Indice dei contenuti per 2021-11-05 in Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za EMPLOYMENT levels worsened for the second month running in October as industrial activity in South Africa was severely affected by the metalworkers’ three-week strike. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published yesterday showed a sharp decline in activity across the private sector in October, largely caused by the strike that disrupted output and sales. IHS said the PMI fell to contractionary levels to 48.6 points in October from 50.7 points in September, a third deterioration in business conditions in the past four months. The index was the second-lowest in more than a year after July’s reading. However, after recording the first uplift in four months in September, output at South African businesses fell sharply at the start of the fourth quarter. The National Union…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL could witness a wave of by-elections should political parties fail to hammer out coalition government deals at many municipalities. This is the observation of political analysts after the Electoral Commission of South Africa announced that KwaZulu-Natal had 18 hung municipalities where no party had reached the 50% plus one threshold. EThekwini, UMdoni, KwaDukuza, uMhlathuze and Newcastle are among the municipalities where there was no outright winner. Cited as one of the reasons behind the high number of hung municipalities was low voter turn-out, influenced mainly by dissatisfaction over service delivery in mostly ANC-controlled municipalities. Mari Harris, political analyst from market research company Ipsos, said the outcome of the elections should serve as a warning that voters do not want to be taken for granted. She said…

I SEE a lot of love in my daily work and neighbourhood, a quality of love so removed from the expressions of romantic love promoted in movies and on television: I know a woman who has been caring for her ageing and ill husband for many, many years. This week she threw a Halloween party for Bob and several of their closest friends. Carol went all out. The daycare nurses of three of her husband’s peers dressed their charges, two men in their eighties, one in his nineties, in suitable Halloween outfits. Armed with wheelchairs and walkers, the three men hit the streets to trick or treat, then returned home for a sit-down lunch prepared by Bob’s loving wife. The shared fun seemed to leave them all years younger, at…

DAVID CARTWRIGHT | Hillcrest A MAJOR stumbling block for the progress of the “idyllic” Go! Durban project seems to be centred around ownership of the buses? Some other “secret” issue is also at play, as we read on the front page of The Mercury this week. Well, on the subject of bus ownership, there can be no rational argument. Municipal mismanagement of epic proportions years ago should have set the scene for eThekwini to avoid ownership of buses, and cease any involvement in their operation. The city “management” of the day, however, was too stupid in my opinion, to acknowledge its ineptitude. What we need for Go! Durban therefore is for ownership in the buses to vest in “private hands” and when those owners have broken the system,…

BEVERLEY TSITSI MUTANDIRO | UK IT IS disastrous and pathetic that world leaders meeting in Glasgow to find lasting solutions and commitments to reduce global warming are not voicing concerns about the massive coal mining in Zimbabwe in a famous game park which is the home of nearly 10 000 elephants. All the activists and leaders at this climate conference should speak up and rebuke the Zimbabwean government to stop mining coal in Hwange National Park. The president of Zimbabwe should be pressured at the conference to stop mining coal in Hwange National Park. The Zimbabwean president through corruption, granted a licence to mine coal in Zimbabwe. His unacceptable and beyond-belief action of granting mining licence in a game sanctuary questions his ability to lead the country. Coal is toxic,…

SOUTH African socialite and gay rights activist Somizi Mhlongo has hit back at Zimbabwean church groups which protested against his entry into Zimbabwe because of his sexuality. Mhlongo was blocked this week after some church groups and the Zanu-PF Youth League complained to the government about letting a known homosexual into that country. The Mercury’s sister newspaper The Star understands that Mhlongo was supposed to make an appearance at the opening of a new restaurant in Zimbabwe but was stopped because of the opposition from conservative Zimbabweans who claimed he would be a “spiritual disturbance”. Mhlongo said the organisers of the event he was to make an appearance at had asked for their money back. He posted a video on social media expressing his disappointment. “This is not the first…

| Mercury Correspondent A NON-profit-organisation (NPO) representing blind people says it was appalled by how the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) treated blind voters on election day. The NPO complained that blind people were not catered for in some voting areas and that their right to a secret vote was infringed upon because some of the blind voters had to use normal ballot papers. Blind SA lodged an objection with the IEC at the voting station in Tshwane on election day, stating that blind and partially sighted voters did not have the universal ballot template to cast a secret vote at the local government elections. The organisation says it is unfair for blind people to go inside the voting booth with family members. Blind SA says the IEC needs to…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE Constitutional Court has reserved judgment in an application for the right to bury the remains of a foetus. The application was brought by the Voice of the Unborn Baby and the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban after some provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act were earlier declared unconstitutional. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in April granted bereaved parents the right to bury the remains of a foetus caused by a spontaneous pregnancy loss of less than 26 weeks. In terms of the act, remains younger than 26 weeks are discarded as medical waste. As the high court declared the provisions of the legislation unconstitutional, where it prevented parents from burying their foetuses (younger than 26 week) following events such as a miscarriage, the Concourt first…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za HALF OF the sale proceeds of a Constantia property, is the centre of a divorce settlement between a couple who now live in different countries in West Africa. The applicant – not named in court papers and who currently lives in Senegal – had applied for the recognition in the Western Cape High Court of an order that she obtained in the Senegalese courts dissolving the marriage between herself and the respondent – who currently lives in Nigeria. Presiding Judge, Ashley Binns-Ward said: “The order directed that an equal division of the parties’ property should follow in accordance with what the Senegalese court accepted had been the parties’ marriage in community of property. The local significance of the order concerns its bearing on the proceeds of a…

A 13-year-old Grade 8 pupil and fashion designer won an award for being the best pupil fashion designer in KwaZulu-Natal. Enhle Sivuyile Gebashe from Adams Mission, a pupil at Kingsway High School, said she was honoured to receive the award at the National Teaching awards. The awards took place at Northlands Primary school in Durban North. Enhle was recognised for her designer clothes and for designing a school uniform for Josephine Makhanya Primary School, which she attended last year. She said when she designed the uniform for the school she started with the Grade 7s. “I wanted the grade 7s to be recognised so I designed a jacket, afterwards I did a uniform for the whole school. I wanted to highlight the school,” she said. Enhle is the owner and…

WHEN Temba Bavuma heads out to toss the coin alongside his England counterpart, Eoin Morgan, tomorrow afternoon, for the last Group 1 match at the T20 World Cup, he will know exactly what South Africa will need to do in order to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament. That can be good and bad. Good in that it provides clarity. Bad in that it could see the team not push the pedal to the metal and, instead, try to do just enough to ensure they get through. The latter happened to South Africa at the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, when the Proteas could afford a loss in the final group match. Instead, they ended up losing by too much – cue a bunch of jokes about South…

BEIJING: The trilateral security and defence deal that enables Australia to boost its military capacity by acquiring nuclear-powered submarines is “highly problematic”, a watchdog has warned. “Security and defence pacts today are about the Pacific Ocean – which is our home – but it has never been with Pacific people,” Maureen Penjueli, coordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalisation, said recently in a statement. Australia, Britain and the United States in mid September announced the security partnership, in which Britain and the US will share highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology with Australia.…

Stepping out of a shared taxi in central Riyadh, Reham Al-Ahmed walked into the mall where she works four days a week selling cosmetics. Al-Ahmed, a high school graduate, is the first woman in her family to have a job. With steep new taxes and cuts to government subsidies, many families are increasingly relying on women to work. In so doing, women are negotiating a new place for themselves in their country’s delicate social fabric – a trend celebrated by some and watched suspiciously by others in a country still tethered to its conservative traditions. “I used to feel guilty asking my father for anything,” the 24-year-old said. “But since I started working, I’m proud I can help out my family.” Showing up to work across the country every day…

FOR the shore anglers, the upper section of KZN has been the place to go if you are looking for the opening to your summer account. The summer inedibles have been feeding well after any period of NE wind. So if you are looking to test your knots, wait for a few days of NE wind and head to any of the regular spots on the north coast. The most successful baits have been the freshest mackerel that you can find. Strap a head bait with some cutlets and you are putting yourself in with the best chance of attracting any shark or ray nearby. For those after the edibles, the middle north coast has been the most consistent of the spots along the north coast. Chokka and sardine baits…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is worried that losing control of the eThekwini Municipality could be a precursor to the party letting go of power in the province in the next national elections in two years time. EThekwini Municipality, the province’s only metro that the ANC has led comfortably since it was formed, is among the 18 hung municipalities after the local government elections this week. While the ANC was busy licking its wounds, the EFF recorded massive growth in eThekwini, shocking even the party’s provincial leaders. Results released by the Electoral Commission of South Africa showed that the ANC won 754 seats across the province, followed by the IFP with 552, the DA with 174 and the EFF with 159 seats. In eThekwini, which has 221 seats,…

Mercury Reporter The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says it has delivered free and fair elections despite the several glitches which included ballot papers being tampered with and its new voter management devices being responsible for delays. “We are satisfied that, bar a few incidents, for which we apologise, that we have delivered quality elections,” IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini said last night. In this year’s local government elections, up to 26.1 million South Africans registered to vote, with a total of 12.3 million people casting their actual votes. The ANC emerged successful as it clinched 161 municipalities of the 213 councils that it was contesting, while the DA walked away with 13 municipalities, the IFP, 10 municipalities. The country is now sitting with 66 hung councils. Mashinini congratulated the…

INDEED to goodness, this is the Big ’Un tomorrow, indeed indeed. Hey, I seem to have developed a Welsh lilt. Maybe I’ve been spending too much time at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Seriously though, this is a Big ’Un. When we last played the Taffys we beat them in the semi-final of the World Cup, going on to win. They will feel they have some levelling-up to do. The Boks have to show they’ve shed the Silly Buggers syndrome that haunted them against the Aussies; that our win at last against the All Blacks was no fluke, we’re back! We will be taking no prisoners. The damsels of the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties are already strumming at their knickers in anticipation of supplying elastic for the time-honoured celebratory feu de joie in…

ENOS THUSI | Msinga WITH reference to the letter by Maggie Taylor that appeared in The Mercury, November 3, I wish to comment on the word “pensioner”. Taylor argues that not everyone who is over 60 years is a pensioner and yet the meaning of the word “pension” has different meanings to different categories of people. The first category is those of people who grow old until the age of 60 and therefore qualify for state “pension”. The second category is those people who work for any company or government institute and reach a certain age “60” and retire to get their “pension”. And last, a professor of the English language from Oxford University may retire from his professorship after 40 or 50 years of service and get…

TONY BALL | Gillitts AS A taxpayer who contributes to the salary of KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, I call on the provincial leadership to stop the practice of high-ranking MECs supporting Jacob Zuma at his myriad court appearances. MECs should be given a stern warning that if they wish to attend court it will require them to request a day’s leave or else they will face the full might of the law. Our premier should leave no stone unturned in his quest to see that this practice is enforced. It is a heinous waste of taxpayers’ money.…

MEMBERS of the Trots DF Malan group have filed an application in the Western Cape High Court to prevent the Western Cape Education Department from approving the Hoërskool DF Malan name change. The name originated from Daniël François Malan, National Party prime minister from 1948 to 1954. Debates around the name change have persisted over the years with the school governing body working with staff, parents, learners and alumni to start a process to rethink all aspects of the school’s identity. Not all parents and alumni supported the idea and a group “Trots DF Malan” was started on Facebook. Last month two new names were proposed and the name DF Akademie received the majority of votes. However, the group alleged the process was not transparent, fair or democratic. |…

WITH global climate action talks on in Glasgow, Scotland, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and Earthlife Africa Johannesburg say government continues to promote nuclear energy as a viable solution to climate change. In recent weeks, reports have emerged about the Koeberg power plant, including serious concerns about the running of the plant and issues with staffing, and yet there is very little information being shared with the public about the government’s plans for more nuclear energy, particularly regarding the extension of the lifespan of Koeberg, the organisations said. As a result, the environmental justice organisations recently sent a letter to the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) seeking clarity regarding Eskom’s plans for the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. A year ago, the NNR released a media statement indicating that…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.z ondi@inl.co.za A KwaDukuza police lieutenant-colonel shot herself in the head yesterday morning at the police station. A source, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said lieutenant-colonel Corlet Bruwer, who was in her early 50s had just got divorced from her husband. They had both worked at the station. The source stressed, however, he did not believe the divorce was the reason for her suicide. “She wanted to get a transfer after her divorce because she felt she could not move on with her life as she would see her ex-husband every day at work. She had applied to get the transfer several times, but she was not granted one, even though the relevant parties knew what she…

Japhet Ncube ON THE morning of Monday, July 12, most people and businesses in KwaZulu-Natal started the day feeling anxious and fearful. Threats of violent unrest, seemingly linked to the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, had been percolating for weeks, finally materialising on July 9. What followed was unprecedented looting, violence and unrest. Trucks were burnt, the N3 was blocked and the Mooi River Toll Plaza was closed for part of the weekend. Looting had started in places and was spreading. The Durban CBD was being shut down and barricaded. Violence was spreading fast and there were increasing attacks on warehouses and other facilities, after it had become clear that the SAPS was overwhelmed and unprepared for the unprecedented breakdown of the rule of law that was unfolding. Unfortunately,…

China urges consensus on key issues of Covid-19, development, climate change From October 30 to 31, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the 16th G20 Leaders’ Summit via video link. At Session I of the summit, President Xi put forward a five-point suggestion: first, work in solidarity to combat Covid-19; second, strengthen co-ordination to promote recovery; third, embrace inclusiveness to achieve common development; fourth, pursue innovation to tap growth potential; fifth, promote harmonious co-existence to achieve green and sustainable development. President Xi also elaborated on his views on climate change, energy and sustainable development at Session II of the Summit. President Xi’s attendance at this significant multilateral event comes after his recent presence at the general debate of the 76th UN General Assembly, the 15th meeting of the…

Frankfurt: The World Health Organization yesterday expressed “grave concern” over the rising pace of coronavirus infections in Europe, as Germany registered its biggest daily increase since the start of the pandemic. “We are, once again, at the epicentre,” WHO Europe director Hans Kluge told a press conference. He warned that according to “one reliable projection”, the current trajectory would mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February. Alarm bells were ringing especially in Germany, where the number of new cases over the past 24 hours soared to almost 34 000 on Thursday – an all-time high, according to the Robert Koch Institute health agency. Meanwhile Britain yesterday became the first country in the world to approve the use of Merck’s anti-Covid pill to treat patients suffering from mild to…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AMAZULU’S frustrating home form continued as they were held to a 0-0 stalemate by a struggling Marumo Gallants in a rescheduled Premiership game at King Zwelithini Stadium yesterday. The match was originally set to be held on Wednesday, but was cancelled after 10 minutes owing to similarities in kit between the teams. AmaZulu donned their away kit for this game which put paid to the confusion. Boring accurately describes the first half of the game as neither team managed to exert their domination, with opportunities for either side being few and far between. It was the away team that carved the only real good opportunity of the first half as a shot from Junior Dion had to be parried onto the post by AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa.…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za The APPOINTMENT of deputy finance minister David Masondo as the new chairperson of the Public Invest- ment Corporation (PIC) alongside labour stalwart Frans Baleni into the new look board has been hailed as positive by sectors of the economy. This appointment has become effective after amendments to the PIC statutes earlier this year provided for a deputy finance minister or any other deputy minister in the economic cluster to chair the PIC board. The State earlier this year has made an amendment to the PIC act to facilitate for a stronger transfor- mation role for the PIC to play in the economy in view of previous con- troversies of the State funder which holds a huge chunk of civil servants funds. This presents a slight, but important…

Loyiso Sidimba, Sihle Mavuso, Tarryn-Leigh Solomons, Ntombi Nkosi and Sithandiwe Velaphi SOUTH AFRICA can bid farewell to the days where political parties hold a majority of votes in municipalities. Election specialist and political analyst Terry Tselane says that where there are many councils and there is no outright winner, this means that political parties must make those councils work. “In 2016 when we had the results, the majority of political parties had not really understood what it means to be in a coalition, and it was an emotional decision to be in that relationship. It produced what I referred to as a vat n set arrangement where there were marriages not based on principle, and the person or party would walk in and out of the relationship,” he said.…

In Chile’s dry Atacama desert, stargazers are scanning the clear night skies to detect the existence of life on other planets and study so-called “dark energy”, a mysterious cosmic force thought to be driving the accelerating expansion of the universe. Central to the race to peer into distant worlds is the Giant Magellan Telescope, a $1.8 billion complex being built at the Las Campanas observatory and which will have a resolution 10 times higher than the Hubble space telescope. The telescope, expected to begin operation by the end of the decade, will compete with the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope – located further north in the same desert – and the Thirty Meter Telescope being built in Hawaii. “This new generation of giant telescopes is aimed precisely at detecting…

JUSTIN MOODLEY | Phoenix ALL participants, be it political parties or independent candidates, are waiting with bated breath for the IEC to announce the official results, hopefully before the weekend. While the results are awaited, the ruling party, the ANC, and the official opposition, the DA, got a rude awakening when they lost a large percentage of their voters when compared to the 2016 elections. As we await the final results, it’s a given that the ANC will amass less than 50% of the votes nationally and the DA about 20%. What’s the reason behind this? It’s simple. All the promises these two parties made during the last elections have not been met. Service-delivery issues, such as lack of proper sanitation, non-availability of adequate water supply, no electricity and poor…

G WALKER | Kloof I WAS pleased to see Anthony Kruger’s response (The Mercury, November 2) to your unfair opinion on Quinton de Kock (October 29) was published. The biased Cricket South Africa (CSA) Social Injustice process ignores the negative impact the quota system has had on many promising white cricketers, many of whom now represent other countries, England and New Zealand being primary beneficiaries. Had you been objective in your opinion, you would have questioned why CSA did not include discussions on this sensitive issue in their player meetings prior to departing for the T20 World Cup. And why did someone of Lawson Naidoo’s stature think CSA could “impose” the requirement to “take the knee”, knowing full well that it was unconstitutional, unenforceable and given…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A MAGISTRATE who was found guilty of fraudulently gaining R3 638 from the state’s fuel compensation scheme and also of reducing a motorist’s R1 000 traffic fine unlawfully is counting on the appeals court for vindication. Azwifaneli Mphanama, who was a senior magistrate as well as the judicial head of Dzanani Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo, scored himself an undesired criminal record in 2017. His magistrate colleague found him guilty of two counts of fraud and one obstructing the course of justice. For the fraud counts, Mphanama was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment – wholly suspended for three years on condition that he repaid the R3 638.95 and that he was not convicted of an offence of dishonesty. On the obstruction of justice count, he was sentenced to…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za MEET Leti, an about four- to six-year-old Homo naledi child that died almost 250 000 years ago, whose partial skull was discovered in the Rising Star Cave System in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. An international team of researchers, led by director of the Centre for Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at Wits University and explorer-at-large for the National Geographic Society, Professor Lee Berger, made an announcement yesterday of the discovery of Leti, the skull and teeth of the child. Leti is named after the Tswana word “letimela” – meaning “the lost one” – and the remains were discovered in September 2017. Berger explained that the scientists and explorers continued exploring the Rising Star cave system by the Dinaledi chamber, the original site of…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za RELIGIOUS leaders have come out to support suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule with his court battle. They believe the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has no case against him. Religious leader and KwaZulu- Natal Interfaith Council member Bishop Sandile Ndlela said the numerous postponements were an indication of a travesty of justice. “It is truly a travesty of justice to first arrest and charge someone and then try to conjure up a case against the accused afterwards,” Ndlela said. He said as the council they were convinced that the “trumped-up charges” of so-called undefined “oversight charges” were solely political. “The purpose was only to abuse the legal processes in order to force the secretary-general of the ANC to ‘step-aside’, and to eventually suspend him,” Ndlela said. He said…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za IT was a bitter-sweet moment for the Cato Crest community after an ANC councillor candidate, who was gunned down in the run-up to the elections, won his ward posthumously. Ward 101 in eThekwini is now heading for a by-election after ANC candidate Siyabonga Mkhize’s death. ANC members in the area said it was clear that the support for the party in the ward was strong as they had managed to secure victory with a deceased candidate. The by-election is likely to occur three months after the start of the new term of the new council. ANC ward 101 branch chairperson Fikile Mazibuko said they were happy to have won the ward. “We won the ward even though the ANC candidate had passed away, that shows clearly that…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za A North Coast resident who was a councillor candidate has opened a case with Eshowe police after his face allegedly appeared in an ANC elections poster when he had been contesting under a different banner. Nhlakanipho Mthethwa said he was contesting in ward 8 in uMlalazi in the King Cetshwayo District under the banner of Independent South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) and was alerted to the fact that there was an ANC poster with his face on it. “I was shocked and disappointed at the same time. My take on the matter is that by placing my face on the poster, the ANC wanted to take the votes that were meant for me by creating confusion among the voters,” said Mthethwa yesterday. He said while he…

The COP26 climate conference, one of the most important in history, is at a critical juncture after one week of negotiations. The rubber will really hit the road, politically, in the second week of the Glasgow COP, with ministers engaging directly in the final deal. The good news is the landmark methane slashing deal, in which leaders have committed to lower their emissions of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – by at least 30% this decade. The other positive development is the agreement to finally provide $100 billion (about R1.5 trillion) a year in climate financing to emerging economies to make the conversion to green energy more affordable, and to assist those nations struggling to recover from disasters caused by climate change. What has frustrated developing countries is that…

TOKYO: Shikoku Electric Power Co Inc is free to restart the No 3 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power station after the Hiroshima District Court rejected an injunction sought by local residents, the company said yesterday. The residents had said the reactor was vulnerable to major earthquakes, but Shikoku Electric said the court accepted the company’s safety assurances. The 890MW reactor has been shut since December 2019, first for maintenance and then because of another court case in January last year. Last March a court ruling on the case was overturned but the restart of the reactor was pushed back again after a violation of security regulations.…

Ethiopian lawmakers yesterday endorsed a state of emergency after rebels advanced on the capital, sparking a US warning that an aid crisis that has already plunged hundreds of thousands into hunger could worsen further. A year to the day since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed troops in the northernmost region of Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel fighters are now just a few hundred kilometres from Addis Ababa. Abiy’s government has been locked in a war for the past year with the TPLF, which dominated national politics before he took office in 2018. The 2019 Nobel Peace laureate promised a swift victory, but by late June the rebels had retaken most of Tigray and expanded into the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara. The TPLF announced late on…