Tabla de contenidos para 2022-02-17 en Cape Times

Philippa Larkin philippa.larkin@inl.co.za THARISA, the chrome and platinum group metals miner, said yesterday it had it acquired the remaining 26 percent shareholding in Tharisa Minerals, in a $25.6 million (R388m) deal, which would unlock value for its black economic empowerment (BEE) shareholders via a simplified structure. “BEE shareholders will now benefit from the broader Tharisa group cash flow and dividend,” the JSE- and London-listed firm said, adding that Tharisa was offering 13.9 million new shares, the equivalent in exchange for the 26 percent of Tharisa Minerals it did not own. This is good news for BEE shareholders as Tharisa started the year with a bang as it posted the best-ever quarterly production in South Africa during its first-quarter results, which ended on December 31. Last month it reported…

Thobile Mazibuko thobile.mazibuko@inl.co.za South African influencer Eva Modika is making big moves as she launches a make-up brand in London. The club promoter took to Instagram to announce that she is launching a make-up line called “Pretty Much Beauty SA”. “Wow! For me to have made such a huge achievement launching my brand @officialprettymuchbeautysa at the Africa Fashion Collective London is overwhelming. I am proud, and it’s only the beginning. I can only wish for even more. The website for @officialprettymuchbeautysa will be live in two weeks,” she wrote. Africa Fashion Collective London is a platform that brings together African creatives to showcase their talents and launch their businesses. Quiteria Kekana of Quiteria Atelier is also showcasing there. Pretty Much Beauty SA, which has a wide range of products such…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za WHERE to now for former president Jacob Zuma? Allow the arms deal corruption trial to continue in April or petition the Supreme Court of Appeal? Those were the options for Zuma yesterday after Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Piet Koen dismissed his application to appeal the October 2021 ruling where he wanted the NPA’s senior prosecutor, advocate Billy Downer SC to be removed from leading the prosecutorial team in his trial. Judge Koen, citing several reasons, said he saw no prospects of success even if the matter was heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal, and that trial must go ahead. He insisted that Zuma’s legal team should ensure that he avails himself on the said date so that the trial could proceed. One of the issues that…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za ORGANISATIONS working with homeless people have expressed optimism at what appears to be the City’s change in approach away from relying only on punitive measures when dealing with the homeless. This after mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said he had written to the Provincial Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to request the drafting of a protocol under the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act that would see more psychiatric treatment and addiction programme referrals where needed. The amended Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Nuisances by-law, the amendments to which are now gazetted and are law, now uniquely requires that alternative accommodation be offered, and ensures that sleeping and camping overnight in public places is no longer classified as an automatic offence if no other choice is available to a person.…

They have clear incentives to dispatch president and his Cabinet without delay ONE of the most mysterious contradictions emerging from this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate is that it seems to be an unwritten rule of the Parliamentarians’ Club that they will not directly call for the resignation of one of their own, including President Cyril Ramaphosa. This unconstitutional and mischievous rule prevails despite the majority of opposition MPs appearing to be neither dedicated to Ramaphosa’s removal, nor committed to his survival, as of last week’s uninspiring address to the nation. Most South Africans commenting on the debate continue to ask: what is standing in the way of Parliament, by a resolution adopted with a supporting vote of at least two-thirds of its members, removing the president…

Al-Shabaab militants attacked several police stations and security checkpoints in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu yesterday, officials and the militants said, a show of force as the nation prepares for a much-delayed presidential election. State TV reported that five people, two of them children, were killed in two attacks, one at the police station in the Kahda district and another in the Darussalam district. The al-Qaeda-linked militants carry out frequent attacks against the government and last week attacked a minibus carrying election delegates. The group’s spokesperson, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said fighters hit government targets in four districts in the capital and another area on the outskirts. He said the militants overran government bases and seized military vehicles and weapons. It was not immediately possible to verify those claims. Internal Security Minister Abdullahi…

LOS ANGELES: Johnny Depp declared he’s “on the verge of a new life” as he received the Gold Medal of Merit In Serbia on Tuesday. The Hollywood actor was honoured by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic in recognition of his “outstanding merits in public and cultural activities, especially in the field of film art and the promotion of the Republic of Serbia in the world”. Depp was pictured with his golden disc as he attended Serbia’s Statehood Day in Belgrade, where he filmed his 2021 movie Minimata. The 58-year-old star – who also voices Johnny Puff in the Serbian-produced animated series Puffins – said at the event: “I truly, sincerely thank you, President Vucic, and this medal of merit. If I am given the honour to walk away with…

SEOUL: A forest fire broke out in the southeastern coastal city of South Korea and about 180 households have been evacuated, it was reported yesterday. The wildfire first occurred on a mountain in Yeongdeok, some 350km southeast of the capital Seoul, early on Tuesday and was extinguished by the afternoon. The fire reignited overnight. No casualty had as yet been reported. The Korea Forest Service raised the four-notch wildfire warning from level 2 to 1evel 3 yesterday. Thirty-six firefighting helicopters and around 600 personnel were sent to the scene, but the fire was hard to put out due to strong wind.…

Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso strongman Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was inaugurated as president yesterday, just over three weeks after he led a coup to topple elected head of state Roch Marc Christian Kabore. In a televised ceremony, Damiba swore an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta. Damiba was dressed in camouflage uniform and a red beret, and wore a sash in the colours of Burkina’s national flag. No foreign representatives attended the ceremony.…

SMISO MSOMI smiso.msomi@inl.co.za “We were unlucky not to win against City,” says Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter. Kaizer Chief’s stalemate against Cape Town City on Tuesday night means Amakhosi have failed to score in two consecutive games against arguably two of the leakiest defences in the league. Baxter spoke after their unambitious encounter at the Cape Town Stadium and surprisingly expressed his pleasure in his side’s performance and applauded his player’s intentions throughout the 90 minutes. Is pressure getting to him? “We were unlucky not to win the game. We controlled large parts of the game and we built on that to a point that we felt we were the ones who had to find the breakthrough between the two sides,” said Baxter. “If we had the right support around our…

Group takes a legal stand against banks over empowerment and its right to trade SIZWE DLAMINI sizwe.dlamini@inl.co.za THE UNSPOKEN entanglement of South Africa’s banks with white monopoly capital knows no bounds, as we witness a systematic shutdown of the efforts by the country’s “not so strategically aligned” businesses, this time affecting at least 43 companies and several thousand livelihoods. An order handed down by Judge Matthew Francis in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, revealed that transformative justice has an important role to play in South Africa’s banking sector. This, as the wider Sekunjalo Group took a stand against the banks in what looks set to be an epic battle for transformation, empowerment and the right to trade. The Sekunjalo Group is looking to stop abuse by South Africa’s…

| Bang Showbiz Euphoria star Barbie Ferreira says she is “honoured” to be the model fronting the luxury cosmetics brand YSL with its quest to “appeal to the Gen Z consumer and embody the brand’s value of boldness, community and connection”. The actress, 25, said: “I’ve never shied away from expressing myself through make-up. Make-up is a passion, and I’m so excited and honoured to be working with YSL Beauty and the legacy the brand has built.” Ferreira will feature in digital campaigns for its beauty products and its classic fragrance Black Opium. Her debut for the brand will be for their new Lash Clash Mascara, which boasts their biggest mascara brush yet and claims to give your lashes 200% more volume. David Iop, vice-president of global communications and…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says he is applying his mind to the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission on the appointment of the new Chief Justice. The JSC has recommended Supreme Court of Appeal Judge President Mandisa Maya after four candidates were interviewed for the top job in the judiciary early this month. While Ramaphosa has not said exactly when he would make the appointment, he has said he would make the decision soon. “As I said I have received the report, I am going through the report and I will go through it before I finally say what I thought of it,” Ramaphosa said. He said he watched portions of the interviews as they took the whole day to grill one candidate. The other people who…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za IN A case that illustrates the devastation of employers’ failure to keep up to date with their pension fund contributions, two complainants – a daughter and a son – have failed in their respective bids to get risk benefits when their parents died. The deceased were members of the funds by virtue of their employment with the Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality in the Free State. One employee, a woman, died on January 1, 2018. The other, a man, died on September 14, 2018. Their daughter and son, respectively, complained to the Pension Funds Adjudicator (PFA), Muvhango Lukhaimane, that the deceased’s risk benefits had not been paid to their beneficiaries. Responding to Lukhaimane, the funds submitted that the employees commenced participation on September 1, 2012, and September 14, 2018, respectively.…

“… A JUDICIAL Service Commission (JSC) helps to restrain politically partisan courts appointments …”(Tom Lodge, 2002:153.) We fought for democracy as individuals, and as a collective as well. No one person or party can claim it is the only one that fought for democracy. Some of the individuals and their parties who claim to be revolutionaries were not even alive during the era of Struggle. The commission was formed to serve the nation and not political parties. But from the look of things, it seems the latter applies. First, it does not take a genius to see that a certain candidate is favoured by individuals from certain parties or associations. Second, they do not favour the others because they are the opposite of the preferred one, or they…

A shocking video of hundreds of birds falling from the sky in Chihuahua, Mexico, has left social media users baffled while prompting local ornithologists to start a probe into the “mysterious” cause of their death. The incident captured by a CCTV camera took place on February 7 when the migratory yellow-headed blackbirds suddenly dropped from mid-flight on to the road like a cloudburst. The video shows that while most of the birds fly away, dozens of them remain dead on the street. While ornithologists and police officers are probing their death, social media users are coming up with different theories, with some tweeting the birds could have fallen after being exposed to 5G technology. However, experts have come up with more logical reasons for the horrific incident. Dr Richard…

North Korea has celebrated the 80th birthday anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un’s late father with a music concert and gun salutes in a refurbished holy city, but no missile launch or military parade, state media KCNA reported yesterday. Kim attended a gathering of government, military and ruling Workers’ Party officials on Tuesday in front of the statue of Kim Jong Il in Samjiyon City to commemorate the anniversary, a major holiday called the Day of the Shining Star in North Korea. Dubbed the “holy land of revolution” by KCNA, the northern alpine town of Samjiyon is near the border with China and Mount Paektu, the holy mountain where Kim’s family claims its roots. However, it was rare that North Korea held such celebrations in the remote region. The young leader…

BRUSSELS: Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that the movement of Russian troops did not confirm their withdrawal. On Tuesday, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said that Russia was withdrawing some forces away from the border with Ukraine and from Crimea where Russian personnel participated in military drills. “Russia has always moved its forces back and forth, so battle tank movement doesn’t confirm withdrawal of Russian forces,” Stoltenberg told a press conference. The secretary general also said that Russia had “increased the number of troops” near Ukraine.…

jerusalem: Seventeen Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a racist attack on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank last month, police said yesterday. Police said Jewish Israelis armed with stones, clubs and “other objects” wounded one Palestinian and vandalised shops, vehicles and property in the northern West Bank village of Hawara on January 24. The suspects – who live in the West Bank, Jerusalem and northern Israel – are under investigation for perpetrating “an attack, participation in a prohibited gathering and destroying property with a racist motive”, police said.…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s Budget could reach a primary surplus by 2024/25, as per National Treasury’s goal, if the government manages an “unflinching” commitment to fiscal consolidation. This was the view of Old Mutual Wealth Group economists yesterday, as they unpacked their expectations for the Budget to be presented by the finance minister next week. Currently, the consolidated Budget deficit is expected to be 7.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021/22, gradually lowering to 4.9 percent in 2024/25. This is a significant improvement from the deficit of 15.7 percent, or R760 billion, suffered during the 2020/21 fiscal year at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. The Treasury aims to use part of the higher tax revenues associated with the recent surge in…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za EFF leader Julius Malema has offered an explanation of why he decided to sing Kiss the Boer, kiss the farmer instead of the original Kill the Boer, kill the farmer. Malema was yesterday defending a court application by AfriForum which is asking the Equality Court to rule that he should be criminally prosecuted for singing the revised song. AfriForum contends that even the singing of the new version had led to the murder of farmers in the country. During apartheid, former South African Youth Congress (Sayco) leader and later ANC Youth League leader Peter Mokaba popularised the original “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” at many public rallies of the Mass Democratic Movement while the ANC and other political parties were banned. However, the song became the…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za RESIDENTS have been assured that their tap water was safe to drink following concerns of a “superbug” that’s led to a spike in vomiting and diarrhoea among schoolchildren and some adults. A parent said she had to fetch her 15-year-old son from Norman Henshilwood High School after he fell sick. “He has been suffering from diarrhoea since Tuesday. We have heard about other children being sick and that it’s a bug, but we are not sure what is the cause. Schools are back in full swing and the spread of bugs is unfortunately inevitable.” Another parent from Observatory said she was advised by a friend to boil tap water before drinking it, or to buy bottled water, after everyone in her household including children were sick. A…

IN A few years from now, many of us will look back at a time when our epidemic preparedness was truly put to the test as we had to hastily find innovative ways to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Day of Epidemic Preparedness was held for the first time on December 27, 2020 to emphasise the importance and need for epidemic preparedness as the world had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. What was first reported as an outbreak of a severe respiratory disease in Wuhan, China, within months had swept to all corners of the globe. While outbreaks and pandemics are not new and there are systems in place to deal with these, the scale of the current pandemic has been unsurpassed, driven in part by the…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE City is another step closer to securing Cape Town’s energy supply following mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s announcement yesterday that they have opened the first round in the process to procure power from Independent Power Producers (IPP). “The City will be considering proposals from IPPs for projects between 5 and 20MW that will allow us to access an affordable and reliable electricity supply,” said Hill-Lewis. “We will consider proposals from a range of projects, including generation-only projects, generation-plus-storage projects, and storage-only projects.” Hill-Lewis made the announcement at the Solar Power Africa Conference in the Cape Town International Convention Centre, saying he had asked Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe whether the national government was committed to opening the way for municipal energy generation. “The minister’s response was…

THE sports fraternity has to be the most overlooked, and quite frankly undermined, industry that continues to suffer from the absurd government-imposed Covid-19 regulations. It defies logic that children are allowed to return to overcrowded classrooms, taxis are operating at full capacity, night clubs and other entertainment establishments are packed to the rafters, yet stadiums – with proper ventilation and capacity for social distancing – are permitted to accommodate only 750 persons or fewer for indoor venues, and up to 2 000 persons for outdoor venues subject to strict adherence to all health protocols and social distancing measures. Well, even this only happened when Bafana Bafana played Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, and at the MTN 8 Challenge final. But political parties including the ANC were allowed to bus in more…

london: Disgraced British royal Prince Andrew faced a call yesterday to “live out his retirement in ignominy” after reportedly settling a sexual assault lawsuit for a whopping £12 million. The lawyer for US accuser Virginia Giuffre revealed on Tuesday that both parties had settled out of court, sparing Andrew the public humiliation of a trial. The details were not revealed. Giuffre has said she had sex with Andrew when she was 17 and a minor under US law, after meeting him through the late US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who took his own life in prison while awaiting trial for sex crimes. The prince has not been criminally charged and has denied the allegations. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Andrew was to pay £10m to Giuffre and £2m to…

PARIS: Marine Le Pen, whose bid for the French presidency was already in difficulty after a wave of defections, suffered a further blow after her far-right party accused her campaign spokesperson of political espionage and suspended him. In a memo sent to senior party officials, the Rassemblement National alleged Nicolas Bay, an erstwhile Le Pen loyalist and former secretary general of the party, had handed “strategic and confidential” campaign details to far-right rival Eric Zemmour. “This perfectly immoral behaviour amounts to sabotage,” the party wrote.…

Schools reopened in southern India under tight security yesterday with public gatherings banned following protests over Muslim girls wearing the hijab in classrooms. Tensions have been high in Karnataka state since late last year when at least four schoolgirls were prevented from wearing the Muslim headscarf, sparking protests that have since spread across India. In an attempt to calm tensions, Karnataka’s state government temporarily closed schools last week. This came as the Karnataka High Court imposed a temporary ban on the wearing of all religious symbols in schools while it considers the headscarf ban. As classes resumed in the state on Tuesday and yesterday, police with batons were deployed outside several schools. Officials also imposed Section 144 – a law that prohibits gatherings of more than four people – in…

SYDNEY: A shark killed a swimmer off Sydney in the city’s first first fatal attack in nearly 60 years, causing “catastrophic injuries”, police and ambulance services said. Witnesses told television they had seen the attack on a swimmer wearing a wetsuit. “Some guy was swimming and a shark came and attacked him vertically,” witness Kris Linto told Nine. “We heard a yell and turned around… it looked like a car had landed in the water, a big splash then the shark was chomping at the body and there was blood everywhere.” It was estimated the shark was 4.5 metres in size.…