Indice dei contenuti per 2023-12-07 in Mercury

CONSULTING Engineers South Africa (Cesa), a voluntary association of about 600 consulting engineering member firms, said yesterday that it had elected David Leukes as its new president. He was elected at Cesa’s 70th Annual General Meeting on November 28. He succeeds Olu Soluade in the position, with Knight Piésold Africa regional manager Vishal Haripersad assuming the role of vice-president of the organisation, a position that was held by his predecessor Leukes. Leukes has served as a member of the Cesa board for several years and is managing director of BVi Consulting Engineers, a CESA member company. He completed his National Diploma in Civil Engineering at the Cape Technikon and subsequently attained his BTech Degree at the Free State Technikon. Leukes also has an MBA Degree from the University of Stellenbosch…

The sexual exploitation of children through online platforms is a significant problem in South Africa. This is according to the national commander of the SAPS Serial and Electronic Investigation unit, Colonel Celeste van der Klashorst. Van der Klashorst was speaking yesterday during a panel discussion on mitigating and raising awareness about sexual exploitation of children in South Africa through online platforms. The webinar was hosted by the Government Communication and Information System in partnership with the Film and Publications Board. The panel included chief of Child Protection at Unicef South Africa Makiba Yamano, Mosaic executive director advocate Tarisai Mchuchu-MacMillan and VizStrat Solutions CEO Jacqueline Fick. During the discussion, Van der Klashorst said based on her experience, the issue was huge in the country because South Africans were not taking responsibility…

I am writing to bring to your attention to a recent motion that the DA has circulated in the media, calling for the dissolution of the municipality. Along with this motion, a supporting media statement by DA provincial leader Francois Rogers and a social media advert are also being circulated. However, during a recent party whips meeting, all parties, including the DA, agreed that no new motions would be tabled at the last council meeting. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the DA is expecting the motion to be tabled next year. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the fact that in order for the dissolution of a municipal council to take place, a two-thirds majority is required under Section 34(1) of the Structures Act. It…

Whether one is pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli, the fact remains that Hamas instigated the war against Israel, and must be held responsible and accountable for the carnage and devastation in Gaza. Hamas was well aware that Israel would retaliate with excessive force after the unprovoked and vicious attack on unsuspecting Israelis. Yet, Hamas was willing to sacrifice thousands of Palestinians to justify its cause and goal. No concern for men, women, and children. According to a pre-October 7 survey, Gazans have little confidence or trust in Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. Hamas took control of Gaza in the only election in 2006/2007 and then had no idea what to do next. No political player in Palestine has emerged to solve their many problems. Hamas has been destined to a “management”…

Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Leader Julius Malema, his deputy Floyd Shivambu and secretary-general Marshall Dlamini and three other party members of Parliament (MPs) have been banned from attending the State of the Nation Address (Sona) next year. This follows the decision of the National Assembly to adopt the report of the Powers and Privileges Committee that recommended that Malema, Shivambu, Dlamini, Sinawo Tambo, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and Vuyani Pambo be banned from the Chamber from February 1 to 29. This was after the six MPs disrupted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February 9, Sona and stormed the stage. At the time, Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula ordered security to intervene and remove EFF members from the stage. Mapisa-Nqakula then referred the matter to the powers and privileges committee for investigation. In its findings the committee,…

A REVIEW of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which has not kept up with inflation, will be undertaken, Deputy President Paul Mashatile has said. The announcement by Mashatile before MPs in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) during a debate on accelerating the provision of social services, comes after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last month in his 2023 medium-term budget policy statement said R34 billion would be allocated to extend the grant by another year. “Nearly 18.6 million South Africans, up from two million in 1999, receive social grants, including 8.4 million people receiving the R350 monthly social relief of distress grant introduced for the unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic. “While there is widespread support for this grant, there are concerns that many deserving people are excluded…

DA PROVINCIAL leader Francois Rodgers discussed the political killings in KwaZulu-Natal with Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini yesterday, after the party’s chief whip in uMngeni Municipality was murdered. Nhlalayenza Ndlovu was shot dead at his home on Tuesday night. The EFF and IFP have already met with the king as parties seek his blessing ahead of what is expected to be a hotly contested election. Rodgers described the meeting with the king and royal household as a fruitful engagement with a focus on key issues in the province. He said the king was forthright that political killings remain a scourge in the province. “As leadership, we have to take roles in political killings. The king also spoke about how his late father (King Goodwill Zwelithini) was vociferous and forthright about the…

Indeed, the bus drivers ferrying more than 443 unaccompanied children from Zimbabwe into South Africa at the weekend should have been arrested. The intercepted children under the age of 8 were allegedly brought to South Africa in what is believed to be human trafficking. The drivers were left to go scot-free, after the children were removed from the buses and sent back to Zimbabwe. The circumstances under which the children boarded the buses from Zimbabwe, as well as their destination in South Africa, remains unknown. But how did we get here? According to Statistics South Africa’s 2011 census, 6.2 million foreigners live in South Africa. A 2015 estimate placed the number of undocumented migrants between 8.2m and 10.2m. While the instability in Zimbabwe prompted many to migrate southwards to South…

Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hamas in southern Gaza yesterday after reaching the heart of the city of Khan Younis, forcing Palestinian civilians to seek refuge elsewhere as the number of safe areas decreases. Israeli warplanes also bombarded targets across the densely populated coastal territory in one of the heaviest phases of fighting in the two months since Israel began its military campaign to eliminate the militant group. Palestinian medics said hospitals were overflowing with dead and wounded, many of them women and children, and supplies were running out. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people driven out of the north were seeking shelter in the dwindling number of places in the south designated as safe areas by Israel. In Geneva, the UN human rights chief said the situation was…

The EU sought to thrash out an agreement on sweeping rules to regulate artificial intelligence yesterday, following months of difficult negotiations, in particular on how to monitor generative AI applications like ChatGPT. The EU is racing to approve the world’s first comprehensive AI law after the issue took on greater urgency when the ChatGPT bot burst onto the scene last year, highlighting AI’s dizzying advances. ChatGPT wowed with its ability to produce poems and essays within seconds from simple user prompts. AI proponents say the technology will benefit humanity, transforming everything from work to health care, but others worry about the risks it poses to society, fearing it could thrust the world into unprecedented chaos. Brussels is bent on bringing big tech to heel with a powerful legal armoury to…

LONDON: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday he was deeply sorry for the loss of life during the Covid-19 pandemic as he appeared as a witness at the official inquiry into Britain’s handling of the pandemic. The hearing was disrupted by a protester, who was asked to leave by the inquiry’s chairperson. Johnson, prime minister between 2019 and 2022, resigned after a series of scandals including reports that he and other officials had been present at alcohol-fuelled gatherings in Downing Street during 2020 and 2021 when most people in Britain were forced to stay at home. The inquiry has already heard testimony about claims of incompetence, backstabbing and misogyny, his reluctance to lock down, and how he was confused by the science. | Reuters…

MANILA: Philippine police yesterday named two men suspected of being involved in a deadly blast that killed four people during a Catholic Mass in a southern city at the weekend. Those suspected of orchestrating the attack in Marawi were members of Daulah-Islamiyah Maute, a pro-Islamic State militant group that took control of the city in 2017 and held it through five months of ground offensives and air strikes by the military. The suspects were Kadapi Mimbesa, 35, and Arsani Membisa, whose age was not determined, police said. Both have outstanding arrest warrants for crimes such as murder and kidnapping. | Reuters…

A GOLDEN Arrows side down on their luck are in desperate need of a reset ahead of their return to league action on Saturday. Abafana Bes’thende will resume their DStv Premiership aspirations with a trip to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to face Chippa United at 5.30pm. It will have been nearly two weeks since the KwaZulu-Natal-based side last took to the field, an intermission that might prove a blessing if they can turn the tide in the coastal city of Gqeberha. Before their break, head coach Mabhuti Khenyeza and his boys suffered a fourth successive defeat at the hands of Cape Town City, a second at home this season. The recent spate of results has seen them drop from second place to fifth. Khenyeza diagnosed his side with a…

At almost 40 years old, Faf du Plessis is just as valuable to any side as any other top batter in the world. Interestingly, in the T20 format alone, the former Proteas skipper has proven to be more impactful in recent years than he ever was in the early stages of his career. A quick glance at his 730 runs at an average of 56 in the 2023 Indian Premier League with the Royal Challengers Bangalore tells the story of a player who has somehow found the right formula for himself in the shortest format of the game, at an age where most players would normally be long done with the sport. Captaining one of the biggest T20 franchises in the world in RCB, Du Plessis boasted a strike rate…

The people of KwaZulu-Natal have experienced consistent misrule under the leadership of the ANC and the IFP interchangeably over the past 30 years and with the 2024 elections it is time for the tide to change. This however requires drastic transformation by the electorate. It requires the masses to realise their power and to take it back because in any radical society that is committed to a revolution, power belongs to the people. The advancements in the state such as the opening of the Cruise Terminal is a glaring reminder of the legacy of social exclusion. The masses did not benefit from that and that has been the case with all things ANC related. It is the previously advantaged that continue to prosper and amass more wealth from the current…

IF YOU suspected that things have gone a bit wonky in Old Blighty, the latest Turner Prize for Art surely confirms it. Jesse Darling has picked up the prestige art award, and its £25 000 (R598 000 cheque, for a weird exhibition featuring crowd control barriers that have gone out of control, twisted railway tracks, barbed wire, a pile of office files and tattered union jack bunting, all making a comment on modern British life. This is art? The vacuity of it is astonishing. According to the BBC, it’s inspired by Darling’s view of the effects of austerity, Brexit and the pandemic as well as the “hostile environment” of immigration policy. Speaking after his win, he explained: “You have to love something to be able to critique it. I was…

The South African government has confirmed that at least 19 South Africans who had been stuck in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war were rescued from Gaza and would be home soon. The 13 women and six men arrived safely in Egypt before embarking on the next leg of their journey home. “The evacuated South Africans, comprising six males and 13 females, have now arrived safely in Cairo and are en route to South Africa,” the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) in Pretoria said in a statement. Two months ago, at the start of the war, media reports indicated that at least 16 South Africans were trapped in Gaza as Israel continued its massive aerial bombardment of the territory and prepared to launch a ground attack.…

Over half, 57%, of all fraud cases recorded by Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) members in 2022 were classified as sales fraud – dishonest intermediaries writing up policies for clients without their knowledge to earn a commission. According to Asisa, sales fraud worth R719 688 was prevented, while companies lost R14.1 million. This information is contained in the report by the Forensic Standing Committee of Asisa, which released its most comprehensive set of fraud statistics yet, which for the first time include fraud reported by investment companies and a new category for sales fraud. Previously, Asisa released only fraudulent and dishonest claims statistics reported by life insurers. Asisa Forensic Standing Committee convener Jean van Niekerk said the detailed fraud statistics provide a better overview of the magnitude…

ashley.lechman@inl.co.za The South African government’s main weapon to battle obesity in the country was the implementation of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) known as the Health Promotion Levy (HPL). This came into effect back in April 2018, following a recommendation by the World Health Organization, in an attempt to reduce citizens’ sugar intake and curb obesity in the country. However, industry leaders have said that the jury is out on whether the sugar tax alone will be enough to combat obesity, which is regarded as one of the risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. This was according to a study by researchers from the Division of Human Nutrition and the Centre for Statistical Consultation at Stellenbosch University, who said that…

KWAZULU-Natal police recovered 273 firearms in November. They also arrested more than 10 000 suspects during the month. KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “The ongoing Shanela operations continue to yield positive results and in the month of November, police in KwaZulu-Natal have arrested 10 097 suspects in connection with various crimes and a total of 273 firearms, including 12 rifles, and over 2 000 ammunition of various calibres were recovered in the process.” Breaking down the statistics, Netshiunda said that targeted police operations ensured that 3 101 suspects were arrested in relation to contact crimes. One hundred and sixty-five of them were traced and arrested for their involvement in cases of murder, while 192 people were also nabbed in connection with cases of attempted murder. Operation Shanela also…

The spark that led to the advancement of South Africa’s democracy The socio-political composition of a state necessitates change when that very state finds itself caught within a period of turbulence. This turbulence can emerge from any force that disrupts the healthy functioning of a country. South Africa has, unfortunately, been victim to much turbulence throughout its history. We need only examine apartheid rule, which crippled everyday life for the ordinary South African. It was a system based on racially oppressive, segregationist policies and high-level corruption. Change came at the hands of a triple transition – a political, economic and social one. For the outsider it appeared to be a miracle transition, though the situation on the ground was radically different, marred by spates of violence. Nevertheless, the transition did…

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin was in the United Arab Emirates for a rare visit outside the former Soviet Union yesterday, as Russia sought to reassert itself on the global stage. Isolated by the West over the Ukraine war, Putin is courting allies in the Middle East, where he will discuss oil, trade and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Putin was greeted on the runway by UAE officials, Russian television showed, before heading to the presidential palace under cavalry escort. “Today, thanks to your posture, our relations have reached unprecedented levels,” Putin told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on his arrival, praising high trade between the countries. Putin was to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet the kingdom’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is only the…

Residents of the small Greek farming village of Metamorfosi have voted in favour of relocating their entire community after it was submerged by flood waters in September, seeking to protect themselves from future climate change-driven disasters. Metamorfosi, which also flooded in 1953 and 1994, nearly disappeared beneath the water when Storm Daniel, which brought devastation across the Mediterranean, struck the Thessaly region on September 4-7, turning it into an inland sea. Sixteen people were killed, including two who drowned in Metamorfosi. The village has resembled a ghost town since and residents said they had no choice but to relocate to a safer place. The proposal to erect new houses in the nearby village of Palamas some 8km away was approved by 142 residents against 14, via an informal vote in…

DUBAI: UN climate chief Simon Stiell told countries yesterday to agree on ambitious action to tackle global warming at the COP28 climate summit rather than fall into the trap of point scoring and “lowest common denominator politics”. At a summit where tension is growing over different visions for the future of fossil fuels, Stiell told a news conference: “We have a starting text on the table ... but it’s a grab bag of wish lists and heavy on posturing. The key now is to sort the wheat from the chaff.” Stiell’s remarks come as the two-week conference approaches its midpoint, which is the time when the opening flurry of pledges has died down and attention turns to progress behind-the-scenes. | Reuters…

SEOUL: South Korean police are investigating whether a North Korean hacker group, accused of stealing data from 14 entities, obtained information on defence technology including an anti-aircraft laser, Seoul police said yesterday. The probe, which is being carried out in conjunction with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, is trying to determine the extent of the data obtained by the group known as Andariel, said Jeong Jin-ho, who heads a team. The US Department of the Treasury in 2019 listed Andariel as a North Korean state-sponsored hacking group conducting malicious cyber operations on foreign businesses and agencies. | Reuters…

MANY young players make the mistake of focusing on the next step and not on what’s right in front of them. Even more so when they’ve had a taste of international cricket and are desperate to get back to that elite level as soon as possible. But that’s not how Nandre Burger, who was recalled to the Proteas’ limited-overs squads this week, has approached his career. The Western Province left-arm seamer had his first call-up to the Proteas team back in 2021 for the tour to Pakistan. Burger, though, had to be content with running the drinks for the duration of the tour without being afforded a debut. This situation would have broken the spirit of most players, and even more so Burger, after he was later struck down by…

Ten years after Mandela’s passing, and 30 years since the ANC conned the world into believing that it had the moral high ground to rule South Africa, the fabric of society lies in tatters. Mandela, despite his failings, had somehow morphed into a saintly figure and in the process, gained respect across the length and breadth of the country and the world. Mandela was streets ahead of the presidents who followed him – none have gained the respect he had achieved. An entire ANC has not been able to present the country with a man or woman who would inspire the citizens of this country to elevate their decency and humanity. Madiba is missed, for he was uniquely inspirational. PETER BACHTIS | Benoni…

I am in Togo, West Africa, trying to recall my first instances of travel. I was 5 when I first stepped into an SAA passenger plane. It was a Redhill Primary School trip to the airport. An SAA Dakota took our class for a flight over Durban. I am sure we were back on the ground all within 30 minutes. At 6, I went alone to Port Elizabeth to spend a few weeks with my cousins Gavin, Glenn and Lynne. Their parents, Hazel and Dick Povey, had a house in Walmer. This was my first of a few such trips taken when I was a young child. On one occasion, the Povey family and I returned to Durban by train. I know we did because we stopped in Bethlehem in…

A Malawian national has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in the Vrede Regional Court in the Free State for contravening the Criminal Matters Amendment Act for damage to essential infrastructure. Patrick Kapalamula, 37, also faces deportation on the conclusion of his sentence. The provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli said Kapalamula colluded with others to steal diesel from Transnet. On January 4, 2022, private security company personnel were conducting routine patrols on a farm near Vrede when they saw a group of suspects drawing diesel from a storage tank. The suspects had damaged the block valve and were filling four trucks and a bakkie with diesel. Upon seeing the security officers, Kapalamula’s accomplices fled, leaving him behind to be…

THE HIV community has a vision: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero Aids-related deaths. But how do we get there while HIV continues to devastate the globe? By the time you have finished reading this article (let’s say it takes 10 minutes), 25 people around the world would have become newly infected with the virus, three of those being in South Africa. During that same time, 12 people would have died from HIV, one of them in South Africa. South Africa is of course one of the hardest-hit countries in the world. An estimated 7.6 million South Africans were living with HIV in 2022: this means one in every eight people in the general population and almost one in five people between the ages of 15 and 49…

Charities and NGOs supplying military aid to Ukraine’s armed forces are facing delays of weeks to critical supplies of drones, electronics and pickup trucks due to border protests by Polish truckers, three industry sources said. Thousands of trucks carrying commercial goods have been backed up for weeks at Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine because of the protests, which began on November 6. Hauliers in Slovakia began a similar blockade on December 1. The protesters want to end Ukrainian truckers’ permit-free access to the EU, saying Ukrainian drivers are undercutting their prices. Kyiv says the volume of wartime traffic makes a truck permit system impracticable. While the protesters say they allow humanitarian and military aid through, many resources required by Ukraine’s armed forces are bought by civilian organisations and transported on…

LOS ANGELES: Time magazine named US pop superstar Taylor Swift as its person of the year yesterday, calling the musician the “hero of her own story”. “Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light,” Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs wrote. The $92.8 million (R1.7billion) opening earlier this year of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film set the tone. Advance ticket sales topped $100m worldwide, making it the best-selling feature-length concert film in history. | AFP…

TEHRAN: A Tehran court has ordered the US government to pay nearly $50 billion in damages for assassinating a top Iranian general nearly four years ago, the judiciary said yesterday. Then-US president Donald Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad airport that killed General Qasem Soleimani, 62, and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3, 2020. Days later, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at bases in Iraq housing American and other coalition troops. No US personnel were killed but Washington said dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries. A Tehran court had sentenced the US government to pay $49.7 billion in “material, moral and punitive damages. | Reuters…

Rome: Italy has formally withdrawn from China’s vast Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, more than four years after becoming the only G7 nation to sign up, a government source said yesterday. Before coming to power last year, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the decision by a previous government to join in 2019 was a “serious mistake”. Critics have denounced the trillion-dollar scheme as a predatory “Trojan horse” aimed at buying political influence. The deal was to automatically renew in 2024 unless Italy opts out by year-end. But Rome has been wary of provoking Beijing, risking retaliation against Italian companies. | AFP…

CURIOSITY swirls around the fresh ranking system unveiled in the Selector’s Corner on the Port Natal Bowls (PNB) website. In a departure from the past, where singles tournaments held a higher points weighting, the revamped system now champions equality, acknowledging achievements across all disciplines. Notably, the Pro 10 tournaments find themselves excluded from the rankings battle, as they dance to a different beat, being non-shot-based events. The shifts in this bowling landscape promise a thrilling unravelling of competitive dynamics and strategic plays. President of PNB, Steve Kelf, explained: “In a bid to level the playing field for all, Bowls South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and Port Natal competitions are set to kick off with an equal point allocation system. “Winning competitors will net a solid 30 points, with the runners-up securing 20…