Indice dei contenuti per 2022-09-23 in Mercury

INVESTECT Property Fund is on track to deliver against its guidance of low single-digit growth in distributable income per share for the six months to September 30, 2022, the group with commercial property in South Africa and Europe said in a pre-close trading statement yesterday. The resignation of its joint chief executive, Darryl Mayers, effective from November 30, 2022, was also announced. “This leadership transition comes at a time when the fund’s operating business, portfolio of local and international assets and its balance sheet are in a strong position after the challenges faced by the property sector over the last two years,” the group said in a statement yesterday. “Darryl’s focus will turn to the pursuit of other business opportunities. He will, however, remain involved with the fund in an…

THE head of electricity in eThekwini Municipality has warned that constant load shedding is causing extensive damage to the city’s fragile electricity infrastructure, leading to power outages outside of the load-shedding schedule. Maxwell Mthembu said the constant switching on and off of electricity was “killing” the infrastructure and municipalities would be left with the hard choice of replacing it or paying an arm and a leg to maintain it. In an interview with The Mercury yesterday, Mthembu painted a grim picture of the situation, saying they had appealed to Eskom “to do something” as the situation would have dire consequences. He was speaking following widespread power outages that have hit the city following the implementation of stage 6 load shedding. “The philosophy of maintenance is that after this infrastructure has…

MINISTER of Transport Fikile Mbalula said yesterday that the government wants to migrate the transport of most goods from road to rail in the next five years as this will decrease the large volume of trucks on the roads. He added that the Transport Department also planned to increase the number of traffic officers deployed to hazardous areas and improve conditions of roads in partnership with the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral). He was speaking at the release of the report into the Pongola crash that claimed 20 lives, including 18 pupils, last week. Mbalula said the report found that driver error on the part of the truck driver was the major factor in the cause of the crash. He said that the driver of the truck that…

AS A long-term reader of The Mercury, it is appalling to see that your newspaper saw fit to commemorate the passing of her late Majesty the Queen by publishing pages of hate speech against the British nation while your front page contrary-wise proclaims “Racism stops with me”. It would not be such a travesty of The Mercury’s alleged principles if your correspondents came somewhere close to a genuine representation of historical truth in their vitriolic outpourings, but time after time we are treated to an edited version of history in their self-serving propaganda. Do they deny that slavery is and always has been an African institution going back into the far past and that it continues in sub-Saharan Africa right until this very day? It is undeniable that before the…

I am certain that I speak for literally thousands of ordinary, law-abiding motorists who in the main drive sensibly and follow the rules of the road in Hillcrest. As a Kloof and Hillcrest resident of 70 years’ standing, I wish to point out the worst of road transgressions on the road from the M13 to the Kassier Road intersection that I and countless others have observed and continue to observe, including: Motorists jumping red traffic lights. Cars coming to a halt beyond the lines of stop streets/traffic lights. Vehicles overtaking dangerously on the left, especially at the junction adjacent to Lillies Quarter. Cars stopping persistently with impunity in no-stopping zones. Motorists speeding way over the 60km/h limit. Vehicles persistently turning into intersections from the wrong lanes. Motorists driving without regard…

A former KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture boss and an advocate have been released on bail after being arrested by the Hawks on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering earlier this week. The Hawks said former Agriculture and Rural Development HOD Dr Siphiwe Mkhize, 63, and advocate Sthembiso Mdladla, 62, who has also acted as a judge, were arrested on Tuesday. According to Hawks spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, the pair were arrested in connection with a R1 million vehicle deal. He said it was alleged that Mkhize and Mdlala made a misrepresentation to a businessman, which led him to pay R1m to a vehicle dealership. Mhlongo said it was further alleged that Mdladla, who was a service provider to the department at that time, then paid R300 000…

The Msunduzi municipality has collected R100 million in an aggressive debt collection campaign which saw officials disconnecting businesses and government entities and naming and shaming those that were in arrears. “We do not have a consolidated figure at the moment, but at the last count, we had collected R100m in cash,” said the acting municipal manager Nelisiwe Ngcobo yesterday. “The money is for rates, but we are disconnecting everything because of the new policy of consolidated billing. “Many people have been ignoring their water and rates account and only paying for electricity,” she said. The city is owed R1.2 billion for rates and has a total debtors book of R5.5bn. Yesterday, the city announced that the focus of the campaign would shift to residents who have outstanding payments. Ngcobo said…

THERE has been no announcement of any intention to increase the number of food items that are zero-rated for VAT, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. “The current basket of food items that are zero-rated are well targeted towards poor households,” Godongwana said. He was responding to a question from the DA about whether there were details of the steps that the National Treasury had taken to relieve the burden on poor households due to the rapidly rising cost of living. Godongwana also said the then-minister of finance had in 2018 appointed a panel to consider and review the list of zero-rated food items when VAT increased. Through the exercise, white bread, wheat flour and cake wheat flour were added to make the current list of 21 food items. “The analysis…

ENGLISH Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham says he has been told LGBTQ+ fans won’t be arrested for holding hands or kissing in public at the World Cup in Qatar. The LGBTQ+ community had raised concerns over how safe they will be at the tournament in November-December as same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the Gulf state. Some English LGBTQ+ fans will reportedly stay away from the World Cup because they have not received adequate assurances. But Bullingham revealed on Wednesday that he has been told police in Qatar are briefed to be tolerant during the tournament. Asked whether the FA had planned for the scenario of an England fan being arrested for holding hands or kissing a same-sex partner in public, Bullingham said: “We have been asking those questions…

ROYAL AM owner Shauwn Mkhize has reacted to the exit of one of the club’s co-coaches Dan “Dance” Malesela who put pen to paper on a two-year contract at Marumo Gallants on Tuesday. Malesela concluded his return to his former club Gallants earlier this week and Mkhize, while on Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified, shared light on the mentor's decision to vacate his post as one of three coaches at the Durban-based club. “MaMkhize” as she is affectionately known, revealed that Malesela felt his career was being stifled by having to work alongside two other coaches. “Dan (Malesela) approached me and told me he likes what the club is about and he would love to join the club, but at the time I already had coaches, so he…

It’s still early days in the season, but there are some club bosses who've already axed their coaches given the rising complexities of the campaign. Here, football writer Mihlali Baleka looks at five coaches that need to step up when the season resumes after the international break. Arthur Zwane — Kaizer Chiefs Zwane was a fan-favourite to assume Chiefs’ hot seat post the sacking of Stuart Baxter, given that he knows the culture, DNA and history of the club. But things haven’t gone according to plan for ‘10111’. His team is languishing in the bottom half of the standings with 11 points after eight games. He’s pleaded with the supporters to give the team time but with their stale performances so far, not everyone feels that he’s the right man…

THE ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has been urged to rally behind one candidate as branch support shows divisions between those who are backing Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, while others are rallying behind Dr Zweli Mkhize. This as the regional executive committee of the powerful eThekwini region announced its support for Mkhize as party president and ANC treasurer Paul Mashatile as his deputy ahead of the party’s national elective conference in December. The eThekwini pronouncement comes as branches in the province look to finalise their nominations for NEC leaders at branch general meetings to be held this weekend. ANC insiders say that it is crucial that the party rally behind a single candidate and that intense lobbying with other provinces starts as soon as possible to garner support for that particular candidate.…

The original handwritten lyrics of Don McLean’s song Vincent, a tribute to painter Vincent van Gogh, are going up for auction in November with an estimated value of $1 million (about R17.5m). The lyrics to the song, which features on his best-selling American Pie album, were scrawled in pencil on green paper. The lyrics are now the star item among a collection of hundreds of personal items that are being sold by the American singer-songwriter through Julien’s Auctions. “I decided to really let a lot of stuff go,” McLean, now 76, said. Among his treasure trove are 25 guitars, jewellery, stage-worn clothing, and vintage watches. First released in 1971, Vincent opens with the words “Starry, starry night” and was inspired by the Dutch painter’s famous work The Starry Night. McLean…

The small town of uPhongolo, north-east of the KwaZulu-Natal province, and indeed the whole country, is in mourning after a truck plunged into a van transporting schoolchildren from school. The loss of 20 lives, 18 of whom were schoolchildren, last week has propelled starkly to the fore the scope of the work that we still have to do to bring about a truly equal society. The uPhongolo tragedy is such a disturbing reflection of the slow speed of social transformation that, ordinarily, it should galvanise all of us to finally pay necessary attention to the challenges that have been simmering for years. Almost three decades into the democratic dispensation, it is a sad fact that, unlike their white peers, black African children have to resort to the most dangerous modes…

LOOK at the beautiful people all around you. You are sharing space and life with living miracles just as they are sharing life with you. You are, if you are anything like 98% of the people I know, free, brave, resilient, determined, compassionate, kind, funny and generous. Rich, poor, young or elderly, full of young life, or suffering from long-term illness, it is my overwhelming experience that: Every human has eternity etched into his or her heart and the stamp and resemblance of a loving and compassionate God. He or she is a work of grace and an example of divine, dynamic. Examine any art. Every human wants due recognition for his or her efforts and has talents that can be used for the common good. He or she wants…

According to the report, the year 2020 shaped organised crime in many different ways because of Covid-19, but while the global economy ground to a halt under lockdowns and travel restrictions, criminals were working out how to circumvent obstacles and exploit the situation. “New opportunities soon became evident in the illicit trade in personal protective equipment, counterfeit medicines and fake vaccines, and in possibilities for corruption around public procurement,” read the report. Regarding public procurement matters, several officials have already appeared in court to account for money which was meant for relief efforts. Drug traffickers found novel ways of transporting their contraband, inserting their illicit goods into shipments of essential pandemic supplies that sailed through understaffed ports. “Southern Africa was also the region by far the most affected by the…

The black middle class is under siege because the economic gains made after the fall of apartheid are at risk, according to a new report which points out that they face pressure not to slip back into a place of uncertainty. The Black Middle Class Research Report, released this week by UCT and the Liberty Institute, found widespread anxiety around middle-class status as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Liberty Institute project head and report co-author James Lappeman said the pandemic created fear about regression among those surveyed. The report quoted an unnamed respondent to the survey, who said: “Coming from a disadvantaged background, the Covid-19 pandemic caused me so much anxiety as I was afraid to lose my job, and afraid I might go back to the financial state…

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's recent utterances that South Africa will institute a ban on permits for foreign pastors and religious workers has sparked concern in the religious community. Motsoaledi, addressing the National Assembly’s home affairs committee, announced that religious leaders who come to the country to start churches would no longer be eligible to obtain work permits or residency permits. This comes after Malawian televangelist Shepherd Bushiri fled the country in 2020 after being charged with money laundering and Nigerian evangelist Timothy Omotoso was accused of a spate of rape and human-trafficking charges by the Eastern Cape courts. “I want to confirm that on (the) movement control system, we do not see any record of Bushiri leaving, which means that he left the country illegally,” Motsoaledi said. Bushiri and…

Africans must say no to blind loyalty to leaders and colonisers THE death of Queen Elizabeth II has moved me to revisit the expression, “history is in the making”. I would start off by asking, whose history is this expression referring to? A plausible answer to this question will come after we have dealt with another question, whose history have we been fed all along? I must declare up front the difficulty of addressing the people of South Africa when we are divided into two fascinating, dominant groups. The first group consists of those former students of history who say, “I disliked history because it was concerned with events about prestigious people of Caucasian descent. It said little about the hegemony, ordinary lives and ethical leadership of the African people.”…

Fishing has started to come right after the sewage spills. The sea has been friendly on most days for offshore anglers, but the weather has made some days a no go. Nonetheless the fish are there to be caught. The North Coast has seen good game fishing with a host of species caught. The first of the dorado should start becoming regulars on the reports as we get closer to the warmth of summer. These fish are fantastic fighters and a great introduction into the world of game fishing. Keep an eye on any floating structure in the deeper water for signs of the dorado. The Durban coast has seen more fishing in the last week with the sewage spills being forgotten. There have been a mix of species on…

KWAZULU-NATAL Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has expressed shock at the sharp rise in teenage pregnancies recorded this year, saying government programmes to tackle the issue had not produced the desired outcomes. Simelane was briefing members of the provincial legislature yesterday on the department’s performance as part of the annual performance plan for the 2022/23 financial year, which covers the period from April to June. The MEC revealed that, while there had been awareness campaigns about the importance of safe sex and abstinence as measures to prevent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, there had been setbacks. “Worryingly, we have seen an increase in the rate of teenage pregnancy, which accounts for 17.4% of total deliveries. Women also present late for antenatal care, and the uptake of contraceptives is not ideal,” said…

THOUSANDS of South Africans cheering for Australia? It’s as improbable as Isipingo cheering for Baarrdskeerdersbos. Yet that’s what it will be tomorrow morning as the Aussies take on the All Blacks in Auckland (where they haven’t won since the days of Captain Cook). But if they should pull it off – or at least deny the Kiwis a bonus point – they open all kinds of opportunities for the Boks later in the day at King’s Park. If the Boks should then beat Argentina – no guarantee whatever – and if they should do so with a bonus point, the Boks must surely win the Rugby Championship, which would sit nicely on the mantelpiece along with the World Cup, which we still hold. But all this is provided the Aussies…

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sihle Zikalala has warned municipalities against misusing municipal grants as this impacted negatively on service delivery. “People are tired of corruption,” he is on record as saying. This from the mouth of the same man who in April as KZN premier diverted a water tanker destined for needy communities, sent it to his own home and then lied about it. The ANC’s double standards and hypocrisy know no depths. Pass the sick bucket.…

A senior researcher has warned that until the city’s wastewater treatment works are fixed, beach and river water quality in Durban is likely to remain poor. Last week, the eThekwini Municipality decided to close a large number of beaches in Durban after tests revealed that the water at some beaches is of poor quality. Several wastewater treatment works were damaged in the April floods and need to be repaired. Yesterday, the non-profit organisation Adopt a River posted pictures on its Facebook page of dead fish washed up along the uMngeni River. It said results from samples taken on September 15 showed that water quality remained critical with high traces of E coli detected across sites. Senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Steven Weerts said that…

Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a North West farmer at his residence. Colonel Adéle Myburgh, the spokesperson for the police in North West, said the incident happened on Wednesday this week, during a house robbery reported on a farm in Modderfontein, close to Rustenburg. “Initial information received indicated that a 68-year-old, Frans Venter, was home with two workers, a gardener and domestic worker, when four suspects overpowered the gardener who was working in the garden. He shouted for help, but was tied up with an electrical cable,” Myburgh said. The domestic worker, who reacted upon hearing the gardener screaming, was also tied up. “The suspects gained entry into the house and overpowered Mr Venter. He was severely assaulted and stabbed to death. Numerous items…

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said since the confirmation of laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases, there have been no South African fatalities. From June 22 until September 21, the NICD has only recorded five unlinked cases. The cases were one from Limpopo, two in Gauteng and two in the Western Cape. No other cases have been reported and no secondary cases been linked to the five confirmed ones. The NICD said from May 25 until September 21, it had conducted 382 monkeypox laboratory tests from individuals suspected of the disease in the country (268 persons) and other African countries (114 persons). It said the testing did not account for the testing conducted by laboratories in the private sector. “Full genetic sequencing for the first two cases reported (ie, the first…

IT is an unfortunate reality of the United Rugby Championship that segments of it overlap with international tournaments and it is a pity indeed for the Sharks that six of their star players will be in a hotel in Umhlanga Rocks watching their team play Zebre tonight before playing for the Springboks against Argentina in the Rugby Championship tomorrow. It was the same in November last year when a youthful Sharks team, without 10 Boks, ventured tentatively into the URC with a difficult tour of Europe, although they did learn quickly, it must be said. Of course, the South African teams were a different proposition when they got their Boks back, plus hosted the Europeans in very different SA conditions. Where does this leave coach Sean Everitt’s Sharks as they…