Table of contents for 2021-11-03 in Cape Times

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za JOHANNESBURG-BASED Net 1 UEPS Technologies is acquiring the Connect Group for R3.7 billion as part of a transformation into South Africa’s leading fintech platform, offering payment processing and financial services to under-served merchants and consumers. Net 1 jumped 21.74 percent to R100 late yesterday afternoon on the JSE as the market reacted positively to the transaction. Chief executive Chris Meyer said the transaction was part of efforts by the new management and board to turn the company around from a cash logistics business to a fully-fledged and profitable financial services platform. He said too often its target market was under-served, neglected and overlooked and acquiring Connect Group advances the group’s mission of financial inclusion by bringing 44 000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),…

IT HAS BEEN shown empirically that the economic benefits of increasing public investment in agricultural research and development (R&D) is overwhelmingly strong. Thus the argument sometimes presented as to whether it makes sense to increase, or at least maintain, public investment in agricultural R&D has been rendered a moot point. Yet, South Africa and other developing countries’ governments continue to decrease public investment on this important and economically sound area of the economy. Other neighbouring countries have completely neglected investment in agricultural R&D, leading to the inevitable collapse of their agricultural sectors and increasing vulnerability to food insecurity. South Africa should see this apparent decline in neighbouring countries in the South African Development Community regional bloc as an opportunity to supply both agricultural technologies and inputs. Much attention over the…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MASSMART said yesterday it would pay R650 million out of its own pocket after the looting in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng in July was not fully recovered from its insurance cover. Massmart, owners of Game, Makro and Builders Warehouse, estimated that the total replacement cost for property and stock damages as a result of the civil unrest to be R2.5 billion, of which R1.3bn relates to inventory losses. The group said this material impact was mainly due to two Makro stores, in Pietermaritzburg and Springfield, and two distribution centres (DC) in KZN, Riverhorse and Cato Ridge, being looted and severely damaged. The Makro store in Pietermaritzburg and the Riverhorse DC were completely destroyed by arson. “The group does have South African Special Risk Insurance…

from page 1 “Outside of support growing for the ANC, people are also putting their trust in smaller parties, with GOOD winning quite a few wards, the Patriotic Alliance also putting up a good show and the VF Plus has really taken a lot of the white vote from the DA,” Mtsweni said. GOOD Party mayoral candidate Brett Herron said: “We are encouraged as the party has shown growth; however, the low voter turnout is very worrying for our democracy. It shows that citizens have lost their confidence or interest in participating. “We have to all reflect on that and why that fallout has happened. “In Cape Town I was expecting it, due to the weather conditions, but we saw in parts of the country where the weather was sunny,…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE outcome for the three Gauteng metros of Joburg, Ekurhuleni and the City of Tshwane is being tallied before the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announces the final results. As of yesterday, the ANC was leading the race in Joburg and Ekurhuleni, while DA led the pack in Tshwane, but none of them had achieved a majority vote out of the 27% of the votes released last night. But the ANC in Gauteng has already retained control of Lesedi Local Municipality in Heidelberg, while leading the votes in Joburg and Ekurhuleni. The DA in Midvaal looked set to retain control of the municipality which had been under its control for more than 10 years. Of the 92% of the votes counted, the DA was leading by more…

Sizwe Dlamini sizwe.dlamini@inl.co.za THE Gauteng provincial government has threatened to take Independent Media to court. This follows the media house’s exposé of negligent and unacceptable conditions to which patients are exposed at some Gauteng hospitals. The announcement follows Independent Media’s revelations of gross medical negligence at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital that allegedly resulted in the death of a patient, and which could have been avoided. In its statement, the GP government said it wanted to protect the integrity of all government officials, as well as that of public institutions. It did not mention anything regarding Independent Media’s exposé on the poor treatment at some hospitals. Independent Media chairperson Dr Iqbal Survé said it was clear that the province did not care about the well-being of its patients. “Clearly…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) has accused Mayco safety and security member JP Smith of refusing to provide financial backing for a project aimed at installing CCTV cameras in crime hot spots in the township. The forum had development a concept, “Uyabonwa”, loosely translated as “you are seen”, to plant about 48 cameras across Khayelitsha, focusing on entry and exit points. The cameras were to have license plate recognition capability. Khayelitsha did not get a single CCTV camera from the 44 the DA-led City of Cape Town had installed by the end of June 2019, at a cost of R17 million. Instead, the cameras were part of the ward allocation projects within the City’s safety and security directorate, and were installed in affluent areas such as Blaauwberg,…

THE 130th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) was successfully held from October 15 to 19 in Guangzhou, China. Featuring a safe, orderly, innovative, efficient, excellent and brilliant event, this year’s Canton Fair has attracted the vigorous participation of a large number of domestic and foreign companies and made an effective contribution to promoting high-quality trade development, boosting global economic and trade recovery, and building a new development pattern. Founded in 1957, the Canton Fair is a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, the largest scale, the most complete variety of commodities, and the best transaction effect in China. It has a unique position in building a new development pattern. As the barometer and weathervane of China’s foreign trade, the success of the 130th Canton Fair reveals…

The US-sponsored peace deal that ended war in Bosnia in the 1990s is at risk of unravelling unless the international community takes measures to stop Serb separatists, a peace envoy warned in a report to the UN seen by Reuters yesterday. In his first report in the capacity of the international community’s High Representative in Bosnia, German politician Christian Schmidt said that Bosnia was facing the greatest threat to its existence since the war. “The prospects for further division and conflict are very real,” he wrote. Schmidt was referring to moves by the Bosnian Serb separatist leadership aimed at undoing key state institutions such as the joint armed forces, the indirect taxation authority and the top judicial body, as well as other institutions. “This is tantamount to secession without proclaiming…

A “people’s tribunal” to achieve justice for murdered journalists opened in The Hague yesterday to defend media freedoms in an age of increasing authoritarianism and populism. Set up by a coalition of press freedom organisations, the hearings – lasting six months – will focus on the unsolved cases of three journalists murdered in Mexico, Sri Lanka and Syria. While it has no legal powers to convict anyone, the tribunal aims to raise awareness, pressure governments and gather evidence through what it calls its form of “grassroots justice”. Hatice Cengiz, who was set to marry dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi before he was killed in 2018 inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, said she was testifying at the tribunal so that the world does not forget her murdered fiancee. “In the…

JERUSALEM: Palestinian families facing eviction from their Jerusalem homes turned down an Israeli court compromise yesterday in a long-running legal battle with Jewish settlers, family member and social media activist Mohammed El-Kurd said. The families had petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to hear their appeal against a lower court ruling in favour of settlers who say their homes were built on land once owned by Jews. Facing eviction, the families considered a Supreme Court compromise to offer them “protected” status in exchange for recognising settler ownership.…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za BUSINESS activity in the manufacturing industry is expected to rebound in the next six months as the steel workers’ strike and a return to load shedding weighed on activity in October. The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released yesterday, fell further to 53.6 points in October from a downwardly revised 54.7 points in September. However, the PMI remained in expansionary territory for a third consecutive month at above 50 points which separates growth from contraction. Absa said the business activity and new sales orders indices lost the most ground in October, as was the case in September. Absa economist Miyelani Maluleke said supplier delivery lead times and purchasing prices remained elevated in October, highlighting the continued pervasive impact of global bottleneck…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za Vehicle exports in October fell 30 percent to 23,685 units in October compared with the same month last year, after the industry was affected by the three week strike in the steel and engineering sector and an acute load shedding program, but local vehicle sales continued to improve, albeit slower. The Automotive Business Council said yesterday that domestic new vehicle sales in October at 41,035 units increased by 6.1 percent from those sold in October last year. Stock shortages continued to thwart South Africa’s new vehicle market during October, but the market continued to show a robust performance, despite volumes being lower than September,” said Wesbank head of marketing and communication Lebogang Gaoaketse. The new vehicle market appeared to be recovering well, with demand out-stripping supply…

Kim Kardashian West and Pete Davidson are not romantically involved, according to a source. The 41-year-old star and Davidson, 27, were recently spotted holding hands on a roller-coaster at Knott's Scary Farm in California – but they’re not romantically involved with each other and Kim isn't trying to hide anything, according to a source. An eyewitness explained: “Kim and Pete seemed like good friends.” The celebrity duo have previously acted alongside each other on Saturday Night Live. But Kardashian West was very relaxed at Knott's Scary Farm, where she was joined by her sister Kourtney Kardashian and her fiancé Travis Barker. A source told Us Weekly: “Kim seemed very chill. It did seem like she was trying to hide.” Kardashian West officially filed for divorce from Kanye West earlier this…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za THE NELSON Mandela Bay metro could be headed for another coalition government with the ANC failing to get an outright majority as it leads the race to win back the metro. This comes as the ruling party leads the pack in the Eastern Cape, with most municipalities back in the hands of the ANC. But the Nelson Mandela Bay metro remains difficult for the ANC to win outright as it was sitting at 42.72% by close of business yesterday. The DA was behind the ruling party as its support stood at 37.89% with the EFF’s support at 7.34%. If any of the two parties fail to get an outright majority they will be forced to follow the route they took in 2016 when the DA took control…

Staff writer PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday joined global leaders in announcing a historic partnership with France, Germany, the UK, US, as well as the EU, to support a just transition to a low-carbon economy and a climate-resilient society in South Africa. In preparation for COP26, South Africa submitted a revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce domestic carbon emissions to within a target range of between 420 CO2-eq and 350 CO2-eq by 2030. This revised target is compatible with the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement and represents South Africa’s effort to confront climate change. Through the Political Declaration issued yesterday to establish the partnership, partner countries will mobilise an initial $8.5 billion (R131bn) over the next three to five years through a range of instruments, including grants and concessional…

Chevon Booysen, Nicola Daniels and Tarryn-Leigh Solomons AS the vote counting continued last night, the Western Cape figures reflected a number of hung municipalities, including Beaufort West, Cape Agulhas, Cederberg, Kannaland, Knysna, Laingsburg, Langeberg, Oudtshoorn, Prince Albert, Saldanha Bay, Theewaterskloof and Witzenberg. Three municipalities continue to be led by the DA - Bergriver, Hessequa and Swartland. The DA has taken the lead by claiming 198 seats, of which 153 are wards, and 45 proportional representative (PR) seats. The party was also leading in the City of Cape Town. Figures indicate that the provincial ANC scored 100 seats, comprising 69 wards and 31 councils. The Patriotic Alliance was also high up on the leader board by 5pm yesterday with 18 seats across three wards, while GOOD Party and VF…

Staff writer THE celebrated production of Yukio Mishima’s modern Noh masterpiece The Lady Aoi will be coming home to the Mother City and will open in the Artscape Arena this month. In 2014 and 2019, it played in the US where it received standing ovations and critical acclaim. It was described by the American press as “eerily sexy … brilliantly skilful” and “breath-taking”. The play, brought by Abrahamse Meyer Productions, is a fusion of visual and physical theatre, puppetry, mask work, original music and sumptuous design. It is directed by veteran director/designer Fred Abrahamse and features Marcel Meyer and Matthew Baldwin, an original score by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder, and lighting by multi- award-winner Faheem Bardien. Mishima, one of the most celebrated authors of the 20th century, transmuted…

Staff writer A PERFECT storm of demand imbalances, refinery costs, natural gas price hikes and rand weakness would see the petrol price close in on R20 a litre in the run-up to Christmas, the Automobile Association (AA) said. This comes as Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced the adjustment of fuel prices with effect from today. Diesel will be up by R1.48 a litre, illuminating paraffin is set to increase by R1.45 a litre, and petrol will rise by R1.21 a litre for an inland price at the pumps of R19.54 for a litre of ULP95. The price of 95ULP in Polokwane is already testing the R20/l mark, with fuel there now priced at R19.97/l, the AA said. The AA said it will continue to push for…

We must all protect the independence and integrity of the Electoral Commission I AM ONE of the irritating people who dislikes being told the answer is “wait and see”. But that’s what we have to do in the coming days as we wait for the Electoral Commission to count every vote, tally and verify the information submitted by every voting station, resolve every complaint lodged, and then officially declare the election results. We must all protect the independence and integrity of the Electoral Commission and discourage those who level accusations against it without substance or valid cause for complaining. As we wait for the official announcement, South Africans need to take a cue from the Grade 12 learners: keep calm and carry on. We all want election results tonight.…

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday refrained from implementing a threat to disrupt trade with Britain in a stand-off over post-Brexit fishing rights as talks to defuse the latest row continued in Brussels. France had threatened to ban British boats from unloading their catches at French ports and to subject all British imports to inspections, effectively holding them up, from midnight on Monday. But on Monday evening Macron said France would allow more time for negotiations over the exclusion of dozens of French fishing boats from the the territorial waters of the UK and Channel Islands. “It’s not while we’re negotiating that we’re going to impose sanctions,” the French leader said on the sidelines of the COP26 summit in Glasgow, in remarks welcomed by the British government. The talks between…

WASHINGTON: The Reverend Jesse Jackson was hospitalised on Monday after falling during a visit to Howard University, in support of students protesting living conditions on the Washington campus. The 80-year-old civil rights leader was meeting with Howard president Wayne AI Frederick and other administrators when he “sustained an injury upon entering” a campus building, the school said. Jackson was then “taken to a hospital by a university administrator,” the school said. Frank Watkins, a spokesperson for Jackson, told the Associated Press that Jackson was entering a campus building when he fell and hit his head. Watkins said Jackson’s test results came back normal and he was kept at the hospital overnight for observation, according to AP. Santita Jackson, one of Jackson’s daughters, tweeted that he is “resting comfortably and doing…

SANA’A: Yemeni civilians in the embattled Marib region are deprived of vital aid as violence between the Saudi-backed state and the Houthi rebels continues to rage, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s country director in Yemen, Erin Hutchinson, said yesterday. On Monday, Yemen’s Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said that nearly 30 civilians were killed and injured in an airstrike carried out by the Houthi rebels in the Yemeni province of Marib on November 1. “Some of Yemen’s most vulnerable civilians in Marib are now cut off from life-saving assistance while also being under attack,” Hutchinson said.…

ROME: Pope Francis, in a visit to a military cemetery on the day Catholics remember their dead, yesterday urged arms manufacturers to “stop”, because war “swallows up the children of the homeland.” On All Souls Day, Francis said a Mass at the French military cemetery in Rome, burial place of about 1,900 French and Moroccan soldiers killed in World War Two.Francis, who visits a cemetery each year on the day of remembrance, laid white roses and stopped to pray at some of the tombs and mentioned that one read “Unknown, Died for France, 1944.” “Not even a name. But in the heart of God there are all our names. This is the tragedy of war,” he said in an improvised sermon.…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE rand fell to an eight-month low yesterday as the combination of lower commodity prices, the resumption of rotational power cuts and an unprecedented petrol price hike put the skids on the risk sentiment in the markets. The domestic currency fell to R15.49 to the US dollar during the day, its lowest since March 8, as data confirmed that the standard of living was set to cost even more for consumers ahead of the festive season. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced on Monday night that the price of petrol (both 93 and 95 ULP and LRP) will increase by R1.21 a litre and diesel by R1.48 a litre from today. The DMRE said this increase was driven up by record high Brent crude…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za OCTODEC Investments’ taxed distri- butable income fell by 14.1 percent after the relief it granted to tenants who couldn’t pay rent, due to lockdown restrictions, and negative rental reversions resulted in lower rental income in the year to August 31. Managing director Jeffrey Wapnick, who has been managing Octodec since 1998 on behalf of his family, who control 39 percent of the shares, said in an interview yesterday that he was planning for succession of the management of the company, and they were in the process of establishing an executive team. The company, which owns 267 properties in the Johannesburg and Tshwane CBD, said rental income from the residential sector and specialised sectors fell 10.6 percent and 15.4 percent respectively, due to the…

from page 1 But remembering that KZN has really never been the home of the ANC. Moreover, KZN voters have always shifted their votes depending on their political situation,” he said. Approached for comment, Magashule yesterday conceded that factional battles had cost the ANC at the polls. He said that during an election campaign in his home town, many ANC supporters appeared to have decided to boycott the elections as they felt there was no unity within the party; however, he pleaded with them not to punish the movement. “Of course, voters rejected the ANC because the party is deeply divided and heavily infiltrated by factional battles which harmed us all. We need to fix our ways and rebuild the party. We can’t expect people to be happy when there…

Samkelo Mtshali samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za WITH 90% of the provincial vote tally to have been completed by last night and official results only to be communicated by tomorrow, the ANC, the governing party in KwaZulu-Natal, conceded that it had been hurt at the polls in the northern parts of the province. The IFP was leading in the vote count in several of its northern KZN strongholds such as Abaqulusi, uMsinga, Nkandla, Ulundi, uPhongolo and Hlabisa Big Five Municipality, while the NFP was leading in eDumbe, and showing strongly in Ulundi and in Nongoma. IFP Chief Whip Narend Singh said the strong showing in KZN was indicative of the growth achieved in the national elections in 2019. “In Gauteng we’ve already seen some results of that hard work where we’ve won two wards…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE Electoral Commission of South Africa has been slammed for allegedly excluding thousands of blind and partially sighted voters across the country from casting their ballots. The South African National Council for the Blind (SANCB) said Universal Ballot Templates(UBT), meant to provide the visually impaired access to the ballot paper were not available in many voting stations and some people were allegedly turned away. SANCB national executive director Lewis Nzimande said this was despite numerous meetings between IEC and the blind sector prior to elections. The IEC yesterday did not respond to questions by deadline. “IEC failed to distribute the UBTs to many voting stations as well as training and informing VD staff on how to handle blind and visually impaired voters as agreed. We condemn this…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE reopened direct flight route between Cape Town and Paris has been welcomed as a positive development for the Cape Town tourism sector recovery after not being operational for almost a year-and-a-half. The first flight from Paris received a warm welcome on Monday night at Cape Town International Airport after more than 18 months of interruption due to the pandemic. Mayco Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management James Vos said it was exciting to see countries around the world opening up to South Africa again. He said the City was welcoming 150 flights per day while adhering to Covid-19 protocols. “Connectivity is such an integral pillar of the City’s Tourism Development Framework, through our continued funding of the Air Access programme, our objective remains to connect…

The low voter turnout in the local government elections, which is likely to dip below 50% for the first time since 1994, is an indictment of our political parties and system in general. While the official national turnout figure has yet to be announced by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), the average figure across the voting districts and municipalities is 45%. For instance, the turnout in Ekurhuleni Metro has dropped from 57% in 2016 to 45% this year, while it dipped from 62% to 45% in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. This turn of events sends a clear message to the country: voters distrust our political parties and the electoral system, and see no reason to associate with them. It’s a vote of no confidence in our politicians…

Two suicide blasts and the sound of gunfire erupted at the main military hospital in the Afghan capital yesterday, in an attack that killed at least 25 people and injured dozens more, a doctor and a Taliban official said. A doctor at Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital, Habib Rahman, said at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded, but added he expected the toll to rise because the first explosion at the entrance also hit many people. A local Taliban commander said that gunmen moved inside the medical facility where clashes broke out as two blasts struck. Another doctor there also said he heard gunfire. The Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, Bilal Karimi, told The Washington Post that two suicide bombs targeted the hospital in central Kabul, but…

Nigerian rescue crews dug for more survivors in the rubble of a collapsed Lagos high-rise building yesterday, a day after the disaster killed at least 15 people and left many trapped inside. The 21-storey building was still under construction when it fell abruptly into a pile of concrete slabs on Monday in the wealthy Ikoyi district of Nigeria’s commercial capital. Rescuers said yesterday that they had recovered 15 bodies so far and managed to pull out nine survivors from the wreckage, but construction workers fear dozens of their colleagues are trapped inside. Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency said rescue workers had been communicating with other survivors still trapped under the collapsed building. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged “the authorities to step up efforts in rescue…

MANILA: A fire that broke out over the weekend at a vaccine storage facility in the southern Philippines destroyed nearly 150 000 Covid-19 shots, media said yesterday. The blaze hit a Pagadian City health centre that doubled as cold chain storage for the entire Zamboanga del Sur province, the Philstar daily cited the coronavirus national task force as saying. More than half of the doses compromised were produced by Pfizer and must be kept supercooled. Hundreds more doses were made by China’s Sinovac, the US’s Moderna and UK-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. The shots were intended for teens, who were cleared for vaccination last month.…

MONTREAL: Airlines are reopening airport lounges with higher-end service to lure back premium travellers after the pandemic, while increasingly opening the VIP experience to tourists – for a fee. Premium travel plummeted during the Covid-19 crisis, depriving airlines of higher-margin fares. But with traffic rebounding in certain regions and US-bound travel set to reopen on November 8, lounges are a crucial weapon in airlines’ post-crisis strategies for retaining their more profitable clients. United Airlines announced plans last Thursday to reopen existing lounges in New York, Chicago and Houston by year end.…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za ORLANDO Pirates’ winless run in domestic football came to an end following their 2-1 win over new boys Sekhukhune United in a DStv Premiership encounter at a cool Orlando Stadium in Soweto last night evening. Pirates came into this encounter off the back of four draws in the league, even though they did progress to the last round of the CAF Confederation Cup qualifiers. That’s why they needed to respond if they were going to consolidate their spot on the standings. Indeed, they achieved that feat with two late goals from Linda Mntambo and Kabelo Dlamini. That ensured that they got the needed points, after an early goal from Brandon Parusnath for United. This win also ensured the Buccaneers remained sixth on the log, and it will…