfield duo with the departed star, has opened up about the effect of Makhaula’s exit. The 34-year-old Maluleka added that this prompted other senior members of the team to band together for the success of the club. “Obviously…

ANDRE de Ruyter’s blockbuster exit from Eskom has left sections of society divided right down the middle over how the corruption allegations he made could potentially see South Africa regressing after a four-year marathon which exposed how the State has been captured. This comes after De Ruyter’s explosive interview with the commercial 24-hour TV station eNCA. During the interview, De Ruyter made a litany of allegations among which he reiterated that corruption was deeply entrenched at Eskom and hinted at political interference due to vested interests. De Ruyter said he had made enemies at Eskom and had stepped on the wrong toes after trying to close the taps to a cartel that was allegedly syphoning off at least R1 billion from Eskom every month. He also implicated an unnamed…

PARLIAMENTARIANS were angered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s request to be excused mid-way from the meeting where he was to brief committees about the 2023 budget yesterday. They said it was unfair for Godongwana to leave matters to the officials, and also complained that their oversight role was being undermined. This happened when he appeared before the joint meeting of the standing and select committees on finance and appropriations. “My apology is that I am going to the G20 meeting today. I will ask to be released at about 11.30, an hour from now,” Godongwana said. Freedom Front Plus MP Stephanus du Toit said Godongwana always left their virtual meetings before they finished. He said it would help in future that there be a lock-up session when the budget was…

Sacked Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter leaves the embattled power utility with a legacy characterised by the worst power cuts in the country’s history. Of De Ruyter’s legacy, energy expert Lungile Mashele noted: “Longest consecutive load-shedding hours December 2022 to February 2023. No reliability maintenance carried out. FY2022 (financial year 2022) financials delivered on the 23rd of December 2022. “Worst energy availability factor and unplanned capability loss factor in Eskom’s 100-year history, high staff turnover, especially senior management, interference with procurement practices, hence a reprimand from Treasury. “Highest diesel usage and costs, and failed turnaround, which was later attributed to ‘sabotage’. ‘Sabotage’ related to foreign objects in coal or sludge only accounts for 0.64% of other capability loss factors.” Eskom announced that De Ruyter was leaving the company with…

A 24-YEAR-OLD man from Benoni in Gauteng has been recorded as the first cholera death in South Africa amid the current outbreak as the number of laboratory confirmed cases rose to five. The man, with no travelling history, died a few days after being admitted to hospital. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla made the announcement yesterday after he gave an update about three cases a few weeks ago. According to Phaahla, the fourth case was a 28-year-old man living in Alexandra, also in Gauteng, with no local or international travel history. “The patient presented himself at the Edenvale Hospital Emergency Centre with a four-day history of diarrhoea, vomiting and body weakness. “A specimen was collected for testing and the patient was not admitted at the hospital but managed as…

ADVOCACY group Ndifuna Ukwazi has criticised the move by the City of Cape Town to serve eviction notices on homeless people in the city centre, saying the shelter system is not the answer. The City, however, said it had done everything it could to help people get off the streets, but that not everyone had accepted the assistance. The City said the Western Cape High Court had granted its application for eviction notices to be served at various unlawful occupations, including a camp outside the Castle of Good Hope. Attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi, Dr Jonty Cogger, said more needs to be done to find a solution to the issue of homelessness. “We need to find out how many people are on the street, what got them on the street…

IN METRIC 10 of his analysis of Mr De Ruyter’s tenure as Eskom’s chief executive (Business Report, February 10), Siphelele Dludla stated that Eskom spent more than R5bn since November to purchase an additional 150 million litres of diesel from PetroSA. This works out at over R33.3 per litre. Over this period, we motorists spent an average of about R23.3 per litre at the diesel pumps, of which (according to Outa) roughly R10 was for various levies, taxes, and sales costs. This means that the diesel that we were buying for our cars will have had a wholesale price of about R13.3 per litre, and that Eskom paid R20 more per litre for fuel for their open-cycle gas turbines. For 150 million litres of fuel, it has to be concluded…

WOMEN and children need serenity in moments of chaos. Inspired by the murder of Nikita Lewis, a woman who once sought safety at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC), a separate new space of serenity has been created to provide a quiet, therapeutic hub of tranquillity on the shelter’s premises. As most shelters have access to social workers, counsellors and staff with experience, expertise and passion but lack the space to hold psycho- social sessions in a dignified, private and aesthetically pleasing environment, the Nikita Lewis Serenity Hub is a solution. Lewis was a resident at the centre, after escaping an abusive relationship. On October 9, 2015, she was walking to the shop about 200m away with a number of children and another mother when she got…

Mirage David Ralph Viviers Loot.co.za (R209) Umuzi MICHAEL is a postgraduate student studying literature. His heart is broken when his first romantic relationship ends. He lives with his cat. His mother is dead, his father somewhat estranged from him. Back in 1989, we meet the other main protagonist of the compelling novel. Victorian author Elizabeth Rose Tenant is of interest to Michael in his studies. She becomes a second voice winding around a compelling narrative. Tenant has left life in a convent to come to the Karoo, more precisely to a small town, Sterfontein. It is here where she has died, after developing a passion for the bleak and complex mysteries of the Karoo. She stays in the town’s hotel, traipses the terrain around it in the company of the…

At least five people were killed and 48 were still missing a day after the collapse of a coal mine in China’s northern region of Inner Mongolia, state media reported yesterday. The open-pit mine operated by small local firm Xinjing Coal Mining Co collapsed in a landslide, leaving dozens of workers buried under a huge pile of debris half a kilometre wide and an estimated 80m high, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Dramatic security camera footage aired on CCTV yesterday showed an avalanche of rock and soil falling from one side of the mountain into the mine pit, burying a number of excavators and dump trucks. Three hundred rescue workers were at the site using heavy machinery and rescue dogs to aid in their search for the trapped miners, state…

London: A six-decade archive charting pop icon David Bowie’s career will open in London in 2025, providing a “new source book for the Bowies of tomorrow”, a museum director said this week. Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum Tristram Hunt said the “incredible” collection had more than 80 000 items of Bowie memorabilia. They range from hand-written lyrics and letters to sheet music, original costumes, photography and album artwork. A number of instruments owned by Bowie as well as music videos, set designs and awards are also due to go on display. | AFP…

Moscow: The head of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said yesterday his fighters in Ukraine were getting ammunition after he accused Russia’s top brass of withholding supplies. A day earlier he had called on Russians to pressure the country’s regular army to share ammunition with his fighters, in an ongoing stand-off with military leaders. Fighting alongside Russian forces, Prigozhin’s mercenary group has spearheaded the assault for towns in eastern Ukraine. The 61-year-old ally of President Vladimir Putin has also been involved in a bitter power struggle with the defence ministry for months. Prigozhin accused Defence Minister Sergei Shoiguof wanting to “destroy” Wagner. | AFP…

Brussels: The number of asylum applications in the EU soared to almost a million last year, a 50% increase over 2021 and the highest level since the 2016 influx of refugees into the bloc. The EU Agency for Asylum said the bloc’s 27 member states plus Switzerland and Norway (EU+) registered 966 000 applications last year. The increase in 2021 was due in part to the removal of Covid-related curbs and to as conflicts and food insecurity in many regions of origin. The agency said the largest groups of applicants were Syrians, Afghans and Turks, followed by Venezuelans and Colombians, who both filed about three times as many applications as in 2021. | IANS…

A spirited counter-attack from captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues proved to be in vain as Australia made it to their seventh Women’s T20 World Cup final with a five-run win over India in the first semi- final at Newlands cricket ground yesterday. After Australia’s big players stepped up to make 172/4, India’s top three only managed to scored 15 runs. Kaur and Rodrigues rose to the occasion by making 52 and 43 respectively while spearheading the chase with a brilliant 69-run stand off 41 balls. But the duo falling in 4.2 overs after the 10-over mark meant India could never recover from it and ended up on 167/8 in 20 overs, in another case of so close yet so far. India would also look at their sloppy fielding efforts…

MINISTERS have announced plans for an independent football regulator to oversee the financial sustainability of the men’s game in England, with powers to prevent clubs from joining breakaway leagues. The regulator would license clubs, requiring them to demonstrate sound financial business models, run robust owners’ and directors’ tests and give fans a greater say in the running of clubs. It would also have the power to block clubs joining breakaway leagues, appearing to prevent a repeat of any attempt to form a Super League such as the one that proved unpopular with supporters in 2021. “Despite the success of the sport both at home and abroad, we know that there are real challenges which threaten the stability of clubs both big and small,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “These…