Indice dei contenuti per 2022-01-12 in Mercury

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za Global consultancy group Bain & Company is sticking to its guns about having done its penance after the restitution of close to R200 million it earned for its role in the state capture fiasco. Pressure is mounting both locally and internationally for the US originating firm to be held accountable for its role in state capture as its executives were closely aligned with state capture principals and reportedly advised on the mechanics of siphoning billions of rands from state-owned enterprises and National Treasury. Bain's Nicola Wilson said in response to enquiries on its response to the Zondo report, "While we made mistakes in our work with Sars (SA Revenue Service), we remain confident that we did not in any way wilfully or knowingly support state capture at…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za FISHING group Sea Harvest has added to its international footprint by acquiring Australian group MG Kailis in a A$70m (R788m) deal. The company said the deal would give it access to high-value species such as prawns. MG Kailis has more than 50 years in the seafood industry and is well-established in prawn and fish trawling, seafood trading, and engineering business in Australia. A 54.9 percent stake in Sea Harvest is owned by black-controlled and managed investment holding company Brimstone. During its last reported results in August last year, the group revealed that it had a net debt of R1.33bn at the end of the six months ending in June. The acquisition was brokered through Sea Harvest-owned Australian subsidiaries, Sea Harvest Australia Pty and Sea Harvest Marine,…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za MORE than 190 000 water meters were not read in the eThekwini Municipality last September, with thousands having not been read for a full year. The details are contained in a report on the reading of meters that was tabled last month. It found that 192 000 water meters were not read in September. The non-reading of meters for extended periods is getting progressively worse based on the figures that have been reported in the past two years. Opposition party councillors slammed the latest statistics, saying they spoke to the crisis faced by the water unit. The report showed that between July and September, the number of meters not being read averaged at about 190 000. It said: “In September 2021 there were a total of 192…

Yogashen Pillay and Genevieve Serra THERE were mixed views from teacher unions, a parents’ association and education analysts yesterday after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that the rotational school timetable is to remain in place this year. Motshekga held a media briefing to outline the department’s readiness for the school year, which begins today in inland provinces and next Wednesday in KwaZulu-Natal and other coastal provinces. “Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the Basic Education sector in the past two years,” she said. “We have spoken before about the learning losses incurred as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic – from the loss of teaching and learning time to education personnel losing their lives to Covid-19 complications.” She said the Covid-19 numbers declined last year due to…

WHAT happens if a gorilla runs amok in the International Space Station (ISS)? Pandemonium, that’s what. Footage comes this way of a weightless gorilla chasing a weightless astronaut up and down in the ISS. Hair-raising stuff. But how does a gorilla get into the ISS? It seems that astronaut Mark Kelly smuggled a full gorilla suit on to the ISS with his stuff, not telling anyone about it. Then one day he put it on and had some fun. We’re not told who filmed the escapade. Maybe everything that happens on the ISS is automatically filmed. But what a lark! And, oddly enough, it reminds me of an incident in a book I have finished editing. It’s by Gavin Telford, a Joburg lad who served variously as lion tamer, ringmaster…

PAT MCKRILL | Camperdown I feel desperately sorry for Thembile Ndabeni, former history tutor (UWC) and former educator (Bulumko Senior Secondary), for having had his anti-white-manipulator diatribe titled “Beware Jackals in Wolves’ skin” (I’m still battling with the subtleties there. A bit like “Seals in Penguin outfits” huh?) placed directly opposite the editorial of the day, (The Mercury, January 10). The editorial told readers what they could possibly encounter in the way of black-on-black carnage in the run-up to the forthcoming 55th ANC elective conference. Shame. Ndabeni’s pointed spear got a bit blunted there, unless of course, before his next openly racist rant, he can find a white scapegoat to put into the boiling pot, which might also give the Black Lives Matter dudes some breathing and ducking…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za TRADE union federation Cosatu wants Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to allocate adequate resources to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and the Hawks to tackle all the state capture inquiry cases. Commission chairperson Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed over the first of three reports to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week. Cosatu said it appreciated the initial work that had been done by Ramaphosa’s administration to strengthen the law-enforcement agencies and other judicial institutions. “We call on Godongwana to allocate adequate resources to the NPA, SIU and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) to ensure that they appoint enough investigators and prosecutors to deal with the cases originating from the Zondo commission and corruption in general,” the federation said. Cosatu said…

The former South African deputy president and UN Women’s director, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has been appointed as the new chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ)) “Her five-year term of office will run from October 1 until September 30, 2027. She will succeed Professor Njabulo Ndebele, whose second five-year term as chancellor ends on September 30,” the university said. “UJ’s approach to impact reflects the UN Sustainable Development Goals – something that Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka, in her capacity as executive director of UN Women, has cherished and led. She embodies all the UJ values and aspirations, where equality, diversity and inclusivity have been part of the university’s success story,” said UJ registrar Professor Kinta Burger. The chairperson of UJ Council, Mike Teke, said the position of chancellor at UJ demanded a…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za Two months after he was snatched, a baby boy has been reunited with his mother. Police said the mother and child were reunited after a 50-year-old woman was arrested for kidnapping. The child was snatched in November last year after the suspect befriended the mother in Durban. According to police, the mother alleged that an unknown woman approached and befriended her while she was waiting for a bus. The mother had just left King Edward Hospital carrying her six-day-old baby boy. Provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said the woman offered to buy groceries for the child after she learned that the mother was unemployed. “The complainant and the woman boarded a taxi to Dr Pixley Kaseme Street in Durban in order for the woman to…

Managua: The leader of Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front, Daniel Ortega, was sworn in yesterday as the president of the country for the fourth time in a row and for the fifth time in his entire political career. “Yes, I swear (to respect the constitution and laws, the rights and freedoms of the people, honestly and faithfully fulfil the assigned duties),” Ortega said. The inauguration ceremony took place in the capital of Nicaragua, Managua. Nicaragua held its presidential and parliamentary elections on November 7. The FSLN, with Ortega running for re-election, won 75.87% of the vote.…

Mali’s army-dominated government has called for nationwide demonstrations on Friday against stringent sanctions imposed by the West Africa bloc ECOWAS over delayed elections. The Sahel state’s interim government on Monday night said the sanctions – which include border closures and a trade embargo – are “extreme”, and urged “the entire population and diaspora” to demonstrate against them on Friday. As well as closing borders and imposing a trade embargo, they also cut off financial aid to Mali and froze the country’s assets at the Central Bank of West African States. The move followed a proposal by Mali’s interim government last month to stay in power for up to five years before staging elections – despite international demands that it respect a pledge to hold elections in February. Relations with its…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za FORMER Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana star Siphiwe Tshabalala is not planning to retire from football, according to his agent Jazzman Mahlakgane. The 37-year-old spent last season on the books of AmaZulu FC. However, he was used sparingly by the Durban-based club, and it was unsurprising that coach Benni McCarthy’s side opted to release him at the end of last season. The fact that the veteran has remained without a team since has led to speculation that he has retired. Mahlakgane, however, is adamant that Tshabalala still wants to play professionally. “He has not retired. I don’t want to start any conversations about Tshabalala at the moment because I might get distracted, as we are currently busy working on something for him,” Mahlakgane is reported to have…

HELLO and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2022 to all our Business Report readers. Around this time of year, many are sitting down to take stock of their lives, making resolutions, which may or may not be adhered to, and looking to the hope of a future that must surely be better than the past 24 months or so. Sometimes, in order to better plan for tomorrow it is pertinent to take stock of the past. If it is necessary to do this in our personal lives, I can safely say that as a country, South Africa should consider doing the same and urgently. Over the past few years, we have collectively faced serious challenges. We have been subjected to several viruses and diseases - not only corona, but…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za As human beings, we always show appreciation to everyone but ourselves, never realising that it is equally, if not more important for our physical and metal well-being. Here to remind us that we should never stop loving ourselves is award-winning The Underground Railway star, Thuso Mbedu. She recently took to social media to post a short but “comically serious” skit about self-love and at the same time showed off her acting skills in a genre we’re not used to seeing her act in – comedy. Directed by Izzy Cohan, the video is a funny take on things one can do to help one relax, like meditation and deep-breathing exercises. She also looks at journalling, before her pencil breaks and pen runs out of ink, home improvements before…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za A DAY after President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation address (Sona), Parliament fire accused Zandile Mafe will make his way back to court. The case against the 49-year-old accused has been postponed to February 11 as he is expected to spend 30 days at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He faces an additional terrorism charge following the blaze, which caused severe damage to the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings. Magistrate Zamekile Mbalo ordered Mafe to undergo the evaluation at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for the next 30 days to determine whether he is fit to stand trial. “The court is making the order that the accused be admitted to a mental institution for the purpose of observation,” Mbalo said. National Prosecuting Authority in…

A marble fragment of the Parthenon temple has been returned to Athens from a museum in Sicily, a move officials hope will advance efforts to have the British Museum send back ancient sculptures from Greece’s most renowned ancient landmark. Athens’ Acropolis Museum presented on Monday the “Fagan fragment”, a 35-by-31-centimetre marble fragment showing the foot of the seated ancient Greek goddess Artemis, which was brought home from the Antonio Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo. It is to be placed in the Parthenon Gallery – a glass-walled chamber with a view of the Parthenon that displays sculptures of the temple’s 160-metre- long frieze in the same position as they were on the original monument, with plaster copies replacing pieces that are now mainly in the British Museum. “We hope this first…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof I am frightened when I see how young parents of today are bringing up their little ones. It’s so easy. Just give the child the remote and the cellphone, and you are free of them. What’s all this nonsense about discipline? The teacher says my little angel is so badly behaved in school, so restless and disruptive in class. What if it’s the teacher’s fault? From early morning till late at night, the child sits on the sofa glued to the TV. So engrossed is he, nothing you do in front of him will distract him from the TV. He won’t even blink an eyelid or lift up his head and respond to your question. And when he eventually hears you, there’s the blank…

FAROUK ARAIE | Gauteng FORMER UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was knighted by the queen. This war criminal was rewarded for his unspeakable crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is routinely referred to as a liar by commentators, his political enemies and by members of his own party. Attempts to rehabilitate the former premier and the whitewashing of his manifest crimes cannot be left unchallenged. Instead of heaping praise on pathological liars and war criminals, we should hold them to account while they are still alive. He and his fellow war criminals could be prosecuted under the Fourth Geneva Convention and its additional protocols, proscribing attacks against civilians who have no military value. If the tenets of the Nuremberg principles and the Geneva Conventions were applied,…

Emergency workers said a Gauteng man is fighting for his life after he sustained over 100 bee stings on Monday. The incident took place in the Cosmo City area in Johannesburg. According to Kyle van Reenen, Emer-G-Med paramedics responded to two men being stung by a swarm. “The 30-year-old man had suffered over 100 stings and was in a critical condition. Advanced Life Support intervention was needed to stabilise him before he was taken to hospital.” He said a second man, believed to be around age 35, suffered about 10 stings and was treated and stabilised before being taken to hospital. “Reports from the scene allege that the first man was attacked by the bees when he was walking past the hive. The second man then ran to his aid.”…

A 41-year-old man charged with the attempted murder and rape of his estranged wife is set to remain behind bars. Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in North West, Henry Mamothame, said the matter in the Mogwase Magistrate’s Court was postponed to January 17 for a Legal Aid consultation and a possible bail application. The man’s Legal Aid attorney requested the postponement in a bid to conduct a “proper consultation” with the accused. “Preliminary police reports revealed that the man, who is currently separated from his wife, called and arranged for them to meet to discuss an urgent matter. “As per the agreement, he collected his wife from her parent’s home on December 29,” Mamothame said. “He then drove towards a local mall but changed directions and headed to…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE Department of Basic Education (DBE) has scrapped the publishing of matric results in newspapers and on digital platforms, a move that has been welcomed by some education experts while leaving others confused. The DBE issued letters to media companies informing them that the usual practice of publishing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric results on public media platforms would not occur. Matric results are due to be released on January 21. DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the decision was in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), 2013 (Act No 4 of 2013) which came into effect on July 1, 2021. The act was put in place for the protection of private information and to guard against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use…

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s air force yesterday suspended combat training for its F-16 fleet after a recently upgraded model of the fighter jet crashed into the sea in the latest of a series of accidents. The defence ministry said the F-16V, the most advanced type in Taiwan’s fleet, went missing from radar screens after taking off from the Chiayi air base in southern Taiwan for a training mission. President Tsai Ing-wen issued instructions to spare no efforts in the search and rescue mission and “to further clarify the cause of the accident”, her spokesperson said. The government’s Rescue Command Centre said witnesses had seen the aircraft crash.…

WASHINGTON: The warmth of the world’s oceans hit a record. Again. A new analysis, published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, showed that oceans contained the most heat energy in 2021 since measurements began six decades ago – accelerating at a rate only possible because of human-emitted greenhouse gases. Since the late 1980s, Earth’s oceans warmed at a rate eight times faster than the preceding decades. “When you have this long-term upward trend, you’re getting records broken almost every year and it’s this monotonous increase,” said John Abraham, a co-author of the study and a professor at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota. “We’ve built up so much greenhouse gas that the oceans have begun to take in an increasing amount of heat compared to what they previously…

LOS ANGELES: Lady Gaga says her family realised they’d “made it” when they saw House of Gucci. The star, 35, plays Patrizia Reggiani in the big screen drama based on the real-life murder of fashion house businessman Maurizio Gucci, and said her family were in awe when she told them she’d be working with Al Pacino on the project. “They’ve never heard such a bellowing sound out of my father. My Italian father went absolutely crazy. ‘Pacino?! Pacino?! No! Stefani!’ “He was so excited, my family were excited... (They thought) ‘we’ve made it’!” I wanted to work with Jared (Leto). I wanted to work with Adam (Driver). I wanted to work with Jeremy Irons. I wanted to work with Salma (Hayek). “I have to say, one of my fellow Icon…

Poet and activist Maya Angelou has become the first black woman to appear on the US quarter, in a new version of the coin unveiled by the US Mint on Monday. Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, will also be the first figure commemorated through the American Women Quarters Programme, which was signed into law in January 2021. The US Mint “has begun shipping the first coins” with Angelou’s likeness on the American quarter, a 25-cent piece, according to a press release from the agency. “It is my honour to present our nation’s first circulating coins dedicated to celebrating American women and their contributions to American history,” said Mint deputy director Ventris Gibson. The programme directs the US Mint to issue quarters each year between 2022…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE World Economic Forum (WEF) has flagged the prolonged economic stagnation in South Africa as the most serious risk to the country’s recovery over the next two years. South Africa entered a period of serious economic depression in 2020 when the gross domestic product (GDP) plunged to a 6.4 percent contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though a recovery is underway and GDP now seems on track to return to pre-pandemic levels of 2 percent in 2022, activity is still not stable following a contraction triggered by violent unrest in July last year. In its Global Risk Report 2022 published yesterday, the WEF cited this prolonged stagnation among five key risk factors that could affect the country’s stability in the short term. The WEF said employment and…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SALES activity levels in all three major commercial property sectors: industrial, retail and offices increased mildly in the fourth quarter, following a “dip” in the previous three months that might have been KwaZulu-Natal/Gauteng unrest-related. FNB’s latest Property Broker survey showed the percentage of broker respondents perceiving business conditions to be satisfactory, had increased in the fourth quarter survey to 32 percent – up from 25 percent the previous quarter. However, despite the improvement, it remained at a “very weak level” and largely reflective of still weak business confidence across the economy, said FNB Commercial’s property sector strategist John Loos in the bank’s latest Property Insights. The level implies that 68 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with business conditions, but it was nevertheless the highest percentage of respondents…

| IANS A narcissist is someone who despises modesty and celebrates vanity. Everything is an inflated and unrealistic mirror of self in narcissism. Every narcissist sees themselves as godlike, and their deep-seated anxieties and insecurities are obscured by the false notion that they are unique. The two foundations of narcissism are malignant self-obsession and self-centredness, in which a person is unconcerned about the wishes, needs or interests of others. This type of behaviour is associated with personality problems, according to psychologists. The name was derived from the Greek mythology narrative of Narcissus, a child who fell in love with his own reflection, which dates back to at least 8AD. This tale was offered by Sigmund Freud as a representation of a self-absorbed person. Exaggerated ambition, grandiose fantasy, sentiments of…

| Bang Showbiz Catherine celebrated her landmark birthday on Sunday and to mark the occasion, three new images of the royal, taken by Paolo Roversi, were released and will enter the National Portrait Gallery. The photographer first met Catherine in November at Kensington Palace for tea and biscuits and said she was “apprehensive” about posing. He told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: “At first the Duchess was apprehensive. She is machine-gunned by photographers every day but is not used to posing. “Knowing my photos with models she was a little fearful of facing a real session, which required about four hours of work. But I reassured her that once we started it was going to be very easy. And so it was.” The shoot took place later that month…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za ZULU Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu is changing legal tactics midway, after suffering the first setback in her bid to have 50% of the estate of late King Goodwill Zwelithini set aside for her. The matters related to the Zulu royal family following King Zwelithini’s death last year are set to be argued in the Pietermaritzburg High Court this week. The first issue relates to the queen seeking 50% of the estate of the late king, as she argued that they were married in terms of civil rights, and she was therefore entitled to half of his estate. In the second matter, Queen Sibongile’s daughters, Princesses Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma and Princess Ntandoyenkosi, are contesting the validity of the will of the late king on the basis that some of the…

“My son was a good academic in high school, two years ago, with a good brain. He has since lost all interest in his future. He sleeps all day. He will not find a job. He says there is no future in this country for young men like him. What should I do?” Your son is 100% correct. There is no future in any country for a young man with a “good brain” who wants to sleep all day and who will not try to find a job. Begin with your family doctor. Assess if your son is battling any form of depression and be sure to get the help he may need if he is indeed suffering from something other than inertia and laziness. As you are probably aware,…

DR MAHMOUD Y BAKER | Musgrave IT WAS astonishing to see on live TV how President Ramaphosa managed to turn a shocking and devastating accident into a happy event. This happened during his visit to Parliament when it was on fire. The president didn’t look sad or angry at all. Actually, he was smiling when he smartly started to hail and applaud the firefighters for coming to Parliament after six minutes, which is something we doubt, knowing how disastrous the service levels are in all government departments. The irony here is that the president was happy and invited the people around him to congratulate the firefighters, mainly to distract our attention from the sad reality that Parliament was burning behind him. It’s disappointing that the president always worries…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za With the country’s junior doctors having finally been placed for their internship training, calls have been made for the national Health Department to address the “chronic problem” of placements. Despite meetings all year with the assurance that junior doctors would get placement for their internship training, in early December about 2 300 students were still unsure of their immediate future in the medical field, SA Medical Association (Sama) Employed Doctor’s Forum national chairperson Dr Akhtar Hussain said. According to Hussain, this has been an issue for the department for about 10 years, leaving many students feeling anxious. “Most of the interns who qualified in December 2021 from South African medical institutions have been placed, but those who are repeating one or two modules are not placed yet.…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka told izinduna yesterday that the long-standing issue of their backpay was still in discussion with the national government. Hlomuka was speaking at the special imbizo for traditional leaders from Ugu, Ilembe district and eThekwini Metro which was held yesterday at KwaDukuza Town Hall in Stanger. The imbizo aimed to address challenges that were faced by the institution of traditional leadership in KZN. Among the things discussed were the killings of and attacks on the amakhosi and izinduna. Last year there were several such attacks and murders. Asked about the backpay issue, Hlomuka said the matter was being discussed with the national department. “It is also being discussed by the president’s office, provincial treasury and Cogta. We are…

Convicted fraudster Portuguese national João Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro made a short appearance on Monday in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court. The court heard that he intends appealing the bail decision that went against him on December 17. Magistrate Rajesh Parshotam denied Rendeiro bail as he found that he was a flight risk. Rendeiro had been convicted of tax fraud and money laundering in Portugal and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He absconded from the country in September. Rendeiro was arrested in uMhanga on December 11 by members of Interpol who were acting on an Interpol Red Notice. | Yogashen Pillay…

WASHINGTON: Short-staffed hospitals in the US “are turning to international nurses” as thousands of healthcare workers were dismissed over vaccine mandates, Fox News has reported. More than 5 000 international nurses have been waiting to be cleared to obtain a visa approval to work in US hospitals, it reported. The need for more foreign nurses comes as thousands of US healthcare workers lost their jobs over coronavirus vaccine requirements. A Minnesota clinic fired 700 unvaccinated employees; Massachusetts dismissed 500; and over 30 000 New York healthcare workers who disobeyed the vaccine mandate were sacked.…

The UN has rebuked Kazakhstan after the country’s troops were spotted wearing blue helmets reserved for UN peacekeepers during a violent crackdown on protesters last week. Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general, told reporters on Monday that Kazakh authorities had said they would address the issue after the global body raised concerns. “Countries are to use UN insignia only when they are performing their mandated tasks as UN peacekeepers in the context of their deployment within a UN peacekeeping operation,” he said. Blue helmets have become a symbol of the UN’s peacekeeping efforts since the 1950s. Kazakh authorities could have been attempting to portray the country’s security forces as “representing a more international action” in an “attempt to draw on the unique legitimacy” that UN peacekeepers possess,…

BRUSSELS: European Parliament president David Sassoli died early yesterday at the age of 65. “The president of the European Parliament (EP), David Sassoli, passed away at the hospital in Aviano, Italy, where he was hospitalised,” said his spokesperson, Roberto Cuillo. On December 10, Sassoli was hospitalised in Italy due to severe complications associated with a dysfunction of the immune system. All events in which the head of the EP had been scheduled to participate have been cancelled. He had been president of the 705-seat parliament since July 2019 and his term in the predominantly ceremonial role had been due to end this month. Maltese lawmaker Roberta Metsola, from the conservative European People’s Party, is widely expected to succeed him. “Sassoli was a symbol of balance, humanity and generosity. These qualities…