Indice dei contenuti per 2023-11-02 in Mercury

FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution against state advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan will remain on the court roll, Pieter- maritzburg High Court Judge Nkosinathi Chili said yesterday. Four court rulings have gone against Zuma in the private prosecution matter and he has applied for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court after a recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) finding. Judge Chili yesterday postponed the matter to April 2024 to allow the former president time to finalise his appeals. Zuma has alleged that Downer violated the NPA Act by sharing court papers containing his medical information with Maughan. Advocates Andrew Breitenbach for Downer and Tembeka Ngcukaitobi for Maughan, yesterday argued that the private prosecution should be removed from the roll or adjourned and how this should unfold.…

When it is all said and done very few, if anyone, will know about my deepest regrets? Will they know yours? Will it matter if they do or not? What have you done with yours? My regrets run deep, run long. Some have taken me a lifetime of attempts at repair, some with a degree of success, others with no indications of any success. It has not been without trying. I have looked at myself in the mirror on hundreds, if not thousands of occasions, taken stock, took responsibility for the ways in which I hurt others. I have given much time to assess the seasons of my life when indifference was a way of life, seasons when it looked to others as if I was winning, achieving, succeeding, when…

THE IFP extends its warmest wishes and support to all matric learners as they embark on their 2023 final exams. This pivotal moment in the lives of South Africa’s youth marks the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and determination. The IFP stands in solidarity with these young individuals as they take this important step towards their future. The matric exams represent an essential juncture in the educational journey of our youth, setting the stage for their higher education and career prospects. The IFP recognises the extraordinary effort, resilience and sacrifice demonstrated by matric learners throughout their studies. We salute their commitment and perseverance as they face their final exams. Your dedication to your education is commendable, and we are confident that you will rise to the occasion, showcasing…

The Palestinian Solidarity Group (PSG), like many other voices of ordinary South African civil society, are constructively and meaningfully responding to the current massacre of the Palestinian people by the Zionist apartheid Israeli occupiers. Seeing people of all ages and from all communities and organisations assemble and demonstrate outside the legislature (244 Langalibalele Street) last Thursday proved that our call, voices and cries were not in vain. Thank you to the ordinary South Africans living in Pietermaritzburg for standing up for the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and for opposing this current brutal war against defenceless and innocent children, women and men. The scenes of support and solidarity, the placard posters and banners, the pickets, the protest marches and the chants for a free Palestine and a better world for all…

NEARLY R100 billion has been allocated to cover the costs of the public service wage bill for the next three years, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has confirmed. Tabling the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) yesterday, Godongwana, however, emphasised that budget adjustments were targeted to “protect critical front line services”, including basic education, health and the police services. A strategic decision had been made, the minister said, to allocate funds to sectors that were personnel heavy such as health, education and police services. “Additional funding of R24 billion this year and R74 billion over the medium term will be used to fund the 2023-24 wage increase and the associated carry-through costs in these sectors. “Most national and provincial departments will absorb the carry-through costs of the 2023 public…

DRIVING licences in the country will remain valid for five years, after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, this week dismissed AfriForum’s application that called for the regulation around the expiry of driving licences be revised. The civil rights organisation’s legal team is investigating the possibility of appealing the judgment. The court heard arguments that the National Road Traffic Act was contrary to the five-year validity period and left no room for a regulation that stipulated that licence cards expired. AfriForum proposed a longer period than five years for a driving licence to remain valid. Acting Judge Jacob Strijdom, however, dismissed the application on a technicality. Judge Strijdom said AfriForum should have brought the application within 180 days after the regulation was issued 23 years ago. “The explanation for the delay…

In a democracy like ours, it is the prerogative of the president of the country to officially congratulate the players as head of state, not that of a political party. Nothing showed up our political immaturity than the scoundrels from the political parties undoing the great good of “stronger together” cultivated by our lads. Although l am guided by the principle of “your rank is what you have and respect is what you earn”, now is not the time to erode our symbols of authority and sour the victory.…

A rapidly intensifying storm was set to batter north-west Europe yesterday and today, unleashing severe winds, heavy rainfall and flooding. The UK Met Office has named the system Ciarán, and it was expected to hit Britain and France hard, while its southern fringe also will affect Spain, Portugal and other parts of southern and central Europe. In Britain, the ‘extreme storm’ could rank among the strongest in records that date back 200 years. In Ireland, the concern was for up to 10cm of rainfall causing flooding before Ciarán arrives. Southern parts of the UK are bracing for strong winds gusting between 104.6km/h and 128.8km/h. In France, a rare “sting jet” could blast the north-west coastline with winds gusting 144km/h to 160.9km/h. Up to 100mm of rain is expected…

Tokyo: Eight people spent the night in an unheated train in chilly northern Japan after the vehicle hit a bear, authorities said yesterday, as the country grapples with a rise in bear-related incidents. The number of bear attacks on people is sharply higher this year, with experts blaming a poor acorn harvest forcing the animals to search further afield for food. The small train on the island of Hokkaido collided with the 1.8m-tall bear in the city of Furano this week. The accident put the train out of action and those on board were advised not to leave until hunters arrived. The bear was found dead. | AFP…

NEW YORK: Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump jr was set to testify yesterday in a New York civil fraud trial accusing the former US president and his family businesses of inflating asset values to dupe lenders and insurers. Donald jr, an executive vice-president at the Trump Organization, is the first of Trump’s adult children to take the stand, followed by Eric and Ivanka Trump. Their father is set to testify on Monday. The lawsuit by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump, his two adult sons and a handful of their family businesses of inflating their assets to secure better loan terms. Donald jr and his brother, Eric, took over management of the Trump Organization from his father in 2017. | Reuters…

The SA Local Government Association (Salga) in KZN has called for the upskilling of councillors to make them competitive in the job market and reduce the fierce and violent contestation for councillor positions. Salga said it believed that giving councillors’ meaningful education will give them career options and reduce political-related murders. KZN Salga chairperson Thami Ntuli called for municipalities to invest in councillors’ education to provide them options for a life outside politics. Currently, municipalities are only offering short courses for upskilling councillors. But at least one municipality said in its case, this could change with councillors being offered opportunities in tertiary education following the change in rules governing the process. The chairperson’s advice comes after a recent audit outcome by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Government (Cogta) which…

IS NO 10 Downing Street, the seat of British government, the equivalent of a pirate ship, in terms of vocabulary? At the Covid Inquiry in London this week, widely televised live, apologies were frequently flashed on viewer’s screens for the appalling language contained in certain documents, also flashed on the screens. This was as Dominic Cummings, the former adviser to Boris Johnson when he was prime minister, was giving evidence and being quizzed by Hugo Keith KC. The passages in question were pungently replete with four-letter words. These were official government documents. Keith described it as “disgusting”. A picture emerges so far of a government in the early stages totally out of touch with the full implications of Covid and a prime minister – Johnson – who, at one stage,…

Now that the cabin-bag, very dubiously labelled “Caution: This package from the ‘Ancient Madame de Farge Stadium’ of Paris may contain traces of contaminated, radioactive dust particles of the deadly diseases of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”, has been cleared by our customs, it’s actually time to check out the local computer-screen for the real score. Our boss has, at a quick sleight of arm, pacified us – 62 million inhabitants, by pulling a bunny-rabbit holiday out of virtual air. Wow! Other writers to this paper have already warned about “anaesthesia” and “amnesia” that help to momentarily forget the scores of ills that besiege the country. “Awarding” a holiday, dropping fuel prices, increasing social grants, all just before elections, do help one to forget, even obliterate memories of the very serious…

MORE than 60 municipalities have submitted applications for Eskom debt relief arrangements as at last month. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said they had received a total of 67 applications, after government had invited municipalities to apply for debt relief to cover its arrears owed to Eskom up to March 31. The plan is to write off the debt over a three-year period, provided that municipalities comply with the set conditions that include enforcing credit control and collecting revenue to pay bulk expenses such as electricity and water and the up-to-date payment of Eskom’s monthly current account. Municipalities that fail to meet the conditions will need to repay the remainder of their arrear debt to Eskom, including interest and penalties. Godongwana said addressing the Eskom problem without dealing with the municipal…

WORKERS at the National Treasury head office at Church Square in Tshwane are moving from the dilapidated building after their employer informed them that renovating it would not be cost-effective. For a number of years, the building at 40 Church Square, valued at just over R19 million with a monthly rental of about R673 000 in 2019, housed the offices of successive finance ministers, their deputies and directors-general, among other senior officials, having rented it for nearly two decades. The Public Servants Association (PSA) announced to its members, who have complained about its dilapidation and the health and safety risks they faced while working in the facility, that the National Treasury had agreed to relocate them to another building. The reason cited by the union is that Treasury informed parties…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison says action will be taken to tackle violence and crime in the INK (Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu) area after 19 people, including suspects, were killed in the past nine days. In the most recent incident, two men were found murdered on the side of the road near KwaMashu Hostel yesterday. Last Wednesday, five people were shot and killed in Amaoti, Inanda, in a suspected drug-related incident. Last Monday, seven people were shot execution-style under a bridge at the corner of Malandela Road in KwaMashu, in an apparent vigilante attack. On Monday this week, five suspects were killed in a shoot-out with police near Dube Village Mall in Inanda. Police said the suspects had been terrorising residents. Speaking about yesterday’s incident, KZN police…

Hartmut Winkler Over the past few months, South Africa’s power generation sector has performed better than expected. Four factors explain this: an acceleration of solar power installations, less frequent breakdowns at power stations, a less restricted supply of diesel and the return to operation of some units at Kusile coal-fired power station. Throughout most of this year, South Africa experienced prolonged and damaging electricity shortages, making 2023 the worst year to date. The power utility Eskom confirmed this in its annual results presentation, in which it said: “Eskom’s generating plant availability reached the lowest levels ever, due to unprecedented levels of unplanned unavailability.” The percentage of functional power-generating capacity, which was typically around 90% in the 1990s, has dropped over the past few years. It was between 50% and 60%…

A first group of civilian evacuees from Gaza crossed into Egypt under a Qatari-mediated deal yesterday while Israeli forces bombed the Palestinian enclave from land, sea and air in their offensive against Hamas militants. The evacuees – trapped in Gaza since the start of the war more than three weeks ago – were driven in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing. A source at the border said they were undergoing security checks on the Egyptian side. Under the deal reached between Egypt, Israel and Hamas, a number of foreign nationals and critically wounded people will be allowed to leave the besieged territory. Despite the breakthrough on the humanitarian front, Israeli war planes, naval boats and artillery pounded Gaza throughout the night, inflicting scores more casualties among the civilian population, Palestinian…

ASTANA: French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday said he wanted to “accelerate co-operation” with Kazakhstan as part of a visit to boost France’s footprint in Central Asia. The French leader is on a two-day visit to the resource-rich region, where Russia, China, Türkiye and Europe want influence. Macron acknowledged the “geopolitical pressures” on Kazakhstan, which borders Russia to its north and China to its east. Macron and Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a series of contracts in the minerals,energy, pharmaceuticals and aerospace sectors. | AFP…

BRITAIN’S King Charles III met Kenyan veterans of World War II yesterday, after acknowledging there was “no excuse” for colonial-era abuses during Britain’s rule of the country. Charles said he wished to “deepen my own understanding of these wrongs” during his four-day state visit to Kenya with Queen Camilla, but also to bolster “a modern partnership of equals facing today’s challenges”. There have been widespread calls for Charles to formally apologise to a country Britain violently ruled for decades before Kenya’s hard-fought independence in 1963. On his first day in Nairobi on Tuesday, the 74-year-old British head of state said the “wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret”, but stopped short of an apology. “There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence…

Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande was found to have breached a recent court order interdicting him from placing Unisa under administration. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, declared that the minister’s decision to place Unisa under administration was in breach of a court order and therefore in contempt of court. He was ordered to withdraw the notice. The high court ruling yesterday came after the university filed an urgent application. Nzimande had named Ihron Rensburg, former vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg, as administrator responsible for all university management for 24 months. The decision followed recommendations of an independent assessor following a damning report which flagged serious incidents of maladministration and other challenges affecting the institution. Last month, the Unisa council and VC Professor Puleng…

I am certain that the newly appointed members of the SABC board do read newspapers from time to time emanating from the Independent Media stable of newspapers. I wish to convey the message that follows and I expect someone there to respond. Day 25 Israel v Palestine Holocaust – a crime against humanity. SABC news propaganda reports every hour or half-hour talking of Israel attacking “Hamas targets”. A cancer hospital can’t be a Hamas target. Homes of Palestinians are not Hamas targets. Homes of civilians can’t be Hamas targets. This bias and blatant propaganda is a Goebbelsian attempt to manufacture consent. It must stop or I take action. I don’t know or I’m trying to imagine how a broadcaster can, as SABC is blatantly doing, propagate propaganda. I want to…

There can be no doubt that being at OR Tambo Airport on Tuesday to welcome back our rugby heroes as they returned with the Webb Ellis Cup from France was as emotional as it was euphoric. Ringing out the tune of our national anthem to crowds jiving to the universal song Jerusalema, one could not help but feel a sense of unbridled patriotism. No race mattered or religion or ethnicity or political belief or anything that serves to divide. All that mattered was South Africa, united in victory to become world champions for an unprecedented fourth time. The Springbok, once a symbol of hate and derision, has now been embraced as a tool of unification. If only those who are power-drunk would take a leaf out of the hymn book…

Parties like ATM, which was formed with the backing of the South African Council of Messianic Churches in Christ (SACMCC) said they were looking to large and small churches for support ahead of next year’s ballot. On Saturday, the party announced it would be trying to expand in KwaZulu-Natal and would do so through the SACMCC and other churches at district and regional level. ATM provincial leader Apostle Mxolisi Phakathi said churches had taken a back seat after the demise of apartheid and the first democratic elections but failures in leadership meant that churches had to again rise up against “failed leadership and a decline in moral values”. The party said it would be campaigning in all provinces ahead of its national manifesto launch in December. “Churches have an important…

Non-profit humanitarian aid organisation Al-Imdaad Foundation assisted hundreds of residents in Ladysmith whose homes were damaged by “golf-ball sized” hailstones in the recent storms that left eight dead and over 40 schools damaged or destroyed in KwaZulu-Natal. The foundation’s local projects co-ordinator, Irfaan Ahmed, said the Al-Imdaad Foundation disaster relief teams partnered with disaster management to respond to the storm. The foundation provided plastic sheeting to homes damaged by the hailstorm. “The extent of the storm damage was vast resulting in over 400 homes being damaged by the hailstones. “Many of the homes lost their window panes and roofs were damaged resulting in water entering into the homes and causing damages to furniture etc. The size of the hail stones were large, equivalent to the size of a golf ball,”…

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) has issued a warning to South African women to be vigilant amid a “rapid increase of dating scam incidents”. The warning came after a 60-year-old Polokwane woman was scammed out of R800 000 of her pension money. “According to the victim, who was employed by the Department of Education in Limpopo as a teacher, she met a guy at a shopping complex in Polokwane in the beginning of the year,” said Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo, Lieutenant-Colonel Matimba Maluleke. She struck up a relationship with the man and on one occasion visited her boyfriend’s rented house in Ivy Park, Polokwane. “According to the victim, she was taken to one of the rooms by the suspect so she could be introduced to the ancestors.…

Your story “More than half a million IDs remain uncollected at Home Affairs offices” refers. I am one of the half million South Africans whose ID cards remain uncollected at a Home Affairs office. When I renewed my South African passport some months ago, the Caledon Home Office suggested I also apply for the new so-called “smart ID card”, which I did. But when I went to collect it, I waited nearly two hours before noticing that customers with higher ticket numbers than mine were called up to the collection counter before me. I left my seat to query this, and was peremptorily ordered by the woman at the counter to return to my seat, with no explanation for the discrepancy in the numbers. I tried to reason with her,…

AN unsuspecting audience listening to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Monday address could be forgiven for concluding that he only came into government long after Jacob Zuma had exited the Union Buildings. He would like to have the public believe that his hands, insofar as state capture is concerned, are clean, judging by how he absolves himself whenever he gets the platform. Perhaps it’s stating the obvious when we remind the reader that Ramaphosa was Zuma’s right-hand man for nine years, the same period he often claims state capture took place. So it took place under his nose. If he were to be believed in saying he was not aware of it, it means he was either complacent or did not do his job well – or both. But none of these…

Pakistani authorities started rounding up undocumented foreigners ahead of yesterday’s midnight deadline for them to leave or face expulsion. Afghans have made up the bulk of around 140 000 such immigrants to have voluntarily left so far, officials said, some of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades. Brushing aside calls from the UN, rights groups and Western embassies to reconsider, Pakistan last month set the November 1 deadline to begin expelling all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. In the southern port city of Karachi, home to a large number of Afghan migrants and refugees, deputy commissioner Junaid Iqbal Khan said up to 40 people without the proper documents had so far been moved to one of the transit centres. Of the voluntary returnees, around 104 000…

Dhaka: Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers barricaded roads in Dhaka yesterday demanding fair wages for clothing they make for major Western brands, with at least two killed during days of protests. The garment worker protests come as Bangladesh also reels from separate anti-government demonstrations, with opposition party supporters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down ahead of elections due by the end of January. Bangladesh’s 3 500 garment factories account for 85% of the South Asian country’s $55 billion (about R1 trillion) exports, but conditions are dire for workers. | AFP…

Britain yesterday published a “Bletchley Declaration”, agreed with countries including the US and China, aimed at boosting global efforts to co-operate on artificial intelligence (AI) safety. The declaration, by 28 countries in total, was published on the opening day of the AI Safety Summit hosted in Bletchley Park, central England. “The declaration fulfils key summit objectives in establishing shared agreement and responsibility on the risks, opportunities and a forward process for international collaboration on frontier AI safety and research, particularly through greater scientific collaboration,” Britain said in a statement accompanying the declaration. Britain convened governments, academia and companies working at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence at the inaugural AI Safety Summit to debate how, and even if, the risks of the technology could be contained. The meeting is the…

THE extraordinary performance of our Springbok rugby team in the weekend’s World Cup final prompts thoughts about the opportunities available for the youth of South Africa to evolve into world champions. In contrast, let’s consider lawn bowls, a sport that has not traditionally been associated with younger athletes. Nowadays, however, lawn bowls is gaining recognition as a valuable sport for young players. Some individuals dismissively refer to it as ‘old man’s marbles’ and categorise it as a pastime for retirees. What they fail to realise is that this sport demands a remarkable degree of mental and physical fitness and skill. Whether you’re 9 or 90, lawn bowls can be both enjoyable and mentally demanding due to its strategic nature. Worldwide, the game has become a competitive arena for the younger…