Inhoudsopgave van 2022-01-26 - Star

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za CEMENTITIOUS product group PPC’s share price has plummeted more than 20 percent over a week after the group announced related party and institutional shareholder changes. The share price was down 2.15 percent to R4.56 yesterday afternoon, this after the share price fell steadily from R5.60 at last Wednesday’s close. The group, which has had to be significantly restructured in the past two years to reduce debt and recover into a financially healthier position, announced on Monday that the Public Investment Corporation had doubled its shareholding in PPC from 5.37 percent to 10.25 percent. Then yesterday, Value Capital Partners (VCP), the investment manager to VCP H4 QI Hedge Fund and various other funds, said it had disposed of a beneficial interest in PPC shares…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za MOTUS was benefiting from the recovery of the new vehicle sales market and headline earnings per share were likely to increase by between 45and 55 percent to between 763 and 815 cents per share in the six months to December 31, 2021. The share price of South Africa’s biggest automotive group, with interests in the UK and Australia, traded 0.2 percent higher to R110.21 on the JSE yesterday morning – the price has steadily traded higher by 80 percent over a 12-month period. The group said in a trading update yesterday that operating profit was expected to be between R2.1 billion and R2.2bn, representing a 20 to 26 percent increase compared with the same six-month period a year before. The…

Amore Carstens On December 24, 2019, the first iteration of the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill (UPRDB) was published for public comment. The UPRDB introduces a separation of the upstream petroleum exploration and production sector from the mining sector, which is currently regulated under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, No 28 of 2002 (MPRDA). Written comments on the UPRDB from industry stakeholders were required to be submitted by February 21, 2020, and government consultations with industry stakeholders were conducted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Petroleum Agency (the Task Team) between April and May 2020. National Treasury issued a tax policy discussion paper on December 17, 2021, to be read alongside the UPRDB, which sets out certain key proposals on the taxation of…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Time and time again we see celebrities and normal folk share their personal stories on social media platforms. While their stories offer a glimmer of hope to some, most of the time it’s twisted and turned into jokes and memes and they are often mocked for sharing. Veteran hip hop artist K.O, who has been in the industry for more than 15 years and has learnt to keep his private life off the streets of social media, has taken to Twitter to offer some free advice to over-sharers. And his words have been welcomed. It looks like the Supa Dupa hitmaker’s tweet was in response to a video where an upcoming artist rapped about his life. In the recent tweet, he said: “Stop over-sharing your personal life…

Thabo Makwakwa thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za The Khula hitmakers Bello no Gallo, whose song and music video has become one of the most popular in the country, are set to release their next song in February. Sabelo Mkhize, better known as Bello, and Zakhele Mthethwa, who is known as Gallo, are both from KwaZulu- Natal, and met in 2014 when they were still in high school. Speaking to The Star’s sister paper the Daily News on Monday, the duo said they were working on a project that would put them on top of the charts and dominate the industry, just as they currently do on various media platforms. Bello no Gallo said they were humbled by the reception they have received from their fans since October last year, when they released their music…

Liesl Van Der Schyff liesl.vanderschyff@inl.co.za Ingredients For the cake: 150g butter, softened 150g castor sugar 3 eggs 150g self-raising flour 50g plain flour 75ml (5 tbs) lemon juice 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla paste Zest of 1 lemon For the icing and topping: 250ml (1 cup) icing sugar 15ml (1 tbs) lemon juice Strawberries, blueberries and edible flowers for garnish Method For the cake: Preheat oven to 180°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric beater or wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time until smooth. Sift the flour into the mixture and gently fold in. Then fold in the lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest. Transfer the batter to…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za WHEN Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma were made respective captains of South Africa’s Test and limited overs teams a year ago, it provided the first inkling of clarity for the men’s national team since the 2019 World Cup. The last few weeks have witnessed the very best of them, as captains, batters and people. They are different personalities, but share similar outlooks on certain aspects; they are hard as nails and demanding of themselves as individuals and the players under their leadership. The complete disintegration of Cricket SA’s administration had negatively impacted on the Proteas – still the most important asset for the sport in this country. Even after the appointments of Graeme Smith as Director of Cricket and Mark Boucher as head coach, the team still…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Sune Luus will captain the Proteas Women in their four-match one-day international series against the West Indies that starts at the Wanderers on Friday. Luus resumes the leadership role in the absence of Dane van Niekerk, who fractured her ankle at home and will miss the series as well as the ODI World Cup in New Zealand that starts in March. South Africa will also be without ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Lizelle Lee, who has tested positive for Covid-19. “Sune has really managed the captaincy quite well in the absence of our leaders, Dane and Chloe (Tryon), and we are quite excited to be giving her the role again,” said convener of selectors Clinton du Preez. “In our conversations with her, she really rolled…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za ALBERT van den Berg was in a reflective mood yesterday as he spoke to the media regarding the Lions’ recent loss to the Sharks, espousing a holistic view as the Joburgers prepare for their upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Bulls on Saturday. In their 47-37 loss in Durban last weekend, the Lions were guilty of making small errors at crucial times – a knock on here, a missed line-out there, a forward pass into space, or an incorrect decision in the heat of the moment. It would no doubt have been frustrating to watch after three weeks of in-camp preparation work, but Lions assistant coach Van den Berg said that although it was the players who made the mistakes, it was the entire unit…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE HOTEL sector is clawing its way back out of the 2020 lockdown “hole”, but trading in the sector is still far weaker than pre-Covid-19 days, according to John Loos, property sector strategist at FNB Commercial Property Finance. Writing in an FNB Property Insights note, Loos said Statistics SA’s November 2021 preliminary monthly tourism statistics showed the hotel sector to be slowly clawing its way out of the “deep hole” created by Covid-19- related lockdowns and the accompanying recessionary impact back in 2020. On a year-on-year basis, hotel sector income grew a strong 95.4 percent in November 2021, which was not surprising as this income was coming off a very low base compared with 2020 “lockdown year” levels, said Loos. “The extreme year-on-year growth rate is…

Oluthando Keteyi oluthando Keteyi@inl.co.za THE new season of Idols SA is undergoing some major changes, especially when it comes to its judges. After being on the judging panel for 17 seasons, Randall Abrahams will not be returning to the long-running singing competition. Mzansi Magic confirmed Abrahams and Unathi Nkayi would not be returning for the upcoming season of Idols SA. “We are taking a fresh approach to the judging panel to retain audiences and stay competitive in the Sunday night timeslot,” said Shirley Adonisi, channel director: local entertainment channels at M-Net. Nkayi has been with the show for 10 seasons. She took to Instagram to pen a thank you note to her supporters. She posted an image of herself on the Idols SA judging panel and spoke about her…

Sonri Naidoo IN A joint operation led by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) yesterday, 1 800 officers were deployed in the Hillbrow area in central Joburg to deal with lawlessness. The focus of Operation Buya Mthetho was on illegal businesses, including drugs and stolen goods, illegal panel-beaters, chop shops, and obstruction to traffic. JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the operation was a great success and warned that officers would continue to conduct these operations throughout the year. “A total of 15 arrests were made, 13 of these arrests were for not wearing masks in public while the other two were arrested for drinking in public. Six cars were impounded for causing obstruction and four buildings were checked for eviction notices to be served. Several street traders’ goods were confiscated…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE man who killed and hanged Tshegofatso Pule, who was eight months’ pregnant, has detailed a gory tale of how her boyfriend allegedly contracted him to take her out. Muzikayise Malephane, who became a State witness after entering into a plea bargain, took to the box at the South Gauteng High Court in Joburg yesterday to testify against Ntuthuko Shoba. Shoba, who dated and impregnated Pule, stands accused as the mastermind behind the heartless killing of Pule. He faces charges of murder and defeating the ends of justice. The State’s case is that the 28-year-old Sowetan was killed on June 4, 2020, the day she went to Shoba’s place in Florida, west of Joburg. Palesa Senokoane, Pule’s cousin, testified yesterday that she spoke to her over the…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za FOR more than a decade, former investigating director of the then Scorpions, Malala Geophrey Ledwaba, had criminal charges hanging over his head. While maintaining his innocence, he has now finally been vindicated of all charges. In 2018, Ledwaba was cleared on appeal on charges of fraud and theft of money from the Scorpions’ confidential fund, earmarked to pay for special operations and informants. His 10-year jail sentence was overturned but he still faced obstruc- tion of justice and corruption charges linked to a so-called bribe he was accused of offering a prosecutor not to proceed with that fraud and theft trial. But the Johannesburg Regional Court last week acquitted him and co-accused Elvis Manyama on these charges. The prosecution claimed that while still facing his fraud and…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za MANY might know him from the popular television soap Uzalo on SABC 1 as one of the highly celebrated and exciting actors. Ntokozo “TK” Dlamini has flipped the game as he is set to play Bafana on DiepCity, a character that is quite distinct from Mastermind, who does all that is necessary to fend for himself and his family even if it means getting into trouble. In this award-winning telenovela, he introduces himself as a lead character who goes to Diepsloot after years of living in the fancy suburbs of Fourways with his father, who is a renowned businessman, but weeks after his return he is caught up in a messy situation that proves the notion that three is a crowd. Dlamini expressed his excitement at…

Tom Mhlanga | Braamfontein THE South African government is in a serious state of disaster. One wonders if the Department of State Security is even aware of this because we have been witnessing disturbing scenes that smell like deliberate sabotage. The burning of our National Key Points can’t be coincidental, it is clear that someone is behind this. As much as our government would want to keep certain information from the public, but it must take us into its confidence that they are capable of dealing with this crisis. We have become a joke to other countries because of the incompetency of our leaders. What is also clear is the fact that there is a serious campaign to unseat the current president and the two cannot…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@iol.co.za MINERAL Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe yesterday reiterated his support of nuclear as part of the green transition while urging South Africa to follow in the footsteps of Europe and see the energy as part of the green transition since it doesn’t emit carbon. Speaking at the North West provincial mining and energy investment conference, he said that while there was once a bad nuclear project in the country, nuclear was a required “technology of energy”. “Unfortunately in SA, when you talk of nuclear everybody runs for cover. We had a 9 600 megawatt nuclear project that proved to be a disaster. Nuclear is a required technology for energy,” he said. Mantashe was referring to South Africa’s disputed 9 600 MW, which…

Corrie Kruger THE SOUTH African banking sector is regulated by various entities – such as the SA Reserve Bank, the Financial Services Board, the National Credit Regulator, the JSE, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the SA Revenue Service, the National Treasury and the Department of Labour – which have enormous controls, paperwork en masse, and checks and balances designed to safeguard our money, which is administered by these banks. So, one wants to ensure that who one banks with, whether it be an individual or a company, has the right measures in place from the get-go. According to the Nedbank Financial Statements: “Nedbank Group does sound business according to key non-negotiables. These include sound governance practices, transparency, and accountability. “The board of directors discharges its responsibilities within a clearly defined governance…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za IF PIGS COULD fly, they would probably have to grow extra ribs and extra bellies to help South Africa’s pork industry meet its local quota to cut out imports of more than 2 000 tons a month from Brazil, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The industry, which is trying to carve a niche in the market as it comes third after poultry and beef, currently has a per capita consumption of 15kg a person compared to 40kg for beef and 21kg for poultry. Eskort CEO Arnold Prinsloo told Business Report imports were necessary, because so many cuts of ribs and bellies could be harvested from a single baconer, while cuts such as loins, trotters, liver and meaty bones were a hard sell to the local…

Bang Showbiz Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t have any ambition to host the Oscars. The 42-year-old actor has already rejected the opportunity to host the glitzy awards show, and can’t ever picture himself on hosting duties. He shared: “I have said no in the past. I really don’t think that that’s my skillset. It’s not something I’m comfortable doing, hosting, mainly because I’ve been lucky enough to work with incredible hosts.” Miranda has previously worked with the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Hugh Jackman and doesn’t see himself following in their footsteps. He said: “I’ve written for Neil Patrick Harris, I’ve written his opening numbers and closing numbers for the Tonys. That is a whole other thing. He is genius at that, he and Hugh Jackman.” The theatre star…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za FAMILIES of the three Lily Mine tragedy victims say they will only get closure if the bodies of their loved ones are brought to the surface of the mine. Today marks exactly 1 000 days since Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyirenda and Yvonne Mnisi were trapped underground at the Lily Mine near Barberton in Mpumalanga. Families, civil society, politicians and community members commemorated the anniversary of the tragedy when the three were trapped in a container which was swallowed up by the ground almost six years ago. Family and close community members have been camping outside the mine while they have called on mine owners to make plans to retrieve the three bodies. Family spokesperson Harry Mazibuko said their first priority was to see their loved ones…

Thabo Makwakwa thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za THE standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) was expected to write to President Cyril Ramaphosa instructing him to explain his utterances that he knew those who stole public funds for political campaigns. The committee was deliberating yesterday after it had invited the ANC’s Mervyn Dirks to address it on his letter requesting Ramaphosa be summoned for his utterances before the committee. Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the auditor-general also needed to explain whether it had detected any misuse of public funds in State Security, as alleged by Ramaphosa, who said he was aware that state funds were used. The committee would write to State Security instructing it to write an affidavit detailing whether funds were used by certain people in connection with the ANC Nasrec conference in…

Malema claims that placing agency in the Presidency is a deliberate ploy to milk its coffers in his run for a second term Itumeleng Mafisa EFF leader Julius Malema has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of using the country’s State Security Agency (SSA) to fight his political opponents. Malema, who briefed the media in Joburg yesterday about developments in the country, said he was not shocked by Ramaphosa's decision to place Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele in charge of the agency. He said this was a move by Ramaphosa to position himself at the centre of state security resources, in particular the intelligence slush fund. Ramaphosa has came under fire over a leaked audio recording, which sounded like he was defending the use of public funds in ANC campaigns. Ramaphosa…

Sonri Naidoo sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za A WOMAN living in Ennerdale is appealing for the City of Joburg Housing Department to build an RDP home for her and her children, who live with a brittle bone disease. Elize Sheick said she had been waiting for more than 12 years for an RDP home. Sheick is the mother of Leihaan, 9, and Lehaan, 14, who suffer from Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), also known as brittle/fragile bone disease. They are living in a back room in Ennerdale near Lenasia, south of Joburg, which she says is not ideal for her disabled children. “It hurts me as a mother to see my beautiful gifts from God suffer, my kids have no place to call home. My son crawls around to get from one place to another, and…

WE are currently receiving heavy rainfall in most parts of the country. This is a good thing to recharge our water resources mainly due to South Africa being a water scarce country. As we have seen in recent weeks, the heavy downpours have been associated with flooding and infrastructure related disasters. Houses and towns have been flooded, and rivers and roads washed away. This has led to serious hardships for communities. In as much as nothing much can be done to stop natural disasters, but we can play our part to mitigate the extent and impact of such disasters. We also play a part in these disasters due to our irresponsible behaviour and disregard for the environment. We have turned our water resources into dumping sites, and this negatively affects…