Tabla de contenidos para 2025-01-13 en Star

South African poultry producers are pushing for stricter protectionist measures, but there are concerns over the long-term impact on consumers, and the focus should rather be to grow exports, said Hume International managing director Fed Hume. Local lobbyists have called for harsher anti-dumping duties to protect domestic poultry producers. Some have further argued that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) should not renew poultry import quotas from the US under AGOA, (African Growth and Opportunity Act) claiming these quotas disadvantage domestic producers by increasing competition and lowering market prices. The local poultry industry also late last year applied for chicken products to be VAT-free, arguing that it will improve citizens’ access to meat. Hume, who is the MD of a company that has been an importer of frozen…

The Los Angeles wildfires damage is already set to cost $50 billion (R955bn). Experts have said that there will be an economic impact, but at the moment, it is difficult to predict the full impact. It was previously reported on IOL that raging wildfires in Los Angeles killed at least two people, destroyed hundreds of buildings, and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies since they began on Tuesday, with fierce winds hindering firefighting operations and fuelling the fires. AccuWeather, which estimates the loss between $52bn and $57bn, added that if the fire spread to densely populated neighbourhoods, the current estimates for loss would have to be revised upward. "Should a large number of additional structures be burned in the coming days, it may become the worst wildfire in modern California…

BY VIRTUE of South Africa being the only African state in the Group of Twenty (G20), our country bears the weighty responsibility of tabling issues that truly matter to our people. Countries and multilaterals in the G20 serve as major trading partners, sources of humanitarian aid, and kingmakers in global trade and geopolitics. These dynamics (and many more) offer our country a unique opportunity to convene important stakeholders to propose policy solutions that benefit the African continent to a greater degree. At this juncture, it is imperative to advocate for climate and economic justice for our continent. While we can argue over the overwhelming laundry list of issues that plague our continent, solving these two issues holds potential for multiplier effects on other social, political and economic sectors. There has…

When unemployment is at its highest, government needs to ramp up not cut back on public employment and employment programmes. Cosatu alongside the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), was deeply distraught by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs’ (Cogta) December announcement that 67 000 Community Works Programme (CWP) workers above the age of 55 years would be dismissed due to budget constraints. This was a devastating blow to these workers and their 450 000 dependants. They will not find work in an economy with a 41.9% unemployment rate. A majority of these workers are under 60 years and thus not eligible to receive the Old Age Grant. We have been distressed by massive cuts to the Presidential Employment Programme over the past two years from…

South Africans are devastated by the passing of Doc Shebeleza, real name Victor Bogopane, while still mourning the loss of Winnie Khumalo, who passed last week. They were both 51. Children born in the 2000s probably think of Cassper Nyovest’s song when they hear the name Doc Shebeleza but to millennials and the previous generations, he was a legend who played a huge role in amplifying kwaito music. Born in 1973 in Soweto, Shebeleza’s music career began at an early age but he only blew up in 1995 when he dropped his hit single, Ghets Ghetsa. The following year, he released his debut album, S'Kumfete, which was available on cassette as technology was not as advanced at the time. In 1997, he released another album, Tiger. In 2001 he was…

Allison Holker, the widow of Stephen “tWitch” Boss, has revealed shocking details about her late husband's struggles as part of the promotion for her upcoming memoir, This Far: My Story of Love, Loss, and Embracing the Light. tWitch, widely known for his role as the DJ on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, died in December 2022 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, leaving fans and the entertainment world in shock. In a recent interview with People magazine, Holker, 36, who shares three children with Boss, revealed that after tWitch’s death, she discovered a stash of drugs, including mushrooms and pills, hidden in his closet. She made this discovery while selecting an outfit for his funeral. “It was a really triggering moment for me,” Holker explained, adding that she had no prior knowledge…

This apparent extravagant entrance took place on Wednesday ahead of the ANC’s 113th anniversary celebrations in Khayelitsha, which were held on Saturday. According to news reports, Mbalula's yacht arrival stunned fellow ANC leaders and observers alike during an event that was meant to reflect on the painful history of the party's members who had been incarcerated on the island during the apartheid era. Other ANC leaders used the Robben Island Museum ferry, Sikhululekile, while President Cyril Ramaphosa was choppered onto the island for security reasons. The solemn commemoration aimed to honour the political prisoners who spent years on the island but quickly became overshadowed. The yacht in question reportedly belongs to tenderpreneur Fernando Acafrao, a businessman who has secured multiple multimillion-rand government contracts. His company, Mobile Satellite Technologies, is known…

The Class of 2024 will continue the tradition of receiving their matric results through newspapers. This follows a ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which struck the case challenging the practice off the roll, deeming it "not urgent." IOL reported that the judge stressed that she did not deal with the merits of the application, but only dealt with urgency at this stage. She found that the Information Regulator's (IR) urgency, in rushing to court at the last minute, was self-created. Reacting to the news Good Party said in a statement: “As our understanding of adolescent mental health issues, trauma and the right to privacy have evolved, so too has our understanding of the impact of not succeeding and having your family and peers finding out by the…

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has commended the swift and effective action taken by members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) following a significant joint operation in Sandringham that led to the arrests of three individuals on charges of human trafficking. The operation, which saw the rescue of 26 people suspected to be Ethiopian nationals, took place on Friday, 10 January. The arrests were part of an extensive collaborative effort involving the Sandringham SAPS, Gauteng Hawks, and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), underscoring the importance of unified action against criminal activities. The operation unveiled a harrowing scene where 15 individuals were found deprived of their liberty in a residential property on Luster Road. Eleven others were subsequently transported to a hospital for medical assistance to…

When people watched political debates on Soico TV, one of the most watched private channels in Mozambique, around 2010, they often saw a young forest engineer and bank employee who was able to brilliantly articulate the country’s problems. He was Venâncio Mondlane, a distant kinsman of Eduardo Mondlane, the first president of Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique). Venâncio’s family supported the liberation movement that led Mozambique to independence from Portugal in 1975. His biting criticism, however, suggested that his sympathies were not with the ruling party. Today, Venâncio Mondlane finds himself at the centre of the worst political crisis to have shaken Frelimo’s 50-year rule of Mozambique, the resource-rich but impoverished southern African country of 35 million. He claims to have been cheated of a win…

Kaizer Chiefs (0) 0 Golden Arrows (0) 1 Shitolo 57’ Golden Arrows stunned Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the Betway Premiership clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday. Amakhosi suffered a second loss in their last three games and dropped sixth on the Betway Premiership standings. For Abafana Bes’thende, it was a first win for interim coaching duo Musa Bilankulu and Kagiso Dikgacoi, one that saw them leapfrog Chiefs into fifth on the standings. Arrows stunned all in attendance when they broke the deadlock against the run of play via defender Gladwin Shitolo during a set-piece in the 57th minute. The club captain expertly positioned himself to tap into an empty net after Bruce Bvuma pushed a shot in his direction and he composed himself and put his side in…

Participants in the Pre-Assembly Day of the Fifteenth session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly in Abu Dhabi on the session on “SDG 7 on Sustainable Energy: The Road Ahead” at the weekend said governments and development finance institutions (DFI) needed to “walk the talk” and turn commitments into action. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were formulated in 2015 and SDG 7 aims at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy such as electricity, which is a key to the development of agriculture, business, communications, education, healthcare and transportation. The SDG 7 session included stakeholders from the private and public sectors, as well as energy providers to discuss ways to accelerate progress on SDG 7 and to shape a pathway to a collaborative and…

Trade union Solidarity has again slammed the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, this time hitting out at the government’s advertising of the health plan on billboards, arguing it’s still unaffordable. According to its calculations, the average personal income tax will have to increase by R37 000 per year. This, said Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), is “not only outrageous. It is impossible”. Solidarity’s figures estimate that the scheme will cost between R660 billion and R1 300bn. “The government is marketing a pipe-dream, while unemployed doctors in the Eastern Cape are protesting, or while hospitals such as Groote Schuur in the Western Cape can now accommodate only a quarter of the number of internships it had available for training three years ago,” Du Buisson said.…

ArcelorMittal (SA) has made a final decision on mothballing its long-steel operations at its Newcastle Works, Vereeniging Works, and the rail and structural subsidiary, AMRAS. The announcement will have a devastating impact on a number of fronts, surrounding communities, suppliers, contractors and the broader metals and engineering sector. The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) have repeatedly warned of a socio-economic catastrophe should ArcelorMittal shutter its plants. Some of the most alarming estimates over and above the reported 3 500 direct jobs on the line are the medium-term impact of second round effects in the order of 20 000 to 25 000 jobs and in the longer-term multiples of more than this. The effect of this latest development will reverberate throughout the economy and the continent, impacting…

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from Las Vegas, the US, is wrapping up for another year, following a week of technology unveilings and demonstrations. As with previous events there have been a slew of cool new gadgets on show, but also some head-scratchers that make you wonder “Why on earth have they done that?” This year’s oddities include a spoon that electrocutes your food, a TV you can carry about like a shoulder bag, and a tiny bot that blows on your coffee to cool it down. Smart glasses enter new era with sleeker designs, lower prices Producers of hi-tech connected eyewear are multiplying their innovations with increasingly discreet models in an attempt to make a difference in a highly competitive -- and fast-emerging -- market. Live translation, GPS,…

Marvel Studios is reportedly considering a new actor for T’Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The role was initially played by the late Chadwick Boseman – who debuted in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War before starring in his own movie Black Panther two years later – prior to his passing in 2020 and Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider has now claimed Marvel is looking for another actor to take on the role of T’Challa. Sneider added the studio was only considering recasting T’Challa now that the franchise was exploring the multi-verse and also pointed to Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the series as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars as another reason why Marvel was open to bringing the character back with another…

Eskom continued to utilise the summer break over the past week, along with the lower demand from industry, to increase its planned maintenance activities and further improve the reliability of its generation fleet for the winter period, which starts on April 1. The utility, which reached 289 consecutive days without load-shedding on Friday, stated Friday that its maintenance averaged at approximately 8,000 MW last week. Its year-to-date diesel savings of R16.28 billion was about 63.4% less than the R25.67bn spent during the same period last year, due to the ongoing improvements in generation performance. Over the past seven days, average unplanned outages stood at 14 155 MW, reflecting a slight improvement compared to the 14 611 MW recorded in the same period last year—a reduction of 456 MW. This was…

SOUTH AFRICANS living in Los Angeles, in the US, have described the devastation that has occurred due to the raging wildfires that began last week. The Palisades Fire was 11% contained by Saturday but had grown to cover 9 500 hectares, while the Eaton Fire was at 5 600 acres and 15% contained. Official figures show more than 12 000 structures burned, but Cal Fire's Todd Hopkins said not all were homes, and the number would also include outbuildings, recreational vehicles and sheds. South African actor and producer Stelio Savante, who lives in Los Angeles, shared accounts of the ongoing crisis in a Facebook post. “The current situation is extremely bad—chaotic, dangerous, desperate, and unpredictable. Our friends in certain fire departments believe some of it is arson, and numerous arrests…

In its fight to have the Ndimande brothers, who are accused of killing South African rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, tried in the country, the State in Eswatini has approached the Supreme Court of Appeal. AKA and Tibz were brutally killed in February 2023 on Florida Road at Wish restaurant in Durban. The siblings, Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande and Malusi Dave Ndimande, had appealed against the Manzini Magistrate’s Court extradition order after the SA government applied to have them return to face the music for their alleged crimes. The brothers were found liable to be brought back on August 16 last year. A written judgment was handed down and served on September 23. On October 15, the Prime Minister of Eswatini issued a surrender order…

The ANC has lost the trust and confidence of the majority of South Africans. This is evident from the results of the 2024 national general elections. The ANC has been trying to diagnose the nature of the problems that led to its loss of support. It has cited many varied reasons, from internal divisions to economic stagnation and international geopolitical events that it says are beyond its control. I argue that the primary reason for the ANC’s demise is that the once mighty liberation movement has become a philosophical zombie. As it contemplates its programme for the year, the ANC would be well-advised to think seriously about this point. Unlike the brain-eating Hollywood movie zombies, or the zombies of African mythology that do not have free will, philosophical zombies are…

Aryna Sabalenka launched her bid for a third successive Australian Open title with a storm of power hitting and a 6-3 6-2 demolition of former US Open champion Sloane Stephens yesterday. It was by no means peak Sabalenka, with the world number one broken twice by the American in a wayward first set at Rod Laver Arena. But on the same court where she hoisted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup twice in two years, Sabalenka steadied with the help of her pulverising forehand to claim a 15th successive win at hardcourt Grand Slams. “I think I just love the people, love the crowd. I love all the support I feel during basically every match I played there," she said of Rod Laver Arena, the site of two of her three…

Amazulu co-coach Arthur Zwane admits that his side had to dig deep to beat Magesi FC when the two sides clashed in the Betway Premiership on Saturday. Usuthu secured a comfortable 1-0 win courtesy of a well-taken goal by new signing Bongani Zungu in what was his first full start for the KwaZulu-Natal-based side. Zwane and his troops have now picked up seven points from their last four matches and the win has increased their chances of being in and around the top eight positions with the season approaching the halfway point. Meanwhile, Magesi fell deeper into trouble, now sitting seven points off safety and the loss to their visitors was the fifth in their last six matches, but they have one game in hand against 14th-placed Marumo Gallants (14…

The Bulls are at a crossroads this week as they prepare for their final Champions Cup group stage clash against Stade Francais in Pretoria on Saturday. Although the game is, for all intents and purposes, a dead rubber, it poses a significant dilemma for Director of Rugby Jake White. Should he continue to nurture burgeoning talent or summon his more seasoned players to rekindle the flames of winning momentum? After a disheartening run of four consecutive defeats across all competitions - three in the Champions Cup and one in the United Rugby Championship - the Bulls are in dire need of a turnaround, and the home clash at Loftus Versfeld could be that defining moment. However, they enter the match on the back of a humiliating 49-10 defeat to Castres,…

The US dollar gained at the start of 2025, on positive sentiment of the incoming Trump presidency The rand plunged to its lowest in nine months on Friday, breaching the R19-mark to the US dollar as the greenback continued to strengthen on the back of strong US jobs growth. The domestic currency has remained under pressure as US dollar strength persists as it ended 2024 at R18.85/$1, down by 3% for the year, hovering between R18.75 and R18.95/$1 in the first days of 2025. The US dollar also made further gains at the start of 2025 due to continued positive sentiment towards the incoming Trump presidency while emerging market currencies generally have fallen further since the start of the year. The rand weakened sharply by 2.1% to R19.10…

Consumers will hope for some much-needed reprieve from their monthly budgets at the end of this month when the South African Reserve Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, announces the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) decision on interest rates for the country. The governor is expected to announce if there will be any change to interest rates in the country on 30 January. The start of the year saw consumers finances impacted by fuel price increases for the first month of the year, which came into effect on 1 January. The fuel price increases saw a litre of petrol costing between 12 and 13 cents more. The increases in fuel for January is listed below: n Petrol 93 ULP & LRP: 19.00 cents per litre increase n Petrol 95 ULP & LRP: 12.00…

Statistics South Africa - the fact finder that delivers the South Africa I know, the home that I understand, to the nation and to the world - has provided some of the nuggets of knowledge that should awaken policy to important challenges that have been left unaddressed for a long period of time. They posted a report - 30 Years of Data: Shaping South Africa’s Equitable Future - on December 24, 2024 as a Christmas gift. The report should be a thorn in the barefooted policy maker due to two areas - health and education - that stand out and define the futures of South Africa and its children. Earlier this year in his State of the Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa told narrative of a child named…

Bromance, Mzansi Magic’s latest reality television show seeks to provide an unparalleled glimpse into the lives of millennial South African men as well as male friendships. It features four South African Joburgers as they navigate life, their careers, their love lives and the challenges of adulthood. They are 34-year-old DJ Kaygo, real name Kgotso Tsagae, Molemo Lehoko, also known as Lemii, who is also 34, Hloni Mahlangu, 35 and Thato Chuene, 37. Some of the themes that the show explores are brotherhood and friendship as well as the struggles of adulthood and their quest for success in the heart of Jozi. It also chronicles the group’s wild weekend escapades and a thirst for the good life while also reflecting upon how they take the leap from carefree bachelors to future…

Minister of Public Works Dean MacPherson is in hot water after he allegedly sent IDT staff member Linet Barnes an email pressuring her to facilitate a payment to a contractor. On 9 December 2024, MacPherson wrote an email to Barnes, a Programme Manager at the Independent Development Trust (IDT) instructing her to facilitate payment to Lonerock Construction. According to its website Lonerock Construction “employs 800 people and has a fleet of over 200 units of plants. Since opening its doors in 1980, Lonerock Construction has grown to be a construction company with an annual turnover of more than R500 million, with between 8 and 12 projects running at any one particular time.” Stepping out of his jurisdiction, MacPherson said “he doesn’t usually get involved in matters like this but it…

In a speech delivered with yet another promise of the ANC renewal, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s January 8 statement has received mixed reactions from South Africans and political commentators alike. “Renewal as such is about fixing the ANC. It is as much, also, about improving the quality of governance and service delivery and fast-tracking the fundamental issues of socio-economic transformation of our country. “But pursuant to the renewal task that we set last year, we launched the ANC foundational course to ensure that all members of the ANC go through this course. That includes the leaders as well in order that we foster a culture of ethics and integrity,” Ramaphosa said during the party’s 113th anniversary in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, at the weekend. Once again, the tensions between the SACP and…

The South African Police have launched an extensive manhunt for two suspects who shot dead an off-duty police officer, Constable Ayanda Moyikwa, 32, on Sunday morning during a robbery in Mfuleni, Cape Town. Moyikwa was killed when he noticed a robbery taking place and responded while on his way to work at the Cape Town International Airport. He was found by his colleague who he had intended to pick up for work. The Western Cape provincial commissioner, Themsile Patekile, who visited the crime scene, condemned the callous attack on the SAPS constable and vowed to use all available resources to bring the killers to book. “What is so sad is that he was on his way to work and responded to the call of duty, and now, he met his…

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has disputed claims that the state of its block of flats in the Pretoria CBD was reported to them multiple times, but they neglected to take action and repair it. City of Tshwane member of the mayoral committee Obakeng Ramabodu recently took to social media to express his outrage over the SANDF’s alleged neglect of flats situated at the corner of Steve Biko and Justice Mahomed streets. The building recently experienced a sewage spill, which overflowed onto the streets, creating a health hazard for the surrounding community. On the social media platform X, Ramabodu shared a video in which he alleged that the City had repeatedly reported the building's structural issues to the SANDF, but the problems were consistently ignored and left unaddressed.…

FROM macaroni and beans to detergents, alongside four reams of copy paper, school stationery lists are sparking outrage among South African parents. The mounting frustration has led to widespread criticism, prompting calls for Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube to respond. On the social media app X (formerly Twitter), a comment from user Seba_M gained traction after she highlighted a requirement for a Grade 2 learner to bring beans and macaroni to school. Speaking to the Daily News’ sister newspaper, the Weekend Argus, Seba explained that the list had been sent to her by a friend after she mentioned preparing for the stationery rush. “So basically, the minister posted a picture of herself on vacation. I went onto the post and saw another disgruntled parent also asking her why cleaning detergents were…

MAMELODI Sundowns’ path to the CAF Champions League quarter-finals could not be more simple, the Brazilians needing just a point from their final Group B match against an AS FAR Rabat outfit that has already qualified. The Moroccans will come to Loftus Versfeld this coming weekend essentially looking to secure the top spot that they can achieve via a draw. And with that outcome also suiting Sundowns, there is every reason to expect the two sides not to overexert themselves lest they get punished on the counter and open the backdoor for Raja Casablanca. Leaders since Matchday one of the round-robin phase, AS FAR drew 1-1 with Raja late Saturday night to remain top on nine points after Sundowns had earlier in the day caught up with them on eight…

MI Cape Town new-ball bowler Trent Boult is hoping for a much happier outing when he returns to Newlands today for the SA20 derby against Paarl Royals. Boult’s only ever appearance under the watch of Table Mountain was a decade ago when he was part of the New Zealand team that hit its lowest ever point by being bowled out for just 45 in first innings of the New Year Test. Much water has since flowed under the bridge with Boult and the Black Caps going on to achieve much success. But that too is part of Boult’s past as he now enjoys life as a T20 freelancer showcasing his skills for various franchises around the world. It has primarily been for Mumbai Indians though with the Cape Town SA20…

The on and off drizzle in Johannesburg since the start of the year may have helped the Joburg Super Kings win against MI Cape Town in a rained out SA20 clash at Wanderers on Saturday. This, according to decorated T20 spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi. Shamsi was speaking to the media during a post match interview, indicating that the constant rainy weather in Joburg helped them prepare. JSK won the match by six runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method after play stopped 11.2 overs into their batting innings. MI Cape Town had put up 140 runs in their allotted overs but that target was revised to 131 to accommodate for the weather. Play stopped with the Super Kings on 82/3 after 11.3 overs, six runs ahead on DLS, at that stage. Shamsi…