Inhoudsopgave van 2023-10-03 - Mercury

CONSUMERS in South Africa have put the brakes on buying new cars for the second month in a row due to high borrowing costs and rising fuel prices. The Automotive Business Council (Naamsa) said yesterday that the decline in vehicle sales reflected external business factors. According to Naamsa, aggregate domestic new vehicle sales fell by 4.1% in September, or by 1 963 units to 46 021 units, from the 47 984 vehicles sold the same month a year ago. Export sales plummeted by 12.6%, or 5 217 units, to 36 247 units in September, compared to the 41 464 vehicles exported in September 2022. Activity around the buying of new cars usually indicates the strength of consumers’ buying power and prevailing economic conditions potentially…

IN THE ANNALS of white-collar crime, few stories have captured the public's attention quite like that of Markus Jooste, the disgraced former CEO of Steinhoff International Holdings. Accused of engaging in insider trading, Jooste's case serves as a chilling reminder of the consequences of corporate greed. In 2017, Steinhoff, a global retail giant, was rocked by a scandal that wiped billions off its market value. Jooste was at the centre of this storm, accused of orchestrating fraudulent accounting practices and insider trading. While the financial repercussions were massive, the fallout for Jooste personally seemed relatively light: a R20 million penalty imposed by South African regulatory authorities. The financial world was rocked when Jooste breached the Financial Markets Act by sending text messages to select individuals, including Jaap du Toit,…

Summertime is always the best time of the year to enjoy being outdoors, whether it is going to the beach, ball games and parks, or doing other kinds of activities outside. However, keep in mind the importance of staying properly hydrated. Hydration is always important, especially in hot and humid weather, as we tend to lose a lot of our body fluids through sweat. The reason dehydration becomes a threat to our bodies is the fact that the body is made up of more than 60% water. When the levels of body fluids decrease, our body risks great harm. Hydration is essentially the replacement of body fluids, particularly water, lost through processes like sweating, exhaling and waste elimination. Water plays a role in almost all bodily functions and is carried…

TEACHER regulatory body the South African Council of Educators (Sace) said it had observed an influx of complaints against teachers in the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year, with the majority being for assault of pupils, followed by sexual misconduct. This emerged in the entity’s annual report tabled in Parliament where Sace reported that it received a total of 734 cases and investigated 254 misconduct complaints against teachers. The number dropped from the 764 cases Sace received for the breach of the code of professional ethics by teachers in the prior year. CEO Mapula Ella Mokgalane said the council noted the nature of the cases with concern. “The majority of them were for the assault of learners followed by sexual misconduct and a few for the assault of colleagues.…

Notes on ornithology. Last week we discussed the likelihood that a curiously long-tailed yet drably plumaged bird I spotted eating birdseed on my front lawn – then spotted again a few days later showing signs of shedding the drabness – was a male King-of-Six going through the process of taking on his black and white mating season plumage, a process in which he also has a beak that turns red. I’m glad to say I surmised correctly. This little King-of-Six – he has six still-drab females in tow – is now in spanking black and white and with a red beak, fluttering in imitation of the fearsome fiscal shrike and squeaking angrily at other birds and causing alarm among the doves, sparrows, frets and weavers that are feeding on the…

The Merebank Tami School Society (MTSS) has taken Durban by storm. The society is in the news and for all the right reasons. The promotion of local South Indian talent must be commended for promoting our culture. Before a capacity and enthusiastic crowd the artists who performed on Sunday at the Merebank Tamil School Society Hall made us proud. We as South Indians must be proud of the array of talents that we have in our country. The MTSS enjoys an undisputed leadership in organising such an event. The co-ordinator and festival organiser Mr Morgan Nadasen, who brought some of the most sought-after artists to perform, seeks the best talent for this festival. Well done, Sir, in promoting culture to the younger generation, who are our future leaders. It…

The national Department of Health has funded nearly 2 000 additional posts for medical doctors this year compared with last year. This was revealed by Health Minister Joe Phaahla when responding to questions from National Freedom Front MP Munzoor Shaik Emam about medical graduates who have completed community service but remain unemployed. “To date, from January 2023 a total of 3 974 posts of medical doctors were advertised and filled as compared with 2 053 medical doctors posts of the previous year (2022) for the same periods of employment. “This means an additional 1 921 posts for medical doctors were funded to accommodate unemployed medical doctors,” Phaahla said. He added that not all unemployed medical doctors applied for the positions after completing community service due to their different personal interests,…

The VIP protector of Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale was among five people killed in Gugulethu at the weekend. Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa was attached to the Western Cape’s Protection and Security Service (PSS) division, and served as a close protector to Mathale since 2019. Mraqisa, Christopher Jordan, Khanyiso Ngqabe, Kevin (surname unknown) and girlfriend Babalwa (surname unknown), were attacked at about 11.10pm at NY 5 while they were sitting in cars that were parked on the side of the road. According to an incident report seen by The Mercury’s sister newspaper Cape Times, they were found with multiple bullet wounds to the head. The report said video footage from a house on the road had been obtained and it showed five men being dropped off by a Toyota…

INDEPENDENT laboratories will now partner with eThekwini Municipality to test water at the City’s beaches in an effort to guarantee safety and eliminate confusion. Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda revealed that independent laboratories, including Talbot and a lab at the Durban University of Technology, would now conduct testing of water quality at the city’s beaches at the same time as the municipality. The municipality and independent laboratories have often released conflicting results. Recently, Talbot released results showing the water quality was unsafe and had high levels of E coli, but the municipality disputed this, saying its results had shown the water was safe. Speaking during a press briefing yesterday, Kaunda said: “We want to assure our residents and visitors that the City only opens the beaches that meet the quality standard for…

The school holidays got off to a sombre start as four pupils died in a horror crash in the early hours of yesterday. The Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal said the four pupils – aged between 14 and 16 – were from Groenvlei Combined School in the Amajuba District. The accident took place on a gravel road. The occupants were travelling in a truck. “The learners were en route home after a wedding ceremony they had attended over the weekend,” said education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi. He said another 11 children in the same vehicle are reported to have been rushed to nearby hospitals. “It is reported that there were approximately 30 commuters in the vehicle, some of which were members of the Hattang community. | Mercury Correspondent…

I CANNOT help feeling a small surge of gratitude every time a human rights issue breaks the surface, including the spotlight on the environmental crisis engulfing our country as the recent floods and other inclement weathers rip lives apart once more. It feels slightly miraculous that the state of South Africa’s overflowing rivers and waterways and rising sea levels are increasingly becoming an election issue after so many years in which human rights activists advocating for progressive climate change policies have swum against the political flow. The neglect by the government is evident, especially in the municipalities that crucially hold the constitutional responsibility for managing ecosystems, including freshwater, coastal, forest and grassland ecosystems that underpin economic activity and human well-being. The terrifying force of nature unleashed made headlines. It filled…

A combative Donald Trump appeared in a New York court yesterday to face civil fraud charges, denouncing the case as a “sham” intended to torpedo his campaign to retake the White House. The fraud trial, one of several legal battles against the 77-year-old Trump, could potentially see the former president barred from doing business in New York state. “This has to do with election interference, plain and simple,” Trump said as he arrived for the opening day of what could be a three-month trial. “What we have here is an attempt to hurt me in an election.” New York Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr committed fraud by inflating the value of the real estate and financial assets of the Trump…

Armenian separatists from Nagorno-Karabakh said yesterday that their officials would stay in the region after Azerbaijan’s offensive for rescue operations, as Yerevan reported “casualties” in a border shootout with Baku’s forces. Separatist said that over 200 people were killed in fighting Azerbaijan late last month and that a further 170 died when a fuel depot exploded as scores of civilians fled Karabakh over fears of ethnic cleansing. After three decades of Armenian control, the separatist authorities have agreed to disarm, dissolve their government and reintegrate with Azerbaijan in the wake of Baku’s one-day military operation in late September. Almost all of the 120 000 residents of the mountainous region fled after Baku’s offensive. But the separatist government said leader Samvel Shahramanyan would stay in Karabakh’s main city of Stepanakert…

KAMPALA: Uganda’s Constitutional Court yesterday took a first step toward hearing a challenge to an anti-gay law that rights activists and Western governments have denounced as draconian. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni in May, is one of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws and punishes some same-sex acts with the death penalty. Lawyers in the case met before the court registrar and agreed to reconvene on October 12, when the matter will be forwarded to the court’s judges to set a hearing date, said Nicholas Opiyo, an attorney for the organisations contesting the law. At least six people have been charged under the law so far. | Reuters…

MANCHESTER: British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said yesterday that he would tighten banking rules to make sure customers could not have their accounts closed just because others disagree with their political views. The practice known as “debanking” became a political issue after former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said his account at private bank Coutts, part of NatWest, had been closed due to his political positions. An internal bank document unearthed by Farage showed the decision was partly taken over his views. Banks will now have to give customers a “clear, tailored explanations” for why an account had been closed. | Reuters…

New Zealand 321/6 Conway 78, Latham 52; Ngidi 3/33, Jansen 3/45 South Africa 211/4 De Kock 84*, Van der Dussen 51; Boult 2/20, Santer 1/29 New Zealand win by sevens runs on the DLS Method Despite losing their warm-up yesterday following rain ending the match in the 37th over of South Africa’s chase, the Proteas will take away lessons from their time out on the park against New Zealand after spending over a week in India without any action. In the build-up to yesterday’s warm-up match, coach Rob Walter emphasised their intention to use the game for the benefit of the team and to polish off areas they felt needed work. One particular area that needed attention was the bowling unit getting time on the legs before Saturday’s World Cup…

Pick n Pay’s share price dropped by more than 13% yesterday on the JSE following the retailer’s posting that it expects to report a loss and that its CEO Pieter Boone would step down. Boone would be replaced by Pick n Pay’s former CEO Sean Summers. In its trading statement for the 26 weeks ended August 2023, the retailer said it expects to report a loss of between 98.18 cents and 79.31c per share, a 184% to 204% decline from the 94.34c earnings per share it had last year. Pick n Pay expects to report a headline loss per share from 149.36c to 129.82c, a 233% to 253% decline. The group said it had experienced a particularly challenging reported period driven by a…

MANAGERS in the manufacturing industry have remained optimistic that the current tough trading conditions will not persist in six months’ time, after conditions deteriorated further at the end of the third quarter. The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained firmly in contractionary territory as it declined by 4.3 points in September to 45.4 points, down from 49.7 points in August. The PMI, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) on behalf of Absa, could raise concerns about the prospects for GDP in the third quarter as the manufacturing sector is one of the two sectors that made a significant positive impact on economic growth in the second quarter. The September reading indicated the eighth consecutive month of contraction in South Africa’s factory activity and…

WHILE some concern has been raised about the congestion that will occur due to the R4.7 billion upgrade to the N3 between the Westville viaduct and the Paradise Valley Interchange, the road freight sector, a transport expert and an economist agree that the expansion work has long-term benefits. In a recent statement, Andrew Ssekayita, South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) Eastern region project manager, said motorists travelling on the N3 between the Westville viaduct and the Paradise Valley Interchange should expect traffic disruptions due to major construction and upgrades, which began this week. “The R4.7bn project is expected to extend over approximately 51 months. We will endeavour to keep at least three lanes per direction open on the N3 route at all times, and on applicable ramps at least…

“Anglican Church declares Israel an apartheid state” – Friday’s front page article in The Mercury refers. Other South African church organisations have also supported this stance. Meanwhile, Zionist organisations have rebuffed this notion. The issue is really nothing new. Like in other troubled areas of the world, there will always be people – even renowned academics – who will use “history” locked in religious books to justify their stance for the willy-nilly overrunning of other peoples’ lands. Zionism simply means “return to our original land” and there is this bizarre notion that because Jews once lived in the “Holy Land”, it entitles them to return there. Not just return. But to give notice, harass, prosecute, persecute, even execute, the local people who once welcomed them to share that “holy” space,…

At the recently held provincial standing committee of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba made several statements that were both sad and biased – that were anti-Israel with undertones of anti-Semitism. The learned archbishop has obviously not kept up with geopolitical matters. Twice he stated that Israel occupies Gaza. Israel gave up control of Gaza in 2005. His comments on the Israeli occupation of the so-called West Bank are also highly debatable and resulted from the wars in Israel in 1948 and 1967, both of which were started by Arab states. The good archbishop uses the apparent distress of Palestinian Christians, of which there must be very few as a population percentage, as a smokescreen to attack Israel. If the archbishop is so concerned with the welfare of Christians, why…

The Hanover Regional Court in the Northern Cape has sentenced 44-year-old Nomava Luwalala to eight years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, after she was convicted on at least 20 charges of fraud. She was further ordered to pay back an amount of R120 252 in instalments of R10 000 until the total amount is paid. “The accused (Luwalala) pleaded guilty in terms of Section 112 of Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 on all 20 counts of fraud as charged,” said Northern Cape spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Captain Tebogo Thebe. “Nomava Luwalala worked as a cashier at the Emthanjeni Municipality's traffic department unit, where she manipulated the eNatis system (electronic national administration traffic information system) from July 2019 to December 2020. While performing her duties,…

Worried about spiralling crime in the cities of Gauteng, the king of the Zulu nation wants Zulu regiments to take an active part in fighting the scourge. King Misuzulu says it is the duty of every Zulu warrior to fight crime and not turn a blind eye when it is taking place. The king made this call on Saturday in the City of Ekurhuleni where he convened and addressed the Gauteng leg of the annual King Shaka’s Day commemoration. The first leg of the commemoration to celebrate King Shaka who founded the Zulu nation in 1816 was held in KwaDukuza (Stanger) in KwaZulu-Natal last week. King Misuzulu said the Gauteng leg was important as it gave Zulu people in the province an opportunity to be part of the historic…

THE eThekwini Municipality is piloting “extreme” solutions to tackle the problem of hijacked or dilapidated buildings in the city centre. Daniels Pentasaib of the eThekwini Building Inspectorate recently spoke of the action being taken to address the issue of problem buildings on the City’s communication platform, eThekwini Matters. About 80 buildings across the city fall under the problem buildings category, with about 16 of these being classified as hijacked buildings. EThekwini Municipality and other municipalities across the country are clamping down on bad buildings following a devastating fire in Johannesburg a few weeks ago that killed more than 70 people and laid bare the problems of hijacked or dilapidated buildings in cities. “Currently we have 16 confirmed hijacked buildings; nine are privately owned, four provincial, five municipal and one…

AN investigation has been instituted into allegation that teacher posts were being “sold” at a northern KwaZulu-Natal primary school. The KZN Education Department confirmed the investigation yesterday after IFP Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa raised the matter during a sitting of the house last week. Madlopha-Mthethwa said it had been alleged by a school governing body (SGB) member that the primary school’s principal acquired his job by offering a bribe of three cattle and R120 000 in cash to the SGB members. It was also alleged the post of a deputy principal had been sold for R80 000. The KZN Department of Education said it would take action once an investigation report with recommendations was tabled. In a similar incident earlier this year, the department suspended a…

Ratepayers struggling with their municipal bills can enter into a debt relief programme with the eThekwini Municipality. The programme allows for the settlement of the outstanding debt over a maximum period of 36 months. Last week, the council approved a three-month debt relief programme, which starts today, for customers who are in arrears for more than 90 days. Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said: “This is a concerted effort by the municipality to assist cash-strapped customers and non-profit organisations, including old-age homes, crèches, churches and businesses,” said Kaunda. Eligible residents can make a payment arrangement with a down payment of 5% for residential customers and 10% for non-residential customers, excluding government departments and state-owned institutions, he said. “The debt relief programme is subject to customers not falling into arrears for a…

As the 2023 matric exams approach, the Department of Basic Education must employ every available measure to prevent the leakage of exam papers, which could jeopardise the overall integrity of the process. Although Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has reassured the public that strategies are already in place to combat exam leaks, the department must collaborate with relevant government agencies to thoroughly address any potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited. During a recent media briefing, Motshekga emphasised the importance of safeguarding the National Senior Certificate, because, in the age of technology, a leaked paper from one province can easily spread to others, making investigations challenging. The advent of technology, particularly through social media, has made it increasingly difficult to contain exam leaks, posing significant threats to the exam process and…

Türkiye said it unleashed air strikes on militant targets in northern Iraq and detained suspects in Istanbul overnight, hours after Kurdish militants said they orchestrated the first bomb attack in the capital Ankara in years. On Sunday morning, two attackers detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara, killing them both and wounding two police officers. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group claimed responsibility. The defence ministry said many militants were “neutralised”, a term mostly used to mean killed, in air strikes that destroyed 20 targets – caves, shelters and depots used by the PKK in Iraq’s Metina, Hakurk, Qandil and Gara regions. Türkiye has stepped up military action against the PKK in northern Iraq over the past few years in operations it says are conducted under self-defence…

LOS ANGELES: Britney Spears’s estranged husband Sam Asghari has accused Donald Trump jr of being a “bully” for mocking the singer. The model/actor came to his ex’s defence after the son of the former US president shared a picture of Britney on Instagram in her heyday captioned: “America Under Trump” and a recent image of her dancing in a bikini holding prop knives with the words: “America Under Biden” – in reference to current US president Joe Biden – under which Trump jr wrote: “Yup”. Asghari hit back: “It’s not okay to be a bully” and tagging Trump jr. | Bang Showbiz…

Canberra: Multiple warnings were issued yesterday in the Australian state of Victoria after major bushfires broke out and destroyed one house. Residents were advised to prepare for evacuation and monitor further alerts, as a bushfire in Briagolong, Gippsland Region, has not been brought under control with several others still active. The Country Fire Authority confirmed that one residence was ravaged by the Briagolong fire, which erupted on Sunday and has already burnt 5 000ha with a perimeter of 42km. Despite milder weather conditions enabling firefighters to contain flames, the CFA warned Victorians are “not out of the woods”. | IANS…

CHEGUTU: Zimbabwean authorities were still searching yesterday for survivors trapped underground when a disused gold mine collapsed last week, as some relatives started to lose hope their loved ones could be saved. Accidents in disused mines are common in Zimbabwe, where artisanal or small-scale miners defy authorities by mining in old shafts that are prone to collapse. The latest incident happened in Chegutu, some 100kmwest of the capital Harare on Friday. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said 13 had died in the collapse at the 700m-deep site which had not been properly sealed off. | AFP…

The Springboks will have their 2019 World Cup-winning outside centre back in the squad this week after confirmation came that star Lukhanyo Am will replace the injured Makazole Mapimpi at the tournament ahead of the quarter-finals. Am, who recently recovered from a knee injury, is fit and the Boks will hope he can hit the ground running when he links up with his teammates. Mapimpi was ruled out of the rest of the tournament yesterday after sustaining an orbital fracture after a head clash with Tongan scrumhalf Augustine Pulu in the Boks’ 49-18 win on Sunday. With the victory, the reigning world champions currently sit atop Pool B. Ireland face Scotland on Saturday to determine who will progress to the quarter-finals. All three teams still have a chance, but the…

Bowling has traditionally been Pakistan's strong suit but since that is unlikely to be the case in India, the onus will be on their batters, skipper Babar Azam in particular, to drive their bid for a second 50-over World Cup title. Pakistan were the No 1 ODI side a month ago and Babar's team looked favourites as they began their campaign in the recent Asia Cup. Defeats by arch-rivals India and Sri Lanka in the tournament not only knocked them off the perch, however, but also left them with new concerns. Pace spearhead Naseem Shah injured his bowling shoulder against India and was ruled him of the World Cup disrupting his potent new-ball partnership with Shaheen Afridi. Hasan Ali was drafted in but Pakistan will rely, to a large extent,…

PICK N PAY’S newly appointed CEO Sean Summers intends to focus on turning around the core retail business of the grocery group. A trading statement released yesterday said the group expected to report a loss of between 98.18 cents and 79.31c per share, a 184% to 204% decline, from the 94.34c earnings per share it generated last year. This on the same day as the retailer announced that group CEO Pieter Boone was stepping down, and would be replaced by former CEO Sean Summers. The surprise change of CEO and forecast of a headline loss per share saw the group’s share price slump by 14.95% to close at R31.47 on the JSE yesterday. Speaking to Business Report, Summers said: “It’s common cause that Pick n…

THE WESTERN Cape’s agricultural sector has been hard hit by heavy rains – the province accounts for more than two-thirds of South Africa’s winter crops and a large share of wine grapes and various horticulture products. The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said yesterday that the rainfall peak was around Bredasdorp in the Southern Overberg region. Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said significant damages to farm infrastructure, electricity supply and road networks were reported in various small farming towns of the province, mainly the southern areas. “Still, the impact of the floods on wine grapes and table grapes remains unclear as industry horticulturalists continue assessing the fields. We have seen anecdotal evidence of damages in some storage facilities and crop fields in the southern regions. “Another challenge caused by wet soils…

The provision of key basic services such as water and electricity in the eThekwini Municipality should be carried out by municipal staff in order to build internal capacity and reduce the reliance on external contractors. This is the view of Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, who was speaking during a media briefing yesterday on decisions taken in council last month. Kaunda shared concerns that some contractors “have a sense of entitlement” to get work from the City, which has led to them threatening or intimidating council employees. He also touched on the issue of attacks and intimidation of City workers. He was speaking following yet another murder of a council employee, whom he described as a hard worker. Khumbulani Khumalo, who was the manager for community services at water and sanitation,…

EFF leader Julius Malema has been let off the hook on allegations that he received millions of rand from the VBS Mutual Bank, however the party’s deputy leader, Floyd Shivambu, has been found guilty of breaching the Ethics Code. The Ethics Committee found that VBS Mutual Bank made three payments into Shivambu’s account in 2017. However, on Malema the committee said it could find no conclusive evidence from the records they received that funds flowed from VBS into his account. DA leader John Steenhuisen and former DA MP Phumzile van Damme had lodged the complaints against Malema and Shivambu respectively. The investigation by the ethics committee on Shivambu was only finalised on September 28, finding that the EFF deputy leader did not disclose the payments, as required by law. MPs…

It’s no secret – the ANC has once again shown its lack of confidence in its leaders in eThekwini Municipality, revealing a plague that has long affected the party. Despite having all the resources and senior support at their disposal, many ANC and EFF elected chairpersons of municipal committees have proven to be incompetent, unable to respond to questions about their portfolios. In council, elected individuals are accountable to citizens and must report on their oversight of their respective departments. The chairpersons of committees, who sit on the executive committee, receive a salary of nearly R1 million a year, personal secretaries, offices and direct access to senior officials, yet they cannot provide answers. Are they weak or naive, or simply lacking the necessary competence to hold their positions? The ANC’s…

Listen to another as if you are studying fine and complex and beautiful art, rather than as if you are playing against the other in a hard game of competitive tennis. Listen to another as if he or she has much to teach you. An indication that he or she does indeed have much to teach you may hide behind your secretly held belief that it’s the other way around. Arrogance doesn’t hear or listen very well or very accurately. It hears what it wants to hear and sees what it wants to see. Arrogance reshapes the speaker's message into what the hearer wants to hear or what the hearer wishes was said. If in listening to another you think you’ve heard it all before, you are not listening. Listening,…

Police Minister Bheki Cele has defended his decision to introduce the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) Bill to Parliament, although it was not certified as constitutional by the state law attorney. Last month, the ANC used its majority to adopt a motion of desirability of the Ipid Amendment Bill, despite the parliamentary legal adviser and an independent senior counsel finding the amendment bill unconstitutional. The amendment bill provides that the minister, with the concurrence of the Cabinet, shall appoint the Ipid executive director. This is a departure from the current act that makes a provision for the minister to nominate to Parliament a new Ipid head and that MPs either approve or reject it. Responding to parliamentary questions from Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald, Cele said the Ipid bill…

QUALITY assurance council, Umalusi, has raised the alarm about certificates submitted to it for verification as at least 17% could not be authenticated owing to apparent fraud. The council revealed in its annual report for 2022/23 that the number of verifications made during the year under review totalled 299 262. These included 5 114 manual conformations, 275 142 e-verifications and 19 006 full verifications. The verifications completed were 63 274 more than in the 2021/22 financial year. CEO Mafu Rakometsi said one of the uncontrollable challenges for Umalusi was the unlawful sale of the national senior certificate by fraudsters. “This is a threat to the credibility of the qualifications on our sub-framework,” Rakometsi said. In the past two-and-a-half years Umalusi verified more than 200 000 qualifications for clients, he said.…

NEWLY elected National Freedom Party (NFP) KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Mbali Shinga says the new leadership is aware of the challenges facing it, including trying to recover lost ground before next year’s general elections. She was speaking after the party’s provincial elective conference held in Newcastle this past weekend, which has seen the NFP emerging with its first elected structure in a long time. While some party members walked out of the conference citing questionable credentials, Shinga expressed the willingness to meet with them, but said that they were not afraid of any possible legal challenge against the new leadership and would defend their position. “The fact is we live in a free country where one is free to do as they please, and so the members opted to walk out without…

PEOPLE across South Africa battled with the recent conundrum of avoiding the Covid-19 virus on the outside or die from hunger or violence in their own homes. The socio-economic challenges South Africans faced during the pandemic were only a magnification of the challenges many South Africans grapple with daily. The need for sustainability and sustainable development (SD) cannot be emphasised. As a researcher, I sought to contribute to achieving these through a teacher education professional development programme, which I explored. Teachers were educated and allowed to engage with and develop their content and pedagogical knowledge in science and maths education, which were enshrined by SD. The post-Covid era has illuminated the crucial role of education in reducing inequalities and promoting sustainable growth. Literature is replete with rationales for higher education…

Hungarian scientist Katalin Kariko and US colleague Drew Weissman, who met in line for a photocopier before making mRNA molecule discoveries that paved the way for Covid-19 vaccines, won the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine yesterday. “The laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” the Swedish award-giving body said in the latest accolade for the pair. The prize, among the most prestigious in the scientific world, was selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute medical university and comes with 11 million Swedish crowns (about R19m) to share between them. Kariko, a former senior vice president and head of RNA protein replacement at German biotech firm BioNTech, is a professor at the University of Szeged…

The new head of the UN migration agency yesterday voiced concern that the deaths of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean were being “normalised” and vowed to work with governments to provide options for economic migration to address the crisis. Former US White House adviser Amy Pope started as head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Sunday at a time of record forced displacement around the world and high political tensions over irregular immigration. An Italian minister and billionaire Elon Musk have criticised Germany for backing charities helping distressed migrants on the world’s most dangerous route, the Mediterranean, where 22 000 people have died or gone missing since 2014. Germany’s foreign ministry defended its policies. Pope said: “Our biggest concern is that the deaths in the Mediterranean have…

LONDON: Live Aid, the transatlantic concert that raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia, is being turned into a stage musical that will premiere at London’s Old Vic next year, the theatre said yesterday. Organised by rockers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure almost 40 years ago, Live Aid was watched by an estimated 1.5 billion people. “If this musical encourages just one person to have a positive impact for the better, then it will be a job well done,” Geldof said. “I’m looking forward to seeing it ... it better not be s**t!” Just For One Day, written by author John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, will run at The Old Vic from January 26 to March 30, 2024. The Band Aid Charitable Trust will get 10% from the…

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday recommended the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the life-threatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes. “Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce that WHO is recommending a second vaccine called R21/Matrix-M to prevent malaria in children at risk of the disease,’ said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus R21/Matrix-M, developed by Britain’s University of Oxford, will be rolled out in some African countries in early 2024 and available mid-2024 in other countries, he said, adding that doses would cost between $2 and $4 (R38 and R76). | Reuters…

Kaizer Chiefs coach Molefi Ntseki is content with the players he has at his disposal as management supported the team’s bid to bring back the glory days this season, signing no fewer than 10 players during the transfer window, including South American duo Edson Castillo and Jasond Gonzalez, while Stellenbosch’s former captain Sibongiseni Mthethwa was last to arrive. “I think we are content with what we have. We are happy with the squad, and everybody is competing to be in the starting XI and travelling team,” the Amakhosi coach said. “It’s a healthy competition. We look at it to be very fair. At the start of our pre-season, we emphasised to the players that they’ll put themselves in the team. “How do they do that? It’s by understanding the game…