Indice dei contenuti per 2023-09-11 in Star

THE NEDLAC performance report spoke of an existential risk to the forum, a view that Business Unity South Africa (Busa) agreed with, Busa CEO Cas Coovadia said. He was commenting on the release of the report at the start of the annual Nedlac Summit on Friday. “It is thus critical for Nedlac to grapple with its role, positioning, mandate, and value-add. Nedlac must ensure it is ‘fit-for-purpose’ to be rele-vant in the current context and the challenges of the next decade,” he said He said Nedlac needed to be a forum for social dialogue and focus on programmes on which there was the greatest scope for collaboration across stakeholders, “instead of being a conflictual platform … Our success during Covid-19 was a sterling example of social compacting,” he said. He…

South African equity prices continued their negative trend of August during the first two weeks of September. Most share indices on the JSE ended last week down. The marginally better than forecasted economic growth rate of 0.6% during quarter two did not affect markets as a weak figure was expected and was already discounted for by the equity market. The all share index ended the week 1.06% lower and for the month to date has already lost 2.2%. The index is now only 556 points or 0.8% higher than at the beginning of the year. The resources board continues to record big losses. The Resources 10 index decreased by 4.03% in the last seven trading days and is now 22.01% down for the year-to-date. The domestic traded sector, namely…

SOUTH Africa has been grappling with issues of transparency and accountability in its financial sector, with recent cases like Phala Phala and the Lady R raising questions about the integrity of key institutions. Additionally, the ongoing investigation into the CR17 campaign has further intensified the scrutiny on the country’s financial institutions. These concerns cast a shadow on the government’s commitment to addressing financial misconduct and corruption. Where there is smoke there is fire, as the saying goes, and the Phala Phala case revolving around the theft of foreign currency at President Ramaphosa’s home in the Phala Phala game farm in the Waterberg, Limpopo, in February 2020, certainly has a whiff of fire. It was alarming to learn that the President did not report the crime, and the existence of a…

Dear Mzansi: The media is an integral part of our democracy. In our job as media, we work to inform, educate and sometimes entertain the public. Independent Media has not fallen short of doing the same. In the last few years, we have broken the barriers of reporting and brought South Africa the truth about our limping economy, challenging democracy and complex society. We have not held back from holding politicians and those in power accountable. Imagine a world without that media. Imagine a world where journalists do not write. Imagine that you didn’t know about the Phala Phala scandal. Imagine that you didn’t know of our energy crisis, of government waste, of theft, or of the state of our public systems. Imagine a world where you didn’t know what…

Elderly citizens are often subjected to abuse at the hands of their children or conmen, who force them into transferring ownership of their properties to them while they are still alive. In the worst case scenario, elderly people are then kicked out of their homes. This was a serious concern raised during a public consultation process at the Bronkhorstspruit Sports Centre on Saturday to solicit people’s views on the Older Persons Amendment Bill which seeks to improve their protection and care. The bill is the subject of a nationwide public consultation process to solicit citizens’ views, It aims to eliminate harmful traditional practices, including witchcraft accusations against older people. The bill also seeks to make provision for the removal of older people to temporary safe care without a court…

Two members of the Tshwane Metro Police Department and a third man, believed to be their accomplice, have been arrested and charged for truck hijacking on the R21 highway in Gauteng. Spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelebogile Thepa, said the three are members of a truck hijack- ing syndicate operating on the road. Trouble started for the Tshwane Metro Police Department officers, in their police uniform, when they were spotted along the R21 in Ekurhuleni by alert officers in that metro. The Tshwane officers were travelling in a stolen, grey BMW 3 series vehicle, fitted with blue police lights. “The men in Tshwane Metro Police Department uniform were interrogated by the Ekurhuleni officers. Their suspicion was raised and they conducted a vehicle enquiry check. The BMW vehicle…

AS WE get closer to the summer frenzy, an expert shares a step-by-step guide to staying safe while exercising outdoors. “Staying safe while exercising outdoors is easy. We hope that by following this step-by-step guide, you will be able to focus all your attention on your training,” says Fidelity ADT head of marketing and communications, Charnel Hattingh. 1. Carry some ID: Hattingh suggests carrying identification on you so that bystanders will know who you are and who to contact in an emergency. Most exercise gear has small pockets for this purpose. 2. Safety in numbers: She also strongly discourages running or cycling alone. Rather, join a group of people who can look out for your safety and also offer encouragement along the way when muscle pain or cramps set in.…

After an acrimonious split with her former record label, award-winning music sensation Makhadzi continues to blossom, revealing that her new album is the best one yet. She shared her excitement with her fans on social media, explaining that Mbofholowo, as it is titled, would blow listeners away. The 15-track album follows the success of Kokovha’s release in 2020 with hit songs such as Murahu and Sugar Sugar. Marotho, Movie, Mushonga, Rea Lwa, Malala Phoo and Hodalesa are just a few songs listeners are immersing themselves in from the album, with the rest set to be released on September 22. “This is music with Freedom, mbofholowo. I’m doing this independently. There are amazing featured and supporting artists on this album; it will blow you away. I put my heart and soul…

Despite the urgency to transition from traditional power production to sustainable alternatives, wealthier nations across the globe are leading the shift while some countries, such as South Africa, are lagging. Of importance is to adapt existing products and engineering offerings to meet the demands of the renewable energy industry, with innovations such as online condition monitoring that can improve the efficiency and reliability of renewable energy projects. South African companies have been involved in the green economy since 2011, when the government introduced the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Thus, local organisations have a wealth of experience in manufacturing the balance of plant for renewable energy products, including in the areas of engineering, procurement and construction, financing and operation, and maintenance. South Africa has home-grown skills and resources…

The coup in Gabon came after a series of revolutions in Francophone countries such as Mali, Burkina-Faso and Niger, and was a result of discontent of the locals with the recent elections and the attempts of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family have been ruling for over 40 years, to stay in power. The events in Africa concern Europe and particularly France, which is losing loyal politicians in its former colonies one by one. However, it is not surprising, given that African countries (have) become more and more independent and no longer want to live under control of their former colonialists. While the West’s attention is focused mainly on Ukraine, Africa declares its unwillingness to remain under control of its former “masters” and continues to develop relations with other countries…

As we waited for the Springboks to make their bow at the Rugby World Cup against Scotland last night, we had to watch another national team, Bafana Bafana, in action on Saturday. The South African national football team were involved in an international friendly in front of a sparse crowd at the Orlando Stadium, where they faced Namibia in what is a preparation game for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Bafana fans would have hoped for another eye-catching display, following their last major match against Fifa World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, where SA emerged 2-1 victors at the FNB Stadium in June. But coach Hugo Broos’ side were hugely disappointing against the Namibians in Orlando, only coming up with a goalless draw. Granted, it was a very different-looking Bafana…

Istanbul: An injured US explorer trapped more than 1 000m deep in a Turkish cave for eight days has been transported 300m towards the surface, rescuers said yesterday. Mark Dickey, 40, reported falling sick on September 2 while exploring the Morca Cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains with an international team. Dickey fell ill at a depth of 1 120m and has been resting at a base camp 1 040m underground. He was moved by rescuers on a stretcher over 10 hours. International medics have given Dickey first aid. Morca Cave is Türkiye’s third deepest, with a depth of 1 276m. | AFP…

Geneva: A plane flying from Zurich to Spain at the weekend arrived without a single piece of luggage onboard, unbeknown to the passengers, as the airline blamed ground staff shortages. Passengers on the Swiss airlines flight to the northern Spanish city of Bilbao on Saturday evening waited by the conveyor belt for their luggage to appear for more than two hours, but in vain. The plane had taken off with 111 passengers but no baggage onboard. Officials said the reason was because of the need to pick up passengers in Bilbao and get the plane back to Zurich before the airport closed for the night. | AFP…

South Africa went toe-to-toe with neighbours Namibia in an international friendly on Saturday but neither side could find a winner as they settled for a goalless draw at Orlando Stadium. Coach Hugo Broos had expressed his desire to allow the fringe players to prove their worth in this encounter, with the World Cup qualifiers coming up in November, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations finals next year. While Bafana could not grab the winner, a few players rose to the occasion and gave Broos some selection headaches ahead of tomorrow’s match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, again at Orlando Stadium (kick-off 5pm). Here we look at the top three performances for Bafana against Namibia ... Monnapule Saleng Saleng’s regular inclusion has been slowed down by the form…

The Gauteng provincial government and SADC have confirmed a new technological tool that will link the digital fingerprint system to SADC population registers. This comes after 77 people died when a five-storey building caught alight in downtown Johannesburg, leaving South African and non-South African residents and loved ones scrambling to identify their loved ones who died in the blaze. The provincial government led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi said it had committed itself to strengthening collaborations using technology to tackle the challenge of identifying people from other countries who die in the province without any form of documentation. Lesufi and Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko engaged SADC leaders about the digital fingerprint system that is currently being used by the Gauteng Forensic Pathology Service mortuaries to identify the bodies of those who…

A MESSAGE meant to cause panic among residents – circulating on social media – that the City of Tshwane has a planned household disconnection campaign has been dismissed as fake news. The message by unknown senders is mobilising residents to fight off those dispatched by the municipality to disconnect defaulting customers from electricity and water supply. According to the message, the disconnectors would come to households under the guise of being meter readers, while their main intention would be to cut off power and water connections. Residents were informed that the municipality planned to embark on a campaign to disconnect households with effect from yesterday. It was said that the campaign was a “provocation at its best by the arrogant multiparty coalition. “We don’t have services for almost six weeks.…

AFRIFORUM has joined scores of voices calling for an end to the City of Tshwane workers’ strike action that is in its seventh week. Employees affiliated to the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) have downed tools to demand a pay increase. The City refused to budget any pay increase for employees when it was tabling its budget in April. The metro has applied for an exemption from the proposed pay increases at the local government’s collective bargaining council with a judgment pending from senior commissioner Eleanor Hambidge. Recently the Congress of the People (Cope) called on the Public Protector and the SA Human Rights Commission to intervene between the City and the striking workers. Samwu has also called for an end to the protest while the DA has threatened legal…

She was sentenced on Thursday, according to Captain Dineo Sekgotodi, Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks. “It was reported that during April 2018, Scrooby visited Scania company in Middelburg with the allegation that she was the owner of Phakamisa Logistics, which had been awarded a transport contract (tender) with one of the mines. She requested a quotation for 90 G460 Scania trucks,” Sekgotodi said.. According to the Hawks, Scrooby sent fraudulent documents to Scania, pretending to have paid over R1.7 million to the company. “She sent a fraudulent proof of payment to Scania with an amount of R1 724 885. It was then discovered that she used a VAT registration number of a known client of Scania. The money she alleged…

Visitors to the Pretoria zoo will see a new face – a male buff-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) named Sylvester. The South African National Biodiversity Institute’s National Zoological Gardens said he came from France. He arrived in South Africa on May 26, from Le Teste de Buch Zoo. Sylvester was in quarantine for 30 days and has been integrated into his new home. The gibbon has been chosen to play a crucial role in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria ex situ studbook programme, owing to his genetic lineage. His addition to the programme is a significant step towards the conservation of the endangered species. The Pretoria zoo has participated in this pro gramme since 1988, having produced 15 offspring for the initiative. Director of conservation at the zoo, Tracy…

Imagine if you were rewarded for helping to raise funds for students in need. The University of Pretoria (UP) has found a creative way to do this by partnering with over 400 reputable brands to create the UP Alumni Online Mall – where UP’s sizeable alumni community can score large discounts on their monthly shopping while proceeds from subscription fees help fund needy students at the University. The UP has launched the UP Alumni Online Mall, a first-of-its-kind in South Africa shopping hub aimed at the University’s more than 300 000 alumni around the world. The UP Alumni Online Mall was launched digitally on Thursday 7 September 2023 with deals from over 400 top brands, that provide products and services across South Africa and globally. The UP Alumni Online Mall…

The countdown to the Heineken All-Invitational Inanda Polo has begun, promising finesse in the sport and a memorable lifestyle experience. The affair is set to happen on September 17 at the prestigious Inanda Polo Club in Sandton in association with Mercedes-Benz, QMS Medicosmetics, and L’Or Espresso. Following the theme of “playful luxury”, it is set to transform into a playground of excitement that blends with the exhilarating world of polo. Inanda Club Manager, Craig James, explains that this year’s Heineken All-Invitational Inanda Polo is shaking things up by introducing a mixed doubles tournament format. Two female and two male players team-up in an unprecedented display of skills and teamwork. This will make for a tournament with strategy, camaraderie, and dazzling action that’s poised to redefine the sporting landscape. “We are…

After months of tours in various provinces, the legendary Ladysmith Black Mambazo are due to entertain at The Durban Playhouse. The dates are September 29 and 30, and October 30. The Johannesburg leg of the tour is due at the Joburg Theatre later this year. The show will run in Cape Town at the Artscape Theatre on November 16 and 19 and at Pretoria’s State Theatre from December 14 to 17. The group said Durban had historical significance in their journey. Sibongiseni Shabalala said: “South African audiences first endorsed the success of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. From humble beginnings, the group broke records by being the top-selling music group in South Africa in the late 70s and 80s. The overwhelming support from South African audiences and neighbouring countries paved the way…

Survivors of Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in more than six decades struggled to find food and water yesterday as the search for the missing continued in hard-to-reach villages and the death toll of more than 2 000 seemed likely to rise further. Many people spent a second night in the open after the 6.8 magnitude quake hit late on Friday. Relief workers face the challenge of reaching the worst-affected villages in the High Atlas, a rugged mountain range where settlements are often remote and where many houses crumbled. Moroccan media reported the collapse of a historically important 12th century mosque, underlining damage to the country’s cultural heritage. The quake also damaged parts of Marrakech old city, a Unesco World Heritage site. In Moulay Brahim, a village near the epicentre 40km…

NIAMEY: Niger’s junta yesterday accused France of deploying troops in several West African countries in preparation for a possible military intervention together with the regional bloc Ecowas in Niger. The junta also repeated its call for the departure of French troops from its territory, a major source of tension between the one-time allies since the July 26 ousting of president Mohamed Bazoum. It appealed to “international opinion to witness this aggressive, underhanded attitude by France”. Relations between Niger and its former coloniser France have soured since Paris declared the junta illegitimate. | Reuters…

When Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos looks at the ins and outs of his team’s hit-out against neighbours Namibia on Saturday, he’ll have a sense of optimism about the future. His initial plans for the friendly against Namibia’s Brave Warriors were somewhat derailed because of a plethora of injuries. The ‘walking wounded’ included several first-choices, among them Khuliso Mudau, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Themba Zwane, Thapelo Maseko, Luke le Roux, Thapelo Morena and Teboho Mokoena. In addition, there were other members of the country’s ‘Foreign Legion’ like Cassius Mailula (Toronto FC) and Njabulo Blom (St Louis City), whom Broos felt needed time to settle in their new surroundings, so he decided not give to them a call-up. One of the players who benefited from Blom’s absence was Grant Magerman, who recently secured…

THE MINISTER of Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has placed all his hopes of ending higher stages of load shedding on the misfiring Kusile power station in Witbank, Mpumalanga. Kusile is a multi-billion rand 3 200MW coal-fired power station in which a number of generation units are not operating after a section of the flue-gas desulphurisation duct, which carries emissions from Kusile Unit 1 into a large chimney, collapsed in October 2022, contributing roughly two stages of load shedding. Kusile and Koeberg nuclear power stations are the biggest contributors to the ongoing energy crisis as they have taken at least 3 000MW from Eskom’s generation capacity. Ramokgopa yesterday said he will be visiting Kusile today where he expects to announce the timelines set to return some units back into…

THE SOUTH African Maritime Authority (Samsa) has come under the spotlight from labour and civic society after the expiry of the last board’s tenure last month without the resolution of a more than two-year investigation into its Chief Operations Officer while the entity has not had a permanent CEO in the last six years. The board led by Thato Minyuku had not held a single annual general meeting in its three year tenure with infighting costing South Africa a seat on on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council after failing to campaign for enough seats to keep it in the prestigious council, which makes decisions on marine practices the world over. The three ejected executives, COO and chief executive incumbent Sobantu Tilayi, company secretary Moyahabo Raphadu, and chief human…

The National Film Academy has announced the official nominees for the National Film & TV Awards South Africa (NFTAs). With a history spanning 25 years, the National Film Academy is one of the world’s biggest film and TV academies, with 7.5 million members globally. As the driving force behind awards such as the National Film Awards UK, the National Film & TV Awards USA, and the National Reality Television Awards, the Academy has now launched the annual National Film & TV Awards in South Africa. The South African version of the NFTAs will take place at the Opera Theatre in Pretoria on October 21. Previous notable South African accolades from the academy’s international awards include Trevor Noah’s win for Best Talk Show at the National Film and TV Awards USA…

CITY of Joburg MMC for Human Settlements, Anthea Leitch, has called on human rights organisations and NGOs to help the city reclaim some of the hijacked and abandoned buildings in the city. Leitch’s pleas after she and MMC for Public Safety, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, along with others, continued their inspection of some of the crime-infested and neglected buildings in the city centre at the weekend. Their visit took them to one of the infamous buildings, including the Casa Mia building, the Florence Nightingale building, the Tygerberg building, and the Greenhouse building, some of the city’s most dangerous buildings. The living conditions in most of the hijacked buildings are appalling, as people who live in them are often without clean water or electricity. Often, the rooms they stay in are dark,…

SOME parts of the City of Tshwane experienced water outages at the weekend owing to low levels of pressure supplied by Rand Water to the Mooikloof reservoir located in Pretoria East. MMC for Utilities Services Themba Fosi said the city’s teams had been working round the clock to initiate a new pump station at the Wilds, which was commissioned on Saturday. “This has begun working and will continue pumping through the evening. We are seeing a gradual inflow into the Mooikloof reservoir and restoration to some of the low-lying areas supplied by the reservoir. I want to acknowledge and thank our teams for pushing to get the new pump station working and thank residents for their patience,” he said. The main holding reservoir for the city, the Garsfontein reservoir, was…

A HUSBAND so outraged by the fact that his wife dared leaving him and that she had instituted divorce proceedings, has demanded that her attorney instruct her to return so that he, among others, could enjoy his conjugal rights. He is also insisting that the attorney face consequences because the wife refused to return. The husband, who cannot be identified because the issue relates to a divorce, insisted that the Legal Practice Council take disciplinary steps against the lawyer. When the watchdog body refused, the husband tried to appeal against the refusal. His bid in this regard also failed and he subsequently turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to have the refusal overturned. But in a recent judgment, Judge Cassim Sardiwalla once again meted out a blow to the…

A 28-YEAR-old who allegedly masterminded the robbery and theft at a Ford dealership in December 2017, has finally been arrested. Raymond Sibusiso Tshabalala was nabbed last week in a joint operation by the The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) in Limpopo and the Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime Unit after he had absconded while on bail. Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Matimba Maluleke, said that in the early hours of December 9, 2017, Tshabalala and his accomplices broke into a Ford Vehicle Dealership in Phalaborwa. “They are alleged to have stolen six Ford motor vehicles – two Ford Everests and four Ford Rangers with a value of R3.2 million,” he said. Maluleke said the matter was immediately reported to police. “An intensive investigation was conducted and it resulted in…

THE Law Society of South Africa National Wills Week, on from September 11 to 15, means the public can have their wills drafted free of charge. Wills Week presents the ideal opportunity to get a basic will drafted by an attorney, free, as attorneys’ firms throughout the country take part in the National Wills Week campaign. The Law Society has urged people to ensure that they register for a free will with an attorney or a law firm. The society said by making a will, you ensure that your assets are disposed of in accordance with your wishes after your death. This privilege is called “freedom of testation”. Many South Africans do not have wills and people are urged to ensure that they have a legally sound will. This ensures…

A WEDDING is a huge undertaking and comes with the responsibility of making sure the day goes as smoothly as possible. Issues can include family drama, the refreshments being a disappointment to the couple, and rowdy guests. However, for one Indonesian bride, the unthinkable happened after the groom ran away and she married his father. According to Tribun Trends, because the guests had already arrived, the family was compelled to continue the wedding, with the groom’s father standing in for his son. “The lover, or the bridegroom, named Isra ... He was forced to be represented by his father because he ran away before the Ijab Kabul (kabul is the consent given by the bride’s family at wedding ceremony). It is important in Islam,” Tribun Trends reported. The bride’s brother…

I have arrived at the conclusion that we, that most people, are unfair and unrealistic towards the ANC. I am glad you asked, how so? I would argue that the ANC has fulfilled/accomplished their mission for their existence. The ANC was founded by African middle class individuals of that time – doctors, lawyers, academics, etc. to plead with the then British colonial administration, followed by the apartheid rulers, to at least see and treat them differently than the rest of the African masses. After all, they were educated and thereby “civilised”. Unfortunately, their pleas were ignored and rejected. The white rulers, in time, came to the realisation that they could do business with the ANC. The ANC was not really the bad terrorist they have been made out to be.…

It was a horrifying disaster, one of the worst in South Africa. Over 70 people had an agonising death trapped in a blazing building in Joburg’s CBD. Seasoned firemen who had witnessed many disasters in their lives and had become accustomed to seeing scenes of human tragedy couldn’t believe what they saw before them: scenes of devastation and horror of the charred remains of human beings which lay strewn all before them. They had never seen such horrible scenes before. They stood numb in disbelief. But there was one harrowing image in particular which stood out among the stark devastation and made the firemen cry: a mother clutching her baby. Both were burnt beyond recognition. You cannot take away this image from your heart. All the country’s media gave this…

SOUTH Africa is renowned for having one of the world’s biggest populations of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). Substantial declines have been observed, however, in places where the sharks normally gather on the Western Cape coast. Sharks congregate at these locations to feed, interact socially, or rest. In Cape Town, skilled “shark spotters” documented a peak of more than 300 great white shark sightings across eight beaches in 2011, but have recorded no sightings since 2019. These declines have sparked concerns about the overall conservation status of the species. Conserving great white sharks is vital because they have a pivotal role in marine ecosystems. As top predators, they help maintain the health and balance of marine food webs. Their presence influences the behaviour of other marine animals, affecting the entire…

HANOI: US President Joe Biden said yeterday that the US and Vietnam were deepening co-operation on emerging technologies, critical supply chains and semiconductors. Biden, visiting Hanoi after a Group of 20 summit in India, also said the two countries were strengthening their partnership on climate and human rights. Vietnam’s top leader, the Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, said that the country’s relationship with Washington had been upgraded to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, the highest level in Vietnam’s ranking, and the same it has with China and Russia. | Reuters…

AMSTERDAM: Dutch police yesterday said more than 500 climate activists had been detained on a second consecutive day of protests against government subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. Hundreds of protesters marched on the A12 highway into The Hague around noon, ignoring warnings from authorities not to block the major traffic artery. On Saturday around 2 400 protesters were detained as an estimated 10 000 activists blocked the same highway for several hours. Extinction Rebellion has said protesters will try to block the highway on a daily basis. | Reuters…