Inhoudsopgave van 2022-09-16 - Mercury

While the IFP yesterday hailed its by-election win as a sign of things to come in 2024, the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said it would lodge a complaint with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). The ANC lost ward 12, Madlankala, which falls under uMhlathuze Municipality, to the IFP in the by-election that was held on Wednesday. The uMhlathuze Municipality in northern KZN is run by the IFP which formed a coalition with other parties to push out the ANC. According to the IEC, the IFP won the ward with 54.37% of votes cast compared with the ANC’s 43%. The votes totalled 4 078 and 41 were spoilt (1.01%). The ward was previously held by the ANC, but the councillor resigned which led to the by-election. ANC KZN spokesperson…

The US space agency has announced that it will fund three studies to understand the growing problem of space junk to analyse the economic, social and policy issues associated with space sustainability. Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) at Nasa, said that orbital debris is one of the great challenges of our era. “Maintaining our ability to use space is critical to our economy, our national security, and our nation’s science and technology enterprise,” Lal said in a statement. “These awards will fund research to help us understand the dynamics of the orbital environment and show how we can develop policies to limit debris creation and mitigate the impact of existing debris,” she added. Orbital debris consists of human-made objects orbiting Earth that…

I live at a retirement village with a care centre. There are about 130 residents living in the village and 30 in our care centre, making a total of 160 persons over the age of 65 – and many living with chronic health problems – just the demographic of persons at risk from Covid-19 complications. The virus found its way into our care centre during the second South African Covid-19 wave in early 2021 and pre-vaccine times. This was the time that all local hospitals were being overwhelmed and could not accept any more Covid-19 patients. Eleven residents contracted Covid-19 and nine died. During the same period, my daughter, who is a front-line health-care worker at a local hospital, sent me a message saying: “We have had seven deaths today,…

A suspect believed to be one of the masterminds in connection with detained theft of more than R36 million from the bank account of a deceased man has been detained by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime team in Polokwane. The Hawks’ provincial spokesperson in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke, said the alleged fraudster, 47, was a businessman. “The suspect, who is a foreign national businessman, handed himself to the police, accompanied by his legal representative. The first accused person to be arrested in this case was Thabiso Matenda, 28, who was employed by the First National Bank based in Makhado,” said Maluleke. On April 25, Matenda allegedly opened a profile of the deceased client without authorisation, and stole R36 989 052. “The deceased, who was also a foreign national businessman based…

WATER and Sanitation Unit employees are the latest to down tools in protest against eThekwini Municipality’s move to reduce overtime pay. The staff gathered outside the unit head offices in Prior Road yesterday waiting to be addressed by their managers. “The matter is about overtime pay,” said a source. “There are hundreds of them parked at the department’s offices with their vehicles,” he said. The Water and Sanitation Unit is the third municipal department to down tools since August after the city implemented a new overtime policy that imposed drastic cuts on the overtime pay that workers can claim. The Durban Solid Waste Unit (DSW) was the first to embark on the strike and was later followed by the Electricity Unit a few days ago. The city said the overtime…

LOOK, I will, and have been, the first to admit that I am a massive fan of this Springbok squad; and that it has real nation-building qualities. Siya Kolisi stands in my estimation as one of the greatest Bok captains of all time, if not one of the most important; and the role that he has fulfilled as a leader has instilled hope in many South Africans, which is priceless. There are many players within the current Bok set-up who are role-models that we can all aspire to – Makazole Mampimpi, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche spring immediately to mind. Meanwhile, SA Rugby’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus – flawed as he can be – is a national treasure. Which brings me to Elton Jantjies, who is alleged to have…

STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s incoming leader got to work yesterday on building a government supported for the first time by the far-right, a day after securing a slim election victory. Conservative Moderates chief Ulf Kristersson was expected to be formally tasked sometime next week with forming a government after Social Democratic Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson yesterday tendered her resignation. While the far-right Sweden Democrats became the biggest party, with 20% of votes, observers said it was unlikely the anti-immigration and nationalist party would be given cabinet seats due to divisions in the right-wing bloc. | AFP…

The state funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will unite people from across the globe, the official in charge of the huge ceremonial event said yesterday, as mourners from all walks of life queued for hours to file past the late monarch’s coffin. World leaders will gather on Monday for the funeral of Elizabeth, queen for 70 years and whose global stature was almost without equal. Her body is lying in state in London’s ancient Westminster Hall, where tens of thousands are waiting patiently in line to pay their final respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. The queue to see the queen’s coffin stretched more than 6.5km along the south bank of the River Thames, past such landmarks as Tower Bridge, crossing Lambeth Bridge as it neared Westminster Hall. Officials expect about…

US rail companies and unions have reached a “tentative” deal to avert a major strike over the weekend, US President Joe Biden said yesterday. “The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people,” a statement on the White House website said. “These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned,” it added. The strike had threatened to disrupt travel and supply chains two months before crucial midterm elections. Pressure had been growing on both sides to reach a deal, with national rail operator Amtrak cancelling passenger routes in anticipation of disruption as farmers and retailers warned of supply chain chaos. The announcement came after freight railroad companies and two unions representing…

Angolan President Joao Lourenco vowed to push ahead with economic reform yesterday as he was sworn in for a second term after a divisive electoral win. Amid tight security, Lourenco pledged to be “president for all Angolans” at a colourful ceremony on historic Praca da Republica square in the capital, Luanda. He pointed to further economic liberalisation in a country ruled since independence by a historically socialist party. He promised to push ahead with reforms to encourage the private sector, expand the offer of goods and services and fight youth unemployment. “Angolans show the world that at crucial moments they can make the better choice,” Lourenco declared. “We as a country have a clear option for democracy and a market economy.” Security forces set up a heavy cordon around the…

Tough negotiations still ahead to get the AfCFTA off the ground TOUGH negotiations are happening behind the scenes between African governments to hammer out differences in their localisation and industrial protection policies in respect of the aims of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to liberalise trade between the countries. This was according to Trudi Hartzenberg, an executive director of the Tralac Law Centre, who spoke about the imminent commencement of inter-continental trade at the Eastern Cape Export Symposium yesterday. Hartzenberg said the AfCFTA was a “very ambitious” trade agreement between 55 African countries that would not supplant existing agreements such as SADC and the SA Customs Union. She said a pilot implementation phase was set to launch on October 1 between eight countries – Kenya, Tanzania,…

The deputy mayor of eThekwini, Philani Mavundla, decides to clean up the streets of Durban by enlisting the support of celebrities, including the son of former president Jacob Zuma. It gets him front-page media coverage and no doubt wins him brownie points from the Zuma supporters in eThekwini Municipality. As ratepayers, we pay towards the cleaning of our streets and our contributions make up the budget of the municipality, which is over R50 billion. The elected councillors are the custodians of our hard-earned money and are responsible for employing and managing staff with the resources necessary to clean our streets. It was Mavundla himself that bemoaned the fact that city officials were lazy, inefficient and that some officials did not deserve a salary. Durban is a cesspool of filth. One…

Client “conversions” I really welcome: The elevation of the therapist – placing a therapist on a pedestal – converted to regarding the therapist as a man or woman with professional training who is also regularly challenged by life and relationships. The search for a key, a silver bullet, a set of steps, a formula for success to “fix” life’s problems and dilemmas – converted to appreciating the beautiful opportunities for growth and insight and understanding; the appreciation that a “fixed” life is an illusion and, even if it were possible, it probably wouldn’t be much fun. The belief in linear, cause and effect, family and personal issues – converted to the understanding that all things are connected, that all relationships impact all relationships, that a human life and…

“The city is making serious strides to tackle current challenges…” (The Mercury, September 14) by city spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela refers. I do agree that the recent unprecedented storm in KwaZulu-Natal has certainly forced the eThekwini Municipality’s gearbox into a grinding reverse, struggling to climb against a mountainside of infinite gradient. The gigantic destruction of sewer pipes – truly, in any accident – has definitely released huge bundles of E coli and other evil stuff into our water systems, streams, rivers and oceans. However, this “excuse” is so familiar. “Apartheid is the cause of all our present woes”. Unrest commemorated one year in July this year. Another impediment for our beloved eThekwini godmother to hang on to. But wait: when I complete two hours of teaching a Grade 8 pupil about…

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) says it strives to stay up to date with its payments to municipalities who provide services to government buildings. The issue of the Public Works Department paying accounts has come under scrutiny in the Msunduzi Municipality in Pietermaritzburg where some government departments have been disconnected due to their accounts being in arrears. In a lengthy statement issued yesterday in which the department did not mention any municipality by name, it said on July 31, 2022, it had engaged municipalities which resulted in verification and a confirmed amount of R83.3 million being owed to municipalities for municipal services rendered and property rates. The department said it was waiting for municipalities to provide invoices, and payments would be processed as soon as invoices were…

THE family of slain Cape Town magistrate Romay van Rooyen have detailed how she was found murdered in her Muizenberg home in a crime that has been described as senseless. She was discovered by her brother on Saturday after she did not answer her phone. Her stolen vehicle was found abandoned in Mitchells Plain, but no suspects have been arrested. While Van Rooyen, 50, who was based at the Vredendal Magistrate’s Court, was involved in high-profile cases, there were no security concerns before the murder incident, according to the family. Speaking to the media Van Rooyen’s brother, Tasswell van Rooyen, said his younger brother went to the home on Saturday after making arrangements for her to pick up her nephew. He suspected something was amiss when his calls went unanswered.…

Police officers from the Provincial Vehicle and Trio Task Team acted on intelligence received and prevented a possible hit at a school in the Newlands East area of Durban on Wednesday. Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said after police received information that a possible hit was going to be carried out at a school in the area, they relayed the information to their teams. Naicker said while the police officers were patrolling the area, they spotted the vehicle of the suspected hit men. He said police officers who attempted to pull the vehicle over were met with gunfire from the occupants of the vehicle. “Following a shoot-out, the suspects fled in their vehicle with police officers in pursuit. When the men were cornered at a dead-end, two suspects alighted…

A Bergville man who shot his ex-fiancée dead on Women’s Day has been jailed for 25 years. Sfiso Mazibuko, 35, pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court this week to the murder of Nokuphiwa Primrose Dlamini, 25. The murder took place on August 9 in the Mhlwazini area, Enkwazini in the district of Bergville. The couple had been together for six years and have two children – an 18-month-old and a 3-year-old. According to the indictment, there was a breakdown in the relationship and Dlamini had decided to end the relationship in February. Dlamini moved back in with her parents. Mazibuko said he tried to resolve the dispute but it remained unsolved. He said this angered him. On August 9, he decided to visit Dlamini at her sister’s home to…

The Hague: Police have arrested “one of Europe’s biggest money launderers” after a raid in southern Spain, saying the British-Irish suspect is believed to have shifted more than 200 million euros ($200 million) in illicit cash. The operation led by Spain’s Guardia Civil and coordinated by Europol is seen as a major blow against the notorious Kinahan organised crime group, which US law officials called “a threat to the entire licit economy”. The chief suspect in the case was detained this week “as a result of an international law enforcement operation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil”, Europol said. “Two of his associates were also arrested in Spain”. | AFP…

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has decided to withhold $130 million (roughlyR203m) of foreign military aid to Egypt over its failure to fulfill human rights conditions, US officials said this week. It allowed some funds to go through due to its determination that Cairo has made progress on political detentions. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has determined that Cairo, by releasing hundreds of jailed individuals, had made some progress on political detentions the officials said. Rights groups have pushed for withholding all of a $300 million portion of aid to Egypt placed under conditions by the US Congress. | Reuters…

HUGO Broos’ sentiment that “anyone who doesn’t change his mind is a fool” after the return of Themba Zwane to Bafana Bafana is a travesty. Yesterday Broos announced his 23-man squad that’ll face Sierra Leone and Botswana in back-to-back friendlies at FNB Stadium in the next two weeks. There were notable inclusions in that squad, including Zwane (33), who’s been overlooked by Broos since he took over the reins in May last year. And this comes after Broos made it clear that old guns, especially those beyond the age of 32, do not have a place in his team. But Broos has now selected Zwane for the first time, insisting that he’s no fool and selected him based on merit, not outside noise. “About Themba Zwane being back, anyone who…

HEAD of the embattled eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Solid Waste (DSW) Unit, Raymond Rampersad, has quit his post. Rampersad confirmed to The Mercury during a brief telephone interview yesterday that he was leaving at the end of this month, but declined to reveal the details around his sudden departure. The decision took political parties in the council by surprise, with one describing it as suspicious, while another wished him well on his retirement. Rampersad is possibly among the longest-serving employees of the city. He has been with the municipality for 38 years and been in public service for 41 years. There were allegations that his job was being interfered with and had become too political for him and that this had prompted his departure. Asked about this, Rampersad said he wasn’t…

IS THERE any limit to the compass of Guinness World Records? An American celebrated his 60th birthday by paddling a hollowed-out giant pumpkin 40km down the Missouri River in Nebraska, according to CNN. He then claimed a new world record. Were Guinness surprised by this claim? Not at all, they already had on record a world champion who had paddled a giant hollowed-out pumpkin 24km down the Red River in Washington State. We wait with bated breath to learn whether the latest claim is accepted; whether the Guinness World Record for paddling a hollowed-out giant pumpkin downriver is now held by Duane Hansen, of Nebraska, or still held by Nic Svenson for his effort in Washington State in 2016. These Guinness records are a wheeze. Come on, fellers. It’s time…

It is a pity that the petroleum and minerals industry are haggling over the proposed carbon tax increases instead of confronting the government with the fact that climate change is not in any way affected by carbon emissions and, therefore, taxing emissions is totally unjustified (Business Report in The Mercury, September 14). There is no scientific basis to the parrot cry of the media and the Green lobby that carbon emissions pose “an existential threat” to the planet. History shows that warmer and colder periods occurred over the past 2 000 years when fossil fuels were not in use. Thus, climate change patterns have nothing to do with human activities. Despite that reality, the past 50 years have seen a variety of apocalyptic predictions, ranging from rising sea levels to…

What happened recently when our main electronic media houses behaved like a pack of hyenas is downright shameful (“Media houses asked to leave Meyiwa trial”, The Mercury, September 14). Trying to emulate their thoroughly discredited American counterparts, they chased after the highly anticipated witness in the Senzo Meyiwa trial, hounding him with questions as the witness tried to dodge them and get to the courtroom. This led to them being kicked out of the courtroom, thus robbing millions of South Africans from listening to the testimony they had been waiting for. And indeed where is the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) in this embarrassing episode? Sanef is rightly strident and fast in protecting the rights of journalists, but for hours its silence on condemning this behaviour was ludicrous. The State…

THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it is working around the clock to reclaim state property that landed in the wrong hands due to corrupt government officials. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has obtained preservation of property orders for state-owned land after a scam was uncovered in which corrupt officials fraudulently transferred government properties to private persons and private entities. In a statement on its official Twitter account, the SIU said the AFU had on August 4 and September 9 obtained preservation of property orders in the North West and Gauteng High Courts respectively. It said the orders related to the property owned by the state as well as bank accounts belonging to business entities and/or individuals believed to be linked to the matter. It said it…

KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube told delegates yesterday at the African Women in Leadership International Conference that it was vital for women in leadership positions to reach out and empower others, especially in rural areas. The two-day conference hosted by the eThekwini Municipality and provincial government, was attended by some of the African continent’s most influential women leaders in politics, business and education. Its aim was to create a dialogue for women leaders to engage and learn from each other about how to transform and advance their communities. “We are very proud of women leaders because we know that where there is a woman, things happen. When women lead, Africa always wins.” EThekwini Municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said he hoped young girls and women were inspired by the province’s first…

Former health minister Zweli Mkhize used the Victoria Mxenge lecture in Mayville on Wednesday to officially launch his campaign to contest the position of ANC president at the party’s elective conference in December. Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma also announced her decision to stand for the position of ANC president at the weekend. Mkhize resigned as minister of health last August, when implicated in the irregular awarding of contracts to Digital Vibes. The Special Investigating Unit found the department irregularly awarded the R141 million media awareness campaign contract for the National Health Insurance and another R125m contract for Covid-19 when Mkhize was the health minister. It is understood Mkhize has been endorsed by ANC KwaZulu-Natal branches and those in other provinces. During the lecture Mkhize alluded…

He foresaw their pain as their rights to land were sold cheaply IT WAS in the unforgiving cold winter of 1958 that William Bloke Modisane wrote the following words in his compelling account, Blame Me on History: “Something in me died, a piece of me died, with the dying of Sophiatown.” Blame Me on History is one of the most insightful and evocative accounts that capture with precision the poignancy of the socio-political zeitgeist that made up the tapestry of the colourful life and “spirit” of Sophiatown. In a revealing and compelling way, Modisane takes us through the zenith and sudden demise of the only place he knew since he was a child, Sophiatown. With his indignation against the myth of white supremacy and its oppressive symbolism, Modisane delivers us…

Islamabad: A new report has warned that half of Pakistan may face famine if food supplies from external sources are not arranged soon in the midst of the catastrophic flooding across the country. The report compiled by agencies of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said the mega-floods had destroyed at least 70% of Pakistan’s food basket, which means food must be imported soon to save the population from famine. The severity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that in Sindh and Balochistan, about 95% of the crops were completely destroyed by the floods, as per the initial assessment carried out by the government. | IANS…

SEOUL: South Korean police said yesterday they have arrested a woman accused of murdering her two children, whose remains were found in suitcases in New Zealand last month. The 42-year-old, a South Korean-born New Zealand national, was arrested in the south-eastern city of Ulsan, police said, and has been transferred to the capital Seoul to face extradition proceedings. The remains of the two children were discovered in August after an unsuspecting family bought a trailer-load of items, including the suitcases, at an auction for abandoned goods. New Zealand police have said the bodies were likely in storage for several years. | AFP…

Girls worldwide are lagging behind boys in maths, with sexism and gender stereotypes among the root causes, according to a new Unicef report. The report, Solving the equation: Helping girls and boys learn mathematics, found that boys have up to 1.3 times the odds of obtaining maths skills than girls. Negative gender norms and stereotypes often held by teachers, parents and peers regarding girls’ innate inability to understand maths contributed to the disparity. This also undermined girls’ self-confidence, setting them up for failure, the report noted. In countries where girls were more likely to be out of school than boys, the disparities in maths proficiency were probably even wider. Unicef executive director Catherine Russell said: “We need to dispel the gender stereotypes and norms that hold girls back, and do…

Melbourne: A television mini-series dramatising the life of the late Shane Warne was described as “beyond disrespectful” yesterday by the Australian cricket legend’s children. The spin king died of natural causes at a luxury resort in Thailand in March aged 52, eliciting shock and grief from millions of fans. Barely six months later, Australia’s Nine Network, who employed him for years as a commentator, said this week it plans the two-part film Warnie to be broadcast next year. Warne’s eldest daughter Brooke, 24, made clear her anger. “Do any of you have any respect for Dad? Or his family? Who did so much for Channel 9 and now you want to dramatise his life and our families (sic) life 6 months after he passed away?” she said. “You are beyond…

THE Springboks have won 28 of the 32 Test matches they have played against Argentina, including the last four on the bounce, but the weight of history will count for little tomorrow in Buenos Aries when a Rugby Championship “semi-final” (as both teams have described it) takes place. The tightest ever Rugby Championship — and we are including the Tri-Nations era that goes back to 1996 — has all four teams being title contenders with two rounds to be played, and it is now about who keeps their nerve as the stakes grow ever higher. And all four coaches — Jacques Nienaber (Boks), Michael Cheika (Pumas), Ian Foster (All Blacks) and Dave Rennie (Wallabies) — are on the same page with regards this tense Rugby Championship finale being the ideal…

ROYAL AM will hope to get their African campaign up and running when they host Mbabane Highlanders at Moses Mabhida Stadium tomorrow in a Caf Confederation Cup first preliminary round first leg clash. The Durban-based team have the upper hand after the first leg ended 0-0 last weekend. While Royal AM will back themselves to win the game, all does not appear to be well in their camp. It remains to be seen how this may affect their performance in the game. According to reports this week, co-coach Dan Malesela is unhappy with suggestions that he could be headed back to Marumo Gallants whom he surprisingly left at the end of last season. Even though Thwihli Thwahla have held their own on the field this season, internal chaos…

The shore has been interesting… With most of the beaches open to fishing again, reports are slowly coming in of fish being caught locally. The main action has been north and south. The north coast has seen some very good fishing for both anglers targeting inedibles as well as those looking for an edible to take home. The sea has been a little rough, so you have to make the most of the pleasant conditions. Scratching has also been the main fishing style up north with the rocky gullies producing a lot of fish with bronze bream being the main catch. Zebra and blacktail have been the bycatch. The central coast has seen some fishing again, after a few weeks of banned areas. The shad have been feeding well along…