Table of contents for 2021-06-21 in Cape Times

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za CONSUMER spending is expected to have come under pressure in May as high food inflation showed no signs of abating, driven by high producer prices and low statistical base effects. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) will this week release the consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index data amid rising unemployment in the first quarter despite encouraging economic performance. The CPI inflation is forecast to have accelerated to 5.2 percent year-on-year in May from 4.4 percent in April, affected by the statistical base comparison after last year’s lockdown. Aside from the impact of the base effects, economists said the upward food price pressures were expected to have remained evident in May. Investec’s Kamilla Kaplan said May CPI would be driven higher by base effects and…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za GLOBAL life sciences group Bayer is set for further expansion in the southern African region as it cele- brates 100 years of operations in the country capped by a vibrant performance even in the Covid-19 lockdown period. The group enthused this week that it ended off a turbulent 2020 by celebrating 100 years in South Africa, a century in which its operations across agriculture, pharmaceutical and consumer health have grown substantially. “This South African operation leads the market sales across all three business units on the continent and plays a vital role in facilitating Bayer’s expansion into the southern African region. To be most effective, we focus our efforts on areas where our business has the greatest impact and where our efforts can have the greatest benefit,”…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE case-by-case approach of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to managing Covid-19 infections in schools, along with the announcement of vaccinations for all school staff, has been widely welcomed. Minister Angie Motshekga at a media briefing on Saturday said the current situation the country found itself in did not warrant closing all schools. She said closures would be dealt with on a school-by-school basis. Equal Education (EE) and Equal Education Law Centre (EELC) said they had since last year appealed to the DBE to implement the risk-adjusted strategy so that teaching and learning can continue in schools in parts of the country where community transmission is low or at zero, allowing the same schools to later close when community transmission becomes high. The organisations said…

Francesca Villette francesca.villette@inl.co.za A PROBE into allegations of water theft against former Health MEC and DA leader Theuns Botha has found no wrongdoing on his part. Botha and three others were investigated three years ago for alleged water theft of about 40 000 litres a day from a Riversdale resident in the Southern Cape. Stephen Pain had then reported Botha and three other landowners to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). DWS spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the matter has been closed. “A case was opened with the Public Protector upon which the DWS in support of the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency investigated the disputes/allegations by Pain against the previous MEC Theuns Botha and others. “This dispute refers to the use of water from a stream that bisects the…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za CENTENARIAN land claimant Shariefa Khan will later this week finally fulfil her dream to return to District Six. While ecstatic to move into a beautiful home, the Khan family have appealed for help to make her new bathroom more wheelchair accessible. Khan, District Six’s oldest living land claimant at 100 years old, recently became one of 108 claimants who the Department of Land Reform announced as beneficiaries in phase 3 of the restitution process. “I am very excited. The place is beautiful and I cannot wait to go back to District Six,” Khan said. Nadiema Khan, 68, who will be living with her mother, said they were excited when they got the news. “We went to the house last week where we had a chance to view…

“GAAN moer hulle!” With those words, the Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, sent off the Springbok squad to contest the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The watching crowd roared their approval. The players beamed. The minister’s embrace of the vernacular unquestionably helped to unite South Africans. Years later, Major-General Jeremy Vearey posted those words on his Facebook page in a comment on a labour dispute that the SAPS commissioner, Khehla Sitole, was conducting against Vearey’s colleague, Lieutenant-General Peter Jacobs. Two senior officers, Lieutenant-Generals Ledwaba and Vuma – whom Sitole had relied on to deal with Jacobs – claimed that Vearey’s words “made them feel intimidated, threatened, and unsafe”. Humbug! How can South Africans feel safe in the hands of the SAPS if the heads of the service that is constitutionally charged…

THE amended indictment of former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede and her 21 co-accused, which has added the charge of racketeering, is worrisome. At the end of the 347-page long indictment, the State revealed the names of 55 witnesses it intends to call to bolster its case and secure convictions of people like Gumede and suspended eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza. What raised eyebrows was that some of the witnesses the State would later rely on when the case finally gets under way are people who are suspected to have committed serious crimes. For example, three of the witnesses work for DSW (Durban Solid Waste), the alleged piggy bank of corrupt eThekwini municipality officials and some ruling party members in the ANC region. Prior to the issuing of the R320 million…

Spain’s coast guard rescued 45 migrants off the coast of Gran Canaria yesterday including 24 women and eight children. The migrants, from sub-Saharan Africa, were spotted in a boat by a passing ship around 61km south of Gran Canaria, local media reported. They were brought ashore in a rescue vessel yesterday afternoon. Small children, some wrapped in blankets, were handed to rescue workers, while some adults, looking visibly exhausted, had to be helped off the boat, Reuters footage showed. So far this year more than 5 700 migrants have made the dangerous crossing from Africa to the Canaries archipelago, over twice as many as in the same period in 2020, which itself saw an eightfold increase from 2019. With arrival facilities on the Canaries packed to capacity, authorities have housed…

TORONTO: Three children and two adults were injured after a shooting incident during a toddler’s birthday party in the Canadian city of Torontoat the weekend. Initial reports said there were four gunshot victims, but Global News later reported, citing officials, that five people had been injured. A spokesperson for the Toronto Paramedics said one child was in life-threatening condition, a child and an adult were in a serious condition and another child and an adult had sustained minor injuries. There is no information about suspects, but Toronto Police Inspector Kelly Skinner said that “multiple” people were involved, according to the outlet.…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday appealed to Myanmar’s military leaders to allow aid to reach displaced, hungry people who have fled fighting since the February 1 coup and to respect religious sites as places of sanctuary. Speaking at his Sunday blessing to crowds in St Peter’s Square, Francis said he wanted to “add my voice” to an appeal last week by Myanmar’s Catholic bishops. The pope, who has made many appeals for the release of political prisoners in Myanmar, spoke of the “heartbreaking experience of thousands of people in that country who are displaced and are dying of hunger”.rs…

Finland coach Markku Kanerva called today’s final Group B game against Belgium the “most important in our history” as they seek a place in the last 16 at Euro 2020. The Finns are third in the group after winning their opening game 1-0 against Denmark, a victory overshadowed by Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest, before losing by the same scoreline to Russia. A win over leaders Belgium would secure the Eagle-owls a spot in the knockout phase on their debut at a major tournament, as well as top spot if Russia fail to beat Denmark. “It’s the most important match in our history. A huge dream can be fulfilled, which is qualification. It’s in our hands,” Kanerva said in yesterday’s press conference. “My colleagues will keep me informed of the score…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za STEINHOFF Investment Holdings (SIHL), a subsidiary of Steinhoff International, recorded a R5.2 billion operating profit after material expenses in the six months to the end of March compared with a R10.6bn operating loss in the prior year, after foreign exchange gains and a strong performance by Pepkor Holdings (Pepkor) boosted the results. SIHL, wholly owned by Steinhoff International Holdings NV, is the issuer of preference shares with a R1.5bn capital value, which are listed on the JSE, and it holds Steinhoff’s South African assets, including Pepkor. Revenue from continuing operations jumped 8 percent to R36.5bn. The company said it had realised an interim foreign exchange gain of R3.7bn versus a forex loss of R4.8bn last year. SIHL said the litigation settlement proposal provision was increased to…

From page 1 Other buildings that have recently been renamed include the JP Duminy (former UCT principal and vice-chancellor) residence, renamed to Philip Kgosana residence after the liberation Struggle stalwart; and the Health Sciences Library to Bongani Mayosi Health Sciences Library in honour of the scholar. These changes occurred after the Rhodes Must Fall movement, led by student activist Chumani Maxwele, and started when Max Price was vice-chancellor in 2015. It went on to become a global movement supported by students at Oxford University.…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE DA in Gauteng has urged the provincial health department to conduct a probe into the disappearance of mental health patient Shane Jordaan, who was reported to have gone missing earlier this month. The DA’s spokesperson on social development, Bronwynn Engelbrecht, said her party was appalled to learn about the conditions at the Kairos Centre in Cullinan, Tshwane, where patients with special needs were allegedly neglected and their rooms in a filthy condition. She said the centre was also plagued by leaking raw sewage. “These terrible living conditions were revealed after one of the mentally impaired patients, Shane Jordaan, 30, went missing earlier this month. According to the mother of the missing patient, the centre never bothered to inform her that her son had gone missing. She…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za HEALTH officials have pinpointed community transmission as the cause of the spike in Covid-19 infections that have gripped the tiny town of Kliprand, in the Matzikama Municipality. The town, with a total population of about 250 people, has recorded three deaths in the past two weeks, and 30 positive cases. Half of the town’s households are said to be in quarantine. A primary school in the community also announced its closure till June 26, after a pupil tested positive. The school’s principal and community activist Arrie Cloete said 13 out of the 34 pupils of the school were in quarantine. “We are not sure where the positive cases started. We were at our church meeting last week Sunday, where we had three children who were baptised. Most…

Mushtak Parker IT HAS degenerated into an ugly war of semantics. No sooner had Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan announced the new public-private partnership (PPP) for SA Airways with a “black-owned” strategic equity partner (SEP), Takatso, tongues were wagging: “Is this privatisation or not?” To Gordhan it is an “entirely home-grown solution” between the government and the private sector to relaunch SAA as a “sustainable, competitive and transformed airline". Ideologues such as the ANC’s coalition partner, SACP claim victory over Gordhan in its role in averting the airline’s “liquidation” and “wholesale privatisation”. He needs to come clean to what extent the SACP claims are true and how beholden the PPP will be to its neo-socialist agenda for national assets, which scoffs at the very thought of being…

tehran: Iran’s announcement at the weekend of a resounding election victory by Ebrahim Raisi, the ultraconservative judiciary chief, signaled a stunning consolidation of power, handing the elected leadership back to hard-liners and sidelining reformists who negotiated a nuclear deal with global powers and advocated greater engagement with the West. The victory by Raisi also showed the determination of Iran’s conservative establishment, including its security and intelligence agencies, to eliminate any political challenge at a critical moment, analysts said. Among the potential landmark moments ahead: reckoning with who would succeed the 82-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is seen as a mentor to Raisi. Some experts speculated about whether the return to unity at the top - Khamenei’s ruling clerics and the political structure around Raisi - could become a…

ORGANISERS of the Tokyo Olympics opened the athletes’ village to the media yesterday, showing off apartments and a timber-laced shopping plaza where 11 000 athletes will stay and mingle during the sporting extravaganza. The once-delayed Games are due to start on July 23 amid concern that the influx of thousands of people from around the world would contribute to the spread of Covid-19. Japan has avoided the kind of explosive outbreaks that have crippled many other countries. But its vaccination programme has been slow and the medical system pushed to the brink in parts of the country. The government’s drive to hold the Games has been criticised by hospitals and doctors’ unions. Underscoring the concern, a Ugandan athlete arriving in Japan late on Saturday for a preparation camp was found…

Libyan experts have held discussions to review a draft law on combating violence against women, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), said. A group of lawyers, judges, activists and human rights defenders met in Tunis from Wednesday to Friday “to review the draft law on Combating Violence Against Women,” the UN agency said. The draft law aims to criminalise all forms of violence against women, including cyber violence and online hate speech, and to identify protection and prevention mechanisms. “The draft will serve to transform the culture of violence against women and girls in Libya,” the agency said.…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za AS THE QUIET storm over import tariffs for poultry rages on behind the backs of consumers, Emerging Black Importers and Exporters of South Africa (EBieSA) last week appealed to the Minister for Trade Industry and Commerce to halt further reviews of the structure as the last increments last year distorted the market. This follows an ongoing review of the tariff structure last upgraded in March last year, which resulted in increases from 37 to 62 percent on frozen bone-in chicken portions and frozen boneless portions tariff increases from 12 to 42 percent. EBieSA chairperson Unati Speirs said further tariffs on imports could impact food security for the poorest of the poor and called on the industry to urgently implement the transformation commitments contained in the…

From page 1 GSK expected from Hirt & Carter an end-to-end service. “Hirt & Carter approached Bothma Signs to make their concept a reality. Hirt & Carter knew that Bothma Signs was not a scaffolding expert and that this element would be outsourced to a third party. “Bothma Signs in turn approached Vertex, a supplier of bespoke scaffolding solutions, and contracted Vertex to erect two scaffolding towers for the Cape Town stadium to which Bothma Signs would attach the wrapping printed by Hirt & Carter with a banner hung akin to a washing line between the two scaffolding structures. “On the day of the concert, the notorious Cape winds began to blow and by 7pm its strength increased to such an extent that it blew over the scaffolding structures,”…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za FOR dozens of refugees at Paint City in Bellville, living in tents with no fence around them or security has made them as vulnerable as they were when they fled their countries of origin. This as the UN marked World Refugee Day yesterday under the theme, Together We Heal, Learn and Shine. World Refugee Day is aimed at celebrating the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict or persecution. However, Hafiz Mohammad, one of the leaders of the refugees at Paint City, said there was nothing to celebrate because their lives were not valued. “We came to this country because it was praised for championing human rights but that is not the case. I have been in…

Okuhle Hlati okuhle.hlati@inl.co.za IN WHAT has been hailed a milestone in advancing the decolonial project, Jan Smuts’s name has fallen at UCT. The men’s residence, known for decades as Smuts Hall, is now the Upper Campus Residence. The removal of Smuts’s name was given the green light by the university’s council this weekend following a meeting to decide whether Smuts Hall residence should be renamed. Founded on January 1, 1928, the men’s residence took Jan Smuts’s name after his death in 1950. Smuts, UCT’s chancellor, was also the former prime minister of South Africa. The university’s student representative council (SRC) had made a submission to the council following a students’ proposal last month supported by residence stakeholders for a change, saying it was an insult to honour Smuts. UCT…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za ONE fisherman died while four others had to be treated for hypothermia after their boat capsized in Soetwater at the weekend. National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Kommetjie station commander Jonathan Bakker said the crew was activated just after midday while Hout Bay was placed on alert following reports of a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) with local fishermen on board on Saturday. “NSRI Kommetjie crew responded directly to the scene where we found a capsized boat in the shore break. Casualty crew members were found coming ashore and one man was found to be unresponsive and four crew were suffering hypothermia. CPR efforts were commenced on the one man.” Bakker said Cape Medical Response and City Fire and Rescue Services also responded but despite extensive efforts to…

| tamarindnthyme.com Ingredients 1 cup/250ml dry red speckled beans 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion finely chopped 2 bay leaves 2 small pieces cinnamon stick 1 star aniseed 1 teaspoon ginger/garlic paste 1 sprig curry leaf 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/4 teaspoon fennel 1 tbsp medium masala 2 teaspoon chilli powder 2 small tomatoes pureed 2 potatoes peeled and each cut into 4 cubes salt water Method Soak the beans in some warm water for an hour. Rinse well and boil the beans until it is soft and tender. Do not add too much water when boiling the beans. Set aside. In a medium pot heat the oil on low to medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry until it splutters.…

Farouk Cassim | Cope President Ramaphosa surprised the nation on June 12, 2021, when he lifted the threshold for self-generation of electricity to 100MW. It took some real twisting of Gwede Mantashe’s arm to do that. Now that it has happened, we can assess the importance of the announcement. Firstly, Eskom in many of its power plants has been flouting environmental laws. Its ageing coal-powered stations are spewing carbon and pollutants into the air. With COP26 scheduled to discuss massive carbon reduction at its meeting in Glasgow in November this year, South Africa will need to shift power generation to renewable sources very rapidly to protect our exports of minerals, cars and agricultural products. Secondly, De Ruyter believes that it will cost Eskom R60 billion over 10 years…

Three children have died following a school kidnapping of 94 students and eight staff in north-west Nigeria this week, the establishment’s principal said yesterday. The kidnapping for ransom is the latest in a series of such incidents in northern Nigeria, with a sharp rise in abductions since late 2020 as the government struggles to maintain law and order amid a flagging economy. The two girls and a boy were found dead, two with gunshot wounds in their legs, said Mustapha Yusuf, principal of the federal government college in the remote town of Birnin Yauri in northwest Nigeria’s Kebbi state. Nine abductees escaped or had been rescued but the kidnappers held the rest, with security forces wary of staging a rescue attempt for fear of harming the children, Yusuf said. The…

MEXICO CITY: The bodies of three men were found hanging from a bridge in the municipality of Fresnillo, in Mexico’s north-central state of Zacatecas, local media said. The bodies were discovered on Saturday afternoon on Highway 49, which connects the city of Fresnillo with the community of Rancho Grande, news outlet La Prensa de Coahuila said. According to La Razón newspaper, the bodies of the three men showed signs of torture. On Friday, the suspended body of another man was found in the same place, according to La Prensa de Coahuila. The involvement of cartels in these two incidents was under investigation.…

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s military launched an investigation yesterday after social media posts showed soldiers forcing minority Muslims to kneel on the streets as a punishment for flouting lockdown rules. Armed troops ordered Muslim civilians to raise their hands in the air while kneeling on a road in the town of Eravur, about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Colombo. Local residents said they considered the order to be degrading and humiliating, while officials acknowledged that troops had no power to mete out such punishments. The victims were on their way to two restaurants to buy food.…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Arthur Zwane reiterated that there is still a lot of work for his side to do despite their 1-0 CAF Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Wydad AC at the Stade Mohammed V Stadium in Morocco on Saturday. Chiefs win came largely via some excellent goalkeeping from Bruce Bvuma, combined with a well-executed strike from Samir Nurkovic. Chiefs surpassed most neutrals’ expectations in the match. They claimed a vital away goal and moreover an away win. All that the Amakhosi need to do to advance to the final of Africa’s Premier club competition is to avoid a defeat by more than two goals in the return leg at the FNB Stadium on Saturday. “We came here to do the business and we did exactly…