Indice dei contenuti per 2022-01-24 in Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za FEARS of a debt trap loomed large last week as it became apparent the government was set to extend the R350 a month Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant for another year. The World Bank on Friday approved R11.4 billion low-interest development policy loan to South Africa to help the government widen its social protection net. National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said the loan would contribute towards addressing the financing gap stemming from additional spending. “It will assist in addressing the immediate challenge of financing critical health and social safety-net programmes, while also continuing to develop our economic reform agenda to build back better,” Mogajane said. President Cyril Ramaphosa last week led a government delegation in a meeting with a civil society organisation to discuss…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za ESKOM’S chief financial officer, Calib Cassim, on Friday made an impassioned plea to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to objectively consider the utility’s application for a 20.5 percent tariff increase because any shortfalls in revenue generation still have to be covered by the government as a major shareholder and ultimately, consumers. On the last day of the public hearings, Cassim said previous Nersa decisions had been fraught with mistakes which were repeated in subsequent times, for example, in 2019 when the regulator corrected the employee bene-fit determination after the high court found that the approach used had been based on incorrect criteria. “If we cannot. as Eskom, recover the money through the tariff that is an electricity consumer base which is far…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Going on a date should be fun. Whether it’s the first date and trying to impress the other person or the 50th date and keeping the fires burning, it should be something to look forward to and look back on as a memorable occasion. This couple went to great lengths and heights to make their date a truly memorable one. A video of a couple enjoying what appears to be a romantic date while suspended rather high over a waterfall recently popped up on Twitter, leaving folks shocked and confused as to why anyone would do something so daring. The couple seem to be overjoyed as they even enjoy a glass of wine and their surroundings. Yes, they are strapped in with harnesses attached to the overhead…

GABI MARAIS | Gillits IT IS good to see that other writers are coming to the party with reference to the Oracle of the South. However, that does not seem to stop him from sitting on his high horse. Just something, apparently in 2020 Novak Djokovic and his wife between them purchased 80% of the shares in a Danish Medical Technology Company, namely QuantBioRes. The company is apparently working on finding a treatment for Covid, using Resonant Recognition Mode or RRM. Respected scientists liken this to homeopathy. Perhaps this explains why Novak is anti-vax. Imagine the money he can make if he puts something on the market that treats Covid? What better way to confuse people than by denigrating respected scientists and their findings, and promoting yourself and…

RICHARD HERBERT | Kloof ANYONE going up or down Fields Hill, between the cameras, will tell you that while one is keeping to the regulated 80km/h, many other vehicles rush past at high speed, whether up or down the hill. That is because one has to go through both cameras to have your speed measured. Should you get onto Fields Hill after one of the cameras, you have no fear of a speeding fine, since only an average excess speed measurement secures a conviction. So, in reality, speeding continues on Fields Hill unabated, and only those motorists who have to travel past both cameras, keep below the speed limit. I suggest that an additional camera be installed half-way between the existing cameras to really control speed freaks correctly…

AMAZON.COM Inc’s recipe for the department store of the future includes algorithmic recommendations and what one corporate director called “a magic closet” in the fitting room. The online retailer is making another push to grow its fashion business, announcing that it will open its first apparel store this year, with a tech twist. “We wouldn’t do anything in physical retail unless we felt we could significantly improve the customer experience,” said Simoina Vasen, a managing director. The planned “Amazon Style” shop near Los Angeles is smaller than the typical department store. Model items are on the racks, and customers scan a code using Amazon’s mobile app to select the colour and size they would like. To try on the clothes, which are stored in the back, shoppers enter a virtual…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za The strike action by unpaid ANC staff members is affecting the growth and organisational management of the governing party. This is according to a report tabled before the ANC’s national executive committee this week, in which its members were urged to support the party’s treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile, to resolve the salary dispute with ANC staff. The report also reveals that an organisational design process, focusing on the full-time office capacities of the ANC, is in progress. “After consultations with HQ (headquarter) units, provinces and the staff representative committee, the over- all organogram is completed, and we are doing the final checking of the costing of the structure. “The financial situation with regards to salaries have not yet completely been resolved, since we still have to pay November…

Yasmine Jacobs yasmine.jacobs@inl.co.za The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has said it is investigating a death in police custody in connection with the alleged overdose of a suspect in the Western Cape. Ipid said that on January 21, Piketberg SAPS members spotted a vehicle that had been reported missing. Ipid said when the police approached the bakkie, the driver sped away and a chase ensued. Ipid spokesperson Grace Langa said: “Police approached the driver and they noticed that in his hand he had about seven small containers with white powder and he quickly put the powder in his mouth. “While on the ground, white foam came out of his mouth and blood from his nose. Medical assistance was called but he was declared dead. There were no visible injuries.”…

ANC still putting party before country THE news from the special Cabinet meeting that sat on December 30 last year, which agreed among other things to lift the lockdown curfew, allowing South Africans to move freely – was welcomed with jubilation. After being locked down for nearly two years, citizens could finally enjoy ushering in the new year in ways they had been used to before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted their lives. As we all wished and prayed for the pandemic to subside in 2022 so that life could get back to some sort of normality, I doubt any one of us ever anticipated another kind of pandemic – politicians’ disingenuity. The new year is barely a month old, yet it feels like we’ve lived through too many of its…

Beirut: Kuwait’s foreign minister said yesterday that he has given Lebanese authorities a list of suggested measures to be taken to ease a diplomatic rift with Gulf Arab countries. The proposals were delivered to Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun during a visit by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, the first to Lebanon by a senior Gulf official since a spat erupted last year. The visit, co-ordinated with Gulf Arab states, is part of wider efforts to restore trust between Lebanon and its Gulf Arab neighbours as the country grapples with an unprecedented financial crisis.…

The EU is working on a new extensive package of economic and financial sanctions against Russia in case the situation around Ukraine escalates, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said. “At the moment, the work is under way behind the scenes to develop an extensive package of economic and financial sanctions. In the event of an escalation, a very clear, unequivocal and quick response will follow,” Schallenberg said. The foreign minister also did not exclude the possibility of Russia’s removal from the Swift interbank payment system. At the same time, Schallenberg again opposed sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of amassing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion. Russia said that it had…

AUCKLAND: Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern has cancelled her wedding as the country is about to move to the red Covid-19 alert level. “When it comes to events, whether it’s a birthday or a wedding or any kind of event of that nature, gathering limits of 100 do come in with the red light setting as at 11.59pm (1:59 SA time last night) tonight,” Ardern said at a press conference yesterday, as quoted by The New Zealand Herald, adding that if people are not using vaccine passes the limit will be 25 people. Speaking of her own wedding, the prime minister said she is no different to the rest of New Zealanders. “…my wedding won’t be going ahead but I just join many other New Zealanders who have…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za IN SPITE of stronger-than-expected recovery, the global economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the past two years has been significant, and further widened the gap between the rich and the poor. This was the view of many expert speakers at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda 2022 virtual meeting, that concluded on Friday. Speakers at the WEF virtual gathering last week highlighted that the pandemic had reversed gains in poverty reduction, hit incomes, and seen global economic slump. However, they remained bullish about the recovery largely due to rapid vaccine deployment in the developed countries, though concerns remained about poor countries still lagging behind. President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said the global economy was experiencing a “super-strong recovery” that had outpaced…

Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za With so much nutrition information floating around, it can be tough to figure out the best way to make healthier choices in the new year. January is always a time of new year’s resolutions, which often include restrictive eating regimens after festive season indulgence. However, cookbook author Chantal Lascaris believes balance in food (and in life) has nothing to do with extreme dieting or adding kale to every meal you consume. Lascaris notes that instead of making big and impossible-to-stick-to changes (which feel overwhelming), starting with a few good intentions is more manageable and increases the chances of success when it comes to your balance and wellbeing. “One example is to simply make sure you drink enough water in a day. Not only can upping your water…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za THE University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban University of Technology (DUT) and University of Zululand (UniZulu) have all said that registration for the 2022 academic year will take place online. Normah Zondo, executive director of corporate relations at UKZN said that registration was strictly online. She said the university had noted with concern messages being circulated on social media encouraging students and parents to flock to one of its campuses from today. “Registration is conducted online and is still ongoing. “There is no registration service or registration assistance available on any of our campuses, and therefore, no students or parents will be allowed onto any of the campuses for registration. “All registration information is available on www.ukzn.ac.za A chatbot is available to assist. Students requiring further information can…

BENNY PILLAY | Durban AS ONE who voted for ActionSA, I must state I am very disappointed with the party’s eThekwini councillor, Makhosi Khoza. She accepted a position as MPAC chairperson from the ANC and tries to mislead us, the voters, by stating that she was chosen because of her qualifications. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba was vocal and reassured his supporters about not supporting the ANC in any of the municipalities where his party was represented. The ANC is the cause of much of our woes today, and for Khoza to accept this position, shows she is just another politician. Khoza has a history of being overly ambitious. She resigned from a company where she was the chief executive, citing the pay was too little. She resigned…

SIMPLE, not easy ways to improve your functioning and all your relationships – from platonic to intimate. – Become an expert in your own behaviour. Study it. Take responsibility for it. Learn to hold on to yourself. Measure your words. Learn where your behaviour has led you into trouble – benign or serious trouble – in the past. Lower-functioning people are often experts in how others behave, in what is being done to them or not being done for them. They seldom stop to consider that their own behaviour and their own responses are at least contributing factors to their own problems and dilemmas. – Know, as clearly as you are capable of, what you want and don’t want, what you care about and what things are of greater and…

MFEZEKO BUNU | Cape Town IT HAS been a long 27 years and three months since the advent of political democracy in South Africa. In all this period, there have been five male presidents (Kgalema Motlanthe for a brief period) and none of them have managed to bring about economic freedom to the previously politically and economically oppressed masses of this country. Two suitable female leaders have unsuccessfully tried to convince members of the governing party to vote for them to be presidents of the governing party, and by extension the country. This is so because we have a parliamentary system which guarantees leaders of the majority party control. Despite the results in the recent local government elections, the governing party will continue to win majority votes in…

Jehran Naidoo jehran.naidoo@africannewsagency.com The Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula is expected to unveil a number of “critical investments” at the Port of Durban today which is aimed at developing the current infrastructure and in doing so, attracting more investment. Mbalula will conduct a visit to the port and engage with stakeholders in the industry. The minister’s office said the upcoming investments are likely to make significant contributions towards the growth of the oceans economy and the implementation of the maritime transport policy. Some of the investments that were given the green light so far include liquid bulk operating licenses, access rights for the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and the construction of the onshore LNG (Liquified natural gas) Regasification Facility. “The investments that will be unveiled by the…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa used yesterday’s closing remarks at his party’s lekgotla to stamp his authority, saying attacks on the Constitution and the judiciary are not warranted. Without naming senior NEC member and minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Ramaphosa opened his veiled swipe by saying the ANC was undergoing a period of worrying “decay”. As a result, it was harbouring counter-revolutionaries. This was an apparent reference to Sisulu and other senior ANC members who in the past two weeks have been defending an article in which she fiercely questioned the judiciary and the role of some black judges. The spat over the opinion piece deepened on Thursday when Ramaphosa’s office issued a public statement claiming Sisulu has retracted her statement and apologised. Minutes later, a seething Sisulu denied this,…

THE performance of poor pupils in last year’s matric exams is highly commendable. The 2021 matric results show that the Bachelor passes obtained by pupils from quintiles one to three schools stood at 149 648 – a 29.5% increase from last year. They are also known as no-fee schools because they are fully subsidised by taxpayers as they are in poor areas. Most importantly, these no-fee schools produced 62% of the Bachelor passes, an increase from 58% last year. This is in stark contrast to the situation more than 15 years ago, in 2005, when 60% of the Bachelors passes were produced by well-off schools, mainly in affluent areas. Releasing the 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination results last week, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga highlighted this impressive feat. “The…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday for the first time conferred the lay Roman Catholic ministries of lector and catechist on women, roles that previously many had carried out without institutional recognition. He conferred the ministries at a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, where, in an apparent reference to resistance to change by some conservatives, he criticised those who need to have rigid regulations and “more rules” in order to find God. Last year, Francis changed Church law on the ministries of lector and acolyte, which mainly had been reserved to seminarians preparing for priesthood, saying he wanted to bring stability.…

THE Peruvian government has declared a 90-day environmental emergency in the coastal area of Lima which has been affected by a recent oil spill, the Ministry of the Environment said. The government has called it one of the “most important ecological disasters” on the coast in recent years, reports Xinhua news agency. The resolution was approved by Minister of the Environment Ruben Ramirez, who heads the Environmental Crisis Committee that is trying to mitigate the effects of the oil spill. The oil spill occurred on January 15 when an oil tanker was unloading at one of the terminals of La Pampilla Refinery, in the province of Callao, neighbouring Lima. Operator Repsol reported on January 21 that the clean-up of the areas affected by the oil spill should be completed by…

Nancy Nyarko was preparing porridge at her roadside stall near the edge of the village of Apiate in Ghana’s western mining region when she heard a loud noise close by. Looking up, she saw a motorbike had collided with a large truck and caught fire, Nyarko said, her right hand and left leg wrapped in bandages. The crash happened on January 20. In less than an hour Apiate was reduced to a wasteland of rubble, timber and twisted metal, a 20m crater yawning at its core from an explosion. At least 13 people were dead and nearly 200 injured. What residents didn’t know was that the truck, owned by the Spanish company, Maxam, contained 10 tons of explosives meant to blast rock in the Chirano gold mine, run by Toronto-based…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za LEMON producers in the country are on tenterhooks over an impeding decision by the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on whether South Africa is dumping lemons in that country, which may effectively close off a viable market for the local industry. While there are various products including lemon juice concentrates, cosmetics, cleaning material and others that could be produced from local harvest, the fresh lemon market in the US is a mainstay for local producers and would lead to a glut, if South Africa is closed off. “We are in the phase of a preliminary determination stage … It is actually impossible to predict which way the decision will go, and we have put in a strong case at the oral hearing,” SA Juice Association general manager…

thabo Makwakwa thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za MEMBER of Parliament and suspended Whip on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Mervyn Dirks, has given his party’s Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina until today to lift his suspension or face him in court. Dirks’ lawyer Godrich Gardee sent a letter to the ANC in Parliament demanding the party to restore Dirks’ responsibilities as the whip of the committee. Majodina had suspended him for refusing to withdraw a letter calling on Scopa to summon President Cyril Ramaphosa to account for allegations of complicity in the misappropriation of public funds for political party campaigns. “Your office served our client with a letter of precautionary suspension on January 21, alleging that his conduct was unbecoming of a whip of the ANC Parliamentary Caucus. “However, our client was fulfilling…

‘Royal rebels’ urged to think twice after failed interdict attempt Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za A RULING by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday to dismiss an application brought to prevent King Misuzulu kaZwelithini from addressing the Battle of Isandlwana commemoration event should serve as a warning to the royal rebels. This is the view of Nkanyiso Ncube, who is part of the Royal House’s legal team, who confirmed that it was Prince Mbonisi kaBhekuzulu who sought to interdict King Misuzulu from addressing crowds at the commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in Nquthu on Saturday. The court application was dismissed with costs, and King Misuzulu delivered an address at the event. “Court records indicate that Prince Mbonisi brought the legal action against the king. However, just because it was his name…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff DISMISSING whatever challenges the anointed narrative as “conspiracy theory” might be fun or even cathartic, as exemplified by Clyde Bawden’s quip (The Mercury, January 21) “Durban’s all Bluff until you get to the Point”. But although it is probably pointless expecting Bawden to reconsider his views on the Covid vax issue, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s volte face on the subject may jolt his thinking because it vindicates what vax opponents have been saying is not “conspiracy theory”. From January 27, all Covid restrictions including the wearing of masks and vax passports will no longer apply in the UK. “We must learn to live with Covid in the same way we have to live with ‘flu’,” said Johnson. He conceded that the Covid policy…

AN INTRIGUING piece that was in last Friday’s paper about the fellow who hasn’t taken a bath in 67 years. For those who might have missed it, 87-year-old Amo Jaji, who lives in Iran, also eats roadkill – mainly porcupines and rabbits – drinks from puddles and smokes animal dung in a rusty pipe. The piece from Sputnik describes him as “the world’s dirtiest man”. But is this fair? He might equally be the world’s happiest man. Roadkill, puddles and bokdrol tobacco – what more could a man want? A woman, of course. But women are unreasonably prejudiced against fellows who haven’t taken a bath in 67 years, which I’m sure explains why Amo lives alone in a shack in Kennshah province. Get a lady in on the scene and…

Dr THABISI HOEANE | Pretoria The complexity which faces the country in combating crime is really frightening when certain issues are taken into consideration. According to the Global Initiative Against Transitional Organized Crime, over the past 10 years, about 27 000 firearms have disappeared from the police. This “disappearance” is due to these weapons being stolen or lost. Just to pause: how does a police officer “lose” a firearm? How does someone who has been trained and knows how dangerous these weapons are “lose” them? Clearly this is a euphemism for something sinister: these are corrupt police officers who sell these guns to criminals and then claim that they have “lost” them. To go back to the statistics, and by doing a crude analysis which is based on…

The AA has set up a petition calling for a review of the fuel price. “Providing cheaper fuel to South African citizens won’t happen at the push of a button, but will require a multilayered, multidepartmental approach with the involvement of the private sector,” the AA said. While there was some reprieve for motorists in January, experts are predicting a jump of around R1.30 per litre in February. The AA said there was an urgent need for a comprehensive, long-term analysis of the components of the fuel price and that all fuel price calculations need to be reviewed to determine if they’re still relevant and appropriate to local conditions. It added that the levies for the General Fuel Levy and Road Accident Fund contribute significantly to every litre of fuel…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za ETHEKWINI Municipality has invited qualifying applicants who wish to begin or continue studying towards their first undergraduate studies at a public higher education institution in the 2022 academic year to apply for the eThekwini Municipal Student Relief Fund. On Friday, the city said applications are open to South Africans permanently residing in eThekwini. The closing date for applications is January 31. Head of the eThekwini Municipal Academy, Professor Mpilo Ngubane, said the financial assistance was for a full-time study programme at a public higher education institution. He said it would be awarded based on academic performance. “The financial assistance is mainly for registration and provision may be made towards a portion of tuition fees but not accommodation, meals, books, sports, transportation and/or any other related costs,” said…

Zama Ngcoya Zama.Ngcoya@inl.co.za The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education says it is hopeful that 11 schools in Amanyavu in uMkhambathini in the Midlands will reopen soon. The schools failed to reopen last week due to a dispute over traditional leadership in the area. The schools remain closed after death threats were made to the teaching staff, who were warned not to reopen the schools. The schools’ gates have all been locked. The threats have been reported to the police. The department said last week that there was an ongoing legal dispute in the local traditional leadership that was already in court. KZN Department of Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said yesterday that they were hoping for a resolution soon. “Chieftaincy and traditional affairs should not affect schooling. The chiefs who have been…

THERE are some words that are so offensive and unacceptable that they should never be part of our vocabulary. They should never continue to appear, or so we fervently hope, in our conversation in both the mainstream and social media. But that’s not about to change as rapidly as most people would wish. The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) conference held recently in Mthatha on public attitudes to offensive words, gestures, and hate speech in our society reopened this ageless and evolving issue. It brought together national isi- Xhosa language practitioners, educators, policymakers, and journalists. The conference deliberations listed more than 50 isiXhosa words and terms whose acceptability as part of our voca- bulary is sometimes open to question – and in most cases more than that. The most…

VIENNA: The head of a foundation set up by Anne Frank’s father has criticised an investigation into her betrayal to the Nazis that named a Jewish notary as a leading suspect, saying it was “full of errors”, a Swiss newspaper reported. Anne and seven other Jews were discovered by the Nazis on August 4, 1944, after hiding for nearly two years in a secret annex above a canal-side warehouse in Amsterdam. Anne died in the Bergen Belsen camp at the age of 15. FBI agent Vincent Pankoke and around 20 historians and criminologists last week identified a relatively unknown figure, Jewish notary Arnold van den Bergh, as a leading suspect in revealing the hideout.…

Ouagadougou: Gunfire broke out at several army barracks in Burkina Faso yesterday and internet connections were disrupted, prompting fears of a coup in the notoriously volatile west African state which the government quickly denied. The unrest comes a little over week after 12 people, including a senior army officer, were arrested on suspicion of planning to “destabilise institutions” in the country, which has been rocked by a seven-year jihadist insurgency. Residents in the Gounghin district in the west of the capital Ouagadougou reported heavy gunfire at the Sangoule Lamizana camp and military prison where an ousted army general is being held. ‘Gunfire has been heard here in Gounghin coming from the Sangoule Lamizana camp,” a soldier in the area confirmed. Local inhabitants said soldiers had come out of the barracks…

LOS ANGELES: Snoop Dogg plans to DJ at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding. The Drop It Like It’s Hot hitmaker has been friends with the 22-year-old photographer’s dad, David Beckham, for years and not only is he on the guest list for Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz’s big day, his “gift” to them will be to provide the entertainment. He told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “David has been my boy for over 10 years now and I am tight with his family. Brooklyn’s wedding is going to be a big affair and my gift to him and his wife-to-be is I will come down and do a set for them on their big day.”…

Is your head in the clouds? That could be an advantage if you participate in a new Nasa challenge. The agency is recruiting citizen scientists to keep an eye on the clouds – and help document a changing climate. This year’s Nasa GLOBE Cloud Challenge lasts through February 15. Anyone can participate – all it takes is a smartphone or computer and an eye toward the sky. If you look up, you’re more likely than not to see some kind of cloud cover. Up to 70% of Earth’s land mass is covered with clouds at any given time, according to Nasa’s Earth Observatory. Participants can use the GLOBE Observer app to identify and report on those clouds and atmospheric visibility in their backyards. They are asked to time their…