Inhoudsopgave van 2022-02-07 - Star

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s petroleum giant Sasol, with tentacles in the US, has reportedly engaged the services of consultant pariah Bain as pressure mounts in the UK and the US for its operating licence to be suspended. This while action recommended in the Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo commission of inquiry wags a finger at the global entity for its part in aiding state capture in South Africa. British legislator Lord Peter Hain said on Friday the lobby against Bain has been carried to the US legislator as favourable responses were received last week from Number 10 Downing Street for the consultancy firm to be thoroughly investigated for its role in state capture. “In the meantime, please look into the fact that Sasol has hired Bain in SA. With…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Basic Education Department is scaling up entrepreneurship as a subject in the country’s public schools. The department said it started entrepreneurship as a subject in 3 600 schools in 2021 and was phasing in the subject in 10 000 more schools this year. It started as a subject in primary schools and is now being introduced to secondary schools. All 23 300 public schools, both primary and secondary, will be teaching entrepreneurship by 2024. The department said in a circular sent to schools that it was scaling up the subject as part of its programme called Entrepreneurship, Employability and Education. In the circular, principals were invited to register their schools to be part of the programme. The registration was through a platform called TeacherConnect WhatsApp, on…

Sifiso Mahlangu sifiso.mahlangu@inl.co.za MXOLISI Siyonzana, the mayor of the ANC-controlled Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, may soon find himself answering to the public protector and the Hawks over the overpayment of security guards employed by the office of the mayor, the deputy mayor and the speaker. The Star has seen payment schedules to 15 of their trusted security staff for periods in 2019 and 2020 where the guards were paid substantially more than their monthly salaries in overtime each month. The overtime payments ran into millions of rand. During this time, Siyonzana was the speaker of the Mangaung Metro and his guards received the lion’s share of the payments. According to documentation a whistle-blower provided The Star, in January 2020 for example, Siyonzana’s nine guards, who earned salaries of between R55 955…

The 37-year-old royal – who, along with his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped down as a senior member of the British Royal family in 2020 – was joined by the couple’s close friend, tennis ace Serena Williams, for a conversation around the importance of scheduling in a break from work and taking time for self-care, at a live-streamed session by mental health start-up BetterUp on Thursday. The Duke of Sussex – who is the organisation’s Chief Impact Officer – revealed he always makes sure to take time for himself when he’s child-free. Harry – who has Archie, 2, and eight-month-old Lilibet with former Suits actress Meghan – ​said at the virtual Inner Work Day event: “I now put in about half an hour, 45 minutes, in the morning…

John Whitlock | Germiston IT is still a mystery about who tipped off the police regarding Nelson Mandela’s whereabouts in 1962, when he was arrested at Cedara near Howick. Speculation and theories abound but none have been proved. Martin Meredith, Mandela’s biographer, writes: “Suspicion about the culprit ran wild”. In his book, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela wrote: “I was upset and aggravated. Someone had tipped the police off about my whereabouts”. He makes no mention of a foreign intelligence service. One theory is that it was an American vice-consul in Durban, Donald Rickard, who was, by the way, not associated with the CIA. Apparently, in an inebriated state, at a party given by Mad Mike Hoare, he bragged about the part he played in Mandela’s arrest. He…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni The R50 million pledged to the Cubans in their hour of need should not be frowned upon. Let us recall the assistance given to the then-exiled ANC as it fought against apartheid. Their friendship at that time was essential in countering the ideological mess in South Africa. Times have changed with Covid-19 sowing destruction across the planet and there are so many countries requiring a helping hand from those that are stronger. The Cubans were friends indeed – and now they are in need. South Africa is far from being cash flush, but it does have the ability to extend some financial relief to a poverty-stricken people. What would you do if your friends asked you for help? Would you abandon them? Or would…

Chinese President Xi Jinping met the leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan at the weekend as Beijing used the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympics to seize the diplomatic initiative amid simmering tensions with the US. Following an agreement with Russia on Friday over Taiwan and against Nato’s expansion, Xi met with leaders amid a Lunar New Year-themed banquet in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. More 30 international leaders attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics, although the US and other Western countries have subjected the event to a diplomatic boycott amid rising geopolitical tensions. Around 15 000 people attended the opening ceremony on Saturday, Chang Yu, the director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the organising committee, said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, pictured, was among…

Mali could set a new date for elections after leader Assimi Goita asked lawmakers to review a transitional charter adopted after the first of two military coups that have upended the country’s regional standing and relationships. The transitional council met at the weekend for an extraordinary session to review the transitional charter, which expires this month. Adopted after the coup that ousted late former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020, it was supposed to pave the way for a return to civilian rule. But the ruling junta led by Goita, who staged a second coup in May 2021 and installed himself as interim president, last month ditched a presidential election set for February 27, proposing that the poll instead be held in 2025. That prompted a barrage of sanctions…

The Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 Challenge starts today in Gqberha. Here, Zaahier Adams previews the eight teams competing for honours. LIONS Star Player: Bjorn Fortuin The left-arm spinner is an experienced T20 campaigner having spent the past couple of seasons with the Proteas. He is a wily campaigner who thrives under the pressure. The conditions at St George’s Park should assist him too. X-factor: Sisanda Magala The burly seamer missed out on the last T20 World Cup through injury, but having tasted one-day international cricket this past summer, he will be desperate to get on the plane to Australia later this year. Bowls a heavy ball and is renowned for delivering yorkers at the death to close out the game. TITANS Star Player: Tabraiz Shamsi The world’s No 2…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena believes Chippa United were “unfortunate” to have lost their Nedbank Cup last-32 clash against the University of Pretoria in the capital last Friday. The 2-0 result consigned last season’s runners-up to elimination from the competition at the hands of the GladAfrica Championship (National First Division) team. Sundowns next tackle Chippa in a Premierswhip clash at Loftus Versfeld today (7.30pm kick-off). “The influence of (former coach) Gavin Hunt has helped them,” said Mokwena. “They were a bit unfortunate against Tuks to have conceded two goals in a short period. After they conceded the first goal, they became anxious and lost their profile. “They used a clear style of play against Sekhukhune and Maritzburg. They commit a lot of fouls, even by their frontline.”…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Stormers coach John Dobson says they’re sticking to their plan of how they intend on using Springboks Warrick Gelant and Damian Willemse. At the weekend, the Stormers beat the Sharks 20-10 in their return match at Cape Town Stadium after drawing 22-22 with the Durbanites the week before. It was a much improved performance from the Capetonians. Not only did they do better in one of their biggest flaws last weekend – the scrum – but they also got more done on attack, something that Dobson had spoken about at length in the past. Gelant started at fullback while Willemse was on the bench. In the second half, Dan du Plessis was taken off, which Dobson clarified was due to injury, and Willemse came on to fill…

Itumeleng Mafisa POLITICAL parties have expressed concern as yet another national key point suffered a security breach. Weekend reports said the unauthorised entry, which posed a security risk to the state, occurred on the same weekend that a massive fire engulfed another national key point, Waterkloof Air Force Base leading to speculation Musanda was also a likely target. The expansive Musanda complex is in a remote area far from urban activity or a main road and is heavily guarded with manpower and technology. This is the fourth time that an area of national importance comes into the spotlight concerning security issues. At the beginning of the year a homeless man, Zandile Mafe, was arrested for allegedly breaking into Parliament and burning it down. Days later the Constitutional Court in…

Former president’s spokesperson Manyi says they’ll seek legal advice Siphokazi Vuso and Mashudu Sadike DEPUTY Chief Justice and chief justice nominee Justice Raymond Zondo’s admission that he privately met former president Jacob Zuma despite earlier denying this does not only compromise him personally as a judge but also the findings of his state capture commission report. This is the view of Cape Peninsula University of Technology political analyst Dr Kuhle Zwakala following Justice Zondo’s admission when he was being questioned during his recent Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interview for the chief justice position on Friday. “Zondo’s admission that he met former president Zuma privately after refuting these claims earlier does not only compromise him personally as a judge but also the state capture commission findings. “His candidacy as a chief…

Eskom announced Stage 2 shedding from 11am last Wednesday to 5am today. This is due to a shortage of generation capacity following the breakdown of two generating units at Kusile and Kendal power stations. Marius Steyn, Personal Lines underwriting manager, said South Africans need to mitigate the damages caused by load shedding by being prepared before the power goes off. Alarm system: Ensure that your alarm system is in working condition and the back-up battery is fully functional to provide power to the system during load shedding. Spare torch or headlamp: Keep a torch in your car, for if you arrive home at night during a power outage. Most smartphones also have built-in torch or torch apps which come in handy during unexpected power outages. Emergency contact information: Save…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za RENOWNED actress and media personality Khanyi Mbau has given viewers something to be excited about after sharing a sneak peek while on set as she gears to take centre stage on Mzansi’s anticipated telenovela, The Wife season two. The star shook the tables with a series of pictures, a clip of what looks like her escape from prison, and some fun moments she had on set on her. Mbau’s stellar performance on her debut last month was something many viewers had been enthralled by and her return to take full change is something much awaited. Mbau plays Zandile, the resolute role of the wife of Nkosana who is the leader of the Zulu brothers’ crime family. The announcement of her role as Zandile, the resolute came…

Beverley Tsitsi Mutandiro | Human Rights Activist IT IS disheartening that Zimbabwe was once a shining example for educational excellence but is now in deep educational troubles. The standards for education in Zimbabwe were once excellent but now it is in chaos as teachers are paid peanuts and the zeal to educate the population is no longer in existence. Zimbabwe faces multiple problems that have engulfed the educational system including lack of infrastructural funding, poor working conditions for teachers, and corruption. Students and pupils in rural areas are still learning under structures that are not fit for purpose and they walk long distances to school. The careless, clueless and corrupt Zanu-PF president and his beleaguered government have failed to address the worsening situation in educational systems. Some teachers…

Statistics SA has embarked on its once-a-decade process to count all people in the country – including non- citizens. Census 2022 is arguably the most important in the country since the first post-apartheid census in 1996. That census was the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994 that all South Africans were counted. Under apartheid, fictitious “homelands” excluded millions of people from the count. Excluding them allowed the apartheid government to deny their rights and responsibility for meeting their needs – by not counting them, the apartheid government ensured that they did not count, for anything. Homelands or Bantustans were 10 mainly rural, underdeveloped areas where black South Africans were required to live and have nominal “self-rule” and “independence”, along ethnic group lines, separate from whites. They had…

The mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine produced at the World Health Organization-backed vaccine hub in South Africa could take up to three years to get approval if companies do not share their technology and data, a WHO official said at the weekend. The WHO-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa was set up in June to give poorer nations the know-how to produce Covid-19 vaccines, after the market leaders of the mRNA Covid vaccine, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, declined a WHO request to share their technology and expertise. Martin Friede, the co-ordinator of the WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research, said that if companies with approved Covid vaccines or late-stage clinical data shared their technology and data with the consortium, the vaccine produced in South Africa could be approved in 12 to 18…

The Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar braced for Cyclone Batsirai at the weekend with the storm bringing powerful winds and torrential rains posing a “very serious threat” to millions. People hunkered down before the storm made landfall in an impoverished country still recovering from the deadly Tropical Storm Ana last month. The Meteo-France weather service warned of winds of up to 260km and waves as high as 15m. It said Batsirai drenched the French island of La Reunion for two days with torrential rain. Residents in the eastern coastal town of Vatomandry were stockpiling supplies in preparation for the storm. Gusts of winds of more than 50km/h began pummelling Vatomandry town in Madagascar at the weekend accompanied by intermittent rain. Residents have reinforced their corrugated iron roofs with sandbags.…

EDWARD WEST and Philippa Larkin edward.west@inl.co.za and philippa.larkin@inl.co.za LISTERIOSIS survivors in a class action against Tiger Brands will be heartened by a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling on Friday that overturned a Gauteng High Court decision to force other companies to hand over epidemiological and other information relating to the listeriosis outbreak. “Tiger Brands has not sought to lay a basis as to (a) the relevance of the documents to the issues in the class action or (b) whether the NICD (National Institute for Communicable Diseases) has in its possession or control the requested documents. I therefore conclude the amended subpoena against the NICD lacks the necessary specificity. “In sum, there is no merit in Tiger Brands’s assertion that there is a need to obtain evidence to establish whether…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za FLANAGAN & Gerard Property Group’s portfolio recorded strong December trade with seven of its 10 malls recording double-digit turnover growth, managing director Paul Gerard said. The portfolio’s turnover grew by 12 percent from December 2020 to December last year, while this December’s turnover was also up nearly 9 percent on pre-pandemic figures of December 2019. Regional malls such as Mall of the North in Polokwane, Limpopo, and Ballito Junction on the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, reported record turnovers this December, both topping R350 million, Gerard said on Friday. Shopper numbers across the portfolio grew 7 percent in December, although this was slightly short of footfall levels in December 2019. However, the size of shoppers’ baskets had grown considerably, so it was still driving…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za MORE than five years after a matric learner tragically died at Geluksdal Secondary School in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, after being electrocuted – because electrical equipment was repeatedly stolen but not replaced by the Gauteng Department of Education – the infrastructure at the school remains a serious risk to learners’ rights and lives. This is according to the Section27 public law centre, adding its voice to an application due to be heard today in the Johannesburg High Court. The court will be asked to intervene to ensure the school’s electrical equipment is repaired to avert a similar tragedy in future. The application is brought by Gladys and Meshack Mahudu, following the death of their daughter, Maubrey, , in 2017. Maubrey died by electrocution two days before her 18th birthday.…

Mpiletso Motumi mpiletso.motumi@inl.co.za VIDEO-sharing website YouTube recently revealed the 26 African YouTube creators selected to be part of the #YouTubeBlack Voices Creator Class of 2022. The creators have been selected to join a global cohort of 135 from around the world in its flagship fund initiative. The fund focuses on investing in black creators from around the world who are telling fresh and authentic stories. While the group of creators from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa comes from varied professional, social and academic backgrounds, one common thread connects them all: the desire to make a difference in their communities and Africa through relatable and insightful content. Each of the 26 African YouTubers selected will receive seed funding alongside dedicated support to help them develop their channels. They will also take…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A FOUNDATION has gone to court to fight for recognition as the custodian of dance competitions in the country. The SA Dance Foundation (SADF) dragged its competitor, the Dance- SportSA (DSSA), to the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to bar it from addressing all dancers about Covid-19 rules and dance competitions. The court ruled in SADF’s favour in its main argument that DSSA infringed its trademark by using the one-word DanceSport in its name. This argument was based on the fact that SADF registered the trademarks DanceSport Championship and SA Open Dance Championship with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission in 2015. Acting Judge Collen Matshitse found DSSA infringed on SADF’s trade- mark. “The main fight/contention is the use of ‘DanceSport’ (as one word) and who is…

NTUTHUKO Shoba’s trial is a rude awakening that our societal values are also on trial. Shoba is alleged to have hired Muzikayise Malephane to kill Tshegofatso Pule. The indisputable facts of the case are: Malephane killed Pule, Shoba had an extracurricular sexual relationship outside his marriage and he also had a lucrative career at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The names of the two lovers demonstrate that their parents had great expectations when they were named. Ntuthuko means progress or development, Tshegofatso means a blessing from the Lord. How could a man who was destined to develop humanity extinguish the flame that was meant to bless mankind? Muzikayise’s name has two connotations. First, it means your father’s household will not collapse because you will take over once your father has passed…

Maurice Smithers The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance in SA (Saapa SA) is waiting to see if President Cyril Ramaphosa includes a concrete commitment to dealing with alcohol harm when he delivers the 2022 State of the Nation Address this week. However, we are not hopeful, following the ANC NEC’s January 8 statement this year which is markedly different on the issue of alcohol-related harm to the January message of 2021. Saapa SA and its Alliance Partners were encouraged when, while delivering the January 8 Statement last year, Ramaphosa said: “The temporary restrictions that were placed on the availability of alcohol under the state of disaster regulations (adopted to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic) have demonstrated the extent to which abuse of alcohol fuels violence (including gender-based violence), trauma and…

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has urged the AU to withdraw Israel’s accreditation, bringing simmering tensions to a head as the 55-member bloc opened a 35th two-day summit in Addis Ababa at the weekend. Even as the continent reels from a spate of military coups and the coronavirus pandemic, the relationship with Israel featured prominently during the summit. The dispute was set in motion last July when Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the AU Commission, accepted Israel’s accreditation to the bloc, triggering a rare dispute within a body that values consensus. As heads of state gathered in Ethiopia’s capital and joined the meeting virtually on Saturday, Shtayyeh called on the AU to reject Faki’s move. “Israel should never be rewarded for its violation and for the apartheid regime it does…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com CLOUDS of uncertainty hang over Kaizer Chiefs as they prepare to resume action against Cape Town City in a Premiership fixture in Cape Town tomorrow. Chiefs are patiently waiting for the outcome of the arbitration that will decide if they can play the two matches they failed to honour due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the club in December. That process has gone a step further with the appointment of advocate Nassir Cassim as the arbiter. The prospect of losing six points if the matches are not replayed is a daunting one since it effectively rules out Amakhosi’s chances of nailing down at least a runners-up spot in the league. At this stage, Mamelodi Sundowns are well on track for yet another championship. While most teams have…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za West Indies Women 174 (Knight 48, Dottin 36; Ismail 10-0-44-4, Tryon 6-2-12-2) South Africa Women 175/4 (Steyn 52, Luus 47; A Mohammed 9-0-31-2) SA won by six wickets, win four-match series 2-1 The Proteas gave their confidence a boost ahead of the World Cup by completing a come-from-behind series win against the West Indies at the Wanderers yesterday. It wasn’t a triumph without problems, with the fielding yesterday particularly poor. But having not played for four months, then the news that captain Dane van Niekerk would miss the World Cup with a broken foot, and the absence in this series of Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp, it is a win worth celebrating. Sune Luus, who led the side here and will continue in that role in New…