Indice dei contenuti per 2023-07-26 in Cape Times

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana said there were nine municipalities that had disclosed information on arrears of monthly statutory contributions to pension funds. Of the nine municipalities, six collectively did not pay more than R81.5 million collected from employee pension contributions to the pension funds. This emerged when Godongwana was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Rochelle Spies, who asked for a list of municipalities that were in arrears with the payment of their mandatory contributions for staff and councillors. Godongwana said the National Treasury collected outstanding creditor’s information via the Local Government Database and Reporting System (LGDRS) on a monthly basis. “Although the list of outstanding creditors includes pension fund contributions, it does not provide a breakdown for outstanding medical aid contributions, but this category is lumped under other…

‘Regrettable these terms now have racial connotations’ WHILE some neighbourhood watches received backlash for profiling black people as “Bravo”, coloureds as “Charlie” and whites as “Whiskeys”, Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagan Allen has defended the use of the terms in a public announcement for the Chrysalis Academy intake. These references caused outrage when it was previously discovered that some neighbourhood watches use them to refer to people of these races in their areas. However, Allen believes that “racism” shouldn’t be seen in everything and that addressing and combating racism is “very important.” “Seeking to equate the valuable work at the Academy with racism is mind-boggling and quite frankly disingenuous. In fact, it makes a mockery of our aim to remove racism from our society. It is regrettable that…

TEACHERS’ unions have welcomed the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) interventions to increase the safety of schools and pupils. This after Education MEC David Maynier said R76.1 million was set aside this year to secure schools and promote pupil safety. Maynier said the WCED would construct secure fencing at 30 schools every year for five years, as part of the Western Cape safety plan. “We are also expanding the number of School Resource Officers in our schools, which are law-enforcement officers stationed at our schools to tackle crime and safety matters. “This year, we will fund an additional 18 School Resource Officers, bringing the total number of officers deployed in our schools to 46. “And next year, we will add another 18. And the year after that, another 18, for…

THE suspected gas explosion that ripped through parts of Johannesburg’s CBD last week, as well as the earthquakes and tremors that continue to trouble citizens, have reignited an old debate about our golden city’s mining history. For decades, it had been feared that Joburg was being eaten away by acidic water from the mines, which had reached their storage limit and were leaking a toxic cocktail of chemicals. If left unchecked, acidic mine water was expected to flood basements and seep into the streets. The water, once several hundred metres underground, was rising at an average rate of 15m a month. In the central basin over which Johannesburg was situated, the water level was rising by 59cm daily in July 2009. By mid-2010 the water level was about 500m…

China’s foreign minister Qin Gang was removed from office yesterday, state media reported, after disappearing from the public eye for a month with little explanation from the ruling Communist Party. Qin’s absence had sparked a storm of speculation that the 57-year-old, considered a confidant of President Xi Jinping, had fallen from grace or was subject to an official investigation. China’s foreign ministry had previously said “health reasons” were to blame but more recently had refused to give any updates despite repeated questioning. State media outlet Xinhua said yesterday that China’s top legislature had voted to remove Qin from office and replace him with his boss Wang Yi. Xi had signed a presidential order to enact the decision. Qin has not been seen in public since June 25 when he met…

ARQUINEGIN: Spain’s maritime rescue service yesterday said it had rescued a boat near the island of Gran Canaria carrying 84 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, one of whom had died. The Canary Islands off West Africa have become the main destination for migrants trying to reach Spain, with a much smaller number also seeking to cross the Mediterranean to the Spanish mainland. Summer is the busiest period for all attempted crossings. TV footage showed emergency services helping the migrants disembark, offering blankets and seating some of them in wheelchairs. One of the passengers had to be carried on a stretcher. | Reuters…

SANA’A: The UN said yesterday it had started removing more than 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker off Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a complex operation that could ward off a disaster. The UN said the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. A spill could cost $20 billion to clean up. The Safer is used for storage. The UN said it was at risk of exploding. It warned that spilled oil could reach the African coast, damaging fish stocks for the next 25 years and destroying 200 000 jobs. It would also close ports that bring food and supplies to Yemen, where 17 million people rely on aid. | Reuters…

THE Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has dismissed allegations of electoral fraud in the recent George by-elections, saying it concluded that all voters were correctly registered. This follows allegations of voter registration fraud against the DA brought by the GOOD Party. The party said the evidence included a list of names of residents of Thembalethu, who were allegedly fraudulently re-registered as residents of Borcherds by the DA. In another complaint, GOOD Party alleged 188 voters were registered on the voters roll at the same address in Ward 16, where a second by-election was scheduled. By-elections were held in Ward 16, Ward 20 and Ward 27 in George last week. Responding to allegations brought by the GOOD Party, IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said all the voters were correctly registered in the voting…

DAYS before the inquiry into the fitness of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to hold office meets to draft its report, evidence leaders have submitted a summation of evidence to the inquiry. According to a statement from Parliament, inquiry chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi expected members serving on the inquiry to be hard at work this week studying the summation of evidence from the evidence leaders. “The committee is expected to meet on Friday to consider its draft report,” read the statement. The summation of evidence was released on Monday, the same day Dyantyi refused to recuse himself from presiding over the inquiry. It came as Mkhwebane, according to Dyantyi, missed deadlines as per the revised programme of the inquiry. Evidence leaders, advocates Nasreen Bawa and Ncumisa Mayosi, said they presented the summation…

THE Strandfontein coastal development could take up to 20 years to complete, the City said, citing similar projects in Cape Town such as Big Bay and Parklands. In November last year, the City published the draft development framework that proposed a “mixed use development outcome, including residential and commercial, where the urban development opportunity will be put out to tender and that private developers will then develop”. The City noted that the Strandfontein pavilion, although located within the envisaged future Strandfontein coastal urban node area, was undergoing a separate process, with “reconsideration of and potential demolition and upgrade of the Strandfontein pavilion currently in the planning stage”. Strandfontein Ratepayers Association chairperson Mario Oostendorp said they were hoping for a new recreational development within five years. “The hope is that it…

Police Minister Bheki Cele says more than 5 000 firearms have been stolen from police in the past five years. He said police have been able to arrest several people who were found in possession of the stolen guns. So far, 23 people have been found guilty and 42 are on trial. A total of 48 firearms stolen from SAPS have been used to commit crimes. Cele, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Vuyani Pambo, said that during the 2018/19 financial year, 1 205 guns were stolen from security services. In the following financial year, 980 firearms were stolen. In the 2020/21 period, 735 guns were stolen by criminals. The number of incidents started to rise again when 971 firearms were stolen during the 2021/22…

Decision amounts to a command for checks and balances to be effectively realised THE recent High Court judgment that set aside the Minister of Home Affairs’ decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) programme has sparked anxiety. This especially on whether the minister’s powers to deal with the ZEP were stripped by virtue of the order, and whether the court’s decision was in breach of the doctrine of separation of powers in our constitutional democracy. The decision was the outcome of the application by the Helen Suzman Foundation for the court to set aside the minister’s decision on September 2 last year to terminate the ZEP programme (affecting 178 000 holders who would no longer have the right to live, work and study in South Africa under the Immigration…

Air strikes and artillery barrages from Sudan’s warring generals killed at least 16 people in a Khartoum suburb yesterday, a neighbourhood group reported. After more than 100 days of war, the latest bombardments added to a toll of at least 3 900 killed nationwide. “Sixteen citizens died today in this senseless war” when shells hit civilian homes in the Ombada area of Khartoum’s north-west, the neighbourhood group said. It is one of many pro-democracy “resistance committees” that have cobbled together supplies over the patchy internet, land lines, or by risking their lives to venture out since the war began. The total number of casualties from the latest strikes was still unclear. Mohamed Mansour, a local resident, said he “helped pull eight bodies” from the rubble of homes destroyed by the…

AthenS: A firefighting plane crashed yesterday while battling a forest fire on the Greek island of Evia, a fire service spokesperson said. It crashed into a ravine on the heights of Karystos, where a fire started on Sunday, officials said. The plane was among at least three other aircraft and around a hundred firefighters in the fight against the flames on Evia. The two pilots missing were members of the Greek Air Force, according to the Greek Ministry of Defence. Wildfires have been raging in Greece amid scorching temperatures, forcing mass evacuations in several tourist spots. | AFP…

BEIJING: China urged fishing boats to seek shelter and farmers to speed up their harvest while Taiwan suspended annual military drills as Super Typhoon Doksuri spiralled closer to East Asia, potentially reaching deep into China. Doksuri is likely to be the most powerful typhoon to land in China so far this year. China narrowly escaped from Typhoon Mawar, one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record for May, which was headed for China but later swung north towards Japan before dissipating. Nearly 1 000km in diameter, Doksuri is expected to sweep past islands off the northern tip of the Philippines, while fierce winds and heavy rain lash Taiwan. | Reuters…

With just a couple of days before the World Cup begins on African soil for the first time, Netball South Africa CEO Blanche de la Guerre says the Proteas are in their element. There are bound to be nerves for any team ahead of a World Cup, and it seems the Proteas are taking it all in their stride ahead of the netball showpiece in Cape Town. South Africa are hard at work as they are preparing for the start of the tournament on Friday, when they will take on ninth-ranked Wales (6pm). They then face Sri Lanka on the Saturday (4pm). The Proteas are the favourites in their group, but they also take on dark horses Jamaica (No 4) in their last pool match on Sunday (6pm). De La…

ELLIES Holdings has forecast headline loss per share to widen to between 10.20 cents and 11.62c for the year to April 30 from a 7.13c loss per share in 2022 after restructuring took a bite out of earnings. The basic loss per share was expec- ted to be between 10.07c and 11.26c, an increase of between 69% and 89% compared to the 5.96c loss per share for the year ended April 30, 202, it said in a trading statement yesterday. A restructure process had an impact of R18 million, mainly for retrenchment costs, equivalent to 2.24c per share of the headline loss per share. “The group had a disappointing second half … with reduced revenue compared with the first half. The continued decline in the satellite installation business…

Cape Town-based fashion designer Chu Suwannapha made a dramatic return with the relaunch of his brand Chulaap. Known as the “Prince of Prints”, Suwannapha debuted his new collection, “Sea Explorer”, at Pitti Immagine Uomo – one of the world’s most respected menswear fashion showcases, which takes place twice a year in Florence, Italy. Suwannapha was invited to showcase his creations as a guest designer and he took the opportunity to unveil his Spring/ Summer 2024 collection. In this collection, the designer plays around with tattoo prints, galleon wallpaper and underwater species splashed on cotton, linen, mohair silk and corduroy fabrics. One of his favourite looks from the collection is the printed lobster coat in white bull-denim, worn over a 100% cotton crocheted oversized vest and oversized drawstring waves crochet pants.…

GREENPEACE Africa said it had withdrawn its Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) application to the Minister in the Presidency Responsible for State Security to provide further information on the infiltration and surveillance of civil society organisations confirmed by the declassified Boast Report in July 2022. This after the organisation said a lengthy affidavit from the State Security Agency (SSA) had put to rest concerns of infiltration. The report had stated that active monitoring was done on certain civic organisations including Greenpeace Africa, Right2KNow and Right2Protest, among others. “A team was penetrated and became ‘activists’ for these NGOs. Through these actions reporting took place on supporter strengths, main actors, ideology, support structures and agendas,” the declassified report stated. According to Greenpeace Africa it was set to appear before the…

A NEW coalition government elected at a council meeting in the Witzenberg Municipality has sparked tension, with the DA saying it would challenge the outcomes. The new leadership, which includes the ANC, EFF and the Patriotic Alliance, removed DA mayor Hennie Smit and Speaker Elizabeth Sidego at the council meeting on Monday. While the DA said the meeting was unlawful as it was held in the party’s absence, the new leadership said the party staged a walk-out when they saw that they were going to lose the council vote. Katriena Robyn of the GOOD Party was elected as the new mayor, the ANC’s Gert Laban as her deputy and Petrus Heradien of the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa as the Speaker. DA Constituency head in Witzenberg, Wendy Kaizer-Philander, said…

A STRAND high school deputy principal who quarrelled with his superior has lost his dismissal case at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), where it was alleged he showed no remorse for his actions. According to the arbitrator, Nomzamo High School principal Chris Magubanto and his deputy Zandisile Somwahla had been at odds for years. Somwahla faced two misconduct charges relating to a May 2020 alleged assault on Magubanto, where he allegedly manhandled him. He was also found to have displayed disrespect when he allegedly demonstrated insolent behaviour, yelling that Magubanto had to get out of his office and asking him “what are you going to do, you are not going to disrespect me”. Somwahla appealed the charges and dismissal sanction to former education MEC Debbie Schäfer, but she upheld…

AS WE come to the end of Mandela Month, let us remind ourselves that African people have made no laws that prevent, stop and prohibit coloureds, whites and Indians to help build and create a non-racial society. So, self-appointed spokespersons of minorities must stop suggesting that it is Africans that have failed non-racialism. The African struggle has delivered a world-class Constitution that has enshrined and protects non-racialism in an inherently racist and anti-African socio-economic situation. Everyone has the right to become agents of the change they want to see. With Ubuntu, Africans have been accommodating of everyone, at their own expense. Over the past few years, self-appointed spokespersons of minorities have raised their voices to charge that the ANC and/or African majority are not non-racial and as a result exhibit…

Ever since Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin staged a mutiny in Russia last month, questions have been raised over the future of his group in Africa, the cradle of its wealth and notoriety. Prigozhin’s dramatic rebellion ended in a deal by which he was expected to move to neighbouring Belarus with some of his men. Details about the accord remain sketchy, but as far as Africa is concerned, Wagner can count on its geopolitical and economic weight to survive in one shape or another. “Let’s continue to train, improve our skills, and then off to the next adventure to Africa,” Prigozhin said last week, according to a video, not authenticated by AFP, posted on Telegram by a Wagner-linked account. As African countries and Russia prepare for a summit in St Petersburg,…

Algeria was battling to contain devastating forest fires along its Mediterranean coast yesterday, in an inferno which has killed at least 34 people, authorities said, adding they had managed to control about four-fifths of the blaze. Fanned by strong winds, fires had also spread to Tunisia, forcing the closure of two border crossings. A relentless heatwave has caused havoc across the planet this month, with temperatures breaking records in China, the US, southern Europe and North Africa, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Greece has been battling forest fires for the past week, triggering a mass evacuation of thousands of tourists from its most popular holiday resorts. The fires broke out in several provinces in Algeria on Monday, ripping through forests, olive groves and low-lying shrubland. More than…

Israel braced for fresh strikes and protests yesterday following a divisive parliamentary vote on a controversial judicial reform which has split the nation and drawn criticism from allies abroad. The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government to push through a key plank of its reforms on Monday has sparked legal challenges and clashes on the streets. Opponents were to keep up months of protests yesterday, with doctors walking out. Protesters remained on the streets after the vote. About 58 people were arrested. Officers used water cannons to disperse protesters on a major road through Tel Aviv, where the crowd waved Israeli flags. | AFP…