Cape Timesの 2022-02-23 の目次

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za Mining giant Kumba Iron Ore yesterday reported a stellar performance as it delivered record earnings of R64 billion for the year ended December 31 on the back of higher iron ore prices and cost-cutting measures. Kumba, majority owned by Anglo American, yesterday declared a R30.50 per share final dividend bringing the total dividend for its 2021 financial year to R103.20 per share representing 100 percent of its headline earnings − 46 percent higher year-on-year. Its headline earnings per share was R103.65 for the year ended December 31, from R71.07 in 2020. Kumba’s new chief executive, Mpumi Zikalala, said yesterday that 2021 was an exceptional year of delivery across the business. Zikalala is the former De Beers Consolidated Mines CEO and was appointed Kumba…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za PARLIAMENT will soon start a process to appoint an external evidence leader for the impeachment inquiry into the fitness of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to hold public office. This after the committee decided to push ahead with the inquiry, despite Mkhwebane asking for the impeachment proceedings to be put on hold pending her rescission application to the Constitutional Court. The court recently ruled that Mkhwebane be granted full legal representation during the proceedings. It had also dismissed her application against having a judge on the independent panel that decided whether she had a case to answer. Yesterday, the committee heard that Mkhwebane wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Monday notifying her of her intention to apply to the Constitutional Court for the rescission of certain…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za A FARMER’S attempt to evict a pensioner and former employee off the Robertson land he has lived on since 1975 was unsuccessful for a second time. This as a full bench of the Western Cape High Court ruled that Gert Vermeulen maintained the right of residence as an occupier in terms of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (Esta Act). The Act ensures the right of residence of an occupier who has resided on the land belonging to the owner for 10 years and has reached the age of 60 years; or is an employee or former employee of the owner and as a result of ill health, injury or disability is unable to supply labour to the owner, unless the occupier has committed a breach.…

Staff writer FARM school, Intsebenziswano Senior Secondary in Philippi, is the provincial winner of the 2021 Eskom Simama Ranta high school entrepreneurship competition. The Eskom Development Foundation said Intsebenziswano formed its enterprise club in 2018 and runs various projects including a tuckshop, beadwork, woodwork, sketch art and painting. The club has managed to sustain itself with profit generated from these projects. It plans to invest the prize money in buying new material and equipment to help develop the club. Club lead, Misiwe Thungela- Matete said: “Our club was impacted by Covid-19 and could not carry out many activities last year. We look forward to resuming our fund-raising activities to enable us to support local orphanages and the elderly. “We have also started a ‘Donate a book cover’ project to help…

Staff writer FIRE services yesterday battled to protect houses, livestock and farmland in jeopardy, as a fire raged in Klapmuts along the N1, close to Stellenbosch. On the opposite side of the Peninsula, City Fire and Rescue Service were battling a fire in Noordhoek, with helicopters having been called in to assist in the fire-fighting efforts. The Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) said the Klapmuts fire started close to the train station, moved rapidly toward the Paarl road from where it jumped the N1 onto the Paarl side. A portion of the N1 was temporarily closed due to smoke and traffic authorities guided commuters regarding alternative routes. By evening, a single lane on the N1 was open with Old Paarl Road still closed and traffic being diverted. “At this stage…

This sector tends to have a higher impact on jobs than other economic activities WE HAVE a strong base on which to rebuild and expand the tourism sector in South Africa, and our work is cut out for us. In the recent past, I’ve had the privilege of truly experiencing the promise of our tourism sector. Firstly, our visit to Expo 2020 in Dubai was defined by deep and rich engagements with serious global stakeholders. We saw hoteliers and airline executives who took the opportunity to meet with us to affirm their interests and commitment to invest in and support our tourism sector. Since that trip, I have been delighted to interact with local stakeholders in Cape Town, an engagement made more remarkable because it was held at a hotel…

MOSCOW/DONETSK: Russia faced the prospect of harsh new Western sanctions yesterday after President Vladimir Putin recognised two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered the deployment of troops there, deepening Western fears of a major war in Europe. Ukraine said two soldiers had been killed and 12 wounded in shelling by pro-Russian separatists in the east in the past 24 hours, and reported new hostilities yesterday morning. A journalist saw tanks and other military hardware moving through the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk overnight, but no insignia were visible on the vehicles. Western leaders are trying to work out what Putin will do next, and whether Russia plans a full-scale invasion of Ukraine after massing troops near the borders of its ex-Soviet neighbour. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country may…

SYDNEY: Irwin spent her late dad Steve’s birthday showing her daughter episodes of The Crocodile Hunter. The star, 23, paid tribute to her father Steve Irwin – who died aged 44 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray in 2006 – and revealed she keeps his memory alive by telling her 9-month-old girl Grace Warrior all about “Grandpa Crocodile”. Sharing a photo on Instagram on Monday to mark what would have been his 60th birthday, she wrote: “Happy Birthday Wildlife Warrior”. Bindi’s brother Robert, 18, also posted a throwback picture.…

IN A rare phenomenon in Gaza nowadays, young people are taking to Twitter and other social networks to protest against Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the enclave. Using the hashtag, or “they kidnapped Gaza”, locals say they are tired of Hamas’ rule, in place since 2007. “Hamas has turned the poor of Gaza into its milking cow to fund its rule,” wrote one tweep, referring to monthly cash injections given to the Islamist group by Qatar to ease the suffering of the impoverished local population. Another wrote: “The most authoritarian countries that restrict freedom of opinion and expression have not impo- sed such restrictions as those imposed by those, who #kidnapped_Gaza.” Rami Aman, a peace activist who recently escaped the Strip after being tortured by the Islamist group, says…

Canberra: Australian homes, businesses and communities need billions of dollars more in government funding to cope with worsening extreme weather conditions, according to the nation’s insurance industry. A report released yesterday by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said the federal government’s natural disaster funding should be doubled to A$200 million (about R2.2 billion) a year and that the figure should be matched by the nation’s six state and two territory governments for the next five years. “Insurers are at the frontline when it comes to climate change and extreme weather,” said Andrew Hall, head of the Sydney-based ICA.…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za Serious allegations of corruption, tenders benefit facilitation, corporate self-gratification and shifting board room chairs are playing out at the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) as the entity remains silent on the progress of a forensic investigation it launched last year. Samsa said in November it had hired independent firm of forensic investigators, Morar Incorporated, to probe allegations of misconduct and whistle-blowing reports. This as three senior executives were suspended since April last on full pay, while the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula remains mum. The three ejected executives, chief executive Sobantu Tilayi, company secretary Moyahabo Raphadu, and chief human capital officer Lesego Mashishi, were placed on precautionary suspension with pay from April 26, 2021 amid allegations of misconduct. Samsa and the Department of Transport have repeatedly…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za AT THE unveiling of a mural in honour of assassinated anti-apartheid martyr and teacher Dulcie September, the provincial Education Department announced its commitment to ensure that her fight for liberation and justice was not in vain. The mural was unveiled by September’s niece and nephew, Nicola and Michael Arendse, and adorns the Dulcie September Civic Centre in Athlone. The work aims to celebrate the life of the ANC activist who was murdered in Paris on March 29, 1988 after she was exiled from South Africa. The mural, commissioned by Enver Samuel, director of the award-winning and much-acclaimed documentary Murder in Paris, is one of the pillars of a unique impact campaign telling the story of September as an unsung activist and hero of the Struggle against apartheid.…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE question of the expansion of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant into a formal Basic Income Grant (BIG) is one both experts and South Africans facing dire socio-economic conditions are hoping to have answered as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivers his maiden Budget speech today. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Covid-19 social relief grant of R350 had been extended to the end of March 2023. However, the call for the implementation of a permanent income support of about R1 500 for those aged 18 to 59 years with no income, remains. It is proposed that the grant could be funded with the introduction of a wealth tax. Frustrated by the “immoral” hourly…

Staff writer TYGERBERG Hospital became the first government hospital in South Africa to perform robotic surgery yesterday, with the launch of its da Vinci surgical robotic programme. Two da Vinci Xi systems – the fourth generation and most technologically advanced surgical robot available – were acquired by the provincial government in October. The diseases the programme will focus on are colorectal, liver, prostate, kidney and bladder cancers, and women with severe endometriosis. Patients will undergo robotic-assisted keyhole or minimally invasive surgery. The surgery is not performed by a robot alone; instead, the system gives surgeons an advanced set of instruments that the surgeon guides from a console via fibre optic cables, the hospital said “The da Vinci system thus ‘translates’ a surgeon’s hand movements at the console in real time,…

Staff writer TWO more suspects were arrested in Rosettenville in Johannesburg in connection with an attempted cash-in-transit (CIT) heist that turned deadly, bringing the total number of those arrested to 10. The pair were among at least 25 suspects who were allegedly on their way to commit a CIT robbery when they were intercepted by a multidisciplinary SAPS team led by the National CIT Task Team in Moffat View, in the south of Johannesburg. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said a manhunt was still under way for the remaining suspects. “Various policing disciplines worked tirelessly throughout the night, combing the scene where the task team managed to corner the group of heavily armed suspects.Eight suspects were shot and killed, 10 suspects were arrested, two of whom are under police guard in…

IF THERE was one thing to be optimistic about in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, it would be his self-imposed target of 100 days to finalise a “comprehensive social compact to grow our economy, create jobs and combat hunger”. It would have been commendable if this was a country with no pressing needs that required urgent attention. It’s somewhat strange that the president, who has been at the helm of the country for almost five years, is only now realising the urgency required in addressing the needs of the majority of people in the country. Whether this is just more Ramaphosa talk, is another topic for another day. The point is that it would be news to us and possibly many South Africans if the president did…

At least seven people were killed and 12 others injured yesterday in a blast inside a fireworks factory in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, officials said. The blast took place at a unit at Bathri industrial area in Una district, about 150km north-west of Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. “Today an explosion took place inside a fireworks factory here, in which seven people were killed on the spot and 12 others injured, 10 of them critically,” an official at Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Operation Centre said. “The explosion triggered a fire inside the factory.” According to the official, the injured were admitted to the nearest medical facility. Following the incident, rescue teams and firefighters were rushed to the scene and brought the fire under control. The victims…

WASHINGTON: Paul Farmer, an American doctor and anthropologist dedicated to improving public health in some of the world’s poorest countries, died unexpectedly in his sleep in Rwanda, the group he founded said. He was 62. Farmer founded Partners in Health in Haiti in 1987 and served as chief strategist to the group, which has provided millions of outpatient visits, women’s health check-ups and home visits in 12 countries, according to its website. Former US President Bill Clinton praised Farmer’s “pioneering work” that “fundamentally changed the way health care is delivered in the most impoverished places on Earth”. In 1983, while a student, Farmer became committed to Haiti after working with dispossessed farmers, according to his biography from Harvard University, where he earned his medical degree and a PhD in anthropology.…

TRIPOLI: Libya’s interim prime minister on Monday announced a plan for elections in the summer as he seeks to stay in office, despite a push by parliament to dislodge him in favour of a new government. Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who heads the Government of National Unity (GNU) in the west of the country, repeated his vow to step down only after a national vote, defying the eastern-based parliament’s designation of former interior minister Fathi Bashagha to replace him as prime minister. He also said the GNU would hold a parliamentary election followed by a presidential poll in June as he attempts to foil the parliamentary bid to replace him.…

Bogotá: In a 5-4 decision, Colombia’s Constitutional Court voted to decriminalise abortion in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Monday’s decision expands on a 2006 ruling allowing for abortions in the cases of rape, a risk to the mother’s life, or an unviable fetus. Since the 2006 abortion ruling in Columbia, some 400 criminal cases a year have been opened over women seeking or receiving an abortion in the nation. Without access to legal abortion, only 12% of the nearly 400 000 abortions in Colombia occur in official health centres. As a result, at least 70 women die every year undergoing an unsafe or unsanitary procedure.…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Whether it’s work, family or just our day-to-day activities, stress has a way of creeping up on us and into our lives. If you thought you had a fairly stress-free life, the pandemic has brought each of us a fair share of angst. Stress affects people differently, and everybody deals with it differently, but no matter how hard you might try to you hide it, your skin will tell the tale. Dr Alek Nikolic, a specialist in Aesthetic Medicine and owner of online skincare store SkinMiles, explains the common signs that your skin is stressed and shares how to treat or prevent those symptoms. Increased breakouts even when it’s not that time of the month When we are stressed, we produce sebum, an oily substance that…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za Various businesses and foreign- owned companies made donations to 11 South African political parties – including the ANC, EFF and DA – to the tune of more than R46 million. This was revealed by the Electoral Commission (IEC) in its latest Political Party Funding Disclosure Report published yesterday. The report showed that the EFF has confirmed receiving donations from South African Breweries amounting to R100 000; SN Maseko R100 000 and Harmony Gold Mining R1 099 088. The EFF did not do declarations in the first report, issued on September 9 and November 18, 2021. The IEC said in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year, a total of eleven political parties made declarations totalling R46 036 589.97 in terms of section 9 of the Act.…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za FRAUD and money laundering accused and DA councillor, Nora Grose, has apparently asked to be removed as a member of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), a body tasked with investigating fraud, corruption, maladministration and irregular expenditure, due to “scheduling clashes”. Her election as a member of the committee was met with outrage, with opposition parties accusing the DA of paying lip-service to the fight against malfeasance in government. Opposition parties also charged that while Grose was innocent until proven guilty, she did not meet the standard of integrity or independence required, as she was still being prosecuted for fraud and money laundering. But this did not move the governing party in the City council. Grose is out on bail after appearing in the Bellville Commercial…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za IN WHAT has been described as a ground-breaking victory, student protests led by the UCT Student Representative Council (SRC) not only resulted to the lifting of the fee block for local students but also for those across the continent. “We welcome this toilsome victory and also welcome council’s commitment to reviewing and mobilising its resources towards the alleviation and clearing of historical debt. The SRC will also take part in a joint working group with management to ensure the accountability and efficiency of these processes,” said SRC acting president Siyabulela Plaatjie. Hopes for a full return of in-person classes at the start of this academic year were short-lived owing to student protests against registration delays and the exclusion of those with outstanding fee debts. On Monday, UCT’s…

POLITICS is central in our lives as human beings, therefore politicians must deal with issues affecting people, and not irrelevant issues. Everyone has the right to join a political party of his/her choice regardless of colour, class, creed or gender. So, how relevant are petty issues like appearance, shape, size, weight, and outlook generally? Screening people for appearance, shape, size, weight and outlook for participation in politics has never been done. Maybe during the Iron or Victorian ages. From a long time ago, leaders and members of political parties in Parliament were just human beings of different weights and other issues, and differed politically, too. After the 1990s, and especially after 1994, our politics became more formal and free because of the new political landscape. Be that as it may,…

Staff Reporter THE Youth Business Chain is concerned about “the politically motivated racial profiling of the progressive Sekunjalo Group and other black-owned companies” and has called on companies owned by young people to suspend their trading with such banks “if this frivolous behaviour continues”. It said in a statement: “We are highly aware that there is a political agenda to collapse anything related to the Sekunjalo Investment Group, also posing a huge risk to collapsing more than 40 000 jobs of mostly young people employed in this group.” The Youth Business Chain called for the establishment of a state-owned commercial bank, stating that the big four banks in South Africa were “controlled by politicians to suit their ambitions”. “This is where the problem started, instead of changing the banking…

Passenger traffic at Dubai international airport, the world’s busiest, will not recover to pre-Covid levels before 2024, its CEO said yesterday. Traffic remains “nowhere near pre-pandemic levels” despite rising to 29.1 million passengers last year, Dubai Airports chief Paul Griffiths said. The figures announced yesterday, up 12.7% from 2020, mean that Dubai remains the world’s busiest airport for the eighth consecutive year. However, it is still a long way from the 86 million passengers seen in 2019, before the pandemic ravaged the air industry. “We are nowhere near the pre-pandemic levels,” said Griffiths, adding that Dubai had weathered the storm better than many other airports. “I think it’s quite gratifying that for the eighth year in succession we are the world’s busiest international airport, so that’s a very good statistic,”…

The Arab Spring has drawn scrutiny to the wealth Arab elites had stashed abroad. A leak of bank data reveals how figures linked to regimes in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Jordan, and elsewhere held hundreds of millions at Credit Suisse before and after the uprising. Credit Suisse customers included heads of state, royal families, ministers, spy chiefs, and government-connected businessmen from across the Arab world, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said in a report. The account holders came from over half-a-dozen countries hit by the Arab Spring protests, including Syria, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Jordan. These accounts, which provide a glimpse into the wealth held abroad by Arab elites in the decade before the uprising, were worth at least $1 billion (R15.15bn held in just one Swiss bank.…

TOKYO: Three people in Japan who were forcibly sterilised under a now-defunct eugenics law were awarded damages yesterday in a landmark victory following court losses in similar cases, their lawyer said. Around 16 500 people with disabilities were sterilised without their consent under the law, which was in force between 1948 and 1996, according to the health ministry. Lawyers and campaigners have long criticised the government for failing to compensate the victims, and district courts have ruled against various claims in recent years. But yesterday the Osaka High Court overturned a lower court decision.…

ROME: The Italian coastguard has rescued 573 migrants who were trying to reach Europe aboard two fishing boats in distress. One body was found, which was that of a migrant who died days earlier. The rescue operation took place off the southern Italian coast yesterday. The migrants were transferred to another vessel which will bring them ashore at the port of Augusta in Sicily. They include 59 minors, many of them unaccompanied . Italy has experienced an increase in boat migrants in recent months. The government is struggling to secure an agreement with EU partners on how to deal with the influx.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za HEINRICH Klaasen issued a timely reminder to the Proteas selectors with a high-quality half-century to propel the Titans to the top of the Cricket SA T20 Challenge table in Gqeberha yesterday. Klaasen was part of the Proteas T20 World Cup squad that just missed out on semi-final qualification in the United Arab Emirates last year. However, he has seemingly slipped off the national radar after being omitted for the ODI series against India at the beginning of the new year. But the hard-hitting right-hander has found good form at St George’s Park over the past fortnight, with his unbeaten 59 yesterday lifting his aggregate to 226 runs at average of 75.33, which placed the former Proteas T20 captain third on the tournament’s run-scorers list. This bodes well…