Indice dei contenuti per 2022-09-28 in Star

REMGRO lifted intrinsic net asset value by 20.2% to R213.10 per share in the year to June 30 after earnings recovered to above pre-pandemic levels and it was able to declare a hefty 66.7% increase in dividends, following a year of massive changes in the group’s investments. Headline earnings per share in- creased by 125.3% to 1 150.6 cents compared with 2021, and were up 17% compared with the last pre-pandemic period. Dividends came to 150c per share, after a final 100c (2021: 60c) dividend was declared. “We are encouraged by the progress we made, amidst all the headwinds, in our continued journey of recovery and in delivering on our strategy to optimise our portfolio in order to unlock stakeholder value,” said chief executive Jannie Durand in a…

AS STATISTICS South Africa released employment statistics for the second quarter yesterday, which showed a 1.2% decrease over the previous quarter, economists say a jobs recovery to pre-pandemic levels may still be some way off. According to Koketso Mano, a senior economist at FNB, commenting on the Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES), prevailing geopolitical tensions, elevated inflation and tightening global financial conditions are expected to slow the momentum in global growth. “This, along with local energy supply constraints, is likely to impede employment prospects … Ultimately, the employment recovery to pre-pandemic levels may still be protracted in the near term, lagging the recovery in earnings. “In the longer term, further progress on structural reform and more robust growth in private sector investment should support employment growth,” she said. QES data yesterday…

CITRUS growers in Botswana have become members of Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA).With the addition of Botswana, the CGA now represents 1 564 citrus growers in Southern Africa, it said yesterday. The CGA said it hoped to help maximise the long-term profitability and sustainability of Botswana growers, by providing them with increased access to global markets, assisting them to optimise the cost effective production of high quality fruit from their region, and making industry resources available to them including the latest research from the globally recognised Citrus Research International. Justin Chadwick, the chief executiveof the CGA, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Botswana citrus growers to our association … we look forward to continue expanding the CGA footprint to other African countries”. There are currently 164 citrus…

GLOBAL price dynamics and the rand’s weakness are likely to see bread and cereal prices inflate over the next three months, according to the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP). According to the BFAP’s Food Inflation report published yesterday, bread and cereal prices had increased by a substantial 17.8% over the past year as a result of the high global grain prices during June and early July. The research is a collaboration between BFAP and Dr Marlene Louw from Absa Agribusiness, and based on Statistics South Africa CPI and food retail price data. Research suggests that increases in commodity prices took between three to four months to manifest in retail prices. “Although these prices eased towards the end of July, prices are now again at almost 75% of the…

Rapper Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado is still receiving his flowers for the passion and dedication he showed to the music industry during his time. The Nafukwa hitmaker, who died in February following a long battle with mental health issues, will be awarded the Global Visionary Award at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards on Friday. BET announced on social media that the star would be honoured posthumously for championing the culture and artists. The inaugural Global Visionary Award recognises and honours champions of culture, including artists, DJs and music industry professionals, who have made ground-breaking efforts to expand the culture of hip hop on the world stage. He will be the first recipient of the award for his life, work and his lasting impact while raising awareness around mental health…

The trial of convicted and sentenced murderer, 33-year-old Sandile Kagiso Mantsoe, on new charges of defrauding unwitting investors through his Trillion Dollar Legacy investment scheme, has been postponed to December 1. Mantsoe, who is the sole director of Trillion Dollar Legacy, is accused of luring unsuspecting government employees into investing R2 million into his company. The alleged crimes happened two years before he was arrested for fatally stabbing his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend, Karabo Mokoena, and burning her body in a field in Joburg in 2018. Last month, Mantsoe appeared in the Evander Regional Court in Mpumalanga on charges of fraud after being subpoenaed while serving his sentence – an effective 32 years behind bars – at the privately managed Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein. “It is alleged that during December 2016,…

The Mauritian Finance and Economic Development Minister, Dr Renganaden Padayachy says South Africa needs to establish a state bank so that it can provide poor people with access to finance at a lower rate, and protect citizens from abuse by private banks. He was speaking during his visit to this country last week, where he met stakeholders including 250 business people at Durban’s Radisson Blu Hotel. Padayachy, also chair of the Trade Development Bank, said the promotion of access to banking was an effective way of fighting inequality. “It is important to have a state bank to ensure that private capital does not abuse its unlimited power and abuse those who need access to the banking services. What we want as African countries is a certainty that no one will…

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin understood the political significance of bringing electricity to farms and villages across Russia. Within three years of his seizure of power in 1917, an electrification commission produced a 500-page report detailing the construction of a network of 30 regional power stations. Bare light bulbs, called “Ilyich lamps”, suspended from the ceilings of peasants homesteads, symbolically conveyed a tangible achievement of Lenin’s regime. In the 1930s, president Franklin Roosevelt recognised the value of electrification in alleviating America's socio-economic depression. The Tennessee Valley project, encompassing a million square kilometres across seven states, saw the establishment of 25 dams which enabled the generation and distribution of electricity through 8 045km of transmission lines. Before the project, only two out of 100 farms in the region were electrified. By 1937, that…

Kevin Hart , pictured, believes Will Smith and Chris Rock should be given time to “recover” from their Oscars controversy. The 43-year-old actor thinks the movie stars ought to be given some time and space by the public, after Will hit Chris at the Oscars earlier this year after the comedian made a joke about Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Kevin said: “People make mistakes, and from mistakes they should be allowed time to f****** recover … And that this is no longer the world’s problem, it’s Will and Chris’s problem. Let them deal with that. “The world should step out of it and let them recover.” Will, 54, faced heavy criticism following the Oscars controversy But Kevin still looks at Will as a trailblazer for black actors in Hollywood.…

The SA Local Government Association (Salga) has collaborated with the USAid Southern Africa Energy Programme (SAEP) to help municipalities take advantage of the policy shift in energy generation. The partnership will provide technical assistance and capacity building in efforts to support municipalities in managing existing energy infrastructure, increasing electricity access, introducing novel energy solutions, and initiating the Just Energy Transition (JET). Salga said it was playing an advocacy role in the shift in the national policy to allow for the private sector’s entry into the energy generation space, and for municipalities to be able to buy not only from Eskom but also from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Councillor Tebogo Hlakutse of the Electricity, Energy and Public Works Working Group said that as the country was fundamentally transforming the electricity sector…

New Kaizer Chiefs recruit Edmilson Dove is currently on cloud nine following his dream move to the Soweto giants – a club he fell in love with as a boy. The Mozambican international was hand-picked by coach Arthur Zwane, who has been entrusted to restore the club to its former glory. Dove, who played for Cape Town City before, fitted the criteria set by Chiefs as they looked to fill the void at left centre-back and also provide back-up for the left-back slot that had been occupied by right-footer Reeve Frosler for the majority of last season. Following a trial in pre-season, Dove convinced Zwane of his capabilities, and earned a move back to South Africa and into the Amakhosi squad for the 2022-23 campaign. “I was with the national…

The Premiership’s top two teams, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, face a fixture list from hell in October ahead of the PSL break for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Pirates and Sundowns will play seven matches, starting on October 1 and ending on October 29. That equates to a match every four days. Sundowns’ schedule is even more hectic since they must travel to Seychelles for a CAF Champions League second-round match against La Passe FC. Two of Sundowns’ Premiership matches for October have been postponed because they clashed with Champions League matches. Coach Jose Riveiro’s Pirates don’t have continental matches, but they are through to this weekend’s MTN8 semi-finals, which mark a return to domestic action after the September Fifa window. On Saturday, they play Sundowns in…

Hacjivah Dayimani has operated in the backline at times during his career, but what is his favourite position? “The whole (of last) season, I played No 7. I probably played like two or three games at eight, so I am very comfortable at seven – it is actually the position I favour at this point in time. Wherever the coach puts me – six, seven or eight – I think I will be very comfortable playing there,” the Stormers star said this week ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Edinburgh at Cape Town Stadium (2pm kick-off). “It (the competition) keeps you on your toes, as there are so many good loose forwards, and then there are youngsters like Keke Morabe and Jarrod Taylor. Personally, I think it’s…

Power utility has not come up with a new figure for the estimated budget ESKOM has for the first time made a public admission that the cost for the upgrades of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station will surge above the initially budgeted R20 billion. The struggling power utility, however, has not managed to come up with a new figure for the estimated budget to extend the lifespan of the Koeberg power station by a further 20 years. Eskom’s acting chief nuclear officer, Keith Featherstone, yesterday said that the original cost estimate of R20bn was done in the 2010 parameter, and if reassessed in today’s values it would be significantly different. Featherstone was briefing the joint meeting of the portfolio committees on mineral resources and energy, and public enterprises on…

RENOWNED business leader, Sir Roger Carr, captured the essence of the challenge of establishing a good corporate reputation in observing that “It’s not simply how much money you make, but equally, how you make money that counts.” Few intangible assets are as valuable and yet as slippery as corporate reputation. Above all else, however, corporate reputation is dependent on the need for the company to be true to its purpose and value proposition. It is the alleged abrogation of this fundamental corporate commandment that makes the Competition Commission’s recent raid and seizure of documents and hard drives of eight insurance companies so perplexing. In broad terms, corporate reputation is generally defined as a collective assessment of a company’s attractiveness to a specific group of stakeholders relative to a reference group…

STOR-AGE, South Africa’s leading and largest self-storage property fund, continued to deliver a robust operating performance for the first five months of its 2023 financial year, as well as the 12-month trading period ending August 31, 2022. Across the portfolio of 85 trading properties in South Africa and the UK, Stor-Age delivered growth in occupied space of 57 600m² year-on-year. Increases in the average rental rate of 6.7% were achieved in South Africa and 10.8% in the UK. In South Africa, total occupied space, including new developments and acquired trading properties, increased by 28 700m². The growth in closing occupancy includes 9 200m² in the same-store portfolio, 9 700m² of gains at the newly opened Tyger Valley and Cresta properties, as well as a further 9…

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has defended its decision to nominate some of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s former backers in the 54th conference in Nasrec in 2017, for leadership of the party. The provincial leadership has endorsed Dr Zweli Mkhize for the presidential position, and acting secretary general Paul Mashatile for the deputy president’s position. This, despite former president Jacob Zuma’s unhappiness over the province’s line-up which he says is made up of backers of Ramaphosa in 2017, who Zuma accuses of having bought votes. For the national chairperson, the KZN leadership wants current Limpopo chairperson and premier Stanley Mathabatha, and has opted for former Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle for the secretary-general post. For the deputy secretary position, the province said it would back former Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane, while in…

The case docket of KwaDabeka Constable Lungisani Xaba, charged for the alleged murder of his mother, Greta Xaba, 70, will be sent to the regional court prosecutor to guide the investigation. The officer is alleged to have assaulted the elderly woman with a wooden plank with nails in it on May 6 in KwaDabeka, just outside Pinetown. The last time Xaba was in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, the State had said that DNA and a handwriting expert’s report were outstanding in the investigation. Details around the evidence requiring a handwriting expert were not divulged in court. “DNA relating to the exhibit used to inflict injuries on the deceased has been filed, and the handwriting expert analysis report has also been filed,” the State said yesterday in court. “I am…

What better way to blow off steam in the media scenery than exploring the enthralling scenic views of Mpumalanga? The bustling province called all adventurers, mavericks and explorers in the media to enjoy the full experience of its hospitality. With Covid-19 restrictions out of sight, multiple national media organisations packed their bags for a refreshing voyage to the province ahead of the Mpumalanga Tourism Expo on September 24-25. Jakada Holdings, in partnership with the Mpumalanga Tourism & Parks Agency, hosted the second annual Mpumalanga Tourism Expo, which enabled businesses to showcase the province’s plentiful tourism products and experiences. While there is a bucket list of activities that one can immerse oneself in, the media team touched down at the Sudwala Caves, a popular tourist attraction. The Sudwala Caves, known as…

The Central Durban Golf Club (CDGC) has called for young people to enter the inaugural KZN Junior Golf Masters tournament. The event will be held on October 6 at the Royal Durban golf course. Tournament director Juggie Pillay said girls and boys between 6 and 18, including both handicapped and non-handicapped golfers, will be competing in nine divisions. Pillay said in addition to the winning prizes, there were floating trophies, miniature trophies, sports vouchers and numerous lucky draws for those that don’t finish in the prize categories. He said tee-off is at 6.45am and pre-entries close on Friday. “Entry fees are R250 per player, which includes goody bags, halfway meals and snacks at prize giving,” he said. According to Pillay, the tournament had already attracted more than 50 participants and…

Agri SA has urged the government to withdraw the new draft regulations to govern hydraulic fracturing or fracking, and reject all plans to permit fracking in South Africa. It said its plea was based on the risks entailed in fracking for the country’s scarce water supply. This is contained in Agri SA’s submitted comments on the new draft regulations to govern fracking. Agri SA law and policy executive Janse Rabie said allowing fracking will have a devastating impact on the country’s ability to produce food. There is an abundance of scientific research indicating hydraulic fracturing poses an extreme risk to the environment, especially to water resources. “This is exacerbated by our limited current knowledge about the long-term consequences of hydraulic fracturing.” Rabie said hydraulic fracturing requires vast amounts of water…

The Proteas have played India on 10 occasions across all formats this year already. They have won seven of the contests, lost two, and had one abandoned due to rain. On the basis of this alone, Temba Bavuma’s team should be considered favourites – and even more so due to the fact that they have won five of their last six T20 International series. But yet today in Thiruvananthapuram (3.30pm SA time start), they will still head into the first T20I of this new three-match series as the underdogs. It’s just how it is when visiting the subcontinent powerhouse, where cricket borders on being a religion. The task is even greater this time, with captain Rohit Sharma and superstar Virat Kohli returning to the Indian squad after missing the July…

Bafana Bafana had a successful international break after recording wins in their two friendly matches against Sierra Leone and neighbours Botswana. The South Africans drubbed the Leone Stars 4-0 in their first friendly on Saturday, before beating the Zebras 1-0 at FNB Stadium yesterday. Bafana will now turn their attention to friendlies in November as they will continue to prepare for two key 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. In these qualifiers, they will face Liberia in back-to-back matches that they must win, as those games could secure their spot in Ivory Coast. Coach Hugo Broos had already indicated that he would love to stick with this team going forward, especially given the camaraderie among the players. And coming into the Botswana game, he had made it clear he would…

Mamelodi Sundowns senior coach Steve Komphela has been involved with football for over three decades, and has shared a worrying change in professional football. Komphela, a staunch leader in his heydays and a former head coach of both the South African Under-20 and Under-23 sides, has been exposed to almost all types of change-room dynamics, and the kinds of elements that influence the performance of a professional player. The 55-year-old, currently engulfed in the glamour of the Brazilians’ success, said that the betterment of a player’s financial well-being in the last 30 years sometimes tampers with the will and passion to perform at the highest level on a daily basis. “If you look at our generation, the likes of Tebogo Mokoena, Moses Morei, who played for Free State Stars, Serame…

SOUTH African consumers are facing a bleak and uncertain period in the months ahead before the year ends as household finances remained under pressure in the second quarter on elevated prices and rising interest rates. The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday said that household finances deteriorated slightly in the second quarter, hurt by higher inflation, rising debt service costs and lower household net wealth. In its Quarterly Bulletin, the SARB said household consumption expenditure slowed to 0.6% quarter-on-quarter from 1.2% weighed on by softer income growth as higher inflation eroded the growth in real personal disposable income. Inflation rose above its target range of 3 to 6% in the second quarter mainly due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, forcing the central bank to adopt an aggressive monetary policy and hike…

MC MINING has launched a R472 million rights offer as it plans to construct a new thermal and metallurgical coal mine in Limpopo. The company said yesterday that the rights issue offer of new shares in MC Mining would be at an issue price of A$0.20 (R2.34) per new share for eligible shareholders in Australia and New Zealand and R2.36 per new share for eligible shareholders in South Africa. Senosi Group Investment Holdings and Dendocept Proprietary have underwritten the offer, which would be used to part fund the development of the Makhado project. Proceeds from the rights issue are critical in terms of the firm’s obligations to $26m (about R470m) in debt funding that’s also been arranged. MC Mining CEO and managing director Godfrey Gomwe said the capital raise…

DIVERSIFIED chemicals group Omnia Holdings has commissioned a reverse osmosis water treatment plant at its Sasolburg site to improve its water efficiency and edge it closer to achieving its sustainable development goals. Chief executive Seelan Gobalsamy in a telephone interview yesterday said the plant to recycle water from their cooling towers was part of a general movement in business to reduce the strain and reliance on utility service providers. He said the project was estimated to yield an approximate saving of 180 megalitres per annum (the equivalent is about 4 500, 50-metre swimming pools of water). He said the social benefits included indirect job creation generated during the construction and commissioning, as well as the direct employment of the operational staff responsible for the daily running and maintenance of…

A new psychological thriller, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, is set to make its South African debut at Sandton’s Theatre on the Square from Tuesday, October 4, to Saturday, October 9. Written by acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, it’s a “darkly comic tale” about a dysfunctional relationship between mother Mag (Jennifer Steyn) and daughter Maureen (Julie-Anne McDowell). The play follows the life of Maureen, an unmarried middle-aged woman who, while caring for her ailing mother, tries to find love. The drama unfolds when the paths of brothers Pato (Bryan Hiles) and Ray (Sven Ruygrok) collide with the mother and daughter. Commenting on the play, director Charmaine Weir-Smith said: “With less than a week to go before opening, rehearsals are in full swing. At the start of any creative process, I…

THE DA has called for Gauteng Premier David Makhura to save face and resign before being removed through a no-confidence motion in the legislature on October 18. The party said it was close to seeing Makhura removed through the upcoming debate of its motion against him after speaking to the opposition parties, including the ANC. The DA has been calling for Makhura to be removed, accusing him of failure to release Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports which the premier had promised to release. DA leader in the province, Solly Msimanga, said Makhura was shielding and protecting corrupt ANC officials through his failure to make these key investigations public. “Despite promising that all SIU reports will be made public, Makhura has failed to release them and continues to shield the corrupt,”…

KHAYELITSHA residents and senior police officials came together at an Imbizo for Men in Makhaza in an efforts to enhance the active and meaningful participation of men in the fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and domestic violence and sexual offences. Organisations including Khayelitsha Development Forum, Baphi Abafazi Movement, neighbourhood watches and community police forums along with Police Bheki Cele and MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight Reagan Allen were in attendance at the Desmond Tutu Community Hall on Monday. “The leadership, senior police officers and the residents of Khayelitsha came out in numbers to attend the Imbizo,” Cele said. “This cannot be a Khayelitsha matter alone, it will have to move to other places especially those that have this problem. Places include Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal.…

The eThekwini Municipality is exploring methods to improve staff productivity and service delivery by including shift duty systems. In a report from the municipality’s Governance and Human Resources Committee put to the eThekwini Municipality Executive Committee (Exco) yesterday, they also explored ways to manage overtime. Last month, the municipality implemented a new overtime policy that imposed drastic cuts on the overtime pay that workers can claim. The city said it was concerned about the amount being claimed for overtime. In August and at the beginning of September, Durban Solid Waste (DSW), the staff in the electricity department and the Water and Sanitation Unit downed tools at different stages after their overtime pay was cut by limiting the hours they could work. The city said the overtime budget of the different…

KZN South Coast fashion designer Makhosi Ntshangase is headed to Seychelles to showcase her clothing line. Ntshangase is not afraid to stand out and be seen. She is also not afraid of taking risks and grabbing every opportunity. She opened her business in 2020 and has achieved a lot of success, and her clothing is being sold at Edgars stores. Ntshangase said through hard work and passion she had been spotted among other designers. “I had been showcasing at the Durban Fashion Fair, where an Edgars’ buyer spotted my work and was in love with my work aesthetic. I got a call from them a few days after the show and I took it seriously and the rest is history,” she said. She said that after her Edgars collection did…

With ‘Shaka Ilembe scheduled to make its highly-anticipated debut on the DStv channel in next year, the weekend’s Heritage Day festivities marked the official start of an exciting campaign to launch the historical series. Inspired by history, the series promises high levels of entertainment with love, loss, betrayal, hope, friendship, and war. Billboards featuring superstar Nomzamo Mbatha as the revered Queen Nandi, mother of the great King Shaka, have been fittingly unveiled on Queen Nandi Drive in Durban. Similar promotional installations grace the entrance and halls of King Shaka International Airport. Speaking about the marketing campaign, MultiChoice director for local entertainment channels, Shirley Adonisi, said: “Shaka Ilembe explores the world that shaped the famed African king and his journey to the throne. Pivotal to his story from young boy to…

A RECENT graduate has paved the way for local black women in geological sciences after she became the first black female in South Africa to receive a PhD in Marine Geology. Dr Nonkululeko Dladla, a University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) graduate, is the first black woman in the country to receive a PhD in Marine Geology, according to the university. The university said Dladla, who is also a developmental lecturer in geological sciences at UKZN, focused her studies on the stratigraphy and geological evolution of three coastal water bodies along the north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal coastline to gain an understanding of how coastlines responded to a rise in sea levels in the past and better understand the potential consequences of future changes. “Concentrating on Lake St Lucia, the Richards Bay Harbour and the…

Ingredients 2 tbs olive oil 1 onion, peeled and chopped 1 tbs medium curry powder 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander ½ tsp turmeric ½ tsp chilli flakes 1.25kg sweet potato and pumpkin, peeled and chopped into cubes 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 1 can coconut milk 1½ cups vegetable stock Juice of 2 limes Handful fresh coriander Salt and pepper Rotis or naan, heated according to packet instructions, to serve Method Heat the oil in a large pot and fry the onion and spices until soft and fragrant. Add the sweet potato and pumpkin and fry for 5 minutes. Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and add the garlic, coconut milk and stock. Stir to combine, set to medium and cook for 3 hours,…

The Proteas face India in the first T20I today in Thiruvananthapuram (3.30pm SA time start). Here, Zaahier Adams highlights five things the South Africans need to do to beat the hosts … Dominate the PowerPlay The first six overs are quintessential to the outcome of any T20 International. And after starting superbly in the first match of the series last July when the experiment of utilising all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius up the order was successful, the Proteas lost their way a bit in the remainder. Much of that had to do with the superb form of Player of the Series Bhuvneshwar Kumar up front with the new ball for India. However, the hosts are resting Kumar for this series, but India’s other talisman Jasprit Bumrah has returned. The responsibility will lie…

Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the Lions’ narrow victory over the Ospreys at the weekend was that it revealed options in several key positions. That was arguably epitomised by their halfback pairing in the 28-27 triumph, after coach Ivan van Rooyen opted to start Sanele Nohamba and Gianni Lombard at scrumhalf and flyhalf respectively. In their first United Rugby Championship (URC) clash a week earlier against the Bulls, Morné van den Berg and Jordan Hendrikse played those roles. Considering how young these playmakers are, it remains an agreeable conundrum to have such talent to choose from. Lombard played the full 80 minutes against the Welsh outfit, keeping his side calm and respectable under building pressure, while Nohamba built a solid platform for Van den Berg to close out the…