Tabla de contenidos para 2023-02-08 en Mercury

FORMER trade unionist and ANC KwaZulu-Natal secretary Super Zuma has been named as the new Agriculture and Rural Development MEC after a change was made in the provincial executive council due to former Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sihle Zikalala being deployed to the National Assembly. In a media briefing at the Marine Building in Durban yesterday, KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube announced that MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi would move from the Agriculture and Rural Development Department to become Cogta MEC, with Zuma taking her former role. The swearing-in ceremony was presided over by newly appointed KZN Judge President Judge Thoba Poyo-Dlwati. The premier described Zuma as a tried and tested community activist who would bring a wealth of experience needed to steer the department to the future. “The new…

The Peshawar mosque attack, in which 101 people were killed, is an act of terrorism that must be condemned by the whole of humanity. Conflict continues to claim the lives of innocent people across the Muslim and non-Muslim world. The dire consequences of war, hatred and prejudice, particularly for the civilian population, defy description. Wars expose man’s ultimate inhumanity to man. Wars reflect man’s most basic instinct, untamed by rationality, all wars are instigated by hungry megalomaniacs, the politicians, managed by professional killers, the military and fought by the brainwashed members of their prospective population, the cannon fodder. The murder of innocent young civilians, in many lands continue unabated. This is the ultimate war crime against humanity, while a passive global audience looks on. Today’s world abounds with international courts,…

FOUR scenarios – let me know how you thrive in tough circumstances. 1. It’s one thing to be single and lonely – there’s at least some expectation that if someone is alone, he or she might occasionally feel it. But to be married and be lonely must surely come with unimaginable pain. If this is you, please let me know your coping strategies. Place “loneliness” in the email heading. 2. Feeling caught or trapped in the middle of any relationship triangle can grind a person down. If it’s you, your children, and their other parent; or you, your parents and your spouse; or your boss and the other employees; whatever the trap, let me know how you nonetheless cope. Please place “feeling trapped” in the heading. 3. If you are…

A man has been arrested for selling a tortoise for R200 at the Bloemfontein Showgrounds. The Bloemfontein SPCA said it had received multiple reports about a man selling a tortoise. “The man eluded the SPCA for a couple of days but was arrested on Monday,” the organisation said. According to the SPCA the tortoise found at the showgrounds had been placed in a bag and showed indications of dehydration. The man faces charges for contravening the Animals Protection Act. | Jolene Marriah-Maharaj…

A special Nigerian human rights panel has started investigating reports that the army massacred children and ran a secret abortion programme when fighting Islamist insurgents and said it would refer for prosecution those it considered guilty of rights violations. The Nigerian military said the reports were not true and that it would not investigate matter. Anthony Ojukwu, executive secretary of the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), launched the seven-member investigation panel yesterday led by a retired Supreme Court judge in Abuja. Ojukwu said the investigations followed “allegations of gross human rights violations contained in the three-part report published in December on military operations in the north east by Reuters”. The commission has no powers to prosecute human rights violators but can recommend prosecution for offenders. The panel is to…

Fresh strikes hit trains, schools and refineries in France yesterday over an unpopular pension reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, as opponents took to the streets for a day of protests. The third day of union-backed demonstrations since January 19 was set to test momentum for the protest movement which has vowed to block Macron’s bid to raise the retirement age. The head of the hardline CGT union, Philippe Martinez, warned that more “numerous, massive and rolling” strikes were coming if the government did not drop the plan. “If the government keeps on refusing to listen then of course things will have to be ratcheted up,” he said, as the demonstration in Paris got under way. Macron put raising the retirement age and encouraging the French to work more at…

KARACHI: Pakistani former president Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally in the campaign against al-Qaeda following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, was buried in his home town of Karachi yesterday. Musharraf, a former four-star general who seized power after a 1999 military coup, died on Sunday in hospital in Dubai, after suffering a rare organ disease. He was 79. After the 9/11 attacks, Musharraf gave US forces ground and air access into landlocked Afghanistan to chase down al-Qaeda militants. This contradicted Pakistan’s long-standing support for the Taliban, who still controlled Afghanistan until late 2001, and made Musharraf a target for militant groups. | Reuters…

Canberra: Alcohol bans will be reinstated for indigenous communities in central Australia in response to a crime wave. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (NT) Natasha Fyles said dry zones will be reinstated for indigenous town camps near Alice Springs. It comes less than 12 months after intervention-era alcohol bans in the NT ended in July 2022, making alcohol legal in some areas for the first time in 15 years. As a result, alcohol-fuelled violence soared in Alice Springs. Under the new laws, communities can opt out of the reinstated bans if 60% of residents support the decision and an alcohol management plan is in place. | IANS…

WE’VE SEEN CLIMATE activists chaining themselves to the goalposts or taking to the pitch to disrupt major football fixtures in the English Premier League or throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. And the investment industry is not exempt – protesters occupied the New York offices of investment giant Blackrock recently due to its investments in fossil fuels. So, what now? As investment professionals, what can we do? As stewards of the future, as dream protectors can we make environmentally and socially responsible investment palatable? Can we make it easier to promote good governance through the investment decisions we facilitate or make? Can we make environmental, social, and governance (ESG) accessible, and can we at least start somewhere? The fight for climate justice, social development and good governance is an intergenerational,…

A team from humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers left last night to assist victims in Türkiye and Syria following the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that has left thousands dead and thousands more trapped under rubble. President Tayyip Erdogan yesterday declared a three-month state of emergency covering Türkiye’s 10 southern provinces hit by that earthquake and a second, and called it a “disaster zone” in a move meant to bolster rescue efforts. This came as the death toll from Monday’s quakes, which hit a wide area of Türkiye and Syria, exceeded 5 000 and rescuers raced against time to dig people out of the rubble of collapsed buildings. Turkish authorities say about 13.5 million people were affected in an area spanning roughly 450km from Adana in the west to Diyarbakir…

EARLIER this week we discussed the hilarious book by the doyen of Africa foreign correspondents at the time, Peter Younghusband. It was titled Every Meal A Banquet, Every Night a Honeymoon. That needs a bit of explaining. Younghusband – known to his foreign correspondent colleagues as “Bigfoot” because of his hulking size – was describing an exchange of telegrams (no email in those days) between one of the correspondents and his news editor in London. This fellow had not written anything for a few days. He got a sarcastic telegram: “Presume you’re alive and well and living in Africa.” To which he replied: “Every meal a banquet, every night a honeymoon.” Younghusband, who wrote for the London Daily Mail, was inclined to, er, embroider his reports, make them more exciting…

Tourism continues to be a catalyst for economic growth and job creation in Durban. As the global outlook for the sector looks positive for growth in the coming years, this calls on us to continue to work together as stakeholders to ensure that the sector returns to pre-Covid-19 levels. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, global travel and tourism GDP is expected to grow by 5.8% a year on average over the 2022-2032 decade. Furthermore, tourist numbers into Durban displayed resilience, as passenger arrivals into King Shaka International Airport have increased by 321%, when comparing the latest flight destination figures of December 2022 to the most recent all-time low in July 2021. Nonetheless, passenger arrivals in December last year were still 32% less than the same month pre-Covid-19,…

TWO of South Africa’s biggest mining companies lost their appeal this week against an earlier judgment allowing mineworkers suffering from sick silicosis and/or tuberculosis to bring a class action against them. Thousands of sick mineworkers and the families of those already dead won a victory in 2016 when the Gauteng High Court in Johannesbur certified their claims against a host of mining companies and some of the so-called parent companies, to constitute a class action. The court also gave permission to the families of those who had died to sue the mining companies. Mining giants DRDGold and East Rand Property Mines, however, turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to challenge the ruling. The issue before the SCA was whether the high court’s certification and declaratory orders were appealable.…

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) says it has implemented measures to ensure that the State of the Nation Address (Sona) takes place in a safe environment at the Cape Town City Hall tomorrow. Natjoints comprises various government departments, including the SAPS, the SANDF, and the State Security Agency (SSA). According to a Natjoints statement, integrated and joint law- enforcement operations were under way, and law-enforcement officers have been deployed and were on high alert to ensure that the Sona takes place in a secure environment with no incidents of crime before, during or after the event. “To this end, Natjoints is calling for the co-operation of the public, including those who will be in attendance as well as spectators. “Any action aimed at disrupting the Sona or…

Parliamentary officials say efforts are under way to rebuild Parliament after parts of the building was gutted in a fire in January last year. The promise comes more than a year after a blaze ripped through Parliament’s Old Assembly building, damaging part of the New National Assembly and four months after Treasury set aside R2 billion for the purpose. Parliament’s secretary, Xolile George, yesterday said there would be a “scheduled media briefing next week” on the issue. However, he said work had been done since the October announcement by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana that Treasury had allocated R2bn to start the reconstruction and restoration of Parliament. “There will be a scheduled media briefing next week to advise South Africans on where the work of Parliament is in the undertaking of…

We have a moral duty to consistently report whenever we witness abuse “As a nation, we are abruptly woken up from our slumber when these (killing of women and girls) heinous crimes are committed. We are outraged by the brutality and wonder whether these things are really happening in South Africa. Sadly, we succumb to our slumber again and again, believing that nothing is happening in between. It takes a Karabo Mokoena or Zolile Khumalo or Uyinene Mrwetyana to wake us up.” These were the words of Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Buti Manamela, addressing mourners at the funeral of Uyinene Mrwetyana in East London, Eastern Cape province, on September 7, 2019. Mrwetyana was only 19 and a film and media studies student at UCT when…

Poverty and the prospect of better- paid work, rather than ideology, are what fuel recruitment to jihadist and other violent groups in Africa, the UN said yesterday. The conclusion casts doubt on conventional wisdom that religious doctrine is the main lure for joining groups like Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and the al-Qaeda-linked Support Group for Islam and Muslims. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in 2021 interviewed nearly 2 200 people across Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan. The interviews included nearly 1 200 former members of extremist groups, of whom nearly 900 had joined voluntarily while the others had been coerced. Of those who had voluntarily joined, a quarter said the prospect of paid work had been their primary motive, UNDP said. Another 22% said they joined…

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden was to deliver a State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress last night, at a time of record low unemployment, rising wages, and diminishing fears of recession – facts he was likely to trumpet as a sign his economic plans are working in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But there are pressing economic issues, most notably the need to lift a statutory debt limit that, in the extreme, could cause the US government to stop paying its bills. A still unresolved Federal Reserve fight to control inflation may pose the largest outstanding risk to the Biden economy, over which the White House has little influence. It was Biden’s second such speech as president and the first since the Republican party…

ATHENS: Three people drowned and more than a dozen were believed to be missing in the second migrant shipwreck off Greece this week, authorities said yesterday. The coastguard said 19 people were rescued in an operation that began early yesterday after an inflatable rubber boat was spotted on rocks along the coast of the island of Lesbos, near Türkiye. At least 10 people were taken to hospital, authorities said, some suffering from hypothermia as a cold weather front brought freezing temperatures and snow. Survivors told authorities about 41 people were on board the dinghy that had sailed from the Turkish coast. | Reuters…

NEW YORK: Salman Rushdie has branded his attacker an “idiot”. The Satanic Verses writer, 75, was onstage at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York in August last year when 24-year-old Hadi Matar stabbed him 15 times in the torso and neck, and the author said he now suffers PTSD and nightmares. Rushdie is still in recovery at home. “I’ve found it very difficult to write,” he said, adding that he hoped he would again find inspiration. “One of the things about being 75 and having written 21 books is that you know that, if you keep at it, something will come.” | Bang Showbiz…

DRAMA played itself out at yesterday’s meeting of the tourism portfolio committee meant to get answers on South African Tourism’s almost R1 billion sponsorship deal with English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur. Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who arrived three hours and 30 minutes late, left the meeting after about 30 minutes. Her office noted she had attended the joint meeting of all Cabinet committees led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which started at the same time. Earlier, acting chief financial officer of SA Tourism Johan van der Walt was called to the meeting on the instruction of portfolio committee chair Tandi Maham- behlala, after he stayed outside on the advice of acting CEO Themba Khumalo, and board chairperson Thozamile Botha. The meeting followed reports last week of an impending deal…

The recent pronouncements by former eThekwini deputy mayor PG Mavundla that ratepayers foot a bill of R500 000 for each council meeting and that the EFF was in support of the motion to remove the current mayor took me by surprise. Both statements are devoid of truth. At an average of one meeting a month, the annual cost to host these meetings of council, according to Mavundla, will amount to over R5 million. This is a massive amount which could be better spent on critical items like the purchase of more police vehicles, or refuse removal trucks. I looked at this thumb-suck figure, and quickly realised that his statement was not based on facts. It was designed to create media hype. The City does not pay for the use of…

There has to be action to stop the bullying by pupils which has reared its head in schools once again. The surge of violence and the alleged suicide of a pupil has raised a red flag in schools. An unhealthy culture of disrespect is a plague in our country. It is tearing at the heart of our society. When will the madness stop? Times will change and we need to adapt, but values should be carried on from generation to generation. Dealing with bullying requires positive action from all levels – parents, teachers, religious leaders and politicians. We need to find the spirit of oneness and seek a holistic solution. Parents need to wake up from their hibernation and actively involve themselves in their children’s welfare, most importantly, educating…

THE SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) says it is disappointed that schools are no longer safe havens for learners and teachers following incidents of bullying, suicide, stabbings and shootings at learning centres across the country. There have been a number of incidents in schools since the beginning of the 2023 academic year. These include one at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan, where 18-year-old Grade 10 learner Shawn Mphele was allegedly stabbed to death by fellow learners. At Sonyongwana High School in Creighton, KwaZulu-Natal, a 17-year old Grade 11 learner committed suicide allegedly because of bullying by her schoolmates, who constantly told her she was ugly and teased her about the shape of her head. At Kagiso Secondary School in the West Rand, a man allegedly entered the school and…

IN ANOTHER blow for the CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and its board of directors, the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Mbombela yesterday turned down an application against an earlier ruling which ordered them to pay the costs associated with two cases from their own pockets. Mpumalanga High Court Judge President Francis Legodi, who issued a lengthy, carefully-reasoned judgment last month, made several scathing remarks regarding CEO Collins Letsoalo and the board’s running of the RAF, especially after they had fired their panel of attorneys. This resulted in the personal costs order against them, which could run into millions. Judge Legodi yesterday refused leave to appeal, as he concluded that there was no prospect that another court would come to a different finding than that of the full…

The EFF has revealed that it has entered into a “working relationship” with the ANC in eThekwini while bilateral talks for a more formal relationship are under way. EFF provincial leader Mongezi Twala said they were in a working relationship with the ANC, albeit an informal arrangement while talks were ongoing. But he revealed that one of the conditions that would pave the way for a formal working relationship with the ANC, was the removal of eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda from the post. In an interview with The Mercury yesterday, he said: “Yes, we are working with the ANC. We want to block the re-emergence of the ‘establishment’, the partnership between the DA and the IFP. “We want to see the back of that ‘establishment’. We have decided we…

Shameer Goolabjith, 41, was released on R10 000 bail in the Durban Regional Court on Monday, pending the appeal of his conviction and sentence. Last week, he was sentenced to five years behind bars after he was found guilty of falsifying a claim, purportedly on behalf of a complainant, and suing the minister of police for R100 000, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said. The incident took place in July 2015. NPA provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Goolabjith was sentenced to serve an effective three years. His application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence was refused by the trial court. Goolabjith, represented by Durban attorney Anand Nepaul, then petitioned the judge president to request for the leave to appeal to be heard. That decision is pending. In…

OFTEN, when I listen to returned soldiers – men over 50 who have come back to their township homes – they say they have been betrayed and treated badly by their ex-wives or partners. Worse, they believe the GBV narrative is anti-black men. Nobody cares to listen to their trauma and pain. I was at my mother Nomali’s humble home in Diepkloof on Sunday when these uninvited men trickled in. On this patio was where my father, Mbokodo, retired to sit, read and reflect as he watched township life drift by. Most of the time, he would be reading or engaging in critical discourse. “I saw the car and knew you were here,” they say. “So, I came in to catch up.” You don’t make an appointment in the townships.…

For years, Juan Asin earned a decent living as a tour guide – trekking the ancient Inca trails and valleys around the Peruvian tourist hub of Cusco and the world-renowned archaeological site of Machu Picchu. But with the Andean country gripped by its worst social unrest in over 20 years, Asin and thousands of other guides in the highland region have been stuck at home for two months, struggling to make ends meet as tourists stay away. “Tourism has stopped. If there are no tourists, there’s no work, no income,” Asin told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from his home city, where road blocks by protesters and the closure of Machu Picchu in January have crippled the local economy. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security…

BAMAKO: Mali seeks to reinforce its economic co-operation with Russia and get preferential access to essential products, the country’s foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said yesterday before meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The meeting comes in the wake of a call last week by the UN for an independent investigation into possible war crimes by government forces and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali. Since 2020, Mali’s ruling military junta has turned to Moscow even as it sparred with neighbours and Western nations over election delays and its decision to work with Russian mercenaries to combat an Islamist insurgency. | Reuters…

Paris: Containing and cleaning up environmental pollution, especially in waterways, is crucial to controlling increasingly bullet-proof superbugs which could kill tens of millions by mid-century, a new UN report said yesterday. Superbugs are estimated to have killed 1.27 million people in 2019, and the World Health Organization says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global health threats on the near-term horizon. Up to 10 million deaths could occur every year by 2050 because of AMR, the UN says. The disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics that can help microbes become stronger are everywhere, from toothpaste and shampoo to cow’s milk. | AFP…

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak yesterday reorganised several government departments and appointed a new Conservative Party chairperson following last month’s dismissal of a senior ally over murky tax dealings. Sunak, who last week marked 100 days in 10 Downing Street, announced close confidant Greg Hands had replaced Nadhim Zahawi in the role of party head and cabinet minister without portfolio. The Tory leader fired the wealthy Zahawi after an internal probe into his tax affairs found a “serious breach” of ministerial rules. Sunak created four new government departments ahead of a general election expected next year. The ruling Conservatives are trailing the main opposition Labour party by wide margins, according to polls. It follows several scandals amid the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation as decades-high inflation threatens…