Inhoudsopgave van 2021-10-27 - Star

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za TIGER Brands said yesterday that the recall of certain Koo and Hugo’s pro- ducts coupled with the civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng had cost the business more than R700 million. Tiger Brands, the JSE-listed packaged goods company, said the write-off of assets plus stock losses related to the civil unrest had amounted to about R100m pre-tax, and the adverse financial impact of the recall totalled R647m pre-tax. In July Tiger Brands recalled certain Koo and Hugo’s products as a result of a side seam weld defect that might cause a leak. At the time the group estimated that the recall would cost between R500m and R650m when taking into account the cost of the potentially affected stock that might be written off, transport and…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za PRECIOUS metals producer Sibanye- Stillwater’s shares leapt nearly 4 percent yesterday after the group told investors that the $1 billion (R14.74bn) acquisition of green metal assets in Brazil was value accretive to its cash flow and earnings. In intraday trade, the share leapt to a high of R53.79 on the JSE, opening the day at R51.79, before closing at 53.12. Sibanye-Stillwater said it had signed sale agreements with affiliates of funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory to acquire full ownership of the Santa Rita nickel and the Serrote copper mines in Brazil for $1bn. The company is also buying a 5 percent net smelter return royalty over potential future underground production at Santa Rita. Chief executive Neal Froneman said yesterday that in addition to…

With Covid-19 slowly easing its grip and the country starting to breathe again, the anticipated sigh of relief comes coupled with some challenges for companies to keep up with demand and opportunities for South Africans to get working. An important case illustrating this is the e-hailing and food delivery services such as Uber and Mr Delivery, which are now engaged in a massive recruitment and expansion drive, both trying to make up for lost time and keep up with the surging demand. Uber, Didi, Uber Eats and Mr delivery are set to grow driver counts by thousands with drivers earning between R10000 and R20 000 per month. However, due to the Covid-19 waves and the subsequent lockdowns, e-hailing and food delivery platforms suffered severe setbacks, leading to a sharp decline…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za PAPER, scissors and crayons were all I needed to create a wardrobe. As a little girl, I would spend hours making paper dresses for my little cut-out doll I’d get in a special book. Even though she would come with her own fancy dresses that I could simply cut out on use, the best part was making my own 2D outfits for her. Those fragile paper outfits were my prized possession until my Barbie came along. While other girls were quite content to rotate the few outfits that came with their Barbie dolls and happily swapped clothes with their friends, I needed more. My Barbie only wore couture. Gerry couture. My youngest daughter has the same fascination with fashion. However, she doesn’t have to pick up a…

Itumeleng Mafisa JOBURG mayor Mpho Moerane says he has been doing his best to keep the lights on in Joburg’s townships, including Soweto, and the city’s affluent areas. Moerane told The Star that his relationship with Eskom had become strained because of his continuous fight with the utility over load shedding and load reduction. Moerane said he was upset that the City of Joburg had been pressured to place residents under load shedding despite having acquired power from the privately-owned Kelvin power station, which was supposed to add to the city’s energy grid. For the mayor, the only way to protect Joburg from load shedding was through alternative energy sources and ensuring that City Power could generate and supply alternative power. The city recently sealed a two-year power…

High levels of poverty, unemployment, crime, absent public safety and services, irresponsible economic development projects and a metropolitan council without accountability. These are some of the many challenges that have existed for decades in the City of Johannesburg. They can be fixed by professionalising city governance rather than politicising it, and by a strong focus on and commitment to service delivery governance and leadership. We need to elect leaders who have consistently shown a dedication to investing in our communities and who demonstrate a sense of urgency for service delivery. I’ve been an outsider, seeing what’s wrong in the city and telling others about it for years. I can no longer sit on the sidelines when so much is at stake. We cannot afford more of the same. My priorities…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa captain Temba Bavuma has disclosed that Quinton de Kock’s decision to withdraw from their crucial T20 World Cup match against the West Indies yesterday was only made on the bus en route from Abu Dhabi to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. De Kock’s withdrawal was due to not wanting to take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, after Cricket SA issued a directive yesterday morning that the Proteas should take a knee prior to the start of all their remaining matches at the World Cup in the UAE. “The instruction from the board came in the morning, this morning. A meeting was convened between a couple of members, and that’s where that message was passed on to us. Then before, I…

Rashid Khan remains Afghanistan’s original spin king, but Mujeeb Ur Rahman has emerged from his shadow as a rising star to make an instant impact at the T20 World Cup. The 20-year-old bamboozled the opposition batsmen with his mystery spin on Monday to return best figures of 5/20 in a T20 in Afghanistan’s 130-run rout of Scotland in Sharjah. Mujeeb bowls off-spin, leg-spin and the googly with equal guile, and has bagged 30 wickets in 20 matches in the shortest format since his debut as a 16-year-old in February 2018. “Congratulations to our nation and it’s my first Player of the Match in a World Cup,” Mujeeb, who played his first ever match in the T20 World Cup, said to his countrymen, who have been cheering their team under the…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za MAMELODI Sundowns’ co-coach Rhulani Mokwena is banking on the experience of colleagues Manqoba Mngqithi and Steve Komphela and his players to help them prevail in the MTN8 final against Cape Town City in Durban on Saturday (6pm). After a bright start to the campaign, the Brazilians reached the final following wins over Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows in the quarter-finals and semis respectively. But this is uncharted territory for the 11-time league champions. They are yet to win the competition in 14 years, while they lost their two finals to Chiefs and defunct Bidvest Wits in 2008 and 2016 respectively. But that’s been their only miss in almost a decade after bagging six league titles and a host of trophies. It’s still early days, but Sundowns appear…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za JUST SHARE, the non-profit shareholder activist group, has blamed Sasol, the fossil fuel company, whose operations include Secunda, the world’s biggest single-point source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, for refusing to table the sixth shareholder-proposed resolution filed with the company in five consecutive years. Robyn Hugo, Just Share’s director for Climate Change Engagement, said yesterday that it was difficult to understand why Sasol continued to resist tabling shareholder-proposed resolutions that would allow shareholders to vote on improved disclosure, particularly when such resolutions were not only non-binding, but made requests for information that Sasol says it was already planning to provide. Hugo said it was clear from this history that Sasol’s refusals were not grounded in a consistent application of the law, nor in sound principles of corporate…

WHY WOMEN KILL S2 M-NET CITY, DSTV CHANNEL 115, 9.40PM A gripping season finale. In order to protect her glory, notoriety, and newly glamorous life, Alma concocts a desperate and dramatic scheme after Vern's investigation leads to his new in-laws. THE RED ROOM SABC3, DSTV CHANNEL 193, 7.30PM Boncuk looks worried as she searches for the wise man. She thinks that one of them left her. Boncuk talks about Can and their meeting. Her joy and happiness can be seen in her eyes when she talks about Can. She tells Doctor that Can visited her in İstanbul but she couldn’t meet him as her sister locked the door. THE LAST SAMURAI NETFLIX Captain Nathan Algren is hired to train the Japanese army to fight a Samurai rebellion. However,…

SISONKE MLAMLA sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za LEARNERS across the country will today sit down to take the most important exams of their school careers – matric. They will write their English home language, English first additional language and English second additional language papers, with a total of 63 202 learners to write in the morning. A few started last week with other subjects, including IT. Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi sent his best wishes to the Class of 2021, wishing them luck and assuring the candidates they had the education department’s full support. “Learners are urged to conduct themselves with honesty during the exam. Cheating and other exam irregularities may result in a criminal record. Tears and sweat taste the same, but will get you different results. Tears will get you sympathy and…

Samkelo Mtshali samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za EFF LEADER Julius Malema, campaigning in Newcastle yesterday, said that his party was ready to oust the ANC from governing the city, and urged community members to ensure the removal of the “wrong leadership” at the polls. He told supporters in Madadeni, Newcastle, that he had been in Port Elizabeth as they embarked on the last push to cover the whole of South Africa before election day. He said that Newcastle was under threat because it was under the wrong leadership and that they did not want the ANC to continue leading in the KwaZulu-Natal town. “The ANC has been stealing for too long, but we are going to stop that on November 1 because when we go in as the EFF, we want to…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE ICONIC Eyethu Cinema won’t be demolished for now, says the government, following speculation that the heritage site in Soweto will be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. The Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation has denied claims that it would demolish the cinema in Mofolo to make way for a new shopping centre. The department said in a statement on Monday that no decision had been taken on the heritage site. This comes after social media users were up in arms at the prospect of demolition. Veteran TV talk show host Felicia Mabuza-Suttle was among those who voiced their dissatisfaction with the news, taking to Twitter to say that the Eyethu Cinema was what the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, US, is…

One retirement could change everything, but the statistics are stacking up for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as he seeks to deny Lewis Hamilton a record eighth Formula One title this season. Sunday’s US Grand Prix victory at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas was the 24-year-old Dutch driver’s eighth from 17 of 22 races, compared to five for Mercedes’ seven-time world champion. Seasons have more races now, but only once in the 70-year history of the championship has anyone won eight times and not ended up as champion. That exception was Hamilton, who won 10 times in 2016, but lost out to German teammate Nico Rosberg after a down-to-the-wire battle. Austin also saw Verstappen extend a record that may not be his for long. No other driver has had so many…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za The empty blue seats staring back at the players inside the Dubai International Stadium provided the soulless backdrop yesterday. The atmosphere was that of a funeral, and after all the drama that had permeated behind closed doors – which ultimately resulted in Quinton de Kock withdrawing from the crucial T20 World Cup clash against the West Indies – it could well be remembered as the death of De Kock’s international career. Cricket South Africa issued a directive yesterday morning that the entire team needed to take a knee in a united and consistent stance against racism for the remainder of the T20 World Cup. The timing of the CSA board directive leaves a lot to be desired, particularly as the Proteas have been grappling with issues surrounding…

FORMER England captain Michael Vaughan said the return of Ben Stokes to the squad for the Ashes tour could swing the series in their favour against an Australian side still scarred by the all-rounder’s heroics at Headingley two years ago. Stokes had taken an indefinite break from cricket in July to focus on his mental well-being, while also recovering from a second operation on a broken finger, and was not included in coach Chris Silverwood’s initial squad for the series. The England and Wales Cricket Board said on Monday, however, that Stokes would be available for the series, which is due to start in Brisbane on December 8. “Ben Stokes’ return for the Ashes is huge,” Vaughan wrote in his column in the Daily Telegraph. “Without him, I would not…

Economy suffers power blackouts due to breakdowns at coal-fired power plants Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ESKOM has revealed an ambitious plan which will see it invest more than R170 billion over the next decade in new capacity expansion projects for transmission of electricity. The struggling power utility yesterday shared its transmission development plan for the period 2022 to 2031 with various stakeholders as part of its licence requirements issued by the energy regulator. The economy has been dealt a blow by Eskom’s crippling power blackouts since 2007 due to breakdowns at its ageing, coal-fired power plants, and the maintenance programme currently under way. The power utility has also had its infrastructure damaged due to vandalism, theft and tampering. Group executive for transmission Segomoco Scheppers said the organisation continued to prioritise…

Growth in agricultural exports could slow down as a new set of regulations, part of the EU Green Deal's Farm-to-Fork Strategy, is implemented next year, says the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). According to Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo, the strategy would come with an additional layer of regulations which have implications on South Africa. “As a background, the Sacu (Southern African Customs Union) and Mozambique-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) of 2016 enhanced market access benefits for South Africa. These included fully or partially removed customs duties on 98.7 percent of exports, expansion of tariff rate quotas on key agricultural exports, and a more implementable agricultural safeguard mechanism, among others. Since the implementation of the agreement in October 2016, South Africa's exports to the EU have increased by 25 percent,…

Staff Reporter With the local government elections just days away, citizen satisfaction and trust in local municipalities to deliver basic services have dropped to their lowest level in five years. This is according to Consulta’s 8th South African Citizen Satisfaction Index released this week. The overall citizen satisfaction level, as an average across all metros, was at 51.1 – declining further from 55.7 in 2020 and reaching the lowest point in five years. From the eight metropolitan municipalities – Buffalo City, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane – polled in the index in 2021, the results showed that they were falling far short of meeting citizen’s expectations. The index measures citizen satisfaction and trust in service delivery in eight categories. The sample size was…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into effect the Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Act, which will come into effect from November 1. The act aims to strengthen governance in municipalities, through a minimum councillor requirement and the introduction of a specialised code of conduct. Once again, it is municipal election time and voters face the task of choosing their ward councillor or representative. Making an educated choice between candidates requires thorough knowledge about each of them. Remember, it is not only about a party – a voter should consider the candidate’s credentials, academic and community standing, service to the community, understanding of local government policies and by-laws, and the appropriate qualifications and training, including leadership-related and governance knowledge. Even character and temperament are important.…

BANYANA Banyana inflicted yet another humiliating defeat on Mozambique, winning 6-0 at FNB Stadium yesterday. They won the two-legged Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifier 13-0 on aggregate after a 7-0 win in Maputo last week. It took Banyana just 10 minutes to take the lead yesterday through Bambanani Mbane, before Linda Motlhalo doubled the advantage just after the half-hour. Hildah Magaia continued her good form by making it three for Banyana before half-time. Magaia notched her brace early in the second half, before Motlhalo fittingly also scored her second goal in her 50th appearance for the national team in the 65th minute. After being introduced from the bench late in the game, Sibulele Holweni got on the scoresheet to make it 6-0. Coach Desiree Ellis’s team have now edged…

Pakistan underlined their credentials as early T20 World Cup favourites when they held their nerve to beat New Zealand by five wickets in Sharjah yesterday and secure a second straight victory in the tournament. Chasing a modest 135 for victory after pace bowler Haris Rauf choked out New Zealand with four wickets, Pakistan were in trouble at 69/4, but crossed the line in 18.4 overs for a fine start in their bid for a second championship. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 33, while Shoaib Malik (26 not out) and Asif Ali (27 not out) guided them home. The Group II contest was played against the backdrop of bad blood between the sides after New Zealand abruptly abandoned their tour of Pakistan last month. But Pakistan, on a high after beating arch…

AFTER reaching the group stage of the CAF Champions League for the first time, AmaZulu will be eager to maintain that fighting form when they visit rookies Sekhukhune United in a Premiership match in Polokwane today (5.30pm kick-off). What was initially a dream became a reality for AmaZulu, who reached the group stage on away goals after a 1-1 draw with heavyweights TP Mazembe. Earlier this season, Usuthu struggled to hit the ground running. Coach Benni McCarthy suggested that their injury woes, and player adaptation, contributed to the crisis. Indeed, that proved to be the case. As soon as attackers Thabo Qalinge and Augustine Mulenga were fully fit, there was a breath of fresh air for Usuthu. They reached the second round of the qualifiers after beating Big Bullets 3-1.…