Table of contents for 2021-07-29 in Cape Times

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE SHARE prices of JSE tech stock leaders Naspers and Prosus yesterday recouped some of the massive losses they incurred over the previous two days, which were spurred by China’s clampdown on private sector online education, which affected their biggest investment, internet group Tencent. By midday yesterday, Naspers, which owns 29 percent of Tencent, traded 3.8 percent higher at R2 643.50 on the JSE, while subsidiary Prosus, with its main listing in Amsterdam, traded 3.4 percent higher at R1 226.85 on its secondary listed market. The share prices of both companies had slumped more than 7 percent on Monday and on Tuesday, respectively. The shares closed yesterday at R2 747.44 and R1 267.62. The accelerating slide in Tencent’s share price meant its…

Transnet to lift force majeure soon after forced manual hiatus Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za TRANSNET said yesterday that it was considering lifting a force majeure after five days of downtime that involved using only systems that could be operated manually to cope with a backlog of trucks, ships and empty dockyards. In a statement yesterday, Transnet said it expected that some applications may continue to run slowly over the next few days, while monitoring systems were brought back in a staggered manner to minimise further risks and interruptions. “It is expected that some applications may continue to run slowly over the next few days, while monitoring continues. All operating systems will be brought back in a staggered manner to minimise further risks and interruptions, the group said. Logistics groups, including the…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A HUNGRY customer who wanted to buy a doughnut at Shoprite in Sea Point said he will never visit the outlet again after witnessing cockroaches crawl over the bakery products. The retail giant has apologised and the manager offered him a cake in return, but he has refused it. The customer, who spoke to the Cape Times on condition that he not be named, said he went to the store just after 8am one morning last week to buy the sweet treat. “While I was waiting for the doughnut I saw the creepies crawling between the cakes. I alerted the lady who was serving me and she wasn’t even bothered about them. I was so horrified. I left my doughnut inside the shop and bought a cool…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za A CASE of road rage is suspected to be behind the murder of an Eastern Cape long-distance taxi driver, who was shot and killed near Kuils River while transporting commuters on Tuesday. The 32-year-old was driving in Silversands when he was apparently involved in a collision with the driver of a private car and, in the middle of an argument, the latter allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the taxi driver. The murder comes as the taxi industry is negotiating a peaceful way forward after months of war over routes that has claimed scores of lives. Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) spokesperson Andile Khanyi said the negotiations are continuing. “The (latest) taxi driver issue is in the police’s hands, and according to my understanding, it…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za PLETTENBERG Bay political party Ikhwezi Political Movement has called for Bitou municipality management who are alleged to have solicited bribes from contractors of the Qolweni Housing Project to be suspended. This as Good party secretary-general Brett Herron said an affidavit filed in the Western Cape High Court revealed how a “criminal syndicate“ operating at the highest level in the municipality sought to fleece revenue generated for a sorely needed housing contract. Herron said, according to Dr Anele Hammond, representing a company associated with the appointed contractor, Ukhana Project, the municipality cancelled the R38 million contract after she refused to participate in a “corrupt scheme involving the town’s top officials”. “The contractors want the court to reinstate the project. The contract (with a variation order) relates to building…

SOCIAL Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) and the Post Office should use the reinstatement of the R350 Social of Relief Distress Grant as an opportunity to make amends for the blunders they committed during the first round of its disbursement. That it has been expanded to allow unemployed caregivers who receive the Child Support Grant (CSG) to apply for it, goes a long way in helping restore the dignity so many have lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. About 95% of CSG recipients are women who were unfairly discriminated against by not being eligible for the previous grant, according to the Black Sash. We know, thanks to former auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, that Sassa had used some government databases to check if applicants had alternate sources of…

Ethiopia’s Somali region said yesterdaya vital road and rail trade route linking the landlocked capital of Addis Ababa to the sea port of Djibouti was blocked by youths angered by a deadly militia attack on their region. Around 95% of imports into the nation of around 110 million people are transported via that corridor, according to a 2018 study by the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Somali region President Mustafa Muhumed Omer said the road and railway had been blocked by local youths protesting against an attack on the region’s Gedamaytu town by militia from the neighbouring region of Afar. A spokesperson for his administration said Saturday’s attack had caused hundreds of civilian deaths, and the town had been looted and many of its inhabitants displaced. The violence is…

OSLO: Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Rowan Williams, has likened Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to biblical prophets. During the ecumenical Korsvei festival in Seljord, Norway, which Sir Rowan attended via a video link, he was asked about Greta Thunberg. “God has raised up a prophet in Greta Thunberg… “She has said things that no one else could have said,” he said. He compared her to the biblical prophet Jeremiah, claiming that she was raised as a young person to speak to the nations. The Church of Sweden has controversially called Thunberg “Jesus’s successor”. | Sputnik…

TOKYO: Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics yesterday apologised for ordering too much food for their staff during the opening ceremony and letting it go to waste after videos of trucks carting off boxes of uneaten food went viral online. Videos of untouched lunch boxes and bread getting thrown into a large bin sparked an instant uproar on social media and beyond. About 110 000 volunteers were initially expected for the Olympics Games, although 10 000 had quit as of last month, as the worsening pandemic turned public opinion against the Games. | Reuters…

Rabat: Archaeologists in Morocco have announced the discovery of North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-axe manufacturing site, dating back 1.3 million years, an international team reported yesterday. The find pushes back by hundreds of thousands of years the start date in North Africa of the Acheulian stone tool industry associated with Homo erectus, researchers said in Rabat. It was made during excavations near Casablanca. This “major discovery… contributes to enriching the debate on the emergence of the Acheulian in Africa,” said the Franco-Moroccan “Prehistory of Casablanca” programme. | AFP…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za DUBAI-based MultiChoice chief executive Calvo Mawela was compensated with a $2.62 million (R38.8m) package for the year 2021, up from $1.59m a year earlier as he benefited from bonuses and incentives, the group said in its 2021 integrated annual report. Mawela took home a $646 000 base salary – up from $571 000 a year earlier – his pension was increased to $78 000 from $67 000 in 2020 and his benefits contracted to $181 000 from $227 000 in the previous year. He was rewarded with $993 000 in short-term and medium-term incentives, up from $726 000 a year with the short term incentive benefit reflecting the bonus paid based on the performance of the relevant financial year. “During…

Baldwin Ndaba and Nicola Daniels THE ANC played no part in getting the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grants reintroduced to boost the party’s electoral chances ahead of the local government elections, says Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. The government has set aside R27 billion for the payment of SRD grants to eligible and unemployed people. During a media briefing yesterday, Mboweni maintained that the National Treasury and President Cyril Ramaphosa made the decision, with the governing party having nothing to do with it. Mboweni’s briefing was to give finer details of the R38.9bn financial package to assist unemployed people and businesses hard hit by the violent protests in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. “We operate within a society which experiences a lot of distress. Any caring government will come to the…

Amber Cupido HARDLY a day goes by in South Africa without news of yet another robbery, murder, assault and incidence of gender-based violence. No wonder we are regarded as one of the most violent countries in the world. To make matters worse, our law enforcement officials and broader criminal justice system seem to respond slowly to crime and treat perpetrators with kid gloves. Unsurprisingly, some South Africans often take matters into their own hands and mete out justice to ensure their safety and security. We’ve seen several instances of mob justice over the past few years. Recently, the community of Zandspruit in Johannesburg was rocked by gruesome mob attacks, which saw eight men killed and one critically injured. They were accused of terrorising the community and committing robberies in…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za WHILE the suspect who murdered Elim grandmother Charlene October remains at large, her family said they hoped justice would prevail. October, 49, was murdered in her home on July 12, a week after her birthday. The life of her first grandchild, just one month old, was spared during the attack. Described as having a zest for life, October’s sister, who spoke on condition that she not be named, said the family were devastated. “To say the family is shattered is an understatement. Since the day we received the news, we had moments of disbelief about how this could happen in the first place and secondly, how this could happen to her. Our hearts are breaking for the children,” said the sister. October’s body was found by her…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za DISMISSED top cop Jeremy Vearey has filed an urgent interlocutory application to the Western Cape High Court against provincial SAPS Commissioner Thembisile Patekile, including the national commissioner and minister of police, alleging they are in contempt of court. The application relates to security which had been reinstated to Vearey on July 15 by order of the high court. Vearey, in an affidavit, said the order was not being complied with. Vearey wants the high court to accept his urgent application by August 2, and for Patekile to be held in contempt of court and incarcerated for a period of 30 days if he does not fully and immediately comply with the order. Currently at a place of safety with his family, Vearey previously lodged an urgent application…

When it comes to spying on one’s allies, the US gets a free pass THE ability of the Western mainstream media and some Western politicians warp reality, sometimes to the extent of outright denying it, is impressive. It takes a special kind of talent to be able to keep covering a story that seemingly has not much to say about it, while ignoring something that can have an effect similar to that of a bombshell. In recent days, we took note of a good example to illustrate what we are saying. In late May to early June this year, sensational news hit the pages of world media. It was revealed that the US, in close co-operation with one of its European allies, has been spying on its other European allies…

Britain announced yesterday it would begin donating millions of coronavirus vaccine doses around the world, including to various Commonwealth countries, following its pledge to provide 100 million jabs globally by next June. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the ramped up roll-out of an initial 9 million inoculations, to get under way Friday, would go to Kenya, Jamaica and several Asian nations. “They will go to countries, vulnerable places like Laos and Cambodia, partners like Indonesia, Malaysia (and) a range of Commonwealth countries from Kenya to Jamaica,” he said. Britain has committed to sharing 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots by the middle of next year through the Covax programme, which aims to ensure the fair distribution of vaccines, and directly to individual countries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was…

LONDON: Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is not President Vladimir Putin’s “cashier” and nor did he buy Chelsea FC as a vehicle to corrupt the West, his lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, told England’s High Court in a defamation hearing over a book about Putin’s Russia. In the 2020 book, British journalist Catherine Belton chronicles Putin’s rise to power and how many of his associates from the former Soviet spy services rose to positions of wealth and influence after he won the top Kremlin job in 1999. Tomlinson told the court that passages in the book Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West, published by HarperCollins, were defamatory. HarperCollins has said it would “defend this acclaimed book and the right to report on matters of considerable…

Medan: Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung erupted yesterday, spewing a massive column of smoke and ash into the sky. The eruption of the volcano in North Sumatra province lasted about 12 minutes, a local geological agency said. The volcanic material reached 4 500m into the air. Clouds of smoke and ash travelled 1 000m away from the peak. No evacuation orders were issued because the debris did not reach the nearest villages, but authorities have instructed people to avoid a 5km zone around the crater that has been left unoccupied for years as volcanic activity increased. | AFP…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za TAXES from corporate South Africa have come to the aid of the government and prevented the country from approaching international lenders for borrowings to finance its large economic recovery package. The National Treasury yesterday presented a R36.2 billion socio-economic relief package to boost activity after civil unrest earlier this month left destruction costing the economy nearly R50bn. Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said that there would be no additional borrowing to fund this fiscal package, allaying any possible credit ratings concerns over widening debt. Mogajane said the package will be funded by reprioritising the funding of existing budgets of the departments of trade and industry and small business development, as well as revenue overrun. “We are not going to be borrowing at all. This is not in…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE legal bill of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) against Heathfield High School principal Wesley Neumann has reached over half a million rand, raising eyebrows about the department’s priorities. A total of R663 326 has been spent by the department. The amount includes R581 026 for legal representation and R82 300 that went towards the presiding officer. About R103 718 of the R581 026 was spent on legal counsel for the Labour Court matter, and R477 30 for the disciplinary hearing. Neumann faces dismissal which stems from refusing to reopen the school last year amid the Covid-19 infection peak. WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the seriousness of the charges being contemplated include the assault of a learner, failure to obey a legitimate instruction and bringing the…

Shannon Ebrahim shannon.ebrahim@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa has reacted strongly to the AU decision to grant observer status to Israel, calling the decision appalling and unjust. The AU Commission took the decision unilaterally, without consultations with its members. “The decision to grant Israel Observer Status is even more shocking in a year in which the oppressed people of Palestine were hounded by destructive bombardments and continued illegal settlements on their land,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperations (Dirco) said on Tuesday. The granting of observer status to Israel was considered inexplicable, given that the AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in May. Once fighting broke out, Faki condemned the “violent attacks in the Al-Aqsa mosque committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinian worshipers”,…

Shifaan Ryklief and ANA Reporter AS TOUGH as it is trying to make it in the music industry, it takes so much more courage attempting to find a breakthrough in a foreign country, to an unknown audience and in a new language. This is exactly what 27-year-old South African-born singer and songwriter Eli Zaelo has done. Zaelo took up the challenge, crushed it and became a household name in Hong Kong, with performances in jazz, blues and R&B in venues across the city. Earlier this year, she released her first R&B Mandarin single titled Aiqing Gushi (Stories About Love), followed by an English single titled Human. In a blend of R&B, house, reggae and African instrumental, Zaelo is looking to make the most of China’s rapidly growing digital music industry,…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za HERITAGE Western Cape (HWC) says the Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) area should be assessed for Grade I heritage status. Grade I heritage resources are exceptional and considered to be of national significance, and are identified and managed by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra). This follows discussions held with interested parties and HWC last Thursday on the provincial heritage status of the TRUP. As part of the TRUP is subject to a R4 billion redevelopment by the Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust, several role-players made submissions before the HWC council. HWC chief executive Michael Janse van Rensburg said the council resolved to approve HWC notifying Sahra of its opinion that the TRUP area should be assessed for Grade I heritage status in terms of Section 24(1)(e)…

Mushtak Parker IF the intention of the not-so-invisible hands, instigating the looting and rioting in KwaZulu-Natal and pockets of Gauteng over the past week, was to cause widespread unrest and economic disruption, with the aim of precipitating a knee-jerk deadly response from President Cyril Ramaphosa, then the conspiracy failed spectacularly. That this was a failed coup in all but name, through inciting insurrection by Zuma apparatchiks and like-minded ANC radicals, with the help of criminal elements, is not in doubt. The aim was to oust the democratically elected president by undermining the political and social stability of the country, already under stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and looting economic assets. The rationale is to create discontent by depriving people of daily necessities, such as baby formula, milk, basic foods,…

Afghanistan would become a “pariah state” if the Taliban take control by force, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday, as a top-level delegation from the insurgent group visited China to assure officials of their international obligations. “An Afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an Afghanistan that commits atrocities against its own people would become a pariah state,” Blinken said in India, where he is on his first official visit. In China, the Taliban’s leadership assured Beijing the group will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for plotting against another country. A delegation, including co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is in China for talks as the insurgents continue a sweeping offensive across Afghanistan, including areas along their shared border. Their frontier is…

Staring blankly from her hospital bed, 14-year-old Precious is struggling to recover after 21 days spent at the hands of heavily-armed gunmen who kidnapped her from her school in north-west Nigeria. “To walk is a problem, to talk is a problem ... if she happened to sit down, she will just be afraid and shivering,” said her mother, Esther Joseph. Attackers stormed Precious’s Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state in the dead of night on July 5, abducting 121 learners from their dormitories. It was the latest attack by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, who have long plagued north-west and central Nigeria. “She is remembering those guns the kidnappers used to shoot while in the bush to scare them,” said Joseph, speaking for her only child, who is…

JERUSALEM: Israel announced yesterday it is to issue 16 000 more permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to work in its construction and hotel industries, taking the total to over 100 000. “Israel intends to increase by 15 000 workers the quota of Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria (the southern and northern West Bank) working in the field of construction,” the Israeli military body responsible for civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, COGAT, said. Another 1 000 permits will be issued to Palestinians working in Israeli hotels, it added. The new permits will bring the number of Palestinians allowed to work in Israel to 106 000| AFP…

London: A jewel thief was jailed for more than five years in Britain yesterday for stealing millions of pounds worth of diamonds by switching them with pebbles in a daring sleight of hand. Lulu Lakatos, 60, posed as a gem expert under the alias “Anna” to gain access to the jewels – worth a total of £4.2 million. She claimed she had been sent to appraise the gems by a wealthy Russian client before swopping them for the worthless stones. A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found her guilty of conspiracy to steal. The judge called the heist “highly sophisticated and audacious”, involving “brazen deception”. Prosecutors said the theft of the diamonds from jewellers in London’s upmarket Mayfair district was the biggest of its kind in Britain.…