Table of contents for 2023-10-16 in Star

SOUTH Africa’s investment markets, particularly the JSE, are caught in a negative feedback loop driving foreign capital away and impairing the country’s economic growth prospects. Capital flight from South Africa is not solely a result of the negative feedback loop within its own investment market, but also influenced by global economic conditions. Developed markets, such as the US and Europe, have been offering better returns and stable investment opportunities, taking precedence over riskier, emerging markets like South Africa. In recent years, South Africa has faced macroeconomic challenges that have contributed to the capital flight. The country’s sovereign credit rating has been downgraded by global rating agencies, which has diminished investor confidence. A deteriorating macro environment, including high levels of unemployment, political uncertainty, and policy inconsistency, has added to the concerns…

ALTHOUGH South African equity markets ended last Friday in negative territory, the effect of the Israeli conflict as well as the forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on prospects for the South African economy led to a strong recovery in share prices for the whole of last week. Foreign investors used the dollar as a haven against the Middle East uncertainty. However, the flight to gold had a bigger impact. The price of the precious metal had increased by more than $110 over the past seven days and ended Friday on $1 930 (about R36 684) an ounce. It resulted in a strong recovery in commodity and precious metal share prices, and the rand exchange rate. The IMF now forecast that the South African economy will grow…

AS WE MARK Transport Month, the spotlight is on the state of mobility, or the ability to move with ease, particularly in South Africa’s rural areas – where schools reopened last week for the final lap of this year’s academic marathon. This term even those students who care less about school tend to focus, work hard and behave well to ensure they achieve the best results. However, I humbly submit that the challenge of mobility in most rural areas will again, as it has been doing for a very long time now, throw a spanner in the works. The education sector lays bare the inadequacies of mobility in rural areas. Due to South Africa’s poor economic growth combined with the development starvation due to apartheid dispensation, some rural areas…

Controversy-prone disbarred lawyer Malesela Teffo has suffered yet another legal blow. On Friday, Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge Brenda Neukircher SC ruled in favour of the Legal Practice Council (LPC) which had brought a “contempt of court matter” before the court in September last year. Last year, the court ruled that Teffo should be struck from the roll of legal practitioners. At the time, Teffo was accused of misconduct and misappropriation of funds by a number of clients who complained that despite paying, he never rendered services. The complaints against Teffo to the council came before he took on the Senzo Meyiwa case as legal counsel for accused 1-4. In an amended ruling to reflect the latest findings, Judge Neukircher on Friday indicated that Teffo had been in contempt…

With the weather getting warmer and snakes becoming more active, the Crocworld Conservation Centre shared four green snakes of the South Coast. “The arrival of summer means snakes are out and about. We are often called out for a “green mamba” which turns out to be one of the three harmless green snakes that occur in our region,” Crocworld said. Here is some information to help you differentiate between them: Green mamba – The iris is olive green; lacks a loreal scale; has single temporal scales; one upper labial scale touches the eye; the only one of the four species which grows longer than 1.3m; adults often have the odd yellow scale on the body; highly venomous. Spotted bush snake – The iris is orange; has double temporal scales; three…

THE exciting UniSolar, a solar-powered car designed by engineering students from Unisa’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology, recently won the Solar Car Rookie Award at the 2023 Bridgestone Ilanga Cup and took second place in the cruiser category. The Bridgestone Ilanga Cup is Southern Africa’s first closed-track endurance circuit event focusing on driving the innovation of renewable energy. The event takes place annually and has been created for local solar car teams to put their solar vehicles to the test in a controlled environment, designed to measure the vehicle’s performance, efficiency, and durability. This year, the challenge took place at the Red Star Raceway in Delmas (Mpumalanga) on October 4, 2023, and took the form of a 12-hour endurance test. Competitive solar car teams included both new and experienced…

THE leadership of Al Jama-ah in Gauteng notes the current developments in the Middle East and the Gaza Strip and notes that some political parties in South Africa consider this to be “terror in Israel”. Such a reading of the events in Israel shows a deliberate reluctance to stand with the oppressed people of Palestine. For decades the people of Palestine had had to endure oppression and bullying from the Israeli government in the conflict over land and natural resources. Some South African political parties have used this onslaught against the people of Palestine to gain favour from Israel’s influential business people and elites. We cannot afford to take a neutral position when it comes to the plight of Palestine. We must stand with the oppressed people of Palestine who…

As Ireland mounted wave after wave of attack in a desperate last-gasp bid to wrestle victory away from New Zealand in Saturday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the All Blacks insisted cool heads allowed them to prevail. New Zealand edged top-ranked Ireland 28-24 in a thrilling contest as their defence held firm, especially in the dying minutes as the Irish took the ball through 37 phases before the All Blacks ensured a place in Friday's semi-final against Argentina. "I don't think we allowed ourselves to get rattled out there," said captain Sam Cane of Saturday's gladiatorial affair at the Stade de France. "There was a real air of calmness. Even on the bus, when we got to (the) changing rooms, I was thinking, 'Hopefully, this is a good thing'. We know…

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia battled heroically from 13th on the grid to win a thrilling Indonesia Grand Prix in Mandalika yesterday, as he reclaimed the lead in the riders' championship after Jorge Martin crashed out. Bagnaia crossed the line 0.306 seconds ahead of Aprilia's Maverick Vinales in second, while Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 world champion, finished third. "I think we deserved a race like this. I just tried to do the maximum I could in the first few laps," said Bagnaia, who failed to qualify from Q1 in Saturday's qualifying session. "I tried to take care of the tyres, then in the last laps I was a little out of pace, so I was controlling a lot." Champion Bagnaia is back on top of the riders' standings with 346 points,…

The Emirates Lions will have no place to hide when the new United Rugby Championship (URC) starts later this week as a top eight finish must be their only objective – no questions asked and no excuses accepted. Head coach Ivan van Rooyen and Co head into a third URC season shaping an admittedly young group of players but all of that graft and labour must now begin to pay dividends. The Doornfontein-based team have threatened in the past to accomplish this goal but have fallen agonisingly short. Last season they finished ninth, three points behind the eighth-placed Sharks, while the season before they slumped to 12th. They must go one step further this campaign and secure a quarter-final berth and repay the patience of their supporters. The talent at…

AFRICAN Bank expects the capital equipment and commercial property finance businesses it has acquired from Sasfin for R3.2 billion to contribute to its bottom line revenue growth in its asset book, the bank’s group executive for business banking, Zwelibanzi Manyathi, says. The financier last year acquired Grind- rod Bank and is geared to tap into its strategy to avail more capital to South African businesses through the new acquisitions. The prior year African Bank completed its acquisition of prominent micro-lenders Ubank. As part of its strategy to contribute to transformation through capacitating South African entrepreneurs and SMEs, African Bank has revealed to Business Report that it is launching a digital lending platform early next year. “We are building a digital lending business for entrepreneurs who need access to finance…

THE RAND HOVERED around two-week highs on Friday, mainly supported by expectations of interest rates staying high for an extended period while the rally in the gold prices had a positive impact on the rand since South Africa is a gold exporting country. After retreating to five-months high last week, the rand traded around R18.90 to the US dollar early on Friday, holding close to an over two-week high before closing Friday 0.2% higher at R19.03/$1. The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September monetary policy meeting showed that the central bank is committed to maintaining a “higher for longer” monetary policy stance until it is confident that inflation is falling back to the 2% target. The Consumer Price Index in the US increased for a second month in a row…

THE R1-BILLION investment by the Chariot Transitional Power in Rustenburg, North West, is set to generate up to 40MW of photovoltaic power to supply electricity to the Tharisa Minerals platinum group metals and chrome mine. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said at the weekend that The Buffelspoort Solar Energy project was initiated within the context of the current energy challenges and load shedding, with Tharisa embarking on a journey to improve the stability of its electricity supply by diversifying away from the state utility. “The investment pledge was made at the fifth South African Investment Conference that was hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg in April,” it said. Benoit Garrivier, the CEO of Chariot, said the construction of the solar energy facility was set to start in…

On October 10, the Statistician-General of South Africa, Risenga Maluleke, released the results of Census 2022. This was the fourth census of the population of South Africa in the post-apartheid era. It was conducted under exceedingly difficult circumstances of Covid-19. But, also, it introduced serious innovations of digital platforms. There was no longer massive movement of paper to and from. The co-ordination was much tidier, with less manifest friction that paper-based systems can bring about. Census as a massive operation is much noisier when it’s paper-based. The pun in it, and the fun of it, is like the noise of a tree falling in the forest. Digital census saves trees and removes the noise from the ear and the traffic of people moving up and down the streets. In 2011,…

AFTER months of regulatory delay, Microsoft has finally closed its $69 billion (R1.3 trillion) deal to buy Activision Blizzard, a video game maker that owns popular titles including the Call of Duty and Candy Crush franchises. Antitrust agencies in the US and UK sought to kill the deal, saying it would give Xbox owner Microsoft an unfair advantage in the gaming industry and contribute to anticompetitive consolidation in the tech industry. But Microsoft, which sought to create a friendly image in court and through lobbying in Washington, ultimately prevailed. The deal, which officially closed Friday after UK regulators gave the green light, is the largest ever in the 48-year history of Microsoft. It also dwarfs Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, which cost $13bn, Salesforce’s purchase of Slack for…

Prev Reddy may have become synonymous with his Aunty Shamilla alter-ego. But there is so much more to the talented 20-something actor and comedian. Earlier this year, he retired his popular character, with whom he’d ended up touring London last year. But he is grateful for the memories and cherishes the experience and the opportunities it brought. I caught up with Reddy a few days after the 17th South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas), and he exuded the same excitement that he did on the red carpet. He admitted: “I got invited to the Saftas for the first time in my life. It was so exciting. We got there so early. I was dressed by Preview Designer Collection. “I can’t believe I’m telling you that. It was insane. I’ve…

In view of high school dropout rates, poor literacy and maths comprehension, unqualified or under-qualified teachers, teenage pregnancy and poor infrastructure and sanitation at schools, political parties have slated a French award to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Despite letters from the Head of the DA and ActionSA to the French ambassador to South Africa David Martinon, formally requesting Martinon to rethink awarding Motshekga with the Knight of the French National Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur) on behalf of French president Emmanuel Macron, the ceremony went ahead at the French Embassy in Pretoria on Friday. The Department of Basic Education said the award recognised Motshekga’s “commitment towards access to quality education, inclusive education, girls’ schooling, the challenge of youth employability and as a privileged partner for…

POLITICAL parties have called on the Department of Defence to take tough action against eight SANDF members who have been recalled from a UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. The Department of Defence said it had recalled the implicated SANDF members after it received a UN report about allegations against SANDF members who were deployed under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (Monusco). “It is alleged in the UN report that on Sunday, October 1, 2023, eight SANDF soldiers deployed in Beni were apprehended by the UN Military Police (UN MP) for being in direct breach of the curfew time and other regulations related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).” Kobus Marais, DA spokesperson on Defence…

Motorists with outstanding older fines are advised to take advantage of the current grace period, the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) said. The RTIA lifted the enforcement orders issued for old traffic fines in August. This prevented drivers from renewing their driving or vehicle licences. At the time, IOL reported that the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) lobbied for the lifting, following a spate of calls from motorists who were unable to renew their drivers licence discs and cards because they had infringements against them that they were unaware of. Outa executive director, Advocate Stefanie Fick, said some of the notices date back to 2019, and the drivers were not made aware of the fines, which is the responsibility of RTIA. Speaking to the SABC, the RTIA’s Monde Mkalipi…

THE EFF in Tshwane has postponed a picket that was planned to take place outside the Israel embassy in Pretoria. The red berets have been in solidarity with the Palestine people who are involved in a war against Israel. However, the EFF postponed its much-anticipated protest, saying the Israeli Embassy had protested against it. Speaking to the Pretoria News yesterday, EFF regional chairperson, Obakeng Ramabodu, said the party still had “issues to work on”. He said they still needed to process the organising committee. “The picket has been postponed to next week. We need to process applications and organise ourselves first,” Ramabodu said. The two Middle Eastern countries have been at loggerheads since more than a week ago after the Palestinian Hamas group launched a surprise military operation against Israel.…

CHILD dagga pedlars could increase and so could the number of children using the substance. Those are two of the concerns expressed by parties at opposite ends of the spectrum of those opposed to the insertion of a “protection of child” clause in the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. The ACDP says easy access to cannabis could have a negative effect on society and that there is medical evidence that it has a negative effect on the cognitive development of a child. Pro-cannabis lobbyists say the bill is still restrictive and doesn’t go far enough. Parliament invited public comments on the bill, particularly on the clause which proposes that instead of children ending up in the criminal justice system, alternative solutions should be found to deal with those under 18…

Protecting surface and groundwater from mining activities is crucial to safeguard ecosystems, public health and sustainable water resources. For this reason the Centre for Water Science and Management at the North-West University and its specialised team of researchers are doing invaluable work in protecting this indispensable resource. The Centre for Water Science and Management focuses on contract research, mostly in the mining industry, with their largest completed mining-related project being the modelling of the entire East Rand basin. This was done in conjunction with the German company DMT. “Our purpose is to answer questions like: ‘What are the expected dewatering volumes associated with a new or existing mine?’, and ‘When the mining operation ceases, what is the expected decant volume, as well as the expected water quality?’ “In-house model development…

Sober October has come at the right time with South Africa’s very own female-crafted designer mocktail under the La Cabonada brand. The La Cabonada range is led by 23-year-old entrepreneur Nabeelah Bahadur, whose business operates in the Ormonde area where she manufactures a range of non-alcoholic beverages. She said that anyone interested in making Sober October a reality is welcome to sample her seven-taste variety. Bahadur told The Star that her range of mocktails are inspired by some of the best world destinations. The variety of tastes are catered for in seven flavours with Midnight Cherry, Kiwi Melao and Pina Picante among the delectable flavour-driven mocktails. For those who want something a bit stronger, there is the LA Carbonada Pina Picante inspired by Caribbean pineapple ginger beer. As the name…

Avian flu is the new pandemic, among chickens, hens and roosters, that is. We have been advised that tens of thousands of the birds have been culled amid safety concerns. The chicken and egg industry has, for decades, been in the doldrums – high production costs coupled with low prices. An unprofitable business. Yet, this so-called bird flu pandemic is having the desired effect, of pushing up prices, yielding instantaneous improved profitability for the entire industry. The cynic in me assures me that South African consumers are once again being fed gobbledygook as dwindling supplies push up prices to unprecedented levels. We can cluck all we like. These chickens have flown the coup and once again, consumers are being screwed royally.…

To borrow from the French, this was magnifique from the Springboks when they last night silenced a seething Stade de France to win 29-28 and advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup. The Boks will play their old foe England, who they beat in the 2019 final in Japan, after a performance in the French capital that was nothing short of heroic. It was a magnificent occasion, well worthy of a final, and the dimwits at World Rugby who three years ago made the draw ridiculously early should be escorted to the guillotine. It is criminal that the best teams in the world were sandwiched into one half of the draw and now we have Ireland, the No 1 ranked team in the world, and France who are out…

Owen Farrell scored a late drop goal and penalty yesterday to send England into the World Cup semi-finals with a tense and nervy 30-24 victory over Fiji. First-half tries from centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant had looked to have sent England on their way to a semi-final. But Fiji, who scored tries through Viliame Mata, Peni Ravai and Vilimoni Botitu, produced a stirring fightback in Marseille although in the end Farrell’s 20 points with the boot proved decisive. That denied Fiji the chance to make history and a first ever last four appearance as they fell at the quarter-final stage for the third time. It was a fierce opening to the game, with Fiji’s famed tacklers coming to the fore, winning a couple of early turnovers. But it was…

JSE-LISTED Sun International’s Sun City Resort has become one of the latest energy consumers to have embarked on a small-scale embedded generation after completing installation of a R16 million solar plant in a bid to reduce their consumption from the national grid. Taking its name to heart and harnessing energy from the sun, Sun City enjoys many sunny days throughout the year. On Friday, the resort officially launched its grid-tied solar photovoltaic system rated at 1.4 megawatts peak of installed capacity tied in at the Sun Central entertainment centre for use around Sun City. The plant has an expected lifespan of beyond 25 years when coupled with a well-planned preventative maintenance regime. Sun City general manager Brett Hoppé said the installed plant would displace an equivalent of 2…

STELLANTIS is offering a new stock investment plan to its French and Italian employees to help them with cost of living pressures and try to incentivise performance, two sources close to the company said. In France, 42 000 employees would be offered the chance to become shareholders under preferen- tial conditions: a 20% discount on the value of the shares and a matching contri- bution from the group of up to 100% of the sum invested, up to €1 000 (about R20 002), the sources said. The terms of the Italian plan were not immediately available. The move comes amid pressure on companies to help employees with a squeeze on their finances from rising interest rates and still-high inflation. Workers in the US car manufacturing heartland of…

Reputation is the views and opinions others have about a thing or someone. Having a positive reputation drives others to have trust in you and the benefits of being trusted are countless. Companies can earn more clients and grow revenue with a positive brand reputation. Similarly, individuals with a positive personal brand reputation are trusted and are often recommended for good opportunities. Thus, building and maintaining a positive reputation is vital for success. Since reputation is a valuable currency that can take years and considerable effort to build, some questionable individuals would take short cuts and even deceive to fake having a positive reputation. The phenomenon of faking professional qualifications is one example of the lengths some people would go to in attempts to gain a positive reputation. Having acquired…

IT HAS BECOME a bit embarrassing to sit among other Africans, as a South African, and we have our leaders to blame. It was a small glitch in two days of faultless organisation for the Türkiye Africa Economic Development Forum in Istanbul that saw me climb into the back of a black van, along with five other Africans, that would drive us to the conference centre. We had stood outside the hotel waiting for a bus, but after about 40 minutes, the driver of a van parked in the car park was corralled and he agreed to drive us to the conference centre. We were so eager to get the first of the two-day event under way. For me, it was an opportunity to explore the growing business and investment…

McKenzie’s racism claims draw social media backlash Gayton McKenzie, leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA), has come under fire for saying that the coloured community in South Africa experiences the worst racism in all facets of life. McKenzie expressed his sentiments on social media after speaking at the funeral service of Pastor Dwayne Gordon, who was shot dead last week while preaching as a guest pastor at the Eagles Christian Centre in Newlands, Joburg. McKenzie stated that he despises racism and gave an example of the problems that coloured people face. “Coloured people woke up in the new South Africa and found legislation that makes it clear that they are not Africans. A clear racist separation by the ANC government. How do you even explain that because coloureds and blacks…

Almost a year after being rescued from a drain pipe, a dog named Pip has turned a year old. Pip was rescued from the drain pipe by the Kloof and Highway SPCA in October last year. “Happy 1st birthday to our special Pip!” exclaimed Kloof and Highway SPCA last week. After much love and care, Pip was adopted by Joshua, who cherishes every moment with her. He said: “Pip is a very adventurous dog, she plays with her brother and sisters, Ciro (Rottweiler) the brother and Luna (Rottweiler) and Piper (Jack Russel mix) the sisters. “Pip loves her ostrich bones, cow hooves, and peanut butter biscuits. Pip is very good at picking up on my emotions. When I’m happy we have a little WWE match, but when I’m down she…

THE SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has taken a swipe at Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink for implicating its senior regional member in the fire-bombing of a waste removal truck. The alleged incident, Brink said, was captured on video footage showing a group of people alighting from a vehicle on the unidentified street. The people proceeded to fire-bomb the waste truck of a service provider contracted to the municipality. Brink said the vehicle that dropped off the people has been linked to a Samwu leader. He told journalists last week that the official was subsequently dismissed after he made an alibi that “the possession of his vehicle on the day of the attack could not be verified”. “The evidence in this matter was handed over to the SAPS shortly after the…

THE government is embroiled in a legal battle with an Eastern Cape artist over the design of the South African flag. This was after Thembani Hastings Mqhayi took the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to court, claiming the country’s flag had his design and demanded to be credited. However, the Department denied that the flag was Mqhayi’s brainchild. The 56-year-old has for years claimed Fredericks Brownell, who was credited for the design of the flag, stole his designs. Brownell, who died in May 2019, was hailed as a hero after having served at the National Archives of South Africa as the State Herald between 1982 and 2002. Mqhayi, a senior government employee at the Eastern Cape Department of Arts and Culture in Makhanda, claimed that the flag was one…

aha Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge – Escape the grind with the perfect bushveld break LESS than three hours from Johannesburg, the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the sights, scents and sounds of the African bush. And the luxurious tranquillity of aha Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge is a secret hideaway within, bringing you closer to nature but with all the comforts of home. Game drives in the Pilanesberg are an essential part of the bush getaway experience. And exploring the vibrant landscape while you spot some of Africa’s biggest game will be one of the most memorable experiences you’re likely to have in this lifetime. The local guides take great pride in sharing their wealth of wisdom about the wildlife and terrain with guests, and…

IN August of 2022, the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) imposed sanctions, including a R20 million fine, on Nedbank in accordance with Section 45 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica). The sanctions come in the wake of a compliance inspection conducted from May to June 2019, and less than two months after the implementation deadline for fundamental amendments to Fica, which was set for April 2019. In my opinion, Nedbank’s ties to Regiments Capital and the controversial Gupta family underscore the intricate web of corruption and complicity that is gripping the nation. Nedbank’s non-compliance has substantial implications for the financial landscape in South Africa. Foremost, are the concerns about the effectiveness of regulatory oversight and adherence to financial compliance standards within the nation’s banking sector. Financial institution compliance, responsibility…

Australia are struggling to read the wickets at the World Cup in India and are adapting to the conditions "on the fly", skipper Pat Cummins said yesterday as the five-time champions look for their first win of the tournament. Australia are ninth in the standings after they were beaten by India and South Africa in Chennai and Lucknow, respectively. They next play Sri Lanka in Lucknow today, with the island nation also seeking their first win. Several Australian players have played in the country and made a name for themselves in the Indian Premier League but Cummins said playing a T20 game was very different from the One-Day International format. "It's a tricky one, ODI cricket compared to T20s - played over half the game in daylight, half at night,"…

Nicolas Sanchez may not be the central figure in Argentina’s attack that he once was but unlike some other high-profile flyhalves nearing the end, this veteran can still dream of World Cup glory. Ireland icon Jonny Sexton, 38, and Wales great Dan Biggar, 34, both bowed out in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-finals, bringing an end to illustrious careers full of ups and downs running their teams’ respective attacks. But while both can look back on seven Six Nations championships and three grand slams between them, World Cup glory proved a step too far. For Sanchez, 34, there is still hope after his late interception try against Wales in Marseille clinched victory for Argentina, and a semi-final against the mighty All Blacks. “It was a little bit of intuition. I reached…