Inhoudsopgave van 2022-12-13 - Mercury

THE deputy head of eThekwini metro police, Sbonelo Mchunu, will be among the leading contenders for the metro police top job which has become vacant following the retirement of the unit’s head, Steve Middleton. The municipality put out an advert this month detailing the job requirements for the position. In a brief interview with The Mercury yesterday, Mchunu said he was ready to lead the unit as Middleton had practically groomed him for the post over the past two years. Parties across political lines said they wanted an individual to lead the unit who is committed to the safety and security of the city and will remain above politics. “Yes, I will apply for the job. I would also like to thank Steve for the exposure in his last two…

The KwaZulu-Natal Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Department says disaster management teams remain on high alert as heavy rains persist across the province. Emergency services reported that roads were flooded yesterday due to heavy overnight rains, however, no damage to homes or infrastructure had been reported by late yesterday. On the KZN South Coast, the Ugu District Municipality said water supply in many areas had been disrupted due to flooding and power outages. Garrith Jamieson, director of ALS Paramedics, said torrential rain had caused water to collect on several roads by yesterday morning, including the M7 near the Bellville offramp and the N2 near the old airport in Isipingo. “The M19 was also waterlogged in both directions, and we attended multiple collisions along it. We also saw multiple water…

If you cannot imagine that 2022 is coming to an end and the summer holiday season is upon us already, you are not alone. As schools, offices and factories wrap up the last term of the year, I wish to take this opportunity to remind parents and guardians to keep their children gainfully occupied. December/ January is that time of the year when we look forward to a much-needed break from traffic jams, meetings and other stressors of life. Hence, together with allowing children some free time, age-appropriate responsibilities around the house should be given to children. Children who work learn valuable life skills which will help them navigate effectively through life. In addition, please monitor kids’ visits to the mall, their friends and social spaces, usage of social media…

THE plan by eThekwini Municipality to cut spending on overtime pay in favour of employing more people has failed to deliver as only one person has been appointed since the decision was taken four months ago. This is according to a report tabled recently before the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Services committee. The report detailed the number of vacancies that needed to be filled and found that out of hundreds of vacancies, only one had been filled. In August last year the municipality resolved to cut the overtime budgets across all units by 50%, this was expected to net the city a saving of several hundred million rand, which it could then use to hire more people. Deputy mayor Philani Mavundla, chairperson of the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee and…

THE government paid more than R130 million to more than 300 public servants who are on suspension with full pay and benefits. These were the damning revelations of the acting Minister of Public Service and Administration, Thulas Nxesi, in his written reply to questions from DA spokesperson for public service and administration Dr Mimmy Gondwe in the National Assembly. Gondwe asked Nxesi to give details about the total number of suspended officials as well as charges against them including any punitive measures taken by the department against the officials. In his reply, Nxesi confirmed that an official in Gauteng had been suspended for four years for fraud. Another had been suspended for 902 days for the misuse of a petrol card. Three assistant directors were on suspension for fraud…

No longer the darling of the masses amid scandal and empty promises IN THE spring of 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa was the political darling of South Africa. A Pulse of the People survey conducted by Ipsos towards the end of 2019 found that a majority of six in every 10 (62%) South Africans thought Ramaphosa was doing his job well. This was despite almost four in 10 (39%) saying no political party in the country represented their views. Most people saw him as a leader capable of getting things done in line with the Batho Pele principles. He was one of the first national politicians they could relate to who seemed to care about bringing development to the long-ignored place where they lived. Now Ramaphosa sits near the bottom of…

Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died and another boy remains in critical condition after they fell into an icy lake near Birmingham, central England, police said yesterday. The boys suffered cardiac arrest and were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water. A fourth boy, aged six, was in critical condition in hospital. Witnesses reported seeing other children on the lake, which froze during a cold snap that has hit swathes of Britain, but police have not reported anyone else missing. Emergency services were quickly on the scene, with fire and police officers wading into the frozen water. One officer attempted to punch through the ice to get to the boys. The tragedy came as the UK was hit by heavy snow and freezing conditions, causing…

ROME: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday that the EU’s border agency, Frontex, was facilitating the forced return of sea migrants to Libya rather than their rescue by NGOs or other vessels that would take them to Europe. Sending migrants backs to Libya, where it is known that they face “atrocious treatment”, makes Frontex “complicit in the abuse”, said Judith Sunderland, HRW’s associate Europe and Central Asia director. Frontex called the report’s accusations “simply wrong”. “More aerial surveillance by Frontex in the central Mediterranean tends to result in more at sea interceptions by the Libyan coast guard,” HRW said. | Reuters…

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has confirmed Twitter’s character limit will increase to 4 000. Currently, the app only allows up to 280 characters. However, that’s all set to change following the world’s richest man’s $44 billion (about R772bn) takeover of the site. Meanwhile, Twitter is testing letting users edit their posts. The social media giant is trialling the ability to amend tweets up to 30 minutes after they press send “a few times”. The previous editions of the tweet will be visible so users can see that the message was edited with the version history available for those who view the tweet. A spokesperson for the company said that an edit button was one of the most requested features from the website’s 238 million users. Twitter urged people to…

After putting Belgium, Portugal and Spain to the sword in Qatar, Morocco are looking to bring another soccer superpower to their knees when they face France in the World Cup semi-finals tomorrow in a match heavy with political and social overtones. Morocco, the first African team to reach the last four at a World Cup, will command ear-splitting support at the Al Bayt Stadium, and they will need every bit of it to beat the defending champions and continue their fairytale run. The match against former colonial power France will take on an added edge. Morocco’s exploits in Qatar have provided an outlet for marginalised migrant communities in France, who have been out on the streets celebrating their wins. The north Africans have ridden the wave of support throughout the…

ELLIES Holdings said a headline loss per share (HLPS) of between 4.17 cents and 4.99 cents was expected for the six months to October 31, compared with 4.36 cents in the same period in 2021, as it shoulders restructuring costs. The manufacturer, importer, wholesaler and distributor of LED lighting, electrical and electronic products and solar solutions to the residential and commercial sectors, said in a trading statement yesterday it expected a loss per share (LPS) of between 3.95 cents and 4.73c compared with the 3.06c for the same period in 2021. Ellies’ share price slipped a cent to 15c yesterday afternoon on the JSE. “The trading environment continues to be constrained with consumers under pressure with rising costs as a consequence of the global inflationary environment, and increasing cost of…

OPPOSITION parties have accused the ANC of using “overwhelming intimidation” against its own MPs who today will decide whether to proceed with an impeachment committee for President Cyril Ramaphosa. The ATM, UDM and IFP said that ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe’s comments to a national newspaper, in which he warned ANC MPs about the consequences of defying an ANC instruction, were harmful to democracy. The ATM and UDM had written to Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to insist on a secret ballot today so that ANC MPs can vote with their conscience and not with the threat of expulsion hovering over their heads. Mapisa-Nqakula has yet to respond to the latest request for a secret ballot. Last week she said an open and transparent procedure could only bring about public trust and…

Shame is a powerful, debilitating force. While I am not sure it is in itself an emotion, it certainly taints and twists all of emotion and can feel as strong and propelling as any powerful inner force. Shame can be a baptism, when “bad” is not something you have done but shameful is something you have become. It is so deeply imbibed that shameful is what you are. You’ve done something rotten, you are rotten. And so guilt, remorse, regret and self-rejection are not the lens through which a person may see life and may therefore on occasion wear a different pair of glasses. It is that guilt, remorse, regret and self-rejection are in the bloodstream, the thought-stream, forming the backdrop of all awareness, offering self-convincing and self-prophetic and self-fulfilling…

We were all excited. We thought that at last, after many months of rumours, speculations, denials and cover-ups we had at last got to the bottom of the Phala Phala truth. We all breathed a sigh of relief that the S89 panel report had exposed the president’s shady dealings at his Phala Phala game farm. But just as we got excited that the report had lifted the cover on Phala Phala, the president and the ANC decided to throw another veil of secrecy over it. After playing a hide-and-seek game over the dollars under the couch, the president went into hiding just after the report was released ostensibly to plan his next strategic move and put the bloodhounds off his trail. Then he comes out of hiding and informs the…

Police Minister Bheki Cele has revealed that the country’s DNA backlog stands at more than 37 000 for sexual offences at SAPS forensic science laboratories. DA MP Andrew Whitfield wrote to Cele asking about the number of backlog cases that were sexual offences- related after he said the DNA backlog at SAPS laboratories was reduced from 241 000 to 71 000 in October. Whitfield also asked about the average number of DNA samples that were submitted for DNA isolation in each case and the number of isolation workstations that were with laboratories in Pretoria, Cape Town, Gqeberha and eManzimtoti. In his written response, Cele said the total backlog for sexual offence cases was 37 715. “The expected submission for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) isolation is informed by the preliminary outcome and…

Expelled ANC member Carl Niehaus said yesterday that he had filed an appeal with the National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) as he wants to challenge his expulsion from the party. It is understood that the expulsion is suspended pending the outcome of the appeal process. Niehaus, the former Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) spokesperson, was informed by the chairperson of the NDC, Ralph Mgijima, that he had been found guilty on six counts of misconduct for bringing the party into disrepute, following his comments made when former president Jacob Zuma was sent to prison for contempt of court last year. The committee said that Niehaus’s failure to “show any remorse for his misconduct convinced the NDC that he was not capable of being rehabilitated” and “the NDC is of…

THE eThekwini Municipality’s failure to repair beachfront swimming pools in time for the influx of festive season visitors is indicative of the complete breakdown of service delivery in the city. Durban’s beachfront swimming pools are in a state of disrepair and the municipality has been slammed on social media for failing to get them ready for the busy festive season. Last week the municipality revealed that the prominent pools, the popular Rachel Finlayson Pool and the Children’s Amusement Centre paddling pool, would not be available for use this festive season due to repair work. The pools have been out of commission for some time. Perhaps what has made the closure of the beachfront pools a cause of great frustration among residents is the fact that Durban’s beaches have also been…

Iran yesterday executed a second man in connection with protests that have shaken the regime for almost three months, defying an international outcry over its use of capital punishment against those involved in the movement. Majidreza Rahnavard, 23, had been sentenced to death by a court in the city of Mashhad for killing two members of the security forces with a knife, and wounding four other people, the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency reported. It said he was hanged in public in the city, rather than inside prison. Europe and the US reacted with outrage after Iran last week carried out the first execution linked to the protests. Mohsen Shekari, also 23, was hanged after his conviction for wounding a member of the security forces. Iran calls the protests “riots”…

Covid-19 cases are surging in the Chinese capital, officials said yesterday, as the country navigates a rapid turn away from its zero-tolerance coronavirus strategy. Just a few days after China began loosening restrictions, Beijing authorities said more than 22 000 patients had visited hospitals across the city in the previous day, 16 times the number a week ago. “The current trend of the rapid spread of the epidemic in Beijing still exists,” said city health commission spokesperson Li Ang yesterday. “The number of fever clinic visits and flu-like cases increased significantly, and the number of ... emergency calls increased sharply.” China reported 8 626 domestic infections yesterday but with testing no longer mandatory for much of the population the number is believed to be a lot higher. As the country…

Harare: Zimbabweans will see a vast improvement in electricity supplies in 2023 as the government removes barriers to power generation investments in the country, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said. The government would take measures to ensure Zimbabwe does not have severe power shortages. There have been severe electricity shortages for up to 18 hours a day after power generation was curtailed at the anchor power station on Lake Kariba due to low water levels and breakdowns at the Hwange Thermal Power Station. | IANS…

Argentina will trust their system when they face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals and believe they have worked out how to hurt the 2018 runners-up, coach Lionel Scaloni said yesterday. Croatia were not the favourites to reach the last four again, but they came through two penalty shoot-outs in a repeat of their 2018 exploits. “They have troubled many national teams. I won’t mention the key players or their strengths and weaknesses, but we’ve analysed where we can hurt them. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t,” Scaloni said on the eve of the first semi-final. “We try to give it all on the pitch. Sometimes luck can be on your side. If we have a good performance, we’ll have an easier road to reach our objective. But this…

IT HAS been a journey of more than two decades for “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate to receive adequate compensation for his invention. However, the fight is not over as the legal tussle will now be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal next year. Vodacom is appealing against the judgment delivered by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in February which ordered its CEO, Shameel Joosub, to go back to the drawing board to calculate exactly what Makate should get for his invention. Judge Wendy Hughes made it clear in her ruling that the calculations used by Joosub to arrive at an offer of R47 million for Makate for what she called a brilliant invention was far too conservative. But Vodacom will not budge and has turned to the…

The UN General Assembly (resolution A/RES/74/135) proclaimed the period between 2022 and 2032 as the international decade of indigenous languages. This was done for many reasons, but primarily to put in sharp focus the plight of indigenous languages worldwide. This call for focus was necessitated by research that has shown an alarming decline in the use and preservation of indigenous languages globally. There has been ample evidence that suggests that if the resources and time are not allocated to these languages in the next 10-20 years, they will become extinct. There is no doubt that if that happened, the African continent would be the one that loses the most, since most languages that are facing extinction are in Africa. Consequently, Africa would have nothing to contribute to the global discourse.…

A GRAPHIC comes this way showing Prince Harry and Meghan walking down a flight of stairs. Caption: “Ginge and Whinge”. It captures the sadness, and probably pointlessness, of their venture into a tell-all Netflix feature on their relationship with the British royal family, from which they have distanced themselves by moving to America. In the UK on the first day of the initial memoir, 2.4 million people tuned in to the first episode; 1.5 million stuck around for the second, and only 800 000 were watching by the third episode. Not quite blockbuster stuff. The Washington Post has called the show a “yawner”. Hollywood entertainment magazine Variety: “The Sussexes tell us yet again, just how narrow their vision of their fame is, how pinched and unimaginative their presence on the…

Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth is being held liable for the negligence of Frere Hospital staff after a baby was injured during birth. The Eastern Cape High Court (Bisho) found medical staff did not follow the correct procedures which led to the infant’s arm injuries. Judge John Smith held the MEC liable for damages and the legal costs of the mother on behalf of her child. Judge Smith ruled: “There is little doubt that the medical staff’s negligence was the cause of (the child’s) brachial plexus injury. The hospital staff were negligent in failing to assess whether the plaintiff... had risk factors for shoulder dystocia.” The matter dates back to 2012 when the infant suffered a brachial plexus injury as a result of shoulder dystocia, meaning that one or…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma says money has become the determining factor of leadership in the ANC. Speaking at an ANC event in Ekhuruleni, where he also did a walkabout in the township of Katlehong, Zuma said this was a precarious situation the party was facing because people had the sin of loving money. In a veiled attack on current ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa over allegations that he used money to win the last conference, he alluded to the idea that Ramaphosa was known for having money. “At Nasrec (2017), he was famous for having a lot of money, and even now he’s still famous for that,” said Zuma. He said if people were truly in need of money, they should rather take whatever money was meant for a bribe and…

SELF-DETERMINATION is the dominant theme of contemporary Western Cape politics. According to recent UN reports, the right of self-determination can be exercised in one of four ways: autonomy (devolution), federalism, secession, or unification. The DA-led provincial government was elected on the promise of pursuing devolved powers, with polling showing that 76% of Western Cape voters support increased regional autonomy. The recent UK Supreme Court judgment that specifically dealt with Scotland’s right to self-determination under international law, which found that Scotland did not have the authority to unilaterally call a second advisory independence referendum, was therefore significant. Unhappy with Brexit, the Scottish National Party (SNP) formally requested a second referendum on Scottish independence. The UK denied this request, saying that the time was not right. Scottish First Minister and leader of…

A loud blast and gunfire were heard in the Afghan capital yesterday near a hotel popular with Chinese business visitors, a witness said. The Taliban claim to have improved national security since storming back to power in August last year but there have been scores of bomb blasts and attacks, many claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group. The district is home to the Kabul Longan Hotel, a multi-storey complex popular with Chinese business people who are visiting Afghanistan in increasing numbers since the Taliban’s return. A Taliban source based in Pakistan said that an unknown number of attackers had entered the hotel. China, which shares a rugged 76km border with Afghanistan, has not officially recognised the Taliban government but is one of the few countries to…

The EU’s credibility is at stake, EU foreign ministers warned yesterday, following allegations that Qatar lavished cash and gifts on European Parliament officials to influence decision-making. Greece yesterday froze the assets of a key suspect in the case, Eva Kaili, a vice-president in the European Parliament and one of four people arrested and charged in Belgium at the weekend, a source said. Kaili’s office did not respond to a request for a comment. Qatar has denied any wrongdoing. Belgian prosecutors searched 16 houses and seized €600 000 (R11 million) in Brussels on Friday as part of the probe. Four people were charged with “participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and corruption,” prosecutors said. They did not name the suspects, but the European Parliament said at the weekend it had…

LOS ANGELES: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s final parts of their Netflix show will be released the same day the Princess of Wales hosts her Christmas carol service in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth. Sources say the revelations in the next three instalments of Harry and Meghan, called Volume Two, threaten to overshadow the event, called “Together at Christmas”. The last episodes are expected to include the couple’s account of quitting senior royal duties for the US. Insiders also claim that Prince Harry and his brother Prince William’s relationship is at an all-time low. | Bang Showbiz…

All things considered, South African rugby can be pleased with its first foray into European Cup rugby and even French star Antoine Dupont might admit that the African teams added value to the two competitions. We should recall, too, how the SA teams struggled in the first month of the United Rugby Championship (URC) last November, and it would seem the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers are learning fast while the Cheetahs, who are old campaigners in European rugby, showed great nerve to win in Pau. The Cheetahs are in the Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition below the Heineken Champions Cup and it was great to see them emerge from a long period of no rugby to win at a difficult French ground, with veteran Ruan Pienaar showing fine poise…

Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana has expressed his views on the technical team changes at Chloorkop. Rhulani Mokwena and his charges are currently hard at work at Chloorkop, as they look to put the final touches on their preparations ahead of the resumption of the Premiership at the end of the month. Mokwena has had an excellent start to his new role as the club's head coach, claiming two impressive victories while his team scored eight goals in those two league outings. Kekana, who made 339 appearances for the Pretoria-based club and captained them to numerous trophies, believes it doesn't matter who is handed the role of head coach at the club. “I don’t really think it’s a big deal (on who is the head coach), because in the…