Inhoudsopgave van 2023-02-01 - Mercury

THE SOUTH African Cereals and Oilseeds Trade Association (Sacota) warned that load shedding was an additional cost to the sector, which would stifle production. Sacota is an association of trading members operating within the grain and agricultural sector in South Africa, and the Southern African Development Community. The organisation’s executive director, Dr André van der Vyver, commenting on the current load-shedding woes in South Africa, said grain and oilseeds were bulk commodities and to handle them required considerable Eskom power at the storage and handling facilities, which could not effectively be substituted by generators. “Generators and solar power systems currently only act as emergency sources. Then you also have the same challenges at offloading, whether it is in the harbour or at the local mills,” he said. Van der Vyver…

The Office of the Auditor-General (AG) has issued a dire warning over the water losses being experienced in the eThekwini Municipality, saying that it had risen to 56.2%. This means that the City was losing more than half of the water purchased from Umgeni Water which amounted to millions of rand in revenue loss. The report, which covers the 2021/22 financial year, revealed that while the city purchased 401 527 498 kilolitres of water, it only sold 175 787 719 kilolitres, with the rest of the water getting lost along the way. This was revealed in a presentation on the municipality’s audit outcomes by head of portfolio from the AG’s Office, Vanuja Maharaj, to councillors in a full council meeting yesterday. Maharaj revealed that the city…

We are all quite aware of the hysteria that our children's academic achievements can elicit, the recent glorious results of the matric exams by some, pushing this point home more than at any other time. But spare a thought for those who did not do so well. Also imagine the depression that mummy and daddy feel when, even after a reasonable pass, pupils cannot gain admission into varsity to pursue their pre-chosen careers. Worse than this is the feeling of utter deflation when even professional graduates, after long, expensively hard studies, cannot secure even reasonable employment. I dare say that even medical doctors, fully qualified here on our own shores, often encounter problems to obtain suitable placements. These deeply sad thoughts, in parents, are widely known universally. There is, however,…

The National Freedom Party (NFP) applauds President Ramaphosa’s efforts to address the impact of electricity price hikes on small businesses and low-income families. However, the NFP is deeply concerned about the government’s history of unfulfilled promises. While we acknowledge the president’s intentions, we are sceptical of these promises becoming a reality. With each day of load shedding, the president’s popularity among South Africans continues to decline. We question the government’s ability to deliver on their commitments. The NFP also expresses alarm over the potential for corruption in the implementation of these promises, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shown corruption can flourish in times of crisis. The PPE corruption scandal is a stain on the government’s credibility to execute. Therefore, the NFP calls on President Ramaphosa to…

The portfolio committee on basic education has raised concerns over the continued lack of sufficient learner transport in KwaZulu-Natal. The committee concluded the first day of its week-long oversight visit programme in KZN within the Zululand District, where it visited various schools in the district. The committee said it was generally satisfied with the school readiness in the province but concerned by the continued lack of learner transport. “While the committee notes the financial challenges faced by the provincial department and the public service in general, the inability to provide transport is a direct and painful exclusion of learners from the schooling opportunity, particularly learners from the poorest of the poor families,” the committee said. There are 1 148 schools on the waiting list for learner transport in the province…

A pilot died after a light aircraft crashed in the vicinity of the old Nelspruit Airport in Mpumalanga on Monday. According to Emer-G-Med, the accident happened at about 4pm. “On arrival at the scene paramedics found the aircraft in ruins. The pilot was declared dead,” Emer-G-Med said in a statement. The SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) spokesperson Sisa Majola said the incident occurred at a private farm in Steelepoort next to Nelspruit Airport. He said it was not clear where the aircraft departed from or its intended destination. “Our investigations team are on site to start to the process of evidence collection and to gather information that will define the scope of the investigation.” Earlier this month, two people were killed in a plane crash in Joburg. In that accident,…

Pakistan is gripped by a major economic crisis, with the rupee plummeting, inflation soaring and energy in short supply as International Monetary Fund officials visit to discuss a vital cash injection. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for months held out against the tax rises and subsidy slashing demanded by the IMF, fearful of backlash ahead of elections due in October. But in recent days, with the prospect of national bankruptcy looming and no friendly countries willing to offer less painful bailouts, Islamabad has started to bow to pressure. The government loosened controls on the rupee to rein in a rampant black market in US dollars, a step that caused the currency to plunge to a record low. Artificially cheap petrol prices have also been hiked. “We’re at the end of the…

Striking workers disrupted French refinery deliveries, public transport and schools yesterday in a second day of nationwide protests over President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to make people work longer before retirement. Huge crowds marched through cities across France to denounce a reform that raises the retirement age by two years to 64 and which is a test of Macron’s ability to push through change now that he has lost his working majority in parliament. On the rail networks, only one in three high-speed TGV trains were operating and even fewer local and regional trains. Services on the Paris metro were thrown into disarray. Marching behind banners reading “No to the reform” or “We won’t give up,” many said they would take to the streets as often as needed for the government…

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came under fire yesterday from the opposition over allegations that his son used taxpayers’ money for sightseeing trips oversees while on duty. Kishida’s son, Shotaro, 32, who serves as his secretary, was alleged to have visited tourist hot spots in Paris, London and Ottawa at the taxpayers’ expense and used a government-owned vehicle, while the prime minister was carrying out official duties overseas in January. It is a further blow to slumping approval ratings for Kishida’s cabinet, following many high-profile scandals. | IANS…

Peshawar: A suicide blast at a mosque inside a police headquarters in Pakistan that killed more than 90 people was a targeted revenge attack, a police chief said yesterday. Between 300 and 400 policemen had gathered for afternoon prayers at the compound’s mosque on Monday in Peshawar when an entire wall and most of the roof were blown up. Authorities are investigating how a major security breach could happen in one of the most tightly controlled areas of the city. Police put the latest death toll at 95, with more than 221 wounded. Corpses were still being pulled from the wreckage of the collapsed wall and roof. | AFP…

ANC MP Mervyn Dirks, who defied party orders when he pushed for action against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala farm scandal, says he does not have any regrets over his resignation as an MP because he did so “voluntarily”. Dirks confirmed yesterday that he had resigned after consulting with the ANC KwaZulu-Natal leadership, stressing that no one had forced him out of Parliament. “I had an engagement with the provincial secretary, Bheki Mtolo, and expressed my intention to resign, and there were no problems from the provincial office on the matter,” he said. The future of the Pietermaritzburg-born MP became a source of speculation after Ramaphosa secured victory as party president at the ANC’s elective conference at Nasrec in Gauteng in December. Dirks and other party members including…

COMEDY scriptwriters in Britain are aghast and enraged at the way the politicians are trespassing on their turf. Nadhim Zahawi was sacked as Tory party chairman by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the weekend, following revelations that while Chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to our minister of finance) he had to negotiate and repay a sizeable amount owing to the taxman. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is, of course, the taxman’s boss. There are allegations that a fellow who was in some way connected with arranging an £800 000 loan to then prime minister Boris Johnson was, a matter of weeks later, appointed chairman of the BBC on the recommendation of, er, Boris Johnson. The outcome of that tangle is as yet unresolved. And now the very language of political…

DEAR Speaker of eThekwini Municipality, Thabani Nyawose: It is common knowledge that your office was responsible for allocating gift cards for citizens over the age of 60 for all 110 wards of eThekwini Municipality. Every ward councillor was allocated 500 cards and in addition an unconfirmed number were allocated to PR councillors for distribution to senior citizens. This was a noble gesture and must be applauded. However, this was wholly inadequate as the demand outstripped the supply, leaving many disgruntled, disappointed and angry. A concerning aspect of this kind gesture was that councillors had become unscrupulous and used it as a political tool to assist primarily their political party “supporters” and there were no definitive criteria set down by your office as to the allocation thereto. I was inundated with…

Next time you wake up, or even today, decide you are going to be a loving person, then see what happens. It’s probably best not to tell anyone. It’s a very private, arduous journey. It’s tougher than deciding to become an ironman or ironwoman athlete when you’ve never owned a pair of running shoes, or like deciding to climb Mount Everest when you’re not sure where it is and even getting to your postbox feels like a chore. You might think my analogies are exaggerated or ridiculous, but they are not, and I have running shoes and I know where Everest is. When you decide to Love (capital intended) there are potholes, bumps and diversions every metre. The largest contributor to the severest hurdles are not other people, tough circumstances…

THE South African Medical Association (Sama) has lodged a complaint against a Pretoria general practitioner with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) after he called his colleagues murderers for administering Covid-19 vaccines. The doctor, an author and medical practitioner who operates from Wesmed Medical Centre in Pretoria North, claimed during a radio interview that people were left with health problems after vaccinations. He said he took vaccine safety very seriously, and added that there had been reports of individuals suffering debilitating illnesses after vaccinating for Covid-19. These, according to the doctor, included heart conditions, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, resulting in death for those individuals. He then said those doctors who had given patients the vaccine were responsible for their deaths, calling them murderers. Yesterday Sama confirmed that…

An employee at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) could be slapped with disciplinary action after he was allegedly caught on video looting meat from a truck in KwaZulu-Natal. The video was taken on January 19 when scores of people looted a meat truck in KZN’s King Cetshwayo District. The truck had broken down. In a clip that has since surfaced on social media, several people are seen looting meat from the refrigerated storage unit of the truck on the R66. In one of the clips, a man confronts the driver of a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) branded vehicle as looted meat is thrown in the back of the van. The driver attempts to plead ignorance but cannot offer an explanation about the meat in the back of the van. Sean…

Pope Francis landed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) yesterday for a visit that will highlight the human cost of decades of conflict in the vast central country, which is rich in minerals but where millions are displaced and live in poverty. Francis is the first pope to visit Congo since John Paul II in 1985, when it was still known as Zaire. About half of the DRC’s population of 90 million are Roman Catholics. The 86-year-old pope, who struggles to walk due to a chronic knee ailment, was lowered from the plane, then pushed in a wheelchair onto the red carpet leading to the terminal. Congolese Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde greeted him, then accompanied him as he was wheeled inside. “For me, it’s the first time I’m…

Somalia’s capital Mogadishu was under tight security ahead of a regional summit today on the fight against the jihadist group al-Shabaab. Leaders of some of the nations in an AU force involved in a major offensive against the insurgents “will closely discuss ways to jointly confront the dangers” posed by al-Shabaab in the region, the Somali government said. The army and local clan militias backed by the AU force known as Atmis have been waging an operation against al-Shabaab, which has seen them recapture swathes of territory and several strategic towns from the jihadists. After taking office in May last year, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared “all-out war” on the al-Qaeda linked group, which has been waging an insurgency in the troubled nation for more than 15 years. Although al-Shabaab…

DAKAR: UN experts yesterday called for an independent investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by government forces and Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali. Mali, whose government took power in a 2021 military coup, have previously said Russian forces in the country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia. Western powers say the Russian forces in Mali include Wagner Group contractors. Mali is fighting against militants linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State who have waged a decade-long insurgency that has spread to neighbouring countries. | Reuters…

Paris: Investment in cleaner energy is on the verge of overtaking spending on fossil fuels for the first time ever after exceeding $1 trillion last year. Despite the milestone, spending on energy transition technology must immediately triple to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050 to combat climate change, research group BloombergNEF said. Investment in renewables, nuclear, zero-emission vehicles or recycling projects totalled $1.1 trillion, matching spending on fossil fuels. This is up 31% on the previous year. China, the world’s biggest polluter, was the largest investor, the US a distant second and Germany in third position. | AFP…

Cricket Cricket South Africa have drawn a line in the sand and showed they are not going to relent for anyone after omitting former captain Dane van Niekerk from the Proteas squad for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil. The much-anticipated tournament gets under way at Newlands in 10 days’ time when the Proteas face Sri Lanka in the opening match. Van Niekerk – who had led her country in 80 matches across formats – will not play any part in it, though, after failing to meet the fitness requirements. She also missed the recent T20I Tri-series involving the West Indies and India for the same reason. In fact, the 29-year-old all-rounder has only played five ODIs and three T20Is – on the September 2021 tour…

ORION Minerals managing director and CEO Errol Smart said yesterday: “I believe Orion is now well on its way to achieving its goal of unlocking the incredible base metals potential in the Northern Cape.” In its quarterly update released yesterday, the group said it made significant progress in the quarter, finishing the year with a series of important funding. Key achievements during the December quarter included securing a funding package to progress pre- development activities at the Prieska copper-zinc project “and the completion of permitting and early-stage funding for our second base metals hub at the Okiep Copper Project”. These milestone funding arrangements also saw the introduction of the Industrial Development Corporation as a new development partner at Okiep, Smart said. “The combined pre-development funding being provided by Triple Flag…

Ratepayer organisations and an environmental justice group have said there would need to be transparency around any move for a state of disaster to be declared regarding the energy crisis. Speaking at the closing of the ANC national executive committee lekgotla on Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa said there was a call made during the meeting for the declaration of a national state of disaster as had been done to deal with Covid-19. “Work is already under way within the government to establish whether the legal requirements for the declaration of a national state of disaster are met and what specific actions we would be empowered to undertake to urgently resolve load shedding within the framework of a national state of disaster,” said Ramaphosa. Eskom announced power cuts would be…

At the recent announcement of the 2022 matric results, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga excitedly stated that the matric pass rate had increased from 76.4% in 2021 to 80.1% in 2022. However, a closer look at the 2022 matric results indicates that it is nothing to be excited about. Minister Motshekga last year indicated the minimum requirements for the various NSC subjects for each of the three categories: bachelor’s degree, diploma and higher certificate. I have shown previously the minimum average pass required for each of the three categories across all seven subjects. In the case of a bachelor pass, a matriculant needs a minimum average of 39% [with 30% (the language of learning) +40% (home language) + 50% x 4 other subjects + 5% for the NSC subject…

Petty party politics is destroying orderly government and management of local authorities. Democracy is supposed to be an enabler of citizen participation in decision making in public affairs. There is, however, a flipside to the democratic right, and that is, responsibility. What we are experiencing is reckless, power-hungry grabbing by greedy and irresponsible party politicians. Their main interest is to open doors to so-called status (wearing a golden chain or a senior committee chairmanship) and financial income. The recent flip-flopping by some minority parties, with the collusion of bigger parties, in the recent and pending no-confidence voting, are making a circus of what should be a responsible commitment to the public by responsible community leaders. The motto of the gamblers appears to be: “I will scratch your back while you…

A rhino poacher’s hope to get a more lenient sentence than the 11 years handed to him was dashed on appeal. The judge found that he was “no fallen angel”, and instead upped his sentence to 15 years’ imprisonment. Mfana Kubai was earlier sentenced in the lower court in Limpopo following his conviction with another poacher, Obed Chauke. Both tried in vain to appeal their conviction and sentence. The court only granted them leave to appeal to the Thohoyandou High Court in regard to their sentences. But Judge George Phatudi, prior to hearing the appeal, wanted to know from the pair why he should not increase their sentences. While both poachers saw the 11 years meted out to them as “shockingly harsh”, the judge was of the opinion that it…

ETHEKWINI mayor Mxolisi Kaunda was spared the embarrassment of a no-confidence vote on his leadership yesterday when opposition parties called for the motion to be tabled at a meeting where all councillors would be physically present. The decision was taken at yesterday’s chaotic virtual council sitting where opposition parties raised fears of possible manipulation of council processes by the ANC. This means that the motion will now be tabled and debated at the next in-person meeting to be called by Council speaker Thabani Nyawose. The motion had been formulated and was set for tabling by Active Citizens Coalition councillor, Imtiaz Syed. In the motion, Syed cited a string of matters which he argued, amounted to poor leadership from the mayor and had seen the city’s fortunes declining over the past…

The right balance needs to be struck in South Africa’s energy mix of the future The announcement by Eskom that it is making rolling blackouts a permanent feature of our lives for at least two years has put a spanner in the works of any spin job about the willingness or preparedness of the government to fix our power utility. Several ministers were jostling to outsmart one another about when South Africans would be relieved of the unbearable pain occasioned by the “state of darkness”. Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan was the loudest, by his predictable silence, while Minister of Minerals Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, is saying between six and 12 months and Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana bellowed out 12 to 18 months as the timeline. The…

Britain is expected to be the only major industrialised country to see its economy shrink this year after the impact of Liz Truss’ brief premiership prompted a sharp growth downgrade from the International Monetary Fund. Adding to growing political pressure on UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after the sacking of the Conservative party chair Nadhim Zahawi, the IMF warned yesterday that it expected the UK economy to contract by 0.6% this year, 0.9 percentage points worse than it had pencilled three months ago and slower even than sanctions-hit Russia. The IMF said that while the prospects for every other member of the G7 group of leading developed nations had improved or remained unchanged since October, rising interest rates and higher taxes had made the outlook for the UK gloomier. Pierre-Olivier…

LOS ANGELES: Actor Alec Baldwin and armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western Rust in 2021, a New Mexico prosecutor said. The charges follow 15 months of speculation on whether the District Attorney would find evidence Baldwin showed criminal disregard for safety when a revolver he was rehearsing with fired a live round that killed Hutchins. The actor has denied responsibility, saying he cocked the revolver, but never pulled the trigger, and it was the job of Gutierrez-Reed and other weapons professionals to ensure it was unloaded. The most serious charge, carrying five years in jail, would require prosecutors to convince a jury Baldwin was not just negligent, but reckless in his use of a…

ANTANANARIVO: Tropical storm Cheneso had killed 30 people in Madagascar, 20 were missing and thousands had been displaced, authorities said. Cheneso, which made landfall on January 19, was Madagascar’s first tropical storm of the year. The Indian Ocean island nation is typically hit by a series of such storms each year. The government said in a report released this week that nearly 37 000 people had been displaced by the storm, which caused flooding and landslides. It had announced a death toll of 16 last week. At least 138 people were killed and about 130 000 were left without homes in January and February last year after four major storms hit Madagascar. | Reuters…

Kano: An angry mob clashed with police this week in the northern Nigerian city of Kano to protest a visit by President Muhammadu Buhari, as anger grew over a controversial currency swop that caught many people by surprise. Police fired shots in the air to disperse young protesters who hurled stones and screamed anti-Buhari slogans over the scarcity of a new naira currency, introduced to replace the old ones by the country’s central bank. The currency swop aims to give authorities greater control over monetary policy to combat inflation, and tackle the amount of counterfeit bills circulating in the country. But the sudden introduction has caused long queues. | AFP…