Inhoudsopgave van 2023-09-14 - Star

HARMONY Gold Mining boss Peter Steen- kamp plans to retire at the end of next year as South Africa’s biggest gold producer by volume seeks new growth opportunities mining copper. Steenkamp, who turns 64 in November, has been at the helm of Harmony since returning in 2016. Laste year, the company extended the veteran gold mining executive’s tenure by two years. Steenkamp will leave around December next year and the company has “strong internal candidates to continue what we have built since 2016”, spokesperson Jared Coetzer said yesterday. Steenkamp’s pending exit did not change the strategy to shift to developing copper assets and looking for deals to grow the company, Coetzer added. “There are various internal candidates who would have to go through the nomination process and ultimately it would…

THE MARKETS yesterday gave shares in Standard Bank, one of South Africa’s leading financial institutions, the cold shoulder, which saw its share price shave off nearly 5% and R13 billion wiped off its value amid its controversial move to close the accounts of companies affiliated with Sekunjalo Group, an empowerment company. The shares dropped to a low of R181.09 in intraday trade, having closed at R192.55 on Tuesday. Standard Bank’s share price closed 4.63% lower at R183.63 on the JSE yesterday, reducing its market capitalisation by R13.3bn to R322.6bn. The JSE Banking index ended 2.05% lower yesterday at 10 188.43 points, with Standard Bank the biggest loser. Absa shares closed 4.34% lower at R173.08, FirstRand shares were 1.14% down at R71.06, Nedbank fell 1.3% to R207.22. Capitec…

MOMENTUM Metropolitan’s normalised headline earnings (NHE) reached R5.1 billion for the year to June 30, up 16%, supported by improved mortality experience and positive investment variances and the strong showing was likely continue into the new financial year. Recent pressure on sales volumes were a concern. New business volumes and profitability were receiving significant management attention, incoming CEO Jeanette Marais said in an online interview. She said in an online interview that in the next financial year, the release of Covid reserves and favourable investment experience variances would not support earnings to the extent they had this year. However, the underlying run rate of earnings was about R4bn per year. “The normalisation of mortality experience, with the execution of strategy and focus on efficiency, means we expect our earnings…

There are a range of skills that are required and critical to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Some of these are negotiation skills, good communication, time management, an appetite for ongoing learning, risk tolerance, resilience and adaptability. Another one of the critical skills is the ability to pitch your business to potential investors or new customers. Entrepreneurs often think of a business pitch as a process you initiate only when applying for small business funding or when approaching an investor. In reality, however, you’ll be called upon at various times to pitch your business. Pitching is not always a formal process – sometimes, opportunities can arise at any moment. Networking events, social gatherings, educational settings, community events, media opportunities and unexpected meetings with potential partners could call on you to be…

The latest of more than 1.3 million products that the US-based Orthodox Union (OU) certifies as kosher is lab- grown “chicken,” which is produced by the Tel Aviv-based start-up, SuperMeat. It is the first lab-grown “meat” product that the non-profit kosher agency is certifying. “The OU is pleased to provide certification to a product that meets kosher standards while also leading innovation in food technology,” stated Rabbi Menachem Genack, the CEO of OU Kosher, in a press release. Lab-grown chicken is grown from fertilised chicken egg stem cells and, as such, doesn’t come from a live animal, which would be prohibited under Jewish law. “The product is currently the product of a laboratory. Ultimately, in order to produce the product at an industrial volume, the company plans to perform a…

THE CONSTRUCTION sector reflected the resilience of the economy in the second quarter and added over 100 000 new jobs compared with the first three months of the year. A leading construction index released yesterday showed also that eight out of nine industry activity indicators recorded positive inflation-beating growth when compared with the first quarter. The Afrimat Construction Index (ACI) for the second quarter of 2023 recorded a level of 115.4 points in the second quarter compared to 109.1 points in the previous quarter. “The index result was exceptional, and I have no doubt the trend will continue into the third quarter,” economist Dr Roelof Botha said in an interview. Dr Botha compiles the ACI on behalf of Afrimat, the mid-tier construction materials and commodities mining group.…

City Power’s cut-off operation halted after City Power was forced to abandon its electricity disconnection operation after the situation in Jeppe almost turned ugly after journalists were pepper-sprayed by residents of one of the hijacked buildings whose power was cut off yesterday morning. The operation came after the municipal-run power utility claimed the city was owed more than R13 million by three buildings hijacked by syndicates. Spokesperson for City Power Isaac Mangena said the power company was ramping up revenue collection efforts due to the increasing hijacking of buildings and non-payment for services. He said some of the buildings had not been paying for electricity for more than seven years, with some having last paid for the service in 2016. “City Power is ramping up revenue collection efforts and…

The Gauteng Department of Education says that while they acknowledge that about 46% of Grade 1 and 8 learners have been placed in schools, it remains a worry that 71 775 parents have not responded to placement offers. According to the department, applicants with offers not accepted within seven school days will be placed at the school with a placement offer closest to the parents’ home address after the seventh day. The department reminded parents that applicants were ranked for placement according to the regulated admissions criteria in the following order up to the capacity of each school: Home address within the school feeder zone closest to the school Siblings in Grade 1-7 or 8-11 only. Previous school in the feeder zone of the school applied to. They further…

The DA has announced Solly Msimanga as its official Gauteng premier candidate as it drives its election campaign ahead of the national general elections next year. In making the announcement at Hallmark House in New Doornfontein, Johannesburg, yesterday, DA leader John Steenhuisen said that as they enter the 2024 election campaign, they know only one thing for sure: “The ANC will not get 50% next year in Gauteng”. “Previously, we knew for certain that the ANC would win Gauteng. Now, we know for certain that the ANC will lose Gauteng. “Our job is to make sure that the candidate we are announcing today is inaugurated as Gauteng premier two weeks after next year’s election. For the first time ever, we are not fighting to be the official opposition in Gauteng.…

ON NEW Year’s Day last year, the horrific news of a body of a woman being retrieved from a crocodile infested Nandoni dam in Tshitomboni village, near Giyani, gripped newspaper headlines. Lizzy Humbelani Mudzanani was attacked by the crocodile while bathing in the dam because of a lack of water at her home, just metres away from the dam. For years, villagers in the Nandoni dam area have been devoured by the beasts because they often visited the dam for many reasons, such as bathing, washing of clothes or drinking. The villagers in Giyani have now been given a reason to celebrate as a massive milestone has been reached. More than 55 villages in that area will receive running tap water after nearly a decade of the government's promise to…

New research demonstrates that child-directed marketing strategies are used on most South African breakfast cereals that have low nutritional value, according to Nzama Mbalati, programmes manager of the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala). “New research from University of the Western Cape, led by researcher Alice S Khan, exposes how breakfast cereals, which directly market to children, have a lower nutritional value and 96% of the cereals studied had a nutritional health claim. There is an urgent need for regulations to restrict this predatory marketing and to introduce clear front-of-package warning labels on unhealthy products so consumers can make informed decisions,” Mbalati said. Last week, Mbalati led a quarterly panel discussion alongside Heala’s leading policy and legal researcher, Petronell Kruger, and policy and research manager, Angelika Grimbeek. The conversation, chaired by Newzroom…

The young, entitled ANC upstarts are raising their collective voices to get hold of more money for grants and stipends. Spawned by the ANC senior group of entitled South Africans, these pickanins stick out their hands, demanding “mali” for “mahala”. This then is the new generation, who are not prepared to go out and do it for themselves; they would rather sit back and wait for handouts. Get off your politically inspired lazy backsides, and seek out work opportunities, or create your own. You were given a head full of brains; your bodies are young, now go and create your own future. Stop expecting others to support your laziness!…

As more new car models get released we’re also unfortunately getting fewer diesel options. Blame the greenies, EU and whoever you want but the reality is that as legislation forces New Energy Vehicles onto us, oil burners hardly feature in manufacturers’ plans at all. Never mind that with technology they’ve become a lot cleaner than authorities are willing to admit and that as fuel prices continue to rocket, consumption starts to play a more important role. We’ve been told that diesel is bad and that is that. Which is why the Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI R-Line 4Motion comes, dare I say it? as a breath of fresh air. It’s available only in R-Line guise that includes VW’s IQ.LIGHT LED Matrix with 22 individual LEDs with adaptive high beam function.…

You’ve bought your dream car, showed it off to friends and family, driven many trouble-free kilometres but for some unknown reason things start to go awry. Your next step is to take it to the dealer to sort it out, but once it’s been checked a lot of cogs that start turning that you’re mostly unaware of. These mechanisms are what manufacturers call CX, or customer experience, which is designed to measure how well they fare when it comes to your ownership of their vehicles. Kuda Takura, who heads up Ford SA’s customer experience department, said: “We have different approaches and models the way we assess, enhance and improve customer experience. “Data is obviously the driver and is provided by Forrester annually and Customer Viewpoint (CVP), which we get every…

Given Kaizer Chiefs’ lukewarm start to the season, their supporters will hope that the team used the Fifa break to work on their shortcomings. Before the halt of the season, teams in the domestic top-flight were yet to reach the 10-game mark. But clouds of displeasure had already engulfed Chiefs, with a group of angry fans even pelting new coach Molefi Ntseki with objects after their loss to TS Galaxy. It was a disturbing image for the club, leaving Ntseki and his players to step up and show that they deserve to be part of such a big institution. There were signs of improvement thereafter, though, with Chiefs winning back-to-back matches in the Premiership against AmaZulu and Stellenbosch, home and away. However, their last game against Mamelodi Sundowns in the…

The Springbok selection of four scrumhalves for the clash against Romania will certainly cause some uproar in certain parts of the rugby world. But having versatile players at their disposal can only boost the team as they look to bag another World Cup win on Sunday (3pm kick-off). South Africa and their European counterparts clash in Bordeaux in a match that can go a long way in providing much-needed game time for the fringe Boks. Fourteen changes to the starting team may seem a bit extreme, but this is most likely the last game at the tournament in which SA will be able to experiment with some players and their positions. This gives the reserve players a start, while also resting the likes of Manie Libbok, who is the only…

The Proteas have an all-consuming obsession with the World Cup. To be fair, it is driven primarily by the public’s fixation with a tournament that is regarded as the sole barometer of success. It is almost on the same level of hysteria as the Proteas’ infatuation with fast bowlers. Since South Africa’s reintroduction to international cricket at the 1992 World Cup, the Proteas relied on loose-limbed athletes to knock over the opposition with their 145km/h deliveries. This was certainly the intended desire at the last one-day international World Cup in the UK four years ago, when former national team coach Ottis Gibson – lover of all things fast – had high hopes of unleashing his quick bowlers. But that all came to nothing when Anrich Nortje was ruled out prior…

World Cup organisers apologised to the thousands of fans who were stuck outside the Stade Velodrome in Marseille and those who struggled to make their way to the Bordeaux arena, and yesterday promised to address the concerns over the national anthems. The World Cup Pool D match between England and Argentina in Marseille got under way on Saturday to hundreds of empty seats as supporters were queuing outside, while in Bordeaux, tramway problems delayed fans’ arrival for the Ireland-Namibia game. “We apologise to the fans who missed kick-off. It was our responsibility,” France 2023 president Jacques Rivoal told a press conference. “We are very confident in our capacity and in the capacity of the organising committee to address these challenges and find the relevant solutions,” tournament director Michel Pousseau said.…

Sam Whitelock will match Richie McCaw’s record as the most-capped New Zealander when he plays his 148th Test tomorrow after being named in a much-changed All Black team for the World Cup clash against Namibia. The 34-year-old, a World Cup-winner in 2011 and 2015, will line up in the second row with long-time partner Brodie Retallick, who made an earlier return than expected from a knee injury off the bench in the tournament opener. Only the recently-retired Alun Wyn Jones, who won 158 caps for Wales and 12 for the British & Irish Lions at lock, has played more Tests than Whitelock and his former All Black captain McCaw. New Zealand coach Ian Foster made a string of changes to his team from last week’s tournament opener as the All…

TONGAAT Hulett’s future continues to hang in the balance, following the release of its amended business rescue plan, and has been subsequently delayed, according to its business rescue practitioners (BRPs). Last year, the 130-year-old South African sugar maker was placed in administration after failing to recover from an accounting scandal. Shareholders were referred yesterday to the Stock Exchange News announcement released on June 14, which said the voting on the business rescue plans of Tongaat Hulett and its subsidiaries, Tongaat Hulett Sugar South Africa and Voermol Feeds, which are also in business rescue (together the Companies), had been postponed. “Following meetings of creditors of the companies held on September 8, convened for the purposes of creditors voting on proposed motions regarding the date of publication of the companies’ amended…

FOOD INFLATION remains at nearly twice the inflation rate for all goods and services in spite of overall inflation moderating, according to the latest edition of the Essential Food Pricing Monitoring (EFPM) Report released by the Competition Commission yesterday. Commission spokesperson Siyabu- lela Makunga said: “With upstream commodity prices declining in the first half of 2023, the commission is now focussing on how quickly this translates into lower prices for consumers. “However, this report indicates that these price drops haven’t consistently resulted in reduced producer or retail prices or have been delayed in doing so, noting that producers and retailers face other cost pressures.” A key finding of the EFPM included that bread and wheat prices fell by approximately 10% during the first quarter of the year, but producer and…

Last year, the Department of Small Business Development launched the Presidential SMME and Co-operatives Awards, which seeks to celebrate excellence and reward high-impact small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that continue to innovate and drive economic welfare. This unique annual awards programme has been established specifically to acknowledge, encourage and celebrate excellence amongst SMMEs and co-operatives by giving them the opportunity to gain valuable exposure and well-deserved recognition. The idea behind the awards is to promote entrepreneurial activities through identifying, showcasing and recognising the best performing SMMEs, Co-operatives and Ecosystem Enablers in the country. Ecosystem Enablers are essentially organisations that also create communities by finding and leveraging various ecosystem players. These awards further seek to advance the cause of developing entrepreneurs and SMMEs in recognition of their contribution to empowering…

APPLE said yesterday its iPhone 12 model was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards after a French watchdog ordered it to stop selling the handset on the grounds it breaches European exposure limits. The Agence Nationale des Fré- quences (ANFR) radiation watchdog told Apple on Tuesday to halt sales of iPhone 12s in France after tests which it said showed the phone’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) – a measure of the rate of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body from a piece of equipment – was higher than legally allowed. The ANFR said it would send agents to Apple stores and other distributors to check the model was no longer being sold. The agency, which manages France’s radio frequencies and periodically tests phones to…

SENTIMENT in the residential property market in the Western Cape, one of the most expensive real estate regions, has remained subdued due to weak demand amid restrictive monetary policy that has diminished disposable cash. This was revealed in the FNB/BER Building Confidence Index for the third quarter of 2023 released yesterday. This comes as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has left interest rates at an elevated 8.25% per annum in spite of slowing consumer inflation towards the midpoint of the target range of 3% to 6%. FNB senior economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi said yesterday that although residential building activity also improved during the quarter, there were renewed concerns regarding the outlook. Mkhwanazi said business confidence declined to its lowest level this year while the rating of the lack of new…

Grimes has branded Elon Musk “clueless” for sending pictures of her undergoing a caesarean section to family members. The singer – real name Claire Boucher – has three children with the tech billionaire and she revealed she was furious with her on/off partner when she discovered he had sent her father and brothers intimate snaps of the moment she gave birth to their son X Æ A-12. In journalist Walter Isaacson's new biography of the Tesla boss – titled Elon Musk – Grimes explained: “He was just clueless about why I’d be upset.” The book also revealed the existence of the couple’s third child – a son named Techo Mechanicus who goes by the name Tau. It was previously thought the pair were parents to two children together, three-year-old X…

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) intends to hold former CEO André de Ruyter accountable for commissioning a private intelligence report into Eskom without obtaining authorisation. Law enforcement agencies, including head of the SIU, advocate Andy Mothibi, appeared before Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday to give an update on the report commissioned by the former CEO of Eskom. George Fivaz Forensic & Risk was reported to be paid a R17.1 million grant to conduct the investigation, which was funded by Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA). “When we looked at this matter, the investigation team had a clear focus and mandate to go and look at whether this investigation was authorised or not. And the authorisation was clearly from the board, which is the accounting authority of…

KwaMashu Hostel residents will be provided with free buses to attend Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s funeral in uLundi on Saturday. This comes after hostel residents closed down Mandela Road with stones and burning tyres yesterday in a protest demanding free buses from eThekwini Municipality to attend Buthelezi’s funeral. According to Nicolas Biyela, who is an Induna in KwaMashu Hostel, the hostel dwellers were promised four buses and a full update today after the special meeting by the IFP leadership. “During the protest, the police called the IFP’s structure, including Mdu Nkosi, to address the protest. “To calm the situation down, they then promised to at least provide four buses and said that they would provide us with a full update today after the special meeting,” said Biyela. Biyela said that the…

THE City of Tshwane’s approved report on the proposed leasing of its Rooiwal and Pretoria West power stations has been hailed as a way to reduce the impact of load shedding on residents. This was according to the DA in reaction to the council decision on Tuesday to subject the proposal to public participation pending the next course of action of securing a private service provider to generate alternative power for the municipality. DA caucus spokesperson Kwena Moloto said the move would secure energy independence for residents and would “make a significant difference in the city’s load-shedding levels”. “Council proceedings were marked by the unanimous approval of a crucial report that will pave the way for public participation in the leasing of Rooiwal- and Pretoria West power stations. “This means…

Former TKZee kwaito sensation Kabelo Mabalane has spoken candidly about his sobriety journey after reaching a 21-year milestone. Mabalane, who recently marked his 50th race at the 2023 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, also shared why running was an essential part of his journey. He reflected on his first marathon which, he said, changed his life forever, having assisted him in establishing this lifelong commitment. From crossing his first marathon finish line in 2006, the music star-turned-pastor said applying endurance running principles to conquer life’s steep inclines helped him reach his major accolade. Speaking about his sobriety journey, he said it declared hope and possibility. “Early in my sobriety, I realised that being and staying sober was about more than just me. It was about the community and those struggling with…

In terms of chapter 3 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, all types of leave are properly described and are applicable to all employees unless the employee works less than 24 hours a month. Annual leave: An employer must grant an employee at least 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full remuneration in respect of each annual leave cycle. An annual leave cycle is 12 months with the same employer, calculated from the employee’s commencement of employment, or from the completion of that employee’s previous leave cycle. If a person works five days per week, 21 consecutive days are calculated as being 15 days of leave. An employer must grant annual leave not later than six months after the end of the annual leave cycle. The employer makes…

Following September’s brutal petrol and diesel price hikes, the last thing South Africans need right now is yet another increase. Unfortunately early-month unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows that fuel prices across the board are likely once again. Although it’s too early in the month to accurately predict October’s fuel price adjustments, if the current oil price and currency scenario persists until the end of this month, motorists will likely face a petrol price increase of 80 cents or more, and diesel could go up by R1.50 or more. While the latest CEF daily snapshot shows an average under recovery of R1.28 for 95 Unleaded petrol, the latest daily data is just 73 cents per litre in the red, showing an improved outlook that could see the…

Do you have what it takes to compete in this year’s Fortuner Challenge and drive away with a new Toyota Fortuner? If you’re any good at offroad driving, running, cycling, navigational challenges, watersports and can keep a cool head under pressure while solving problems and building puzzles, then this is for you. In short, you need to be good at speed, endurance, mental and physical problem solving. Following the same recipe as previous years, four heroes will be teamed up with four contestants from different media houses, including Independent Newspapers. Over two days each team competes in various tough challenges and at the end of it, points are tallied to see who gets the key to the Fortuner also fitted with Thule racks, a Thule Chasm luggage set and a…

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos was happy with the outcome of his team’s recent camp, even though there’s still ample room for improvement. Bafana extended their unbeaten streak to nine games in all competitions in the last few days, having drawn 0-0 with Namibia, before beating DR Congo 1-0 in international friendlies. But while both matches were played on home soil, the crowd attendance at the Orlando Stadium left a lot to be desired, so much so that Bafana's fans were outnumbered by their Congolese counterparts on Tuesday night. Of course, that left a bitter taste in Broos’ mouth, as his team are yet to lose in nine matches, while they’ve already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals next January. After stressing his disappointment with the crowd attendance,…

Max Verstappen’s bid for a record-extending 11th straight win faces a severe test in Sunday’s “perilous” Singapore night race on the unpredictable Marina Bay street circuit. The Red Bull driver’s third world title in a row is only a matter of time, but the Dutchman has never triumphed under the lights in Singapore, where tropical storms, intense humidity and concrete barriers all await. Safety cars and red flags will almost certainly play a part too, with memories of an “incredibly messy” race in Singapore a year ago fresh in Verstappen’s mind. Rain is again forecast for race weekend. Verstappen was only eighth on the grid last year after being under-fuelled in Saturday qualifying, and a pre-race deluge saw him start poorly on the sodden track, dropping back five places. He…

The Proteas Women received a significant boost yesterday with the return of star all-rounder Chloe Tryon for the coming home series against New Zealand. Tryon is not part of the squad in Pakistan at the moment, after the 29-year-old requested a “leave of absence” while she completed her franchise duties with the Southern Brave in The Hundred. Tryon’s all-round skills were severely missed, particularly during the T20 series, where the visitors were swept 3-0. “We are very happy to have Chloe Tryon back within the space and excited to see how she will further improve the squad with her all-round qualities,” said convenor of selectors Clinton du Preez. The Proteas have since bounced back from their T20 series defeat with convincing victories in the first two one-day internationals to claim…

Rassie Erasmus’ name seldom stays out of the lights and when he dusted off the disco system he long ago used at the Cheetahs for Sunday’s Springbok World Cup game against Scotland, eyebrows were inevitably raised. The refrain from a number of folk was along the lines of: “What is he up to this time?” But many have shrugged their shoulders at what seems to be a fairly harmless method of communicating between the coaches up in the stands and their colleagues at pitchside. I was astounded when a voice of support for Erasmus came from one of his adversaries from the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa two years ago. No, it wasn’t Warren Gatland but his captain Alun Wyn Jones. Gatland and Jones had plenty to…

Wales coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting XV to play Portugal in their second World Cup Pool C match in Nice on Saturday. Only wing Louis Rees-Zammit and No 8 Taulupe Faletau retain their spots as Gatland made wholesale changes from the team that edged Fiji 32-26 in their opening game. “We’ve made a few changes this week, given the six-day turnaround,” said Gatland. “This is an opportunity now for this match-day 23. “I’ve said before but there’s some great competition within the squad, which is what we want to see. “There's a chance now for this group to go out Saturday and to put down their own marker in the tournament. "We've done a thorough debrief of last week's game and know the areas we…

Potential of 27 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of gas for southern Africa “MASSIVE” offshore oil and gas discoveries in Namibia over the past two years would be important for South Africa, the region and for the continent, and some of the oil reserves also extend into South African waters, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said yesterday. Speaking at the Southern Africa Oil & Gas 2023 conference in Cape Town yesterday, he said messages of decarbonisation “become hollow” on a continent where more than 600 million people still had no access to electricity and the priority in these communities was to get access to energy. “It must be appreciated that development and climate change must co-exist,” he said. Estimates were that southern Africa…

JUNIOR miner Copper 360’s share price shot up 14% yesterday after it announced a “significant” mineral resource upgrade at Rietberg mine, north of the town of Springbok in the Northern Cape. Copper 360 was formed in November last year, and listed on the JSE in April this year. The share gained 15.96% and closed at R3.85 on the JSE yesterday. Investors are keen on copper’s prospects as it is viewed as a green metal to build a sustainable world. Jan Nelson, the CEO of Copper 360, South Africa’s only listed copper producer, com- mented: “This resource upgrade shows that the Rietberg mine is a world-class copper mine. “The resource is under- pinned by closely spaced drill holes show- ing ore ready for mining on at least five levels that are…

Roughly 2 200 jobs in the cement industry are at risk from imports if the government does not level the “playfield”. This was according to PPC, the JSE-listed cementitious product maker and distributor, and the Centre for African Management and Markets (Camm) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science yesterday, commenting after the launch of a report, titled “The socio-economic impact of substituting local cement production with cement imports”, was based on a study commissioned by PPC and independently conducted by Camm. Hosted by Professor Adrian Saville, a director of Camm, the panel of trade and industry experts included Camm research associate Francois Fouche; PPC managing director: South Africa and Botswana, Njombo Lekula; Cement & Concrete South Africa CEO Bryan Perrie; Business Unity SA CEO Cas Coovadia; and Industry…

This week, Futurize and AstraZeneca announced the launch of Futurize’s health- tech incubator programme, FuturizeU. The programme, a collaboration with AstraZeneca, through the A.Catalyst Network, and co-funded by Bristol Myers Squibb, will run from September 12 to November 17. FuturizeU is dedicated to nurturing early-stage university start-ups in Africa’s health care sector. Its core mission is to equip the coming generation of health care entrepreneurs with the essential tools to navigate start-up complexities. The programme aims to cultivate groundbreaking solutions that address critical health care equity and early non-communicable disease diagnosis challenges across the African continent, harnessing the region’s abundant untapped potential. It welcomes teams from partner universities across sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on university students, alumni, and groups from the previous two Fuel Africa cohorts, all with transformative health care…

AMID THE VOLATILE economic conditions that have pushed business and household confidence to lower levels, the BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (Beti) slipped again in August on an annual basis. BankservAfrica said yesterday that interest rates remained high along with massive fuel price hikes as well as the poor performance of the rand contributed to the decline. “After rebounding in June 2023, the Beti fell in July and again in August to an index level of 134 points, which was lower than the revised 135.6 points recorded in the prior month,” Shergeran Naidoo, BankservAfrica’s head of Stakeholder Engagements, said. “On the upside, the Beti remained in positive territory on an annual basis, improving by 1.9% in August 2023 compared to 1.1% reflected in July,” Naidoo added. The monthly…

The mooted reconciliation between the IFP and the ANC has hit a snag following the ANC’s rejection of a proposal by the IFP to have its founder and Zulu traditional prime minister Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s statue erected in the KZN legislature. Addressing close to 10 000 mourners at the Buthelezi memorial service in Ulundi, in north KwaZulu-Natal yesterday, IFP provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli called for the erection of Buthelezi’s statue to honour him. Although Ntuli did not directly attach his proposal to gestures of reconciliation made by the ANC leadership that visited Buthelezi’s grieving family at their KwaPhindangene residence on Tuesday, many regarded it as a condition for the ANC-led government to show its seriousness to restoring its working relationship with the IFP, but the ANC rejected the call.…

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) is making inclusive learning and teaching a reality. The union, as part of the Teacher Union Collaboration (TUC) programme with other unions in education to complement the Department of Basic Education in training teachers on skills for a changing world, has partnered with Bona Africa to train educators teaching visually impaired and blind learners in coding and robots. Sadtu said this unplugged coding and robotics training had been extended to the visually impaired and blind following the successful training of almost 16 000 teachers in mainstream schools in 2022. Sadtu, through its Curtis Nkondo Professional Development Institute and Ubuntu Africa, is training teachers from schools for the visually impaired across all nine provinces in a series of 16 workshops in September, with the…

THE spokesperson of the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation, Reverend Keith Musa Zondi, says that the foundation takes note of the parallel narrative that has arisen which seeks to denigrate the legacy of Prince Buthelezi, reviving the long-discredited propaganda of our country’s difficult past. According to Zondi, it is grossly inappropriate for those with narrow and selfish agendas to divert the grief of a nation into pain and anger at this time. “It is unspeakably evil to open a wound that has never healed, before His Excellency has even been laid to rest, and is deeply disrespectful to the family, the Buthelezi clan, His Majesty the king and the Zulu nation,” said Zondi. Zondi said that as the custodian of his legacy, the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Foundation will certainly respond at…

Ingredients ¼ cup oil 5 onions, finely chopped 2 green peppers, finely chopped 5 chillies, deseeded and chopped 5 cloves 2 bay leaves 5 allspice berries 4 cardamon pods 2kg steak, cut into cubes 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped 15ml ground cumin 15ml black pepper 15ml sugar salt to taste Method Heat oil in a large pot and braise the onion, green pepper and chilli with all the whole spices for 15 minutes or so, until golden brown. Add the remaining ingredients and braise on low heat for 2 hours, adding a little water to prevent burning, stir when required. Serve with mash potato or yellow rice and vegetables like carrots, peas, sweetcorn and gem squash. |…

THE SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has denied signing off on the ongoing strike action in the City of Tshwane, now in its seventh week. According to the union, there was no strike action going on in the capital city. Instead, the union cried victim as the salary dispute with the metro continues (with striking workers), blaming municipal management for the protests. The employees have downed their tools over a 5.4% implementation of a wage agreement deal with the city. However, the city has since announced it could not afford a wage increment and unsuccessfully applied to the SA Local Government Bargaining Council for exemption. Responding to questions at a briefing this week after the dismissal of the city’s application to the SA Local Government Bargaining Council, the Samwu president…

THE SAPS was ordered to pay R395 000 as compensation to a man after he was unlawfully assaulted, detained and prosecuted at the Wierdabrug police station in Centurion. Barend Burger’s ordeal began when he tried to secure bail for his son who had been detained at the station. After waiting for almost the whole day to be assisted, the police told him his matter was not important. When he tried to film the officer who told him this, he was taken to a room, where he was severely assaulted. In an attempt to defend himself, he punched one of the officers. This led to him being detained for 15 hours. He was charged with assault and had to appear in court several times before the SAPS withdrew the charges. Burger…

Ingredients 8 chicken pieces (drums and thighs) Oil for frying Salt and black pepper 2 tbsp butter 1 large onion, diced 3 medium carrots, diced 300g potatoes, peeled and diced 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped ½ tsp (2.5ml) ground coriander A pinch of ground cumin 1 tsp salt 2 cups Tastic Long-grain White Rice 4 cups chicken stock 2 tbsp chopped parsley Double-thick yoghurt, for serving Method Preheat a large sauté pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Fry the chicken, skin side down for 5 minutes, or until the skin is golden. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the butter, onion, carrots and potato and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander and…

Is the gender gap in cybersecurity as worrisomely big as it used to be? While it might still be there, Karina Brijlal, Chantel Hamman and Celiwe Jakpa of Trend Micro believe it’s closing, thanks to women who have taken on new roles in the industry and made way for future talent. Trend Micro is a leading cybersecurity provider and was founded by Eva Chen, Jenny Chang and Steve Chang more than 30 years ago. Chen has been at the helm as CEO since 2004, leading over 7 000 employees across 65 countries. So, while cybersecurity might appear to be a male dominated industry, Trend Micro does not subscribe to these norms and is working hard to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. The cybersecurity company’s Certification Program for IT…

The original Volkswagen Amarok was a good-looking and refined bakkie that stood the test of time through its 12-year life cycle that ended last year. The second-gen Amarok is built at Ford SA’s Silverton plant and shares its basic architecture and engines with the Ranger. We recently spent time with both the 3.0 V6 TDI PanAmericana and the mid-range 2.0 BiTDI Style double-cab models. We loved the previous-gen Amarok 3.0 TDI, even describing it as the GTI of bakkies, and so we’re glad VW managed to keep it firing on six-cylinders. Available in three flavours, Style, PanAmericana and Aventura, the Ford sourced 3.0-litre, with 184kW and 600Nm, is slightly less powerful, but has more torque than the previous VW unit. While its acceleration doesn’t feel dramatic, it gathers momentum rapidly…

BMW has announced that it will invest £600 million (R14 billion) in its UK plants to take its Mini brand all-electric by 2030, giving a fresh boost to Britain’s car industry after years of Brexit-related uncertainty. From 2026, the German premium carmaker will make two electric models at its Mini plant in Oxford – namely the newly revealed Mini Cooper 3-door hatchback and an upcoming compact crossover called the Mini Aceman. The plant would make only electric models as of 2030 and many of the cars would be exported to markets across the world, BMW production chief Milan Nedeljkovic said. Speaking to journalists in Oxford, Nedeljkovic said the company wanted to use batteries made in Europe in the new models made in Oxford, but did not specify whether they would…

The beginning of September has posed challenges of massive proportions for the Social Development Department after Sassa failed to pay some of the old age pension, child support grant, foster care and other social grants benefits to their beneficiaries on time. The week beginning on September 4 to 8 saw thousands of grant beneficiaries returning empty-handed from towns, after trying to access their Sassa grant payments that are either disbursed at supermarkets, bank ATMs, and some at the post office. Most of them have children and other family members who depend on these monthly government social grants to put food onto their tables. Could this latest blunder by the government mean an imminent, impending catastrophe of massive proportions is waiting to hit this country? Is the government even aware of…

Mamelodi Sundowns have set their sights on repeating their heroics of 2016 when they won their maiden Champions League title. Their journey starts tomorrow at the Azam Complex Stadium, a 10 000-seater ground in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They will run out against little-known Burundi hosts Bumamuru FC in the first leg of the second preliminary round (3pm kick-off). Bumamuru’s home venue in Burundi does not conform to Caf standards, and the club decided to play their home fixtures just under a thousand kilometres away in Tanzania. The only consolation for the South Africans is that Burundi is further than Tanzania, and it is something that Sundowns will be pleased about, given their hectic schedule over the next two weeks before they play the return leg at the Lucas “Masterpieces”…

AmaZulu coach Pablo Franco Martin believes it “won’t be an easy game” as his team prepare for their return to Premiership action against Cape Town City. Usuthu welcome a struggling City side to Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (5.30pm kick-off), looking to build on what has been a promising start to the season. The KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit have seemingly transformed themselves since the arrival of the Spaniard at the beginning of the season, becoming a team that is hard to beat. Martin notched up his first win in five matches just before the international break against TS Galaxy, after having gone winless and without a goal in his first four – with a defeat and three draws to show. While AmaZulu appear to be taking shape, the opposite has happened at…

Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo scored and Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana made several superb saves as Cameroon beat Burundi 3-0 on Tuesday night to reach the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Mbeumo punished a careless pass to put the Indomitable Lions ahead 25 seconds into the second half in extreme humidity in Garoua. Christopher Wooh added a second goal just before the hour in front of a capacity 30 000 crowd at Stade Roumde Adjia in north-western Cameroon. Garoua-born Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar completed the scoring with an added-time goal in the final qualifier for the 2023 tournament. Victory took Cameroon from last to first in the three-team Group C with seven points, and Namibia, who had a bye, also qualified with five points. Burundi had four and were eliminated.…

France coach Fabien Galthie may have made wholesale changes to his team for tonight’s World Cup game against lowly Uruguay in Lille, but he refuses to take them lightly. Les Bleus opened the tournament with a rip-roaring victory over three-time winners New Zealand last Friday, and are now favourites to secure a quarter-final berth by topping Pool A. Uruguay, who start their World Cup campaign in the northern city this week, finished bottom of their pool in 2019, but Galthie saw positives in their performances in Japan. “They beat Fiji. Against Australia it was a respectable score,” Galthie told reporters this week. “They have big hearts. Uruguay is a different country, with their fundamental values being at the breakdown and their pride, which are big priorities for them. “They are…