Table of contents for 2022-10-04 in Cape Times

The auditors in Steinhoff and Tongaat Hulett are being investigated by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) to establish if there was any improper conduct, according to IRBA CEO Imre Nagy. In an interview with Business Report, Nagy said there were cases of management fraud and corruption in the JSE-listed entities, notably Steinhoff and Tongaat Hulett. Nagy said the Steinhoff case was a complicated investigation and was still ongoing. “We anticipate that we will know by the first quarter of 2023, whether there are any charges of improper conduct,” he said. Embattled Steinhoff was involved in a financial scandal where some of its management had manipulated the balance sheet, while Tongatt Hulett’s executives were charged with backdating sale agreements between March 2015 and September 2018. Last week, the IRBA…

NATIONAL Treasury has increased the allowance for retirement funds to invest offshore from 30% to 45%, and simultaneously collapsed the 10% African allowance. This is a big change for the asset management industry, which, excluding Africa, had moved its offshore allowance from 15% to just 30% in the first 25 years of democracy. What, if anything, does the change in foreign exchange regulations mean for your investment strategy? Surprisingly, in the short term, perhaps not much. Post the regulatory change, we engaged 14 asset management companies in the multi-asset mandates we make use of, and none intended to increase their foreign exposure in the short term, given their view that valuations still favoured SA assets. We suspect, though, that in the medium term the changes are likely to be profound,…

Rex Trueform, an investment holding company, and owner of the Queenspark fashion retailer, yesterday said its retail segment turnover has fully recovered in the year under review to pre-Covid-19 levels, while its property segment was resilient. The group comprises the retail sales of women and men’s clothing, shoes, costume jewellery, related fashion accessories, and cosmetics through Queenspark branded outlets in South Africa and Namibia. Its property portfolio consists of developed and undeveloped properties, held directly and indirectly through a subsidiary, Queenspark Distribution Centre Proprietary. In its audited annual financial statements released yesterday, the group said its revenue increased by 35% from last year’s R491.4 million to R665m. The group said headline earnings per share increased 81% to 266.5 cents. Investment income amounted to R24.8m, while retail sales totalled almost…

A regional sales manager who was unfairly dismissed from his position – as found by the CCMA – is again victorious after the Labour Court dismissed his employer’s application to set the arbitrator’s decision aside. Robert Greyling had worked for Trudon (Pty) Ltd and after being unfairly dismissed, won an arbitration award at the CCMA ordering his reinstatement and back pay totalling R1.162 million. Trudon, publishers of the Yellow Pages phone directory, had approached the Labour Court to have the CCMA’s decision reviewed and set aside. According to court documents, in June 2018, Greyling was hauled before a disciplinary hearing on charges of dishonesty and bringing the company’s name into disrepute for taking invoices for advertising against a contract concluded between Trudon and Eskom after being told not to do…

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has hailed the guilty verdict handed down to a man who used puppies to beg for money. Repeat offender Selwyn Taylor was convicted for animal cruelty, obstruction, and assault at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. It was also found that using animals to beg for money is a violation of the City’s Animal Keeping By-law. Earlier this year, SPCA inspectors, with the assistance of City Law Enforcement, had apprehended Taylor, dubbed a “serial” puppy seller, who also uses these animals to solicit money from members of the public. Taylor, 33, had been arrested twice in the space of a week. “He had become aggressive when the SPCA’s inspector tried to remove the puppy on one occasion and also assaulted Mayco Member for Urban Mobility…

President becoming famous for over-promises on commitments to fight corruption PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has taken another negative and irreversible step that could diminish public confidence in his leadership’s ability to fight corruption successfully. Answering questions in the National Assembly on September 29, he fell short of spelling out demonstrable action to back up his lukewarm commitment to implement the Zondo Commission recommendations. He made a welcome U-turn on what he stated in court papers in the DA’s court case – to declare cadre deployment unlawful – that the Zondo Commission recommendations are “not binding”. However, he failed to announce tangible progress, including a Cabinet reshuffle. Attempts to remove individuals implicated in corruption and maladministration from positions of power are a full-scale war, which Ramaphosa seems to be losing. While trying…

Authorities in Ethiopia’s rebel-held Tigray region said they had withdrawn fighters from occupied parts of a neighbouring region to counter a major offensive unfolding to the north. Pro-government forces and rebels led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) resumed fighting in late August after a five-month truce, dimming hopes of peacefully settling nearly two years of war. The latest upsurge has drawn Eritrean troops back onto the battlefield in support of Ethiopia’s federal and regional forces, which are fighting the TPLF on multiple fronts in the country’s north. Tigrayan authorities said late on Sunday that a redeployment of fighters from occupied parts of the Amhara region to the south of Tigray was necessary to counter intensifying combat to the north. “So because of this, on the southern front, we…

Ukrainian forces achieved their biggest breakthrough in the south of the country since the war began, bursting through the front and advancing rapidly along the Dnipro River yesterday, threatening to encircle thousands of Russian troops. Kyiv gave no official confirmation of the gains, but Russian sources acknowledged that a Ukrainian tank offensive had advanced dozens of kilometres along the river’s west bank, recapturing a number of villages. The breakthrough mirrors recent Ukrainian successes in the east that have turned the tide in the war against Russia, even as Moscow has tried to raise the stakes by annexing territory, ordering mobilisation and threatening nuclear retaliation. “The information is tense, let’s put it that way, because, yes there were indeed breakthroughs,” Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed leader in occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson…

Togo’s government yesterday confirmed that ousted Burkina Faso leader Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba had fled to Togo after a military coup. West African bloc the Economic Community of West African Stats (Ecowas) plans to send envoys to Burkina Faso after troops toppled Damiba in the country’s second putsch in nine months. Togo’s Minister of Communication and government spokesperson Akodah Ayewouadan said Damiba was in Togo as part of the country’s commitment to “peace in the sub-region”. Damiba on Sunday had agreed to step down, religious and community mediators said, after new self-declared leader Captain Ibrahim Traore declared he had been forced out. | AFP…

Birmingham: Britain’s beleaguered finance minister yesterday announced a dramatic U-turn on a tax cut unveiled as part of an economic package that has bombed with the markets, electorate and his party. The abrupt change of course by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and Prime Minister Liz Truss raised questions about their right-wing project less than a month after she succeeded Boris Johnson. “We get it, and we have listened,” Kwarteng said on Twitter, announcing he would no longer be scrapping the 45% top rate of income tax levied on the highest earners. Their plan also comprises axing a cap on bankers’ bonuses and reversing a planned rise in corporation tax. | AFP…

Rassie van der Dussen believes the conditions for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this month, should be much more batter friendly than what the Proteas are currently experiencing in India, especially upfront in the powerplay. Van der Dussen, who is currently not in India with the Proteas and is “gutted” to be missing the T20 World Cup with a finger injury, has been an interested spectator back home. He could only look on in frustration as the Proteas slumped to 9/5 in the first T20 international before again being reduced to 2/2 in the second match on Sunday. On both occasions, it was rookie left-arm bowler Arshdeep Singh who caused the damage. New-ball partner Deepak Chahar has also played a significant part in maintaining the pressure. This was…

Sekhukhune United coach Kaitano Tembo believes that his side will go all out for a win and have had enough time to prepare ahead of their home clash against Orlando Pirates at the Peter Mokaba Stadium tonight. The pressure is currently on Tembo and Babina Noko. The side has shown little improvement from last season. Instead, they have won just one league game so far and are second last with seven points after eight games. Should Sekhukhune lose to the Sea Robbers and Marumo Gallants pick up points against TS Galaxy, Tembo’s side could move to last place. “Preparations have been going well,” said Tembo. “We have had enough time to rest and to look at areas that we need to improve. We also looked at areas in which we…

Armaments worth R80 billion destined for Ukraine and bought from a private local company have created a diplomatic pickle for South Africa, after the International Air Services Council shot down the Foreign Operator’s Permit (FOP) for an Export Permit for Conventional Arms and Services that had already been granted by the Department of Defence. Tensions between the government and the council are reported to have peaked after a FOP application was made in July, but can only be endorsed by the council, which refuses to endorse it on moral grounds. “The FOP has not been granted yet, what has been signed off is by the Department of Defence and others relevant government departments, but the consignment cannot take off without the council’s approval,” a source close to the transaction said.…

SOUTH Africa’s industrial production fell back into contractionary territory in September as the severity of intensified power cuts during the month hampered both output and demand. The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released yesterday, fell to 48.2 index points in September from an improved 52.1 index points in August. Absa said more intense load shedding during the month was likely to blame for the decline relative to August, with the index averaging 49.3 points in the third quarter. The September PMI print pointed to a renewed contraction in the country’s manufacturing activity as Eskom ramped up its rotational load shedding to Stage 6 and maintained Stage 4 for more than two weeks. September was by far the worst month of the year in terms of the cumulative amount…

THE ANC in the eThekwini region has encountered challenges that have delayed the holding of branch general meetings (BGMs) including the ongoing non-payment of salaries to ANC staff and issues with scanning devices. All BGMs at the weekend were cancelled and so far only eight out of 111 branches have sat. There are fears that the region, one of the biggest in the country, may not be able to meet the October 25 deadline to determine NEC leadership positions, with the blame being placed on industrial action by party staff and the need to upgrade scanner software. The delays could have a knock-on effect on the party’s national elective conference which is due to start on December 16. The ANC in KZN pronounced last week on its leadership preference, saying…

THE Western Cape has topped the list of corporal punishment by teachers with 85 cases, followed by the Free State with 53 and Gauteng with 35, according to the South African Council of Educators (Sace). Sace recorded a third of all misconduct cases involving corporal punishment and assault on pupils in the financial year ending March. Sace’s 2021-22 annual report recently tabled in Parliament showed that the Eastern Cape recorded 19 cases, both KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo provinces recorded 17, North West 11, Mpumalanga eight and Northern Cape three. The South African Schools Act outlawed the administering of corporal punishment at schools to pupils 26 years ago. The law, as it stands, makes anyone who contravenes it guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a sentence which could be…

I am an Iranian woman living in South Africa for over 23 years. For my freedom and a better future for my children, I had to leave my children, my family, my emotional support. I moved to South Africa in 1999. My dream was to one day bring my children to this newly free country for them to experience freedom of expression and equality. South Africa was a safe haven to me, an abused and heartbroken woman. I worked hard for years before being able to see my children once again. In fact, despite all the legal struggles, it took me 6 years to bring my 16-year-old daughter and 15 long years to be able to bring my two sons and reunite with all three children in South Africa. This…

A NEW lawyer has been appointed to the case of seven alleged Hanover Park gangsters facing 28 criminal charges, including murder and attempted murder. Yesterday, the accused – Mikyle Davids, Tyrone Davids, Mikyle Abdullah, Shamieg Matheon, Moenzier January, Malieka Meyer and Moegamat Kamish – appeared at the Pollsmoor Prison Court after the matter was previously postponed for further investigation. However, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the matter was postponed again to October 18 “because the lawyer of accused one (Mikyle Davids) withdrew and a new lawyer came on board”. The accused, all linked to the Laughing Boys gang which operates in the Hanover Park area, had all previously pleaded not guilty to the 28 criminal charges against them. The charges also include illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.…

I have previously decried intellectual starvation in the country concerning migration and immigration. Accordingly, I took it upon myself to pen a brief article to inform the public about the historiography of migration and immigration in South Africa. In the article, I signified how migration and immigration in South Africa are historically buttressed in race, and anti-black in an inter-sectional manner and dovetailed in racialised capital accumulation that pitted oppressed Africans against each other. A few months after the publication of the article, the phenomenon of zama-zamas erupted and saw chauvinistic make-me-believe I am a community activist mushrooming. It unequivocally called for the deportation of illegal migrants and securing of “our” borders against them. Typical of politicians of never wanting to be left behind community activists, the chauvinist make-me-believe I…

US prosecutors were due to present their opening statements yesterday in the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four others charged with conspiring to use force to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021. Rhodes and his co-defendants Kelly Meggs, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kenneth Harrelson are accused of plotting to forcefully prevent Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, in a failed bid to keep then-president Donald Trump, a Republican, in power. Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn his election loss to Biden after Trump falsely claimed the election had been stolen from him through widespread fraud. Five people died during and shortly after the riot, and about 140 police were injured. The…

Washington: CIA Director Bill Burns, 66, said in the US spy agency’s first-ever podcast that his life is nothing like Jason Bourne and James Bond, ripping hot cars through crowded cities and deploying unimaginable lethal gadgets. Popular spy films show “a world of heroes who drive fast cars, defuse bombs and solve world crises all on their own every day”, Burns said. “That is a source of amusement for my wife and daughters. I’m most comfortable driving our 2013 Subaru Outback at the speed limit. For me, technological daring is when I finally get the remote to work,” Burns told The Langley Files, a podcast to demystify the super-secret CIA. | afp…

SAO PAULO: The second round of Brazil’s presidential election campaign began yesterday after far-right President Jair Bolsonaro outperformed polling and robbed leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of outright victory in the first round of voting. The unexpectedly strong showing by Bolsonaro on Sunday dashed hopes for a quick resolution to the deeply polarised election in the world’s fourth-largest democracy. It also revitalised the president’s campaign, setting the stage for a highly competitive and tense run-off on October 30. With 99.9% of electronic votes counted, Lula had taken 48.4% of votes versus 43.2% for Bolsonaro, prompting the run-off as neither garnered a majority. | Reuters…

New Delhi: Indian military jets were scrambled yesterday after a bomb alert on an Iranian airliner that turned out to be false, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said. “IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance. The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur and then, at Chandigarh,” the IAF said, referring to two airports in northern India. The statement said the pilot was unwilling to divert to either airport, and that instructions were later received to disregard the threat. “After a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which, the aircraft continued on its journey.” | AFP…

NASPERS said yesterday the planned $4.7 billion (R84.7 billion) acquisition of BillDesk by subsidiary Prosus had fallen through, because “certain conditions precedent were not fulfilled.” The leading international technology group on August 31 announced that an agreement had been reached between PayU Payments Private (PayU), a subsidiary of Prosus, and the shareholders of the Indian digital payments provider BillDesk, to acquire BillDesk for $4.7bn, which at that time was worth some R65bn. The deal was reportedly would have been one of the biggest in India’s tech sector and the biggest so far attempted by Prosus. “This is good news as the price was struck in 2021 before tech shares started to fall,” @WayneMcCurrie commented yesterday on Twitter yesterday and “why did it terminate” @hudude81 questioned? “BillDesk shareholders are shocked. This…

Rising interest rates and worsening power cuts have slowed the momentum of new vehicle sales growth in South Africa as load shedding hits production, while rising interest rates impact purchasing power. This comes as aggregate domestic new vehicle sales in September recorded a 10.8% increase at 47 786 units, from the 43 147 vehicles sold in September, 2021. The September print reflected a year-on-year increase of 4 639 units, and a slight monthly increase of 366 units from 47 420 vehicles sold in August. The Automotive Business Council (Naamsa) yesterday said the new vehicle market continued to reflect a healthy performance, but the pace of recovery has started to slow down. Naamsa pointed to the despondency about load shedding and other weakening economic indicators for this slowing momentum. Naamsa CEO…

THE ANC in the Western Cape has called for a senior Oudtshoorn municipal official to step down as he faces charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault of an employee. The accused is understood to have made his first appearance in the Oudtshoorn Magistrate’s Court yesterday where the matter was postponed. The member of the Suid-Kaap Saamstaan party in the DA-controlled Oudtshoorn municipality was arrested on Friday after a 37-year-old woman lodged a complaint. Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said the Oudtshoorn Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) was investigating after the woman approached the police. “It is alleged that the suspect accosted the victim in his office at about 9am September 27, 2022, made promises of a higher post and touched the complainant inappropriately. The investigation…

POLICE Dive Units are continuing the search for a missing 17-year-old boy at Kleinmond Main Beach and a missing 7-year-old girl at the Palmiet River. NSRI Kleinmond station commander Schalk Boonzaaier said after 2pm on Sunday NSRI Kleinmond duty crew were activated following reports of a drowning in progress at Kleinmond Main Beach. “It appears that four teenagers, on a school camp, believed to be from Montague, reportedly had reached a submerged sand bank that they were standing on when the missing teenager may have lost his footing on the slope of the sandbank before being swept away in sea currents,” Boonzaaier said. The three teenagers were able to get to the shore and were not injured. Two NSRI rescue craft conducted a sea search, NSRI rescue swimmers conducted free…

The price of 95 unleaded petrol will come down by R1.02 a litre from tomorrow. The price of 93 ULP meanwhile comes down by 89c, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced yesterday. Diesel will increase by between 10c and 15c per litre. South Africa’s fuel prices are informed by international and local factors including that South Africa imports both crude oil and finished products at a price set at the international level, Mantashe said. The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 94.00 US Dollars (USD) per barrel to 89.79 USD per barrel during the period under review. The main contributing factors are low demand from China, although they’re now slowly reopening their economy, the release of crude oil stocks by the International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries…

The UN envoy scrambled to revive Yemen’s six-month truce after a missed deadline raised fears of a return to war and prompted rebel threats against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Special envoy Hans Grundberg pledged “relentless efforts” to reinvigo- rate the truce, which lapsed on Sunday after bringing a sharp reduction in clashes since it came into force in April. Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been fighting a Saudi-led pro-government coalition since 2015 in a war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. Grundberg’s plan to extend the truce – initially set to last two months and renewed twice – to six months and to expand it to new areas of agreement was rejected by the Houthis. His…

STOCKHOLM: Scientist Svante Paabo has won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries “concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution”, the award-giving body announced yesterday. The prize, arguably among the most prestigious in the scientific world, is awarded by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns (R16.1 million). It is the first of this year’s batch of prizes. Created in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901. Past winners in the field include a string of famous researchers, notably Alexander Fleming, who shared the 1945 prize for the discovery of penicillin, and Robert Koch, who won already in 1905 for his investigations…

Paris: The Paris mayor’s office has abandoned plans for new buildings around the foot of the Eiffel Tower following months of protests from environmentalists and a petition signed by nearly 150 000 people. Under the scheme, around 20 mature trees would have been cut down, while four new buildings housing a café, shops, toilets and baggage drop-off were set to be constructed. “I am announcing that we are completely cancelling any construction project at the foot of the tower but the re-landscaping is maintained,” deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire told the Journal du Dimanche. A decision to save the trees had been made in May after protests and objections from local residents. | AFP…

World Rugby's move to "aid the flow of the game" with water breaks has had the exact opposite effect and needs to go. In May, the governing body announced that it had approved a global trial limiting the opportunity for non-playing personnel to enter the field of play during a match with the aim of "improving the flow of matches by reducing unnecessary stoppages without compromising welfare". Firstly, it's not hard to figure out why such a law was suddenly implemented following the ridiculous outrage at SA Rugby's director of rugby Rassie Erasmus' 'water boy' role. We all know the real reason it was implemented in the first place ... it was a poorly masked attempt at restricting the comings and goings of Erasmus. "The aim of the trial is…