Inhoudsopgave van 2022-06-07 - Mercury

MY wife and I arrived back in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday, June 1, at 7.30am after a very uncomfortable 12-hour flight. We managed to get through customs and collect our luggage quickly, only to find our connecting flight on British Airways (Comair) was cancelled, no notice given. We went to the help desk to ask what other arrangements had been made, only to be told by a very rude man behind the desk that it was not his problem and to go sort it out yourself. We eventually managed to purchase two tickets on Airlink at an additional charge of R4 540. We were lucky lots of other people were not, as passengers travelling to all parts of South Africa were left stranded. After another…

THE GROWING anger and aggression among school-going children is a matter of great concern. Learners are coming to school with the mind-set that being rude and displaying aggressive behaviour, having attitude with teachers, staff and other students is fine. This sad reality upsets learning, teaching, school routine as well as the good order of the school day. This type of arrogance and defiance must stop in order for quality education to be delivered by teachers. Bullying, vulgarity and bad manners and behaviour impact on schooling, resulting in psychological damage and damage to the well-being of some students and the broader school community. Bringing about change in student behaviour in our schools should be a priority for all stakeholders, including parents and the home environment. Teachers and school management bodies alone…

Dear Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Samson Gwede Mantashe. The monthly fuel price adjustments, over the years, have undoubtedly become a nightmare for consumers. The occasional relief by the lowering of prices is scant relief and often times very short-lived. But there are burning questions that need to be addressed, especially by you as the minister overseeing the portfolio responsible for this aspect. Let me elaborate with a scenario that I believe everyone would like a response to. Petrol station owners adjust their pumps to reflect the new price changes at midnight of the announced date for such changes. Their tanks, I would presume, are not at a zero level capacity prior to the price adjustment. That is to say they still have stocks obtained at the previous price.…

Mbuso Ndabazovela Biyela – dubbed Gauteng’s most wanted suspect – was shot dead in a shoot out with KwaZulu-Natal police yesterday. Biyela, linked to eight cases including the murder of a policeman in October, was traced by a team of officers. “They traced Biyela to Sahlumbe (Ematsheleni) village in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal,” Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said. “The team approached the house where Biyela was hiding but when he spotted them, he fired shots towards the team who was forced to retaliate. Biyela was fatally wounded. None of the members sustained injuries.” The team found an unlicensed firearm and ammunition in the house. “Biyela was previously arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for murder in August 2020 and October 2021 but he escaped from custody.” Police had positively linked Biyela…

As South African artist Fhatuwani Mukheli paints a portrait of a woman at his Johannesburg studio, he is creating not only the work before him but also a digital asset destined to adorn a virtual world. Mukheli uses The Tree, an online marketplace for local artists to promote and sell their art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “There's a virtual world where people are buying land in it,” said Mukheli, referring to the metaverse, a three-dimensional digital reality that tech giants say is the future of the internet. “People have properties there… and your art can be on those walls.” Mukheli’s customers receive both the actual canvas and the NFT, while other artists on The Tree sell up to five limited edition NFTs for each piece, akin to digital prints. Mukheli…

AS COVID-19 fears recede among tourists and other travellers, the latest Stats SA release for the tourist accommodation industry shows that the sector continues to gradually recover. The sector was one of those hardest hit by the pandemic shock as lockdown restrictions and loss of confidence drove business and leisure travel down sharply. The statistics showed that income from accommodation increased by 83.3% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the first quarter of 2021, and that the main contributors to this increase were hotels and other accommodation, including Airbnb stays. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said that measured at current prices, the income for the sector increased by 110.6% in March 2022 when compared with March 2021. “Income from accommodation increased by 87.6% year-on-year in March 2022, the result of…

The Passenger Rail Agency Of South Africa (Prasa) announced that only single tickets would be sold as some train services resumed in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday. Prasa KZN said its services between KwaMashu and Dalbridge from 6am to 6pm resumed yesterday. “Only single tickets will be sold, and every attempt will be made to run according to the advertised schedules until further notice,” it said. Prasa said customers could contact the customer services on 031 813 0456 or WhatsApp 066 014 6105.…

State stumbles from mess to mess, each one somehow overriding the last ANOTHER triumph for the hide-and-seek act played by politicians dodging their responsibility to get South Africans out of unemployment, poverty and the many other social ills in our society. Another round of disappointment passes as details of government inefficiency are revealed in the departmental budget votes in legislative bodies, the latest reports on unemployment and crime statistics, and the painful lived experiences of citizens due to failed election promises. The latest employment data, released on May 31 by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), laid bare the dire state of the economy. While showing that economic activity is broadly normalising from the Covid-19 shock following the removal of most major lockdown restrictions, the returning company profitability is lukewarm. Simultaneously,…

THE death toll after a ferry sank in Indonesian waters rose to 19 yesterday, after a 10-day search-and-rescue operation was called off, authorities said. The KM Ladang Pertiwi ran out of fuel and sank in bad weather while sailing through Indonesia’s Makassar Strait in South Sulawesi province on May 26. News of the accident only reached officials two days later, prompting a search-and-rescue operation that involved local fishermen and tugboats passing through the strait. Authorities rescued 31 passengers and crew, found four bodies and declared 15 missing before the search effort concluded. The ship’s captain, who survived the sinking, was named last week as a suspect for transporting passengers without a permit, while the ship’s owner was named as a suspect for hiring crew without the proper qualifications. Fishermen were…

DUBLIN: Ryanair is requiring South African passengers to prove their nationality before travelling by completing a test in Afrikaans, a language used by just by 12% of the South African population. Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, which does not operate flights to and from South Africa, said it required any UK-bound passengers from the country to fill in the questionnaire due to a high prevalence of fraudulent South African passports. “If they are unable to complete this questionnaire, they will be refused travel and issued with a full refund,” the Irish airline said. Ryanair said it would apply to any South African passport holder flying to Britain from another part of Europe on the carrier. | Reuters…

Synergy Westville Old Boys RFC, in their debut Premier Division season, remain the only unbeaten team in the league with a four-point cushion at the top of the standings over perennial club champions College Rovers, after their 26-14 victory over Crusaders this past weekend. Westville picked up a bonus-point win, scoring four tries to two in an enthralling and entertaining game at Jimmy Bellows Park with their tries coming from Arton Lawson, Josh Moon, Oliver Carmody and Gav Scott, who also added three conversions Crusaders replied with two touchdowns, one of which was a penalty try and two conversions. College Rovers, meanwhile, got the better of Varsity College, beating the Durban north outfit at their Riverside Headquarters by scoring two tries to one in their 23-7 victory. Charles Mayeza…

DURBAN’S prospect of attracting investors and boosting its economy could be dealt a major blow if eThekwini Municipality is unable to borrow R500 million to fix the city’s infrastructure that was damaged by the recent floods. This was the warning by deputy city manager for Economic Development Phillip Sithole, who described the latest borrowing as “the most important in the city’s history of borrowing”. City officials have warned that the damaged infrastructure has led to the decline in revenue and has the potential to undermine the confidence of current and future investors, undermining the city’s economic prospects. A report on the budget resolution recommended that proposed budget borrowings be increased by R500m for capital projects to deal with damages arising from the recent storms. Although KwaZulu-Natal was promised R1 billion…

Although no money or anything of political significance was stolen by the Watergate burglars, what cost Nixon his presidency was his attempt to conceal the extent of involvement of his key personnel, and the allegation that he obstructed the pursuit of justice in establishing that involvement. Cyril Ramaphosa’s concealment from Sars and SAPS of the theft of some $4 to $8 million from his farm over two years ago is his Watergate moment. His excuse that he receives cash for the sales of his cattle and game and his denial of any wrongdoing is as implausible as Nixon’s belated denial of awareness of Watergate. Had this revelation not surfaced last week, one wonders whether Ramaphosa would ever have declared his dollar millions to Sars. His claim that he is ready…

PEOPLE of KZN, I have watched news broadcasts and read as much as possible of your recent weather-related devastation. Often, in the middle of the night, I live-stream your radio stations so that I may hear your morning news broadcasts. It is very clear things have not been easy for you. Primarily, you have had to put up with a lot of loss of life and, as much as I know how, I have grieved with you. Then there has been the loss of homes and roads and peace of mind. I know, I know. I am telling you things of which you are already aware. I know too that there have been multiple heroic acts and, as a result, lives have been saved. Then, there have been unusual acts…

The National Council of Correctional Services (NCCS) says it is making progress in reducing the backlogs in granting parole to prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The council, which makes recommendations to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, was saddled with more than 3 000 cases after two judgments handed down. Judge Brian Amos Mashile, chairperson of the NCCS, said a North Gauteng High Court ruling made the life profilers eligible for consideration for parole after serving 13 years and four months, instead of 20 years. He said the ruling had meant that more than 4 300 prisoners qualified for parole consideration. Mashile also said the Constitutional Court confirmed and then varied the order on the basis that parole should be considered from the date when an…

The South African Revenue Service (Sars), in partnership with the South African Police Service (SAPS), says it is making progress in the fight against rhino horn smuggling. This comes after officers foiled another attempt to smuggle rhino horn out of the country last week, after the multidisciplinary team received information about suspicious luggage en route to Abu-Dhabi. Sars has seen increased attempts to smuggle rhino horns through OR Tambo International Airport. In the most recent incident, customs officials responded by dispatching officers to the baggage area, where the luggage was scanned, revealing suspicious images. Upon further inspection, 17 pieces of rhino horns, weighing 25kg were found. The SAPS arrested the passenger to whom the luggage belonged, and he was held at the International Police Station. Sars said during the period…

STUDENTS staying at an off-campus accommodation establishment in Durban took to the streets yesterday to protest for a better wi-fi connection, saying the internet had not been working in the building since the floods. The Seaboard student accommodation in South Beach houses students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Durban University of Technology. Mahatma Gandhi Road in South Beach was closed for hours yesterday as protesting students blocked the road with rubbish bins, mattresses and fridges. UKZN Student Representative Council’s residence affairs officer Kamohelo Silwane said the issues raised by the students were known to the building management. “For years we have protested for management to improve the wi-fi connection, fix broken toilets and many other maintenance issues,” he said, adding that Seaboard could not have one maintenance staff member…

A former bank teller appeared in the Middleburg Magistrate’s Court for alleged fraud and theft amounting to more than R200 000. The Hawks arrested him in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, on Sunday. According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase, Lifa Nxumalo, 28, a former employee at Capitec bank, was released on R1 500 bail. He is facing charges of fraud, theft and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. He was expected to be back in court on June 21. More arrests were expected, Nkwalase said. “Nxumalo allegedly processed two loan applications with fraudulent documentations wherein two amounts, of R130 521 and R100 000, were paid to the applicants’ banking details. A portion of the amounts was allegedly transferred to his personal account,” he said.…

THE Competition Commission needs to investigate the alleged unethical conduct of Comair after angry customers accused the airline of using a sale to raise funds a day before it grounded flights. Last week Comair, which operates Kulula and British Airways flights in the country, announced that it had suspended all flights with immediate effect. However, the move elicited angry reactions from its customers who accused the airline of unethical behaviour by selling tickets at discounted prices before cancelling all its operations. Kulula had offered a winter warmer sale with up to a 30% discount on flights between May 31, 2022, and November 30, 2022. It is unacceptable for airlines that account for roughly 40% of the low-cost flight market in South Africa to behave in such a questionable manner. An…

Former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said yesterday that the liquor ban implemented in the Indian state had led to increased corruption among the police. Manjhi, the 78-year-old veteran Dalit leader, said that instead of banning liquor in the state, awareness must be spread among the people about not consuming it. “In a state like Bihar, awareness among people is more important than prohibition. The state government has banned liquor in Bihar. In the garb of a liquor ban, police personnel wrongly implicate poor people and earn crores of rupees. “It has turned into a money-making tool for police personnel in Bihar and encouraged corruption in the department,” he said. “We often see mass deaths due to the hooch tragedy in Bihar. It is…

The final round of the Currie Cup takes place this weekend and there is going to be a nervous jostling for places in the semi-finals, especially for the Sharks, who could end up losing out on the play-offs. In a top-of-the-table clash, the Free State Cheetahs host the Bulls in what amounts to a shoot-out for the No 1 position, which is so valuable because it means hosting a final should the No 1-ranked side win their semi-final. The Cheetahs have a home-ground advantage but they need to get back on the horse after losing two in a row following a long unbeaten run. The Sharks are on a losing streak and have to end it away to Western Province if they hope to squeeze into fourth place at the…

Now Parliament urged to probe theft at his Limpopo farm PRESSURE is mounting on President Cyril Ramaphosa to provide details on the theft of millions of dollars in cash at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in 2020, with UDM leader Bantu Holomisa writing to Parliament calling for an investigation and for him to go on sabbatical leave during the probe. Holomisa yesterday wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula saying Parliament must investigate allegations that Ramaphosa may be complicit in criminality. He said that Parliament should appoint two or three retired judges to conduct a preliminary investigation into former State Security Agency (SSA) boss Arthur Fraser’s allegations that Ramaphosa had not reported the crime to the police, and had sought to cover up the matter. “These allegations have been…

Fossils unearthed in China of a forerunner of the modern giraffe offer insight into the early evolution of this mammal’s trademark long neck, driven not only by the benefit of reaching high foliage but also for the head-bashing competition between males for mates. Researchers have described skeletal remains including a thick skull and strong neck bones of an early member of the giraffe family called Discokeryx xiezhi, roughly the size of a large bighorn sheep, that lived about 17 million years ago in the Xinjiang region in northwestern China. Discokeryx’s solidly built skull and strong cervical vertebrae were well adapted to high-speed head-to-head impact seen in competition among males of some mammal species for female mates, the researchers said. Discokeryx’s skull was topped by a single large disc-shaped and helmet-like…

CONGRATULATIONS to Vivian Reddy, businessman, pioneer and role model for entrepreneurs on launching the first phase of the “Reddi-son” Radisson Blu Hotel. After starting his career with only a few hundred rand, his skills and motivation to succeed have been rewarded with his latest multibillion-rand investment in uMhlanga. There are significant lessons to be learnt from Reddy’s endeavours for those entering the field of development. There are no quick-fix ventures that will make one a millionaire overnight. The path to success is long and arduous. It requires you to understand the challenges and have the ability and skills to find solutions – especially in a project worth billions of rand. The skills involve financial knowledge, technical understanding, team management, interaction with a range of personnel and the ability to persevere…

IT’S about time the authorities started cracking down on these cougars. They’ve been getting away with it for far too long. A cougar is, of course, an older woman who still has her good looks and likes to date younger, innocent men. Cougars meet innocent young fellows, introduce them to strenuous activities involving lustfulness, and in return, the young fellows get expensive meals, holidays abroad and generous access to the credit card. And now, according to an Associated Press report from Caero, in California, a cougar actually transferred her attention to a school. The mind boggles. But the California authorities reacted with swiftness and firmness. They tranquilised her with a dart and locked her up. That’s the way to treat these cougars. Er, ahem! Perhaps I have misconstrued this…

OFFICIALS from eThekwini Municipality will meet with the Ingonyama Trust Board this week to discuss charging residents living on the trust’s land for services being provided by the municipality. The chief financial officer of the municipality, Sandile Mnguni, revealed during the discussions on the city’s Draft Budget for the 2022/23 financial year that the municipal officials will be meeting the Ingonyama Trust officials before the end of the week. “We will be meeting later on this subject to confirm with one of the officials (from the trust) who will be part of the meeting,” said Mnguni. The city revealed recently that it wants to engage with the Ingonyama Trust over services provided on its land, adding that there were many people using municipal services like water but not paying,…

The people charged with the murder of an Uber driver who was beaten and stoned to death after being accused of kidnapping appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town yesterday. The group were arrested and charged at the weekend after the “mob justice” attack in Parkwood last week. Abongile Mafalala, 31, from Dunoon, was murdered after false allegations of alleged kidnapping arose in the area. Hundreds of residents came out, beat and stoned Mafalala, then set him and his vehicle, a Toyota Avanza, alight in an open field next to the M5. Social media was flooded with graphic videos of Mafalala being beaten and set alight. It was later revealed that Mafalala was innocent and the reports of an alleged kidnapping were fake. Mafalala was in fact a…

We are all making significant changes to the way we live so that we can reduce our environmental impact. The products we use, how we travel, and even what we eat are all decisions that need to be made with sustainability in mind. As we celebrated World Environment Day on Sunday, we need to deepen public awareness of the need to preserve and enhance the environment. While as individuals we should all be doing our bit, change of course largely needs to be driven by governments and organisations. Thanks to the Green Deal in 2019, individual nation states and the businesses operating within them are now obliged to step up in the fight against climate change, and meet the EU’s pledge of becoming the first carbon neutral continent by 2050.…

Survivors of an attack by unknown assailants on a Roman Catholic church in Nigeria lay weeping and writhing in pain at a local hospital yesterday after suffering what a doctor described as lacerations, bullet wounds and blast injuries. At least 50 people including children were killed, according to reports, during the attack on St Francis Catholic Church in the town of Owo, which took place during Sunday mass as worshippers were celebrating the Christian holiday of Pentecost. Police have yet to release a death toll. “Immediately they entered and started firing everywhere, so many people,” said Alex Michael, who was shot in the leg while protecting his children by hiding them under chairs. He appeared dazed as he sat on his hospital bed. Around him were other survivors, many with…

Moscow yesterday condemned the rejection by several European countries of a request for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s plane to pass through their airspace, forcing him to cancel a trip to ally Serbia. “This was a deprivation of a sovereign state of the right to carry out foreign policy,” Lavrov said. Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro refused a request from Russia for Lavrov’s plane to pass through their airspaces on the way to Serbia because of sanctions imposed over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine. Lavrov had been due to hold talks with top officials in Belgrade, one of Moscow’s few remaining allies in Europe since the launch of the offensive in late February. Lavrov described the move as “outrageous”, insisting that Moscow’s relations with Belgrade would not be “destroyed”. He said Moscow…

Dwaine Pretorius is working “on a few different plans and strategies” ahead of the upcoming five-match T20I series against India but is not prepared to show his hand just yet. South Africa’s designated death bowler was clinically efficient at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last November, utilising a variety of slower balls and sticking to a line wide outside of the stump. These tactics forced opposition batters to look for boundaries primarily on the off-side, but with a well-set field it proved hugely effective with Pretorius picking up nine wickets in South Africa’s five matches. Even more importantly to his team’s cause, he conceded less than seven runs to the over. These performances enabled Pretorius to fulfil a career “bucket list” when he was picked up…

Rafael Nadal would probably not have played any Grand Slam other than the French Open with the chronic foot injury that needed numbing injections in Paris, the 14-time Roland Garros champion said yesterday. The Spaniard's record-extending triumph on the Paris clay earned him an all-time best 22nd men's singles major with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 crushing of Norway's Casper Ruud and put him two titles clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It was the 'most unexpected' of his French Open titles, Nadal said yesterday after limping into the scintillating salon of a central Paris hotel. Asked if he would have played any other Grand Slam with the injury that forced him to have injections to numb his foot, Nadal said: "Probably not. "We have been through a lot of…