Indice dei contenuti per 2022-10-24 in Star

Upward pressure from the higher-than-budgeted public sector wage bill FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana could not have foreseen that the global economy would go through so much turbulence when he tabled his optimistic budget in February, forecasting 2.1% growth for South Africa in 2022. The domestic economy was on a rebound having recorded a second consecutive quarter of upward growth, returning to pre-pandemic levels after two years of Covid-19 lockdowns. Russia had not invaded Ukraine. KwaZulu-Natal had not been pummelled by devastating floods. The price of petrol had not breached R20 per litre. Eskom had not intensified its rotational power cuts. Inflation and interest rates were on the rise but still very low. And Transnet workers were far from bringing the economy to heel. However, a short eight months later, the…

LAST week the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Nigerian start-up act. The legal instrument will fuel start-up growth in Nigeria according to many who were part of the process in Nigeria. Communications volunteer for the Nigeria Start-up Bill Project, Stephen Edache, said: “This ground-breaking achievement will usher in a new era and set in motion new rules of engagement for the start-up ecosystem. “Crucially, it brings an end to some of the challenges that may have held the start-up ecosystem back since its rapid rise within the last decade. “The Nigeria Start-up Bill, now an act, positions the start-up ecosystem to thrive through its targeted provisions. “These policies, collaborative in their making, will now guide the operations of start-ups in Nigeria. The president’s assent makes it one…

Fashion designer and actress Enhle Mbali Mlaotshwa’s career is busy with one project lined up after another. At present, she is in the SABC1 drama series Good Men and on Showmax’s first original fantasy series, Blood Psalms. The actress also has projects that are yet to make their débuts; one such project is Four Walls, a nine-part limited series which was announced in September. Four Walls follows Mlaotshwa’s character Grace Molotsi, a married nurse from the township who feels trapped and at her wits end due to an abusive husband who has made her life a living nightmare. When she finally takes the decision to end his life, her house is invaded by two thugs on the run from a cash-in-transit robbery gone wrong who take her hostage while they’re…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s predecessors have broken the ANC’s norm by publicly assaulting his presidency and leadership, in what appears to be a sign that the tide may have turned against the embattled leader. Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki laid into the incumbent over a litany of issues, with the former accusing Ramaphosa of corruption, treason and selling the constitution to “greedy friends”. The latter took a dim view of the Phala Phala farm scandal, adding the governing party was led by criminals. Both former ANC leaders spoke harshly of Ramaphosa during two separate events in Joburg on Saturday. It is not clear what triggered the assault on Ramaphosa’s leadership by the two former ANC leaders, but they are believed to be disappointed with his handling of the farmgate scandal and…

THE EFF in Tshwane has made a fresh call to do away with the name Paul Kruger used for the late apartheid leader’s statue at Church Square and a street in Pretoria because they were “symbols of colonialism”. This is contained in a council report compiled by the municipal Economic Development and Spatial Planning Department after EFF councillor Moafrika Mabogwana asked for an explanation for a decision to retain the name Paul Kruger in a democratic dispensation. Mabogwana said: “Post-1994 South Africa is still sitting with monuments and symbols of colonialism and apartheid which does not enhance transformation and reconciliation agenda, and Paul Kruger is one such example. “Historically Paul Kruger is an individual who did not only preside over segregation, and colonialism, but has committed black genocide, and therefore…

Struggle songs, also known as protest music or liberation songs, are defined as “expressions of discontent or dissent” used by politically disenfranchised protesters to influence political conversations and express emotions. Some scholars argue that these songs date back to biblical times when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and “the Hebrew people sang their lamentations”. In the American context, researchers contend that protest music can be traced back to transatlantic slaves. But others note that the use of these songs goes back even further. In modern Africa and in other colonised contexts, such as Latin America, protest music was an important tool used by the oppressed in their quest to overthrow oppressive regimes. In South Africa, Struggle songs were critical of the apartheid regime. They became effective instruments of confrontation…

Does South Africa have a strong and competitive nation brand to take advantage of opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)? This question featured prominently in conversations at the 6th Nation Brand Forum hosted recently by Brand South Africa in Johannesburg to foster collaborative partnerships between stakeholders to grow the South African economy and position our country as an attractive investment destination. South Africa is known around the world as a major entry point into Africa. The official launch of the AfCFTA in January last year has created an enormous continental market that SA companies can tap into as it has led to the elimination of import tariffs, which previously restricted trade and investment on the continent. AfCFTA has not only created a market of 1.4 billion…

Stormers stars Manie Libbok, Evan Roos and Sacha Mngomezulu will join the Springbok training camp in Stellenbosch on their return from Wales following their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour, while Johan Goosen and Elrigh Louw are ruled out through injury. Goosen suffered a concussion, while Louw sustained an ankle injury. The Bok coaching staff will name the Springbok and SA ‘A’ squads for the End-of-Year Tour on Friday. The world champions are set to play Ireland in Dublin on November 5, France in Marseille on November 12, Italy in Genoa on November 19 and England in London on November 26. The SA ‘A’ team will face Munster on Thursday, November 10, before going up against the Bristol Bears on November 17. “We are naming a group of 54 players next…

SOUTH Africa might face “fuel shedding in the future, if it did not implement the Moerane Report recommendation of 2006 to keep 90 days’ strategic stock”, the Liquid Fuels Wholesalers Association (LWFA) warned last week. Peter Morgan, chief executive of the LWFA, said in an interview with Business Report last week that it was time that the country addressed this matter once and for all. “Sixteen years later we still don’t have agreement between the regulator and the oil majors on how much strategic stock we need to keep and how the cost of this strategic stock (will) be covered,” Morgan said. This was all about ensuring the availability of liquid fuels at all times, in sufficient quantities and at reasonable or affordable prices. South Africa had zero strategic…

SPEAR real estate investment trust (Reit), which focuses its property investment on the Western Cape, lifted distributable income per share by 6.09% to 41.26c per share, in the six months to August 31, 2022. The distribution per share increased by 12.33% to 37.14c, based on a 90% payout ratio, from 33.06c per share in the prior corresponding period, when the payout ratio was 85%. Chief executive Quintin Rossi said in a statement on Friday that the management team had warded off inflationary pressures, interest rate hikes, operating “cost-creep” and general trading challenges, and defended the net property income line successfully. Interim collections stood at 97.56%, as measured at October 10, 2022. Management had successfully renewed or re-let 62 821m² at a nega-tive reversion of 4.08%. The portfolio occupancy rate…

PLATINUM production for Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) fell in the quarter to the end of September as unreliable power supply by Eskom impacts mining operations in South Africa, worsening an already problematic operating environment. Global supply chain disruptions and high inflation are the other challenges that mining companies in South Africa are facing. RBPlat says the impact of these headwinds have now been worsened by recurring power supply shortfalls by Eskom. “The third quarter operating environment continued to be characterised by high inflationary pressures due to global supply chain disruptions and market volatility stemming from the geopolitical instability caused by the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the longer-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and unreliable power supply,” RBPlat said in a third quarter trading update published on Friday. RBPlat is on the radar…

WITH more South African businesses and government institutions migrating to digital platforms, research by cybersecurity organisations has pointed towards a growing need for a sustained national public awareness campaign to inform, educate and mobilise the public against a growing pandemic of cybercrime. Research by the African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2021 found that South Africa had the highest number of incidents of targeted ransomware and business email compromise attacks than any other African country. This was also supported by the 2022 State of Email Security report, which revealed that more than three out of every four South African organisations were receiving an increased number of email-based threats, with two-thirds stating they were bracing for the fallout from an email-borne attack. Moss Gondwe, public sector director at Mimecast, an internationally-based IT security…

BREAST and cervical cancer have been identified as a national priority, with increasing incidences occurring, and the Cancer Association of SA (Cansa) urges women to go for annual health check-ups and screening to detect cancer early. Apart from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in South Africa, with a lifetime risk of 1 in 27, according to the 2019 National Cancer Registry (NCR). There is growing concern that most women present with late-stage cancers, which makes for a difficult prognosis. Lorraine Govender, Cansa’s national manager for health promotion, said: “Cansa plays an active role in educating women about the symptoms of breast cancer and how to do monthly self-examination of breasts. Research has shown that a regular breast self-examination plays an important role in…

A TOTAL of 546 South African children were murdered in the first six months of the year, according to an Al Jazeera report. An average of three South African children are killed each day. In the second quarter of the year, April to June, 243 South African children were murdered, according to SAPS crime statistics. Between October and December 2021, 352 South African children were murdered. In the latest child killing that has rocked the nation, a 4-year-old girl, Bokgabo Poo, was kidnapped, raped and mutilated. The suspect was out on bail for allegedly raping a 9-year old girl. Poo’s father, Irvin Ndlovu, 32, saw the man accused of killing his child in court this week and tried to attack him before he was held back by friends and members…

The recent communication by Dis-Chem seems to have created a stir, regarding white staff not being employed in order to balance employment equity numbers. In the face of penalties, should the ratios not be improved. When one considers the diminishing number of white citizens, bearing in mind that of the about four million whites, there are babies, scholars, students, housewives, pensioners, those in institutions or incarcerated, and so on, that would leave a not-so-large number of employed. If they all miraculously disappeared and were replaced by people who were trained, one wonders what sort of dent that would make in the unemployment figures. The government seems to believe that the whole white population is employed and taking up black workers’ jobs. Where family and small businesses are required to give…

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia produced a near-flawless display to win the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday and take a massive step towards his maiden MotoGP world championship title as closest rival Fabio Quartararo kept his faint hopes alive in third. The result at the Sepang International Circuit ensured that Italian Bagnaia stayed ahead of 2021 champion Quartararo in the standings heading into the final round of the championship in Spain next month. Bagnaia, the 2018 Moto2 champion, made a scorching start from ninth as he held the inside line to surge to second behind Jorge Martin in the first lap, while Frenchman Quartararo also recovered from 12th to remain in the hunt. Martin, who had set a lap record on Saturday to take pole position, crashed in the seventh lap to hand…

TRANSNET has vowed to improve its operational performance amid a challenging environment following encouraging ratings action by Moody’s Investor Services. The State-owned freight and rail logistics company on Friday confirmed that Moody’s had lifted the review for downgrade it had placed on Transnet earlier this year. In June, Moody’s placed all of Transnet’s ratings on review for downgrade because it had become increasingly concerned over the company’s exposure to weak liquidity management and high refinancing risk. However, despite lifting the review, Moody’s changed Transnet’s outlook from ratings under review to negative, saying that an upgrade was unlikely at this time. Transnet Group treasurer Andre Pillay on Friday said this ratings action was a confirmation of the company’s improved liquidity position. “Transnet is encouraged by the ratings action Moody’s has taken…

Award-winning rapper Nasty C opened up to host Darryl Nyamz on The Episode podcast about his newest venture into the gaming world and lessons he learnt from fellow rapper AKA, among other things. Asked how he felt about being internationally recognised for his music and hanging out with other international artists he said: “I am getting to live my dream and it’s a blessing.” “It’s so surreal… I’m always expecting them to be like superstars and when you meet them, they very humble, very normal guys who appreciate the talent in anyone else that they meet regardless of where you come from. It’s golden to me,” he said. The Black and White hitmaker recently revealed that he had sealed a deal with video game makers for Call of Duty. The…

ANTI-gender-based violence activists, EFF members and journalists struggled to contain their emotions in court and cried when a heartbroken mother begged the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court not to grant bail to her brother, 27, who allegedly raped her 2-year-old daughter. The mother told the court that her daughter’s health was regressing. Her vaginal walls were so badly damaged that a layer of fat could be seen. With tears flowing down her face, she said the ARVs her child was taking were too strong for her and had changed the colour of her skin. The mother said she allegedly caught the accused red-handed after she heard her daughter screaming on the evening of September 24. She had visited her family home in Soshanguve to clean the house for their mother who…

Yet another Stellenbosch University (SU) residence has been hit with a urination incident. In a statement released on Saturday, SU expressed “deep concern” over the use of alcohol on and around its campuses. This after a drunk student urinated into the dorm room of fellow students at the Eendrag Residence during the early hours of Saturday morning. The drunk student was suspended from the residence on Saturday, with an investigation into the incident immediately prompted. SU spokesperson Martin Viljoen was not able to provide further details on the students involved. In the statement, SU said the SU rector and vice-chancellor, Professor Wim de Villiers, would consider further action and decide on suspension from the university. “We will continue to use all the resources at our disposal to combat the scourge…

How many children have a cellphone of their own, and what do they have access to? These questions were directed to working parents in South Africa through a recent survey administered by a leading South African online research company, Infoquest/TrendER. Children’s ability to navigate through their phones accessing different platforms skilfully without the supervision of adults is a growing concern regarding the type of content they consume. Parents with children in different age categories were interviewed. Claire Heckrath, managing director of Infoquest, commented about the survey, revealing that it is eye-opening. “This is a very eye-opening survey, especially when you note the percentage of children of 6 years and younger who have a cellphone of their own. “It is concerning that young children have access to so many apps and…

The Bulls have roared back into the top three and are the leading South African shield on the UNited Rugby Championship (URC) log, but now the challenge is to maintain consistency in performance going forward. And perhaps the key to achieving that goal is to back their attacking strategy and the individual skills of the players, which came to the fore in Friday night’s 44-22 bonus-point win over Benetton in Treviso. After a frustrating first half in which their handling, set-piece execution and decision-making let them down – with the last pass often not going to hand – they found their touch in the second 40 minutes with ball-in-hand. The forwards showed greater physicality too, compared to the Glasgow and Munster defeats, with captain Marcell Coetzee, Marco van Staden and…

Aaron Finch has urged his battered Australian team to be “ultra-positive, ultra-aggressive” when they face Sri Lanka tomorrow after their T20 World Cup title defence was dealt a major blow by New Zealand. The hosts were hammered by 89 runs in Sydney on Saturday as they slumped to their second-biggest defeat (by runs) and worst ever at home after being skittled for 111 with 17 balls left chasing New Zealand’s 200/3. It was their first loss to New Zealand on home soil, in any format, since 2011. “The fact that we’ve lost one game, yes, it’s a heavy loss and it hurts our chances, no doubt. We can’t dwell on that, we can’t change it,” said Finch. “All we can do is concentrate on the next game and prepare really…

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has vowed that they won’t rest on their laurels after a comfortable win over Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon. The Bucs returned to winning ways midweek when they beat Golden Arrows to snap a four-game winless run, but they had a tough task in Polokwane. They were set to meet Sundowns, the defending champions, in the MTN8 semi-final second leg having drawn the first leg 0-0 at home – in Orlando. But Pirates beat the Brazilians 3-0 away to cruise into the Wafa Wafa cup final. Pirates, however, are not thinking about ending their trophy drought. Instead, they are busy preparing for the league derby against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday afternoon. This clash will serve as the first Soweto Derby for Riveiro, some of his…